I was contacted by Shane Diablo (aka “Meatwhistle”) of the shock rock metal band DieMonsterDie and asked if I would like to do a review of their latest album, “Fall to Your Knees.” I’d never heard of them before so I took a look at their website and MySpace pages and saw the stage makeup and costumes and listened to the songs and was instantly thinking: “Hell Yeah!” I quickly replied and asked them to send the material over so I could check it out.

Man was I impressed. These guys are good. Not only are they talented musician who produce high quality tunes, but also they put on a bloody and shocking horror show to rival the best in the business. Their costumes are morbid, Gothic, sinister, and downright bloody and that was a plus right off the bat. I love the theatrics of shock rock. The music is the real meat for the grinder here though. If you’ve never heard of this band and you like metal and horror then you should head right over to their website and take a look and listen. You will be pleasantly surprised and horrified at the same time.

Stephen King has published a fifth collection of short stories, Just After Sunset, the youngest sibling to Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and Everything’s Eventual. With the most recent collection, Just After Sunset, King has reignited his passion for the short story.  After sitting in as guest editor for The Best American Short Stories 2007, King stated that “I got excited all over again, and I started writing stories again in the old way. I had hoped for that, but had hardly dared believe it would happen.” ^[1] Each of the stories in Just After Sunset showcases King at his most potent storytelling ability to date.

Upon first receiving Simon Snootle and OTHER small stories I was immediately impressed by the craftsmanship. It is obvious that the author has put heart and soul into this work of art. This book is hand crafted, stitched and bound using faux leather, and illustrated by the author. There are 19 illustrations and 68 pages on acid free paper. It comes with a nice built in bookmark.

Photo Courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Just in time for Halloween. ...

We've gathered together 10 online magazines that publish horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy stories that you can read for free. The only criteria is that the magazines have fiction that can be read free of charge and that it contains an element of speculative fiction. Although Weird Tales does charge a fee for their print issues, they do offer free fiction, so ... they made the list. Each of these online magazines differs in content and quality but they are arguably some of the best available on the Web; they are all devoted to the genre and serious about what they do. If you are looking for some good Halloween reading with no strings attached ... click on the links bellow.

Daniel P. Coughlin, a writer of screenplays and fiction, who's works have graced the pages of Macabre Cadaver [read his stories here], has struck again with his latest move, Farmhouse.

We asked Daniel for a sneak peek at what the movie was about ...

OVERVIEW:

The movie begins with an artistically rendered series of black and white shots of a scene where an unknown person is burying items near stone statues and performing some sort of ritual.

This month local Chicago musician, Lady Parasyte, brought out her new EP titled, Sirens. The six track EP varies in musical style from the ambient opening track, Sirens, to the fast moving, almost metal sounding Are you Dead Yet. Her style cannot be locked down, and varies from electro beats and underlying loops ala Nine Inch Nails, to an almost industrial/techno upbeat that keeps the heart pumping.

Through the generosity of Brian Amidei, managing director and member of the Wildclaw Theatre Company, we got a chance to see Wildclaw's adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's horror story, The Dreams in the Witch House, performed at the Anthenaeum Theater in Chicago.