Poetry magazines, web sites, and chapbooks
Star*Line, the Journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Society edited by Marge Simon is a long-running bi-monthly poetry magazine. There was a good dark poem by JoSelle Vanderhooft. Mythic Delirium, edited by Mike Allen, publishes two issues a year. In 2008 there was strong dark poetry by Jeannine Hall Gailey, Sonya Taaffe, Jessica Paige Wick, Gemma Files, and Jacqueline West. The Magazine of Speculative Poetry edited by Roger Dutcher is published twice a year. In 2008 there was an excellent dark poem by JoSelle Vanderhooft. Dreams and Nightmares, edited by David C. Kopaska-Merkel, has been publishing two or three issues annually since January 1986.
Signs & Wonders by Jennifer Crow (Sam's Dot) is a collection of over forty poems, all published previously. Crow's horror poetry has consistently received Honorable Mentions from me over the years. With illustrations by Marge B. Simon.
A Guide to Folktales in Fragile Dialects by Catherynne M. Valente (Norilana/Curiosities) is a must buy for anyone interested in dark fantasy poetry. Valente is one of the field's most talented poets and prose writers and this collection, with gorgeous cover art by Connie Toebe and lush, thought-provoking poems by Valente, is a perfect introduction to her poetic work. All but two of the poems are reprints. The Phantom World by Gary Crawford (Sam's Dot) has thirty poems, all previously published. Holy Land by Rauan Klassnik (Black Ocean) contains over fifty tiny poems, each only a few powerful lines long. More than half appear for the first time. The Journey to Kailash by Mike Allen (Norilana/Curiosities) is an excellent new collection by one of the best cross-genre poets in the genres of fantasy and dark fantasy. Ten of the more than sixty poems appear for the first time. The Nightmare Collection by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions Press) contains a good variety of this master poet's work, including a few appearing for the first time. Outgrow by Stella Brice (Art Club Press) is an impressive collection of thirty-nine ferocious reinterpretations of fairy tales. Dwarf Stars 2008 edited by Deborah Kolodji and Stephen M. Wilson (Science Fiction Poetry Association) presents the best speculative poems of ten lines or less from 2007. Included are a few horror and dark fantasy poems. The 2008 Rhysling Anthology edited by Drew Morse (Science Fiction Poetry Association) features ninety-six science fiction, fantasy, and horror poems considered the best of 2007 by the members of the association. This is the thirty-first Rhysling volume and it's used by members to vote for the best short and best long poems of the year. Virgin of the Apocalypse by Corinne de Winter (Sam's Dot) has fifty-six poems, all but nine published for the first time. Spores from Sharnoth and Other Madnesses by Leigh Blackmore (P'rea Press) contains forty-five fantasy and horror poems. Clark Ashton Smith: The Complete Poetry and Translations, Volume 1: The Abyss Triumphant and Clark Ashton Smith: The Complete Poetry and Translations, Volume 2: The Wine of Summer edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz (Hippocampus Press) represents an impressive achievement by Smith and by the editors, as they've included almost one thousand poems (about three hundred previously unpublished) written over fifty years and have made textual corrections by consulting the original manuscripts.
Nonfiction
Shadows over New England by David Goudsward and Scott T. Goudsward (BearManor Media) is a very entertaining guide to places (real and imaginary) in New England that have been the inspiration for horror stories, novels, and movies. Taboo Breakers: 18 Independent Films That Courted Controversy and Created a Legend by Calum Waddell (Telos) analyzes eighteen titles that Waddell believes pushed boundaries and used shock tactics to sell tickets. Even if you haven't seen some of the movies, the descriptions are so detailed that you get the idea. There are interviews with the directors, writers, and occasionally actors. Some of the movies included are Blood Feast, Night of the Living Dead, Cannibal Holocaust, Coffey, and The Plague Dogs. Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World's Most Popular Author by Justin Brooks (CD) has over nine hundred entries and covers all of King's published and known unpublished works from 1959 to the end of 2005. The New Annotated Dracula by Bram Stoker, edited and with a foreword and notes by Leslie S. Klinger (W. W. Norton), is a joy to behold. The book is massive, with over six hundred pages rich with material including the original 1897 text of the novel, annotations, illustrations, and photographs. Also included are an introduction by Neil Gaiman and a lengthy article on the context of Dracula.
The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula by Eric Nuzum (St. Martin's Griffin) explores the vampire in pop culture. Dark Banquet: Blood & the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures by Bill Schutt (Harmony), in which a zoologist takes readers on a voyage into the world of some of nature's strangest creatures-the sanguivores-those that subsist on blood. Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde by David Huckvale (McFarland) explains "how Hammer commissioned composers at the cutting edge of European musical modernism to write their movie scores, introducing the avant-garde into popular culture." With illustrations. The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dracula by Mark Dawidziak (Continuum) is a relatively brief (188 pages) but dense guide for the non-expert aficionado. Spirits and Death in Niagara by Marcy Italiano (Schiffer) is a guide to the supernatural and macabre in the towns of Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake on the Canadian-US border. Shock Festival by Stephen Romano (IDW) is an illustrated history of one hundred and one of the strangest, sleaziest, most outrageous movies you've never seen-because they're imaginary. With hundreds of exclusive, never-before-seen original movie posters and memorabilia items (of the non-existent films). A Halloween Anthology: Literary and Historical Writings Over The Centuries by Lisa Morton (McFarland) has twenty-seven entries including poems, short stories, excerpts from books on folklore, Irish and Scottish folk tales, and a one-act play. Horror Isn't a 4-Letter Word: Essays on Writing & Appreciating the Genre by Matthew Warner (Guide Dog Books) collects columns originally written between 2002 and 2007 for horrorworld.org and the Hellnotes newsletter. The Monster Hunter in Modern Popular Culture by Heather L. Duda (McFarland) surveys books, films, television shows, and graphic novels showing the evolution of the monster hunter from white, upper-class, educated male to everything from a vampire to a teenage girl with supernatural powers. Videodrome: Studies in the Horror Film by Tim Lucas (Millipede Press) celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Cronenberg film. Movie expert and publisher of Video Watchdog, Lucas has interviewed cast and crew, including exclusive, never-before-published interviews with Cronenberg, provides commentary and analysis of the film, and over sixty black-and-white and color photographs, many never before seen. The Great Monster Magazines: A Critical Study of the Black and White Publications of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s by Robert Michael "Bobb" Cotter (McFarland). Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Glenn Kay (Chicago Review Press) provides a chronological listing, with summaries and reviews, for more than two hundred and fifty films released from 1932 to 2008. Zombie CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead by Jonathan Maberry (Citadel) seems like the perfect companion volume to the Zombie Survival Guide of several years ago, covering the history, culture, and science of zombies. It also analyzes how an actual zombie epidemic might play out in the real world. Hazel Court Horror Queen: An Autobiography by Hazel Court (Tomahawk Press) is lavishly illustrated. Arts of Darkness: American Noir and the Quest for Redemption by Thomas S. Hibbs (Spence) is a critical examination of noir and neo-noir films through the lens of spiritual journeys and religious redemption. Dreams and Nightmares: Science and Technology in Myth and Fiction by Mordecai Roshwald (McFarland). A New Dawn: Your Favorite Authors on Stephenie Meyers' Twilight Series (Ben Bella) edited by Ellen Hopkins and Leah Wilson has thirteen essays and is available only through Borders. Horror Panegyric by Keith Seward (Savoy Books) has a critical essay on the Lord Horror novels of David Britton plus excerpts from those novels. The Vampire Hunter's Handbook by Raphael Van Helsing (Pavilion) is an illustrated guide/diary about vampires. Metamorphoses of the Werewolf: A Literary Study from Antiquity Through the Renaissance by Leslie A. Sconduto (McFarland). American Exorcist: Critical Essays on William Peter Blatty edited by Benjamin Szumskyj (McFarland) collects thirteen essays on Blatty's work. A Hideous Bit of Morbidity: An Anthology of Horror Criticism from the Enlightenment to World War I edited by Jason Colavito (McFarland) collects reviews and essays showing how the critical reception to horror evolved during that period. Silver Scream: 40 Classic Horror Movies Volume One 1920-1941 by Steven Warren Hill (Telos) is a dense, compact guide covering early horror movies including The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Frankenstein, and The Devil Bat. Each movie is covered in detail, with a description of the plot, highlights, memorable quotes, lowlights, goofs, trivia, cast and crew, music, the movie's context in film history, changes that shaped the production, and video availability, critical words-the author's opinions, and another perspective-introducing "guest" reviewers for each film. Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak (St Martin's/A Thomas Dunne Book) is a biography of the writer, with eight pages of black-and-white photographs. Dissecting Hannibal Lecter: Essays on the Novels of Thomas Harris by Benjamin Szumskyj (McFarland) examines all five of Harris' novels, including Black Sunday, his first, oddly prescient novel about terrorism. Book of Souls by Jack Ketchum (Bloodletting Press) is a short collection of personal essays by the author, providing insight into his fiction. Essential Solitude: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth (Hippocampus Press) is a two-volume set edited by David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi. The first volume covers 1926-1931 and the second 1932-1937. The introduction provides context for the hundreds of letters, which are annotated by the editors. The Book of Lists: Horror by Amy Wallace, Del Howison, and Scott Bradley (Harper) has an introduction by Gahan Wilson and includes everything from the top six grossing horror films of all time in the United States (adjusted for inflation) and the eight worst monster movie costumes to eight memorable quotes from horror writers. The Fly at Fifty: The Creation and Legacy of a Classic Science Fiction Film by Diana Kachmar & David Goudsward (BearManor Media) celebrates The Fly by including profiles and interviews with many of those connected to both adaptations of the original story-which is itself included and well worth reading. Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula: A Facsimile Edition, annotated and transcribed by Robert Eighteen-Bisang and Elizabeth Miller (McFarland), is a fantastic book that provides insight into the choices Stoker made in the creation of his masterwork. The notes, photographs, and newspaper clippings reproduced in the book are housed in the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. Flowers from Helclass="underline" The Modern Japanese Horror Film by Jim Harper (Noir Publishing) provides an absorbing primer for newcomers to its subject, covering the past twenty-five years worth of movies leading up to the most recent crop of Japanese horror films. The book is broken down into chapters covering specific types of horror movies and some of the genre's most influential directors. Maps and Legends: Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands by Michael Chabon (McSweeney's Books) collects fifteen essays and reviews by Chabon about such subjects as M. R. James's ghost stories, Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy, golems, and Cormac McCarthy's The Road-this last essay referencing previous post-disaster novels by John Christopher, John Wyndham, J. G. Ballard, Roger Zelazny, Richard Matheson, and Walter M. Miller, Jr. Servants of the Supernaturaclass="underline" The Night Side of the Victorian Mind by Antonio Melechi (William Heinemann) covers the keen interest and experimentation with mesmerism and spiritualism that even the learned exhibited during the Victorian era. Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide by Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt with illustrations by Tatsuya Morino (Kodansha International) is a seemingly serious guide to the traditional Japanese creatures that do men harm, separated into chapters covering ferocious fiends, gruesome gourmets, annoying neighbors, the sexy and the slimy, and the wimps. Each chapter gives the name of the monster, where it can be found, how to identify it, and how to survive an attack. Basil Copper: A Life in Books compiled and edited by Stephen Jones (PS) is a marvelous combination memoir/biography of a living legend of horror with photographs of Copper and his friends over the years, articles by him, and bibliographies of his prose and media work. Also included is the previously unpublished teleplay of Copper's adaptation of M. R. James's ghost story, "Count Magnus." The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi (Grand Central) is a riveting true crime investigation of a series of brutal, unsolved murders committed over a period of decades. Preston and his family move to Florence in 2000, the dream of a lifetime, and he becomes fascinated with the unsolved crimes (one of which took place in the olive grove next to his home, years before). He joins forces with journalist Mario Spezi and together they dig deeper into the failed investigation, finding themselves facing bizarre accusations by the police.