YOUR FAVOURITE HALLOWEEN CHICK! Today we had a little fun and decided to dress up especially for halloween. We had a lot of fun doing it and I think all the girls did an amazing job! We asked you to vote for your favourite Halloween BCC chick, and you have spoken! Here are the results: WINNER aka QUEEN OF HALLOWEEN ZOMBIE VICKIE ****** 2ND PLACE VAMPIRE BECS ***** 3RD PLACE PROFESSOR JACK-O-LANTERN MELANIE CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS!! And thank you to all who voted ALL HALLOWS EVE GIVEAWAY WINNERS (Part…

We thought we would really get into the spirit of Halloween this year and dress up (to the best of our ability) for our All Hallows Eve event. So, what do you think of our efforts? ;D You can let us know by casting your vote for your favourite BCC chick! *we’re not competitive at all…ahem* If you want a closer look just click the image to enlarge – you have until 6pm (GMT) today to cast your vote!! **Click images to enlarge** SO, WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE? Cast your vote…

Halloween Halloween was not a priority holiday for me as a child. I enjoyed it well enough (a life-long penchant for sweets and dressing up has to begin at some point), but it never ranked among the A-list holidays. Those few, coveted spots were dominated by Christmas and birthdays because I loved toys more than candy. Halloween served as the local opener for the big show: it had its own appeal but mainly served to set the tone for the following acts. I didn’t realize there was anything unusual about…

I’m very pleased to welcome Coreene Callahan to the blog today. Coreene is the author of the Dragonfury paranormal romance series published by Montlake Romance. I had fun interviewing Coreene, she’s a lovely lady, I hope you enjoy it. Hi Coreene, thanks so much for answering our questions today – it’s wonderful to have you as part of our All Hallows Eve event. Hi everybody! Thanks for inviting me to visit today. I’m thrilled I have a chance to chat with all of you! Can you tell us a bit…

33 A.D. (Bachiyr #1) by David McAfee Coelacanth Press (March 2010) | Paperback, 276 pages Horror 33 A.D. is not the usual type of book I would pick up if I saw it in a bookstore. But, one thing reviewing does do is open you up to new stories and writers. 33 A.D. takes us back to a world where vampires are evil, vile, frightening creatures in a vision that would make Stoker proud. The setting of the book is the part I found particularly clever and unique. Set in Jerusalem…

Church Graveyards: Innocent in Light, Malevolent in Darkness I live right next to a graveyard. One of those very old (it’s a Saxon church), mossy, overgrown ones, where the stones lean towards one another like gossiping women outlined in ivy. In high summer it’s all innocent, long grass and meadow flowers, full of cats and chickens scratching about or sitting on the stones in the sun. But late, late at night, when the dark is so thick that you need a stick to get through it, and the wind is kicking…

HAUNTED LEGENDS by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas PUBLISHER: Tor Books RELEASE DATE: 14 September 2010 FORMAT: Paperback, 352 pages GENRE: Horror Darkly thrilling, these twenty new ghost stories have all the chills and power of traditional ghost stories, but each tale is a unique retelling of an urban legend from the world over. Multiple award-winning editor Ellen Datlow and award-nominated author and editor Nick Mamatas recruited Jeffrey Ford, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, Kit Reed, Ekaterina Sedia, and thirteen other fine writers to create stories unlike…

Halloween and the Vampire Legacy Autumn has always been one of my favorite times of the year.  The briskness of the air, the scent of wood fires, the hint of frost and winter, the vibrant colors of the leaves, and the bareness of the trees after the leaves fall—there is just something about the season that’s always been a delight.  Even as a little girl, I knew that autumn was special, not  just because Christmas and Santa followed afterwards, but mostly because of Halloween.  That holiday was a big deal…

Things that Go Bump in the Night at the Hospital Me. Stumbling around your room in the dark while you try to sleep, and accidentally doing some sort of Kramer-esque interpretive dance, trying not to trip over your bedside table as I empty your urinal into the toilet. Nothing personal, but I’m trying not to get splashed, although with my luck if I do, you probably have Hep C. Homeless people. It’s the rainy season here, and they come in like ants moving to higher ground. I can’t really blame…

FRANKENWEENIE (2012) DIRECTOR: Tim Burton STARRING: Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short GENRE: Animation, Comedy, Horror CERT: PG REVIEWER: Gemma FRANKENWEENIE is clearly a labour of love for quirky director, Tim Burton. It is a love letter to all the Monster movies of the 50’s and 60’s, but in true burton style he has crafted a film that will appeal to both adults and children alike. It is a monster movie with heart and harks back to Burton’s early works such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and Nightmare Before Christmas. This…

The Donors by Jeffrey Wilson JournalStone (July 2012) | Paperback, 255 pages Horror Dr Jason Gelman meets the six year old Nathan when he admits him to the ER. Nathan has been abused by his mother’s boyfriend and needs to stay in the hospital for surgery. Jason develops an almost instant rapport with the young boy and with his nurse, Jenny. It is not only Jason, however, that starts to take an interest in the boy and the people in his life and before too long the story’s main antagonists make their appearance in…

The Real-Life Haunted Forest At Halloween, as the nights start drawing in, I love nothing more than curling up with a cup of tea and a good, old-fashioned ghost story. Whether it’s MR James, Susan Hill or Henry James, there’s a thrill in seeing how much you can scare yourself before you have to put the book down and sleep with the lamp on. There is no more familiar a trope in the horror novel than that of the spooky forest. My debut, Hollow Pike, thoroughly exploits this common fear….

HORNS by Joe Hill PUBLISHER: Gollancz (UK) | HarperCollins (US) RELEASE DATE: June 2011 (UK) | Feb 2010 (US) FORMAT: Paperback, 435 pages GENRE: Horror Merrin Williams is dead, slaughtered under inexplicable circumstances, leaving her beloved boyfriend Ignatius Perrish as the only suspect. On the first anniversary of Merrin’s murder, Ig spends the night drunk and doing awful things. When he wakes the next morning he has a thunderous hangover… and horns growing from his temples. Ig possesses a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look–a macabre gift…

Ghosts? Um, well, you see . . . I love ghosts. I’m pretty sure I saw one once. I have a big lump of hematite a friend gave me for when I go to spooky old hotels, because apparently I have some kind of shininess that departed souls like. (Though not sure if I’m supposed to offer it as a gift, huck it at them, or what.) I’ve done the ghost walking tour in the French Quarter at least four times, plus the one in Savannah just for good measure….

ONE BLOOD By Qwantu Amaru PUBLISHER: The Pantheon Collective RELEASE DATE: 1st December 2011 FORMAT: Kindle, 488 pages GENRE: Horror For every action… Lincoln Baker, born a ward of the state, has gone from orphan, to gang banger, to basketball superstar, to lifer at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in the space of eighteen years. During his prison term, he meets Panama X, a powerful and mysterious father figure who gives Lincoln a reason for living – he must assassinate Randy Lafitte, the sitting Governor of Louisiana. There is an equal…