Vampire Circus

by Mark Morris

In the small, rural community of Shettle children are being viciously murdered. Four men -- schoolteacher Nick Miller, doctor John Kersh, private investigator Chris Blaine and local newspaper editor Alan Michaels -- track the killer, Karl Mitterhaus, down in his house up on the hill and impale him with a spar of wood. His last words as he lies dying send a chill through them all.

Ten years later Shettle has fallen into a decline. It is rife with crime and its inhabitants plagued by ill-fortune. As the tenth anniversary of Mitterhaus's death approaches the Circus of Nights arrives and the people are drawn to it like moths to a flame. Soon they can talk of little else: it's as though they are bewitched. But Nick, John, Chris and Alan soon realise that there is something terribly wrong. And as the town is enclosed in a barrier of 'sickness' through which no one can enter or leave, the four men must do their utmost to protect their loved ones, before it is too late.

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Supernatural

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Mark Morris became a full-time writer in 1988 on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and a year later saw the release of his first novel, Toady. He has since published a further sixteen novels, among which are Stitch, The Immaculate, The Secret of Anatomy, Fiddleback, The Deluge and four books in the popular Doctor Who range.

His short stories, novellas, articles and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines, and he is editor of the highly-acclaimed Cinema Macabre, a book of fifty horror movie essays by genre luminaries, for which he won the 2007 British Fantasy Award.

His most recently published or forthcoming work includes a novella entitled It Sustains for Earthling Publications, a Torchwood novel entitled Bay of the Dead, several Doctor Who audios for Big Finish Productions, a follow-up volume to Cinema Macabre entitled Cinema Futura and a new short story collection, Long Shadows, Nightmare Light.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten years ago, in the rural community of Shettle, four men helped to kill a vampire called Karl Mitterhaus. He vowed revenge - “your children will die!” - before his body was consumed by fire. Today, Shettle has fallen into decline, its residents plagued with ill fortune and when the Circus of Nights rolls into town, entrancing the public, those four men - a newspaper editor, a doctor, a teacher and a private investigator - know that they must protect their own children against supernatural forces. Part of the resurgence of the Hammer brand, this novelisation (fearlessly - and cleverly - modernised) works well - the location is clearly defined, the characters are well drawn, the circus is scary, the set pieces are well realised and the climax races along. Also, since Mark Morris wrote this, the writing is as high a calibre as you’d expect, though it is let down by some odd editing choices - the first Circus of Nights is over very quickly and everyone accepts as granted the ‘sickness barrier’ (didn’t anyone from the outside world notice?). Those quibbles aside, this is good fun and worth a read and it’d be nice to see Morris tackle another Hammer classic in the future.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

As others have said here, this isn't a straight novelisation of the Hammer vampire flick, but instead it takes the concept, the bare bones of the plot, some of the characters (renaming some also) and updates it to modern day England. It loses some of it's appeal for me in that what attracted me to the film, and this book, was basically the gothic elements of it set as it was somewhere in middle Europe (Austria?) of roughly the 1700's I think. Some of the elements of the book I didn't find too convincing e.g. the sickness barrier, whereas in the film the village was quarantined and blocked off by the authorities, and also stalked by the vampires. There are some quite gripping scenes in this, including some of the set pieces which have been updated directly from the film. Where it is less than successful is where it has the feel of the modern vampire trend of Twilight and Buffy. Having said that it's not a bad read overall.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nine year old girl is abducted and murdered by her schoolteacher and her lover but avenged by four men from the local village. A decade later a mysterious circus comes to town, bespelling the villagers and ensuring nobody can leave or get in. Only the four men are able to see through the fug and realise that something isn't quite right. I don't think I was in the right mood for this novel as I found it too trashy and not that exciting.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good bloody moden Vampier/Hammer Horror start and end with a interesting Hammer feel in the middle, giving an old tale a fresher tuch.

[Alex Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really digging it and having a lot of fun until the final hundred pages.
For the most part it faithfully replicates the decadent, gothic excesses of hammer horror cinema in perfectly serviceable prose (it doesn't wow you with language, but it doesn't subject you to failed purple prose either.) I loved the scenes at the carnival.
It's just at the end when everything gets wrapped up that I wasn't a fan. There's nothing wrong with concluding in a predictable way, it just took too long. At some point it starts thinking it's characters have real pathos, and it gets too serious for its own good and starts to really drag.
Would have been a 5-star novella

[Mrs S · Rating 5 out of 5]

To sink your teeth into

I like Mark Morris period. Can recommend all of his books. This wasnt an intense read but an overlooked gem. Plausible and not silly.

[Sie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comes across as a YA. Good enough read. If you have seen Haven (series) it reminds me of the troubles there.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

DESPITE THE SICKNESS BARRIER AND THE MODERN SETTING VERY CLOSE TO THE ORIGINAL FILM AND AN EXCELLENT READ.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

sometimes you just want to watch a b movie and this is no different

[Mike Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old school vampire story updated for a modern setting. If you enjoyed the old Hammer horrors you’ll enjoy this. Not a direct novel of the Hammer movie but a reinterpretation in the present.

[Leila Anani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a massive fan of the film and when I started reading this I thought what on earth...? It's set in modern times and although the events are synonomous with the events in the movie they are given a modern twist. Some of the characters have changed name and profession as well. One of the criticisms of the film was that it featured too many characters - well this novel features even more! Instead of streamlining many of the characters in the film are actually several characters in the book which was unnecessary and detracted from my emotional attachment to them. The book also skimps on the sex but plays up the violence almost doubling the amount of victims - there are lots of peripheral circus members not present in the movie that get massacred in the book.

Despite being overcomplicated and featuring far too many rather dull characters, the plot moves at a cracking pace and has all the things that made the vampire circus story so engaging - the creepy circus, hall of mirrors, panther shifting Emil, sins of the father revenge story line. Its not a bad effort and I applaud the fact that this isn't just a fleshed out screenplay but tries to do something new with the classic story. Die hard fans of the film however may be disappointed.

[Maryanne]

Okay i do not like giving authors a slap but I am going to here.This book is too close to two other famous books to be original.....I struggled through it because of it close similarities to Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury and It by Stephen King.i am sorry Mark but you need to write something that does not walk in the same pathways as other books to the extent that I was going slowly nuts trying to keep going on your book which was only different in that its setting was in England ( barely ) and it was about vampires ( not spiders) .Sorry mate this was not a good read .BUMMER great cover for a sad effort

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A respectable updating of Hammer's cult horror classic (which I personally adore). Kudos to Morris for contemporizing the tale and making the characters far more proactive. On the flip side, a reason why I loved the film is that it took place in a time period that was dangerous and unpredictable and a part of me would have wanted to see the story take place in that time frame. That being said, I wouldn't mind buying this, a quick, breezy and action-packed read.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather fun novel based upon the old Hammer classic. However rather than being set in the usual vague ye olden times somewhere in Mitteleuropea, Morris has updated the story to modern day rural England. And despite seeming like sacrilege for Hammer fans, in Morris' hands it actually works rather well, making for a fun old school tale of a small community overwhelmed by an ancient evil.

[Chip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This opinion is going to irk some people, but I have never really been a big fan of the movie. With that, I really enjoyed this update. If you are looking for a straight novelization, this is not for you.