Morpheus Tales Reviews Supplement April 2016 by Adam Bradley

GHOST CAMERA By Darcy Coates ....................................................................................... 2 INTO THE GRIZZLY MAZE .................................................................................................. 2 DRAKE By Peter McLean ....................................................................................................... 3 THE ASYLUM ......................................................................................................................... 3 Interview With C.M. Saunders ................................................................................................. 6 THE GREEN INFERNO ........................................................................................................ 11 DEEP DARK .......................................................................................................................... 11 THE 2ND SPECTRAL BOOK OF HORROR STORIES Edited By Mark Morris ................. 13 ROBERT ................................................................................................................................. 13 Oh, The Horror! Horror Fans Divided! By Trevor Wright ..................................................... 14 BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS By Stephen King .................................................................. 14 THE SAND ............................................................................................................................. 15 Women Of Horror: Haley Jay Madison By Trevor Wright .................................................... 17

Edited By Stanley Riiks. Written By Adrian Brady, Stanley Riiks, C.M. Saunders, J. S. Watts, Trevor Wright. Proof-read By Sheri White. © Morpheus Tales April 2016. Morpheus Tales Back Issues and Special Issues are available exclusively through lulu.com: http://stores.lulu.com/morpheustales For more information, free previews and free magazines visit our website: www.morpheustales.com Morpheus Tales Review Supplement, April 2016. COPYRIGHT April 2016 Morpheus Tales Publishing, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reviews can be used, in full or in part, for publicity purposes as long as Morpheus Tales Magazine is quoted as the source.

GHOST CAMERA By Darcy Coates http://candlebreak.com/

release, The Haunting of Blackwood House. This is probably a result of a confidence boost brought on by the success she has achieved in the indie world with her short-form endeavours. Trust me, that is no bad thing. By C.M. Saunders INTO THE GRIZZLY MAZE Director: David Hacki

At a friend’s wedding party, Jenine finds an old Polaroid camera and takes a photo with it. But as you probably worked out from the title, this isn’t an ordinary camera. The photos it takes show ghosts. Lots of ghosts. But what is first little more than a creepy novelty soon turns into something far more sinister. With every photo taken, the ghosts become more vivid and tangible, and soon start stalking Jenine and her BFF Bree, who she has enlisted to help solve the mystery. They inevitably discover they’ve messed with the wrong spooks, but is it too late to turn back? This is a great, concise little ghost story that doesn’t just rely on gore or cheap thrills to make you turn the pages. I’m becoming a big fan of the young Australian Darcy Coates. Her usual motus operandi is to take old-fashioned ideas and give them a fresh spin, and a whole new lease of life. Granted, the basic premise of Ghost Camera may not be that original, but the way the characters are drawn, the language they use, and the way the novella plays out, combine to give it a unique edge. An awardwinning short story specialist, Coate’s more recent work seems to be fleshing out and edging more toward novel-length, as evidenced by her latest

Hot on the heels of 2014’s terrifyingly brutal Backcountry comes Into the Grizzly Maze, potentially giving a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘B-movie.’ In this case B is for Bear. We could be witnessing the emergence of a whole new horror sub-genre that threatens to destroy Paddington’s nice guy image forever. This movie follows a selection of grizzled (or soon to be grizzled) mountain men, the backstory following two estranged brothers played by James Marsden and Thomas Jane, one of whom has just been released from jail while the other is a cop, as they reunite and go looking for the latter’s deaf spouse in the Alaskan wilderness amidst a spate of bear attacks. It isn’t long before they find themselves the stalkees rather than the stalkers. The rest is predictable enough survival horror fare which isn’t helped one bit by some pretty sloppy and amateurish CGI work, though it does provide some

www.morpheustales.com

jumpy moments and comes with a profound conservationist message: Illegal poaching bad. The scenery (it was filmed in Vancouver) is absolutely stunning and Billy Bob Thornton excels as Douglas, a wiry old hunter. But the star of the show is undoubtedly Bart the Bear 2 (or Little Bart), an animal actor of some note who has also appeared in Into the Wild, We Bought a Zoo, and Game of Thrones. His star burns bright. Let it shine. By C.M. Saunders DRAKE By Peter McLean www.angryrobotbooks.com Drake is the eponymous character in Peter McLean’s debut novel and he is amazing. Set in a gritty urban fantasy London, Drake is a hit man and demon summoner. Drake is a hard-boiled character, full of bile and pus, hard-drinking and willing to take whatever risks and damage are necessary to finish the job. Strangely fascinating, this is a novel that relies on its superior characters to drive the story forward. Drake is well-drawn, a flawed-character that really jumps off the page. The strange magical underbelly of London is well portrayed and is a great setting for this remarkable story. McLean’s novel is a formidable debut and a remarkable novel. By Adrian Brady

wasted teens to invade. During a particularly raucous party they try levitating one of their friends, play a record backwards, and between it all somehow manage to unleash an evil entity. As you can probably imagine, the party goes downhill from there. In fact, you could say it’s been all downhill for somebody from the opening scene when a woman blows her head off. As the story progresses, we find out some of the awful history of Exeter, where inmates were experimented on and generally mistreated rather than helped, until the place was razed by fire. Despite a swathe of bad reviews, I thought this movie was great fun. It has evil priests, demonic possession, sex and drugs, brutal slayings, sordid revelations, a thumping soundtrack, and a suitably dark thread of humour running through it (random quote: “The exorcism didn’t work because you got it off You Tube!”). The tightly woven plot has more than a few twisty bits to keep you guessing, the dialogue is sharp and witty, the acting solid, and the whole thing moves at one hell of a pace. Plus, for all you gore hounds out there, there are several gruesomely inventive kill scenes to entertain you. The special effects are top drawer and it all ends on a blood-soaked but satisfying note, with no chance of a sequel, which makes a refreshing change. One of the best survival horror movies you are likely to see all year. By C.M. Saunders

THE ASYLUM Director: Marcus Nispel Nispel is the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and Conan the Barbarian remakes. He’s also the man behind numerous music videos by the likes of the Spice Girls and Puff Daddy, which in many ways were far more frightening, but let’s forgive him those transgressions. We all have to make a living. For The Asylum (previously named Backmask, and known as Exeter in the US, probably because the ‘Exeter’ familiar to British viewers is a quaint little place in Devon), he teams up with some of the production team from Paranormal Activity and Insidious, and together they create nothing short of a modern classic. The Exeter in question is an abandoned home for the ‘feeble minded,’ which is currently being renovated, leaving it open for a group of lewd, 3

www.morpheustales.com

Interview With C.M. Saunders New Tredegar-born C.M. Saunders began writing in 1997, his early fiction appearing in several smallpress titles. Following the publication of his first book, Into the Dragon’s Lair – A Supernatural History of Wales (2003), he worked extensively in the freelance market, contributing to over 50 international publications including Fortean Times, Loaded, Record Collector, Forever Sports and Nuts. In addition, he has written several novellas and had over thirty short stories published in various magazines, ezines and anthologies. He taught English and creative writing in China for five years, before settling in London where he works as a writer and editor in the sport, fitness, and men’s lifestyle sectors. His latest release is Sker House from DeadPixel Publications, and he is represented by Media Bitch literary agency.

mediocrity. Confucius said that if you find a job you love, you’ll never do a day’s work. And he was right. You are well known to MT readers as one of our star reviewers; your film reviews are particularly popular. Do you prefer writing fiction or nonfiction? That’s very kind of you to say so, I’m glad readers like them. I love reviewing. It gives me an opportunity to indulge myself and provides an outlet for my scathing wit. As you rightly point out, I’m all over the place. I do everything from celeb profiles and travel pieces for magazines and websites to short stories and dark fiction novels. I’m lucky enough to make a decent living writing, but it means I can’t always be precious about what assignments I take on. I generally find non-fiction easier, but less satisfying. You can take a more methodical approach to it. Writing fiction is a bit like lighting a fire and then trying to keep the flames alive in a snowstorm. Sometimes it can be like pulling teeth. But when the words are flowing and you are actually creating something from nothing, there is no better feeling. Well, there’s one better feeling, but let’s not go there.

Your latest book Sker House is out now. Tell us about the book. It’s a traditional haunted house-style story with a contemporary twist and a distinctly Welsh flavour. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is the fact that although the characters are fictional, a lot of the events described in the book are matters of historical record and Sker House is a real place. There have always been a few popular local legends associated with it, but when I started the research process I found the truth to be a lot stranger, and even more macabre, than any fiction. It seems to attract bad luck and paranormal phenomena. A lot of terrible things have happened there. The book attempts to blend fact and fiction together and incorporate a narrative that readers will hopefully like. So far, things are going well. Reviews have been favourable, and it’s creating a bit of a stir. You’ve been writing for a while now. What inspired you to start writing? Yeah, I’ve been knocking about the scene since the late nineties, which was when I first started having things published in the small press. I’ve been writing since I was a kid. It’s hard to say why I started. It just felt like the natural thing to do. I was always an avid reader, and writing was about the only thing I was good at in school. Being from a small village in industrial south Wales, creativity wasn’t exactly encouraged. When I told my teachers I wanted to be a writer they laughed at me and told me to get a real job! Well, I did get a real job. Several, actually, and I hated them. Writing saved me from a life of

What other writers have influenced you? First and foremost, Stephen King; I’ve been a fan for thirty years or more. I remember sneaking into my big sister’s room as a kid and reading her paperbacks. Otherwise, I like Dean Koontz, Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Matheson, Graham Masterton, Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, Ramsey Campbell, and old classics like M.R James, HG Wells, and Henry James. I usually value good storytelling over excessive blood and gore. Extreme gross-out horror isn’t really my thing. It’s too easy. Take that out of the equation, and it takes real skills to make the 6

www.morpheustales.com

reader feel something.

things, or let the story develop, because it doesn’t fit in with your original idea. It’s a bit like being on a road trip. Sometimes, an interesting diversion makes the whole journey.

Do you have any rituals or routines when you write? Not really. Cigarettes and coffee are always close at hand and I like to write fiction at home, if that counts. I’m not one of those pretentious twats who sit in posh coffee shops thoughtfully stroking their beards and making one skinny latte last three hours while they endeavour to create their masterpiece. On the subject, though, I’ve asked numerous high- (and low-) profile sports stars about the ritual thing. I was under the impression it’s very prevalent in the sporting world. While some have little weird idiosyncrasies, most say beliefs like that actually work against you. If, for example, you always play wearing your lucky red pants and one day you can’t find them, it’s going to be on your mind and probably affect your performance. You’d be thinking... I don’t have my lucky pants, I’m bound to lose. It’s selfperpetuating.

If you could go back in time to when you started writing and give yourself one piece of advice what would it be? Get involved in the indie publishing business sooner, and write that zombie apocalypse series before everyone else does! Do you read reviews of your work? How do you deal with criticism? I read every review. Luckily I get a lot more good reviews than I do bad, but they do crop up from time to time. When they do, I try to take the rough with the smooth. If the criticism is justified, it’s no problem. I’ll take it on the chin and try to learn from it. But I don’t like people being malicious. I gave one writer, who shall remain nameless, a bad review and he sought my books out on Amazon and slated them all, leaving the most atrocious 1-star reviews. I wouldn’t mind, but he hadn’t even read any of them. He just wanted revenge. Amazon removed the reviews, but they also removed my review that started it all! The most tragic thing is, this particular guy has created several online personas that he uses to give himself good reviews and generate publicity. Every genuine review his work has attracted has been terrible, but then he uses these weird fake profiles to attack the reviewer. A lot of that kind of thing used to go on, but Amazon are rightly cracking down on it.

How do you put a book together, do you just sit down and write, or do you plan chapter-bychapter? There are two schools of thought on this. There are those who meticulously plan every detail, then there are writers who plan very little and just let the story come out. I fall firmly into the latter category. I usually have a rough idea of where it’s going in my head, or sometimes I’ll have ideas for separate scenes I want to include that I then have to fit together. I might have an ending in mind, which gives me something to work towards, or there might be a message I want to convey. The story then becomes a vehicle. In On Writing, his seminal book about ‘the craft,’ King says he doesn’t do that much planning. In fact, he says he makes most of his stories up as he goes along! He likes to be where the reader is at all times. It’s a brave approach. I think if you plan too much it restricts you. You become reluctant to try new

Where do you get your inspiration? Different places. Inspiration is all around. There might be a scene in a film, a passage in a book, or even a line in a song that triggers something in your 7

www.morpheustales.com

mind. Equally, I might have a real-life experience I might want to use in a story. Some people you meet, or places you visit, are just so interesting they almost demand your attention. From there, one thing leads to another, and pretty soon the genesis of an idea has formed.

What books are you reading now? I love it when people ask me that question because at any one time the answer could be, quite literally, anything. My TBR list is insane. Let’s see... I’m currently reading a review copy of Wind Up Toy by David Owain Hughes, a fellow Welsh horror writer I’ve recently discovered; Can I Say, Travis Barker’s from Blink 182’s autobiography, and an anthology called Dark Harvest. I’ve been dipping in and out of that for about a year, but in my defence it’s about 1000 pages long. I’m also re-reading The Secret of Terror Castle, the first Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators book. I was a huge fan when I was a kid, and I was keen to see if the books are as good as I remember them. So far, they are.

You are Welsh, a lot of your stories/books (including Sker House) are set in Wales. How else has that influenced your writing? I left Wales thirteen years ago now, and since then I’ve managed to get some perspective on it. I’m sorry to say the cliché is true, a lot of Welsh people feel hard-done by and carry massive chips on their shoulders, especially against the English. Some of it is understandable. Without getting political, there’s a lot of social deprivation in Wales. There’s a massive workforce with no work. Like most things, though, it works both ways. Since leaving I’ve had my share of abuse. I used to work in a pub in Southampton where I copped a load. At first, I must admit I took it personally. Then I chilled out a bit and started taking it for the friendly banter it (usually) is. Leaving Wales was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. My relationship had broken up and I left my job, my family, and all my friends behind. I had to move on. For the first few months I was like Tom Hanks in Big. I’m sure a lot of that confusion came through in my writing. It’s probably still there if you look, though I like to think I have a much more balanced personality now. When I lived in China, everyone non-Chinese is discriminated against, to the extent that a lot of shops have a ‘local price’ for goods, and a ‘foreigner price.’ The government doesn’t help. All the media manipulation and censorship creates an us-against-them mentality.

What is your proudest moment as a writer? There have been a few that stand out for different reasons. Obviously, the first time I ever saw my name in print, in a Welsh fiction magazine called camrensis in 1997, is up there. That’s something that never loses its allure, but the first time is special. The first magazine to actually pay me to write for them was Enigma later that year. Then there’s my first book, Into the Dragon’s Lair, and landing my first full-time job in the industry. I had a staff writing job at Nuts magazine. Little did I know I would get laid off six months later! Are you disappointed with any of your work when you look back on it? Yes. I think it’s unavoidable. You are always maturing and improving. You don’t just start out a good writer, it is a long process. When I look back at some of my old material, it’s cringe-worthy, and I wonder how it ever found its way into print. Not that it all did. It’s tempting to go back and re-write it, but I try to avoid doing that. To me it’s cheating, like 8

www.morpheustales.com

going back and using Photoshop on those God-awful pictures of you that inevitably find their way onto Facebook.

catching a bus, into a magical mystery tour. A lot of the fiction I wrote around that time focused on disassociation, and being a stranger in a strange land. Two things I felt very profoundly at the time. Apartment 14F: An Oriental Ghost Story and Dead of Night were actually written and published when I was in China, though the publisher made me change the content of both. At some point in the next couple of years I plan to release the original versions.

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience? It’s always very satisfying and a little humbling when you hear from readers. Before, the only way you got to hear how the public felt about you or your work was through reading reviews. Now, with social media, practically anyone can find you and say whatever they want directly to you. It’s very easy to open a dialogue. I am very appreciative of anyone investing their time or money in my work, and I try not to disappoint. Probably the best message I received was from an American girl who said she was going through a bad time. She bought X2 and in some small way, it helped her cope. Really, that is all it takes.

Do you write for a particular audience, or for yourself? With non-fiction, it’s all about the audience. The market dictates what you write about and how you write it. As far as fiction is concerned, a bit of both, really. It’s a balancing act. I’d love to be able to say I just write for myself, but that wouldn’t be true. Readers have expectations of you. If I wrote six psychological horror books, then suddenly started writing erotica, it would confuse a lot of people. I know writers who do cross genres, and they do it very successfully, but I’m not one of them. I’ve found my niche and I’m staying there!

What is the most important thing when becoming a writer? To have as much fun as possible. That’s true of any job or vocation. Life is too short to waste time doing things that make you miserable. If you aren’t enjoying what you are doing, go and do something else.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I love travelling. It doesn’t have to be somewhere exotic, I just don’t like staying in one place too long. I get itchy feet. I’ve moved house twelve times in the past eleven years. A wise man once said that the world is a book, and if you don’t travel you only read one page. Otherwise I am a huge martial arts and MMA fan. In fact, I like a lot of sports – football, rugby union, rugby league, basketball. I just like watching, I’m too old to participate!

You spent a few years teaching English in China, how did that effect your writing? Firstly, with no distractions like TV and the pub, there wasn’t much else to do when I wasn’t working except write, so my productivity went through the roof. When I came back, I had over 300,000 words of fiction which I then set about polishing and trying to publish. Otherwise, the whole situation was a bit weird. The culture is so removed from what the average westerner is used to, it was like living in an alternate reality. I had no idea what was going on around me at least 60% of the time. And having only minimal Chinese turned the simplest things, like

What parts of being a writer do you like best? And least? I like the end product, publication, most. If it’s accompanied by a large cheque, all the better. The 9

www.morpheustales.com

part I like the least is probably the initial stages, when you are tossing ideas around and trying different things. A lot falls by the wayside. Either that, or there’s a nervy period after you submit something to an editor where your work might come back with a big red line through it.

like, because it only takes an hour or so of your life to read. There’s nothing worse than spending weeks reading a novel which is let down by a weak ending. In fact, there comes a point about a quarter of the way in where you think you’ve come too far to give up now, so you see it out regardless.

Do you get writer’s block? How do you cope with it? I don’t really believe in writer’s block. It’s a myth. When writing is your only source of income, it’s a luxury you can’t afford. Whoever heard of plumber’s block or accountant’s block?

What are you working on now? I don’t just work on one thing at a time, I always have several projects on the go concurrently. If one stalls, I just hop over to another. I’ll be putting out a war horror story called No Man’s Land in the summer. It’s set in the trenches of World War I, and I’ll be donating the proceeds to charity. This summer is the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, still one of the bloodiest battles in human history. I’m also working on a series of YA time-travelling adventure books about a character called Joshua Wyrdd, which I recently signed over to a literary agent. The first book is in the latter stages of the editing process, and the second is about 30% written. I’ll also be releasing two new X books within the next year, which is my series of short story collections. One will be a sampler, and after that there will be a third volume. I also have short stories coming out this year in the Literary Hatchet, 9Tales at the End of the World, Liquid Imagination and QuickFic.

If you could meet anyone, fictional or real, dead or alive, who would it be? Damn, that’s a good question. I have no idea. Fictional characters are out, though. Unless I can go out for a pizza with John McClane. That’d be a laugh. I would say Stephen King, but most writers are naturally quiet and reserved, so that might be a huge letdown. Maybe I’d reincarnate Lee Harvey Oswald and ask him what really went down in Dallas. I might invite JFK too, and ask him what he thought of it all. While we are at it, let’s invite Bobby Kennedy, Jack Ruby, and Marilyn Monroe too. Can you imagine? They’d have enough secrets and lies between them to rewrite the history books. Which do you prefer writing/reading, short stories or novels? I prefer writing shorts, or novellas, because novels are just too involving and time-consuming. It takes me nine months to a year to finish a 90,000-word novel. That’s a lot of time to justify. Reading-wise, as much as I like getting stuck into a good, meaty novel, I tend to gravitate toward the shorter form. There’s much less of a risk involved. You can move on pretty quickly if you read a short story you don’t

Do you have any advice for other writers? Yes, try to develop your own style. And above all, never give up. What scares you? Failure. And heights. I don’t mind flying, even though you are several thousand feet in the sky, because you are in a nice comfortable seat. You wouldn’t even know you were flying unless you looked out of the window. But hanging off a cliff 10

www.morpheustales.com

face, or standing on top of something high, with only a railing stopping you from plummeting to the ground, is a different ball game.

against a gas company development. Bloody dogooders. Quite literally, as it turns out. For their trouble they soon get apprehended by a bunch of mean-looking militia types and sent on their way. But then, uh-oh, their plane crashes. How’s your luck? At this point, a special mention should go to the guy who manages to vomit pea soup into his own face. Safely on the ground, the few survivors regroup only to be attacked by red-painted, poison dart-wielding natives, who lock them up in cages and cart them off one by one to a massive oven. Written, directed, and co-produced by Eli Roth, this marks a return to his horror roots after the erotic thriller Knock Knock. It is laced with his trademark twisted humour and enough blood, and especially guts, to keep the biggest gore hound happy. The Green Inferno has a lot in common with the Hostel series, in that a group of naïve young Americans journey to some strange, unfamiliar place, fall victim to murderous locals, and end up being held captive and suffering through varying degrees of torture porn as a result. This effort isn’t quite so shocking, though that’s probably only because many of us have become desensitized to Roth’s work and to some extent know what to expect. If you’ve ever wanted to visit the jungles of Peru, you won’t after this. By C.M. Saunders

What makes a good story? There are some, especially in the academic world, who will insist on having a checklist of criteria in place that their idea of a ‘good story’ has to fulfill. Personally, I don’t believe in over analysing it. In my opinion, any piece of writing that changes the way you think, or carries you along in such a way that you temporarily forget where you are, is a good story. The analogy is better explained if you apply it to the music world. In a landscape populated by formulaic three-and-a-half minute pop songs, some of the best-loved and most enduring tunes broke every rule in the book; Bohemian Rhapsody, Sympathy for the Devil, Baker Street, Space Oddity, Hotel California, Every Breath You Take. Being different, and not like every other song in the charts, made them classics. Follow him on Twitter: @CMSaunders01 Or visit his website: https://cmsaunders.wordpress.com/

DEEP DARK Director: Michael Medaglia

Sker House, where past and present collide: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01C1NBFG 6

Cronenberg-esque fantasy horror about a struggling artist called Hermann (Sean McGrath) who rents a studio from his famous uncle under the pretence that it will help launch his career. In the studio, he finds a strange talking hole in the wall. And if that isn’t enough, it pushes out the occasional ball of organic matter which he then incorporates into his work, enabling him to take it to the next level in his quest for artistic validation. However, he soon discovers, somewhat obviously, that his dreams come at a price. This macabre, twisted journey into wish fulfillment had its European premier at last summer’s Sci-fi London Film Festival, and despite the out-there plot, it didn’t disappoint. It’s hard to be unique these days, and credit must go to writer/director Michael Medaglia for at least trying. If you like your films edgy and weird, or if you have an overwhelming desire to watch a man have sex with a wall, this one is for you. By C.M. Saunders

THE GREEN INFERNO Director: Eli Roth The title, lifted from the film-within-a-film in the 1980 video nasty Cannibal Holocaust, refers to the jungle, or the rain forest. Are they the same thing? Who knows. Anyway, the message is clear. Don’t go there. There is also a deeper, more profound message, summed up pretty well in the opening scene when a couple of tribesmen out foraging for food in the Amazon come face to face with a massive mechanical digger. Even so, on its muchdelayed theatrical release in late 2015, the film still drew criticism from certain conservation groups who felt it cast indigenous tribes in a negative light. Ironic because the main storyline follows a group of rich kids masquerading as environmental activists who venture into the Peruvian jungle to protest 11

www.morpheustales.com

THE 2ND SPECTRAL BOOK OF HORROR STORIES Edited By Mark Morris

I am not sure what else I can say about the book, other than this collection is well worth reading and, whatever your tastes, there is almost certainly something that will grab your attention and not let go, however hard you struggle and scream. The 2nd Spectral Book of Horror Stories is quality horror writing at its best. I’m already looking forward to this year’s 3rd annual collection. By J.S.Watts

I fell head over heels in love with The Spectral Book of Horror Stories when it came out in 2014. I therefore approached the 2015 book with some trepidation: would it live up to the high standards set by the first or would it be the equivalent of the difficult second album? There is no need to hold your breath. I found it to be as good, if not better, than the first collection. Like the original book, the second is a collection of nineteen contemporary short stories, all firmly rooted in the horror genre. Horror is a broad church, though, and this is an eclectic mix. Apparently, some reviewers (not me, in case you were wondering) felt that a number of the stories in the original book were not really horror at all, presumably because the horror was psychological and the setting was day-to-day reality. Well, I didn’t and don’t agree. Psychological horror can be as horrific as supernatural horror and the horror of the human condition can pack as weighty a punch as unnatural things that go bump and wail in the night. Having said that, the nineteen stories in the second book are, to my mind, more diverse than those of the first collection. There should be more than enough variegated darkness to suit most tastes. For example, old Scottish legends stalk the highland countryside, sea-borne messages in a bottle bring both hope and terror, a child’s dollhouse is not the innocent toy we have come to expect, and the suffocating horror of 1970s suburbia conceals heartbreak and death. There are ghostly manifestations, unusual Halloween traditions, psychotic children, fantastical creatures out of myth and legend, and a savage and bloody hunt. This is both horror of the head and the gut, the mental and the oozingly visceral: fantasy, the supernatural, sex, gore, and bodies buried in the garden, as well as a poem about men with razors. Lovers of the mundane horror of the human condition are catered to alongside those who like inexplicable tales of the unspeakable. The authors whose stories feature in the book are also an eclectic bunch, living and writing on both sides of the Atlantic. In the order that their stories appear, they are: Paul Finch, Tim Lebbon, Richard Jay Goldstein, Lisa L. Hannett, Adrian Cole, Nicholas Royle, Ian Rogers, Paul Meloy, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Thana Niveau, Ray Cluley, Alison Moore, Kurt Fawver, Gary Fry, Sean Logan, Stephen Volk, Robert Shearman, Simon Bestwick, and Cliff McNish.

ROBERT Director: Andrew Jones

Hands up — who’s creeped out by dolls? If you’re not, you should be. There’s something intrinsically scary about those little pretend people, in the same way as there’s something deeply unsettling about clowns. Robert follows in the rich traditions of Child’s Play and Annabelle, telling the story of an ordinary family beset by all manner of freaky supernatural occurrences after they acrimoniously part ways with their sinister housekeeper, who then gives their son a vintage doll as a ‘gift.’ Their son forms an instant bond with his new toy, which his parents take on the chin, but then the weirdness starts. Footsteps running around at night, strange noises, unexplained breakages, and furniture being vandalised, all of which puts a huge strain on the 13

www.morpheustales.com

family. Naturally, the son Gene takes the brunt of the blame. But we know what’s really going on, don’t we folks? Written and directed by upcoming Welsh horrormeister Andrew Jones, Robert (variously known as Robert the Doll, Robert the Haunted Doll, or even Robert the Enchanted Doll) is a fine addition to his growing resume, following on from recent works A Haunting at the Rectory and Poltergeist Activity. This is a film which has been crying out to be made. The only surprise is that nobody thought of it before. Well, that’s not strictly true; word has it that Robert was the inspiration for Chucky himself and the doll this movie is based on is a real artefact on display at the East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida, which is supposedly cursed. By C.M. Saunders

Fine! You want me to name names? How about The Babadook (GASP! I LOVED The Babadook!) or It Follows (You better not be talking bad about It Follows!) But you know something? For all the problems I have with those movies, the biggest problem is with the fans themselves. As I mentioned, those who “get them” like to flaunt their superiority over the rest of us mere mortals not fortunate enough to understand the difference between slow burn and boring. They poke and prod us over our lack of synth soundtrack knowledge (The score to It Follows is reminiscent of classic 80s John Carpenter. Yawn.) They even go so far as to call us out on enjoying only movies that rely on heavy gore (You’re just a Saw fanboy!). But let’s be honest here. The truth is not everyone is going to agree. Not everyone is going to like the movie that only “you get.” Sometimes we mere mortals want a little Paranormal Activity to go along with our Cronenberg. Sometimes we don’t feel like spending our paycheck at the movies just to take a nap. And believe it or not, sometimes boring really does just mean boring. Next time you find yourself in an argument with one of these horror connoisseurs, please remind them they also grew up on a steady diet of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. Remind them that long before they donned the black beret and turtleneck their favourite childhood movie was also Teen Wolf. And please remind them that before they changed the name of their Siamese cat from Captain Spaulding to H.P. Lovecraft, we were all friends looking for that next big scare. Long before Art House horror came and divided us all. Thank you, dear reader for letting me vent. It’s been very cathartic. I’m not as angry as I was when I first started writing this. Oh wait, never mind, I gotta go. Good news: They’re not fighting over horror movies anymore. Bad news: They just saw Batman V. Superman!

Oh, The Horror! Horror Fans Divided! By Trevor Wright Writing columns is hard work. I know, I know, those reading this are probably putting two and two together and thinking to themselves, “Oh no, this is that guy that whines and cries about everything. Stop reading. Stop reading now!” It’s not like I set out to complain about anything. The horror genre is a bitching ground. And boy, do I have stuff to bitch about. Let’s start with what I was originally going to call this article: “Why Art House Horror is Birthing the Worst Kind of Fan.” Subtle, huh? I was in the throes of another Facebook argument when I came up with that title, going back and forth over the pros and cons over the new crop of “artsy” horror films. What the hell is “artsy” horror, you ask? Oh, you know, the ones that have a trailer that tell you very little about the actual movie (because there is nothing to the actual movie) but look unique enough to spend obscene amounts of money on to “support” at the local cinema, all in the name of indie horror. Wink, wink. Hmm, so you want me to get specific, eh? They are the kinds of movies that move at a snail’s pace with little to no payoff. They divide the audience for silly reasons and they bring out that pretentious know-it-all who insists that if you didn’t like it then you didn’t A.) Understand it or B.) Need to see it again or C.) You’re not a true horror fan.

BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS By Stephen King http://stephenking.com/ So, the Master’s sixth volume of short fiction, which normally appear in seven-year cycles, dropped late last year to the delight of his rabid army of Constant Readers. As with previous collections, it proved a weighty tome. A total of twenty stories comprise the 495 pages, including a revised version of the recent stand-alone ebook Mile 81, the fictional baseballbased novella Blockade Billy from 2010, two 14

www.morpheustales.com

previously unreleased stories, and several assorted rarities. There’s even a poem. King has championed the novella form for most of his career, and is arguably at least partly responsible for its current popularity. It’s no accident that Amazon turned to him when they wanted a big-name author to write something publicizing the then new-fangled Kindle. The result, UR, is one of the highlights in Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Of the rarities, the most interesting is probably “Bad Little Kid,” a twisted little tale about a lawyer defending a child murderer. However, the case is far from straight-forward. Originally published only in French and German, this creepfest appears here for the first time in English, and is vintage King. In the introduction, King makes the analogy that with this book he is assuming the role of a street vendor, who only sells his wares after midnight. And it proves quite accurate. There are a few absolute gems hidden away here, some bang average items that barely hold your attention, and even a couple of stinkers. Just what you’d expect to find in a dodgy market. Several entries can barely be described as dark fiction, never mind horror. “Perfect Harmony is a study on what makes marriages work, and ”Morality” is about the state of affairs that could arise if someone accepts money to do something questionable, a la Indecent Proposal without the sex. But this isn’t really anything new. King has been stereotyped as the creepy bloke who wrote Carrie, Salem’s Lot and The Shining, since the seventies. A victim of his own success. In actual fact, relatively little of his output since those heady days have contained much in the way of extreme horror as we know it today, or even many supernatural elements. Indeed, this summer’s End of

Watch will be the third and final book in a series about a retired cop. One of my personal favourite stories in this collection, “The Dune” (originally published in high-brow British literary magazine Granta in 2011) is, on the surface, the story of a man on a neverending treasure hunt. On another level, however, it’s about growing old, and facing up to one’s own mortality. Understandably perhaps, given King’s advanced years (he turns 69 soon), this has been a recurring theme in much of his recent work. The story ”Afterlife” goes one step further, and takes us to a place where a recently deceased man is given the option to live his flawed life all over again. Reviewing Bazaar of Bad Dreams for The Daily Telegraph, Sarah Crown says ‘Death hangs like a dark cloud over Stephen King’s latest collection of short stories,’ and she isn’t wrong. Elsewhere, she makes the observation that the book is ‘closer to philosophy than horror.’ True, as King matures, his work not only seems to be developing more layers, but is becoming more intellectually astute. There’s usually still a reasonably high body count, but these days there are fewer monsters and vampires, and more real-life conundrums and the odd existential crisis. Interesting times for fans of the King. By C.M. Saunders THE SAND Director: Isaac Gabaef A group of annoying teens have a beach party unaware that something nasty is lurking in the sand. Cue lots of screaming and bad acting. I make much of my living suspending reality, but even I had a problem believing that a group of teenagers find themselves trapped on a beach without a phone among them. They all put their phones in the trunk. Because everyone does that, right? Also, a good percentage of them woke up in a car, so why didn’t they just drive off? Likewise, toward the end when they commandeered a police car, nobody thought of using the radio to call for help. Sigh. Another faction of the group found themselves stuck in a lifeguard tower, while one particularly unfortunate dude woke up in a trash can with a dick drawn on his face. To his credit, he had the best line of the film, “I don’t wanna die with a dick on my face!” All this is topped off with some pretty awful CGI. All things considered, despite an expensive and wide-ranging ad campaign, nothing can disguise the fact that this is a pretty awful film. By C.M. Saunders 15

www.morpheustales.com

Women Of Horror: Haley Jay Madison By Trevor Wright As an actress what do you look for in choosing the right role? What are some things that would turn you off from playing a role? I have played so many different roles in the past few years because I’m not that picky when it comes to choosing. I love taking the opportunity to do something different or play a character I haven’t done before. There are a few things I look out for though. I do have to like the script for the movie, and I always like to talk to the people involved with the production and get to know them. It’s important to have a tight knit production team, and I always appreciate that. How did you get your start? Tell us about your first role. My start in the industry is very happenstance. I got a tattoo from a guy who mentioned he was trying to make a movie and asked if I wanted to be in it. I ended up starring and producing that film and that’s when I started going to horror conventions. After that I met a lot of people in the industry who have since become friends and peers. From there my involvement in horror films grew into what it is now.

and being involved in horror. I want to make my own movies, write my own stories, and maybe one day get into the film festival as a filmmaker and not just a host. Favorite production experience. Why? It’s hard to say what my favorite production experience has ever been. I’ve been on a lot of great sets, and met a lot of really amazing people along the way. I do have a couple that stand out. Headless was one of the best experiences I’ve had on set. Everyone that was there were incredibly nice, driven and intelligent people. They spoiled me as far as treatment went, and their vision of Headless was something that I can’t compare to anything else. Another favorite is Devotion, made almost entirely by Jessie Seitz. It was a very intimate shoot, most of the time it was just Jessie and me. But I spent the week surrounded by friends, co-starred with Linnea Quigley, who has now become a friend as well, and made a really unique movie. I’ve been on what seems like countless sets and each one is its own experience that I can learn from. Least favorite production experience. Why? I can’t say that I’ve had a bad experience on set. Like I said previously, every production is its own lesson. I can always take something away from every experience I’ve had.

You won After Dark Films’ ‘A Scream Queen to Die For’ competition. What was the goal of the competition? What has this done for you going forward in the business? I won the After Dark Films: A Scream Queen to Die For last October. It was a contest to host their film festival held at Universal City Walk AMC Theater. I describe it as an acting contest, and I made a short film with the tremendous help of Victor Bonacore to submit to the contest. I was the only girl from outside of Southern California to make it to the top 6 and they flew me out for the crowning. After giving my best scream, I ended up winning and sharing the crown with Marta Beatchu, a drag queen who performs in LA. I got to stay in Hollywood for an extra week and hosted their 8 Films to Die For Film Festival. Winning this contest got me a lot of attention through the independent horror community. I like to think the contest hasn’t changed me; I’m still the same old Haley Jay Madison, and I still live in Dayton, Ohio. But it has made me want to progress further into filmmaking

This is not a slight in any way, but most people working in movies (myself included) have day jobs (not associated with film) that afford us the 17

www.morpheustales.com

opportunity to chase our passion. What is your day job? I hate having a day job. I wish I could just make movies for a living, but alas, I work at a coffee shop in downtown Dayton. I work inside of a corporate building, so most of the people that come in work inside the building. No one knows what my chosen profession is inside of the coffee shop. This is where I see Herbert almost every day, and he’s the only one who knows my work in horror. I also work at a pub, but my last day will be St. Patrick’s Day. I’m going to go out on the busiest day of the year. Having a day job allows me to follow my passions, and gives me time to spend with people I love.

my everyday postings. I wouldn’t be so open if it didn’t get such a good response. I think we all need a little dose of Herbert in our lives. I’m waiting for him to come in as I write this. He hasn’t come in yet, and I don’t know that he will today. But I feel like a little puppy dog, patiently waiting, looking out the window for him. Just to ask him how he is and hopefully spark another thoughtprovoking little chat. You never know how someone is going to open up by just asking them how they are. More people should be open like Herbert, and I like to think that he is teaching me to do the same. Welcome the experiences that will come your way, and always treat people like they can’t hurt you. We

On your Facebook you are quite active in detailing your day-to-day interaction with a man named Herbert. Who is Herbert? And what does it mean for you to share your stories about him? Herbert. What can I say? I’m perplexed by that guy. We are an interesting duo. I have been posting a lot of “Herbert stories” on my Facebook as sort of a release. I talk to him almost every day, and even though he’s just an older rich Chinese Christian man, he has become a friend of sorts. People seem to be drawn to my stories, and a few keep up with

are all stuck on this planet together, and it might just get a little better if we all just believe it will. What is your ultimate goal when it comes to working in movies? My ultimate goal in life is to be happy, and be around people I care about. That bleeds into my goal with acting and making movies. I just want to do what makes me happy. Traveling, meeting new people, and creating art are all things that keep me going, and that makes my time worthwhile. Of 18

www.morpheustales.com

course I want to be successful, and it would be amazing to be able to make movies full time. But I’m not there yet, and as long as I continue going down this path I will be happy. Eventually, I want to make my own movie, create something that’s entirely my own. I’ll get there, but in the meantime I have enough going on that I stay busy. I couldn’t be more thankful for what I have already accomplished and the people I’ve met through my passion for independent film.

We’ve gone through many waves of the horror genre from classic monsters to atomic creatures to slasher movies of the 80s all the way up to the torture porn of the early 2000s and now, it appears, art house indie horror. What do you see (or would like to see) as the next big thing in horror? Art house indie horror has become one of my favorite genres. I love all the new films coming out, from It Follows to Turbokid, I am loving all the synth soundtracks and classic wardrobes in these new flicks. I am not picky when it comes to horror, I love everything from slasher to suspense stories. As long as people are making good movies and following what they love I’m happy. I would like to see more alternative cameras being used. Neither Woodsman or Devotion were filmed with modern digital cameras, and I’ve come to appreciate different kinds of media and the tone it sets for the movie. I’d like to see more people try stuff with actual film or other cameras that have been pushed aside for digital media.

What are some of your upcoming projects? I do have a few upcoming projects to be excited about. I’m really proud to be the lead of Woodsman: Forest of Pain, co-directed by Victor Bonacore and Louis Justin. I have more involvement than just starring in the film; I feel like I have helped make it into something much bigger than what we started. I made that movie during a very weird time in my life. It is a story about a girl who falls in love with a serial killer that lives in the woods. Some would say it has a happy ending, others wouldn’t. I am very excited for this one to come out. We still have a scene or two left to shoot, and then all of post production. Another project I have coming up is titled CarousHELL directed by Steve Rudzinski. We will be shooting at the end of May and I’m playing a character that says a lot of puns. I’m excited to spend some time in Pittsburgh, making a movie with some people that seem really great and know what they are doing.

Anything else you’d like to add? I’m not sure if I have anything else to add. Thank you for interviewing me for your magazine! I appreciate this opportunity and to be given a chance to write some more about my life and Herbert. I love indie horror, I’ve never felt more accepted by a group of people and I can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for this scream queen and everyone else that is a part of horror. 19