Boo-graphy: Tommy B. Smith is a writer of dark fiction, award-winning author of The Mourner’s Cradle, Poisonous, the short story collection Pieces of Chaos, and the coming of age novel Anybody Want to Play WAR? His presence currently infests Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife and cats. More information can be found on his website.
Poisonous — Following the Quake of ’79, a terrible force came to the city of St. Charles. This was the Living Poison. In Lilac Chambers, it may have found the perfect host. As she finds herself changing, becoming increasingly dangerous to everyone around her, it becomes apparent that her state of being is no accident of nature. She is becoming a prime vehicle for the Living Poison’s destructive swath through the streets of St. Charles. Detective Brandt McCullough has seen the Living Poison’s brutality. John Sutterfield, ringmaster of Sutterfield’s Circus of the Fantastic, is discovering its malignancy festering within the very circus he founded. These two are the only ones who might stand in the way of a force greater than anything they have ever known, one which threatens to wash the streets in red and swallow the city into chaos, but the stakes may be higher than either of them can imagine. St. Charles—indeed, the world—may tremble.
The October month evokes images of falling leaves, orange and brown, slow signatures of the season’s turning, and that mystical night of the thirty-first with its tricks and treats, disguises, revelry, and jack o’ lanterns with strange smiles. Decorative renditions of ghosts under white sheets, witches with pointy hats and broomsticks, and black cats abound.
Many of these images stem from the legends and folklore surrounding the origins of the occasion. In some cases, as with the jack o’ lanterns lit by flickering flames, they represent traditions muddled by time.
Witches were distrusted and feared throughout crucial points in history, which in turn gave rise to the caricature of a crone garbed in black, often unpleasant in demeanor, who became the staple of numerous tales intended to frighten and horrify. Likewise, the black cat, declared by its appearance as a creature of darkness to the superstitious, became included in many of these tales as the witches’ familiars. In some stories, the witches themselves possessed the ability to shift into the forms of black cats.
The black cat has found its way into many subsequent horror tales, classic and modern. The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe is widely recognized, and black cats went on to make appearances in numerous horror films, including Roger Corman’s Tales of Terror (1962) and The Tomb of Ligeia (1964), both adapted from Poe’s works and featuring the legendary Vincent Price.
While I can appreciate their resulting place in the horror genre, I have never lent a molecule of credence to the aged superstitions deeming their presence as unfortunate. As it happens, black cats cross my path every day. I have two: BearCat and Thirteen, the latter of whom gained his name as a jab at those superstitions, in part, and also because his birthday falls on the thirteenth of April.
Tripping over a black cat isn’t a matter of misfortune. If we watch our steps, it shouldn’t be an issue.
As Groucho Marx once said, “A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere.”
Should we celebrate black cats’ place in horror, Halloween, and the month of October? Certainly. It’s been earned. Besides, October 27th is National Black Cat Day.
As the world turns and learns, tired old biases fading but ever-present in the yellowed pages of history, the black cat prances on, head high, eyes sharp, the cautious mascot of the misunderstood, the disparaged and beautiful, the transcendent.
Boo-graphy: Tommy B. Smith is a writer of dark fiction, award-winning author of The Mourner’s Cradle, Poisonous, the short story collection Pieces of Chaos, and the coming of age novel Anybody Want to Play WAR? His presence currently infests Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife and cats. More information can be found on his website.
Poisonous — Following the Quake of ’79, a terrible force came to the city of St. Charles. This was the Living Poison. In Lilac Chambers, it may have found the perfect host. As she finds herself changing, becoming increasingly dangerous to everyone around her, it becomes apparent that her state of being is no accident of nature. She is becoming a prime vehicle for the Living Poison’s destructive swath through the streets of St. Charles. Detective Brandt McCullough has seen the Living Poison’s brutality. John Sutterfield, ringmaster of Sutterfield’s Circus of the Fantastic, is discovering its malignancy festering within the very circus he founded. These two are the only ones who might stand in the way of a force greater than anything they have ever known, one which threatens to wash the streets in red and swallow the city into chaos, but the stakes may be higher than either of them can imagine. St. Charles—indeed, the world—may tremble.
Meghan: Hey, Danger! Welcome welcome welcome!! What is your favorite part of Halloween?
Danger: Eating candy. Duh. I don’t have kids so I gotta buy all my own candy though. I’m an adult though so I suppose I could do that at any time. Hmm. Why haven’t I thought of that before. I could be eating candy for dinner every day!
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?
Danger: I have a black cat so I use it as a day to pay tribute to him. Usually by carving his face onto a pumpkin.
Meghan: If Halloween is your favorite holiday (or even second favorite holiday), why?
Danger: I mean, I’m into horror stuff all year round, so it’s cool that there’s a month/holiday for other people to get spooky with me.
Meghan: What are you superstitious about?
Danger: I have to brush my teeth before I go to bed. I don’t know if that’s a superstition or just basic hygiene, but if I don’t do it, then I feel real icky.
Meghan: What/who is your favorite horror monster or villain?
Danger: Frankenstein. HE’S JUST MISUNDERSTOOD. Unlike Dracula who is just a straight-up dick.
Meghan: Which unsolved murder fascinates you the most?
Danger: I don’t follow this kind of stuff too much, but I did watch this fascinating documentary called Casting JonBenet on Netflix that is less about the actual crime and more about how the people audition for a reenactment of the JonBenet story feel about the crime. It’s hard to explain, but it’s more about people’s fascination and interpretation of the truth than it is about the actual truth. Very interesting film.
Meghan: Which urban legend scares you the most?
Danger: Pop Rocks and Coke. My cousin’s best friend from grade school died that way.
Meghan: Who is your favorite serial killer and why?
Danger: None. Fuck those guys.
Meghan: How old were you when you saw your first horror movie? How old were you when you read your first horror book?
Danger: First horror movie I remember scaring me was the original Nightmare on Elm Street. I had a cousin who was obsessed with Freddy Krueger growing up. He even made his own knife glove.
My first horror books were Goosebumps, though I only got to read a few. My mom stopped buying them for me pretty quick, not because of the content, but because I was reading them too fast and she didn’t have the money. I was in like 3rd grade when she handed me a copy of Jurassic Park and was like, “There, that should keep you occupied for a while.”
Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?
Danger: I don’t get scared by books or movies, generally speaking. I usually have a difficult time removing myself from the edifice of it. Especially as a creator myself, I’m always thinking about the process that goes into a story (or a scene in a movie, or a performance, or any aspect of how these things are put together) so I rarely find myself so immersed that I actually am scared of what I’m reading/seeing.
Meghan: Which horror movie scarred you for life?
Danger: Same answer as above, though I will add a few movies that I did find actually scary were Melancholia – the Lars von Trier film – and Vivarium. These are more about existential horrors though. Movies that make me reflect back on my own life choices and experiences are the ones that hit hardest for me.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween costume?
Danger: Last year I put on my girlfriends kimono and a captain’s hat and was just a ‘good time party dude’ and it was comfortable as hell.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween-themed song?
Danger: Halloween by the Misfits, of course.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween candy or treat?
Danger: Kit Kats are the best. I’m trying to eat every flavor. Did you know there are over 300? Crazy!
Meghan: Thanks for stopping by, Danger. It is ALWAYS a pleasure. Before you go, what are your go-to Halloween movies?
Danger: You’re talking about movies that specifically take place on Halloween, right? In that case:
Boo-graphy: Danger Slater is the Wonderland Award-winning writer of I Will Rot Without You and several other books that haven’t won awards, but are okay still. He lives in Portland, OR with his cat and his girlfriend.
I Will Rot Without You — Meet Ernie. His life is a mess. Gretchen’s gone, and the apartment they once shared is this grey, grim city is now overrun with intelligent mold and sinister bugs.
Then his neighbor Dee shows up, so smart and lovely. If he can just get past the fact that her jealous boyfriend could reach out of her blouse and punch him in the face at any moment, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Unfortunately for all involved, a Great Storm is coming and it will wash away everything we’ve ever known about the human heart.
Impossible James — My father was dying. There was no hope. Then he took a screwdriver to the brain. Got pregnant. And found the cure for death.
Meghan: Hi, Steven!! It’s great to have you here today. What is your favorite part of Halloween?
Steven: These days, there are a lot of classic horror films on TV leading up to that time. It also brings out the ghoul in everyone.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?
Steven: When the boys were younger, they’d get made up in their costumes and go trick or treating in town (I live way out in the country). Also, they would go through a local nursing home that had the residents all outside their rooms in costume.
Meghan: If Halloween is your favorite holiday (or even second favorite holiday), why?
Steven: I’d say Christmas is my fave, but Halloween was always fun growing up and then with the kids. My buddies & I used to dress up and go running around in town or wherever back in the day.
Meghan: What are you superstitious about?
Steven: Oh, silly things like not going under a ladder and all that. I respect graveyards as some goofs will go out to them on Halloween or at night. Not me. I show some respect.
Meghan: What/who is your favorite horror monster or villain?
Steven: Prolly the Wolfman ala Lon Chaney Jr. I felt for the guy, plus, he was named after my ancestors, the Talbots. Wolfman/werewolf tales are cool. I need to write a book about them.
Meghan: Which unsolved murder fascinates you the most?
Steven: The Zodiac murders. I thought I read where they cracked his code at last recently. Jack the Ripper, of course. I’ve read a great deal about that over the years.
Meghan: Which urban legend scares you the most?
Steven: The stealing of kidneys is a good one. Slender Man creeps me out because a few years back I was working at harvest overnights in a Corn Dryer facility and thought I saw him. Not much scares me like that, and I told the guy I worked with I’d have hit him if approached. Dunno what that image was, tho. My dad told me of one he heard in WW2 about an undying pilot that waged war on the Japanese. In the late 80s (or early 90s) we happened to see the Philadelphia Experiment film and dad popped out, “Near the end of the war, we met some guys (sailors) who told us they can make a ship disappear now.” He wasn’t one for freaky tales, either.
Meghan: Who is your favorite serial killer and why?
Steven: Doubt I have a ‘fave’ but was amazed John Wayne Gacy got away with it for so long. Ed Gein is more likely, not because of his actions, but just that he was more rural and easier to hide his actions. Gacy was in town, for Chrissake.
Meghan: How old were you when you saw your first horror movie? How old were you when you read your first horror book?
Steven: I used to watch NIGHT GALLERY with my brother, Mark, when I was 3 or 4. I have vivid memories of this show. Film, prolly DIARY OF A MADMAN with Vincent Price as a kid, really scared me. I recall watching HALLOWEEN with my dad when I was 11 and checking every room upstairs when I went to bed. Book, THE OMEN by David Seltzer. I knew it was Bushwah by my own Biblical teachings (even as a kid), but it still creeped me out. It made me want to tell more of a story like that.
Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?
Steven: EXORCIST by William Peter Blatty. It’s a small book, but what stuck with me more weren’t the movie crazy parts everyone thinks of, but the description of the Black mass and other pagan things mentioned in the book. The stuff with the statues, ugh.
Meghan: Which horror movie scarred you for life?
Steven: The original INVISIBLE MAN made me love horror. Claude Rains voice still rocks in that. I probably liked the original DAWN OF THE DEAD most, but no scars. Although not really a horror flick, I never wanna see CLOCKWORK ORANGE again. There was a screwy flick called BURNT OFFERINGS that scared me as a kid.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween costume?
Steven: I dressed as Elvis in 1978. Alice Cooper when I was 19. Always wanted to be Gene Simmons. There are pics of me as a priest in the early 90s online somewhere.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween-themed song?
Steven: MONSTER MASH, or Nick Cave’s RED RIGHT HAND. Several tunes by Alice Cooper.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween candy or treat? What is your most disappointing?
Steven: Liked mini SNICKERS as a kid or candy corn. I used to put those in as fangs, but I digress. I don’t care for apples or fruit as treats from strangers, although I used to enjoy Carmel apples.
Meghan: It’s been great talking to you again, Steven. Before you go, what are your go-to Halloween movies?
Steven: Loved the original HALLOWEEN film. TRICK OR TREAT was cool. I kinda liked the HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH film as it dealt with a more mystic side of things. That’s the sorta thing I like, not just killers killing to kill. The mating of magicks and technology was a good idea. Plenty of great horror flicks not related to Halloween theme. I suggest ANGEL HEART with Mickey Rourke, as the punchline is pure horror. THE THING, THEATER OF BLOOD…I’m not so big on all the SAW gory modern stuff. Seems redundant, which is odd considering how violent the stuff is I write. I enjoy newer stuff that is more complex. It is rare. I also have a tough time seeing a new flick that I can’t figure out a mile away.
Boo-graphy: Steven L. Shrewsbury lives, works, and writes in rural Illinois. Over 360 of his short stories have appeared in print or electronic media along with over 100 poems. 9 of his novels have been released, with more on the way. His books run from sword and sorcery (Overkill, Thrall, Bedlam Unleashed) to historical fantasy (Godforsaken), extreme horror (Hawg, Tormentor, Stronger Than Death) to horror-westerns (Hell Billy, Bad Magick, Last Man Screaming).
He loves books, British TV, guns, movies, politics, sports, and hanging out with his sons. He’s frequently outdoors, looking for brightness wherever it may hide.
A young man and his sister endure a night of increasingly frightening practical jokes while spending the night at a secluded motel.
S.C. Mendes’ Review
Troll a) a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or hills b) to antagonize (others) online by deliberately posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content
Larry is a Troll of the internet variety. A small, weak man in the real world, but a smack-talker online. As the movie unfolds, we learn more about his sad backstory… But he’s also a jerk, so it’s hard to feel bad for him.
On his way to break up a wedding—wait until you find out who is marrying Larry’s ex—he stops at the Pink Motel to spend the night and gets a taste of his own medicine when he meets the late-night manager.
Chester has a juvenile and twisted sense of humor. From the minute Larry walks in, Chester starts fucking with him. Annoying, but relatively harmless and all in good fun of course. Like making Larry pay for the room in cash for a cheaper deal, then ten minutes later saying Larry never paid. An awkward pause ensues before the punchline. That type of tension starts off strong and Chester creates a genuinely disturbing atmosphere for Larry and the viewer. Image if Heath Ledger’s Joker owned a motel.
Blumhouse has a great set up here. I was expecting this to have a brilliant twist and secure a spot as one of my new favorites in the hotel genre. Psycho. Identity. No Vacancy. I’m Just fucking With You.
But no. The punchline of this joke lost me. I can admit that I don’t have a better resolution—in fact, I loved the final scene which I won’t spoil here—but the twist of the film felt very generic. Maybe I went in expecting something the movie wasn’t intended to be. But I felt it didn’t add anything new to the genre and that’s what I was looking for.That said, it was an updated version that most horror fans will enjoy.
Overall, it’s definitely worth a viewing for Hayes MacArthur’s portrayal of Chester. Oh, and the polaroid of a large phallus. Or maybe there is no polaroid. Only one way to find out if I’m fucking with you….
Boo-graphy: Learn to appreciate the darkest moments of your life. It is those moments that make our time in the light even more beautiful. S.C. Mendes is the author of numerous short stories and a fan of pen names. The anonymity helps maintain his day job as an indoctrinator of children for the state. THE CITY is the beginning of the Max Elliot saga.
Meghan's House of Books 