Amanda Norman
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Vamped By Trans1
In October 2008, an artist who goes by the name of Trans1 was inspired by my gorgeous face (below) to paint an entire wall somewhere in London for Halloween. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about this wonderful and talented artist, but he does do other vampire portraits. To view them and his other work, please visit his website http://www.trans1.co.uk
If you want to view more of my photography, click here to visit my gallery.
Twisted Tales Liverpool and Lancaster Events
From 6-8pm on Friday 27th January, Waterstone’s Liverpool One will host a PS Publishing Showcase, featuring readings by Ramsey Campbell, Peter Crowther (from his science fiction/horror novel Darkness Falling), and Paul Kane (details beneath this message), followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
To book FREE tickets to this event, please click on the poster to your left for full information or visit the Twisted Tales website. There’s no commitment required, the organisers simply need to know how many people are coming so that they can make sure that there is adequate seating.
Praise for Twisted Tales Events
‘Twisted Tales events are wonderful… a great way of promoting 21st Century horror fiction. Supported by Waterstone’s Liverpool One and really well organised, Twisted Tales brings together established names in the genre as well as new voices and of course readers. Looking forward to much more to come…’ – Alison J. Littlewood
‘Hurrah once again for Waterstones! This time it’s the Liverpool One branch that’s supporting horror fiction, both with a fine section of the shop devoted to the field and by hosting a series of readings by its authors. Readings can bring tales to a new kind of life, and their authors too. More power to the bookshop and its knowledgeable specialists.’ – Ramsey Campbell
Ramsey Campbell: The Oxford Companion to English Literature describes Ramsey Campbell as “Britain’s most respected living horror writer”. He has been given more awards than any other writer in the field, including the Grand Master Award of the World Horror Convention, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association and the Living Legend Award of the International Horror Guild. Among his novels are The Face That Must Die, Incarnate, Midnight Sun, The Count of Eleven, Silent Children, The Darkest Part of the Woods, The Overnight, Secret Story, The Grin of the Dark, Thieving Fear, Creatures of the Pool, The Seven Days of Cain and Ghosts Know. Forthcoming is The Kind Folk. His collections include Waking Nightmares, Alone with the Horrors, Ghosts and Grisly Things, Told by the Dead and Just Behind You, and his non-fiction is collected as Ramsey Campbell, Probably. His novels The Nameless and Pact of the Fathers have been filmed in Spain. His regular columns appear in Prism, All Hallows, Dead Reckonings and Video Watchdog. He is the President of the British Fantasy Society and of the Society of Fantastic Films.
Peter Crowther: Already the recipient of various awards for his writing and editing, Peter Crowther cemented his long-term place in the field with the introduction in 1998 of PS Publishing, now one of the most highly respected publishers in the field of horror, fantasy and science fiction. Starting in 1999 with just four novellas PS is now putting out between 30 and 40 titles annually. PS went on to receive the British Fantasy Society’s annual award for Best Speciality Press seven years running until Pete withdrew the imprint from further consideration. Aside from PS, Pete’s work has been widely translated, and his short stories have been adapted for TV on both sides of the Atlantic and collected in The Longest Single Note, Lonesome Roads, Songs of Leaving, Cold Comforts, The Spaces Between the Lines, The Land at the End of the Working Day and the upcoming Jewels In The Dust. He is the co-author (with James Lovegrove) of Escardy Gap and The Hand That Feeds, and author of the Forever Twilight SF/horror cycle and By Wizard Oak.
Paul Kane: An award-winning writer and editor. His short story collections are Alone (In the Dark), Touching the Flame, FunnyBones, Peripheral Visions, Shadow Writer, The Adventures of Dalton Quayle, and The Butterfly Man and Other Stories. His novellas include Signs of Life, The Lazarus Condition and RED. He is the author of the novels Of Darkness and Light, The Gemini Factor and the bestselling Arrowhead trilogy. He is co-editor of the anthology Hellbound Hearts and his non-fiction books are The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy and Voices in the Dark. His work has been optioned for film and television, and his zombie story ‘Dead Time’ was turned into an episode of the Lionsgate/NBC TV series Fear Itself, adapted by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (SAW II-IV). He also scripted The Opportunity, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and The Weeping Woman – filmed by award-winning director Mark Steensland and starring Tony-nominated actor Stephen Geoffreys (Fright Night).
Favourite Horror Portrait of 2011
My favourite horror portrait of 2011 features Melanie from the North West in England.
It was so much fun meeting Melanie who was dressed as a Burlesque vampire and although the one pictured above wasn’t Melanie’s favourite, it sure is mine. I like the pose and facial expressions. Melanie chose another portrait for her large poster print and if you would like to pose, click here for more information.
A Haunting in Salem Reviewed
Any horror film that involves an old spooky house and a tagline of ‘based on true events’ gets my interest, because films like these just don’t come around often. The last one I remember well, is the original Amityville Horror, which did terrify me.
A Haunting in Salem, a film that was released straight to DVD in October 2011 and starring Bill Oberst Jr, promised to deliver just that, although my boyfriend warned me that it had received bad reviews. None the less, I still had to watch it and I’m glad that I did, although it won’t be memorable and its not in the same league as Amityville.
Based on True Events?
Before writing up my review, I scoured Google looking for information about this and the best that I can come up with is that it’s loosely based on the plot of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were 19 men and women were hung to death and that’s about it. Nothing specific, but if I’m to be corrected, please let me know.
The history of witchcraft has fascinated me ever since I was told that, supposedly, I’m a descendent of Old Chattox (Anne Whittle) an unfortunate woman who was caught up in the Lancashire Witch Trials (Pendle Hill Witches & Samlesbury Witches) of 1612. Eleven persons were hanged, ten of them at Lancaster and one at York. I would love to do a family tree, but a lack of information or family secrets prevents me from doing research.
A Haunting in Salem Review
Don’t you just hate it when someone has planted a seed in your head and then the film starts and it looks tacky? That’s what I thought about the smoke rising up from the bath tub when the son of a previous Sherriff is brutally drowned by someone or some thing. It wasn’t hard to guess that it was a ghost of a witch that had killed him and then his wife. The poor Sherriff ends up being hurled through a third story window, head first to his death and I have to admit that the opener certainly reeled me in.
I enjoyed A Haunting in Salem although I doubt I’ll watch it again. The trouble with this film is that it had no plot and to me a film is seriously lacking if you don’t’ have to guess at what’s going on or who is doing what. They say that the old Hammer Horror films were notorious for their unrealistic colour of blood, at least it was red. There were moments in the film where I had to cringe and get the cushion ready to hide behind as I watched a woman put a large pan of water on the stove to boil and then she lowered her head into it. I love it when films make me cringe like this.
What made this film watchable was two things. The acting and the wonderful old wooden house with a massive stairway leading to lots of rooms. The house is a 200yr old mansion situated in Pasadena, CA and I would love to live in a character house like this one providing it isn’t haunted.
As mentioned, the acting talent really carried this film and deserves special mention.
Bill Oberst Jr plays the Sheriff who along with his wife, Carrie (Courtney Abbiati) take up residency in the old mansion. On screen their partnership comes across as believable and both actors played their characters very well. At one point, I thought that the Sheriff had become possessed when he surprised his wife with coming on to her. They’ve obviously not had it for a while so she proceeds to take a shower, but doesn’t have one as she finds a full tooth matted in hair that has clogged up the plug hole. There was no storyline to follow on from this, so not sure why the director included it.
Full acting marks have to go to Jenna Stone who plays Ali their daughter. She’s convincingly freaked out when Salem19 keeps trying to communicate with her via the laptop. She’s eventually possessed by a witch and her acting throughout the film should be highly commended.
Finally, this film is worth a watch as there a few scares and the odd scene made me jump, but don’t expect a classic horror movie until the big studios get some courage to finance one.
