He Hath led me and brought me into darkness...

Today's terror filled tale is  from one of my very favorite horror writers, Jonathan Aycliffe.  Aycliffe may not be as well know as King or Straub, but he is every bit as talented.  Aycliffe wrote about eight horror titles throughout the 90s and almost all have achieved cult status amongst horror fans.  His books are absolutely chilling and there isn't one that I wouldn't recommend to a reader looking for a good scare.

One of my faves is The Vanishment.  The Vanishment tells the story of Peter and Sarah Clare, a young British couple who rent a lovely old house on the Cornish coast in hopes of rebuilding their very troubled marriage.  Their plans for an idyllic vacation are soon dashed when Sarah begins to feel uncomfortable in the house. Peter dismisses her fears until she vanishes without a trace and he is forced to confront the evil that seems to emanate from the old house in order to try and discover what has happened to his wife.

Mr. Aycliffe's books are twisty, complex and extremely dark.  Just when one feels that they have the situation figured out, he throws in a twist that we never see coming.  His narrators are notoriously unreliable and in some cases, probably deranged.  One is never quite sure if the supernatural terrors found in the stories cause the psychological breakdown or if the mental illness was there all along, feeding and in some cases, inviting the presence of the evil.

Unfortunately, Aycliffe's horror titles have been out of print for many years.  If you consider yourself a true fan of the horror genre, take my advice and track down a copy of any, or more advisedly, all of his work.  Although these out of print titles can be a bit pricey, they are worth every penny!

Works by Jonathan Aycliffe:
Naomi's Room - 1991
Whispers in the Dark - 1992
The Vanishment - 1993
The Matrix - 1994
The Lost - 1996
A Shadow on the Wall - 1999
The Talisman - 1999
A Garden Lost in Time - 2004

PS.  Jonathan Aycliffe is a pen name for the British writer/scholar Denis McEoin, he also writes suspense thrillers under the name of Daniel Easterman.

Things that go bump in the night...

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday! I love the fact that we celebrate scary stuff and you get candy. What more can one ask of a holiday? To honor the day, I'm going to give you with my scariest suggestions to help you get in the mood. Just a note, today we're going to expand the formats, I'll give you a film and an album as well as a book title. I want this to be a Halloween that provides thrills and chills, whether you choose to read, view or listen...

Naomi's Room by the amazing British writer, Jonathan Aycliffe remains one of the scariest books I have ever read. This book has achieved something of a cult status, and deservedly so. Do not plan to read through the night if you are alone in the house, especially if you have an attic.  IJS. Terrifying stuff and well worth hunting down, cause it is out of print.

Amazing ghost story from writer/director Conor McPherson, starring the equally excellent (and incredibly hot) Ciaran Hinds. No one does ghost stories better than McPherson and this is a doozy.

Even though I am a fan of classic country music (from the 50s through the 80s), I was never big on country crooner Wagoner, except for this classic of dark, violent and depraved love. This is an amazing concept album where every song works to support the idea that life and love is a sad and violent, although passionate, undertaking! With lyrics like "lord, you should have seen their frantic faces, they screamed and cried please put away that knife..." and "I dug and dug for hours and then I planted flowers on the first Mrs. Jones..." this is light years away from the insipid dreck that passes for country music today.  Chilling!

If you enjoy a good fright and a visit with the darker side on occasion then I highly recommend these three titles.  Here's wishing everyone a spectacular Halloween and if you want to leave some scary suggestions yourself, I'd love to have them.

The Eclipse
Naomi's Room
Cold Hard Facts Of Life/Soul Of A Convict