Horror Aficionados discussion

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill is the second selection for the March Group Read. Please remember to use spoiler tags, page numbers, chapters, or percentage read. Have fun!

Joining the group. I have had a love/hate relationship with Mr. Hill, but I read the Short "20th Century Ghost" in another collection and liked it very much. looking forward to the discussion.

Badseedgirl wrote: "Joining the group. I have had a love/hate relationship with Mr. Hill, but I read the Short "20th Century Ghost" in another collection and liked it very much. looking forward to the discussion."

I've read the collection twice now, and will be joining in the discussion! :)

We have two really good group selections to read this month but this book has been on my shelf for a long time. For some reason I've never read yet, so this will be my first choice. Looking forward to finally getting to it. :)

I plan on joining in, but it will be closer to the middle or end of the month....too many other books on the TBR pile right now;-)!

I've only read on other book by Hill: Horns, which I thought was good, but it didn't blow me away. I think I might enjoy 20th Century Ghosts more, since I do love ghost stories (at least, I'm assuming it's a book of ghost stories?? I don't know much about it, to tell you the truth).

I love Joe Hill and I was finally able to buy this book this month! I hope it gets here soon.

Cool! I have too many books going/planned for early March so I will try to get to this toward the end of the month. Looking forward to the discussions!

So I've never read a book by Joe Hill. Is this a good place to start? I was looking at some of his others and Heart-Shaped Box and Nos4a2 look interesting. Any recommendations?

Scott wrote: "So I've never read a book by Joe Hill. Is this a good place to start? I was looking at some of his others and Heart-Shaped Box and Nos4a2 look interesting. Any recommendations?"

I loved Heart-Shaped Box--that was the first I had read from him. 20th Century is a collection of his stories, so I'm sure you'll find something you'll like in there.

I am totally psyched! I've been reading this book off and on over the last few months. I keep getting distracted by other things, (Oooh look, another book!). I think a group read is just what I needed to get moving on this book again.
(I'm pretty sure I read this collection before because the first story and Pop Art both seemed familiar to me when I read them this time around.)

Now that Joe Hill is making his name by writing tomes like his father, I think it's nice to see this book and remember that he's actually a strong short story writer as well (maybe better). This collection has one of my favorite horror stories of all, "My Father's Mask". I re-read it so many times and still can't really figure it out, but it still disturbs me.

Char wrote: "I am totally psyched! I've been reading this book off and on over the last few months. I keep getting distracted by other things, (Oooh look, another book!). I think a group read is just what I nee..."


His stories have been in several collections, maybe you read them in another collection.

I have a very hit and miss relationship with Joe Hill books, but Pop Art is an amazing short story, definitely the highlight of this collection.

Hope you all enjoy it!

I think I will try this too. Loved Horns, liked Heart Shaped Box, wasn't impressed with NOS4A2. But I love short stories.

are we going to do one short every three-four days or what?

Susan wrote: "are we going to do one short every three-four days or what?"

Just like any other book we read, this one has no particular schedule. When you finish a story, feel free to comment on it or ask a question.

Pop Art...possibly one of the most fun short stories I've read!

My book hasn't arrived yet :(

I read this book last year and was not impressed. I liked Horns, but this one did nothing for me.

I despise Joe Hill's writing, sadly- NOTHING of his I have ever read has impressed me at all. Maybe short stories will be better. Sad, because I love Stephen King, and they're father and son, eh? -Jen from Quebec :0)

Jennifer Lynn wrote: "I despise Joe Hill's writing, sadly- NOTHING of his I have ever read has impressed me at all. Maybe short stories will be better. Sad, because I love Stephen King, and they're father and son, eh? -..."

I love SK, also, but y'know what? Not everything is inherited. if so, I would be the best artist around! Life sucks sometimes :)

I liked his HEART-SHAPED BOX, but this collection had a lot of different ones.

I’ve read the bulk of the stories in this collection in years past, but this group read presents an ideal opportunity to polish it off. I’ll probably not comment on those stories I’ve already read (unless I get really ambitious and re-read them), but will endeavor to provide a few comments on those I look at over the course of the month.

Quick thoughts on “Abraham’s Boys”.

(view spoiler)[Hill uses Bram Stoker’s fictional creation, Abraham Van Helsing, as a springboard to explore ideas about parental abuse. The author writes really well about this rather grim subject. The three major characters are all well developed. For example, the father is obviously a monster of sorts, but he’s not a cardboard villain — he is instead presented as someone in thrall to some extremely serious psychological issues. I particularly liked the details the author provided when fleshing out Max, the “good” son; such as when Max, to his dismay, sees in himself some of the characteristics and mannerisms of his father (as when he chides his younger brother, “You see what you made me do.”) This theme (i.e., the idea that abuse is a behavior that parents either unwittingly or explicitly teach their offspring) finds fuller expression in the climax when the story devolves into a (somewhat predictable) revenge fantasy.

I thought that one of the more interesting aspects of the piece was the question of whether or not vampires actually exist in the fictional world of Hill’s story. (One of the ways in which this tale subverts typical horror tropes comes when Max acknowledges to himself how much more terrible it would be if vampires were not real.) Hill never explicitly answers the question, but the reader is left with the fairly clear impression that Van Helsing’s belief in vampires is intimately connected with some rather twisted ideas about sex. There are some not too ambiguous allusions made, for example, to the circumstances which forced the family to depart Europe. And more to the point, there is the photograph Max discovers, hidden away like some illicit piece of pornography. It’s unsettling to realize that Max’s description of the ball of garlic jammed into the subject’s mouth bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the kind of ball gag employed in various BDSM scenarios. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭✭½

Actually, my fav Joe Hill story wasn't in 20th Century Ghsots... Twittering from the Circus of the Dead was super-fun

I'm waiting for my library copy, but have already read the title story in another volume, so I feel I'm ahead of the game. I plan to plunge right in as soon as my copy come in.

I also have a love/hate relationship with Joe Hill. I devoured NOS4A2, but could barely stomach Heart-Shaped Box. And I thought The Fireman seemed like a bit too much of a Stephen King Rip-off homage. We shall see how I feel after this one. Has anyone read Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft?

Read Best New Horror last night. Was good, ending was funny

Tom wrote: "Read Best New Horror last night. Was good, ending was funny"

I liked that one too. I'm on the third story of the anthology, Pop Art, and so far, I've found them to be fun and original. I love short stories, and he's really good at these. Like little truffles.

Badseedgirl wrote: "Has anyone read Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft?"

I loved the Locke & Key books all 6 of them and the extra 2...

book 4 could have been expanded into 6 books of its own, but IDW was pressuring them to finish already grrr

Badseedgirl wrote: "I'm waiting for my library copy, but have already read the title story in another volume, so I feel I'm ahead of the game. I plan to plunge right in as soon as my copy come in.

I also have a love..."

I loved Locke & Key too! One of my favourites. But I also loved Horns, and really enjoyed both Nos4a2 and Heart-shaped box.

I actually listened to the Locke and Key audiobook and it was excellent. I also thought his graphic novel Wraith was an excellent adjunct to NOS4A2.

Regarding 20th Century Ghosts, I'm on You Will Hear the Locust Sing. So far it reminds of of Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Finished 20th Century Ghosts (the story). This one reminde me of King. I try not to compare but can't help wondering if he does it on purpose. Nice nostalgic piece, I think I'm going to like this book

Tom wrote: "Finished 20th Century Ghosts (the story). This one reminde me of King. I try not to compare but can't help wondering if he does it on purpose. Nice nostalgic piece, I think I'm going to like this book"

I liked that one too, Tom. I think my favorite so far is Pop Art.

Char wrote: "Tom wrote: "Finished 20th Century Ghosts (the story). This one reminde me of King. I try not to compare but can't help wondering if he does it on purpose. Nice nostalgic piece, I think I'm going to..."

Loved Pop Art!

Canavan wrote: "Quick thoughts on “Abraham’s Boys”."

Good points in your spoiler.
(view spoiler)[I too was wondering about the reasons why the family was forced out. Seems to me that was a premise in another story I read recently but I can't put my finger on it right now. We were thinking the same thing about the hidden picture(torture porn?) and the idea that maybe there really aren't vampires in the world these characters inhabit. Maybe this is just the father's twisted fantasies? (hide spoiler)]

This is my favorite story so far. I am enjoying the collection but nothing is blowing me away yet.

Yes Pop Art was good. Melancohly

Thoughts on “Better Than Home”.

(view spoiler)[This is yet another Hill story that centers on a child who is in some way psychologically damaged. For whatever reason, the author is really drawn to this motif. I’d hesitate to categorize “Better Than Home” as horror (although it features a somewhat gruesome moment, one that might invite comparison to his father’s novella, “The Body”). Hill’s story examines the dynamics of the Feltz family and how they react to and ultimately deal with Homer’s behavioral issues. It’s a well-written piece of mainstream lit, although ultimately I found it a bit meandering. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭

“Scheherazade’s Typewriter”.

(view spoiler)[This somewhat clever piece of metafiction is embedded in the collection’s acknowledgements. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭½

I got the book today and as soon as work was out, I started it. I guess I should go to bed but I really want to read another story or three!

I loved NOS4A2 and The Fireman, and so far I'm loving this book the best of all. Plus I loved Locke & Key - I have the set of graphic comics. I guess this means I must be a BIG fangirl.

: )

The Smiley face buttons from "Best New Horror" is clearly a nod to The Stand and Stephen King's Penultimate Evil Guy Randall Flagg

I have read "20th Century Ghost" before, and I like the sweetness of it.

"Pop Art" made me tear up just a little bit.

That's as far as I've gotten at this point, but so far I would say Mr. Hill's forte may be short stories.

I really, really dug Pop Art. I find myself thinking about it a lot.

Char wrote: "I really, really dug Pop Art. I find myself thinking about it a lot."

Like the best fiction, it told a bigger story without being "preachy." Does it seem to resonate with so many people because it is the ultimate tale of the "outsider" and who hasn't felt like that at some point in their lives? Thoughts?

Badseedgirl wrote: "Char wrote: "I really, really dug Pop Art. I find myself thinking about it a lot."

Like the best fiction, it told a bigger story without being "preachy." Does it seem to resonate with so many peop..."

I think you're right about that.

manson_x_ wrote: "Just joined the group. Wanted to give 20th century ghost a try. Hopefully it's as good as people are saying. Not to familiar with this author."

Welcome, manson_x!

A lot of these stories involve young boys with painful childhoods of being disrespected or beaten or ignored by parents and peers. Most of the boy MCs respond with angry vandalism and bullying. I can't help but wonder if that is the underlying real point of '20th Century Ghosts' - title and stories.

My brother was bullied, but although we went to the same schools, I never was and I never knew he was being bullied until we were adults. 20th-century boys appear to live in a shaming abuse culture as children (even if they never come in contact with serial killers-hehe). As I read, I found myself thinking more about bullying and parental shaming centered on making sons 'man up' by fathers, other boys and teachers. I am VERY disgusted by this. Forcing boys to be rude crude vicious abusers by peers if they want any respect as males seems like the real horror in these stories.

Well said, April. (Sorry about what happened to your brother.)

What is it about this time and age that makes bullying so much worse than it was, say when I grew up, in the 70's? Or was it just as bad back then and we just never heard about it?

I was bullied, but I always fought back pysically. The bullying always stopped, even though I often lost the fight.

I remember reading this story about the Russian military:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/375...

which shocked me because the subject was entirely off of my radar and mind, but I have since recalled reading books and articles from Pat Conroy in the past about military schools for boys, especially in the South which show murderous vicious bullying is officially encouraged by many respectable institutions as valuable tool of encouraging Manhood.

The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most misunderstood books in history, but its protagonist is in an all-boys school, and his problem is his difficulty in having horrendous grief which he is not allowed to express by everyone.

I have since googled the subject and boys in military schools all over the world for centuries are and have been viciously abused, spproved by parents and management. If I was a boy, I'd be desperate to avoid military schools or all-boy religious schools. Bullying and abuse are everywhere, but it seems to be rewarded in all-boy or military schools. No doubt, some of this on-purpose egging on of brutality leaks over into mainstream schools.

Bullies and bullying has not changed but societies response to it has. When I was a kid and someone had a problem, they either fought back, or they learned to, in the words of my Dad "toughen up." I had a girl who was tormenting me, following me around the halls, calling me names and pushing me around. When I finally told my parents my Dad, and more shockingly, my Mom both said to "make her treat me with respect." So the next day I walked up to her in the Girl's locker room and broke her nose without even saying a word. I got suspended, but more importantly, I was never bullied again.

Today I would never give this advise to my kids. We no longer teach our kids to toughen up or laugh it off. And I know it is a good thing, but I see a generation of kids who don't have all the skills needed to survive in the day to day real world.

I just finished "Abraham's Boys" it reminded me so much of the 2001 movie Frailty, staring the late Bill Paxton. (view spoiler)[ The scene in the basement could have been torn right from the movie (hide spoiler)]