Delighted to share for the first time, the cover to my forthcoming horror novel, CHOKING HAZARDS🚬, courtesy of Luke Bird, the 2026 British Book Awards winner for Designer of the Year. Here's the blurb from publishers Dead Ink (and the pre-order link is in the comments below): Someone's trying to hide a crime... and they're using Madeline's body to do it. As if living with the consequences of her vindictive ex-husband's manipulation wasn't enough to have her questioning reality, strange objects have begun to manifest on the back of her tongue. A cigarette butt. Someone else's tooth. A set of severed fingers... CHOKING HAZARDS 🚬 is a grisly, stomach-turning blitz of a horror-thriller from author Michael Sellars. Perfect for readers who love Grady Hendrix and Paul Tremblay and available to pre-order now! Link below! Support your indie creators!

Christopher Smith is a horror director we don't talk about nearly enough. His debut feature Creep (2004) wrings every drop of tension from a very simple premise - a woman trapped in the London Underground is pursued by a savage creature. Smith went on to make Severance (2006), Triangle (2009) and Black Death (2010). All excellent. The best thing about digging into the filmography of an under-discussed filmmaker is discovering there are several films I've yet to watch. Think I'll start with Consecration (2023), although Spider Island (2026) looks like a blast.

Born on this day: Wilford Brimley (1934-2020). Here he is as Dr. Blair in John Carpenter's 1982 horror classic, The Thing. I can't believe he's only 48 years old in this scene! He must have had a tough paper round.

Anyone else get excited thinking we might be getting a prequel to Twin Peaks?

2008 was an exceptional year for horror: Eden Lake, Martyrs, Let the Right One In, Cloverfield, Pontypool, Lake Mungo. But one little gem many people seem to have missed is The Cottage. Written and directed by the Bafta-winning Paul Andrew Williams, and starring Reece Shearsmith, Andy Serkis and Jennifer Ellison, The Cottage is dark, violent, and very, very funny. It’s probably just the presence of Shearsmith but there are times when it feels like one of the more gruesome episodes of the brilliant Inside No 9.

If you haven't seen Carnival of Souls, released on this day in 1962, do so right away and know that I am supremely envious of anyone seeing this for the first time. This was director Herk Harvey's first and only feature film, largely ignored upon release but recognised as a classic a couple of decades later. Why it took the world so long to catch up is beyond me.

This from the Bloody Disgusting review of Stephen King's Other World's Than These comes as something of a relief: "Though King fully authored this new novel, he recreates the previous chapters’ elaborate prose mixed with dynamic set pieces, extensive destruction, and occasional dips into outright terror. Straub can be felt on every page as King writes to honor his long-time friend." I didn't read the rest of the review because I don't want to stumble upon anything spoilery!😄

This Italian edition of Stephen King's Insomnia is the stuff of nightmares. If I'd been reading this edition I definitely would have put it face down on the bedside table. With a Bible on top. And then I'd have slept in a different room.

Much as I love Ryūhei Kitamura's and Jeff Buhler's adaptation of Clive Barker's The Midnight Meat Train (2008), I really wish they'd had a scene with the Father of Fathers. Even just a glimpse. According to Buhler, there were early discussions and concept art drafts to include the Father of Fathers but, ultimately, they were scrapped. For me, this would have been the cherry on the top of an already excellent adaptation. Here's Barker's description from his short story: "Had there been sufficient light in that pit to see the whole, perhaps his tepid heart would have burst. As it was he felt it flutter in his chest as he saw what he saw. It was a giant. Without head or limb. Without a feature that was analogous to human, without an organ that made sense, or senses. If it was like anything, it was like a shoal of fish. A thousand snouts all moving in unison, budding, blossoming and withering rhythmically. It was iridescent, like mother of pearl, but it was sometimes deeper than any color Kaufman knew, or could put a name to."

The opening paragraph of Theodore Sturgeon's The Dreaming Jewels is just about perfect. If you're craving a Bradbury-esque dark fantasy tale as October approaches, give this one a whirl. I guarantee it will scratch your Something Wicked This Way Comes itch.

Looks familiar...

This is a good omen for a horror novel... right?

Of all the upcoming horror movies being hyped, this one seems to be getting considerably less attention than it would seem to deserve. Joko Anwar's Ghost in the Cell. From what I can tell, it's getting a 26th October VOD release in the UK and is doing the rounds at some theatres in the US from 2nd October. It looks amazing. If, like me, you're a fan of Anwar's Impetigore, you won't want to miss this one.

Wow! I've just hit 10,000 followers! A big thank you to everyone for your support and priceless banter!

Released on this day in 1963, often as a double bill with X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, Francis Ford Coppola's Dementia 13. Everything about this film feels rushed, put together on the fly, and that's because, by and large, it was. Yet, Coppola creates something stylish and thick with atmosphere that, even now, delivers effective shocks. Not bad for a 24 year old.

I'm adding a new category when recommending horror movies. The No-Regrets Horror Movie. It's not great but after you've watched it you'll think 'Well that wasn't a terrible way to spend an hour and a half.' My first No-Regrets Horror Movie recommendation is: The Vineyard (1989), co-written and co-directed by none other than James Hong (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Big Trouble in Little China, Kung Fu Panda, Blade Runner...). Hong is also the villain of the piece. And he does villain oh so very well. Hong is 50% of why I categorise this movie as No Regrets, the other 50% is Peter Konig's practical FX. I think this is Konig's debut, and it kind of shows, but there's no doubting the man's enthusiasm and invention, and it's no surprise he went on to work on a whole string of major movies.