Take A Walk With A Demon
You don’t even have to go to hell to stride along with this demon. I’m very happy to announce that The Dover Demon Blog Tour has begun, 6 weeks of cryptid love with chances to win signed books and more. This may be a critter you’ve never heard of, but I promise you’ll never forget him…or her…after you’ve read the book.
“Hunter Shea takes these (cryptid) legends to a petrifying new place and drags you along for the ride. He is quickly becoming of the authors I can count on for a great read. 4.5 out of 5 stars! Horror Maiden’s Book Reviews
Big thanks to Erin El Mehairi for putting everything together. She is truly the patron saint of horror’s lost boys. Visit the tour stops by clicking the above image and make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win signed books.
You can get The Dover Demon in trade paperback or ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Samhain Publishing and everywhere books are sold. This little sucker doesn’t phone home and he’ll do very bad things with Reese’s Pieces if you let him.
Jack and I jaw about The Dover Demon in the latest episode of Monster Men, as well as some great horror movies you should add to your to-watch list for #Horrortober. Oh yeah, it’s that time again!
Who Wants The New Issue Of Fangoria?
Growing up, I decorated my room with 2 things – pictures of beautiful women like Victoria Principal, Bo Derek, Cheryl Tiegs (I know, I’m dating myself here) and horrific images carefully cut out from the pages of Fangoria Magazine. It was a very confusing room for visitors, which is why I was ordered to keep my door closed at all times. When family and friends found out I’d become a horror writer, it surprised no one.
Fangoria and Famous Monsters of Filmland were my bibles, places where I could explore the origins of horror as well as the new wave of splatter terror that fueled the 80s.
So you can imagine my reaction when I saw this one page ad for Tortures of the Damned in the latest issue. Needless to say, I bought every copy that my local Barnes & Noble had. I’m tempted to plaster my walls with it.
And because I hate celebrating alone, I want to share this issue with you. I’m giving away 2 signed copies of Fangoria. How do you win? Anyone who signs up for my Dark Hunter Newsletter between now and September 28th and lives in the US is eligible. Just click the above image or go to the Newsletter tab on the site to enter. Already signed up? Refer a friend and if they win, grab it from their mailbox.
At the very least, you get a free copy of Fango. Come on and join the fun. Horrortober is just around the corner!
This is the cover of the new issue. Pretty creepy.
The #Horrortober Reading List For 2015
As always, I start my Horrortober reading in mid September so I can get to as many dark delicacies as possible. For those of you new to my Horrortober, it’s essentially my total immersion in all things horror from now until Halloween. During this special time, I only read horror and watch at least one horror movie a day.
Yes, there are a lot of Samhain books on here or books by authors who have published with Samhain. What can I say, they’re putting out some of the best new horror around, just like the good old days at Leisure. And yes, I have two, count ’em, two books on the list called The Deep. It’s an ambitious list this time around, but I think I’m up to the task. And of course there will be short stories, mags like Horrorhound, Rue Morgue, Fangoria and more. I’m buckling in as I write.
So, if you’re looking for some great spooky reading, come along with me…
BIGFOOT BEACH by Kristopher Rufty
A bizarre, brutal murder. A missing woman. And a giant footprint in the sand. Now, the dying beach community known as Seashell Cove finally has a hook to attract the tourists—a Bigfoot on the beach! As the summer season winds down, the tourists go home and the town begins preparing for the colder months.
Soon, more strange footprints are found, other mysterious sightings are reported. Then the deaths begin. Could there really be a Bigfoot running loose in Seashell Cove?
A tracker with a personal agenda, the local sheriff, a hero whose fifteen minutes of fame expired a long time ago, and a female reporter looking for a scoop will team up to find out for sure.
DARKNESS RISING by Brian Moreland
It’s all fun and games until…
Marty Weaver, an emotionally scarred poet, has been bullied his entire life. When he drives out to the lake to tell an old friend that he’s fallen in love with a girl named Jennifer, Marty encounters three sadistic killers who have some twisted games in store for him. But Marty has dark secrets of his own buried deep inside him. And tonight, when all the pain from the past is triggered, when those secrets are revealed, blood will flow and hell will rise.
THE DEEP by Nick Cutter
A strange plague called the ’Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget—small things at first, like where they left their keys…then the not-so-small things like how to drive, or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily…and there is no cure. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Mariana Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as “ambrosia”’—a universal healer, from initial reports—has been discovered. It may just be the key to eradicating the ’Gets. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea’s surface. But when the station goes incommunicado, a brave few descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths…and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.TRIBESMAN by Adam Cesare
DON’T FUCK WITH THE NATIVES!
Thirty years ago, cynical sleazeball director Tito Bronze took a tiny cast and crew to a desolate island. His goal: to exploit the local tribes, spray some guts around, cash in on the gore-spattered 80s Italian cannibal craze.
But the pissed-off spirits of the island had other ideas. And before long, guts were squirting behind the scenes, as well. While the camera kept rolling…
TRIBESMEN is Adam Cesare’s blistering tribute to Cannibal Holocaust and Lucio Fulci: a no-bullshit glimpse into grindhouse filmmaking, stuffed inside a rocket of tropical non-stop mayhem.
WE ARE MONSTERS by Brian Kirk
The Apocalypse has come to the Sugar Hill mental asylum.
He’s the hospital’s newest, and most notorious, patient—a paranoid schizophrenic who sees humanity’s dark side.
Luckily he’s in good hands. Dr. Eli Alpert has a talent for healing tortured souls. And his protégé is working on a cure for schizophrenia, a drug that returns patients to their former selves. But unforeseen side effects are starting to emerge. Forcing prior traumas to the surface. Setting inner demons free.
Monsters have been unleashed inside the Sugar Hill mental asylum. They don’t have fangs or claws. They look just like you or me.
BLOOD AND RAIN by Glenn Rolfe
The light of a full moon reveals many secrets.
Gilson Creek, Maine. A safe, rural community. Summer is here. School is out and the warm waters of Emerson Lake await. But one man’s terrible secret will unleash a nightmare straight off the silver screen.
Under the full moon, a night of terror and death re-awakens horrors long sleeping. Sheriff Joe Fischer, a man fighting for the safety of his daughter, his sanity and his community, must confront the sins of his past. Can Sheriff Fischer set Gilson Creek free from the beast hiding in its shadows, or will a small town die under a curse it can’t even comprehend?
One night can—and will—change everything.
DARK AVENGING ANGEL by Catherine Cavendish
Don’t hurt Jane. You may live to regret it.
Bullied by her abusive father, Jane always felt different. Then the lonely child found a friend in a mysterious dark lady who offers her protection—a lady she calls her “angel”. But that protection carries a terrible price, one to be paid with the souls of those Jane chooses to suffer a hideous and eternal fate.
When Jane refuses to name another victim, the angel reveals her most terrifying side. Payment must be made in full—one way or the other.
THE DEEP by Michaelbrent Collings
There are places we were never meant to go…***
A woman searching for a sister lost at sea. A man bent on finding lost treasure. A mother who has lost all hope. A maniac who believes all life exists for his pleasure. The man who would keep them all safe.Together, they will all seek below the waves for treasures long buried, and riches beyond belief. But those treasures hide something. Something ancient, something dark. A creature that exists only to feed on those that would enter into its realm. A creature… of The Deep.
THE RED HIGHWAY by Robert E. Dunn
In 1992, as Los Angeles begins to simmer in the heat of racial injustices, one dark man appears everywhere, spreading his message of race war. At the same time, Paul Souther, a homeless drunk, joins a strange group of outsiders. Some black and some white, they all carry the weight of broken lives and lost faith. They are all drawn to LA, for the arrival of a child, impossibly carried by Mary Prince, a sterile porn star.Book Giveaways And Sick Cats
Little Iris Shea is sick for the first time in her 9 years on this blue and green globe. As a lazy house cat, she has it pretty darn good. I’d love to go 9 years without an illness. Hell, some years, I’ll take 9 weeks. Turns out she has an eye infection and a small heart murmur. We knew something was wrong when she woke up looking like Popeye and moved around the house less than usual. She wouldn’t let me take a pic of her bad eye, but this is pretty much her position at my feet for the entire day…
She did tell me she wants me to spread the word about the Rafflecopter giveaway for a signed copy of my apocalypse love song, TORTURES OF THE DAMNED. You have until Sept 24th to enter. Click here to enter the Rafflecopter apocalypse special! Reviews have been excellent and the ending is definitely causing a stir.
OK, that’s all for now. I have to go light up the BBQ and roast some weenies. I’ll be using my father’s tried and true method for grilling – each meat requires a certain number of beers to be imbibed before it’s good to go.
To get all the latest news and giveaways before the rest of the world, sign up for my Dark Hunter Newsletter today!
THE DOVER DEMON Raises His Round, Little Head – Cryptid Novel Release Day!
Oh yes, the day is finally here. My latest foray into the world of cryptozoology horror – THE DOVER DEMON – takes one of the lesser known but strangest of all cryptids on a wild adventure that has thoroughly creeped out advance readers and reviewers. Having faced Bigfoot in SWAMP MONSTER MASSACRE and delved into the mystery of THE MONTAUK MONSTER, I wanted to tackle a cryptid that hasn’t had as much public recognition. A trip to the International Cryptozoology Museum 2 years ago sparked the idea for THE DOVER DEMON.
While I was there, I was lucky enough to meet famed cryptozoologist, Loren Coleman. We got to talking about creatures he’s personally investigated. Turns out, he was the man on the scene in Dover, MA in the late 70s when the uber strange biped was spotted by several people over the course of two nights in April. He also gave it its name, the Dover Demon. As a lover of monsters and aliens, I couldn’t resist. I mean, look at that mug!
Believe it or not, to this day, people still aren’t sure what they saw. Yes, today most people would see the image and think it’s an alien from a visiting UFO. But here’s where it gets interesting. The witness who drew the first image did it before the ‘gray alien’ became an internationally recognized icon! This was before the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind and years prior to Whitley Strieber’s Communion.
I was so fortunate to have an early release event at the I.C.M. in August. I got to spend some quality time with Loren Coleman and meet people just like myself who are fascinated by the wondrous creatures that have been spotted around the world. Cryptid fans from out of state made the drive to get some Dover Demon love!
At the time it was spotted, it was treated as a terrestrial creature, though the high strangeness of the event brought MUFON to the town as well. No one could figure out what came to visit Dover, and the story hasn’t been recanted by the witnesses even 30+ years later. So, the mystery continues.
My novel takes on several questions:
- What if other people saw the creature that night but never reported it because their run in with the creature was as terrifying as it was strange?
- What if the Dover Demon makes a return in 2015? What would it, or they, want?
- What if it isn’t anything that people have theorized it to be?
Here’s the official blurb for the book –
In 1977, Sam Brogna and his friends came upon a terrifying, alien creature on a deserted country road. What they witnessed was so bizarre, so chilling, they swore their silence. But their lives were changed forever.
Decades later, the town of Dover has been hit by a massive blizzard. Sam’s son, Nicky, is drawn to search for the infamous cryptid, only to disappear into the bowels of a secret underground lair. The Dover Demon is far deadlier than anyone could have believed. And there are many of them. Can Sam and his reunited friends rescue Nicky and battle a race of creatures so powerful, so sinister, that history itself has been shaped by their secretive presence?
I lovingly wrote this for all the monster/cryptid/horror lovers out there. So take my hand and let’s walk the moonlit paths of Dover. You never know what you’re going to find.
You can get THE DOVER DEMON in trade paperback and ebook. Click here to access my bookstore page!
And if you’re in the Portland, Maine area, check out the International Cryptozoology Museum, or visit the website and support Loren’s little gem, the only museum dedicated to cryptids in the world.
Scares That Care – The Last Roundup
It’s been almost a month since I was at the second annual Scares That Care con and I’m just getting around to sharing the fun. Yeah, it’s been a bit hectic. Better late than never!
As with any con, I always let the pictures do the talking. This year, the pictures are better than ever thanks to awesome photog Tom Wolstencroft, who also happens to be my brother-in-law and world class book salesman. I loved his hook this year when people came by my table – “Do you like to read?” Sounds crazy, but it worked!
Before I share all the fun pics, I do want to say thank you to everyone who stopped by my table, bought a book, drank a beer, laughed at our shenanigans. I loved getting to hang out with my writing brothers (and sister!), especially the motley crew of Jonathan Janz, Ron Malfi, Kristopher Rufty, Russell James, David Bernstein, Tim Waggoner, Adam Cesare, Brian Keene. Kelli Owen, Armand Rosamilia, Bob Ford and so many others.
I’m already making plans for next year. By the way, the nicest people in the world attend horror cons. Some may look scary, but they’re all pussycats.
This really happened! Thanks to Ron Malfi for seeing it in the machine.
We never did find a Frankenstein for her.
My favorite undead pirate. I kept thinking of THE FOG.
The Lords of Salem were in town!
You don’t wanna breastfeed that baby!
My neighbor was a human jukebox.
I believe she won the kids costume contest. Creepy as hell.
A new fan who came all the way from the Big Easy.
Yeah baby!
My kind of peeps.
Not sure who she was supposed to be, but the guys were all glad she was there.
The Dover Demon Invades The International Cryptozoology Museum!
Talk about dreams coming true. I’m having an early release party for my next book. THE DOVER DEMON, hosted by legendary cryptozoologist Loren Coleman at the International Cryptozoology Mueseum on Saturday, August 22nd from noon to 2pm.
A face only a momma can love.
The museum is in Portland, Maine. It’s a treasure trove of monster lore, with Bigfoot casts galore. Walk inside and you’ll be surrounded by The Jersey Devil, Chupacabra, Fiji Mermaid, Montauk Monster (my book is in the display!), sea monsters and more. It’s wicked cool, as they say in nearby Boston. So come on down, check out the museum, pick up a book and ask Loren to take a picture with him and his Sasquatch.
Guest Author Catherine Cavendish Dishes On Revenge And Her Latest Book – Dark Avenging Angel
It’s an honor to host one of my favorite Samhain authors, Catherine Cavendish. Her previous book, The Pendle Curse, blew me away. I can’t wait to dive into her latest, Dark Avenging Angel. It’s so special that I’m saving it for my annual #Horrortober reading list, where I settle in with the best the genre has to offer for the month of October. Patience, my boy, patience!
So please sit back, dim the lights and let Catherine do her best to shiver your timbers…
The Avenging Goddesses
My latest novella – Dark Avenging Angel – is, as its title suggests, concerned with revenge. In this case, revenge of the most demonic kind. We’ve all heard the old adage, “Be careful what you wish for…” Jane learns the truth of this in graphic ways.
Avenging angels and demons abound in the traditions and folklore of people all over the world. From ancient Greek and Roman legend, we have the three sisters of vengeance known variously as The Furies or The Erinyes.
Though they are known by different names, their characteristics are essentially the same. The Erinyes avenged crimes against the natural order of things, so were particularly keen to avenge murder – especially where that murder occurred within a family. Anyone committing the sin of patricide or matricide could expect to find the curse of the Erinyes visited upon them in the form of a tormenting madness, illness and/or disease, and any nation providing shelter to such a criminal could find the wrath of the Erinyes visited on them too. Pestilence, hunger and disease would all follow.
The sisters’ vengeance did not stop at killing their victim. They would continue their torment long after death, until finally the sinner would show remorse for his crime.
Their particular desire to see murder within families avenged probably stemmed from their own origins. The Erinyes were created when the Titan – Cronos – tore off the genitalia of his father, Uranus, and flung it into the sea. From the blood, the three sisters were formed.
The avenging goddesses were also servants of Hades and Persephone in the underworld, where they oversaw the torture of those criminals doomed forever to dwell in the Dungeons of the Damned.
In appearance, the Erinyes were appalling to look at. They had burning breath and poisonous blood dripped from their eyes. Instead of hair, their heads were wreathed with serpents, rather like Medusa. Serpents also entwined around their arms and waists. They are often depicted as winged and clothed in either long black mourning robes or the short skirts and boots of huntresses. They wielded whips.
Anyone unfortunate enough to incur the wrath of the Erinyes would have a near-impossible task of fending them off. The only way would be to perform rites of ritual purification and some task assigned to them for the purposes of atonement.
Now, to give you a taste of Dark Avenging Angel, here’s the blurb:
Don’t hurt Jane. You may live to regret it.
Bullied by her abusive father, Jane always felt different. Then the lonely child found a friend in a mysterious dark lady who offers her protection—a lady she calls her “angel”. But that protection carries a terrible price, one to be paid with the souls of those Jane chooses to suffer a hideous and eternal fate.
When Jane refuses to name another victim, the angel reveals her most terrifying side. Payment must be made in full—one way or the other.
And here’s a brief extract:
Something had woken me from a deep sleep troubled by my recurring nightmare in which I was in a wood, being chased by some unimaginable horror. I never saw its face, assuming it even had one. But I knew if I didn’t find sanctuary, it would kill me. I had just made it into the strange little house that always appeared in the clearing, when my eyes opened and I gasped at the white, smiling face looking down at me.
That night, my angel seemed different somehow.
Oh, she looked the same. Same black cloak, but this time it shimmered and I wanted to touch it. I was sure it would feel soft as velvet under my fingers.
She put her finger to her lips and stroked my hair. Her touch was like a gentle breeze in summertime. My eyes wanted to close, but I forced them to stay open.
I knew I mustn’t speak out loud, but I could still whisper. “I wish I knew your name. Who are you? Please will you tell me?”
She continued to smile. Her lips moved, but the answering voice I heard was again in my head.
Do not be afraid, child. It is not yet time, but soon you will have the power to avenge yourself on those who have done you harm. Look for me in the shadows and I will be there, taking account.
I understood nothing of what she said. But, from somewhere, a calm I had never felt before emerged and wrapped itself around me.
I blinked in the darkness as she faded from sight.
Then I closed my eyes and slept. I never had that nightmare again after that night. But what if I’d known what was ahead for me?
Some things are better off left in the dark.
You can find Dark Avenging Angel here:
About the author:
Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Cat is now the full time author of a number of paranormal, ghostly and Gothic horror novels, novellas and short stories. She was the 2013 joint winner of the Samhain Gothic Horror Anthology Competition, with Linden Manor, which features in the anthology What Waits in the Shadows. Her novels, The Pendle Curse and Saving Grace Devine are also published by Samhain. Her latest novella – Dark Avenging Angel – will be followed by her next novel – The Devil’s Serenade – in April 2016
You can connect with Cat here:
Monster Men Two-In-One – #Science Gone Wrong & The Horror Mt. Rushmore
How special is this? We have two episodes of the Monster Men for the price of…well, zippo, actually. The things we do for love.
Since the first appearance of Frankenstein in print, the horror genre has been rife with tales of terror based on the concept of science gone wrong. When man meddles with Nature or oversteps his bounds, the repercussions are very, very nasty. That goes for science fiction, too, perhaps even more so. I love mad scientists. Their creativity and singleminded obsessions are enviable, and it’s always fun to see them get their comeuppance in the end.
On the latest episode of Monster Men, we tap into this genre defining vein (after tapping into a beer or two) by repeating #ScienceGoneWrong like chattering babboons. I promise you’ll get a kick out of this one. What are some of your favorite science gone wrong books and movies?
What legendary horror actors and characters would make your Mount Rushmore of horror? Jack and I went into this thinking it would be easy (especially with a few cocktails under our belts). Man, were we wrong. Trying to whittle 100 years of horror down to 4 ain’t easy. Here’s our attempt at tackling the impossible.
Who would make your Mount Rushmore?
Making Monsters With Author Brian Kirk
The sordid rabble at Samhain are damned happy to call Brian Kirk our newest brother. His debut novel, WE ARE MONSTERS, has been the talk of the town. I’m saving it to read on my upcoming vacation so I can thoroughly lose myself within its pages. Brian and I are both monster lovers, but the monsters in his story are far more frightening than a pissed off Bigfoot or Chupacabra.
So let’s train that spotlight on Brian Kirk. The haunted stage is yours…
Hey, Hunter, thanks for having me on your site. I like the dark shadows and fresh scent of coagulated blood.
While your horror spans a wide spectrum, I know you have a special affinity for monsters, both real and supernatural. So that’s what I wanted to discuss here today if that’s okay with you.
Specifically, I wanted to talk about monsters of the human variety. I want to talk about us, and the worst of our kind.
Who are the most dangerous among us? The ones who commit the vilest and most barbaric acts?
Politicians, you say? Oh, you’re killing me!
Seriously, though. If I were to create a list (so saying as I proceed to create a list) of the most heinous of our kind, I’d include the following, in no particular order: pedophiles, serial killers, rapists, and cannibals.
These are the people you definitely don’t want living next door. But who are these people? How did they get this way? What turns an innocent toddler into a monster that feasts on human flesh?
It’s difficult to say. Some of it’s nature, some of it nurture. Some people are born with abnormal brains, while others have their minds altered through prolonged exposure to trauma or violent environments. One thing that may be safe to say is that no one grows up wanting to become one of these perverted, and violent predators. I don’t think anyone with a normal, healthy brain and upbringing consciously decides to begin engaging in these acts rather than, say… go to dental school.
It’s an innate calling, an urge. An irresistible compulsion that defiles our dream that we’re all basically good. That evil does not exist in this world. That we’re more than hairless monkeys born of violence and blood-thirst.
What do we think when we see violent and heinous acts? When deranged killers walk into elementary schools and gun down innocent children? Evil is what comes to mind, isn’t it? Insane.
But not insane like an illness. Insane like a demonic possession.
I wonder about that. Is insanity more like an evil possession, or more like a disease?
Some may say, “Who cares. What’s the difference? The acts are evil and should be punished.”
While I absolutely agree that people with irresistible pedophiliac urges cannot be allowed to roam freely in society, I wonder what should be done with them. What if, instead of being deviant predators, these people were otherwise normal human beings afflicted with a disease or deformity that could be corrected or cured? What if it was your brother who inexplicably had these urges, or your son?
Let’s say we could identify and diagnose the people with this disease before they ever acted upon its urge. Would we send them to prison? Would we kill them? Or would we quarantine them while we worked to develop a cure? The same way we would treat someone who inadvertently contracted small pox and was now a health hazard to the rest of humanity.
Heck if I know. I’m just intrigued by the question. I’ll tell you this, though. If the urge to harm others is, at times, caused by a “disease” or deformity of the brain, much like how the mutation of a cell can lead to cancer, it is by far one of the worst diseases that can afflict an individual. And its contagion is among the most damaging to society as a whole.
These are difficult questions involving an uncomfortable subject. They are questions that inspired the nature of my debut novel, We Are Monsters.
In We Are Monsters, a troubled, yet brilliant psychiatrist is working to develop a cure for schizophrenia. At first, the drug he creates shows great promise in alleviating his patient’s symptoms. It appears to return schizophrenics to their former selves. But (as you may imagine) something goes wrong. Unforeseen side effects begin to emerge, forcing prior traumas to the surface, setting inner demons free. His medicine may help heal the schizophrenic mind, but it also expands it, and the monsters it releases could be more dangerous than the disease.
This novel asks challenging questions. As the venerable review site, Ginger Nuts of Horror said, “Parts of the story are heartbreaking, parts will make you angry, and the whole story will have you examining the human race as never before.”
But I believe they are questions worth asking. I hope you’ll check it out.
Thanks for having me, Hunter! Here’s my contact info in case anyone is interested in forming a virtual friendship.
Website: briankirkblog.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brian_Kirk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brian.kirk13
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5142176.Brian_Kirk
