#CoffinHop Day 5: Thoughts on Horror and Halloween

Today I’m bringing you some ghoulish ruminations on horror and Halloween, and some delightfully dark novels by some very talented authors. Come in, read, browse, just be careful what you touch…

Julianne Snow

My name is Julianne Snow and I love Horror.

I’m not ashamed to admit that either. Some of my earliest experiences are entrenched in the seat of all that horror entails. My first memory is of opening my eyes as a young toddler and witnessing the underbelly of a large Daddy Long Legs spider; its eight legs radiating outward over my field of vision. I can remember being frozen, unable to move, unable to swat the spider off of my face.

To my young mind, it was agonizing hours before that spider moved. Paralyzing hours before my limbs became mine to control again. Harrowing hours before my lungs could propel the pending scream past my trembling lips. I was terrified, but once the spider had moved off of my face, the moment of fear passed and I was okay again.

Believe it or not, the resulting rush from the adrenaline coursing through my body was addictive, even as a young child. Not that I would have realized the addictive pull for what it was at the time; that realization came much later… Now I’m a junkie and I’m always looking for my next hit!

Glimpses of the Undead

From the mind of Julianne Snow comes an undead collection of stories that feature the gamut of emotions and situations. Presented in flash fiction and short stories, the tales are sure to leave you wanting more and checking over your shoulder.

How would a group of children handle an uprising of the undead? What would you do to save a loved one only to find out that you’re facing a different threat altogether? How would a country react to a timely warning at the end of a war? What happens when a vampiric Romeo hits on an unsuspecting human? In a world where the undead are common place and protected, what happens when speed dating produces a love match?

Featuring:

The Treehouse

Kamikaze

Vanier’s Blueprint: A Zombie Tale

Must Love Zombies

Flash Fiction Duo: Fight and Hunger

EXIT

BITE

FLICKER

HORSE

BELOW

AGONY

BLOAT

ELBOW

Love Bites: A Valentine’s Day Misadventure

An Excerpt from Days with the Undead: Book One

  

Carol Gill

How can I not write horror? There are monsters among us: real ones. There is homicide, matricide, patricide and infanticide, as well as domestic violence and abuse of all kinds. Any being perceived as vulnerable often suffers abuse and that certainly includes animals. Along with terrorism, our world is a pretty grim place sometimes. We can choose not to think about it, but it’s there, waiting. And the very fact that we know it is, scares us.

It has been suggested that horror films and fiction cause violence. I don’t agree. I think we write about it and make films about it because (sadly) it’s part of our world. It always has been and it always will be. Writing about what we fear helps to exorcise some of those fears. If our world knew no violence, I don’t think horror as a genre would exist.

House of Horrors

This anthology is packed with stories of vampires, zombies, murderous midgets, demon clowns, evil dolls, haunted cemeteries, a real shop of horrors, taxidermy gone haywire, serial killers and more! Your worst fears and nightmares dished up for you with extra helpings of blood-curdling terror!

By the way, Circus of Horrors, a novel based on some characters in this anthology, will be released soon. 

Russell James

October is the month for horror writers. All year long, we endure sideways glances and polite smiles when people learn that we write stories of demons and witches and things under the bed. But when October rolls around, we are all suddenly in demand, praised, not condemned, for our delight in the macabre. As December’s festive mood culminates in Christmas, so October’s darker whispers deliver us to Halloween, the high holy day of all things ghoulish. I like to celebrate with a few new novels, something to get the chill bumps raised. A dark night, a warm fireplace, a spooky tale. That’s a celebration.

Dark Vengeance

The heroes from DARK INSPIRATION are back, and new trouble is brewing in Moultrie.

A coven of witches has moved into the tiny Tennessee town. They plan to sacrifice children and resurrect a long-trapped Mayan being, the longarex, to renew its hunt of mankind.  Only Laura Locke and Theresa Grissom have the skills to defeat this supernatural danger.  But their last brush with death has shattered their relationship, and a widow in town has her own gruesome plan for Laura.  If they can’t stop the coven in time, hundreds will die, the first being Theresa’s kidnapped son.

I'd like to thank the authors for taking part today, and for their pondering on all things ghastly. Be sure to keep hopping for more horrific treats. You can find the complete list of Coffin Hoppers over at: http://coffinhop.com/

And don’t forget to enter my contest.

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