Fuck Vampires!

Discovering quality writers in the vast cyberspaces of, err, cyberspace isn't the easiest of tasks and that, dear readers, is where Chamber of Horrors will come in handy by suggesting you read the excellent Fuck Vampires by Jonas Kyratzes. It's a rare short story that attempts to bring horror into the age of the crisis and writing much more about it would only result in spoilers. All you need to know is that it's short, innovative and excellently written. Oh, and very appropriate for our times too.

A way to say we are sorry...

Holidays are finally over. So it’s time we all went back to our lives as before. I know that there was a big promise breaking from our part so this is me trying to make up for it.

We had promised a top ten list about scary Christmas stories that were never posted. Our sincere apologies for that, I just hope that the following piece can make up for it. Since the post was promised to satisfy readers and not watchers I thought that a classic gothic tale by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would do the trick. It can of course be no other than “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.

When one listens to the name Sir Arthur Conan Doyle one usually thinks about Sherlock Holmes and detective stories. That is actually true so what is a detective story doing in this kind of a blog?

Well, when the supernatural and old tales of curses and hellhounds are incorporated to the story how can we not be tempted to write about it?

The story takes place in the English country; at “Baskerville Hall”. A vast estate surrounded by moors swamps and the aura of mysterious ghostly presence. Found dead with a horrified look on his face somewhere in the haunted woods of his land Sir Charles Baskerville, terrifies his heirs reminding them of an old curse.

Sherlock Holmes is called upon to investigate the circumstances of his demise and is made aware of a tale long forgotten. One of Baskerville’s ancestors enslaved by lust and madness sells his soul to have what he cannot. His life ended hunting what he desired and one of his hounds was the collector of the price paid. And so the curse begins for all male heirs of the Baskerville estate.

Footprints found at the crime scene suggested that Sir Charles was desperately running away from something that could only be described as a ‘gigantic hound’, while Holmes receives threatening letters telling him to avoid the moors...

Has the Hellhound been unleashed once again claiming the souls of the Baskervilles?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s impeccable writing takes the reader to a place filled with fear and agony. Highly recommended “The Hound of the Baskervilles” can and will satisfy even the most demanding of readers. You can read it -for free- right here.

And for those who prefer watching to reading there are at least two dozen attempts to capture the feeling of the story in film, but if you ask me the ones that actually do are the black and white ones. There is something unearthly about the absence of color that makes those films even darker…

The Tell-Tale Heart Animated Movie

Some people, especially those that haven't actually read this particular short story, should actually go on and read the thing. It's a Poe classic, it is. For the rest of us, the video posted above should be a particularly interesting interpretation of the Tell-Tale Heart. It's a highly atmospheric 1953 animated short narrated by James Mason. Shockingly, this very video was the very first cartoon to be rated adults-only in the UK.

The Cruelty of Being Edgar Alan Poe

I remember the first time one of Poe's books found its way into my hands. I was just a teenager and had no idea that there was a world as messed up as I thought I was (or still am?). I instantly fell in love and for the following three months I devoured anything with his name on it... The pain and agony that reflected on every single one of his short stories and poems, along with the total lack of happy endings made me sink deeper and deeper in to his world.

I decided to read everything in the order that was written and so I read and read, thinking to myself "just how cruel can he be"? Little did I know; I simply had no idea of just how much...

It was time for “The Pit and the Pendulum”, one of his few works that had no sign of the supernatural, and the critics were diverse. Some said that it was one of his softer pieces because of the ending. I was intrigued so I set out to read it, see what everyone was talking about and decide for myself.

When I was done, I realized that he could be crueler than I ever thought! This was a writer that had hooked all his readers in pain and unspeakable horror, but this was soooo different. I am actually writing this, in order to give an alternative interpretation to what Poe had in mind when he wrote this. Agree or not, this is how my poor little mind worked.

The pit, all bloody and haunted by the hundreds of lives it had already claimed, the man, mortified and seeing the end approaching inch by inch, and the pendulum, all set up and ready to harvest yet another soul. I kept reading and I must say it was the first time I ever identified as strongly as I did with the victim. The pendulum was there just a mere second away from giving the final blow and rendering the only finale fitting. I could taste the desperation, smell the fear, hear the sound of the final sway when... oh horror of horrors, a hand reached out and he was saved.

A happy ending? If thats not cruel, I don't know what is.

A good Starting Point

I was getting ready for a short trip to some mysterious destination for a little R n' R. I was almost done packing when I realized I hadn't packed any books. Big mistake! So, I went to my bookshelf running my fingers through the titles when my hand stopped at a book I didn't remember I had.

A great gift by great friends (isn't it wonderful when friends know exactly what to get you?).

A beautiful collage of Gothic tales with an excellent introduction covering questions such as “what is gothic?”, The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales makes for an excellent holiday companion. Authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Hardy, Jorge Luis Borges, Angela Carter and others cover almost every era of the genre.

Since we all have personal favorites I'm sure that you will not all agree with the stories chosen representing every one of these authors. Nevertheless, this collection of horror – ghost stories is a smart way to initiate beginners to the beautiful dark and romantic world of goth.

Eerie settings, cursed souls, brave and honorable heroes who come to their untimely demise or prevail against all odds. Scary and passionate, dark and profoundly disturbing, each story speaks of the ill minds of their writers and the agony of their existence.

If you are seeking for something nice and relaxing to read during your vacation, this is not recommended, but if you, by any chance, are as addicted to decay as some of us, then rest assured that this book will get you there...

P.S: Have a gloomy and frightful summer children!