Horror 101: The Way Forward

Just bought this for 99 cents for my Kindle app! It has great horror writing advice from professionals like Ramsey Campbell, Tim Wagonner, Lawrence Santoro, Gary McMahon, Ellen Datlow, Gary Fry and many more. The subjects include editing, what makes editors say yes, reading aloud, comic books, running a website, and just about anything else […]

RAMSEY CAMPBELL NOVELS

Today is Ramsey Campbell’s birthday. He’s my favorite writer and reading his work inspired me to write my own horror tales. Born in 1946 in Liverpool, England, he now resides in Merseyside and is one of the most accomplished writers of weird/horror fiction alive. He published his first short story in 1962 at age 17. […]

CHRISTMAS HORROR STORIES LIST 2013

The past six years when I was writing for Vintage Horror, I would make a list of Christmas-themed horror stories to review during the holidays. With Vintage Horror gone, I intend to continue that tradition here. If you’re looking for more, I reposted a former VH one here near the end of November. http://mattcowanhorror.com/2013/11/28/christmas-ghost-stories-reviving-a-dead-tradition/ If […]

CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES: REVIVING A DEAD TRADITION

If you were to ask most people to explain why the classic Christmas song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams includes the line “There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago,” they may mumble something about Charles Dickens A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1843) or […]

Review of HUNGRY MOON by Ramsey Campbell

If you were to peruse my bookshelf you’d find the name Ramsey Campbell outnumbers any other by wide margin. His short story collection ALONE WITH THE HORRORS is an absolute masterpiece. I consider him a can’t miss writer. Somehow his 1986 novel THE HUNGRY MOON remained unread on shelf until this past month. I’ve seen […]

TEN SCARY SHORT STORIES FOR HALLOWEEN

Looking for some atmospheric horror stories to enjoy this Halloween? Here’s a few I think fit the bill. Several of these can be found for free online. 1. “Feet Foremost” by L.P. Hartley (1948) – A group assembles at newly-renovated Low Threshold Hall for a housewarming. There they encounter the malicious ghost of an ill-treated […]

MY TOP TEN FAVORITE RAMSEY CAMPBELL SHORT STORIES

My favorite writer of all time is Ramsey Campbell. He’s won multiple awards in his career, including: World Fantasy Awards, British Fantasy Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, as well as The Horror Writers’ Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Living Legend Award of International Horror Guild 2007. Most of the stories on […]