The Hairy Ones Shall Dance by Manly Wade Wellman. Audiobook Review

 Manly Wade Wellman's "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance" is a horror novel, and the opening book of the 'Judge Pursuivant' trilogy. The story begins with a skeptic of psychic phenomena attending a seance in the company of a friend who has much to say about the reality of the supernatural. After a slow buildup, the seance gets underway, leading to an encounter with a legendary creature, with grimoires, delicious folklore and the pitting of science against the occult with the two often coming together throughout the rest of this tale. 

I appreciated the investigative angle here, and enjoyed the pacing throughout. The characters are well drawn and frequently challenged by the events unfolding around them. The author doesn't offer much in the way of clues - a decision that pleased me - and a letter dictated to the judge near the end supplies a compelling backstory of just how we got here. Fans of the macabre with a taste for snatches of cosmic horror and pseudo-scientific theories will find much to enjoy here and this audiobook is a fine way to experience the story. A few words of praise for the narrator are due. Gene Blake is excellent at conveying the necessary atmosphere of fear and high tension and also handles the different accents so very well. His voice is clear and enjoyable to listen to as he switches from character building to passages of high suspense while always keeping in tune with the spirit of this opening book. "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance" is a fun read. Nothing heavy and perfect for the dark nights in front of a fire.  

Sick Houses: Haunted Homes & The Architecture of Dread by Leila Taylor. Book Review

This is an endlessly fascinating study of what Stephen King famously describes as 'The Bad Place'. Leila Taylor begins by taking a look at home ownership, and details the hopes and fears that accompany moving from one house or apartment to another, sometimes attempting to bury bad memories in pursuit of security and happiness. The question of when does a house become a home is fully addressed and by the time we move on to what constitutes a undesirable residence, some readers may well be nodding their head with regard to past or current location.

Real and fictional places come under the spotlight in this book: the Ed Gein house of horrors; Amityville; the Winchester home and cinematic gems such as the Bates house from Psycho, the imposing gothic mansion from The Haunting and (bonus points for this one) the bone chilling centre of Peter Sasdy's The Stone Tape.

As well as movies, Leila also includes a literary angle in her study, and her brief description of 'Piranesi' compelled me to push the book to the top of my tbr pile. 

Leila Taylor's writing is crisp and intelligent and happily - at least for people like me - is not overly academic. It never confuses with complicated jargon, and is easy to follow with a sharp, keen-eyed analysis of the subject matter. My own shallow knowledge of Victorian architecture and other building designs was certainly heightened by this enjoyable look at houses with a dark history and fresh builds with a clean slate.

A genuine 5 star delight!

Published by Repeater Books

Death Upon A Star by Amy Patricia Mead. Book Review

 Amy Patricia Meade's'Death Upon A Star introduces readers to Evelyn Galloway who quickly wins our undivided attention, landing the coveted position as script supervisor to Alfred Hitchcock for his film 'Rebecca..

It's 1939 in Los Angeles, and there's an immediate air of mystery and suspense as Evelyn is befriended by an actor and finds herself trying to untangle a web of murder and deceit with several people in the frame for a shocking crime.

Lovers of cozy mysteries, film buffs and anyone who likes to pit their wits against a well written puzzle will be right at home here, and will relish the prospect of further adventures with this likeable heroine.

Death Upon A Star is an enjoyable read, moving along at a fair old clip, with no triggers to report and I thoroughly recommend it..

Death Upon A Star will be released on 4th February 2025 by Severn House

Schroeder by Neal Cassidy. Book Review

 First of all, a trigger warning: 'Schroeder' contains extremely graphic descriptions of a string of murders. If you can handle that, Neal Cassidy's book is a quite riveting read, following a trail of slaughter and the thoughts, lifestyle and circumstances of the killer.

The author adds social, political and religious context to the character's mindset, and there's an awful lot that makes sense when you consider the world today.

You may well be scratching your head, wondering how an individual  who can appreciate kindness and compassion whenever he sees it can sink to  such an apparent disregard for human life. The answer makes for a harrowing read in itself.

'Schroeder' is beautifully written, full of acute observations on the life of this loner and the way he views this essentially  planet in turmoil ,and makes the killer's short bicycle journeys fascinating as past, present and future are presented in often poetic detail.

Certainly not a book for the fainthearted but I found it a compelling read, and a 5 star experience.

The Watkins Book of Urban Legends by Gail De Vos Book Review

 Storyteller, librarian and former teacher, Gail De Vos has several books on folklore under her belt and this latest collection is required reading for those with an interest in urban legends.

Gail covers a multitude of areas, with sizeable portions of her book covering supernatural legends. By charting the evolution of stories which range from the chilling to the downright humorous, we can see how certain tales were altered as they were passed from one generation to the next, mixing the ancient with the modern. For me, one of the most fascinating parts covered the famous '27 Club' where famous musicians and singers passed way before their time, and there were several fascinating theories; some of which I'd heard and one which really caught my breath.

If haunted tunnels, highway ghosts, curses generated by social media and a good few stories that have influenced motion pictures.

The only section that disappointed me just a little concerns conspiracy theories: I did hope for more comprehensive coverage of conspiracy theories. That's just me being picky though. Overall, this is a fine collection, beautifully written and offering real value for multiple reads.

Perfect Days. Film Review

 Hiayama (Koji Yakusho) is a janitor, cleaning public toilets by day in Tokyo.

He’s a loner with hardly anything to say and has a passion for reading, photography and impeccable taste in music.

His nights are spent with his beloved books before turning in as part of preparation for a job he  does with pride, displaying a strong work ethic.

Right from the word go, Hiayama is someone I cared deeply about, with his outlook and appreciation for the simple things in life earning great admiration: sitting in a bar lovingly regarding a pint glass of water with the same reverence as a connoisseur of wine might look at the nectar before them , or taking the time to appreciate his surroundings. He’s a man wedded to routine; calm and friendly with warm glances towards his fellow citizens, but he is capable of not only opening up but being assertive when push comes to shove and these different sides to his character make him fully rounded.

Wenders’ film is full of the things that make life special, as well as a great sadness for words let unsaid and a growing realisation that Hirayama may be within reach of his soulmate but unlikely to ever meet. 

It’s a quiet masterpiece in my opinion, and a worthy addition to a filmography that contains so many wonderful films from a director with real heart and soul.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Film Review

 Have to admit I hadn't seen Tim Burton's original film since it played at cinemas 36 years ago, and took the opportunity to revisit a few days ago, in anticipation of  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hitting the silver screen. Happy to report I still find the first film to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience and had an even better time with this new release. While I accept opinions that there may be a few too many plot points going on here, I really had no problems going with the flow. The presence of characters from the first film - Delia and Lydia are even more of a delight this time round - and new faces such as Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci as Delores score highly; the latter delivers a wonderfully physical turn and her entrance alone  may well be  worth the price of your ticket!

The man himself is driven by another memorable turn by Michael Keaton, introducing new tricks to his repertoire, while being just as obnoxious as ever and Ortega, for me, is an unqualified success as the sceptic who is forced to do a 360 as events make it clear her mom knows best.  A second viewing may possibly endear Dafoes' character to me even more and there's so much else to look forward to with regard to a repeat performance. Danny Elfman's score really captures both the tragic aspects of this story and the screwball comedy on offer here, while the use of 'MacArthur Park' and a spooky rendition of Harry Belafonte's 'Day-O' will both live long in the memory. It's also great to see Tim Burton continue his career-long admiration of the late, great director Mario Bava. The opening shot of the monochrome sequence is straight out of Black Sunday/Mask of Satan, and also pleased to catch both a namecheck and a scrapbook reference to my favourite Bava film. Do try to see this on the big screen, if circumstances permit. It's quite a ride!