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On the first day of Christmas,My true love sent to me
A corpse hanging from a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Two werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree.
On the third day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Three zombies snarling
Two Werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree.
On the fourth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Four Wheezers wheezing
Three zombies snarling
Two Werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree
On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Five buzzing saws
Four Wheezers wheezing
Three zombies snarling
Two Werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree
On the sixth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Six yetis freezing
Five buzzing saws
Four Wheezers wheezing
Three zombies snarling
Two Werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree
On the seventh day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Seven Templars fighting
Six yetis freezing
Five buzzing saws
Four Wheezers wheezing
Three zombies snarling
Two Werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree
On the eighth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Eight crawlers creeping
Seven Templars fighting
Six yetis freezing
Five buzzing saws
Four Wheezers wheezing
Three zombies snarling
Two Werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree
On the ninth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Nine Knights of Nowhere
Eight crawlers creeping
Seven Templars fighting
Six yetis freezing
Five buzzing saws
Four Wheezers wheezing
Three zombies snarling
Two Werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree
On the tenth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Ten Gods a-quarelling
Nine Knights of Nowhere
Eight crawlers creeping
Seven Templars fighting
Six yetis freezing
Five buzzing saws
Four Wheezers wheezing
Three zombies snarling
Two Werewolves howling
And a corpse hanging from a pear tree
Welcome again! I was the third stop and I'm also the tenth stop on The Twelve Deaths of Christmas Blog Tour, courtesy of The Chainsaw Gang which is made up of Alex Bell, Alexander Gordon Smith, Alex Milway, David Gatward, Sam Enthoven, Sarwat Chadda, Steve Feasey, Jon Mayhew, Stephen Deas, William Hussey and Sarah Silverwood. They are a group of UK horror authors who write about vampires, werewolves, zombies, dragons and a whole host of other things that make you want to hide beneath the bed covers!
As part of the blog tour, I had the opportunity to ask them all questions and I've chosen one that elicited a lot of answers:
As part of the blog tour, I had the opportunity to ask them all questions and I've chosen one that elicited a lot of answers:
What is your favourite horror story?
Jon Mayhew
(Author of "Mortlock")
The Monkey's Paw by WW Jacobs. A fantastic piece of writing that sums up the great English Ghost Story, understated but leaves enough to your imagination to keep you awake at night.
William Hussey
(Author of "The Witchfinder")
Jekyll and Hyde. No competition. The best horror tale ever written because, unlike those other horror staples, Frankenstein and Dracula, the monster in Jekyll and Hyde comes from within. You can't hide from or defend yourself against the evil of your own heart. Plus, it's got one of the most chilling revelations in horror history - Jekyll's realization that it was the first batch of ingredients that was tainted, and that he cannot now trace his way back to the ingredient that activated the potion. Even God cannot help him now...
I love that story so much I wrote a stage adaptation of it that was put on around Lincolnshire. It was my reaction against the mistake that most adaptations make - giving Jekyll a love interest! If he had a girlfriend and a well-balanced love life he wouldn't become Hyde!
Sarwat Chadda
(Author of "The Devil's Kiss" and Dark Goddess")
The Woman in Black stageplay. It has only two actors in it and minimal props but the slow build up of tension is excruciating. The reveal of the woman in black is the only time in my entire life the hairs on the back of my neck really did stand up.mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
Steven Feasey
(Author of "Changeling" AKA "Wereling")
Salem's Lot by Stephen King. Still the best vampire story out there, and a great example of the horrow supremo at his chilling best. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin runs a close second.
David Gatward
(Author of "The Dead")
What, just one? Are you mental? The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill, The Hellbound Heart, by Clive Barker, Mr Hands, by Gary Braunbeck, 20th Century Ghost, by Joe Hill, pretty much everything by HP Lovecraft, The Lost, by Jack Ketchum, Skinner, by Neal Asher. The list could go on...
Stephen Deas
(Author of "The Thief Taker's Apprentice")
Tough call between Stephen King's "The Fog" or else Clive Barker's "Weaveworld". Adam Nevill's "Apartment 16" was a pretty good more recent read.
Sam Enthoven
(Author of "Crawlers" AKA the book with the most disgusting cover ever)
Do you know Gabriel-Ernest, by Saki? If anyone reading this hasn't come across Saki's stories before, you should definitely check them out: he's like an unholy mixture of P.G. Wodehouse and David Lynch. Gabriel-Ernest is a drawing-room werewolf story, and it's terrific. But as with any time I'm asked what my favourite something is, I reserve the right to change my mind, possibly within the next two minutes... Hmmm, now my favourite horror story is "The Loves of Lady Purple", by Angela Carter. Hang on, now it's "Let's Go to Golgotha!", by Garry Kilworth. Whoops, no, now it's "The Dark Land", by Michael Marshall Smith. Or...ARGH! ;D
Alex Bell
(Author of "Lex Trent Versus The Gods")
"The Whistle". I can't remember who wrote it but it was read to me when I was a child, and seriously creeped me out. Also, "Blood Crazy", by Simon Clark: the original parents-are-zombies novel. And by far the best.
Sarah Silverwood
(Author of "The Double Edged Sword")
"Salem's Lot", by Stephen King, or "The Birds", by Daphne Du Maurier.
Alexander Gordon Smith
(Author of "The Furness" series)
It has to be the M.R. James classic "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad" (and the BBC adaptation which was even scarier). It's about a man who finds a whistle on the beach, inscribed in latin with the words 'Whistle and I'll Come to You'. Of course, the man blows it... It's absolutely terrifying. I love Japanese ghost stories too, especially the ones told by Koizumi Yakumo. I dare you to read Mujina without getting goosebumps (check it out here on my friend Cristy Burne’s site!) One of my favourite contemporary horror writers is Ramsey Campbell – nobody on earth conjures the same gut-wrenching atmosphere of pure horror as he does.
Thank you to all the authors that answered my question and for Sarwat for being chief organiser of the blog tour. NEXT STOP is at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books. Be sure to check it out tomorrow!
(Author of "Mortlock")
The Monkey's Paw by WW Jacobs. A fantastic piece of writing that sums up the great English Ghost Story, understated but leaves enough to your imagination to keep you awake at night.
William Hussey
(Author of "The Witchfinder")
Jekyll and Hyde. No competition. The best horror tale ever written because, unlike those other horror staples, Frankenstein and Dracula, the monster in Jekyll and Hyde comes from within. You can't hide from or defend yourself against the evil of your own heart. Plus, it's got one of the most chilling revelations in horror history - Jekyll's realization that it was the first batch of ingredients that was tainted, and that he cannot now trace his way back to the ingredient that activated the potion. Even God cannot help him now...
I love that story so much I wrote a stage adaptation of it that was put on around Lincolnshire. It was my reaction against the mistake that most adaptations make - giving Jekyll a love interest! If he had a girlfriend and a well-balanced love life he wouldn't become Hyde!
Sarwat Chadda
(Author of "The Devil's Kiss" and Dark Goddess")
The Woman in Black stageplay. It has only two actors in it and minimal props but the slow build up of tension is excruciating. The reveal of the woman in black is the only time in my entire life the hairs on the back of my neck really did stand up.mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
Steven Feasey
(Author of "Changeling" AKA "Wereling")
Salem's Lot by Stephen King. Still the best vampire story out there, and a great example of the horrow supremo at his chilling best. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin runs a close second.
David Gatward
(Author of "The Dead")
What, just one? Are you mental? The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill, The Hellbound Heart, by Clive Barker, Mr Hands, by Gary Braunbeck, 20th Century Ghost, by Joe Hill, pretty much everything by HP Lovecraft, The Lost, by Jack Ketchum, Skinner, by Neal Asher. The list could go on...
Stephen Deas
(Author of "The Thief Taker's Apprentice")
Tough call between Stephen King's "The Fog" or else Clive Barker's "Weaveworld". Adam Nevill's "Apartment 16" was a pretty good more recent read.
Sam Enthoven
(Author of "Crawlers" AKA the book with the most disgusting cover ever)
Do you know Gabriel-Ernest, by Saki? If anyone reading this hasn't come across Saki's stories before, you should definitely check them out: he's like an unholy mixture of P.G. Wodehouse and David Lynch. Gabriel-Ernest is a drawing-room werewolf story, and it's terrific. But as with any time I'm asked what my favourite something is, I reserve the right to change my mind, possibly within the next two minutes... Hmmm, now my favourite horror story is "The Loves of Lady Purple", by Angela Carter. Hang on, now it's "Let's Go to Golgotha!", by Garry Kilworth. Whoops, no, now it's "The Dark Land", by Michael Marshall Smith. Or...ARGH! ;D
Alex Bell
(Author of "Lex Trent Versus The Gods")
"The Whistle". I can't remember who wrote it but it was read to me when I was a child, and seriously creeped me out. Also, "Blood Crazy", by Simon Clark: the original parents-are-zombies novel. And by far the best.
Sarah Silverwood
(Author of "The Double Edged Sword")
"Salem's Lot", by Stephen King, or "The Birds", by Daphne Du Maurier.
Alexander Gordon Smith
(Author of "The Furness" series)
It has to be the M.R. James classic "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad" (and the BBC adaptation which was even scarier). It's about a man who finds a whistle on the beach, inscribed in latin with the words 'Whistle and I'll Come to You'. Of course, the man blows it... It's absolutely terrifying. I love Japanese ghost stories too, especially the ones told by Koizumi Yakumo. I dare you to read Mujina without getting goosebumps (check it out here on my friend Cristy Burne’s site!) One of my favourite contemporary horror writers is Ramsey Campbell – nobody on earth conjures the same gut-wrenching atmosphere of pure horror as he does.
Thank you to all the authors that answered my question and for Sarwat for being chief organiser of the blog tour. NEXT STOP is at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books. Be sure to check it out tomorrow!
For more information on the Chainsaw Gang and about The Twelve Deaths of Christmas Blog Tour click here. There are prizes to be had!!
Like the new version of the song - very horrorific. Off to check out the rest of teh tour :-)
ReplyDeleteooh i like this blog tour! looks like i'll have to read 'salem's lot'!
ReplyDeleteI really love how the songs getting along...it's great!
ReplyDelete