Wednesday 18 October 2017

Five Things #6

It's been too long since a five things post, hasn't it? So without further ado:

1. No Logical Way To Write A Haunting by Jay Wilburn
I'm in the depths of writing my own take on the haunted house novel at the moments. This thoughtful piece in Dark Moon Digest is about this sub-genre, and the issues with trying to make the haunted characters' actions believable. In a nutshell: why don't they just walk out?

2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - review by Sally Jane Black
Since my last Five Things post, the director of the seminal Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe Hooper, sadly passed away. There was of course a lot written about him and TCM in the aftermath, and deservedly so - it's a far more artistic and subtle film than it often gets credit for (as well as being bloody and terrifying too). This piece by Sally Jane Black was the best retrospective I read.

3. Symbols & Signs by Vladimir Nabokov
I found this wonderful story via one of those weird social media discussions that ends up miles away from the topic it started put from. This is a link to the New Yorker version from 1948; apparently everywhere else it's titled 'Signs & Symbols'.

4. Nottingham: UNESCO City Of Literature
I've lived in Nottingham nearly all my life; the two writers everyone knows from my home city are Byron and D.H. Lawrence. But there's much more to Nottingham's literary past than that, and lots of talent in its present. Nottingham has recently been awared UNESCO City Of Literature status; check out this new site to learn about local writers, bookshops, events and more more more.

5. 'Don't Turn On The Lights' by Cassandra Khaw
And finally, this story from Cassandra Khaw in Nightmare magazine, a brilliant telling (and retelling) on those urban legend horror stories we all heard as teenagers...

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