Things are gettin’ weeeeiiiirrrd, folks. I thought in this intro, I’d talk a little about the history of weird fiction as I see it (which may indeed be a narrow lens to look through). First, what exactly is weird fiction? Well, it’s fairly self-explanatory actually. Generally pretty strange in tone, often with horror elements and…
Ben Reads the Horror Classics: Exorcising the Silver Fisherman
Welcome back, boils and ghouls! I hope you’ve had a fruitful Halloween, catching up on some cool spooky classics, because that’s what I’ve been doing. This time, I’ll cover a towering classic of Jesuit terror, a tragic tale of cosmic horror, a spunky ensemble people in an asylum, a weird ass slice of crime fiction…
Ben Reads the Horror Classics: Folklore in Blood
Welcome to another chapter in my on-going quest to read a ton of horror novels that are supposed to be good. In this entry, I’ve got a gory slice of teen lit terror, an imaginative collection of tales inspired by Caribbean folklore, a genre-defining vampire classic, an intense modern take on demon possession and a…
Ben Reads the Horror Classics: Terror in 3D
This time on Ben Reads the Horror Classics, I tackle a classic of absurdist existentialism, an epic 19th century tale amidst the Spanish Inquisition, an imaginative graphic novel on xenophobia, a hybrid of historical fiction and Arctic horror that will leave you chilled to the bone and a seminal anthology by some of the most…
Ben Reads the Horror Classics: Snatching Bodies and Jack the Ripper Conspiracy Theories
This time on Ben Reads the Horror Classics, I’ll be covering a sci-fi horror classic of small town paranoia, a couple of shorter works in Black Horror Fiction, a fun Lovecraftian send-up of Scooby Doo, a haunting disintegration of a ’60s psych folk band and a legendary graphic novel from a master of the form….
Ben Reads The Horror Classics: Gothic Hauntings and Grim Realities
This time I dig into classic turn-of-the-century ghost stories, a seminal novel from H.G. Wells, a book of poems, an influential New England haunted house story and a bleak, post-apocalyptic Pulitzer Prize-winner. Join me as I take another dip into the following four lists: NPR Top 100 Horror Stories Reedsy Discovery Best Horror Books Stephen…
Ben Reads the Horror Classics: Hannibal Lecter and Religious Fervor
In this block, I take a look at a couple of classic stories, an influential play, a modern creepypasta, the world’s introduction to notorious fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter and the funereal gloom of puritanical America. Here we come to another entry in my journey through the following three horror lists: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/16/632779706/click-if-you-dare-100-favorite-horror-stories https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/best-horror-books http://www.stephenjoneseditor.com/sale1988-horror100best01.htm http://www.stephenjoneseditor.com/book2005-horroranother100best01.htm…
Ben Reads the Horror Classics: An Introduction
Roughly a month ago, I came across the NPR Reader’s Poll list of 100 Best Horror Books and Stories and was surprised at just how few I had actually read. Have I really been neglecting horror literature over the years in favor of Stephen King novel after Stephen King novel? I felt like this was…
Book Review – Devil’s Advocates: Daughters of Darkness
Young and attractive newlyweds, Stefan and Valerie, are approached while on their honeymoon by the mesmerizing Countess Elizabeth Báthory and her lovely companion, Ilona. Spoiler alert: the Countess and Ilona are vampires! There are many cheap, unremarkable, and just plain bad vampire films from the 1970s (and I myself love almost all of them). But…