What Are You Reading At The Moment?

[AndyBlade]

Smith and Herbert are just two of a kind in my eyes, Jack - people who started writing crap in the 70s when people were less demanding with what they chose to read and subsequently never got round to modifying their style and developing their writing to keep up with the changing demands of their audience. James Herbert did at least write a couple of books I like - Haunted is a superb, old fashioned ghost story for example, but his best known books, The Fog and The Rats are laughable to read today because they're written in such an old fashioned prose. I imagine that 20 years from now, people might say the same about Richard Laymons work. They're very much books of their time.

Guy N Smith found a method that worked for him, but his books are awful. Despite this, I somehow managed to accumulate a fair few of his titles over the years when I was a bit less picky with the things I read. I had Cannibals at one point, but its at least 10 years since I read it. The last time I had a big clear out I got rid of most of them. Some sold on ebay (for not very much, as you might imagine) and some just went in the bin. I've got one title left now, lurking in the back of the cupboard, called Satans Snowdrop. Its only survived the bin up to now because I'd clean forgotten about it until I read Guy N Smiths name mentioned again. If you've never read it, Jack, PM me your address and I'll stick it in the post. It may as well go to a home rather than be consigned to a landfill site.

[jacksmith1983]

Actually Andy Satans Snowdrop is one that I don't yet own. Are you sure that you're happy to part with it? I'll drop you a PM.

In a certain sense I think what you say about that kind of lowest common denominator horror novel is probably true. I think the casual book buyer demands more substance these days and the likes of Guy N. Smith who specialised in 150-200 page pulp yarns about killer crabs, etc would struggle to find a publisher today. In a way though the fact these books are so trashy and shameless in their approach is a big part of what I like about them. These days there seems a requisite that published horror novels have to be at least 400 pages long and have a veneer of respectability about them, which in a way makes the work of someone like Smith seem all the more outrageous and disreputable in comparison, even if his work is really pretty amateurish and formulaic. So even though I can appreciate that Guy N. Smith is not viewed as a great writer, I would still be pretty sad if his work was ever entirely forgotten as taken for what they are his books are generally good, nasty fun.

I agree also that James Herbert is largely rubbish. Haunted and it's sort of follow-up The Ghosts Of Sleath are both surprisingly good reads in the traditional ghost story mould (hence why I like them), but other than that I've never really cared for his work. A few years ago he attempted another more traditional ghost story in the same vein as the two aforementioned in the shape of The Secret Of Crickley Hall, however that was an atrociously awful book which read like a 600 page Goosebumps yarn. I must confess I couldn't even bring myself to finish it, which is rare for me. Yes it really was that bad.

[tobiaswragg]

I recently finished re-reading Ghostly Experiences, an Armada Lion anthology edited by Susan Dickinson, The Secret Life of a Satanist: The Authorised Biography of Anton LaVey by Blanche Barton, and Real Magic by Philip Bonewits, a Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult publication.

At the moment I am working my way through Marquis de Sade: A Biography by Maurice Lever, Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression by Jack Sargeant, as well as re-reading A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-film King by David F. Friedman.

[intruder2k]

I think there will always be a place in the market for a writer like Guy N. Smith (who, incidentally, is still being published today). Trashy books, like trashy films, will always have their fans who are after plain, simple escapism and that's exactly what these books offer in droves. Personally I'm a big fan of Smith (as well as the many other 'nature runs amok' novels of the late '70s/early '80s) and I'd much rather read his work than somebody like Richard Laymon, who I think about in the same terms that AndyBlade thinks of Guy

I certainly wouldn't be able to read these books and these books alone - and indeed I enjoy mainstream fiction a lot - but if you've had a long day and you want to read something light, entertaining and gory then Guy's the, well, guy to go for. McDonald's fiction, if you will.

I also think Guy has a far better grasp of the horror novel than somebody like Stephanie Meyer, whose TWILIGHT books are about all you'll see in the horror section at Waterstone's these days. Insipid, 'soft' horror aimed at the teenage girl market - no thanks! Even Stephen King's gone off the boil, while Dean R. Koontz writes mainly cookie-cutter thrillers now.

Nope, I'll stick with Guy thank you very much, who's guaranteed to offer a simple, easy-read narrative packed with sex, violence and gut-munching nasties feasting on humanity. Even re-reading that sentence back has got me looking through my collection rather fondly

[coffindaz]

"Handling The Undead" - superb so far...

[jacksmith1983]

Well I finished Cannibals by Guy N. Smith a few days ago and to be fair it actually built up to a fairly tense and exciting, albeit slightly rushed and far-fetched climax. There were plenty more choice moments of cannibalism and mutilation along the way too and the book on the whole reads like a nasty, trashy pulp paperback take on the basic theme of The Hills Have Eyes, set in the Scottish Highlands. It was certainly a fun read on the whole and I still maintain that Smith's books are invariably good fun. I enjoy them on the same trashy yret uproariously entertaining level that I enjoy films directed by the likes of Andy Milligan, Don Dohler and Bill Rebane.

Incidentally Guy N. Smith's Satan's Snowdrop arrived in the post the other morning, I'll be sure to share my thoughts on it in due course. Thanks once again Andy for your kindness in forwarding it on to me.

At any rate the real reason I'm posting is because I'm currently re-reading another classic horror novel in the shape of Jay Anson's The Amityville Horror. To be honest despite my intetest in ghost stories, horror films, etc, I've always been a natural skeptic when it comes to real-life accounts of supernatural occurances. As such my natural reaction has always been to look upon the encounters with "malevolant forces" the Lutz family suffered during their brief stay at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, Long Island, as something that was either heavily embellished or completely fabricated by people whose source of income was a struggling surveying business and had bought a large house which, even at a knockdown price, they could ill-afford and therefore decided to up sticks and cash in on the house's unsavoury reputation.

Nevertheless, I do respect the views of those who think there is some truth behind the Lutz story and whatever my views on the story behind it I can certainly appreciate Anson's book for being a compelling and at times pretty frightening read, written in a quite unique way. Indeed, the way Anson relates the Lutz's story is very novel and effective indeed as he tells what is really a pretty sensationalistic and overwrought ghost story in the dry, factual tone of a real life crime.mystery novel. Some elements of the story such as the macabre, red painted secret room hidden in the basement and an evil entity which appears in the form of a gigantic pig succed are certainly creepy stuff indeed. I don't think either of the two film adaptations of the tale ever did these elements of it justice, even if the 1979 film does remain a firm personal favourite. So on the whole The Amityville Horror is a gripping, cleverly written and chilling tale, even if I do personally think it belongs firmly in the fiction section of the book shop.

I've noticed that there are a fair few other Amityville books out there including some fictional spin-off's by John G. Jones and several "non-fiction" books by Hans Holzer. Has anyone read any of those? If so I would be very interested to learn which, if any, you consider worth reading.

Incidentally I should mention that I have read Jay Anson's later, similar yet entirely make-believe haunted house novel 666 and that is, in my opinion, actually a pretty decent if slightly overwrought chiller in its own right.

[claire]

Jack, have you read Ric Osuna's self-proclaimed "definitive" account of the Amityville murders - "The Night the DeFeos Died"?

I haven't, but this site page is interesting (and perhaps, if you're cynical, a tad hilarious too):

http://www.amityvillemurders.com/tntdd.html

Read the "Letter from Ric Osuna" ...

[cloud]

Claire, a friendly word of advice - skip the Ric Osuna book. The man is a prick with a personal vendetta against George Lutz, and while he may give a detailed account of what went down while the DeFeo's occupied the house his part of documenting the history of that problem is born out of bitterness. Osuna was a firm believer in the haunting taking place and he worked closely with George gaining all he could to support the haunting being real. When it came to him writing a book on it George was at first supportive of it until he realised how poor Osuna's grammar was. He then asked him to take some English classes as a condition of giving him the green light to write the book and Osuna took offence to that and overnight decided the haunting was actually a hoax. Absolutely nobody on the official Amityville forum takes him seriously because most know him well and know he's full of shit. What disappoints me is that many have taken Osuna's words supporting the hoax theory at face value when they don't know about his background.

Jack, the Jay Anson book is my favourite novel and never fails to give me the creeps, especially towards the end when the hooded figure begins to make its appearances. George and Kathy Lutz gave Anson audio tapes which they recorded shortly after leaving Ocean Avenue and they were his reference for what was to become "The Amityville Horror". While there are exaggerations along the way - and contrary to popular belief the Lutz's always said that for themselves - it is the most faithful account of what went down there according to them. The idea of them doing it for monetary gain makes no sense, they gave up everything when they fled that house and to be honest the idea of making a best seller a considerable amount of time later was a long shot. If they were struggling financially while at Ocean Avenue it wouldn't have made sense to up and leave like they did. It's also worth noting that they didn't make that much money from it all, it was the book writer and the filmmakers who made big money, not the Lutz family. While I understand why you'd be sceptical due to (I'm guessing) not having your own paranormal experiences it's much different when you (I) know this stuff does happen. This is why I'm always supportive of stuff like Most Haunted and its ilk because awareness does need to be raised, only with that will we understand what this is all about.

As mentioned elsewhere, I think looking at it from a balanced point of view there is more supporting it being true than not. That's just my opinion though and as has happened before, I've generally been treated as being a nutter when bringing up my beliefs over this so I'll say no more on the subject. Do check out some of Hans Holzer's stuff though, he's getting on now but is always interesting (and amusing), I like the guy.

[claire]

Claire, a friendly word of advice - skip the Ric Osuna book. The man is a prick

Hi cloud, cheers. In truth, my post was hinting at precisely this.

[mrb]

The Fallen - Dave Simpson

[jacksmith1983]

Jack, the Jay Anson book is my favourite novel and never fails to give me the creeps, especially towards the end when the hooded figure begins to make its appearances. George and Kathy Lutz gave Anson audio tapes which they recorded shortly after leaving Ocean Avenue and they were his reference for what was to become "The Amityville Horror". While there are exaggerations along the way - and contrary to popular belief the Lutz's always said that for themselves - it is the most faithful account of what went down there according to them. The idea of them doing it for monetary gain makes no sense, they gave up everything when they fled that house and to be honest the idea of making a best seller a considerable amount of time later was a long shot. If they were struggling financially while at Ocean Avenue it wouldn't have made sense to up and leave like they did. It's also worth noting that they didn't make that much money from it all, it was the book writer and the filmmakers who made big money, not the Lutz family. While I understand why you'd be sceptical due to (I'm guessing) not having your own paranormal experiences it's much different when you (I) know this stuff does happen. This is why I'm always supportive of stuff like Most Haunted and its ilk because awareness does need to be raised, only with that will we understand what this is all about.

As mentioned elsewhere, I think looking at it from a balanced point of view there is more supporting it being true than not. That's just my opinion though and as has happened before, I've generally been treated as being a nutter when bringing up my beliefs over this so I'll say no more on the subject. Do check out some of Hans Holzer's stuff though, he's getting on now but is always interesting (and amusing), I like the guy.

To be entirely honest I wouldn't say I have had an encounter with the supernatural, however (and I say this with all seriousness) over the course of the five years or so I've lived in my current house there has been intermittent, recurring incidents that I've not been able to explain. Some of these things would alarm or frighten some people, but I'm not the sort to see ghosts and ghoulies everwhere. I wont elabourate any more though as people unfortunately have a tendency to mock over such things, plus this post is starting to read like something out of an M.R. James tale. The thing with me is that I am a born sceptic and dislike the tendency some people have to attach a supernatural explanation to anything they are not able to readily explain away. I maintain that even if you have had strange, unexplainable experiences yourself, a healthy dose of scepticism is still a good thing to have. However, that doesn't mean that I dismiss the idea of ghosts, spirits, possession, etc, entirely. I've good reason not to...

As for the Lutz's story? Well perhaps there is some truth, there is certainly quite a lot of people whose own anecdotal evidence seems to confirm some of the odd, sinister and unexplainable events that happened during the Lutz's brief stay. However, my personal hunch still remains that the reality of the things that happened during the Lutz's stay have been greatly exaggerated. Perhaps I'm wrong? Either way it certainly makes for a good, scary story.

Incidentally after reading Anson's book again I felt inspired to finally check out the 2005 film. I'm sorry but what a heap of crap. Beyond the title, the tentative DeFoe link and the character names it really had nothing to do with either Anson's book or the classic 1979 film. What we get instead is a generic contemporary horror film the "highlight" of which was watching the impossibly clean cut Ryan Reynolds making a pitiful attempt to come across as blue collar and rough around the edges. Absolute crap!

Finally thanks for the Hans Holzer recommendation cloud. I'm going to pick up used copies of his Amityville books when I next have some spare cash, although I doubt that is going to be anytime soon.

[loops]

Picked up Cinema Sewer vol 2 yesterday.

[cloud]

To continue this Amityville discussion I've started my own Paranormal Thread cause we're going way off topic .

[tobiaswragg]

Interesting that you should mention Hans Holzer, as another book I'm slowly working my way through is his Heather: Confessions of a Witch. The gravitas of said publication is compromised somewhat by a topless lady (not Heather, one assumes) looking as if she is experiencing orgasm on the front cover.

[magnus jansson]

This Guy N. Smith character sounds promising, wasn´t familiar with him... I´ll keep an eye out for the paperbacks. I have a softspot for old pulp-trash, specially the sci-fi series of PERRY RHODAN (have the first 46 volumes, but only read up to 27 so far) and the "sexy westerns" of CLAY ALISON (maybe these were swedish only books? quite crappy writing mixing macho gunslinger stuff with some explicit sex... exciting).
Could use a bit of that stuff after reading a lot of more "serious" books this summer, some from my new favorite Roberto Bolaño (brilliant!), Hemingway, Roland Topor, Cormac McCarthy and the odd Bigfoot/Yeti book of course... at the moment i´m halfway through "In the Tracks of the Yeti" by Robert A. Hutchinson. Pretty good, but not really all that involving. Must be a bit depressing spending several months in the Himalayan wilderness and only come up with a couple of photos of muddled tracks as a result...

[MarcMorris]

Here's a link to his wiki and his official website where you can purchase signed books.

Any fans here of Shaun Hutson?

Shaun Hutson | official site

[intruder2k]

Any fans here of Shaun Hutson?

Wouldn't say a *fan*, but the first time I read him was at the age of 12. It was his novelisation of THE TERMINATOR - I was a big fan of the film and let's just say I wasn't expecting the gratuious sex 'n' violence I found in that novel!

Picked up a battered copy of SLUGS and read it in a London hotel before binning it. Grotesque, but it did the job.

Amusingly, the maid had fished it out of the bin and left it on my bed for me when I got back the next day! Just goes to show you can't keep a good slug down...

[MarcMorris]

I remember seeing the premiere of SLUGS at an ancient Scala Shock Around the Clock festival, with Hutson introducing it.

[orgasmo]

I remember seeing the premiere of SLUGS at an ancient Scala Shock Around the Clock festival, with Hutson introducing it.

Its well known that he cannot stand the film version.
Wonder if he had seen the film beforehand.

[intruder2k]

I dunno, I thought it was a pretty faithful adaptation myself. You can't exactly go wrong adapting a novel like that... a shame they never made the film of KILLER CRABS!