Charles Black (ed.) – The Eleventh Black Book Of Horror

Just arrived from darkest Mortbury. What a brilliant way to see out a month!

Charles Black (ed.) – The Eleventh Black Book Of Horror (Mortbury Press, Sept. 2015)

Illustration: Paul Mudie

Thana Niveau – Two Five Seven
Edward Pearce – East Wickenden
Tom Johnstone – Slaughtered Lamb
John Llewellyn Probert – Forgive Us Our Trespasses
Stephen Bacon – Lord Of The Sand
Kate Farrell – Alma Mater
Stuart Young – Keeping The Romance Alive
Anna Taborska – Teatime
David A. Riley – Lem
Tony Earnshaw – Flies
David Williamson – And The Dead Shall Speak
Marion Pitman – Every Picture Tells A Story
Sam Dawson – The Weathervane
John Forth – Molli & Julli

Blurb:

14 TALES OF TERROR Selected by Charles Black

DO YOU LIKE HORROR?
DO YOU LIKE TO BE FRIGHTENED?

” …. I suddenly felt a chill go up my back, as though a spider had dropped inside my shirt and was creeping towards my neck.’
Two Five Seven

OR PERHAPS, REVEL IN SADISTIC GLEE?

“As soon as the needle pierces your skin, you’ll feel a stinging, then, as the drain cleaner enters your vein, it will start to burn. The burning will make you want to tear apart your flesh and dig into your own veins to relieve the pain…”
Teatime

DO YOU TAKE A GHOULISH DELIGHT IN THE GROTESQUE?
“His eyes were gone, the sockets filled with flies that crawled and buzzed. His mouth, open and lipless, was a black hole of moving shapes. The odour was overwhelming.”
Flies

AH, YES, THAT SMELL …

“…the pungent, nauseating reek of putrefaction.”
Slaughtered Lamb

SICKENING, ISN’T IT?

AND YET, YOU CAN’T RESIST, CAN YOU‘?

DARE YOU?

 

Charles Black – The Tenth Black Book Of Horror

Charles Black – The Tenth Black Book Of Horror  (Mortbury Press, October 2013)

 

Paul Mudie

Angela Blake – Stiff
Tom Johnstone – The Easter Bunny
David Surface – The Last Testament Of Jacob Tyler
Carl P. Thompson – The War Effort
David A. Sutton – The Pre-Raphaelite Painting
Chris Lawton – Christmas In The Rain
Gary Power – Deeper Than Dark Water
Paul Finch – Marshwall
Ian Hunter – Exploding Raphaelesque Heads
John Probert – The Best Christmas Ever
Mike Chinn – The Pygmalion Conjuration
David Williamson – The Boy
Andrea James – The Last Wagon In The Train
Kate Farrell – Dad Dancing
Thana Niveau – Guinea Pig Girl

The official launch will be at World Fantasy Con, Brighton, 31 October-3rd November .

Tenth Black Book Of Horror …. coming soon

Many thanks to Charles Black for giving us his blessing  to break this welcome news.

1. The Tenth Black Book Of Horror is penciled in for publication to coincide with the World Fantasy Convention at Brighton, Oct.31st – Nov 3, 2013.

2. Here’s a sneak preview of Paul Mudie’s tasteful cover artwork.

More details to follow as and when.

Charles Black – Ninth Black Book Of Horror

Coming October 2012 from Mortbury Presss

Charles Black (ed.) – Ninth Black Book Of Horror (Mortbury Press, Sept. 2012)

Paul Mudie

John Llewellyn Probert – The Anatomy Lesson
Craig Herbertson – The Mall
Simon Bestwick – Salvaje
Gary Fry -Pet
David Williamson – Ashes To Ashes
Anna Taborska – The Apprentice
Sam Dawson – Life Expectancy
Paul Finch – What’s Behind You?
Gary Power – Ben’s Best Friend
Thana Niveau – The Things That Aren’t There
Tom Johnstone – Bit On The Side
Marion Pitman – Indecent Behavior
Kate Farrell – His Family
John Forth – A Song, A SIilence
Marc Lyth – The Man Who Hated Waste
David A. Riley – Swan Song

NEWSDUSK: Farewell Interzone@TYPE, recent Books, Mags & Zines, Zardoz, etc.

NEWSDUSK: Farewell Interzone@TYPE, recent Books, Mags & Zines, Zardoz, etc.

The Vault forum doesn’t leave me as much time as i’d like to post regular news updates, but there’s been plenty to report of late so lets get down to business.

Firstly, it is our sad duty to report that interzone books are no longer an ongoing concern. The TYPE shop still stands and is always worth a visit but, alas, no more row upon row of beloved pulp paperbacks to wade through! It was brilliant while it lasted and we thank Milan for all the effort he put in and wish him well with his future endeavours. We understand he is still planning for the Zardoz Book Fair on November 6th and it is highly likely there will be a scowling vault contingent staggering about the Plaza basement.

On the anthology front, personal favourite of recent months has been, predictably enough, Charles Black’s Eighth Black Book Of Horror. I hope to have copies of the Paul Finch edited Terror Tales Of The Lake District and Gary Fry’s Death Rattles (both Gray Friar Publications) shortly, so avoid our forum for next few weeks unless you wanna be subjected to my entirely worthless verdict on same.

Lots of magazines! As posted earlier, Justin Marriott’s indispensable Paperback Fanatic has now clocked up twenty superb issues in five years, an incredible achievement! The second issue of Martin Jones’ Bedabbled!: British Horror and Cult Cinema is imminent – a ‘Cult Of Satan’ special and, from a rough pdf i’ve seen, a very impressive beast it is, too. Have also received the first five issue’s of Cranston McMillan’s wildly entertaining a-bit-of-everthing-really! fanzine, Kontinental X. The links for these last two lead straight back to the Vault forum, mainly because neither mag has much of a web presence just yet though you can catch up with Martin on faceache.

Sara of the very beautiful My Love Haunted Heart is interviewed at some length on her passion for vintage Gothic Romance over at the impressive After Dark In The Playing Fields. And good luck to The Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society in their quest to “make reading sexy.”

thanks for reading

Bloody kisses,

gloomy sundae

Charles Black – The Eighth Black Book Of Horror

Charles Black (ed.) – The Eighth Black Book Of Horror   (Mortbury Press, 2011)

cover illustration: Paul Mudie

Reggie Oliver – Quieta Non Movere
David A. Riley – The Last Coach Trip
Stephen Bacon – Home By The Sea
David Williamson – Boys Will Be Boys
Gary Fry – Behind The Screen
Mark Samuels – The Other Tenant
Paul Finch – Tok
Anna Taborska – Little Pig
Tina & Tony Rath – Casualties Of The System
John Llewellyn Probert – How The Other Half Dies
Marion Pitman – Music In The Bone
Thana Niveau – The Coal Man
Kate Farrell – Mea Culpa

Charles Black – 7th Black Book Of Horror

coming very soon from the mighty Mortbury Press!

Charles Black (ed.) – The Seventh Black Book Of Horror (Mortbury Press, September 2010)

Cover artwork: Paul Mudie

Thana Niveau – The Pier
Reggie Oliver – Minos Or Rhadamanthus
Joel Lane – Morning’s Echo
John Llewellyn Probert – It Begins at Home
Gary Power – Flitching’s Revenge
David Williamson – Rest In Pieces
Rog Pile – Walk To The Sea
David A. Riley – Romero’s Children
Paul Finch – The Green Bath
Steve Rasnic Tem – Telling
Stephen Volk – Swell Head
Alex Langley – Walking The Dyke
Anna Taborska – The Creaking
James Stanger – Bernard Bought The Farm
Claude Lalumière – Ted’s Collection
Craig Herbertson – New Teacher
Tony Richards – The In-Betweeners

see also the 7th Black Book of Horror thread on the Vault forum. It’s a stormer!

David A. Riley interview & Other news

dear reader

a very infrequent proper blog-type post/ news update. E. London has been hit by a devastating vintage horror & supernatural anthology famine hence lengthy silences. been amusing myself with hamlyn nasties and giant preying mantis extravaganzas to keep my hand in. also, the Vault forum is still as hugely popular with everyone as ever and we’ve a tasty interview with David A. Riley who’ll tell you all about ‘The Curse of Beyond‘!

what else? Paperback Fanatic 15 is out now, we understand that The Seventh Black Book Of Horror is on the horizon (plan is to have publication coincide with FantasyCon whenever that is), Wordsworth continue to expand on their exquisite Mystery & The Supernatural series and we hope to have some EXCITING NEWS about Interzone books very shortly!

finally, a thank you to whoever it was kindly *ahem* ‘voted’ for Vault in the BFS awards. in all honesty, we had enough grief over all that nonsense last year, hence immediate quiet withdrawal from field. but the thought was much appreciated by the core guys.

love,
demonik/ gloomy sundae

Charles Black – The Sixth Black Book Of Horror

Charles Black (ed.) – The Sixth Black Book Of Horror (Mortbury Press, March 2010)

Paul Mudie

John Llewellyn Probert – Six Of The Best
Simon Kurt Unsworth – Traffic Stream
Steve Lockley – Imaginary Friends
R. B. Russell – An Unconventional Exorcism
Paul Finch – The Doom
Gary Fry – Keeping It In The Family
Craig Herbertson – Spanish Suite
Reggie Oliver – Mr. Pigsny
Alex Langley – The Red Stone
Stephen Bacon – Room Above The Shop
David A. Riley – Their Cramped Dark World
Mick Lewis – Gnomes
Anna Taborska – Bagpuss
David Williamson – The Switch
Mark Samuels – Keeping Your Mouth Shut

EVIL ACTS
‘Murder, torture and terrible accidents were to be the order of the day – preferably with a sprinkling of sex.’
Six of the Best

GROTESQUE
‘…by the time they found her body it would be mauled by rats and covered in spiders, and flies would have laid their eggs in her and she would be crawling with maggots.’
Bagpuss

VISIONS OF HELL
‘The lower part of his body had begun to deliquesce into a dark, slug-like shape…’
Mr Pigsny

and
THE DAMNED
‘…clamps held his mouth wide open while a devil shovelled dirt into it.’
The Doom

Daniel McGachey – They That Dwell In Dark Places

Out now from Dark Regions press!

Daniel McGachey – They That Dwell In Dark Places and other Ghost Stories (Dark Regions Press, 2009)

Cover painting, “Dr. Lawrence – An Informal Portrait”, by Julia Jeffrey. Cover design by Dav

Charles Black – Introduction: The Lurker In The Shadows

The Shadow In The Stacks
The Mound
The Beacon
“Shalt Thou Know My Name?”
The Wager
The Crimson Picture
Rags
The Travelling Companion
A Ravelled Tress
“And Still Those Screams Resound”
An Unwise Purchase by Dr. H. S. Grace
The Unmasking – ‘An Evening Of Revels And Revelations’
They That Dwell In Dark Places

Author’s Notes: Shedding Light On Dark Places
Author’s Bio

Blurb:
“This is a ghost story about ghost stories. It tells a tale about the telling of tales, and of the need, the absolute necessity, for stories that strike fear into men’s hearts; stories that delve into the unknown and the uncanny…”

… and in most of the thirteen stories in this collection, the telling of ghostly tales plays a vital part.

Here are stories told by firelight in isolated cottages, by lantern-light on
storm-lashed beaches, by gaslight in scholars’ studies and clubrooms, or by
twilight in libraries and in lonely asylum cells.

Here are stories of things that crawl stealthily across moonlit lawns; of legends it is better to remember, and of relics that are best left forgotten in the dark; of the malice of objects that are not as inanimate as they might seem, and of ancient tragedies re-enacted before helpless and horrified eyes…..

Here are stories of…
Strange books unearthed from the college library foundations, and the dreadful shadowy form that seeks their return…
The man with no sense of humour who plays a joke that has deadly results…
The legendary gambling club where something far more precious than money is at
stake… ….
The book of ghost stories whose contents prove more than usually absorbing for the unfortunate reader…
The solitary lighthouse in the middle of a treacherous sea, and the nightmare that awaits its keepers one stormy night, when someone comes knocking at the door…
The painter whose commission for an unseen sponsor produces horrifying portraits that capture more than a mere likeness of the subjects…
The old house with an alarming history, and the professor who is drawn to it in hope of fulfilling his overwhelming ambition to finally see a ghost…
And the gentlemen’s club where the patrons gather on Hallowe’en night to exchange ghoulish tales, and where a very special tale of horror must yet be told.

Here are stories of phantoms and demons; of those who are haunted by them, and those, like Dr. Lawrence, the antiquarian scholar, who seek them and face them. Here are stories of They that Dwell in Dark Places!