The State of Modern Horror Fiction (1983)

[Murony_Pyre]

I don't know if this has been posted here before but it is quite interesting...and funny...

http://youtu.be/PYqK4gIq5Sw

[Druidic]

Very nice post, Murony...It was great to see some writers I've never seen on video before...I was a big fan of Wagner's horror stories from the 70's...he and David Drake were two of the very best horror writers around.

The Blair Witch Project certainly owed a debt to Wagner's "Sticks" and I believe the movie Predator has a small amount of DNA from the Wagner/Drake novel, Killer.

I also liked the Kane stories. Some critics love to say this or that writer is heir to Poe or Lovecraft or whoever, but in the case of Wagner you could say with complete honesty that this guy was the heir to Robert E. Howard. I didn’t care for the fiction Wagner turned out in the last decade of his life; but that was partly a matter of personal taste.


Very enjoyable video.

[Murony_Pyre]

Quote Originally Posted by Druidic

Very nice post, Murony...It was great to see some writers I've never seen on video before...I was a big fan of Wagner's horror stories from the 70's...he and David Drake were two of the very best horror writers around. The Blair Witch Project certainly owed a debt to Wagner's "Sticks" and I believe the movie Predator has a small amount of DNA from the Wagner/Drake novel, Killer. I also liked the Kane stories. Some critics love to say this or that writer is heir to Poe or Lovecraft or whoever, but in the case of Wagner you could say with complete honesty that this guy was the heir to Robert E. Howard. I didn’t care for the fiction Wagner turned out in the last decade of his life; but that was partly a matter of personal taste. Very enjoyable video.

I agree. Wagner's 3 Howard reissues were what got me to take Howard's writing seriously.
He is such a puckish figure; I'll bet he would have been a lot of fun to have at a party. He is surprisingly soft spoken for all that. Not only do you get to hear him speak but he even mentions the ultra obscure writer's R.R. Ryan and Mark Hansom in this video! Two authors included on his wonderful "39 list".

Dennis Etchison seems pretty cool. Stephen King is in full-on Garth Marenghi-mode in this video he is the comfortable, rich, "ladies' man" of this set--I mean no-one else is wearing a white tuxedo jacket!

If you listen, not even all that closely, there are a number of horror writer in-jokes. I think King calls Straub by some other name when he passes him the mic--"honey badger"? I can't make it out too well. I also wonder if V.C. Andrews felt like Mark Samuels did after he read "More Dark" upon hearing about the goings on at this panel? ;)

If there is one problem with this video it is this: needs more smoking.

I think more smoking would be a bonus. I recall being recorded at some BFS convention just before the smoking ban and some personage being seriously offended by my lighting up next to him.

How times change (for the worst).

Interesting to see KEW on film. I haven't seen him in this medium before now. As a fan I'm surprised at his fairly shy and mannered persona.

General thoughts on the vid thereafter: fascinated at the way the panellists realise the 80s commercial horror bubble will burst. Whether they're all representative of the survival of horror in literature, as they seem to think they are, is another question (KEW and Etchison aside). Still, logrolling is scarcely a new phenomenon.

Mark S.

Hey Murony! I HOPE I'm a better writer, though admittedly not one as commercially successful, than V.C. Andrews TM ...



Screw commercial success.

Mark S.

[Murony_Pyre]

Quote Originally Posted by mark_samuels

I think more smoking would be a bonus. I recall being recorded at some BFS convention just before the smoking ban and some personage being seriously offended by my lighting up next to him. How times change (for the worst). Interesting to see KEW on film. I haven't seen him in this medium before now. As a fan I'm surprised at his fairly shy and mannered persona. General thoughts on the vid thereafter: fascinated at the way the panellists realise the 80s commercial horror bubble will burst. *Whether they're all representative of the survival of horror in literature, as they seem to think they are, is another question (KEW and Etchison aside). Still, logrolling is scarcely a new phenomenon. Mark S.

I thought the same thing*, Mark...it's pretty amusing! If they only knew the heights you and some of your notable contemporaries would take this "horror business", I think they'd reconsider their stature in all honesty. That quote by China Mieville about Michael Cisco's work seems appropriate here. Kill Your Idols (especially Billy)!

I knew you would take my comment well! I was hoping to make you (and others, of course) laugh--or at least crack a grin. Having read, enjoyed and assimilated every book you've ever written ('sides Black Altars & any of the, hopefully many, unpublished ones, of course), I think it's safe to say that I think your work is at least slightly more thought provoking and enjoyable than that of Ms. V.C. Andrews. ;);)

Yeh, I knew that all along Murony. You're one of the good folk.

;)

Mark S.

[Druidic]

Mark Samuels remark about lighting up at a con and incurring the displeasure of a non-smoker, reminded me of an incident that occurred in the 80’s when I was riding Amtrak on my way to Atlanta and experienced first hand how intolerable some antismoking zealots can be.
I was in the snack coach and sitting in the small designated smoking section (they still had them in those days) and the car was virtually empty. I was a Balkan Sobranie enthusiast, the white Turkish ones that were simply the finest cigarettes in the world. They came in attractive little tin cases and were quite pricy. I had just lit up when a woman and man sat next to me and demanded I put out my cigarette. The note of self-righteous indignation in the woman’s voice would have been amusing…if I were in a mood to be amused. I wasn’t; I just wanted to smoke in peace and gaze at the lights outside as the train moved on through the night.
I’m a pretty obliging guy in general but I politely refused. I pointed out to her she was sitting in the only smoking designated area while the other end of the car was virtually empty. She huffed and puffed (though I was the one who wanted to do the puffing) but they finally moved to the far end which was clearly designated No Smoking.

It was a deliberate act of confrontation on their part. Such self-righteousness! If the car were crowded and wasn’t practically empty, if her tone wasn’t so hostile and demanding, if she said she suffered from some illness like asthma, I would have of course put out my cigarette. But I refuse to be bullied, especially by people totally lacking in civility. It’s not what you do; it’s how you do it. If her request wasn’t just an excuse to vent some venom, if she had asked nicely…different story
.
Well, those days are gone anyhow. No smoking, no Trans Fats…The Powers That Be want to tell us what to eat, what kind of cars to drive, and what language is acceptable (Was it Orwell who pointed out if you control the language eventually you control the thinking?) Big Brother loves you and you better love him back.

Sad, but once it was a legitimate government role to provide information on things like a healthy life style in order for the citizen to make his/her own choices.

Druidic my friend,

I couldn't agree more. This one's for you (and me).

Cigarettes Alcohol - YouTube

Mark S.

[Murony_Pyre]

Quote Originally Posted by Druidic

Mark Samuels remark about lighting up at a con and incurring the displeasure of a non-smoker, reminded me of an incident that occurred in the 80’s when I was riding Amtrak on my way to Atlanta and experienced first hand how intolerable some antismoking zealots can be. I was in the snack coach and sitting in the small designated smoking section (they still had them in those days) and the car was virtually empty. I was a Balkan Sobranie enthusiast, the white Turkish ones that were simply the finest cigarettes in the world. They came in attractive little tin cases and were quite pricy. I had just lit up when a woman and man sat next to me and demanded I put out my cigarette. The note of self-righteous indignation in the woman’s voice would have been amusing…if I were in a mood to be amused. I wasn’t; I just wanted to smoke in peace and gaze at the lights outside as the train moved on through the night. I’m a pretty obliging guy in general but I politely refused. I pointed out to her she was sitting in the only smoking designated area while the other end of the car was virtually empty. She huffed and puffed (though I was the one who wanted to do the puffing) but they finally moved to the far end which was clearly designated No Smoking. It was a deliberate act of confrontation on their part. Such self-righteousness! If the car were crowded and wasn’t practically empty, if her tone wasn’t so hostile and demanding, if she said she suffered from some illness like asthma, I would have of course put out my cigarette. But I refuse to be bullied, especially by people totally lacking in civility. It’s not what you do; it’s how you do it. If her request wasn’t just an excuse to vent some venom, if she had asked nicely…different story . Well, those days are gone anyhow. No smoking, no Trans Fats…The Powers That Be want to tell us what to eat, what kind of cars to drive, and what language is acceptable (Was it Orwell who pointed out if you control the language eventually you control the thinking?) Big Brother loves you and you better love him back. Sad, but once it was a legitimate government role to provide information on things like a healthy life style in order for the citizen to make his/her own choices.

That's a great story, Druid. I have a similar one but was sitting in my own f$#king vehicle at the time.
Burroughs' old black queen said it best: "Some people are ####s, darling."