The Art of Horrible People

by John Skipp, Josh Malerman (Introduction)

From Hollywood film studios to high-security psychiatric facilities, there is an art to being a horrible person. Splatterpunk legend John Skipp turns the mirror back on ourselves, showing us all the ways that make us the worst monsters of all.

A decade in the making, The Art of Horrible People collects John Skipp's most horrific, hilarious, and starkly honest short stories, raising horror fiction to gleefully deranged new heights.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Bizarro Fiction, Splatterpunk

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

John Skipp is a splatterpunk horror and fantasy author and anthology editor, as well as a songwriter, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He collaborated with Craig Spector on multiple novels, and has also collaborated with Marc Levinthal and Cody Goodfellow.

Reviews

[Danger · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the gory to the maddening to the satirical to the heartfelt, and virtually every other place in between, The Art of Horrible People is a gallimaufry of Skippian stories and musings of the highest caliber.

(And holy shit, did I just use the word ‘gallimaufry’ in a sentence?! I don’t think I’ve ever said it out loud. Has anyone ever said the word ‘gallimaufry’ out loud before?)

There is so much going on in this book I’m surprised it doesn’t burst at the seams like the ripe tomato of pathos is rightly is.

There’s horror in here, which if'n you don't know, when Skipp is involved, is always bloody good fun. The lead story, Art is the Devil, is one of my favorites in the book and it’s a tale about beauty and aesthetics and one man’s quest for to discover true ‘art’. At the risk of spoiling it, ALL HELL SOON BREAKS LOOSE. And speaking of hell breaking loose, the last story, Food Fight, is another story where a sort of cosmic madness asserts its jet-black paws into the prose and paints the walls red in its journey towards enlightenment. Much to my sadistic delight, Skipp isn’t afraid to raise the body count, even when the story in question only spans a dozen or so pages.

But it’s not all blood and guts.

The middle of this book is buoyed by two disparate stories that aren't quite as violent as the rest: Skipp’s Alphabet Soup of Hollywood Horror, and Zygote Notes on the Imminent Birth of a Feature Film as Yet Unformed. The first of which is a caustic look at life in 'Hollyweird' when you’re in ‘the business’ and it pulls-no-punches as it skewers the predators and prey alike. Funny and acerbic and full of wit and voice, it really delivers its payload in (alphabetical) spades. But even this story is in turn buoyed by the next, Zygote Notes, which is a dreamlike walk through the mind of a man as he pieces together production notes for a future film, in which the act of creation is romanticized and treated almost like a vision quest, a spiritual journey. The same town that eats dreams alive is also the same town that gives birth the the purest forms of creation, and I don't think it was a mistake that these two stories come successively in this collection.

The book itself is rounded out by two appendixes, both categorically non-fiction.

The first appendix is a small sermon on artists and artistry and the importance of drawing a distinction between the two, which is then followed by a list of 1200 artist whom the author felt inspired or impressed him in some profound way.

The second appendix is a heartbreaking, yet joyous, eulogy he wrote for his dog Scooby. It was short and touching and just a really sweet way to end this book, because as this collection illustrates, for all its calamity and horror and laughter and art, life is really about the connections you make and the people (and animals) (and things) that you love.

There are other stories in here that I didn't mention. Jeez, can't we let some of it be a surprise, people? If nothing else sticks from this review, just note this: this book doesn’t deal with maudlin emotions. This is visceral emotion. Visceral reaction. This is the real shit.

And I would recommended The Art of Horrible People to anyone who wants to feel real things.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A TOP SHELF review, originally published in the September 11, 2015 edition of The Monitor

John Skipp has won multiple awards for his horror writing, which ranges from the screenplay for “Nightmare on Elm Street 5” to the novelization of “Fright Night” and many influential books and anthologies.

His latest collection, “The Art of Horrible People,” features powerful stories that explore creation, art and fascinating characters through a careful balance of horror and humor. “Art is the Devil” lampoons artists who think they are transgressive by having the Devil himself crash a bloody, pretentious show. “Depresso the Clown” pits a woman afraid of clowns against a hapless birthday-party performer. “Rose Goes Shopping” plays with the zombie trope, getting us to root for the undead over some particularly disgusting humans.

Other stories play with notions of death and identity, with the conceit of creation as birthing, with the interplay between cinema and madness and the broken, gritty heart of Los Angeles. The collection concludes with two non-fiction articles: One that explores the importance of separating art from the artist; the other that reflects on the fleeting beauty of a beloved pet.

Written with a lean, exhilarating and cinematic style, “The Art of Horrible People” is the perfect marriage of droll commentary on the human condition and blood-spattered bleakness.

[Lukas Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a story about a group of Satanists raising the devil, who upon raising him can't quite get over the fact that he looks like Charlie Sheen.

That's sort of what you're getting with this collection. It's weird and wacky but surprisingly well-realised. Skipp is much more of a writer than I originally gave him credit for, able to jump from gross-out gore to comedy within the same paragraph.

"Skipp's Hollywood Alphabet of Horror" was a favourite if you can find it. An alphabetical collection in itself, featuring vignettes from the seediest parts of hollywood. Overall it was entertaining for what it was and I might consider picking up one of his novels.

[Christoph Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite short story collections always feel more like great albums than books.They have the big and amazing singles/stories and also the non-hits but artistic jams that compliment and strengthen the album as a whole. John Skipp a musician, horror writer, director, and publisher follows that rule and gives us one of the best collections of the year.

The big hits in this book would be the previous and excellent Kindle Single "Art is the Devil" and "Skipp's Hollywood Alphabet Soup of Horror", and "Food Fight". These stories alone are stand alone greats. You have a sense of play and seriousness that I see many writers try but few pull off. Yet, there is not filler in this collection as "Depresso the Clown" to "Zygote Notes on the Imminent Birth" stay with me and I think: I gotta read that again sometime. That was good shit.

Every story has a depth and fun to it that I look for in fiction. Some of course or better than others, but all of them are good to great.

Skipp, the publisher of Fungasm Press, put out the best short story collection of 2014 "I'll Fuck Anything That Will Move..And Stephen Hawking" by Violet LeVoit. His own collection reminds very much of LeVoit's, not in plot or style, but with the transgressive yet vulnerable attitude.

Skipp shows that can bring Fungasms into the world while also creating them himself.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been fond of writers who seem to write in hyperdrive. Whether it is Hunter S. Thompson, Harlan Ellison, or Garrett Cook, I like the writers that let it all out, appearing not to care whether you can keep up with them. If their imagination or emotion gets a little ahead of the prose, that is just part of the attraction. The writers I like realize that they can’t write for the audience. The audience needs to come to them and the payoff is when the reader gets into the writer’s strange and manic mind and say, “Wow! Now I get it!” At least, that is the way my own strange and manic mind perceives it.

In The Art of Horrible People, John Skipp becomes one of those authors. Of course he had a bit of a head start as one of the early architects of Splatterpunk. His standing as a father figure of the Bizarro movement doesn’t hurt either. But in this new collection of eight short stories, Skipp seems to be airing a mixture of amazement and repulsion over the acts of the human race which frankly can be pretty horrible. Call it cynicism or realism, Skipp may have held it in too long to be anything but a torrent of words and emotions. There is a mishmash of styles here from straight horror to dark comedies and pieces that border between free association and straight-out rant. Yet they all are entertaining in Skipp’s own manic and sometimes just far-out crazy style.

For instance, take the first story. “Art is the Devil” is a dead on depiction of the too often overhyped and phony world of the visual arts. If anyone is going to be an art connoisseur, wouldn’t it be the devil? It is a funny over-the-top satire of the contemporary art scene. The second story, “Depresso the Clown” is very different but just as extreme. It is a straight horror story on the capture of a rather pathetic clown. Whether you call it tragedy or comedy will depend on how you feel about clowns.

“Rose Goes Shopping” is a dark comedic takeoff on the zombie story. It reminds you that even in the zombie apocalypse, old habits die hard. In my opinion, this little story makes the zombies seem relatively decent. “Worm Central Tonite!” is quite short and more of a concept piece. It packs a nice philosophical wallop in just a few pages.

“Skipp’s Hollywood Alphabet Soup of Horror” is essentially 26 flash fiction pieces all about Hollywood and the movie industry. This is Skipp’s cynicism working overtime. You can argue that Hollywood is an easy target but the quick vignettes are essentially spot on and it is clear the author has waded more than once in the craziness of the movie game.

“Zygote Notes on the Imminent Birth of a Feature Film as Yet Unformed” is ironically the best work here. “Ironic” because in some ways it is the most typical of the Bizarro genre yet atypical for this collection because it seems reflective and intimate with multiple layers. I think it is one of the best piece of short fiction I have read from this author.

“In a Waiting Room, Trading Death Stories” is an amusing hiccup of a tale but simply whets our appetite for the last and other best short fiction in the book, “Food Fight”. This is Splatterpunk at its best. It is a tale about chaos in a behavioral health center told through different perspectives in Skipp’s equally chaotic style.

Skipp is one of those writers that need to be read to be believed. Although he is mostly a stalwart of the splatterpunks it is easy to see why the younger Bizarro writers see him as so influential to their own movement. But what it comes down to is that Skipp is basically his own sub-genre and resists pigeon holing. The Art of Horrible People is no less than the art of telling a good story.

[Devora Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleep. I need sleep. It's one of those nights. I turned off the Kindle but still feel its glow. I stopped reading at "Rose Goes Shopping." Zombies don't make me hungry but red steel-toed boots do the trick.

One more story. Or three. I got caught in "Skipp's Hollywood Alphabet Soup of Horror." I'm a sucker for letters. We have aliens and rewrites, show me the money, honey, and my favorite T is for Me and My TV. Z is definitely for zzz's.

I need to sleep but I like reading about horrible people. The best put it all out there, unapologetic. I believe they exist so people like John Skipp can scratch his head, chuckle at the absurdity and write them into scenes they'd love to live if hey could see their folly becomes the art we love to survive.

[Tim Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Skipp’s new book, The Art of Horrible People, is something special. Not only is it a great addition to his already prodigious body of work, but it’s all his, every word. For a man whose best known books are collaborative efforts it’s a rare treat and a glimpse into John Skipp’s head and heart. The collection ranges from short, playful fiction to an extremely personal farewell to a good friend in one of two non-fiction entries. As BIRD BOX author Josh Malerman points out in his excellent introduction, there is more to the stories than just horror, something unique to the author. Whenever John Skipp puts pen to paper there is always an underlying theme of exuberance, a lust for life that makes his horrors all the more powerful.

The first story in the collection is possible it’s finest. “Art is the Devil” opens at the Los Angeles Hyaena on Charlie Sheen Night. Everything there, art in all of it’s forms, are inspired by Charlie Sheen.

“Hyaena had set the bar high, in the lowest way possible. And that was a beautiful thing.”

It’s a story about art, exploitation and what is really transgressive. The main characters meet a mysterious man, Max Apocalypso, who invites them to leave Charlie Sheen Night and to come to his show, which he insists is truly transgressive. The exhibit turns out to be something akin to a Satanic funhouse, filled with gore and the gruesome and very real violence. The story calls back to the 1980s Satanic Panic and does a great job of turning many of the tropes related to it on their heads. And in the end, when the devil appears in the flesh, the story comes to a perfect circular ending.

“Depresso the Clown” is told from the point of view of a man held prisoner in a basement. As the story develops the reader finds out how the clown, the narrator and prisoner, came to be in that basement. Why is his clown nose being sewn permanently to his nose? Why is his clown makeup being tattooed on his face? Clown torture is rarely this much fun.

The zombie tale “Rose Goes Shopping” is short but a bit deeper than the average zombie story, exploring the parallels between zombies and the way some people feel when medicated with psychopharmaceuticals. Also, the idea comes up that there may be times when the human actually finds themselves rooting for the zombies. “Worm Central Tonite!” is a fun exploration of a very unique POV. “In the Waiting Room, Trading Death Stories” is an ambiguous but compelling tale of impending death.

“Zygote Notes on the Imminent Birth of a Feature Film as Yet Unformed” is another exploration of art and its creation. The story of a filmmaker on a relatively normal trip to an unfamiliar town results in the formation of an idea for a film. The process of bringing a film to life is likened to the conception, birth and raising of a child.

Los Angeles is a central setting and theme throughout the collection. The author takes on the movie business with “Skipp’s Hollywood Alphabet Soup of Horror”. Every letter of the alphabet represents an important part of the movie business and is illustrated with absurd, overblown, melodramatic and inarguably hilarious vignettes. The wordplay and satire are the focus here as a traditional narrative is abandoned in favor of a free verse structure.

“Food Fight” is a bizarre and, at times, hallucinatory trip through a mental institution in the midst of a disaster. The point of view rotates quickly through a cast of characters populated by doctors, orderlies and all kinds of crazy. Taken together these independent narratives converge as the facility falls into chaos during a desert sandstorm. While “Food Fight” is entertaining is does feel a bit unfocused at times and it’s the only story that doesn’t fall into the themes art and LA.

The highlight of the collection comes at the end with two unexpected and deeply personal pieces of nonfiction. “Appendix A: Roughly One Thousand Reasons to Love the Fuck Out of Art (Even if You Hate the Ones Who Made it)” presents an argument that unless one can separate the art from the person who created it they will, inevitably, be missing out on great art. Skipp contends, convincingly, that art should be enjoyed because of the art itself, not because of the person who created it. It’s an approach that could well be applied to the ongoing discussion in horror and fantasy circles about H. P. Lovecraft and his racist personal views. The author also gives the reader a list of over one thousand artists whose work has been important to him, any number of whom are horrible people.

The Art of Horrible People ends with a simple, emotional response to the death of the author’s dog, Scoob. “Appendix B: Scoob’s Last Will and Testament” conveys the sadness of the loss of one’s pet while focusing on the joy and beauty it brought to the world when in could. It’s a brief but emotionally complex work that brings the collection to a highly satisfying and emotionally honest and complex conclusion.

[Christopher Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Amazing Set, Terrifying and Beautiful,

An incredible journey from start to finish. John Skipp’s The Art of Horrible People is a fantastic collection of dark art that steps well outside the boundaries of taboo while showing us what we’ve all feared was there all along. You know those questions we have but rarely voice except at parties? What do those dark Hollywood artsy elite really do up in their lofts? Would the zombie apocalypse really be all crossbows and exploring-the-human-condition serious, or would it be fun? What makes clowns so scary? Just how bad would an asylum break be?

Mr. Skipp uses his unique voice to transport us to believable settings, from the modern LA noir-chic scene to a gut-busting redefining of movie industry terms. Then to the shadows where people do horrible things to themselves and others. The collection opens with a tension builder of a horror piece, but it soon spans a full spectrum of emotions, with fantastic moments of love and endearment.

I fully expected to be disturbed and entertained as I read this—and was not let down to say the least—but I never predicted the stories would be so fully-imagined and encompassing as to hit nerves on the emotional side. I love this collection. From its disturbing opening act, all the way through the heart-swelling acknowledgment, John Skipp delivers an incredible page-burner well worth the read! Highly recommended with Five-Stars.

[Ian Welke · Rating 5 out of 5]

It didn’t occur to me until I’d read the eulogy to the author’s dog at the end of the book… There was always something about John Skipp’s short stories beyond the individual story that I couldn’t put my finger on, but reading a full collection of them made me realize that these stories run the gamut of emotion. Some stories had me laughing out loud, others are unsettling, and others still had me weeping. I read “Zygote Notes on the Imminent Birth of a Feature Film as Yet Unformed” first in the David Lynch tribute anthology and again here, and in both instances that story had me in tears with Skipp’s ability to invoke powerful sentiment. The Art of Horrible People is a collection of stories that are worthy because they are the sum of entertainment, message, and emotion.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Food Fight" and "Alphabet Soup of Horror" are worth the price of admission for their energy and creative use of form and just pure kick-ass writing. The other stories are good, too. "Rosie Goes Shopping" is a battle with zombies story, but pretty damn funny because Rosie is so focused on food while the zombies are feeding; just brilliant technique.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess it's a pretty good sign when your only complaint about a book is that you wish there was more of it. At only 150 pages, The Art of Horrible People still delivers gleeful gore with plenty of heart. I'm not talking about the sweet Valentine's heart either, but the veiny always-working muscle that shoves gore-juice through our bodies, keeping us alive in the process. The common through line seems to be that art is made from passion and to quote a line from Morgan Freeman in the movie, Se7en, "Just look at all the passion on that wall." But sometimes that's what it takes to inspire and move us. My favorite stories were the first and last, Art is the Devil and Food Fight, respectively.

[Kain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was difficult for me to rate because not only did I enjoy the way the author had written the stories but also because the idea of the book itself was amusing to me. Sadly I only really enjoyed the first half the book, those stories were great! The rest were okay but I think I may have missed something with them, perhaps a reread will help. The last part of the book (the acknowledgements about his pup) were very sweet and I hope he keeps on writing.

[Steve Sabo · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Skipp does it again!
This collection of short stories, especially "Food Fight"is nothing short of spectacular. It's comic, gruesome, bloody and mesmerizing. There is a reason he is known as the king of splatterpunk. The only complaint is that it is too short. The last thirty pages or so are all acknowledgments and the book already clocks in at under 200 pages. They are, however, pages you definitely need to read.

[Hugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth a look for the actual short stories that work ('Art is the Devil', 'Food Fight', 'In the Waiting Room, Trading Death Stories', and 'Zygote Notes on the Imminent Birth of a Feature as Yet Unknown'), but the rest is negligible stuff, either half-formed story ideas or once-and-done non-fiction material.

[Cris Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title states, there are some horrible people in this collection. The creepiest story to me was "Depresso the Clown". I enjoyed "Worm Central Tonite!" the most. Appendix B lists the people who influenced Skipp, and I would recommend reading through there. You may find some artists to follow.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the novels that Skipp wrote with Craig Spector and was curious about these solo shorts. This is more like snippets into his lovely warped conscious; some interesting, some so so.

[Statia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now I know I am not a fan of splatterpunk. I did not find this artsy, entertaining, or enjoyable. Even if I could get passed the gore, I was not impressed by the writing. Overall, waste of time.

[Fizza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horrible people indeed....but I failed to pick up on where the actual horror was in certain stories.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting collection of stories, each with a fun style that really shows off the versatility of Skipp's writing. A little short but the book definitely packed a punch all the same. Definitely worth a read if you enjoy bizarro or splatterpunk.

[Megan Hex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of bizarro splatterpunk; not normally my thing but this was pretty fun.

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

New to the genre. Turns out I'm not really a fan of Splatterpunk. The writing isn't bad; I finished it. I just wasn't wow'd and it was hard for me to find meaning in so much gore and destruction.

[J. Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skipp really never fails. He's a man with a plan, with a lot of heart. He's one of the few I absolutely respect.