There’s a great review of We Bleed Orange & Black over at All Hallows Geek and my in-depth interview just popped up on The Big Seance podcast. I wanted to post those links here before the swirling newsfeeds and social media moved on.
“the perfect collection of short stories for Halloween in quarantine.”
All Hallows Geek has become a vital source of news for me amid the constant changes and upheavals with this year’s Halloween. I highly recommend you sign up to stay updated (and enjoy reviews and long form entertainment like the live streaming concert and behind the music with Sean Keller!)
I had an absolute blast talking with Patrick on The Big Seance podcast. He’s working hard to present a bonanza of Halloween entertainment this year and is always keeping it spooky with paranormal investigations and ghostly topics. Listen to find out what happens when fudge meets salad!
I’ll have a few more interviews and reviews to share in the coming weeks, but these two were definitely highlights!
A twisted faerie finds a lost child, a teenage werewolf sneaks out during a full moon, and a legion of monsters begins the downfall of man. Explore Halloween from Appalachia to the Arctic Circle and journey from the Old West to Mars.
This spooktacular goody bag harvests all the joys and terrors of the best night of the year. If you love air crisp as cider and scented with burning leaves, if you greet the darkness with a jack o’lantern grin, and if you yearn for the veil between worlds to grow thin, then you bleed orange & black. Get it now!
Book 3 of the acclaimed Weird Western series, Merkabah Rider!
The Rider and Kabede must rally a US Cavalry troop against an army of the undead led by three of Adon’s renegade riders if they are to survive THE LONG SABBATH.
The Rider infiltrates an Apache stronghold to convince the combined forces of Vittorio and Geronimo not to lend their might to the forces of THE WAR PROPHET.
The Rider sets out to rescue the succubus Nehema from the wrath of THE MULES OF THE MAZZIKIM.
In a frontier prison, he comes face to face with his greatest enemy, THE MAN CALLED OTHER.
Finally, seeking to learn the remaining secrets of Adon’s plot to bring about The Hour of Incursion, the Rider and his companions arrive in Tombstone only to be confronted with the horror of THE FIRE KING TRIUMPHANT.
Phew! That’s a lot of books, I bet the shelves inside your eReader are starting to creak. If I could toss one more slim volume upon the pile, it would be my new collection:
Between The Teeth
16 tales of horror and science fiction that will sink their fangs into you and won’t let go.
Get it here, enjoy your books and have a Happy Hallowe’en!
Before you fill up your sacks with candy and razor blades, be sure to collect these terrifying reads!
All is Dust in the Land of the Eternal Sun
All is sand and dust Civilization teeters on the brink of collapse as the last vestiges of humanity toil beneath an unforgiving sun. Jethro finds himself the unwilling hero of a tale that brings godless men, lawless bandits, and the savage people that inhabit the fringe into conflict. With his own past haunting his every step, can he find redemption? It hasn’t rained in years. It may never rain again. For fans of Ray Bradbury, There Will be Blood, and Oil!
Write Like Hell is the first horror and dark fantasy anthology released by Sentinel Creatives. Adapted from the zine released under the same name, Write Like Hell features stories from Scott Miller, Justin Probyn and Mitchell Luthi.
Between these pages, you’ll find a feast of fiction for you to sink your teeth into. This release see the debuts of not one but two writers.
Scott Miller’s Panopticon is as unsettling as it is well-crafted. Pessimistic horror at its finest, this is a must read for fans of Connolly and Ligotti.
Justin Probyn’s debut, Void Born, blends gritty sci-fi, gore and cosmic-horror into one seamless festival of the obscene.
My own collection, Between the Teeth, collects 16 tales of horror and science fiction that will sink their fangs into you and won’t let go.
– A serial killer ends up in an emergency room, but a heart attack may be the least of his problems.
– A researcher hunts a rare spider in the jungles of Myanmar.
– A greedy dentist gets the most interesting client of his life.
Witness soldiers trapped in a crocodile infested swamp, a preacher hunting demon outlaws, and karma catching up to a Bangkok body snatcher. Whatever flavor of the macabre you crave, you will find it Between the Teeth.
My annual Halloween playlists have featured a lot of Hip Hop, so this year I dug six feet deeper to find 13 new tracks. The Horrorcore genre is filled with amazing songs from artists like Insane Poetry and Immortal Technique, but those are too scary to dance to. This mix will set the Halloween mood and keep people moving.
Amityville (The House on the Hill) by Lovebug Starski
This old school Monster Mash is the perfect way to start a party
The Crypt Jam by John Kassir
I’m not sure it gets more Halloween, or 90’s, than this one
Maniac Cop Rap by Barnes and Brian “B.Dub” Woods
Movie credit raps are THE BEST
Addams Groove by MC Hammer
Take foolish pride, put it aside, and groove to MC Hammer
Monster Squad Rap by Michael Sembello
5 minutes of Halloween flavor
Murder Ink by Dr. Dre
If you are going to rap about a murder spree, do it to John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’
Chuckie by Geto Boyz
Don’t like it? Blame it on Chucky
Nine Dead Bodies by Esham
I’m going with a live version because it suits this wild, raucous song
Halloween on Military Street by Insane Clown Posse
This forgotten freshness takes you on a Trick or Treating journey
Alive (Nightmare) by Kid Cudi
I believe there is sufficient evidence to officially declare this a werewolf song
Sasquatch by Ice Cube
Time to get the party ramped back up with some Squatchin’
Bollywood Undead by Kung Fu Vampire
If you love bhangra, kung fu and vampires this is the track for you
1-800-Suicide by Gravediggaz
Any Gravediggaz song would work, but this one ends with Vincent Price’s laughter
It has recently come to my attention that there is a sub-genre of music called Horror Reggae. I don’t get a lot of Reggae in my diet, but the dollop of horror makes it quite delicious.
Here is a handpicked list of Reggae, Dub, and Calypso horror songs for your Hallowe’en party. Caribbean scares come mostly in the form of Obeah (voodoo, witch doctors), Duppy (spirits) and jumbies (zombies, evil creatures). If you want to get political, however, you sing about vampires. Lots of vampires.
Gimme some Horror Reggae!
1) Dracula Prince of Darkness by King Horror.
King Horror seems less interested in metaphors for societal ills and political corruption and more interested in screaming about monsters.
2) Witch Doctor by Mighty Sparrow
3) Mr. Brown by Bob Marley & the Wailers
Mr. Brown is a clown who rides to town in a coffin.
4) Ketch Vampire by Lee Perry
Jah Jah sent us here to catch vampire
We have the chalice to light up Jah fire
When I-and-I a-go catch them vampire
I-and-I a go set them on fire
5) Obeah Man by Lone Ranger
6) Dracula by Desmond Dekker
Don’t trust a big butt and a smile
7)Duppy Conqueror by Bob Marley and the Wailers
8) Vampire by Lee Perry and the Upsetters
9) Frankenstein by King Horror
Only Frankenstein can bust up these vampires in the list
10) Vampire by Peter Tosh
11) Obeah Wedding by Mighty Sparrow
A diss track against a girl so ugly she needs necromancy. Damn.
12) Chase Vampire by Sancho
13) Zombie Jamboree by King Flash and Calypso Carnival
The Season of the Witch is upon us, and once again I have conjured songs for your Halloween party. The theme for this year is Witches. There are too many great weird songs to choose from, so I used arcane magicks to pick my lucky 13.
Turn on any classic rock station and you’re bound to hear Love Potion No.9, I Put a Spell on You, Black Magic Woman, Witchy Woman or a ditty by Fleetwood Mac. This list is not meant to be comprehensive. I’m scooping down deeper into the cauldron and tossing back any tune you can’t dance to.
Come, have a sip of strange brew and listen for a spell.
Season of the Witch by Donovan (This isn’t No. 1, it’s the introduction)
Devil Woman by Cliff Richard (The 60s and 70s- the golden age of witch songs)
Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford (I love these southern fried stories full of creepy bayou atmosphere. “Snakes hang thick from the Cyprus trees, like sausage on a smokehouse wall.”)
Marie Laveau by Bobby Bare (This is a novelty song, but it harkens back to the time when everyone knew about the Witch Queen of New Orleans.)
Marie Laveau by Dr. John (This song does the Witch Queen more reverence.)
Voodoo by The Neville Brothers (Voodoo songs are often songs about love)
Voodoo Woman by Curtis Knight (or love lost)
Voodoo Woman by Koko Taylor (The next chapter in Curtis’ story?)
One Eyed Witch by The 7th Court (The manic energy of the electric organ just sounds like Halloween)
Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band (The cheesy fx of this music video had me spellbound as a kid.)
She’s My Witch by Kip Tyler (Let’s down tune for some Rockabilly and a few rippin’ guitar songs)
Brujo by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (Screamin’ Jay is Halloween royalty, and he’s representing the Man-witches)
Wicked Old Witch by John Fogerty
19 Witches by Monster Magnet
The Witch by The Cult
Witchfinder General by Carl Douglas (It’s not all love songs. Pimps up, Witches down.)
The Salem Witch Trial by Kiriae Crucible (Dark days in Salem. But on the bright side: electric organ!)
It’s only right to give the last word on witches to the ladies who have been so persecuted and maligned. And who better than Yoko?)
Yes, I’m a Witch by Yoko Ono (the 1974 original is smoother, but this version brings the madness home)
Bonus: I Want to be Evil by Eartha Kitt
For five more curated lists, check out my other Halloween mixes here, here, here, here and here.
