In addition to that site, Mr. Clifton has also done some work on another new microsite of ours, Stephen King Movies. This is only a one page site right now, but as far as we know, it’s pretty close to a complete list of all of the movies and tv shows that have been based on the works of Stephen King. This new site is the kind of site we could probably expand on indefinitely, but we’re going to see how well it does as a really highly-focused, narrow content, one page website first before expanding on the content. Mr. Clifton does include his opinions on some of the best and some of the worst Stephen King movies, and I tend to agree with him on those too, thinking that Kubrick’s version of The Shining is one of the most effective horror movies ever made.

And if you’re looking to buy some horror stories to read, or if you’re interested in Stephen King’s new novel, Under the Dome, then we can help you out there at the store. Just come on by. We’ve been matching the Wal-mart $9 price as an unadvertised special there in the store, and the book has been flying off the shelves. I’ve already finished it, and I think it’s possibly one of Stephen King’s best novels ever.

I also recently finished reading The Rising by Brian Keene. It’s a brutal experience, one of the goriest and most disgusting books I’ve ever read. I loved it. If you like gruesome horror, then this is a book that will not disappoint you.

Hardback Horror Fiction Bestsellers

1. My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie) by David Lubar
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
3. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Paperback Horror Fiction Bestsellers

1. My Work is Not Yet Done by Thomas Ligotti
2. Twilight of the Dead by Travis Adkins
3. The Dark by Ellen Datlow
4. Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
5. One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
6. House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
8. Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
9. Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz
10. Jake’s Wake by John Skipp

Nonfiction Horror Bestsellers

1. Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents by Stephen Thrower
2. How to Cosplay by Graphic Sha
3. The Zombie Handbook: How to Identify the Living Dead and Survive the Coming Zombie Apocalypse by Rob Sacchetto
   
4. Death by Stupidity: The 1001 Most Ridiculous, Bizarre and Astonishingly Idiotic Ways People Have Kicked the Bucket by David Southwell
5. How to be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans, and More!!! by Neil Zawacki and James Dignan

If you’re not already doing so, please follow us on Twitter at @horrorbooks.

1. Local independent bookstores offer a better selection of books than Wal-mart. I operate a small, niche bookstore with only about 1000 square feet of space, but I’d estimate that we carry 5000 different titles. (And we’re an all-horror bookstore.) A typical Wal-mart carries only about 200 titles.
2. The employees at your local independent bookstore have usually read some of the books on their shelves. I won’t hire someone to even help me part-time at the store without insisting that they read at least one book a month. Most independent bookstore owners are probably more strict than that. Some of the folks working at Wal-mart might be very well-read indeed, but I wouldn’t go there looking for a book recommendation, because I think that number is probably relatively small.
3. You can actually find a customer service person to talk to at your local independent bookstore. Depending on the size of your local independent bookstore, you’ll probably be receiving customer service directly from the manager or owner of the store. If not, you’ll be dealing with someone who reports directly to the manager or the owner. But in either case, you’ll be able to find someone to talk to about what you need almost immediately. Have you ever tried finding an employee at Wal-mart when you need one?
4. Local independent bookstores tend to be quiet and not crowded. I hate noise. I hate crowds. I’d prefer not to suffer through both at Wal-mart in order to buy my books. Does that mean I might pay a little bit more? Well, yeah, maybe. But on the other hand, books (even at full price) are the cheapest entertainment you can find.
5. Local independent bookstores offer programming related to books. When’s the last time your local Wal-mart hosted a lecture from a visiting author? Or a book club meeting? How often does your local Wal-mart offer storytime for the kids? Or open mike poetry night? Or writing workshops?
6. Some local independent bookstores offer used and new books. You can’t buy used books at Wal-mart, but at my bookstore, I have all of our used paperbacks on special for $1.50 per copy. You can buy a copy of Stephen King’s The Stand for $1.50, and you’ve got commercial free entertainment every night for a whole week. That’s not even 20 cents per night. Compare that with the cost of going to the theater, renting a movie, or even paying your cable bill.
7. Staff picks can provide you with lots of ideas for new reading. Almost all independent bookstores have a section in their store where the staff’s favorite books are featured. Personalized recommendations like this aren’t available at Wal-mart. And if you come to my store, and tell me that you really enjoyed reading The Rising by Brian Keene, then I’m going to suggest that you take a look at Monster Planet by David Wellington. Wal-mart probably doesn’t even carry those two titles, much less have employees who can make the connection between what you already like and what you might also like.
8. Local money stays local. I live and work in the same place, and when you buy books from me, you’re helping to support the local economy. And I also buy local as much as I possibly can, which also helps keep money circulating through our town’s economy. Buy from Wal-mart if you want to support the Bentonville, Arkansas economy.

There are my 8 reasons to buy books from your local independent bookstore instead of from Wal-mart. Can you think of some reasons I missed that we should add to this list?

On a related, but different, subject, we’re reading Some of Your Blood for next month’s book club meeting. Theodore Sturgeon wrote the book ages ago, but it’s available in a beautiful edition from Millipede Press. We have several copies now available at the store. Our reading of My Work is Not Yet Done has been postponed until the November meeting, but that’s going to be a pretty special one for us, as we’re going to have autographed copies of the book available. And Thomas Ligotti autographs are not easy to come by.

Also coming in November is a Christmas zombie book called It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies. The book isn’t in stock yet, but it will be next month, and it looks funny. If you enjoyed Zombie Haiku or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, then it should be right up your alley.

And if you haven’t read The Walking Dead series of graphic novels yet, you’re really missing out. It’s consistently our top selling book, month-in and month-out.

Finally, if you want to discuss horror books and horror literature, we do have a sister site with a horror literature forum. Come talk to us about what you’re reading there.

If this is the first you’ve heard about Death Troopers, here’s the skinny: Death Troopers is the first adult Star Wars horror novel. Joe Shreiber wrote the novel, and the plot concerns an Imperial prison ship and a virus where the dead return to life. That’s right–it’s a zombie novel set in the Star Wars universe. Reminds me of peanut butter and chocolate: two great tastes that taste great together.

Please drop by the store to pick up your $15 copy of Death Troopers. For a limited time, I’m also going to take orders for the book online. Email me at randyray at gmail dot com if you’re interested in having a copy shipped directly to your home or office. We don’t normally offer online ordering, but in the case of Death Troopers, we’re making an exception.

• Any of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books – get ‘em while they last!
• Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris – this one retails for $25.95 in hardcover, but we’re selling it for $19.99.
• The Tenant by Roland Topor is normally $13, but it’s on sale now for just $9.99.
• The Face That Must Die by Ramsey Campbell retails for $14, but it’s on sale for just $11.99.
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman retails for $17.99, but we have it on sale for $13.99.
• Criminal Macabre by Steve Niles retails for $12.95, but we’re making it available for $9.99

We have other horror books on sale throughout the store. We’re also making all of our gaming products available at a discount of 20% off too.

Come get your discounted books while they last.

Eerie Books New Store Hours

Eerie Books is now open Tuesday through Saturday from 2pm to 6pm. We just weren’t seeing enough business in the mornings and late in the evenings to warrant staying open later than that. Now, with that being said, if you can’t make it to the store during those hours, I’ll come in and meet you at almost any time you like. So really the new Eerie Books store hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 2pm to 6pm or by appointment.

Horror Book Club

The book club is still going strong and meeting on the first Thursday of each month. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, October 1 at 6:30pm. We’re reading and discussing Joe Hill’s Heart Shaped Box, which is a terrific novel from the son of Stephen King. We’ll serve pizza and drinks, and we’ll visit the Ranch House for karaoke afterward. (Karaoke is optional, of course.)

Wylie High Rollers Fantasy Football League

We had our fantasy football draft at the Ranch House this weekend. It was very cool Thanks to Sammy and crew for being the official drinking establishment for Eerie Books.

Cool New Horror Books

We’ve recently received shipments of some really cool new horror books. One of my favorites is Z.E.O.: A Zombie’s Guide to Getting A(Head) in Business. While it’s tongue in cheek and from the same folks who wrote The Zen of Zombie, it actually does offer some reasonably good business advice for people who want to climb the corporate ladder. One piece of advice I enjoyed is that you should never hurry, but never rest either. (Just like a zombie, see?)

Upcoming Horror Books

Under the Dome by Stephen King is one of our most anticipated upcoming horror books. We’ll have copies for sale on November 10, 2009. Under the Dome tells the story of Chesters Mill, Maine, which is a small town inexplicably cut off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field.

Death Troopers by Joe Shchreiber is the first horror novel to be placed in the Star Wars universe. It’s set just before or just after A New Hope, and it’s basically a zombie novel in space, set on a prison ship belonging to the Empire. Death Troopers will be available for purchase at the store on its release date, October 13, 2009.

Dark Delicacies III from Del Howison is now available, and we have copies on the way. (They should be here by Friday.) Dark Delicacies is the only other all-horror bookstore in the country, and they publish an occasional anthology of horror fiction edited by proprietor Del Howison. The first two volumes are excellent, and we expect the latest one to be just as good. Dark Delicacies III includes short fiction from Clive Barker, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Morrell, among others.

Vampire Haiku by Ryan Meclum is a sequel of sorts to his earlier book, Zombie Haiku. We’ll have copies available by Friday of this week. If the book is anywhere near as good as its predecessor, then it will be a real treat.

Eerie Books: You once said that the secret to writing a good novel was to write ten bad ones. What’s the worst novel you’ve ever written?

David Wellington: Oh, man, that’s an embarrassing one. Maybe it was the one about the zen buddha in a New Jersey suburb? That just did not work. Or the one about the satellite repairmen. For some reason I thought it would be really interesting to write about guys who go into space so they can fix glorified toasters. When I hear an idea like that, I think, it could be good, if it was about a bunch of working class astronauts and what they get up to in their off-work hours. But no, it wasn’t like that. It was about making sure you had the right kind of socket wrench before you went up to fix the Hubble telescope. It was fascinating stuff to me at the time but no one else, ever, is going to want to read it. That’s the point, though. You have to learn from your mistakes, and learn what other people want to read.

EB: 23 Hours: A Vengeful Vampire Tale will be out on June 23rd of 2009, and it’s the fourth book in the series which started with 13 Bullets. What’s in store this time around for everyone’s favorite vampire hunter, Laura Caxton?

DW: Well, anyone who read Vampire Zero, the third book, will know Laura’s in trouble. Spoiler alert–she got arrested at the end of that book. And because her life can never be good, it seems, she gets sent to jail. So it’s Laura Caxton in women’s prison. Which would be enough for a pretty good book right there–but then the vampires show up, and everything goes to hell.

EB: You started writing at the age of six, and you were first published almost 30 years later. Would you say patience is one of your virtues?

DW: Ha! It’s easy to be patient when you have nothing else to do. No, I was very impatient for most of that time, fuming away in obscurity, writing all the time because I had something to prove. I would show them, I vowed, I would show them all! "Them" in that sentence referring to all the very nice, very patient editors who had taken the time to send me hand-written rejection slips. No, it wasn’t patience that got me through those thirty years. It was mostly stubbornness. People constantly told me to give up writing, or to treat it like a hobby. I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do, so I kept plugging away at it.

EB: When you first started publishing Monster Island online, what was the experience like? Did you find yourself checking online every hour to see if readers had left feedback, and how did you react to the blunt criticism any writer is bound to face on the internet?

DW: I didn’t know what to expect, and in fact I didn’t think anyone would read it. When the hit counter broke the double digits, I was excited, because I didn’t know some of the people who were dropping by to read the book. Then it just started snowballing. For about two years there wasn’t five contiguous minutes when I didn’t check to see if there were new comments, new hits, new feedback. I got a lot of nasty flames and hate mail, but that just confused me, when so many other people were raving about the book. My emotional state was tied directly to numbers on a screen, and every waking thought was about how I responded to the opinion of someone I had never met, someone whose real name I didn’t even know. It’s no way to live–but it is an incredible learning experience. I learned more in those two years about writing than I had in the twenty-eight years before.

EB: In a previous interview, you mentioned that your mother was a voracious reader of horror novels back in the ’70s. Has she read your novels, and, if so, has she given you any advice or feedback?

DW: Oh, she loves them. She tried to give me in-depth critiques of the books at first, which is what she used to do for my stuff that didn’t get published–she was my first proofreader, actually. Now, though, when she starts telling me that one of my characters feels two dimensional or that a given plot point isn’t working I say, "Mom, relax, I have people who are paid to do that." Which doesn’t stop her, of course. It just makes me feel guilty that I talked back to my Mom.

EB: With the recent mass appeal of the Twilight movie and the True Blood television series, do you think aspiring writers might have an easier time breaking into the business with a vampire manuscript?

DW: Actually, I think it just makes it harder. The stakes are that much higher and when that happens the editors, the showrunners, the comic book publishers all panic. When a given property is making zero money, there’s no risk involved, so they’re pretty low key and open to new ideas. Right now, though, anyone trying to sell a vampire story that is new or fresh is going to hear one sentence over and over again: "This needs to be more like Twilight." If you’re honest with yourself and you have any talent at all, that sentence will crush your heart right inside your chest. I guess one reason zombies are so popular with beginning writers is because there isn’t one gigantic mega-hit in the zombie world. You can still do something different, something interesting with zombies, and have a chance of getting published.

EB: What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a writer?

DW: Stop. Go do something else for a living. There’s no money in it, and a lot of discouragement. There. Now, if you’re reading this and thinking to yourself, up yours, Wellington, I’m going to do it anyway… then you are probably a writer. You need that willingness to do it no matter what anyone says. You need to be willing to head-butt a lot of brick walls before one of them falls down. In the meantime, write. Write a lot. Every word you write makes you a better writer. Every sentence is better than the one before it. When you’re ready, try to get published. Expect to be rejected. Expect to try again, and again, and again…

EB: Do you keep up much with the horror genre in general? If so, are there any particular horror movies, horror books or horror comics which have captured your imagination in recent times?

DW: I’m actually doing a column on AMC’s Horror Hacker blog where I run down upcoming horror movies (at http://blogs.amctv.com/horror-hacker/horror-power-ra-1/), which I kind of inherited–I like horror movies, but I hardly consider myself an expert. Now I have to keep up with them, it’s my job. As for capturing my imagination… there’s a property called I, Frankenstein that’s a comic book they’re making into a movie. It looks awesome. Of course, if you put Frankenstein’s monster into just about anything, it makes it more awesome (as long as you don’t take it all too seriously). I’m also looking forward to the Nightmare on Elm Street remake, for pure nostalgia reasons. That was the slasher franchise my friends and I got behind when we were kids. The new version looks like they’re stripping out all of Freddy’s campy, goofy one-liners and making it all about a guy with a horribly deformed face and knives for fingers. That sounds pretty scary, if you ask me.

EB: You’ve listed Frankenstein’s Monster as the horror character you’d most like to write. Is there something about this tragic character which most appeals to you?

DW: He’s alone. He has nobody to tell him what’s right or wrong, no one to tell him what he’s for or what he’s worth. He has to figure those things out for himself. I often feel like my generation had the same problem. We knew not to trust the government, but the counterculture was pretty suspect as well. Our parents were busy making money in Reagan’s America and had very little time to teach us what actually mattered in life. So I feel like we’re a generation that raised itself, that taught ourselves everything. That’s a very painful place to be, so, yeah, I get his tragedy.

EB: Frostbite: A Werewolf Tale will hit stores in October of 2009. Can you give our readers an idea of what they should expect?

DW: A whole lot of awesome. This book was serialized online, but it’s been heavily updated and expanded from that version. It’s one of my favorite stories, and it has some of my best writing in it. My fans will not be disappointed.

EB: When you’re writing, do you have any particular music to get you in the mood for horror and keep you there?

DW: I can’t have music. I need silence–I need to be entirely inside my own head.

EB: You’ve described your books as "action horror novels." When it comes to writing action scenes, do you have any major sources of inspiration?

DW: I grew up reading a lot of pulp novels. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber. The stories were thin in what some people think matters in writing–theme, character development, "depth"–but they were so much fun. Utter fun to read, and they must have been fun to write, too. Because Monster Island wasn’t supposed to be a "serious" work, it was just something I was writing about zombies, I didn’t worry about writing a great novel. I just had fun with it. It turns out that’s the best way to write something entertaining for others, as well. I’m inspired by a lot by movies, as well. My action scenes play out in my head, I just imagine a really cool scene from an (imaginary) movie and then I describe it on the page.

EB: Since you’ve written extensively on the subject, do you think you’re adequately prepared for the coming zombie apocalypse?

DW: Not at all. Nobody can really be prepared–something always goes wrong at the last minute, or we make emotional decisions that leave us in the wrong place at the wrong time. Have zombie movies taught you nothing? Seriously, I hear from people all the time who tell me they’ll get by just fine when the zombies rise. All I can think is, wow, it almost sounds like you want that to happen. If it happened for real I think I would just shut down in total terror.

EB: In your vampire novels, the bloodsuckers aren’t really the fanged romantics depicted in so many other works of horror fiction. What made you decide to take them in a more savage direction?

DW: I read too many paranormal romance novels. That was the direction horror was headed, it was very clear, so I forced myself to read a bunch of books about vampires that don’t bite people, that want to take them on dates. You know what happens when I force myself to read bad books? It makes me itch. It makes me tap my foot on the floor in impatience. It makes me want to write a good book. So that’s what I did.

EB: What’s next for David Wellington?

DW: Lunch. Of course, I have to write two chapters before I can eat.

EB: Thanks so much for taking time to answer my questions. Any last words of wisdom for our readers?

DW: Thanks for your patience! I know I got long-winded up there. If you’re interested in reading some of my books for free, to see if you might like them, please drop by my website, www.davidwellington.net.

The French invented the horror movie back in 1896. Since that time, French horror movies have covered all the territory that American horror has: from making film versions of classic literature and experimental arthouse horror to erotic horror films and the cutting edge of shock horror movies. For those who really love horror movies and want to try out a full sampling of the horrors France has to offer the world, here are (in no particular order) 50 Must-See French Horror Movies.

French Supernatural Horror Movies

The following French horror movies incorporate some element of the supernatural in their tales. Often, the horror movies below combine elements of other film genres, giving film buffs a glimpse of something familiar before veering off into the world of the occult.

1. Les Louves (Demoniac / She Wolves) – 1957 – An escapee from a concentration camp moves in with a woman that another dead camp prisoner had conducted a letter romance with, while that woman’s occultist sister mysteriously refuses to reveal his lies. Stars Jeanne Moreau in her late twenties.
2. Cache - 2005 – A married couple starts to receive videotapes of their private life, apparently shot from the street while they are unaware. When the tapes become increasingly more obtrusive and contain increasingly disturbing drawings along with them, the couple become desperate to learn the truth about their stalker.
3. Malefique - 2003 – Four prisoners sharing the same cell find an arcane book hidden in the wall by a prisoner of the 1920’s. This assorted group of crooks decide to use black magic to escape prison.
4. Saint Ange (House of Voices) - 2004 – The setting is an abandoned orphanage in the Alps in 1958 and a cleaning lady learns that one child remains. Saint Ange is a ghost tale predating Juan Antonio Bayona’s similar Orphanage.
5. Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des Loups) – 2001 – This film is more action movie than horror movie, but The Brotherhood of the Wolf is a werewolf tale based on the French legend called the “Beast of Gevaudan”. Imagine a kick-ass action-thriller involving indians and werewolves in pre-Revolutionary France and this is what you’ll get.
6. Eden Log (2007) – Bizarre movie about a man who wakes up in a cave and his attempt to return to the surface through a place abandoned by an organization called “Eden Log” while monsters pursue him.
7. Baby Blood (The Evil Within) - 1990 – Okay, an alien ensconces itself in a French woman’s vagina and forces her to go on a murderous rampage. I’m not kidding you.
8. The Pack – 2009 – This one has yet to arrive to theaters, but this 2009 release is already getting a lot of buzz. Charlotte and Max go into a diner run by “Spack”, who collects prisoners to feed to her children: who happen to be bloodthirsty ghouls.
9. Un Jeu d’Enfants – 2001 – A woman starts having visions of being raped. Her husband starts hallucinating about being physically harmed. So when their two children start acting out violent acts, you’ve gotta know that something supernatural is at work.

French Zombie Movies – Must See French Horror Movies

Given the horde of zombie movies that have come out in the last few years, I wanted to include a section of French zombie movies, for those people who can’t get their fix of zombie horror from American film makers. These French zombie horror films tend to take one of two paths: the zombie movie making a social statement and the zombie movie that’s all about gore.

10. They Came Back (Les Revenants) – 2003 – 70 million people come back to life as zombies, but they don’t want to eat your brains. When all the zombies want to do is return to their old life, what do you do?
11. The Living Dead Girl (La Morte Vivante) – 1982 – The Jean Rollin movie which inspired the Rob Zombie song by the same name. Two years after a young woman dies, she is revived and turned into a virtual zombie by illegally dumped toxic waste.
12. J’accuse! (I Accuse) - 1919 – Actually two films: the original and its remake, both directed by Abel Gance. After spending the latter parts of World War I in the French Army (cinema division), Gance made this anti-war film where the French soldiers crawl out of their graves to confront their loved ones back in the villages of France. You’ll note that the final sequences are all that qualify this as a horror film, though the subject is the much greater carnage and horror that was World War I.
13. J’accuse! (I Accuse) – 1938 – The original silent film is considered the master work, though lovers of French horror will probably want to watch the director’s remake, too. In fact, this isn’t so much a remake as a sequel, given that it continues the story of the French war dead of World War I. Abel Gance revisited his earlier theme in 1938 as commentary on the impending new war that he saw on the horizon.
14. Zombie Lake (Le Lac Des Morts Vivants) – 1981 – Alright, you have to be a complete zombie freak to think this is a great movie, but if you ever wanted to see a film about Nazi soldier zombies, rent Zombie Lake.
15. The Grapes of Death – Jean Rollin’s 1978 film about a zombie apocalypse took French gore films to a whole other level. The movie also contains a message about the potential dangers of pesticide.
16. Oasis of the Zombies (L’Abime des Morts-Vivants) – 1981 – Jesus Franco originally filmed this as the Spanish movie “La Tumba De Los Muertoes Vivientes”, but added different scenes and a different score for his French version. When treasure hunters find a lost stash of Nazi gold deep in the desert, they also find a nasty secret waiting for them. The Nazi soldiers sent to guard the treasure died in their duties, but came back from the dead as zombies. This is another treat for those “Nazi zombie” film lovers.

Classic French Horror Movies

The following French horror movies helped establish the horror genre in French film. Some of these are little more than experiments in film involving supernatural or horror elements, while others are classic films that have inspired generations of French horror directors.

17. The House of the Devil (Le Manoir du diable) - 1896 – This 19th century (yes, 19th Century!) film by George Méliès only lasts two minutes long, but if you want to see the first horror film ever made, it’s a must-see. The silent film uses pantomine and is really more amusing than frightening. You might also have heard of this film by the names “The Manor of the Devil”, “The Haunted Castle” and “The Devil’s Manor”. The House of the Devil has bats, skeletons, ghosts and witches, as well as the first depiction of Satan (Mephistopheles) on film.
18. Eyes Without a Face – 1960 – Directed by Georges Franju and based on the novel by Jean Redon, this film revolves around the attempts of a mad doctor to give his disfigured daughter face transplants by luring pretty young women to his lair. Generally gets praise from critics for its beauty and poetry, and is said to have been an influence on John Carpenter and Jesus Franco.
19. Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et le Bete) – 1946 – As much a romantic fantasy as a horror film, this movie is nevertheless worth the watch. Jean Cocteau directed the production, so you can expect a surreal quality to certain scenes. Has inspired many other films and often on “best of” lists.
20. Carnival of Sinners (La Main du diable) – 1943 – When a man buys a lucky charm that gives him fame, fortune and a beautiful woman, you know it’s going to be trouble. A year later, the Devil arrives, wanting his due. A cross between Faust and the Monkey’s Paw.
21. Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) – 1929 – I’m not sure if anyone would consider this classic French horror, but it’s old enough to have achieved a degree of respectability. Produced in France by two Spaniards (Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali), this film might bewilder some viewers, since it uses dream logic and free association techniques to tell a circular story about a husband, wife, her “lover” and two confused priests. You’re likely to identify with the priests as much as the other characters.
22. Les Diabolique (The Devils) – 1954 – When the overbearing head of a boarding school offends both his wife and mistress with his abuse, the two decide to join forces and murder him. But when his dead body goes missing, the women begin to realize that everything is not what it seems. Don’t hold it against this great film that there was a lousy American remake.

French Horror Movies Based on Literature

The French are a cultured people, so they appreciate horror tales taken from literature. The following list of horror films based on books involve stories from both the 19th century and the 20th century and involve some of the most recognized horror literature in the western world.

23. Frankenstein 90 – 1984 – A horror-comedy retelling the story of the Frankenstein Monster in a twisted future Earth-1990. The monster is played by French singer-turned-actor Eddy Mitchell.
24. The Fall of the House of Usher (Le Chute de la maison Usher) – 1928 – Jean Epstein worked with Luis Bunuel on this film. The main actors in the film based on one of Edgar Allen Poe’s most famous stories were Charles Lamy, Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance and Fournez-Goffard.
25. The Hunchback of Notre Dame – 1956 – Anthony Quinn stars as Quasimodo, playing opposite Gina Lollobrigida as Esmerelda. A word of warning to the faint of heart. Only two actors speak their lines in English in this film. The rest speak French and have their lines dubbed.
26. Histores Extraordinaires (Spirits of the Dead) – 1968 – A horror anthology inspired by three Edgar Allen Poe stories. Stars included Peter Fonda, Jane Fonda, Terence Stamp and Brigitte Bardot, whole the directors were Louis Malle, Roger Vadim and Federico Fellini.
27. The Tenant – 1976 – Roman Polanski filmed this movie in Paris based on a book by Roland Topor, anothor Pole living in France. Polanski plays the lead role of a man who moves into an apartment, only to find that his strange neighbors are trying to turn him into the suicidal previous tenant of his flat.
28. The Doctor’s Horrible Experiment (Le Testament du Docter) – 1959 – Jean Renoir’s version of the “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. A made-for-television movie that was released in theaters two years later.

French Horror Movies Involving Mad Science

You don’t always need magic to produce horror. Sometimes, you need a crazy scientist whose technological devices and processes are just as twisted and effective as magic. In the following French horror films, science tries to solve one of the timeless problems mankind faces, with tragic and often ghastly results.

29. La vie amoureuse de l’homme invisible – 1971 – Combination French/Spanish film by Jesus Franco that was a sequel of his popular Dr. Orloff film of 1961. Also known as “Orloff et l’homme invisible”. A mad scientist creates an invisible ape that causes mayhem.
30. Shock Treatment (Traitement De Choc) - 1973 – Some might find this combination horror/science fiction “thriller” by Alain Jessua a little slow in the first half, but this film, not to be confused with the 1981 American film of the same name, involves a compelling enough story about a middle-aged woman seeking a cure for aging through shock therapy.
31. The Man With The Transplanted Brain (L’homme au cerveau greffé) – 1971 – A man dying of fatal head wounds is given a brain transplant, with terrifying results.
32. The Hands of Orlac (Les main d’Orlac) – 1964 – A concert pianist loses his hands in an accident and has them replaced by the hands of a murdered. Suddenly, he’s a concert pianist who likes to strangle people. Stars Mel Ferrar and Christopher Lee and includes an appearance by Donald Pleasence.
33. Faceless – 1988 – A slasher film that starts Helmut Berger and Brigitte Lahaie, but also includes an aging Telly Savalas. This one includes plastic surgery victims, Nazi doctors and power tool slashers. Another French effort by Spanish director Jesus Franco, who also has made Italian, German, Swiss and (of course) Spanish-language movies.

French Mundane Horror Movies

Sometimes, horrible things happen to average people. These people don’t encounter vampires, werewolves, magicians or mad scientists. They encounter somebody who’s just an everyday kind of crazy, and that person often ends up killing them. Similar in many ways to the movies of the New French Extreme, except less gross, here are several horror movies that are grounded in mundane life.

34. With a Friend Like Harry - 1998 – Michel, a man on a family vacation, meets a man he knew 20 years ago (Harry). When Harry decides to help Michel’s heretofore non-existent literary career through a string of murders, gallows humor ensues.
35. Ils (Them) - 2006 – When a couple hears someone trying to steal their car and a call to the police proves no help, Ils turns into a savage battle between a double-murderer (of two unassociated Romanians) and the couple.
36. Calvaire (The Ordeal) - 2004-2005 – When a traveling performer’s car breaks down in the middle of the night, we learn that France has its own version of the crazy hillbillies that seem to populate American films.
37. À l’intérieur (Inside) – 2007 – A 9-month pregnant widow battles with a strange woman who shows up at her doorstep trying to take her unborn child with her own crude version of a cesarean. This horror movie veers into the extreme gore, so watch out. Also, it looks like the Weinstein Brothers might do an American remake.
38. Deep In The Woods (Promenons-nous dans les bois) – 2000 – When young entertainers are hired to perform in a local castle, those entertainers should beware. But when the police tell them that a rapist is murdering people in the woods around the castle, entertainers should flee immediately. They don’t.

Erotic French Horror Movies

Horror and eroticism go hand-in-hand, especially these days, when vampires and even werewolves are portrayed in the culture as tragic and romantic beings with healty (and often unhealthy) sex drives. Vampire romance and vampire eroticism are experiencing a golden age. While French producers have lagged behind in the erotic horror field in recent years, there was a time when French film producers were setting the table for the vampire horror of today. Let’s take a look at those times.

39. Las Comtesse Noir (The Dark Countess) – 1973 – Jesus Franco film where the Countess Karnstein needs sex to stay alive, but drains the blood of men while giving them oral sex. This title has been released under many names, so you might look for it under “Female Vampire”, “The Bare Breasted Countess”, “Les Avaleuses” or “The Swallowers”.
40. Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay (Morgane et ses nymphes) - 1971 – Erotic horror circa 1971 as two women come across Morgana Le Fay in her modern pleasure castle, and must choose between dying in a dungeon or becoming part of Morgana’s perpetual sex circus. Guess which they choose?
41. Blood and Roses – 1960 – Retelling of the Victorian-era lesbian vampire tale, Carmilla, written by Irish author, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla would influence Bram Stoker’s Dracula, so just imagine a Dracula if he were a countess.   
42. Rape of the Vampire (Le Viol du Vampire) – 1968 – An early film by Jean Rollin, this movie got the ball rolling on Rollin’s brand of sexual and violent French horror films. Rape of the Vampire includes lesbian vampires in an avante garde B-movie format – just what you’re looking for on a long winter’s night.

New French Extremism – Horror Movies

In the last ten years or so, French film makers have shown the world that they can depict violence and rape more brutally than any film makers on Earth. This has caused an army of critics to decry the “New French Extremity”, while causing more than one government to censor or ban showings of these movies in their countries. Even the French Ministry of Culture has gotten involved, in at least one case.

The following French movies with horror scenes have either been placed in the New French Extremity category, or have been described as having a “similar sensibility” as the New French Extremity films. The bottom line is, if you watch any of the following movies, you need to know that you’re going to be encountering graphic violence and sometimes (but not in every case) graphic sexual depictions. You’ve been warned.

43. High Tension (Haute Tension) – 2003 – Two college women are spending the weekend in the country with family when a man comes in the farm house and murders the family. The two women then must fight for their life.
44. Sheitan (Satan) – 2006 – A trip to the night club for a group of friends leads to a meeting with an insane gardener who’s got Satanic ideas in his mind. Vincent Cassel is completely over-the-top as the psychotic groundskeeper in this horror film known for its black comedy.
45. In My Skin (Dans ma peau) – 2002 – A thirty-year old woman gets a gash in her leg at a party and suddenly becomes obsessed with her own wounds and self-mutilation. Whether this disturbing movie is horror or just horrifying, you can decide.
46. Martyrs - 2008 – From the maker of Saint Ange (Paul Laugier), this movie revolves around women being tortured until they “transcend” pain and become martyrs. The violence in this movie is so graphic that the French Ministry of Culture got involved in the ratings process.
47. Trouble Every Day – 2001 – Described by one critic as part of the “New French Extremity”, Trouble Every Day involves an American couple honeymooning in Paris, a mysterious clinic that studies the human libido and a woman who becomes a cannibal when she’s aroused.
48. Irreversible - 2002 – Gasper Noe’s story of a woman brutally raped and her boyfriend’s desperate attempts to get revenge. Irreversible goes in reverse chronological order, so the first 20 minutes are absolutely insane. The most walked-out movie of 2002.
49. Frontier (Frontiers) – 2007 – Frontiers is a violent tour de force, described as a horrible nightmare by one enthusiastic reviewer. If you like to see blood flowing, Frontiers might be your type of horror movie.
50. Six-Pack – 2000 – Many would consider this film more of a thriller or noir film than a horror film, but it has an American serial killer disemboweling French women in Paris, which makes it as much of a horror film as some of the “New French Extremism”. People who enjoy the one might enjoy the other. This movie takes its cues from American cop-chasing-serial-killer movies like Silence of the Lambs and Seven.
50. Baise-moi (Rape Me) – 2000 – Imagine a nihilistic Thelma & Louise type road movie which starts with a 9-minute rape scene and that starts to describe Baise-moi, based on Virginie Despentes’ 1999 book of the same name. When Manu is raped and Nadine sees her best friend shot before her eyes, they meet up and go on a road trip of destruction: taking out their aggression on the men they meet. This movie got a lot of criticism at the time and is still banned in Australia.

With an appearance on the New York Times bestseller list, there’s little doubt that Fred Van Lente is a breakout talent in the comic book industry. His work on titles such as Incredible Hercules and MODOK’s 11 have garnered him numerous awards and critical acclaim, and he’s also the creative talent behind the undead adventures of Marvel Zombies 3 & 4. In fact, Mr. Van Lente’s career as a writer has been filled with multiple forays into the world of horror. Recently, he was kind enough to speak with Eerie Books about his career, creative influences, and the general state of horror.

Eerie Books: When did you realize that you wanted to write for a living?

Fred Van Lente: It’s tough to pinpoint an exact moment. I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t want to be a storyteller in some fashion or another. I started college as a film major, but quickly got frustrated with all the technology involved — I’m all thumbs when it comes to that stuff. Fortunately, I became buddies with the illustrators who were studying to become comics artists, and some of them — Steve Ellis, Ryan Dunlavey — became my more significant collaborators. So that’s how I wound up a comics writer … I fell in with a bad crowd!

Eerie Books: Creatively speaking, who are your biggest influences?

Fred Van Lente: The early Marvel crew — Lee, Kirby, Ditko — and more recently, Grant Morrison, Priest. Kafka, Poe, Stephen King, I’d say. Raymond Chandler is a huge influence, both his writing about writings as well as his novels and stories. Flannery O’Connor. Shirley Jackson. Tim Powers, the great historical fantasy writer. Alan Moore, of course. These are the people who made me go, “I wanna do that” when I was young and impressionable.

EB: When writing for the horror genre, do you listen to any specific songs to get the creative juices flowing?

FVL: I do. I actually have an entire “Horrors!” playlist on my iTunes. I’ll have to warn you, my music taste is underdeveloped to the point of being Neanderthal. Some highlights–

“Waking with the Ghost” — White Stripes

“Grim, Grinning Ghosts” which is the song that plays when you go through Walt Disney World’s Haunted House

“Devil in Disguise” – Elvis

A jazz version of Bach’s Toccata in D-Minor performed by Dave Matthews.

The Danny Elfman theme from “Nightbreed” — underrated score for a pretty weak movie (sorry, Barker fans)

“I’ve Got a Fang” – They Might Be Giants

“Halloween” – Aqua (great cheesy pop band from … Sweden? Norway? One of them cold countries.)

Highlights from two other great film scores, “Aliens” (James Horner) and “Dead Again” (Patrick Doyle).

“D for Dangerous” – Rev. Horton Heat

And some more stuff I’m way too embarrassed to type here.

EB: Your short story “Don’t Even Blink” was included as one of the 26 original works in Kolchak: The Night Stalker Chronicles. What can fans of Kolchak expect from this story?

FVL: Kolchak gets a job as a pool reporter for the United Nations, but when the Secretariat gets locked down with a killer that apparently has the ability of teleportation, he has to go back to his monster-busting ways.

EB: Despite only running on television for one season, why do you think Kolchak: The Night Stalker continues to maintain such a loyal following?

FVL: Darren McGavin’s performance throughout the movies and the TV shows is quite endearing; it’s hard not to love that character.

EB: In 1997, Chaosium published your Call of Cthulhu sourcebook entitled The New Orleans Guidebook. As a writer, did developing a role-playing supplement hold any unique challenges?

FVL: I was an avid RPGer throughout my teens and twenties. I loved the research involved. That was my first published book. I researched in the library at the University of Pittsburgh, where I was a graduate student at the time. It was a strange experience because I wrote it in 1995 and it didn’t come out until two years later. For a young kid that was an agonizing wait! But I had a thrill of pride once I had my comp copies in my hand, of course.

However, Chaosium never fully paid me for it, so please don’t buy it, except at a used bookstore or something. And if you ever see any of those guys tell them I still plan on sending some big dudes over to their house, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

EB: In 2000, you co-created a satirical Cthulhu mythos mini-comic with Steve Ellis titled Why We’re Here (featuring such classic lines as “God is a blind retard?”). How did this come about, and what was the reaction?

FVL: People really enjoy it, it was just this fun thing Steve and I decided to do to bring to the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland, which is a show we would go to every year. We had begun a tradition of satirizing different types of comics the year before with RIGHTWING, which was “What if the GOP published a super hero comic?” Then next year, we did the Jack Chick-style religious track. When I put it on-line it got featured on Boing-Boing, I think, and got a zillion hits. I still get fan mail about it! It’s fun stuff, and very gratifying.

Then, the next year, artist Ryan Dunlavey and I were going, and I got the idea to do a comic that you’d find packaged with an action figure — this time, the gag was that it was a Freidrich Nietzsche action figure. And from that story the series I first got wildly known for, ACTION PHILOSOPHERS, was born, believe it or not.

Incidentally, you can read both WHY WE’RE HERE and RIGHTWING for free at my website — just click them links there.

EB: Have you ever been tempted to hang out at airports or bus depots and distribute copies of Why We’re Here?

FVL: Me personally, no, but I have actually given permission for folks to mass photocopy it and hand them out as phony evangelicals at, like, horror conventions before.

EB: Were you a big fan of horror growing up? If so, what were some of your favorite horror movies, books or comics?

FVL: I was. What really hooked me was Stoker’s DRACULA, which I think I read when I was about ten. I loved the realism and the attention to detail combined with the supernatural elements. When I was a teenager I got bitten by the low-budget horror movie bug. Romero and Cronenberg were my big faves.

EB: In the pages of Marvel Zombies 4, you got a chance to write supernatural characters such as Dormammu, Morbius, Daimon Hellstrom and Werewolf by Night. Are there any supernatural/horror-themed characters you’re still aching to work on?

FVL: I wouldn’t mind doing an ongoing MARVEL ZOMBIES/MIDNIGHT SONS series, starring the monster squad from MZ4.

EB: Do you follow new horror movies and books, or do you tend to gravitate more towards works from your childhood?

FVL: I should, but I don’t. Fortunately, one of my closest friends from college, and someone who now lives in New York City and I still hang out with constantly, is MONSTER ISLAND/13 BULLETS author David Wellington, and he’s locked into that world. He keeps me pretty up-to-date.

EB: What can fans expect from Fred Van Lente in the foreseeable future?

FVL: Well, I’m writing an arc of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN in August that brings back The Chameleon and Mary Jane Watson.

And speaking of monsters, my She-Hulk serial begins in the back of INCREDIBLE HULK #600, this July.

A

nd horror fans should be pleased by an upcoming announcement for September…

EB: Thanks so much for agreeing to do this interview. Any final words of wisdom for our readers?

FVL: Do not pour sulfuric acid on your genitals. Believe me. Not worth it.

Click here for a complete list of the works of Fred Van Lente.