One of the aspects I love so much about Halloween is the ambiance that comes with it. I adore the cotton spider webs, the glow of Jack-o-lanterns, the witches, the goblins, and everything else that makes my favorite holiday so dark and spooky. It goes without saying that this is the time of year when horror authors shine their brightest.
I remember going all out one year in my outdoor decorations, making gravestones out of floral foam, buying dry ice to put in a cauldron on the porch, covering the entire front of the house with spider webs and plastic spiders, carving terrifying faces on the pumpkins, and compiling a track of midi horror songs. The display was so scary I answered the door to more than one parent who had to come to the porch in place of his or her child, who watched from a safer distance with friends or other family members.
When it comes to my choice in Halloween movies, I want just as much atmosphere. Give me Gothic castles, full moons, rolling fog obscuring dark nights, creepy music, and supernatural monsters. There’s something about watching Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein, or a good, old-fashioned Hammer film that really sets the mood. I also enjoy the themed episodes of my favorite television shows and the spirit of the horror authors’ community coming together to supply the unsuspecting reader with thrilling new stories to read.
This year, I’m happy to help Coffin Hop Press promote its Halloween benefit anthology, Death by Drive-In, the proceeds of which will be donated to the literacy program Lit World.
I remember going all out one year in my outdoor decorations, making gravestones out of floral foam, buying dry ice to put in a cauldron on the porch, covering the entire front of the house with spider webs and plastic spiders, carving terrifying faces on the pumpkins, and compiling a track of midi horror songs. The display was so scary I answered the door to more than one parent who had to come to the porch in place of his or her child, who watched from a safer distance with friends or other family members.
When it comes to my choice in Halloween movies, I want just as much atmosphere. Give me Gothic castles, full moons, rolling fog obscuring dark nights, creepy music, and supernatural monsters. There’s something about watching Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein, or a good, old-fashioned Hammer film that really sets the mood. I also enjoy the themed episodes of my favorite television shows and the spirit of the horror authors’ community coming together to supply the unsuspecting reader with thrilling new stories to read.
This year, I’m happy to help Coffin Hop Press promote its Halloween benefit anthology, Death by Drive-In, the proceeds of which will be donated to the literacy program Lit World.
While I’m not a contributing author, I support the cause and am happy to be a part of this year’s Coffin Hop. Nearly a hundred horror authors are banning together to support Death by Drive-In and make your Halloween especially creepy, giving away books and other goodies—and giving you all sorts of chances to win. Go to www.coffinhop.com for a list of other participating authors.
For my part, I’m offering one reader a signed copy of my Gothic horror novel, Finding Poe, and another an electronic copy of Death by Drive-In, so make sure to leave a comment for your chance to win. I chose Finding Poe because I feel it's the embodiment of all I love about Halloween: it’s atmospheric, dark, creepy, and twisted. Inspired by the best works of Edgar Allan Poe, the story speculates how his own writing—most notably, his unfinished, untitled short story most of us know as "The Lighthouse"—may have contributed to his untimely death.
For my part, I’m offering one reader a signed copy of my Gothic horror novel, Finding Poe, and another an electronic copy of Death by Drive-In, so make sure to leave a comment for your chance to win. I chose Finding Poe because I feel it's the embodiment of all I love about Halloween: it’s atmospheric, dark, creepy, and twisted. Inspired by the best works of Edgar Allan Poe, the story speculates how his own writing—most notably, his unfinished, untitled short story most of us know as "The Lighthouse"—may have contributed to his untimely death.
More about Finding Poe:
When reality and fiction collide, there's no telling what horrors might ensue.
In the wake of her husband's haunted death, Karina must sift through the cryptic clues left behind in order to solve the mystery behind his suicide—all of which point back to the elusive author, Edgar Allan Poe.
Karina soon finds that reality, dream, and nightmare have become fused into one as she journeys from a haunted lighthouse in New England to Baltimore, where the only man who might know the answers to her many questions resides.
But will she find her answers before insanity rips her grip on reality for good? Might a man she's never met hold the only key to a truth more shocking than even she could have imagined?
Finding Poe was a 2013 EPIC Awards finalist in Horror.
What do you enjoy most about Halloween? What are your favorite movies to watch and books to read during the spookiest month of the year?
When reality and fiction collide, there's no telling what horrors might ensue.
In the wake of her husband's haunted death, Karina must sift through the cryptic clues left behind in order to solve the mystery behind his suicide—all of which point back to the elusive author, Edgar Allan Poe.
Karina soon finds that reality, dream, and nightmare have become fused into one as she journeys from a haunted lighthouse in New England to Baltimore, where the only man who might know the answers to her many questions resides.
But will she find her answers before insanity rips her grip on reality for good? Might a man she's never met hold the only key to a truth more shocking than even she could have imagined?
Finding Poe was a 2013 EPIC Awards finalist in Horror.
What do you enjoy most about Halloween? What are your favorite movies to watch and books to read during the spookiest month of the year?
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