Ash by James Herbert

(hb; 2012: third book in the David Ash series)


From the inside flap:

"Set high on a craggy cliff top on the wind-battered western coast of Scotland is a remote, secluded ancient castle.  A castle that holds secrets that would shake the world if they were ever revealed.

"David Ash, ghost hunter and parapsychologist, is sent there to investigate a series of bizarre hauntings that have grown gradually more menacing and horrific: unaccountable noises, inexplicable putrid smells, the dimming of lights, deathly chills, and objects mysteriously flying across rooms.

"When a resident is found in his room, dead, pinned to the wall, with only his viscous blood holding him in place, the investigator is all too aware that a powerful and dark force lurks within the castle's ancient walls - an incorporeal power ignited by a long-ago curse and fed by the evil of those who inhabit the sanctuary called Comraich Castle.

"There are others, miscreants with black souls, who roam the corridors and passageways, infamous people thought long deceased by the outside world.  Yet their hour of retribution is at hand. . ."


Review:

Ash is a fun, reader-hooking "Old School" spookhouse novel that's full of humorous and truly scary - not to mention often icky - characters, moments and scenes. 

Set two years after the events of The Ghosts of Sleath, this third entry in the David Ash  series is the best one yet: it has none of the plot lag that marred Sleath, and it has all of the Hammer filmesque charms of Haunted - Ash even sports a nice mention of actress Ingrid Pitt, a Hammer flick "regular", that made me smile. 

(Hammer films should make this character- and plot-exciting horror/action novel into a theatrical film, or, at the very least, a cable television miniseries.)

Worth owning, this.

The Ghosts of Sleath by James Herbert

(hb; 1994: second book in the David Ash series)


From the inside flap:

"Sleath. Quiet, peaceful. A small village hidden away in the Chiltern Hills, almost forgotten by the modern world. Nothing much seems to happen here, little disturbs the centuries-old tranquility.

"Until the ghosts begin to appear. And frighteningly bizarre events begin to occur.

"Psychic investigator David Ash, a man burdened by the dark secret of his own past, is sent to Sleath to investigate the phenomenona and his discoveries there drive him to the very edge of sanity. The incidents grow worse, until, in a final night of horror, awesome and malign forces are unleashed in a supernatural storm that threatens to consume the village itself.

"For Sleath is not what it seems. And the dead have returned for a reason."


Review:

Sleath is a solid, if initially slow-moving, sequel to Haunted. As he did in that first David Ash novel, Herbert favors a classic - read: slow character- and tension-build - approach to his tale, perhaps prompting readers used to quick thrills/fast action to get impatient with Sleath (I did) or drop the novel for another book.

What made Sleath worth reading, for me, is that, along the way - even during the slow-build parts - Herbert's interesting variations on the ghost genre, as well as his variations on his first book, stood out. Sleath's characters were like those out of one of the better Hammer films, and the explicitly laid out horrors were intense, cinematic and creative in their unveilings.

The ending is borderline apocalyptic for those in the village, simultaneous terror, gore and violence for all involved - that is to say, while familiar, it's a satisfying finale to an "Old School" horror tale.

Decent read from an excellent author; worth checking out, this. If you purchase it, make sure you don't pay full price.

Followed by Ash.

Haunted by James Herbert

(hb; 1988: first novel in the David Ash series)


From the inside flap:

"David Ash, a talented, skeptical investigator of the supernatural, works for the Psychical Research Institute in London. He is a troubled but driven man - driven to disprove the existence of things he cannot afford to believe. It is this very obsession that leads him to a house called Edbrook, and to a terrifying confrontation with his own buried past.

"Peculiar things happen at Edbrook, the Mariell family residence: rooms suddenly freeze while corridors are choked by the heat of unseen fires, and the whole house shudders with the chilling sounds of a child's distant laughter.

"Robert, Simon and Christina Mariell are the surviving heirs of this once noble family, whose history contains some unspoken horror. They believe their home is haunted and challenge Ash to prove otherwise. Ash moves into the mansion and struggles to maintain his pragmatic perspective, but even he cannot explain the shockingly real vision of a familiar pale girl whose irresistible embrace pulls Ash beneath the weeds of the garden pond and nearly traps him there forever."


Review:

Haunted, an old-fashioned ghost story with its spooky mood and solid, traumatized characters, is a hard to set down read.

I spotted one of the main plot twists early on, but Herbert's streamlined writing, aforementioned mood and characters (and their murky motivations) made for an enjoyable book.

Promising start of a series, this: worth checking out.

Followed by The Ghosts of Sleath.

#

The resulting film was released in the UK on October 27, 1995. It was released stateside on June 18, 1996.

Aidan Quinn played Prof. David Ash. Kate Beckinsale played Christina Mariell. Anthony Andrews played Robert Mariell. Alex Lowe played Simon Mariell. Anna Massey played Nanny Tess Webb. John Gielgud played Doctor Doyle.

Geraldine Somerville played Kate. Victoria Shalet played Juliet Ash.

Lewis Gilbert directed the film, from a script he co-authored with Timothy Prager and Bob Kellett.

Beyond the Shroud by Rick Hautala

(hb; 1995)

From the back cover:

"David Robinson's life has taken several turns for the worse: first his daughter dies, then his marriage crumbles and his career as a mystery writer falls apart. But after he is killed in a hit-and-run accident, David quickly learns that he will face the most harrowing challenges as a wraith in the Shadowlands.

"Unable to contact or influence the world of the living, David's agony is made worse when he learns that his ex-wife relationship with a dangerous man named Tony Ranieri has put her life at risk. Tony possesses - and is possessed by - a relic filled with such awesome powers of destruction that dark forces within the Shadowlands will stop at nothing to obtain it. They'll even spur Tony to murder and manipulate the soul of David's daughter to forge his cooperation.

"But Tony is already dead, and he knows that power is a blade that cuts two ways."


Review:

With its palpable mood of cycling grief, vivid description and relatable characters, the genre-melding Shroud is a hard-to-set-down novel that deftly avoids horror clichés, while updating them and infusing them with elements of urban fantasy.

The finish of this exceptional, emotionally effective novel indicates that two other Wraith books should follow. I hope that Hautala gets them published sooner, not later.

Worth owning, this.

The First Book of Ghost Stories: Widdershins, by Oliver Onions

(pb; 1911, 1935, 1971, 1978: ghost anthology)

From the back cover:

"Oliver Onions (1873-1961) held a particular view about ghosts. In his 'Credo' he wrote that ghosts are like stars in the daytime. They cannot be seen, but if all the senses are put to work and all clues are followed up, they can be detected. Onions, known as well for his psychological and detective stories as he was for his stories about ghosts, was one of the best to do the detecting. From a few apparently innocent clues and a few actions which otherwise seem ordinary, you are on the scent or perhaps the feel of a ghost who wants to say something to you. These ghosts are intricately reacting to you as well as to situations of which you have no comprehension. . ."


Overall review:

Widdershin is an uneven, but okay ghost anthology. Onions employs varied structures and settings for these mostly mood-effective tales, which keeps them sharp and distinctive from each other.

The stories that don't work still show flashes of what an excellent writer Onions can be; they fail, in comparison to the other stories, because: they're predictable ("Benlian"); or needed to be trimmed and simplified, word choice-wise, to make the story flow better ("Hic Jacet").

Because of the stories that do work, Widdershins is worth checking out from the library.


Review, story by story:


1.) "The Beckoning Fair One" - A writer (Paul Oleron), seeking to communicate with his haunted flat, becomes obsessed with it, even as his potential fiancée, Elsie Bengough, tries to save him from himself and his murderous abode.

Elegant, engaging (if occasionally chatty) mounting-mood read.

This story became an episode of the television show Journey to the Unknown, which aired on December 12, 1968.

Robert Lansing played Jon Holden. Gabrielle Drake played Kit Beaumont. John Fraser played Derek Wilson. Larry Noble played Mr. Barrett. Gretchen Franklin played Mrs. Barrett. Clive Francis played Crichton.

Don Chaffey directed the episode, from a teleplay by John Gould and William Woods.



2.) "Phantas" - Abel Keeling, a sailor on a slowly sinking ship, reflects on his past life and impending death, when - out of the dead water mists - another ship appears: are its crew members rescuers, or harbingers of demise?

Solid, atmospheric work.



3.) "Rooum" - A talented and frazzled co-worker, Rooum, proves to have good reason for being so, according to this tale's narrator.

Intriguing, unique piece.



4.) "Benlian" - Predictable, overly long story about the titular character, a sculptor who gets too much into his work.

Skip this piece.



5.) "The Accident" - Romarin and Marsden, estranged friends, sup together four decades after a terrible brawl.

Good - again, intriguing - read.



6.) "The Lost Thyrsus" - Entertaining, dramatic-finish story about a woman (Bess), whose wild dreams have changed her, distressing her fiancé.



7.) "Hic Jacet" - I couldn't get through this one; "Hic Jacet" is confusing and is filled with artsy-fartsy/obscure verbiage, as if Onions, while writing this tale, caught an exaggerated case of Lovecraftitus - which usually works for Lovecraft, but not for other authors. There's a glean of a good story here, but it's buried under obfuscatory language.



8.) "The Cigarette Case" - A casual comment about a lost (and oddly found) cigarette case leads to a story about a memorable night with some odd English ladies.

Solid, fun, if (again) chatty, piece.

Walkers by Graham Masterton

(pb; 1989)


From the back cover:

"It didn't take long for Jack Reed to decide to convert the huge gothic building in the woods into an idyllic, up-market country club.

"But behind the ornately carved walls of The Oaks lurks a past that was anything but idyllic. Sixty years ago the house was an asylum, home to crazed psychopaths -- all of whom disappeared one night, never to be seen again.

"Now the empty rooms echo the soundless screaming of the madmen trapped inside the brick and plaster, walking endlessly through the maze-like mansion. And now Jack's son, dragged into the hellish prison of the walls, is held a screaming hostage by Quintus Miller, leader of the insane.

"Quintus took the killers into the walls. Now, he insists, Jack Reed will set them free -- or his son will die."


Review:

Landmark work that takes its subject way beyond its specific-source subgenre (spookhouse fiction) -- Masterton keeps it creepy (and f**ked-up funny in some parts), continually ratcheting up the terror factor and the unexpected plot and character turns. More than the usual "ooooh, scary ghosts" horror fare, Masterton not only manages to raise the genre bar, but morphs it into something greater, while thematically linking it to his five-book The Manitou series: an added perk for Masterton's "regular" readers.

Worth owning, this.

Asia Shock: Horror & Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand, by Patrick Galloway

(hb; 2006: non-fiction. Illustrations by Greg Lofrano)

From the back cover:

"Asian Extreme cinema is hot, and this book celebrates all its gory glory. Patrick Galloway, who last looked at samurai films in Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Handbook, now takes on Asian masters of suspense, exploitation, the supernatural, and bone-chilling, blood-curdling horror. This critical guide contains over 50 reviews of fans' and critics' favorites ranging from classics like [Nobuo] Nakagawa's The Ghost of Yotsuya to contemporary cutting-edge films by Takashi Miike and Park Chan-wook. Included are viewing tips, cultural backgrounds, and genre overviews."

Review:

This is an indispensable guide to Asian cinema. Whether you're unfamiliar with the cultures and films Galloway analyzes and appreciates, or you're somewhat familiar with them (like I am), there's something for any dark cineaste here.

Knowledgeable, critical (when necessary) and enthusiastic about its subject matter, Asia Shock is one of the best books I've read about these types of films.

Own this, if you have a bent for splatterific, vicious and/or lurid films.

Earthbound, by Richard Matheson

(pb; 1989)

From the back cover:

"David and Ellen came to the lonely beachside cottage in hopes of rekindling their troubled marriage. Yet they are not alone on their second honeymoon. Marianna, a beautiful and enigmatic stranger, comes to visit when Ellen is away. But who is Marianna, and where is she from?

"Even as he succumbs to her seductive charms, David realizes that Marianna is far more than a threat to his marriage, for her secrets lie deep in the past and beyond the grave. And her unholy desires endanger the lives and souls of everyone she touches."

Review:

This is one of Matheson's lesser novels. Even Matheson's sharp prose fails to elevate this predictable ghost story above its clichés.

If there's a bright spot in this novel (aside from Matheson's crisp writing), it's the philosophical musings of his protagonist, David, who ponders the shapes marriage takes over time. These sections are wonderful, touching, and wise, and made up for my boredom during the other parts. (Fortunately, Earthbound is relatively short, less than three hundred pages.)

Not entirely bad, I'd hesitate to recommend this one. Better to read Matheson's earlier, short fiction if you want a Matheson fix.

Dark Water by Koji Suzuki

(hb; 1996, 2004: story anthology; translated by Glynne Walley)

Overall review:

Good anthology by a great writer. Suzuki's writing possesses an astute clarity, strong characters, a clear theme (in this case, water/emotion) and occasional moments of true spine-chill. A few of the stories, in a lesser writer's hands, would feel half-baked; however, since it's Suzuki I'm writing about. . .

It's not as good as Birthday, whose stories are more tightly interconnected.


Review, story by story:

1.) "Prologue": A grandmother (Kayo) takes her granddaughter, Yuko, on walks around a Tokyo Bay shoreline, telling her fantastic tales about the junk they find underfoot. Interesting, good -- clearly part of an anthology wrap-around story.


2.) "Floating Water": An anxiety-ridden single mother (Yoshimi Matsubara) moves into an old, largely-abandoned apartment building with her ten-year old daughter (Ikuko), only to discover there's something weird about the quality of the water and something disturbing about the water tank on the roof. Creepy, atmospheric tale. J-horror fans won't find the finish surprising, but it's still gripping.

This story has been filmed twiced.

The first movie, titled Dark Water, was released in Japan on January 19, 2002. Hitomi Kuroki played Yoshimi Matsubara. Rio Kanno played Ikuko Matsubara. Asami Mizukawa played Ikuko Hamada. Fumiyo Kohinata played Kunio Hamada. Hideo Nakata directed and co-scripted (he was uncredited for the latter), along with co-scriptors Yoshihiro Nakamura and Ken'ichi Suzuki. (Hideo Nakata, among his other cinematic efforts, also directed Ringu, Ringu 2, The Ring Two, and is set to direct the 2011 film The Ring Three.)

The American remake, released stateside on July 8, 2005, was scripted by Rafael Ichise. It was directed by Walter Salles.

Jennifer Connelly played Dahlia Williams (American stand-in for Yoshimi Matsubara). John C. Reilly played Mr. Murray. Tim Roth played Jeff Platzer. Dougray Scott plays Kyle Williams. Pete Postlethwaite played Veek.


3.) "Solitary Isle": A school teacher (Kensuke Suehiro), part of a botannical survey team on a close-to-mainland island (Battery No. 6), confronts the physical proof of a friend's decade-old tale. Interesting, solid story.

George Romero is set to script and direct the resulting film, which, thus far, has no scheduled release date.


4.) "The Hold": An abusive fisherman (Hiroyuki Inagaki) searches for his missing wife. Predictable in some parts, author Suzuki's relatable characters, able writing and twisty finish render its semi-predictability a minor issue.


5.) "Dream Cruise": Masayuki Enoyoshi, a mild-mannered man, gets trapped on a mysteriously stalled boat with a pyramid-scheming couple in Tokyo Bay. Once again, author Suzuki shows how every day items can cause spine-shivery effect in a reader. Spooky, darkly funny story.

This story became source material for a Masters of Horror cable episode. Co-scripted by Naoya Takayama and episode director Norio Tsuruta (who also directed Ring 0: Birthday), it aired stateside on Showtime on February 2, 2007.

Daniel Gillies played Jack Miller (cinematic stand-in for Masayuki Enoyoshi). Yoshino Kimura played Yuri Saito. Miho Ninagawa played Naomi Saito. Ryo Ishibashi played Eiji Saito.


6.) "Adrift":A seaman (Kazuo Shiraishi) navigates an abandoned-at-sea yacht back to port. Shades of H.P. Lovecraft and strange ghosts permeate this piece, with an über-creepy, chilling exit-line.


7.) "Watercolors": A discotheque-turned-theater becomes the site of an artsy play. Quirky, briefly chilling piece.


8.) "Forest Under The Sea": Two spelunkers (Fumihiko Sugiyawa, Sakakibara) explore a flooded newly-discovered cave. Solid, non-supernatural story.


9.) "Epilogue": A seventy-two year old grandmother (Kayo, first seen in "Prologue") finds an interesting, sealed-in-plastic letter during one of her morning walks along the shores of Cape Cannon. Good, non-supernatural, anthology end-cap piece.

Chelsea Horror Hotel, by Dee Dee Ramone

(pb; 2001)

From the back cover:

"Dee Dee Ramone doesn't quite know what he's getting himself into when he and his wife Barbara move into the Chelsea Hotel with their dog Banfield. The room he's been been staying in might be the very room where his old friend Sid stabbed Nancy. Dee spends most of his time trying to score drugs and walking Banfield, with whom he can magically communicate. Meanwhile, he can't stand his neighbors and though he shies away from violence, he wishes everyone were six feet under. Dee Dee gets involved with the transvestite lover of one of his gay fellow addicts. When Barbara finds out, things get out of hand. All the while Dee Dee is tormented by the living and dead demons that plague the hotel, with the ghosts of his old dead punk rock friends Sid Vicious, Johnny Thunders and Stiv Bators. And that's when the Devil himself decides to join the party. . ."

Review:

Chatty, dark, quirky first-person narrative from Ramone, with semi-autobiographical bits thrown into this odd, charming Abbadonian mix: I laughed a lot, even related to, much of what Ramone wrote in this novel.

The end-section is a crazy, kitschy rambling of violence, Satanism and drug addiction. Tone- character- and theme-wise it fits, but Ramone's seemingly-unchecked diarrhea-of-the-brain dulls the edge of the writing that preceded it.

That said, it's still a worthwhile read, that may induce evil chuckles from certain readers, like myself.

Check it out.

Hell House by Richard Matheson

(hb; 1971)

From the inside flap

"For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. A venerable mansion with shadowed walls, it has witnessed scenes of almost unimaginable horror and depravity. Two previous expeditions to investigate met with complete disaster, as the participants were destroyed by murder, suicide or insanity.

"Now a new investigation has been mounted, bring four strangers to the ominous house. Each has their own reason for daring the unknown torments and temptations of the mansion, but can any soul survive what lurks within the most haunted house on Earth?"


Review

This is one of the most shivery haunted house novels I've ever read. Matheson's prose is, as usual, straightforward, with chilling, oozing and often sexual going-ons plaguing the four researchers who take up residence in the notorious abode. Philosophical, psychological, metaphysical, religious and sexual dialogue make up much of this fun, atmospheric read.

Wow-worthy twists also highlight Hell House, as do Matheson's fully-developed characters, whose neuroses decide what forms the hauntings, individual and collective, take.

One nit: near the end, the characters sum up what they think is troubling the mansion, based on what they've experienced. (Is it psychic manifestations, born of the living neuroses of those who enter the house? Is it Emeric Belasco, the Aleister Crowley-like previous owner of the house, whose body was never found? Or are there other ghosts in the mansion?)

These character summations are fine the first time around; but the characters restate their beliefs two, even three times, bogging down the action for a short (approximately twenty page) stretch.

That said, this is a landmark haunted house book, with an ending that's sad, light and ironic.

#

This was released stateside as a film, The Legend of Hell House, on June 15, 1973.

Pamela Franklin played Florence Tanner. Roddy McDowall played Benjamin Franklin Fischer. Clive Revill played Mr. (Lionel) Barrett. Gayle Hunnicutt played Ann Barrett.

John Hough directed, from a script by book author Matheson.

Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill

(hb; 2007)

From the inside flap:

“Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals… a used hangman’s noose… a snuff film. An aging death-metal god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude can’t help but reach for his wallet…

“For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man’s suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. He isn’t afraid. He has spent a lifetime coping with ghosts – of an abusive father, of the lovers he callously abandoned, of the bandmates he betrayed. What’s one more?

“But what the UPS man delivers to his door in a black heart-shaped box is no imaginary or metaphorical ghost, no benign conversation piece. It’s the real thing.

“And suddenly the suit’s previous owner is everywhere: behind the bedroom door… seated in Jude’s restored vintage Mustang… standing outside his window… staring out from his widescreen TV. Waiting –with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand…”

Review:

Stunning debut novel, one that doesn’t redefine the boundaries of mainstream horror fiction, but possesses a nerve-rending uneasiness – of ghosts both real and born of past traumas – that grabbed me and made me loath to set the book down until I’d finished it. Can’t recommend this one enough – Hill is a writer to watch for

The resulting film is set for release in the near future.