June Lillie’s Movies And Books That Will Make You Want To Sleep With Your Mama!

She's baaaack...

I ask myself often, how can one enjoy a dreadfully disgusting Halloween without a gut retching movie or a book that practically begs you to pee your pants in fear?

Well, the answer is… One cannot!

I feel sad sometimes… Thinking about all those folks out there in the world who would rather paint their kid’s face than sit down with a frightful tale from beyond. People with their Halloween parties and witch-shaped cookies. Hey I know, let’s bob for apples!

These are the poor bastards I feel the need to reach out to. Of course for me it’s more like punching them in the arm with my bloody stump, but reach out nonetheless.

So, for all of you horror-illiterates out there, feel yourself being saved. I have concocted a short, but sweet list of movies and books that run the horror gamut. Each one of these beauties is easy to come by and should serve up a nice cup-o-eyeball to see you through… THE 12 NIGHTS OF HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or something to that affect.

Here are just a few choice morsels I’ve pulled out of my dungeon for you. To help you make a frightfully fun Halloween!

1. Book of The Dead by John Skip and Craig Spector
This book is truly the holy grail of zombie short story collections. It will surely make your tummy grumble for the next disgusting slab of flesh eating freaks!

2. White and Other Tales of Ruin by Tim Lebbon
Holy crap!!! If anyone can scare a pop-tart right out of your hand, Mr. Lebbon can! I’ve read each story in this book and still get creeped out by them, especially “White”… Truly one of the scariest tales I’ve ever read!

3. Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti
If you took a meat grinder and threw in some Picasso paintings, some razors, and a demon from hell, your end result would look something like Thomas Ligotti’s brain. The man does surreal in a way that creeps up on you, and then smacks you in the back of the head. Seriously, this book will change the way you look at empty windows and crowded streets. It will put a patina of paranoia on everything you see.

4. The Collection by Bentley Little
If the Book of The Dead is the Holy Grail and Tim Lebbon can scare a toaster treat right out of your hand, then Bentley Little is the grisly, rotting cap which we strap to our heads to keep out the signals from outer-space. All I can say about Mr. Little is this; if you enjoy incredibly detailed versions of your worse nightmare smothered in feces, then Mr. Little’s short stories will bring you to a plain of existence you didn’t even know existed. His short stories are very different than his novels. Both are an amazing gift to the horror community.

5. The Missing by Sarah Langan
Sarah Langan has won the horror world’s version of the Pulitzer Prize, by being awarded the Bram Stoker Award for the novel The Missing. Wow! This lady knows her icky-scary stuff! This is not a short story collection. But because of her narrative and detailed characters it reads like one. Ms. Langan sure know’s how to paint a disturbing back-drop allowing for character development, yet never losing sight of what is behind it all. She rocks!

Now on to my list of spooky, creepy, and genuinely scary movies:

1. The Exorcist III (directed by William Peter Blatty)
For anyone who was totally freaked out by The Exorcist, this third installment will kick you while you are down. It stars George C. Scott as Lt William Kinderman., a detective investigating a string of strange decapitations where marks of the Gemini- an executed serial killer- are being left of the victims’ bodies. Strangely enough, we find out that there is a person in a local mental institution who claims he is the Gemini. Now, this may sound overworked and tired, but I guarantee the supernatural aspect of these crimes and creepy images will definitely kick you where it hurts.

2. Session 9 (directed by Brad Anderson)
This movie is set in the Danvers Mental Hospital outside of Boston. The story revolves around The Hazmat Elimination Company, a small company responsible for clearing debris from the old hospital so it can be rehabbed into office space. Unfortunately, for these men, something has been waiting for the right time to make its move. This may start out as a typical “haunted house’ type story, but the twisted ending will leave you shivering!

3. The Boneyard (directed by James Cummins)
Phyllis Diller, a giant mutated man eating poodle, creepy monster children, and an obese psychic…. What more could you ask for? Yes this is a rather silly movie, but surprisingly there are some real scares… And no, it’s not Ms. Diller I’m speaking of!

4. Urban Ghost Story (directed by Genevieve Jolliffe)
Lizzie, a twelve year old girl, dies for three minutes after a horrible car accident that takes the life of her friend. Lizzie returns to live with her single mom and her little brother in their inner-city ghetto apartment. Soon after returning, strange things begin to happen. Strange sounds and furniture rearranging itself. With the back drop of urban decay as horror in itself, adding the possibility of a true haunting makes for a very uncomfortable situation. NOTE: This movie was made in 4 weeks with a budget of $300,000. The creators of this movie, Genevieve Jolliffe and Chris Jones also published The Guerrilla Film-Making Handbook

5. Ravenous (directed by Antonia Bird)
Set in 1847 during the Mexican-American war. Captain John Boyd is sent to Fort Spencer, a remote and freezing stronghold where life is monotonous and dreary. That is, until a stranger appears with a story about settlers and snowstorms and food shortages. Once his story unfolds, the commander at the fort gathers his men to go to the mountains and look for survivors. And oh how they survive!!!