Dead But Dreaming 2 by Miskatonic River Press

Miskatonic River Press has finally published its long awaited follow up to one of the best Lovecraftian anthologies in recent memory. Dead But Dreaming 2 picks up where the first book left off, plunging readers into territory where the traditional Cthulhu Mythos rarely tread. Like its predecessor, editor Kevin Ross has managed to line up some of Lovecraftiana's best writers. Readers can look forward to stories by Scott David Aniolowski, David Annandale, Donald R. Burleson, John Goodrich, Cody Goodfellow, T.E. Grau, Rick Hautala, Walt Jarvis, Erik T. Johnson, William Meikle, Will Murray, Daniel W. Powell, Wilum Pugmire, Joseph S. Pulver Sr, Pete Rawlik, Kevin Ross, Brian Sammons, Darrell Schweitzer, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Michael Tice, and Don Webb.

 In many ways, Dead But Dreaming 2 promises to match or outshine the first Dead But Dreaming, which I previously reviewed. The book serves as an excellent reminder of the literary work Miskatonic River Press continues to do, aside from its extensive publications in Lovecraftian gaming. Next year, books featuring new stories devoted to Thomas Ligotti and Robert W. Chambers' King in Yellow are set to appear.


Weird fiction has always been a narrow field, but the big players in publishing are identified by their quality. Consider Miskatonic River Press one of the foremost purveyors carrying on a richly Lovecraftian and strange tradition in these times. The ongoing horror manifest in volumes like Dead But Dreaming 2 is proof of that.


-Grim Blogger

Dead But Dreaming 2 by Miskatonic River Press

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Tartarus Press Goes Digital With New Sarban E-books

Tartarus Press is the latest weird fiction publisher to break into the digital market, following a small minority, most notably spearheaded by Chomu Press. They have decided to release several books by Sarban as electronic e-books for the Kindle. Tartarus' foray into e-publishing is a wise experiment that also introduces one of modern supernatural literature's more obscure figures to a broad new market.

Sarban's three best known works are hitting the Kindle circuits right now. The Sound of His Horn, an alternate history novel, is the most affordable and offers the widest appeal outside the weird. His two fantasy collections, Ringstones and The Doll Maker join the novel, completing a multi-tiered blast of Sarban works unseen since...probably ever.

All three e-books don't stretch the wallet, as each title is significantly cheaper than a good paperback. It also presents the previously unthinkable opportunity to own all of Sarban's work on a dime. This development may well increase Sarban's following, bringing the fantasist in from the cold and into wider appeal. Sometimes, boosting accessibility is all it takes, and churning out electronic volumes of his work is a definite path to wider notoriety.

Tartarus' move is an interesting one that will be closely monitored in the weird fiction niche. Seeing classic names in supernatural literature available for a few dollars could permanently change literary horror forever. As any reader and entrepreneur might guess, this poses obvious perils as well as opportunities. Moreover, e-books stand to help reduce the lengthy waiting times that have characterized some publication cycles in recent years. Unlike traditional books, an e-book's publication is virtually instantaneous, posing another interesting change in the industry.

-Grim Blogger

Tartarus Press Goes Digital With New Sarban E-books

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Cthulhu Slippers

Today, Lovecraftiana has become so immense that its new products never fail to amaze. This is the case with Cthulhu slippers, a wearable derivative of the infamous plush Cthulhu dolls. There's something weirdly primitive about sliding one's feet into Cthulhu's likeness. Perhaps an eldritch and hidden history has come full circle at long last.

Strange eons ago, the first cultists disguised themselves in the images of their malevolent gods, believing they might inherit a small dose of their power. Mankind warred against itself, emboldened by the fierce iconography of the Great Old Ones, and against extinct monstrosities from Earth and beyond. Now, warrior descendents can  enjoy the same comfort and otherworldly style with Cthulhu slippers. Side effects may include gibbering at the stars, and an inexplicable impulse toward sacrificial rituals...

-Grim Blogger

Cthulhu Slippers

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Virginia Terminates Miskatonic Institute

John J. Miller kindly shared this recent document, where the state of Virginia terminated an earlier corporation of his that was re-named the Miskatonic Institute for Advanced Cthulhu Studies. But was it just a name change, or one more episode in the infamous university's history, chronicled by Lovecraft and his successors in anthologies like Robert Weinberg's Miskatonic University? Decide for yourself. The full details are as follows:

Last year, I incorporated a small non-profit organization in Virginia. Shortly after setting it up, I learned that I had made a small mistake in the paperwork. The easiest course was to start over. Yet I wanted to keep the organization's name, so the first step was to change the name of the original organization--i.e., to give it a dummy name and than incorporate again with the name I wanted. So changed the first group's name to "Miskatonic Institute for Advanced Cthulhu Studies." The state of Virginia now informs me that the Miskatonic Institute is being terminated for failing to pay its annual registration fees.

It seems the state of Virginia is not as lenient as New England for institutes devoted to unraveling Lovecraftian mysteries. Not unless Cthulhu cultists pay promptly, that is. Visit John Miller's website here.

-Grim Blogger

Virginia Terminates Miskatonic Institute

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Lovecraft Art by Graffiti

The Great Old Ones have hit the streets, their eldritch silhouettes peeping out from back alleys and railway graveyards. These are several mad visions from Lovecraftian devotees who dared to bring Cthulhu artwork out as public graffiti. That humming sound you hear from the bricks? Just a little inter-dimensional indigestion.

There's no need to strike out with a real Necronomicon when painted visages of the Old Ones are just as good for summoning them. Lovecraftian nightmares know no boundaries, and neither do their disciples in art.

The Lovecraftian graffiti obsession is, like all true movements in terror art, a global phenomena. Here, a French artist has transported Cthulhu by stencil to the bricks of Saint-Etienne, France.

Not surprisingly, public restrooms offer no respite from the Old One's indomitable spirit. As the stars align and madness overtakes the world, don't be surprised if Lovecraft based graffiti art becomes as familiar in stalls as Bible verses and vulgarity.

Not strictly Lovecraft based as such, but worthy of honorable mention. All roads lead to Cthulhu.

-Grim Blogger

Lovecraft Art by Graffiti

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At the Mountains of Madness Animated Film

In the wake of Guillermo del Toro's inability to produce a Hollywood version of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness," others will inevitably step forward and try. Cthulhu Films is one contender. This half hour animated adaptation of Lovecraft's infamous story mixes 3-D and 2-D effects to recall the ill fated Antarctic expedition. The dialogue is in Italian, so English listeners need to turn on the subtitles.

Animated representations of this story have been on the rise in recent years, probably due to the extreme difficulty of faithfully reproducing the harsh environment and strange beings in live action. This film's aesthetic is reminiscent of Ian Culbard's handsome At the Mountains of Madness graphic novel.

-Grim Blogger

At the Mountains of Madness Animated Film

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Weird News: Ugly Tree, Evil Tree

An exceptionally nightmarish tree found in Britain marks another grotesque intrusion of the weird into reality. The Stowlangtoft Hall resident is like an inverted version of Algernon Blackwood's majestic, pseudo-conscious plants in "The Man Whom the Trees Loved" (see Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories). For further terror fuel, imagine this thing inhabited by M.R. James' supernatural pests from "The Ash-Tree."

Is this the Scariest Tree in Britain?

  

-Grim Blogger

Weird News: Ugly Tree, Evil Tree

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Colorful Cthulhus

Since artists first began putting Cthulhu to canvass, clay, and other mediums, green has been the default color. This likely comes from H.P. Lovecraft's description in "The Call of Cthulhu," where the Providence author wrote:

Everyone listened, and everyone was listening still when It lumbered slobberingly into sight and gropingly squeezed Its gelatinous green immensity through the black doorway into the tainted outside air of that poison city of madness.

So, understandably, delvers into strange visions have sought to faithfully uphold  Lovecraft's reptilian color scheme. The average Cthulhu seen in paintings, statues, and Squishable toys is green. Sometimes, though, deviations from the norm are just as interesting, if not more so. Here are a few Cthulhus that shimmer with other colors of the rainbow:

A black Cthulhu figurine by SOTA, from the Nightmares of Lovecraft Cthulhu collection.

A Cthulhu painting rendered in reddish hues. Perhaps a lesser known work by Richard Upton Pickman?

Three views of a purple Cthulhu idol.

A blue Cthulhu plush toy, seen in his natural inebriated state.

The horror of horrors! A rainbow Cthulhu that can be purchased in the online game, Second Life.

-Grim Blogger

Colorful Cthulhus

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Joseph S Pulver Announces New Book: The Orphan Palace

No sooner than I reviewed his most recent collection, Sin & Ashes, Joseph S. Pulver announced a new book. The Orphan Palace is set to be released by Chomu Press sometime later this year. The new book is a novel, rather than a short story collection like Sin & Ashes. Pulver, along with Reggie Oliver and Wilum H. Pugmire, has a real knack for churning out prolific quantities of strange fiction.

Actually, the image above is a rare sighting of weird fiction's machine guns together at the grave of Robert W. Chambers. Pulver, Pugmire, and S.T. Joshi, the hardest working scholar in horror. Undoubtedly, Chambers' King in Yellow was there in spirit too.

-Grim Blogger

Joseph S Pulver Announces New Book: The Orphan Palace

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The Whisperer in Darkness at the Southside Film Festival

Lovecraftians and weird movie goers near Pennsylvania will have a rare chance to see one of the first showings in the U.S. of The Whisperer in Darkness. The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, the folks previously behind The Call of Cthulhu film, have decided to bring it to Bethlehem's Southside Film Festival. Here are the specifics on where it will screen:

Filmed in Mythoscope, Whisperer is the kind of cinematic thrill audiences haven't felt since the Hoover administration.


Screening Times @ Broughal Auditorium
9:15PM Thursday, June 16
3:00PM Saturday, June 18

Look to the Southside Film Festival's Whisperer page for more information. Surely, it's only a matter of time until the production makes its a way little further north, into the wilds of Vermont, home to the eldritch settings of Lovecraft's tale.

-Grim Blogger

The Whisperer in Darkness at the Southside Film Festival

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HP Lovecraft Film Festival 2011 in Los Angeles

More details have emerged about 2011's H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, due to be held this September in San Pedro (part of Los Angeles, California). The event is currently in the process of weeding through submissions and revving up for the weekend long screenings. Much like the Portland festival, which is reportedly taking a break this year, this Lovecraftian extravaganza will run feature films and shorts. The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's new movie, The Whisperer in Darkness, is scheduled to show as one of the most notable full length feature films.

Guillermo del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy fame will be on hand this year as a judge. This is an encouraging sign that his commitment to the Lovecraftian remains strong, despite the bureaucratic failure of his At the Mountains of Madness cinematic project earlier this year.

A new poster for popularizing the event is out too. This time, the full horrors of Cthulhu unchained are pictured, with the interdimensional dreamer himself appearing in a role similar to King Kong. Follow the official HPL Film Festival site for full details.

-Grim Blogger

HP Lovecraft Film Festival 2011 in Los Angeles

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Is Lovecraft Famous?

With H.P. Lovecraft's expansive franchise, which today includes books, games, and films galore, many wonder if he has achieved posthumous fame. As anyone knows, there are varying degrees of celebrity or infamy, whatever the case may be. Lovecraft's case offers no easy answers. Since it would be foolhardy to pit his name against Hitler, George Washington, Jesus, or Lady Gaga, let's confine the question to horror for now.

Carving out a vision of HPL's celebrity in horror is a far more focused and relevant quest than any other. After all, who really cares where Lovecraft ranks against Presidents or great commanders? Lovecraft's legacy in civilization will ultimately be decided by how formidable his position is in the horror genre.

Assertions to the contrary, it won't be his philosophy that resonates, held up by the likes of Michel Houellebecq in H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life. It won't be his letters that secure him a place among visionaries either (sorry, S.T. Joshi). The Lovecraft name begins and ends in the minds of men with strangeness and terror.

Evaluating Lovecraft against other notable authors is one way to shed light on the issue. Fortunately, the web lends us powerful tools like Google Insights for determining fame as a function of search volume. So, how does Lovecraft perform against Stephen King, the most widely known juggernaut in modern horror fiction? Quite poorly. HPL barely registers against King's sizable media empire, as shown by the graph above.

On the other end, when measured against his contemporaries, H.P. Lovecraft dominates almost as much as King does against other horror authors. M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, and Arthur Machen are clearly bested, as indicated by Google Insights. This is particularly ironic, since all of these British men arguably enjoyed better literary careers, greater fiction output, and longer lifespans than the Providence writer.

The facts presented here probably don't contain a lot of surprises. So, why judge whether or not H.P. Lovecraft is famous at all? The exercise is useful because it allows observers to take Lovecraftiana's pulse without getting blinded by Cthulhu Mythos or literary horror fandom. Measuring Lovecraft's growth curve and numeric conquest over other authors is important too. It helps illustrate how quickly the following is spreading, and how it happens.

Does Lovecraft easily knock his nineteenth and early twentieth century competitors flat? Absolutely, and he'll continue to do so, remaining second only to Edgar Allan Poe in name recognition from this period in horror. But, at the same time, don't expect massive story collections like, Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, to start overtaking Stephen King's stand alone novels in the near future.

-Grim Blogger

Is Lovecraft Famous?

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The Changing Face of Stefan Grabinski Readership

Interest in the "Polish Poe," Stefan Grabinski, appears to be on the upswing in his homeland. Agharta Press has just released a new anthology called Tragedy on the Tower. The book collects previously unseen stories from Grabinski, as well as works by fellow writer Jan Huskowski.

Oddly enough, Grabinski's following in Poland is small and possibly less passionate than abroad. Translated books like The Dark Domain in English have been the main purveyors of weird Grabinskian ideas and style to literary horror lovers in recent times. Now, with Agharta's new release, a flicker of change could be starting.

It's well deserved, since reading Grabinski in his native tongue undoubtedly yields additional curiosities not carried over well in translation. Look for the devoted Grabinski cult to remain small in the near term. However, thanks to renewed interest in Europe and beyond, it's likely that Grabinski's readership may soon undergo a more international transformation.

Changes may be in order for Grabinski scholarship too, where Miroslaw Lipinski has dominated the field for several decades. Here, new voices are joining the fray. Check out Marek Wilczynski's new electronic article, "Secret Passages Through Poe: The Transatlantic Affinities of H.P. Lovecraft and Stefan Grabinski" for a fresh look at Stefan Grabinski within a broader weird fiction context.

-Grim Blogger

The Changing Face of Stefan Grabinski Readership

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Review: Sin & Ashes by Joseph S Pulver

There are few weird horror collections that can vacillate between subtle terrors and visceral apocalypses without becoming wildly unbalanced. Now, though, the horror community is joined by Joseph S. Pulver's latest collection, Sin & Ashes, a sizable nightmare gallery published by Hippocampus Press that accomplishes this rare feat. By some indeterminate black magic, Pulver successfully dishes out the grotesque, the chilling, and intellectual dreads by short story and poetry, without losing his foothold on readers' unsettled reptile brains.

The book's real power lays in its ability to stitch seemingly disconnected horrors together, resulting in a Frankenstein collection capable of getting off the table and roaring like the legendary monster. But Jospeh S. Pulver's creation attacks all the unguarded senses, unlike Mary Shelley's fiend. Tales like “Love Her Madly” depict grisly crimes orchestrated by violent psychotics. Others, such as “Last Year in Carcosa” and “Long-Stemmed Ghost Words” carry the same tinge of ultra-violence, but introduce otherworldly incursions by Robert W. Chambers' infamous King in Yellow. Amid stories that read like murder cases and the more familiar weird yarns are unimagined hybrids, linking grim earthly happenings to the oddly supernatural.

Although Pulver's stylistic powers contribute much to the musty, haunted flavor of Sin & Ashes, it also owes a debt to atmosphere. The author's chosen scenery and settings for many tales provide a thoroughly hellish backdrop to demonic happenings. Run down hotels, blinding deserts, fallen cities, and re-imagined weird outposts from Carcosa and Lovecraft's Arkham are all displayed. As a result, a shadow land somewhere between the gritty and the ethereal prevails, animated by the music of the Doors. Pulver's haunts are dark, broken places that almost seem like they are waiting to be fed on blood, and this lends a mighty uniqueness to the collection.

This banquet of blood, ash, and ghostly shards is overshadowed by Joseph Pulver's style, which mostly spurns traditional narrative structures. Instead, he opts for idea rich prose that hits the mind like fiery bullets. Unconventional punctuation and sentence structure are paired with rich imagery and visionary moments that seem like incantations rather than prose. The effect isn't a universal hit in each of the dozens of pieces within Sin & Ashes. However, this experimental approach frequently yields a lyrical harvest that's applause inducing in its strangeness and literary strength.

Just as Pulver's bad dreams come flailing out of the pages in imaginative forms that are gore covered and elegant, he flicks his staff and contorts his monstrous beings and concepts again as the collection progresses from short story to poetry. His experimental scripts, which are reminiscent of William S. Burroughs and other masters, appear in force in both poems and stories. When digesting the collection as a whole, this makes for a pleasing mental texture. Just when it seems certain poetry pieces are mere desserts to soul blackening stories, they turn out to be gateway drugs to new echelons of Pulver's special hell instead.

Overall, Sin & Ashes is a black collection sure to appeal to sensibilities that reach deeper than many readers initially think. Pulver's enchantments are murderous and strange, calling to a literate love of the macabre many readers are familiar with, but also reaching down to the psyche's less acknowledged, primal basement. Although old symbols from the likes of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert W. Chambers appear, they serve as phantasmal introductions to Joseph Pulver's original voice. And it's a shrieking sound likely to resonate with many in the coming years.

-Grim Blogger

Review: Sin & Ashes by Joseph S Pulver

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Weird News: CDC Warns of Zombie Apocalypse

In a creative twist, the Centers for Disease Control recently referenced the possibility of a zombie apocalypse as a means to interest people in preparing for disasters. No, it isn't the makings of a scenario from World War Z. However, this odd attempt at using horror to raise public awareness is the first of its kind.

Perhaps we will one day see stranger horrors used to illustrate very real dangers. Lovecraft, for instance, contains plenty of warnings about cultists and nefarious old books. Algernon Blackwood's works might encourage travelers to stay away from isolated areas along the Danube, or the arctic wastes of Canada. In more recent times, the resounding lesson from authors like Thomas Ligotti and Robert Aickman is that nothing is as it seems.

Of course, if we ever see these warnings from any government, the body politic will have changed dramatically. Rather than worrying about bleak, dreamy realities or airborne monsters, folks in the immediate future will be far more bothered by visceral destruction. And who can blame them? At least horror is being put toward a good cause.

CDC Warns Public to Prepare for 'Zombie Apocalypse'

-Grim Blogger

Weird News: CDC Warns of Zombie Apocalypse

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