The Monster Club

For today's countdown to Halloween reading suggestion: The Monster Club, by R. Chetwynd-Hayes. One ofthe best horror books I have read this year, to my surprise. It's a series of short stories that was the source material for a cult movie. The film is enjoyable enough and has its moments, but this is far, far superior. In fact, reading this, you will be surprised at how tame and often silly the adaptation was. Yes, the book has humour a plenty, but it is of the darker kind and even in the lightest moments you will find gruesome horror. The monsters of the title can be likeable, sometimes even sympathetic figures. They are nevertheless monsters in the proper sense, often malignant, always predatory. Even when they have the best intentions, they can inflict suffering, if not death. Many of the humans are unpleasant, if not downright evil, they also get their comeuppance, often in gory fashion. And they do not always deserve it. The Monster Club will make you laugh, it will make you shiver, probably at the same time.

August's spooky reads

 It's the first of August and that means... Well, that means a lot of things, which I will touch upon in future posts. For many, it means there is still one month of summer. For me, it means that there is only three months left until Halloween. See this post for my current state of mind in a nutshell. It means also that I have started reading horror stories. I have a lot of books to read, so I started a few weeks ago. I always thought that the horror you read in August, or before autumn needs to be a bit different than what you'd read in October. Somewhat more summery. For instance, I just finished The Monster Club by by Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes. It has a lot more humour than your usual horror story, so it sort of fits the lighter season. It is nevertheless much darker and scarier than its cult movie adaptation. In fact, the film comes off as clumsy and lacklustre compared to the source material. But I digress. If August is for many a time to make the best of what's left of summertime, it is for me a time to prepare myself mentally for Halloween.

Monsters Rule, OK!

This is today's second countdown to Halloween post. I thought I would put some music from The Monster Club, a cult classic horror comedy which I have recently rediscovered. It is an uneven movie with an uneven tone, but it has its moments and I found it quite enjoyable, both in its horrific parts and in its funny ones. I also plan on finding the original book by Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes. I read one of its stories in an anthology. Anyway, here is the first song of the film, which also gives you an idea of its spirit. The Monster Club of the title is not so different from the many clubs I have been in during my twenties.