Category Archives: books

Thunderclap

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Sara

The first time Britt saw the girl in the tight, thin dress he knew damn well he was going to have her, or go to hell trying. But he hadn’t reckoned then on the girl’s husband, a sadistic runt of a guy who’d smash in a man’s skull as happily as blink at him. He hadn’t reckoned on Newt, the lecherous, broken man who couldn’t bear to see other men whole. Worst of all he hadn’t reckoned on Ruby, the two-bit floozy who knew every conniving trick of her trade.

By the time he discovered the trap these people were building for themselves – and for him – it was too late, way too late, to get out…

Copyright 1951 by Jack Sheridan. Third Printing, November 1959.

In celebration of the glorious British summer we’ve been having this year, here’s my Gold Medal contribution. I love this cover – as dramatic and storm-tossed as any I’ve seen.

Leave a comment

Posted in books and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Monsters

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Sara

From the depths of the sea…

From the secret places of the universe

MONSTERS

A HOST OF HIDEOUS THINGS – writhing… crawling…some scaled, some slimy, some finned… fashioned from the darkest places of man’s imagination…shaped grotesquely in nightmare forms… and some so horrifying they have no shape at all…

MONSTERS

Corgi Books 1970.

Deformed..

Evil…

Bent on horror and destruction…

Rearing up on horny, gleaming legs…

Growing from the floor in a bulbous, slobbering mass…

Grimacing from a tiger shark’s face…

MONSTERS – Eight tales of terror by A.E Van Vogt.

What amazing artwork – I can only wish my aura is as spectacularly colourful as this cover model’s.

Leave a comment

Posted in books, books and more books and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

The Yard Vintage and Makers Market

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Sara

And so it begins….

With only days to go till the fabulous Diplock Yard Vintage & Makers Market throws opens its door for another season of handmade, craft and vintage loveliness.

Held on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month the Yard re-opens this month with a suitably spring themed market on Sunday March 11th.

We’re going to be there with lots of horror and vintage pulp to chill the cockles of your heart so please stop by and say hello. Thereafter we will be at the market every second Sunday of the month.

They are always looking for more stalls and are always open to ideas  – Bingo….jam stalls….clothes alteration….pet accessories…10 minute massage stalls….pop-up art exhibitions….flower stalls…..The more the merrier and weird is always good!

So whether you’re a potential stallholder or you just want to pop by for a cuppa and a browse, follow the links below for more information.

Diplocks Yard (73 North Road, Brighton) is just a few minutes walk from Brighton Station, is open from 11am to 5pm and is free.

Follow The Yard on Facebook: HERE.

Leave a comment

Posted in books, Events and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Safer Dead

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Sara

The editor of a monthly crime and detective magazine assigns to two of his staff writers, Sladen and Low, the investigation of the strange disappearance of an unknown showgirl. The disappearance was reported fourteen months earlier, but the trail is cold. The police, with nothing to work on, have lost interest. The assignment doesn’t look hopeful.

However, the investigators start asking questions and almost immediately things begin to happen. Witnesses are murdered, an attempt is made to do away with the investigators. The police once more open the case. The disappearance of the showgirl is found to be only a minor part of a ruthless plot.

Safer Dead has the authentic James Hadley Chase touch, which has deservedly earned him the title ‘Master of the Art of Deception’. It moves with the pace and power of forked lightening.

Robert Hale Ltd. Made and printed in Great Britain by John Gardner (Printers) Ltd. First published 1954. This edition reprinted December 1956.

Another gorgeous James Hadley Chase paperback to compliment  I’ll Bury My Dead, included in an earlier post. This cover is illustrated by James Pollack who did the cover on Harley Street Hypnotist, below. 

Related articles

Leave a comment

Posted in books, books and more books and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Harley Street Hypnotist

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Sara

Harley Street Hypnotist

How do you hypnotize a patient? How are mental and emotional problems solved by hypnosis?

This quite remarkable and dramatic book debunks the myths attached to the science – for instance that people can be hypnotized against their will, or if hypnotized can be made to perform actions inconsistent with their character.

It tells of the remarkable use of hypnosis in relieving pain during childbirth, so that now the Ministry of Health has ruled that doctors using hypnosis on such occasions may receive the same fee as an anaesthetist…

This one’s for all you budding Peter Powers out there – I must say, I love the cover art on this one.

1 Comment

Posted in books, books and more books and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Titan’s Daughter

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Sara

The tetraploids, giant men and women created by genetic experiment, only wanted to live their lives in peace, but they had to live in a world of the jealous ‘normals’ who gathered in screaming mobs with murder in their hearts.

Sena, the heroine of this remarkable science-fiction novel, is a tetraploid giantess whose youth would last more than a century, who looked with wonder at the toy bridges and houses of normal men and women who regarded her with fear and revulsion. Beautiful, defenceless Sena was the first of a new race, but would she be allowed to live…?

Previously published in the USA by the Berkley Publishing Corporation in 1961. First Foure Square Edition 1963.

Not sure how a nine-foot giantess can be that defenceless in a world of ‘normals’ but from the cover, I’m guessing she must have been vastly outnumbered or something…

Leave a comment

Posted in books, books and more books and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Frighten Brighton

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Sara

Frighten Brighton at the Rock Inn yesterday was a great success. We had a lot of fun meeting other horror fans and chatting about books old and new.Thanks to everyone who stopped by our stall, you made our day!

If you weren’t able to make it this time, there will be another Frighten Brighton Horror double bill taking place on Saturday February 25th. What horror films would you like to see? Make a suggestion and find out more over at the Brighton Horror Posse Facebook page HERE.

Leave a comment

Posted in books, Events and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Frankenstein

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Sara

“It proved a wet, ungenial summer, and incessant rain often confined us for days to the house… In the evenings we crowded around a blazing wood fire, and occasionally amused ourselves with some German stories of ghosts, which happened to fall into our hands. These tales excited in us a playful desire of imitation… ‘We will each write a ghost story,’ said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to.”

Collier Books 1961

At this challenge Mary Shelley began work on the “ghost story” that was to  evolve into the most celebrated horror novel in literary history. Frankenstein was published the next year and became the rage of London. In generations since, the story of Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created has been read by millions all over the world. It inspired hundreds of imitations, but it has never been equalled for its masterful manipulation of the elements of horror and suspense.

You’ve read the book (haven’t you?!) now watch the film! Tomorrow, 3rd December, those lovely people behind the Classic Horror Campaign are holding an all day horror fest at the Rock Inn, Brighton, with book signings, stalls, loads of giveaways and of course some great films! We are going to be there with a few nice books so stop by and say Hi. More details below and over at: Frighten Brighton.

Pan Books 1979

Leave a comment

Posted in books, books and more books and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

The Birds

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Sara


Pan Books 1977.

Daphne du Maurier has a rare gift for dragging up those irrational fears that lurk just behind the smooth plaster of existence. In ‘The Birds’ she somehow lends probability to an impossibility which is nearly too fearful to imagine. United by mad hatred the birds – the gulls, finches, crows and tits – have combined to wipe out humanity. This strange haunting fantasy has been chosen by Alfred Hitchcock for the making of a horror film.

I’m posting this because I got bitten by  a seagull today (don’t ask – it’s a long and bloody story, though not as long or as bloody as this one).

Below is the Penquin 1963 edition with cover art by Virgil Burnett.

Leave a comment

Posted in books, books and more books and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Bewitched

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Sara

They were young, married and doing what comes supernaturally!

For the first time in book form – the hilarious extra-sensory relations between America’s most over-hexed husband and his all too enchanting wife…

Samantha –

A witch in wife’s clothing.

A perfectly charming lady with earthbound tastes, magical twitches, and some ideas about love that are out of this world.

Bewitched. A novel by Al Hine.

First Dell printing February 1965.

Over-hexed? Extra-sensory relations?! Whoever wrote the back copy sure earned their money for this one! Bewitched was one of my favourite TV shows growing up. One of the funniest characters was Samantha’s mum, Endora. A quick flick through the pages of this book and I’m pleased to see she makes an appearance! So my Halloween reading is sorted!

3 Comments

Posted in books, books and more books and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
→
Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started