It’s always struck me that the one thing unions never attempt is a little ol’ time religion. Over 65 horror writers staged an exorcism yesterday at the Warner Bros. studio lot as part of the WGA strike, many of them wearing t-shirts that proclaimed “Horror Writers on Strike — We Eat Scabs”. The attendees included such luminaries as comic writer Steve Niles, Masters of Horror creator Mick Garris and was organized by 70s remake specialist Scott Kosar. There are many more pictures and comments at the link, including the startling fact that in the first 10 months of 2007 horror DVDs accounted for over 450 million dollars gross. I wonder if that’s worldwide or domestic.

I didn’t get a chance to write about it before the story got too old to bother with, but I have to admit I was plenty excited by the possibility of Jason Voorhees hitting the small screen in an appearance on Supernatural. It seemed like a win-win scenario, with New Line keeping the Voorhees brand in public view and priming the pump for his inevitable return to cinemas, and the CW getting the bump in viewership that such a guest appearance would entail, with the possible side effect of enticing some new blood into their viewership. In hindsight I’m glad I didn’t post the original rumour, because it turns out it isn’t true. Instead a masked fascimile of Jason will be facing the Winchester Boys.

I’ll admit to being a little bent out of shape about this. In the original article that revealed the Voorhees/Supernatural mash-up, show creator Eric Kripke states “We have cleared the rights to actually use Jason,” but Supernatural producer John Shiban later makes the claim that rights clearance issues prevent them from using the character, making it seem as if that’s how it’s always been. So, was Kripke mistaken? Was he misquoted? Did New Line pull their support? Did they just decide not to go with the real Jason Voorhees despite having the rights? Or is this some sort of bait and switch? Because I’ve spoken to a fair amount of people, none of whom had ever watched the show previously, who were very excited about this episode and I have to admit that a stunt like this isn’t likely to endear the show to potential viewers, myself included.

Our first guest is David Wellington, author of the acclaimed zombie trilogy Monster Island, Monster Nation and Monster Planet. David got his start online and continues to move effortlessly between print, such as his latest, the vampire action novel 13 Bullets, and the internet, with the post-apocalyptic zombie saga Plague Zone and the frozen werewolf terror of Frostbite. All of his horror tales are still available for free online at the links above, and if you like what you see please consider purchasing the print editions.

David’s encounter with terror is near and dear to my heart, as I had an almost identical experience. I don’t doubt a few of you will feel the same.

A lot of things scared me when I was a kid. The first I can remember was a special news report in 1981 by Walter Cronkite called “The Defense of the United States”, a documentary about what we could expect following a global thermonuclear war. I was nine years old at the time, and in love with special effects movies and had heard there were going to be some state of the art “recreations” included in the show. I begged and pleaded to be allowed to watch, sitting through endless talking head interviews I couldn’t understand, wondering if this dud was ever going to pay off. Boy, did it. About halfway through the program Cronkite warned that what we were about to see was a simulation based on the best available data, and that sensitive viewers might want to look away. You got to see what would happen to downtown Omaha Nebraska when the bomb hit. Exploding buildings, people with melting faces… for years afterward I ran and hid under my bed every time an airplane passed over the house, convinced it could be a Russian bomber.

Then there was the time my parents stayed out till two in the morning, and at midnight they started playing The Shining on HBO. I don’t think I need to go into details. When the front door opened and my Dad stepped inside, a little drunk and pissed that I was still awake… well. We’ve all been there, I suppose.

It was announced yesterday that the team behind Masters of Horror would be taking the concept to network television under the title Fear Itself. The wording in most of the news releases that I’ve seen have been ambiguous enough that many people firmly believe that this is a sanitized spin-off of Masters of Horror and not a replacement. Considering that each of the previous seasons of Masters of Horror have begun the week before Halloween, and the third season hasn’t been announced yet, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

The main complaint this announcement has drawn is that the relatively relaxed guidelines of Masters of Horror will be lost on a network program. From a purely cynical standpoint, I think it’s genius. The version that actually airs on television will reach a much larger potential audience than the cable version and will sell to a completely different market when the unrated, uncensored DVDs are released. It will probably be the biggest divide between the original screening and the home release possible.

Mercenary reasons notwithstanding, I’m at least partially interested in this venture because there seems to have been very few anthology horror programs on network television in the past few years. That may seem very specific, but at least part of the reason I even got into horror was because there were programs on television that my parents had no problem letting me watch that came just up to the line without crossing it, yet still managed to pack a punch, if only to my underdeveloped mind. Shows like The New Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories, and Monsters, not to mention reruns of the original Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, none of which required tuning in each week to avoid losing track of the continuity. It’s one of the reasons I can respect a show like Supernatural even if it has a hard time retaining my interest. These shows aren’t necessarily meant for me. It’s the initiation for the next generation of horror fanatics.

Datajunkie has posted an article from an issue of TV Guide from 1958 concerning the burgeoning horror host phenomenon of that era. It never really hit me how popular these shows were.

“In staid Philadelphia, for example, a weirdie named Roland (he has an unseen creature named Igor who devours mailmen) presides at WCAU-TV. Roland has really become a Frankenstein. When he held a reception at the studio, devotees blocked traffic for hours, carried away Roland’s collection of shrunken heads and other trinkets, and threatened, for awhile, to dismantle the studio brick by brick.”

It’s a short but entertaining glimpse into another world, with pictures of the 13, 000 attendees from the above rally and portraits of Miss Tarantula Ghoul, Terry Bennett, Milton Budd and more.

There were any number of shows premiering last year that I was anticipating, from Jericho to Heroes to Primeval, but Dexter flew under my radar. For the most part fiction about serial killers leave me cold, and I wasn’t expecting an ongoing show about a murderer that only kills other murderers to really do anything for me. I’m glad I took the chance, because Dexter is fantastic, and was definitely the hightlight of last year’s schedule.

The main reason for my fascination was the take Michael C. Hall took with the title character. Most of the people I know who watched it and enjoyed it walked away with the impression that Dexter was an affable character. I had a completely different impression. Dexter’s sense of morality isn’t something that comes from within him, but was rather imprinted on him through years of training. He only differentiates between murderers and the innocent because those options were spoonfed to him from an early age and it appeals to his sense of order. Without those external restrictions anyone would do. When faced with a situation that falls outside of the parameters that have been grafted on him Dexter either chooses the reaction closest to that which he’s been trained, or, when that option isn’t open to him, begins to break down, like a machine. It’s in watching this absolutely unique specimen of humanity try to relate to normal human interaction that makes Dexter so engaging.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend watching the first season before heading into the second, otherwise your enjoyment will be greatly diminished. As it happens, the first season just hit shelves today.

Thanks to Showtime for passing the poster along.

I know they’ve been done to death already, but I just can’t get enough video mash-ups where otherwise innocent films and television shows are twisted into something dark, or vice versa. The Abbatoir presents yet another one, this time exposing the true colours of Jerry and the gang. It’s completely bizarre, and actually made me feel a little uncomfortable in parts.

With all the current emphasis on the grindhouse aspects of the 70s, one thing from that era that seems to be shoved aside is the mainstream acceptance of various pseudo-sciences, from UFOs to Cryptozoology. I was too young to catch the full force of that trend, but it still trickled down through the years enough that me and my cousin devoured every book about unexplained phenomenon we could get our hands on. Years later, I can vividly remember many of the stories I learned from my self-education. There’s nothing like the possibility of strange and wondrous things wandering the world to fuel the imagination of a little kid.

One of the first and best shows to deal with the unexplained was In Searh Of… Cool Kooky Hip and Groovy has been kind enough to post an album of eclectic music from the show.

Sorry I haven’t been posting as much as usual. I’m taking a small break from horror to kick back and read some crime novels. I’m sure I’ll be back at it like gangbusters next week, and remember, there’s always The Horror Roundtable tomorrow. Until then, here’s a car commercial my friend worked on for an advertising agency in Germany. It’s not horror, but it is damn cool.

Diane, in my hand I’m holding a small box of chocolate bunnies.

I’ve been rewatching Twin Peaks recently, a show I haven’t seen since it first aired over fifteen years ago. Even though it’s been a decade and a half, and my memory is usually lousy, when the end of the pilot was creeping up it all came flooding back to me. It’s funny how the show has lodged itself in my subconscious.

Today we present the Grammy Award-winning tie-in, The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper, of interest only to fellow Peak Freaks. Available in both Mp3 form and through Rapidshare.

David Z. has posted the entire 10-page comic that inspired the Dario Argento Masters of Horror episode, Jenifer. With a story by Bruce Jones, who I’ve only recently acquired an appreciation for, and renowned horror artist Bernie Wrightson, this is easliy one of the most eerie comics I have ever read, and well-deserving of its reputation. Do yourself a favour and give it a read.

My only quibble with David’s post is that he was going to make this comic available alongside an essay contrasting the comic with the television version. I would have been interested in reading that, particularly since I quite enjoyed Argento’s episode, and would have loved to have seen a dissenting opinion. To be fair, my appreciation for the adaptation was at least partly due to not having read the original, superior source material first and my somewhat low regard of Argento’s work, but even taking these into account I think I would have still liked the episode far more than David Z. did. Maybe one day he’ll spill.

“This may be the finest hour of television NBC has ever produced . . . with skeletons.”

According to NBC, the Oct. 31st broadcast of Late Night with Conan O’Brien will be shot in Skelevision, a process in which everyone will be represented by a skeleton.

The show is a complete re-creation of an episode of “Late Night” from May 2006. From the monologue, to the comedy sketches and guests, no living humans will be featured in the show – just skeletons. Guests on the episode are Larry King, actor Omar Epps (”House”) and actress and pole-dancing workout instructor Sheila Kelley (complete with demonstration).

You had me at pole-dancing skeleton. I haven’t watched a late-night talk show in years. I guess their gimmick is going to work on at least one person. To see the complete picture, including Larry King as a skeleton, click the image above.

Bloody Disgusting has posted a couple of clips from Tobe Hooper’s installment for the second season of Masters of Horror.

An unknown monstrous force descends upon a small Texas town, turning husband against wife, brother against sister, parent against child. Tortured by his own tragic past, Sheriff Kevin Reddle must overcome his horrific rage if he is to restore order.

I know Hooper’s been more miss than hit for over a decade now, but I’m a sucker for anything that results in large groups of people losing their shit and turning on one another. Anyone else remember Impulse?

Many of the most frightening moments encountered in arts and entertainment come from the most unexpected places. One of the numerous things to have inadvertently scarred me as a child was an episode of The Smurfs. When Lazy Smurf gets bitten on the tail by a purple bug, he becomes purple, aggressive and starts biting his fellow Smurfs on the tail as well. Soon the contagion has spread throughout the Mushroom Village, with a handful of survivors fighting off the horde. Sound familiar? Watch the entire segment above. GNAPP!