Horror Book Review: ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES

Forty-five years after the release of the B movie spoof Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, we have a novelization by an author who is perfectly suited to bring the absurdity of the film’s premise to the written page.  Thanks to an amusing tweet by horror writer Jeff Strand and a serious response by Encyclopocalypse Publications, the book …

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The Black Phone, Terrifier 2 top Fangoria 2023 Chainsaw Awards 

The Black Phone and Terrifier 2 led the winners at the Fangoria 2023 Chainsaw Awards aired by Shudder on May 21. The Black Phone, an adaptation of the 2004 short story by Joe Hill, won Best Wide Release Movie and Best Screenplay by C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson. The film also earned two actor awards. Madeleine …

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The joy of Taylor Swift, a tiny poodle, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, and Mom and Elvis

I had the privilege of attending the Taylor Swift concert in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday thanks to my sweetheart’s tenacity when tickets went on sale in February. Her name is Taylor, too, and she waited on the Internet five hours to buy tickets. I like some of Taylor Swift’s music, but as a teenager of …

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SHORT SHOTS | ‘My Body’

(Editor’s note: SHORT SHOTS is a column where I review short stories from horror anthologies, collections, and zines.) “Meat cleaver in hand and her belly full of blood, Cynthia hid beneath the carving table, trembling with fear.”  This killer first sentence jump-starts the culinary horror short story “My Body” by two-time Splatterpunk Award-winning author Wesley Southard. …

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SHORT SHOTS | ‘Long Distance Call’ 

(Editor’s note: SHORT SHOTS is a column where I review short stories from horror anthologies, collections, and zines.) Illinois author John Everson’s horror novels and short stories often use the disturbing combination of the occult and taboo sex to explore infidelity and obsession. While he won a Bram Stoker Award for First Novel with Covenant …

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2022 Bram Stoker Awards Final Ballot announced

The quintet of talented authors vying for Superior Achievement in a Novel at the 2022 Bram Stoker Awards already have 22 nominations and four wins among them, but all five are looking for their first win in the most notable category of the night. Winners of the 2022 Bram Stoker Awards will be announced June …

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Digital ezine Horror Curated releases second issue

Publisher HorrorAddicts.net released the second issue of its new digital magazine Horror Curated with the theme “Bloody Tea.”  The brainchild of creator and horror lifestyle podcaster Emerian Rich, Horror Curated features 48 full-color pages packed with interviews, reviews, and interesting articles on horror history, spooky locations, and crafts. To visit the ezine’s Etsy site, click here. For this issue, I had the honor of interviewing …

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Lee, Nelson score multiple nominations for 2023 Splatterpunk Awards

Lee's The Television is nominated for Best Novel. Legendary Extreme Horror author Edward Lee received three nominations and rising star Bridgett Nelson earned two when the final ballot for the 2023 Splatterpunk Awards was announced by Awards co-founders Wrath James White and Brian Keene on February 8. The sixth annual Awards recognize superior achievement in the …

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