The Jersey Devil By Hunter Shea

 

The Jersey Devil
By Hunter Shea
Pinnacle Books, 2016
Paperback, 378 pages

                If I’m going to tackle a book that is 378 pages long, it has to be written by Hunter Shea. Only he can tell a story that long that will hold my intertest. No fluff, no filler; every word is essential and moves the tale along. And what a tale it is. Shea’s cryptozoological monster books are a treasure. He takes every known fact/ rumor about the mythical beasts and makes it an integral part of the story. I was prompted to research the Jersey Devil after finishing this book and yes… he nailed it. And improved on the legend.

 

                The Willet Family are a close-knit crew, and they have a history with the Devil. Ol’ Boompa, the gran’pa, had encountered it years ago and has had revenge burning in his veins ever since. With a spate of new Devil sightings, the family gets together with a shit-ton of firepower, and they head out to hunt. Naturally, they get a lot more than they bargained for.

 

                Rarely do I root for humans in a book like this, but Shea makes the Willet Family so damn likeable that you have to. The Devils, plural, yes- there are many, are formidable creatures but they aren’t infallible. But there are just so many. Throw in captive humans kept for breeding reasons, a rock concert, and innocent people stuck in a very bad place, and you have a page turner that moves very quickly and delivers the gory goods.

 

                I’ve said it before; Hunter Shea gets it. His name should always be mentioned when speaking of the greats of the genre that I love the most… nature-strikes-back. Guy N. Smith, James Herbert, Hunter Shea… he is among the elite.

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The Witchcraft of Salem Village By Shirley Jackson

The Witchcraft of Salem Village
By Shirley Jackson
1976, Popular Library
Paperback, 125 pages.

                Take one of the most messed-up and horrific times in American history and hand the story to one of the all-time great horror authors and you’ve got quite a book. Of course, Shirley Jackson needs no introduction; The Haunting of Hill House and The Lottery alone will have her ensconced in the Horror Hall of Fame forever.

                We all know the story… or do we? I live about 25 miles from Salem, Massachusetts and these days, Witch City is crawling with all things Hallowe’eny and witchy, witches are celebrated all year ‘round. (A piece of advice… avoid Salem like the plague in October. It is a fetid tourist stew.) But while there is a Bewitched statue in the middle of downtown, what really happened there (nearby, really… about 5 miles away) is no cause for joyous frivolity. The truth makes the merriment seem like a load of bad taste.

                Jackson retells the story of the Puritans of Salem Village in the 1690s and their hysteria which led to the execution of 19 people, with many more accused “witches” dying in jail. Started by a group of bored teenage girls, they whipped up a frenzy of fear among the ignorant townsfolk, accusing anyone they wanted of witchcraft. The flames were fanned, and a real epidemic of mistrust, paranoia and lawlessness ensued.

                It is a fascinating slice of American history, but it has the unfortunate ending of “Oops… we made a mistake” when all was said and done. No justice was ever had for the accused. In fact, as I write this (September 2021), the very last “witch” to not yet be exonerated, Elizabeth Johnson, Jr., has recently had papers filed to clear her name. Over 300 years after the fact!! What a sickening, incomprehensible mess those religious nutsacks caused!

                There are many editions of Jackson’s book out there. I particularly like the cover of the Popular Library edition. If anyone knows the artist, please let me know. Update- evidently, it is William Teason! Yay!

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The Roo By Alan Baxter

 

The Roo
By Alan Baxter
2020 Self-published
Paperback, 123 pages

 

                Remember that story and photo floating around the interwebz about the jacked-up Red Kangaroo that was terrorizing Australia? Well, that is where this book started. As explained in the foreword, a Twitter conversation about that animal got to “(it’s) like something Zebra Books would have published back in the day”, and it took off from there. Kaelan Patrick Burke did a mock-up cover and Baxter, being Australian, was coaxed into writing it. And there it is! The cover of the actual book is a cleaned-up version of Burke’s original idea, complete with a Zebra tag along the edge.

 

                The book does exactly what you would want it to. A small town on the edge of the Outback is missing a few citizens. And then more. The story doesn’t take long to cut to the chase; it is a massive, 7-foot muscle-bound Red Kangaroo laying waste to the townsfolk. Many of the victims are total dirtbags who deserve their fate, so their gory demises are satisfying. Really, what can you say? You want gory death-by-Roo and you get it. Set ‘em up and knock ‘em down.

 

                The book isn’t completely satisfying, though. It does come off as a bit empty, largely due to it being a quickly written story to satisfy the above-mentioned Twitter exchange. A brisk pace, however, is maintained through it’s very short running time and the red flows heavily. And that is what we want. Some of the more detestable characters serve a bigger purpose than just being Roo fodder, too. An undercurrent of male toxicity runs throughout, making some character’s come-uppance a savory delight. On a serious note, Baxter added an afterword, which is just a paragraph about the need to recognize and attempt to eradicate domestic violence. Bravo!

 

                A handy 3-page glossary is included at the end to help out those of us not familiar with Aussie slang. Keep your finger on those pages while reading. You’ll need it! Strewth!

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The Uncanny By William Lauder

 

The Uncanny
By William Lauder
1977 Arrow Books
Paperback, 140 pages

 

This is a novelization of the 1977 Amicus anthology film of the same name. If you like the movie, you’ll like the book. I, as a crazy cat person and a horror freak, love the film. The book is a hoot, too, though I have to recommend it with reservations.

 

The writing is just terrible, but comically and endearingly so. Lauder repeats himself frequently, especially with phrases that he seems to like. “The silence was total.” is a good line… once, but he uses it at least three times in the first story alone. Poor Donald Pleasance: when describing a character played by him in the prose, Lauder uses the term “thyroid eyes” countless times. Not much is added to the screenplay, though he does delve into some back story here and there, but at 140 pages, you pretty much get the film in words. By the way, Lauder is Allen Harbinson, who wrote (under his own name) some sci-fi and some Elvis books. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that he ever combined those two topics.

 

Being a tie-in for a somewhat obscure film, this title can get fairly pricey on the secondhand market. I paid more than I usually do for a paperback (over $20) but it’s worth it to add it to my collection. Moreover, reading about evil cats while my own two felines lay upon me, purring, lazy as sacks of shit, is priceless.

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The Return By Bentley Little

 

The Return
By Bentley Little
2002 Signet
Paperback, 354 pages

 

                In horror circles, Bentley Little is a name that pops up a lot. Lots of people like his stuff. I’d never read him. While browsing at Savers, I found this one and, while it’s way longer than I usually tuck into, I threw caution to the wind and laid out my 3 bucks. What could possibly go wrong?

 

                Strange things are found at an archeological dig in Arizona, including a large, humanoid skull. Could it be the fabled Mogollon Monster or was that just a story to scare kids? And what really wiped out the Anasazi Indian tribe? Weird shit starts going down in the area, in fact all around the state things are getting spooky. Museum artifacts move by themselves, the main characters see themselves in ancient pottery, faces get ripped of… lots of weirdness ensues. In fact, too much weirdness ensues. It all becomes a bit of a mishmash.

 

                Little is a very good writer, and the characters are relatable, but there’s just so much supernatural phenomenon going on that it gets very dense and confusing. Is it about inanimate objects coming to life, a monster tearing off faces, the townsfolk’s possession, or what? It’s about all of that and more but getting to the point where it all ties together was a chore. I almost gave up a third of the way through, but then a character found a dead 4-year-old kid and took him home and barbequed him and I decided to stick with it.

 

                For the length of the novel and with how much weird shit was happening throughout, the end was kind of a fizzle. At 354 pages, you’d think it would have a slam-bang, solid ending, but I didn’t feel that it did. Still, I don’t regret reading it but when I was about halfway through, I kept glancing at my “to be read” pile and wishing I was done. Not a bad book, but I’m not keeping it. I’m open to trying other Bentley Little books in the future, though.

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Red By Jack Ketchum

 

Red
By Jack Ketchum
2002 Leisure Books
Paperback, 211 pages (plus)

 

I approach Jack Ketchum’s work very carefully. For instance, I do not want to read The Girl Next Door. My wife said that the boys torturing the girl would upset me, and I’m taking her word for it. I’m a pussy, yes, but why should I make myself upset on purpose? That said, I loved Off Season and all of its gratuitous nastiness. No question about it… the guy can write, and he knows how to push the right buttons.

 

I saw Red in the thrift store, and I knew it was about a man’s dog being ruthlessly killed by some shit-assed kids and the road the man has to go down seeking justice, and I wondered if I should bother. Ketcham’s penchant for drawing out discomfort might make me regret it, but I took a chance anyway. I’m glad I did. The dog-icide is fairly quick, if nasty, and I settled in for the ride.

 

Red isn’t really a horror story; it is more a tale of frustration and vengeance. The kids that killed Avery Ludlow’s dog were from good families, powerful families. Justice was going to be very hard to come by, but Avery is a tenacious old coot. Rarely have I ever rooted for a “hero” as much as I did for ol’ Ave’. He had me in his corner for the whole book. Fucking kids…

 

This Leisure paperback edition of Red (which was written in 1995) also includes a 93-page novelette called The Passenger and it is much more in the typical Ketchum vein, with rape, murder and psychological fuckery. Its short running time is packed with hopelessness, sleaze, violence and mind games, which is to say, it is pure Jack Ketchum, and it is quite good.

 

    Red was first released in the UK in 1995. I believe that this Leisure edition is the first US paperback printing.

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The Pet By Charles Grant

The Pet
By Charles Grant
1986 Tor Books
Paperback, 343 pages

 

I have a bunch of Charles L. Grants books in my To-Be-Read pile. I’m a huge fan of his Shadows anthologies and have grabbed a few of his novels, hoping they would be as rewarding. The thing is, his novels are thicker books than I usually enjoy, so they’re often passed over in favor of quicker reads. Well, I finally bit the bullet and read one and I’m glad I did.

 

The Pet is two things: it’s a horror story and a high school drama. Don has a fucked-up home life and his only comfort in being in his room with his animal posters and figures of wild beasts. I can relate, though I had pets as a kid… he’s not allowed to. His school friends are few and, like all teenagers, he likes someone but isn’t sure if she likes him. Oh, and there’s a serial killer in the town.

 

Yeah, there’s a lot going on in this book, but Grant keeps it focused and moving along at a nice pace. I was really rooting for the romance to bloom amidst the mayhem, too. (Hey, I’m a sucker for that stuff.) I thought I had it all figured out about 100 pages in, but I was wrong. Oh, so wrong. The supernatural is very much at play in the second half of the story.

 

There’s some decent bloodshed, gripping suspense and urgent action but none of it will work for you if you don’t really suspend disbelief. Let yourself go and enjoy the ride. By the way, the book is good enough that I read it faster than many shorter ones. It kept me eager to see what happened next. Maybe I’ll pull another Grant book out of the ol’ TBR pile soon.

The Pet is back in print from https://crossroadpress.com/

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