Horror Aficionados discussion

I think there are a lot of "monster" books out there but I don't want to say that they are overdone....Maybe because I would be terribly upset if there were fewer of them for me to read. :)

Edward wrote: "Are demons, angels, vampires, werewolves, and zombies overdone in your opinion? Or do they simply live on like ghosts do in horror fiction? Does anyone remember "Kolshack: The Nightstalker" series ..."

Kolshack! Okay, I'm gettin in on this! (childhood hero)

my answer is, "I'm not so sure about Angels, Demons etc, but Vampires and Werewolves are certainly overdone. THe explosion that started with Buffy got a shot in the arm, thanks to twilghight, now vampires characters come out of a bowl in the corner with a sign next to it that says "Free to good home."

The problem isn't that we don't need blood suckers and furry faces anymore, but that the overabundance of these guys makes it that much harder to find the "good" books.

And your Kolchak memory is right on. They had the Evil Indian Spirit living in the bottom of the Hospital, The "Swamp Creature" that lived in the sewar but was really some how created in the mind of a young man in a coma, a Rakshasha... now how often do you find one of those outside of India? (that's how I know the swastika wasn't invented by the Nazi's) Hell they evan hand a sword weilding, headless, biker named Snake! THe special effects sucked but hey... Even Warren Xevon has a song about "Rolland the Headless Thomson Gunner!"

the first 2-4 seasons of the X-files had some really wicked strange and unique badies chasing Mully and Sculder around.

Can we take the training wheels off and think out of the box now?

I've just finished reading Excerpts from the everyday unknown
There are monsters in there but like nothing I've ever read before. As Hugh says, they're 'out of the box', in fact they're over the other side of the room.

Kolchak? Guess I was living in a hole or something and missed that one. Noticed that Netflix has the series available for streaming. Will be watching this weekend. Thanks!

I agree. At the moment vamps are just role models for dispossessed teens. They're too cool, too designer for horror. I prefer them as urbane psychos, rich and souless as they are in the Informers by Brett Easton Ellis.

Ken wrote: "Kolchak? Guess I was living in a hole or something and missed that one. Noticed that Netflix has the series available for streaming. Will be watching this weekend. Thanks!"

Really? wow.

Pay attention to the Guide. THe first Kolchack is atcually a movie (a MFTV movie maybe) Tittled "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" There may be a second movie length production before the regular show, but I'm not sure about that.

Edward wrote: "OMG! I think everyone remembers the headless biker. It's funny, you know, and I guess it's no wonder I'm a horror writer given that when I was nine and watching The Night Stalker, I was scared sh....."

I know! It was....SO...COOL! When I was nine. (Of course, there still fun now!... and according to my wife, I'm good, cause, I rarely act over 9... hey? BRB... time for a family discussion.)

Hugh (The other Hugh) wrote: "Ken wrote: "Kolchak? Guess I was living in a hole or something and missed that one. Noticed that Netflix has the series available for streaming. Will be watching this weekend. Thanks!"

Really? wo..."

The two movies are "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler" according to IMDb. Unfortunately neither of them are available on Netflix. I will keep an eye out for them. In the meantime, I'm still going to watch the series. Thanks!

Ken wrote: "Hugh (The other Hugh) wrote: "Ken wrote: "Kolchak? Guess I was living in a hole or something and missed that one. Noticed that Netflix has the series available for streaming. Will be watching this ..."

The funny thing is, considering how this came up, The Title Adventure for Kolchak is a Vampire story. (and a good one!). You can find it all over for sale on the cheap rack often coupled with other shows.

You'll enjoy the series without it, but the first Movie is the best flavor of the real Kolchak character (played by Daren McGavin (sp))

and ironicaly the one I found the most frightening in a "mommy can I sleep with you and Daddy tonight" sort of way was about a Werewolf on a Cruise ship. No where to run at sea...(and not a lot of real silver to make bulets out of.)

There is nothing new under the sun, unfortunately. But I do think usual suspects can get dry for readers. I'd like to see more obscure folklore-theme monsters in horror. I like evil faeries. Love to see more horror with evil faeries.

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "There is nothing new under the sun,

Yea, but if this got "under the sun" More than half the genre would go up in smoke and ashes!... depending on how old school and traditional you are.

Me too, Lady D. How ever, I do like some new twists on old things. It's just harder to find them because not all "New Twists" on old ideas are good things.

Good point, Hugh! :)
I appreciate an author making new twists, even if I don't always agree with the execution.

I have to agree. I tend to be a traditionalist in regards to horror. I do like authors that offer "new twists" and have enjoyed several novels lately where the monster protagonists dispell the myths of the myths. I have to draw the line though with overly romantic vampires that sparkle.

I personally think part of the problem is that once an author hits big with a subject, all of a sudden there is an overload of that same subject being released,if that makes sense. Of course that's a problem in any genre actually.

I am as bored as hell of vampires and - especially - zombies. It doesn't help that 98% of stuff that gets released which features either of them is complete crap.

I really don't think any one monster can be overdone, merely situations. I'm not sick of vampires, merely the Twilight-scenario vampire. Neither am I sick of zombies, just the (admittedly typical) post-apocalyptic zombie story. I do, however, think that there are a lot of UNDERdone monsters out there, and that radioactive bugs really are due for a comeback.

I would have posted sooner, but I'm still in awe of that massive nicely parceled post by Edward. Your Kung Fu is powerful.

Vampires. Seems like they are EVERYWHERE right now. I don't have a issue with that, so much as many of them seem like Twilight rip offs. Really? Are people that hungry for that kind of stuff?

There has been a sexual connectoin with Vampires from the early stories.

Of course, there's has been a sexual connection with vibrators too, and those were intended to be "Messagers."

I think peopole with creative minds, too much time on their hands and maybe a bottle of wine too many may tend to fantasize about the taboo. A vampire is a victorian era man in a mondern world. That's as far as I'm going with that.

Thank you. (I'm actually retired Navy. I retired 5 years ago (same year as that picture. I'm now a substance abuse counselor for the Navy as a civilian)

If your a Psych Tech (Nurse) then we are not far apart in the patients we deal with. 65% of all addicts have coexisting conditoins anyway. We probably trade patients (or would if we were located close to eachother.)

Does anyone watch the show Supernatural? It's got a good concept in the fact that they hunt down a different type of demon or creature every episode. I know it's not mainstream film, but kind of worthwhile in that aspect.

I think the last few seasons are off, but I'm a big fan of that show. I love the monster-hunting storyline and the strong brotherhood book between Dean and Sam.

Yeah, other than the common demons they're chasing after, there's always something different; from made-up beings to Biblical figures, not bad.

Although vampires are being overdone in the teen market, they are still a great source of horror. Look at the movie Forty Days Of Nights. Now that's vampires. I think demons, ghosts and angels will be in horror books and movies forever because they represent the unknown. Deep down we are all afraid of the unknown.

Hugh (The other Hugh) wrote: "...The problem isn't that we don't need blood suckers and furry faces anymore, but that the overabundance of these guys makes it that much harder to find the "good" books..."

I could not have put this better myself!

At the moment vampires, warewolves and other supernatural creatures are more popular than ever, especially among teens and young adults. Because of this a lot of un-layered crap, pardon my French, is being published: such as Twilight, Thirst No.1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood and Red Dice and The Struggle - just to mention a few titles that illustrates this quite well. It seems to me that people want to read the easily digestable fiction that doesn't require much thinking. For many gone are the days of
Interview with the Vampire and I Am Legend.

Rita wrote: "Hugh (The other Hugh) wrote: "...The problem isn't that we don't need blood suckers and furry faces anymore, but that the overabundance of these guys makes it that much harder to find the "good" bo..."

Thank you Rita. I like being quoted.

And yes, I liked Hounded and heck, as A kid, I even read the "Hanible Cain" Comic book about a "good" vampire cop. (well before forever night on TV). It just seems that after Buffey and especially after Angel (two TV shows which I loved) the vampire explosion was on, twilgiht just fuled it.

And romance with a vampire? I can kind of get that. Romance with a werewolf. That's part of the horror and terror. The guy turns into a wolf and eats his girlfriend, or, he becomes human enough for a split second that everyone gets to shoot him. Oh.. those were the days.

Scott wrote: "I couldn't digest Interview with the Vampire."

There's no harm in that, we can't all enjoy the same things! :)

At your service! ;-)

Hugh (The other Hugh) wrote: "...And romance with a vampire? I can kind of get that. Romance with a werewolf. That's part of the horror and terror. The guy turns into a wolf and eats his girlfriend, or, he becomes human enough for a split second that everyone gets to shoot him. Oh.. those were the days. ..."

Uh do you remember "An American Werewolf in London"? I love that film. A classic!

An American Werewolf in London is one of my favorite movies. That transformation scene is legendary. And I love Griffin Dunne, and how he gets progressively more rotted as the film rollicks along.

Rita wrote: "At your service! ;-)

Hugh (The other Hugh) wrote: "...And romance with a vampire? I can kind of get that. Romance with a werewolf. That's part of the horror and terror. The guy turns into a wolf a..."

Yes, I loved that movie. Funny, sweet, scary and a good sound track. What's not to love?

I liked the way the ghost kept stacking going, "oh, yes, you should kill yourself, David. Take your oen life, right now."

In AAWIL I love that chipper British couple who get mauled. I think she has some blood on her teeth while she's she's a talking dead.

I saw it on HBO when it first aired. I loved the transformation scene, but I watched it years later and it's a little cheesy and fake. I hate when a close up is shown of hair coming out of skin. Fake!

If artists are going to remake vampire mythology, which is perfectly fine with me, I tend to gravitate towards the vampires from Blade 2, or the Guillermo Del Toro / Chuck Hogan ones from THE STRAIN series, or the 30 Days of Night graphic novels. I would rather a vampire tear someones head off and drink the blood straight from the stump than twinkle in the twilight like some angsty emotional prism of hormones. One really scares me, the other really bores me.

Zombies are going the same route, especially in video games, which bleeds back over to literature. Some are angry that zombies now run. I'm not. What does bother me is that zombie fiction was often about humanity against itself with zombies merely in the background acting more or less as a final solution to humanity's own inability to work together. Romero comes to mind.

Supernatural, now there's a show that's going to be considered a modern day X-Files in another decade or so. They do some creative stuff with monster mythology that's really flying under the radar of most because the show is, to be honest, a little goofy and low on the production value.

I love the show supernatural. Lots of crazy ideas. (However like the angels less)

I never thought myself writing a vampire novel, but this inflow of sparkly vampires gave me an idea about another kind of vampire and this stuck to me.

What I love in fiction is how one monster can be the same yet so different at the same time. It only becomes a problem when the monsters completely change from what they really are. The basic core needs to stay.

Supernatural is a really good show.

I'm personally like my vampires to be mean and bloody not soft and cuddly. That's my main problem with vampires nowadays. Too much sparkle, not enough gore.

Isaiyan wrote: "Supernatural is a really good show.

I'm personally like my vampires to be mean and bloody not soft and cuddly. That's my main problem with vampires nowadays. Too much sparkle, not enough gore."

Amen to that! Ave you read The Passage by Justin Cronin? i think you'll like it.

Philip wrote: "I am as bored as hell of vampires and - especially - zombies. It doesn't help that 98% of stuff that gets released which features either of them is complete crap."

Amen.

Rita, I haven't heard of Justin Cronin but I'll check it out!

Isaiyan wrote: "Rita, I haven't heard of Justin Cronin but I'll check it out!"

Cool! Let me know what you think of it!

I havne't heard of Justin Cronin, but I have heard of "Hugh" Cronin. (Like the first name)

Edward wrote: "Does anyone remember "Kolshack: The Nightstalker" series ..."

I loved both the series and the MFTV Movies. The interesting thing about the series was each week he featured a different "ethnic" monster. A golum where he needed the help of a rabbi to kill or a skin walker where he needed a native american spiritualist to kill. It was through this show I discovered diversity in horror creatures.
As for being overdone, I like traditional monsters that bend the monster rules but don't break them. I don't like Twilight because it completely destroys the vampyre myth. I liked Forever Knight & Moonlight even though they bent the rules a bit.
Do anyone beside me find it morally wrong for a human to fall in love with a monster? Human-vampire love or human-werewolf love even human-space alien love is having a relationship with a different species. Also known as bestiallity.
Just asking..

I am SO sick of vampires! Especially teen heartthrob angsty high school vampires. Claudia Gray is an old friend of mine and I STILL can't bring myself to like teen vampires. Her books are very well written, though.
As Bart Simpson once said, "Girls ruin everything, even vampires!"

Sean McLachlan
civilwarhorror.blogspot.com

Do you folks think Anne Rice deserves to be included in the "cuddly vampire" group? Before the release of Twilight, she was critiqued for not writing about bloodthirsty monsters. Now it seems people are warming up to her now that Stephenie Meyer's gone and completely sanitized vampires.

I personally still think that Edward is a bedazzled child predator... just saying.

I think that a book with evil angels in it would be amazing if written correctly.

So I agree, vampires are dying. Maybe not fast enough, but people are slowly tiring of seeing 8 billion versions of the same book flooding the market - maybe I'm projecting again, not sure. My question is, what will come next? Someone is bound to write a break-out novel featuring some kind of being/creature/monster which will spark a new flurry of imitators. Anyone have an idea what the next 'it' creature will be?

Unleash the Kraken! is what I say.

Tressa wrote: "Unleash the Kraken! is what I say."

mmmm... pizza with pepperoni and kraken...

We have a neighborhood Kraken fry every year in the fall. Beer, big kettle of scalding hot Kraken frying to a crisp, my delicious coleslaw.

We sometimes have to put my sister's cat in the bathroom when she's misbehaving. When she can come out, my sister and I say, "Release the Kraken!" :)

LOL! We could have yelled that very same thing when we had to put my shrimp-loving cat Zelda in the bedroom so we could eat in peace. When we opened the door she took off galloping down the hall toward the kitchen to hunt for shrimp.