Sweet Short Film Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

Check out this artistic interpretation of ?Goth? that was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and created by Saskia Kretzschmann.

Cool Review of Tolstoy's Short Stories Anthology

A cool review of Tolstoy's short stories anthology that was posted this week on Amazon. Here's a bit about  the book:

"Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace" branded Tolstoy as one of the greatest writers in modern history. Few, however, have read his wonderful short stories. Now, in one collection, are the 20 greatest short stories of Leo Tolstoy, which give a snapshot of Russia and its people in the late nineteenth century. A fine introduction is given by Andrew Barger. Annotations are included of difficult Russian terms. There is also a Tolstoy biography at the start of the book with photos of Tolstoy's relatives.

New Poe Statue in Boston

Any attention brought to Poe is much needed in this country, over two hundred years after the birth of one of its greatest and most mysterious authors. That's why I was glad to hear about a new Poe statue.

The Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston has commissioned a statue of Poe that is shown in their photo above. It features poe in his trademark cravat, carrying his valise that oddly has a heart spilling out the back of it in remembrance of "his most famous short story" The Tell-Tale Heart. In my view The Fall of the House of Usher is Poe's finest short story, but hey. In the foreground of the statue is, of course, a raven modeled after his famous poem that is still read today in schools throughout the world.

Read more about it in the Boston Magazine.

Coldplay's New Album--Ghost Stories--Drops in May

Coldplay's new album is called "Ghost Stories"and it drops in May. Let's hope some of the yet to be released songs draw from some of the best ghost stories in the English language. The first song is called "Magic" and you can watch the first video from the album below.

First Vampire Short Story Set in France - Pepopukin in Corsica

Arthur Young (1741-1820)

What was the first vampire short story set in France? In the English language it appears to be "Pepopukin in Corsica," published in 1826. It was in a British rag called The Stanley Tales. The author was only attributed to A.Y. and in The Best Vampire Stories anthology I edited, I give reasons why I think the author was Arthur Young who was an English writer that travelled extensively in France. He died in 1820, so it had to be published posthumously.

"Pepopukin in Corsica," was published for the first time in 175 years in BlooDeath: The Best Vampire Short Stories 1800-1849. It tells of malevolent vampires having claws and crushing bones. There is a nice review of the vampire tale over at the Taliesiin Vampire Blog.

Why the Captain America Movie Harkens Back to a Science Fiction Story from 1845

The new movie Captain America: The Winter Solider is out, but it is the first installment from 2011, Captain America: First Avenger that shows him waking up after being frozen in Arctic ice for 70 years. How does this possibly relate to a short story from 1845?

The first cryptopreservation sci-fi story is "Hilda Silfverling"by Lydia Maria Child, republished for the first time in over 100 years in Mesaerion: The Best Science Fiction Stories 1800-1849. In the groundbreaking tale, a chemist has found a way to "suspend animation in living creatures and restore it at any time" after they have been frozen.

Sometimes what's new in science fiction movies is old again!

Review of The Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad

"The Secret Sharer," which is one of the two short novels in this bi-novel package, taps into that classic theme of a person hiding in a room who does not want to be found. It was first published by Joseph Conrad in 1910. The writing is topnotch, though the means of building suspense by having someone in a room who does not want to be found out handled (much better) by Honore de Balzac in his short story "The Mysterious Mansion" published in 1830 that can be found in my Best Horror Short Stories anthology. Because of this I suggest reading Balzac's classic instead of Conrad's seafaring regurgitation.

On to Conrad's crowning achievement: The Heart of Darkness. The hunt into the heart of a depraved jungle for Mr. Kurtz is one that had few equals up to its publication in 1902. It drew on Conrad's own experience in the Congo and what he saw there. His style of writing is uncomfortable and heated, mimicking the way a person feels on a sultry day. That much is genius and so is one of the first quests in literature for a crazzzzzy person. Francis Ford Coppola got it right in Apocalypse Now and Apocalypse Now Redux:

I need to study this novel, but unfortunately have little time for it at the moment. Sigh. Perhaps when my writing schedule slows down, but there is no end in sight like the darkling jungles as Charles Marlow and his band of sailors troll up the Congo in search the their greatest fears.

Comment on "The Black Vampyre" Worth Checking Out

There is a fine commentary on "The Black Vampyre" short story over at the Taliesin scary vampire blog: http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/interesting-shorts-black-vampyre-legend.html that I included in The Best Vampire Stories anthology.

I liked it so much I left a comment. Check it out.

Cover Reveal for The Divine Dantes: Paella in Purgatory - Book II of the Infernal Trilogy

The northern hemisphere is pretty sick of winter right about now, so I thought I would warm things up by revealing the cover for The Divine Dantes: Paella in Purgatory, book II of the Infernal trilogy. Queue the Purgatorial music!

Watch for more exciting news about DDII next week. Meanwhile, keep your feet propped on the fireplace grate and get caught up by reading the first book in the Infernal trilogy that follows Eddie and Virg on their quest to find Beatrice in Europe. The Divine Dantes: Squirt Guns in Hades.

[A] lively and good natured work . . .. Publisher's  Weekly

Buy Divine Dantes book I at Amazon

Buy Divine Dantes book I at Barnes & Noble

Review of The Resurrectionist

Rarely do I buy a book because of its cover, but I have to say that this Goth cover suckered me in and parted me from $15 of my hard earned money. I want the marketing department of The Resurrectionist: The Lost Works of Spencer Black to know that I forgive them.

If you are seeking out bone structure illustrations of mythical creatures (And who among us is not?), this is the book for you. Open wallet, extract $15 and enjoy. On the other hand, if you want a good Gothic story about a mad resurrector who finds mythical creatures and reanimates them--which is what this book should have been about to match the illustration--you are out of luck (and $15 bucks). This is two books sandwiched into one. The first part is a drawn out short story with poor character generation and stilted dialogue. The back half contains the fore-mentioned illustrations.

I give The Resurrectionist two stars as a result.