Posts Tagged ‘Horror’

Library Additions: Two Signed Robert Bloch Firsts

Thursday, December 9th, 2021

Two signed Bloch firsts, picked up from different sources:

  • Bloch, Robert. Psycho House. Tor, 1990. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, inscribed by Bloch: “Best wishes to Dick Wilson.” Bought for $20 at a Houston-area Half Price Books.
  • Bloch, Robert and Andre Norton. The Jekyll Legacy. Tor, 1990. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Bloch on the title page and by Norton on a signature plate on the dedication page. Bought off eBay for $24.95.

  • Library Addition: Joe R. Lansdale’s Apache Witch

    Wednesday, December 1st, 2021

    Another Lansdale limited edition:

    Lansdale, Joe R. Apache Witch. Independent Legions/The Last Bookstore, 2021. First edition hardback, #33 of 180 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Poetry collection (Lansdale’s first). Bought directly from the publisher. I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

    Library Addition: Lettered Edition of Joe R. Lansdale’s The Horror Hall of Fame

    Tuesday, November 30th, 2021

    Another Lansdale lettered edition picked up cheap-ish:

    Lansdale, Joe R., editor. The Horror Hall of Fame: The Stoker Winners. Cemetery Dance, 2021. First edition hardback, #WW of 52 signed (by Lansdale), lettered, traycased copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine traycase. Anthology of Stoker Award winning stories from Robert Bloch, George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, etc. Isajenko, World Lasdalean, D13aiii. Supplements trade and limited edition copies. Bought off eBay for $125 plus shipping.

    Library Addition: Two SST Joe R. Lansdale Limiteds

    Thursday, November 18th, 2021

    Two more SST Lansdale limiteds came out a while back, and I’m just now getting around to listing them.

  • Lansdale, Joe R. Hap and Leonard: Of Mice and Minestrone. Short Scary Tales (SST) Publications, 2021. First hardback edition and first limited edition (the Tachyon trade paperback, which I also have, precedes), #101 of 400 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Linked Hap and Leonard short stories.

  • (Lansdale, Joe R.) Fred Isajanko. The World Lansdalean: The Authorized Joe R. Lansdale Bibliography. Short Scary Tales (SST) Publications, 2021. First edition hardback, #101 of 1000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase. Bibliography of Lansdale’s work, that also includes bonus Lansdale fiction in the back. I have not checked to verify that all of my edit suggestions on the ARC made it into the final edition.

  • I will have copies of both these available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

    Library Addition: Charnel House Limited of Tim Powers Last Call

    Monday, November 8th, 2021

    Here’s a limited edition I’ve long wanted to pick up. Indeed, the lettered edition of this is considered one of the most extravagant and desirable modern limited editions, but that was sold out before I even heard about it, and the last time I saw one for sale it went for something like $6,500.

    Powers, Tim. Last Call. Charnel House, 1992. First edition hardback (“by a whisker” says Chalker/Owings), #141 of 350 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine- decorated slipcase with some rubbing to bottom and at points. His celebrated “playing poker with Tarot cards” book, and the first (and best) in a loose trilogy. Berlyne, A8b.1. Chalker/Owings (2002), page 211. Bought from a noted SF book dealer for $325. I think I now have all the Charnel House Powers limiteds (at least in numbered state).

    Library Additions: Two Dark Regions Press Firsts

    Friday, November 5th, 2021

    Dark Regions Press had a 50% off sale so I picked up a few things:

  • (Lovecraft, H.P.) Sammons, Brian M and Glynn Owen Barrass, editors. Summer of Lovecraft: Cosmic Horrors in the 1960s. Dark Regions Press, 2021. Trade paperback reprint (a POD edition), a Fine copy. Bought for $9.
  • Nolan, William F. Writing as Life. Dark Regions Press, 2021. First edition hardback, #34 of 200 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, still in shrinkwrap. Mixture of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and autobiography. Bought for $37.50.
  • Happy Halloween!

    Sunday, October 31st, 2021

    Today is Halloween, which means it’s time for the annual Fark Scary Story Thread!

    Here are the links to threads from previous years:

  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004
  • While you’re here, feel free to check out some of my other freaky/creepy/scary/silly Halloween posts.

    Halloween Horrors: Omega Mart Commercials

    Tuesday, October 26th, 2021

    Meow Wolf is a weirdo art collective underwritten by George R. R. Martin. The have an interactive art show called Omega Mart going on now in Las Vegas. Part of it is these not-quite-right supermarket commercials:

    Halloween Horrors: Guy Plays Horror Video Game At Night, Alone, In Creepy Abandoned Tunnel

    Monday, October 25th, 2021

    I’ve been watching a fair number of YouTube videos of survival horror video game play-throughs over the last few months. One reason is that there aren’t a lot of those games available for the Mac, and another is that most seem less like games than an exercise in wandering around until you trigger jump scares, and where your actions have almost no effect on the game’s outcome.

    But here’s a video of a van-life guy who decided to play a horror game alone, at night, in a creepy abandoned tunnel, which really takes things to the next level.

    The game he’s playing is Pacify, which involves burning evil dolls to lay the ghost of a possessed girl. (Note: If your business plan involves making your daughter a vessel for demonic possession, I’d advise going into another line of work.) I checked to see if this game was available through Amazon, but I bet it’s one of those direct steam sort of things. But would you believe there’s a coloring book for it?

    Halloween Horrors: Transworld 2021 Show

    Friday, October 22nd, 2021

    Here’s this year’s edition of the Halloween trade show.

    Random notes:

  • Killer clowns remain big.
  • Black light seems to be making a comeback.
  • I feel for the model that has to ride the bucking possessed bed during the show. That has to be an exhausting gig.
  • The spongy glowing green floor covered in mist looks pretty cool. With some of the jungle temple walls on display, you have a pretty good start on a Cthulhu Mythos-themed Halloween house.
  • One of the “giant monster heads jumping out of the hole” looks pretty good…until you realize that it’s not a motorized actuator, but just a guy manually pushing it in and out.