MICHAEL F. HOUSEL has authored several novels for Airship 27 Productions, including THE HYDE SEED, MARK JUSTICE'S THE DEAD SHERIFF: PURITY & THE PERSONA TRILOGY, with his short stories appearing in THE PURPLE SCAR, THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE & RAVENWOOD, STEPSON OF MYSTERY. He is also a faithful contributor to Eighth Tower Publications' DARK FICTION series, various popular-culture periodicals and a frequent associate producer for MR. LOBO'S CINEMA INSOMNIA.
The next, Eighth Tower Dark Fiction curation (after the in-the-pipeline, Blind Dead anthology) will be based on the alternate-reality concepts of David Cronenberg's Videodrome.
My story is entitled "Anomaly Drome," and deals with two alternate realities (loose variants of what's featured in the film) and a strange, animated formation that resembles a hand, a blue hand, to be precise. The anomaly "befriends" a gent named Robert "Bob" Riddance, and all seems cool and comfy between them, but then ... well, I don't wish to spoil the outcome, but it gets bizarre, damn bizarre.
There's no release date set on this Videodrome derivative, but what's brewing does show enormous potential and should more than hold its own with Dark Fiction's best and strangest offerings.
Classic Monsters of the Movies writers/researchers Nige Burton & Jamie Jones have mastered a new ("from-the-ground-up"), 36-pg edition for Hammer's breakthrough re-imagining of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
With Classic Monsters' Dracula (1958), aka Horror of Dracula (as it's known in America), we're dealing with a preluding, magazine release for the upcoming, restored version of the movie, which is said to feature once-presumed-lost footage.
However, for what fans already know and adore, there's much to bite with this "ultimate edition." Burton & Jones not only cover the extensive construction of Hammer's classic, but delve into the geniuses who ensured it would be one to remember. Such includes director Terence Fisher, producer Anthony Hinds, screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, cinematographer Jack Asher, makeup artist Philip Leaky and composer James Bernard.
The cast also receives deserved reverence, with affectionate bios on Christopher Lee (the titular Count), Peter Cushing (Professor Van Helsing), Michael Gough (Arthur Homewood), Melissa Stribling (Mina Homewood), Carol Marsh (Lucy Homewood), John Van Eyssen (Jonathan Harker), Charles Lloyd-Peck (Dr. Seward), Olga Dickie (Gerda), Janina Faye (Tani) ... and Valerie Gaunt (a succulent, vampire bride).
The contents are packed with trivia, quotes and above all, exquisite photos, which capture the adaptation's amazing ambiance.
There's no question that (Horror of) Dracula is not only one of the best horror movies ever made, but one of the best, all-around movies ever made. Burton & Jones deserve enormous credit for putting this edition together. Like the movie upon which it's based, this Classic Monsters edition is, without any dispute, one to savor and praise.
Sally the Zombie Cheerleader has dropped a new Ghoul's Guide to Horror for her faithful, hungry-for-knowledge fleshies. It's on director Jackie (The Being) Kong's 1987, supernatural, cannibal opus, Blood Diner.
Written by Michael Sonye, Blood Diner pays tribute to the gruesome flicks of Herschell Gordon Lewis, in particular his gory groundbreaker, Blood Feast. That means Blood Diner is grisly yet funny and would fit without a hitch into Lewis' ghastly queue.
Sally explains how the film did, in fact, begin as a Blood Feast sequel, though over time morphed into a variation on a serial killer/occultist named Anwar Namtut, whose disinterred brain is kept alive in a jar. The diabolical Anwar instructs his goofy, diner-owner nephews (the Tutmans) to gather female body parts to reconstruct the evil deity, Sheetar (aka Shitar), and use the scraps to feed an unwitting public. (Again, the concept isn't far removed from Blood Feast, seasoned with a wee sampling of Lewis' The Gruesome Twosome, among other satirical ingredients featured in the director's many horrific shares ... um, scares.)
On further note, Sally dissects Blood Diner's production particularities and gives a thorough overview of its cast and crew, which includes an interesting reveal on Ms. Kong. And for added, educational enlightenment, the snappish SkeleKat is present to footnote Sally's tasty tutorial.
If you have a hankering for a devilish, diner dish, then this ghoulish lesson is one you shouldn't miss:
I'm often asked if I listen to music when I write. I do on occasion, though during such sessions, it's more classical/soundtrack and/or ambient constructions that I favor, such as Michael Ferentino's Bedtime for Robots, Tangerine Dream and various experimental, Eighth Tower examples, where transcendental draws persist, prompting my words to bounce in a sublime succession.
For the interludes (the lead-ups that prompt my actual composing), I lean on the Moody Blues. Through the band's compositions, I'm able to calm down and then dream and aspire, allowing any number of ideas to flourish.
The Moodies have the same impact on lots of folks. In this respect, it's obvious why they're revered (inducted, no less, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), but at the same time, they've never received the fullest degree of respect they deserve. That the Moodies exist, or have existed, is more than enough cause to express endless jubilation and exaltation and yet ...
The peculiar, understated passings of John Lodge and Ray Thomas epitomize the problem. When the two left this Earth, the mainstream media turned a blind eye. It was heartbreaking (maybe more so, infuriating) for me (and a legion of fans) to learn of their departures months after the fact.
Despite this unpardonable injustice, the Moodies' mind-expanding flights have enchanted generations of listeners, pulling them from their oppresive doldrums time and again. For example, I've been revisiting To Our Children's Children Children, but then I tend to do so (for whatever pensive prompt) whenever autumn approaches. It's a welcome tradition, and I'm all the better for it.
I'll be attending a Justin Haywood concert this September. I saw the Moodies perform at the Philadelphia Spectrum in 1986 (with another underrated but excellent band, the Fixx); the impact of that event has never left me. The Haywood concert will be a marvelous way to bookend the inspiring stretch.
Well, I hope my little, creative-catalyst share enlightens your mood, as much as the magnificent Moodies have enlightened mine.🎵
ReMind's September 2026 issue salutes 1976 with a fifty-year, top-moments flashback, marked by a smashing cover of the original Charlie's Angels:Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jacyln Smith.
In addition to the sexy, crime-stoppers, readers are treated to such predominant (cover-commemorated) staples as The Captain & Tennille, Alice, Laverne & Shirley, The Muppet Show, Quincy M.E., Family and The Bionic Woman. These are accompanied (and included in) a swell, chronological rundown of special airings (and related peripheries), which include The Gong Show, Family Feud, What's Happening!!, Holmes and YoYo, The Jerry Lewis MS Association Marathon and Sylvester Stallone's Oscar-winning triumph, Rocky, as well as significant, sporting and political events.
Celebrating this influential year was a wise choice by ReMind, one that I appreciate since I lived it, as have so many others. From a socio-cultural perspective, it prevails without compare. Even ReMind's supplements exalt the year's greatness through its puzzles and trivia, which (as always) are fun, fun, fun!
To purchase this terrific, sentimental issue (and to subscribe), visit
As some may know, I've been embracing a healthy path with consistent exercise and improved, nutritional habits.
As such, I view videos related to such and came upon this terrific post featuring Robert Kennedy Jr. interviewing Lou (The Incredible Hulk) Ferrigno. As a bonus, Big Lou acknowledges Steve (Hercules) Reeves (his inspiration to enter bodybuilding) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (his once prime competitor) during the chat.
Check it out. You'll learn more than a thing or two from both wholesome-promoting ends.
