A Horror Starter Kit

[@professor_x85]

My annual tradition is to listen to a good narration of Poe's best tales once autumn begins. Best way to prepare for Halloween!

[@MagusMarquillin]

Who's a good narrator - besides Christopher Lee?

[@mikebrough3434]

@@MagusMarquillin Vincent Price is also good - 'An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe'. It's a film and is available on a certain video-sharing site.

[@professor_x85]

@@MagusMarquillin The Kerry Shale, John Chancer and William Roberts reading is the one I enjoy. It's called "The Essential Edgar Allan Poe"

[@MagusMarquillin]

@@mikebrough3434 & @ Xavier Thanks, I'll check those out - I like the idea of seeing Vincent Price perform his narrations! You might like the readings of Edward French here on youtube, who appears to be channeling Orson Wells.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Edward French is amazing.

[@joshua3367]

Interview with a Vampire is great.. The movie is amazing but it always drove me crazy that they left out the best and scariest part of the book when Louis & Claudia go to Romania and are in that inn where the British guy tells them the story of what happened to his wife... That part legit had me on edge 😅... I honestly think "The Vampire Lestat" is easily one of the greatest horror novels ever written though. As a huge fan of ancient mythology I'm always so impressed how Anne Rice effortlessly weaves her vampire mythology with real ancient mythology, while also writing a story that is so damn scary. The parts where the roman vampire custodian of the Osiris & Isis (queen of the damned) charcter visits the Celtic diety vampire in the tree and when Lestat first sees the Queen of the damned are some of the scariest moments Ive ever read in horror fiction.. The prose is so crisp and clean too... Sure Anne Rice writes some campy and sometimes silly stuff but when shes on point like the 2nd half of "The Vampire Lestat" she is unmatched... Night Shift is great too.. I usually prefer the scarier stories from King and Grey Matter & One for the Road have stayed with me my whole life. I havent read Night Shift in 20 something years I still think its a top 5 Stephen King book.

[@teetoo3790]

I liked the black and white effect.

[@donaldrobers5028]

Interesting to realize that the early readers of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde had no idea who Mr. Hyde really was. The climax must have been a pleasurably creepy revelation.

[@midnightgreen8319]

Night Shift is the absolute best Steven King starter book

[@TheDragonsleeve]

Great lighting. Just like the Universal horrors.

[@ficheetah3700]

Vaughn of the Dead, unreleased Romero sequel.

[@stews9]

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House is scary because of the psychology, which holds true all-too-often for any who encounter the paranormal. It is excellently written, too. Unlike The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, who needed an editor to untangle his sentences and boost his thinking.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I, of course, agree completely.

[@Zozette27]

I am so pleased that you mentioned Charles Beaumont. He died so young and so tragically, if he had lived longer he would have been as well known as Bradbury and Matheson. The Beaumont story I remember the most clearly is ‘Free Dirt’. I really need to reread his stories.

[@annaadams2129]

Night Shift! Agggghhhh! I read it when it was first released and there are three stories from it that scared me so much I can't read them again, yet! The beer one, the eyeballs, and the smoker. (If they aren't all in there, sorry. But--yikes! Terrifying--and so well written!)

[@MichaelRomeoTalksBooks]

Excellent list right from its Poe-etic beginning. I would, however, include The Other by Thomas Tryon. It is a classic of the genre.

[@douglasreynolds7903]

I jumped. I thought Nosferatu had taken over your channel. Then the welcoming voice... I love these. So helpful for neophytes of the genre. Thanks Michael.

[@helenasf1782]

Really great list. Thank you!

[@maestro7058]

Brilliant work man! Had read so many books thanks to your recommendations!!!

[@stretmediq]

The potion Dr Jekyll used to transform into Mr Hyde is available at your local liquor store

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

That would explain a few things.

[@pbofan]

So pleased to see Charles Beaumont on your list…he’s always been one of my favorites (as has Matheson). There have been a recent reprint or two of the best horror tales of Joseph Payne Brennan…another stellar (and, like Beaumont, underread) author. Also agree that NIGHT SHIFT is seminal King, a true highlight among his body of work. Lastly, yes, DARK GODS > THE CEREMONIES. Great list.

[@pamelatarajcak5634]

The Haunting has quite literally my favorite opening paragraph of any piece of literature. Being a David Lynch fan, I must put Beaumont on my TBR, he sounds compatible.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Very much so!

[@troytradup]

Excellent starter kit, Michael. There are a couple of personal touchstones I would have tried to shoehorn in there (The Other, Rosemary's Baby), but those are probably more central to my own horror reading and writing than the bigger picture. The one book I'd really argue for would be The Island of Doctor Moreau. I realize many people categorize it as SF but I think it demonstrates the unique overlap that often exists between the two genres.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

You are right about Moreau. A great horror novel.

[@stephenwalker2924]

So agree with your contention. What a great and important book.

[@NicholasTSilveira]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!!! Should be included in everyone’s “horror starter kit” for sure

[@stephenwalker2924]

All excellent choices here, Mr. Michael. I would also point would-be horror readers toward Stephen King's non-fiction memoir/study of horror: DANSE MACABRE. It's the best study on the subject of modern horror and the supernatural I have ever read. I probably read it once a year just to refresh my literary palette. It's tremendously good, in fact...

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

It is. I even did a review of it once on this channel, long ago!

[@stephenwalker2924]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I will watch that very video this very instant. The Vaughan mojo has a strange and spooky power over me these days. It's those lovely bookshelves behind you, calling me, I think.

[@ReadingRetail]

ive seen so many different versions of Dracula, its crazy

[@MagusMarquillin]

Dracula's the most adapted character next to Sherlock Holmes, and Dracula is the winner when it comes to films (more then 540), so I guess Bram tapped into a sensuous nerve there.

[@sgriffin9960]

Great horror starter kit! I might get to one or two of those this month that I haven’t yet read! Probably I’ll read The Great God Pan first.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes read Great God Pan, if only because my cousin Helen is a main character.

[@sgriffin9960]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Well, that will certainly be something to look forward to! I'll report back!

[@tonygriego6382]

Great list, and a great choice for the number one slot.

[@bookssongsandothermagic]

Great selection. I love your choice for Stephen King, partly because that’s how I started my love of King’s work. I read Nightshift when I was 16 and it utterly changed my opinion about reading. Love that you championed Charles Beaumont again. Such an interesting and important writer. Great video.

[@adriensbookchannel3475]

Great video! I recently finished Oxford's Machen collection and loved it. I'm also pumped to hear that T.E.D. Klein's "Dark Gods" has been re-released to hopefully bring the price down :)

[@jeremyfee]

You found some neat covers to show on the screen. I hadn't seen those covers for Interview with the Vampire and Night Shift, and I think they are amazing!

[@samhouston1979]

this video made me add several to my Amazon wishlist

[@BookBlather]

Great list. Thanks for this… saving this video. Also loved the ambience in this one 😊

[@uptown3636]

Hope you enjoy your time at the terrifying Vaughan Lodge. I’m staying at the tranquil “uptown” lodge this weekend, but spooky critters such as coyotes, owls, snakes, and boars are making for an appropriately creepy stay.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Our lodges have the same critters!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

This was a great list. I’ve read all but 3 of them which is a relief given my channel is kind of about horror 😂 Great to see so much short fiction on here - I think it’s form that works so well for horror

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

That it does.

[@cmmosher8035]

I have an orange, silver and black covered complete Stories and Poem's of Poe's that I picked up 25 years ago. I had to replace it a few years. It was reading up on King's suggestions that I read Lovecraft, Jackson and Machen. I have that copy of the Bloody Chamber and need to finish it.

[@ReadingRetail]

Love the black/white spooky vibe

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks!

[@kevlee57]

Great list of essential horror books. I would have included Algernon Blackwood, especially for the story "The Willows", and J. S. LeFanu for "Carmilla".

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes, both of those could have been included, definitely.

[@rickcroucher]

I agree Charles Beaumont is not appreciated enough. Good post. As to Stephen King, I read THE SHINING when it first came out. It was one that shook me up and I had to stop reading it at night. Scared the fire out of me. That is the only Stephen King book that affected me that way.

[@MagusMarquillin]

I'm only a third of the way through Night Shift - I generally don't read short stories all at once, so it takes years to finish a collection sometimes - but Jerusalem's Lot, The Mangler, and the Boogieman were stomach chruningly intense, and the rest have all been heavy hitters. It's about that time to read a few more...

[@stews9]

Absolutely superb selections and comments. Bravo. I'd have added, perhaps, Blackwood, LeFanu, probably Thomas Ligotti, and other lesser-knowns, including the inestimable May Sinclair, but these fifteen you've spotlighted are definitely all top-drawer and should be read by every horror aficionado.

[@disshelvedwithadamwhite8731]

Great use of black & white. Also great booklist as usual.

[@bigaldoesbooktube1097]

You’ve done it to me again Mike 🙈 I just read a bunch of these and moved them from my TBR and you’ve slung another half dozen bangers on there

[@mikebrough3434]

A great selection. I agree that Barker is under-represented in modern horror discussions but some of that is 'his own fault'. Even before his recent illness, he had a terrible habit of starting series and never finishing them. We should be thankful for what we have but I'd really like to see another couple of Abarats and a few more entries in The Art series.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

That would be wonderful. However, his tragic illness was so terrible I forgive him anything.

[@bookmarkswithjason9445]

I just finished Hell House and found it very intense and extremely scandalous

[@frankmorlock9134]

I'm glad you mentioned Charles Beaumont. I used to read him when I was in High School, and thought he was great. but then his works disappeared. I believe he died when he was fairly young like in his fifties. I think you should include The Lost Room by Fitz James O'Brien who was a contemporary and rival of Poe. And, as far as Vampires go, you left out Fred Saberhagen who wrote amongst other things Holmes Dracula File. Here in Mexico on the Day of the Dead people go out to remote places in groups and then wander about telling each other scary stories. I went to one of these outings. They set up altars to the dead and drink a lot of tequila as well.

[@Zozette27]

He was only 38 when he died. He developed early onset dementia when he was 34, and deteriorated quickly both and mind and body.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’m not sure I would put Saberhagen in a starter kit. I really enjoyed The Dracula Tape though.

[@mc_zittrer8793]

I need to grab Nightshift already! Lots of wonderful classics here, Michael. Terrific video!

[@davebrzeski]

I dunno, I was kinda hoping you'd mention something I hadn't read, but of course I'm rather older than you and had a head start. 😁 Seriously, though, great list. Granted I could easily add another 10, or 12 books to the list, but so could you I'm sure.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yeah, I was worried 15 books might be a lot already.

[@michellesmelancholia]

What a fantastic list....I still have so much reading to do but this made me so excited for it!

[@stinkmytrip]

As a teenager I remember having a copy of 'The Vampire' a collection of short stories with Roger Vadim's name attached to it. I particularly remember being impressed by a story called 'The Man Upstairs' by Ray Bradbury.

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

I like the B&W. Charles Beaumont is the only entry to come out of left field. So glad Dark Gods is being reprint even if that means my original paperback is less valuable. Children of the Kingdom is on my TBR this month.

[@ThisJustInBookTube]

Great job! I can’t think of someone better to make this list! It certainly should be made by someone who actually likes horror…. And glad to hear Dark Gods is back in print! I just ordered my copy after watching your video.

[@ITCamefromthePage]

I am contractually obligated to talk about horror at least once EVERY month of the year Michael. I need to read the 1818 Text of Franky I've only read the more common one. I am truly amazed how well Shelley's work ages as there are even mentions about the horrors of colonialism happening in North America, she really was one of those writers whose work ages like fine wine. I find that Poe's work is similarly timeless! I don't think I've heard of Arthur Machen at least by name, I've heard of The Great God Pan. I really need to pick that one up! Haunting of Hill House is my next audiobook read! I've seen Beaumont's work but haven't read his book. Nightshift is the smart place to start and so is Books of Blood! Great stuff with this video and some stuff added to my tbr for sure.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! Definitely check out Machen!

[@Shellyish]

Mike, this is great!!!! I looooove the lighting and aesthetic. 😊 I’m reading Frankenstein in mere days and am very excited.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! You will really like Frankenstein.

[@marsrock316]

That cover to Interview with the Vampire is highly misleading... Must've been a marketing decision at the time.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I picked that cover because it’s kind of hilarious.

[@vickiragland8066]

what a perfect list. thanks. i am weeding my books, so i really appreciate this list.

[@grtlsopmbd]

Excellent starter kit. I would have included The Turn of the Screw by Henry James but can't argue with your choices.

[@DDB168]

Great list and hope to read them all

[@michelle_flora]

Awesome list! I'm so glad you mentioned Clive Barker, before I finished watching the video I was going to ask you about him since you were mentioning more modern horror - I guess I don't need to now, haha. I'm reading the Books of Blood as we speak!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I really like Clive Barker.

[@LiterateTexan]

What a fun video! Curating and discussing lists like this are so much fun, too. I remember Twilight Zone magazine fondly!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

So do I. Great magazine.

[@lavernehodge3320]

Great starter kit! I found a couple new authors. Thank you.

[@mizukarate]

If your read The Shining watch the movie and read the book. Did this in a HS class.

[@mizukarate]

Mike it really was a good memory from HS.

[@fitzhugh2542]

Thank you for this. What an awesome list. More Starter Kit videos please!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I think Steve has made every other starter kit imaginable!

[@jimcollins9079]

I understand why you didn't include Robert E. Howard on this list; his influence was more in the Fantasy genre than Horror, but his story, Pigeons From Hell was an outstanding horror story. I still remember the chills and genuine fright that story gave me when I first read it. Good episode!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Pigeons From Hell is an outstanding story.

[@bookrisingisclosed]

Great list! I've read "Night Shift" - some good stories in there for sure. King's first published short story collection, can't go wrong with that one and a fairly good intro to his writing. "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson is definitely on my radar, and I want to get to that one fairly soon. Thx for the great vid!

[@thespaminator]

Glorious.

[@zombieprincess82]

Great list, there's a few here to add to my list. Don't really hear many people discuss Clive Barker, which is odd really when you think about his output. Reminds me, got to get to the new Hellraiser film! I love Anne Rice, I have read almost everything she's written, except the religious stuff, and the Vampire Chronicles are required reading. I have read every one of those books.... except.... Interview. I have no excuse. Great video, as always.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Holy Smoke! Read Interview! Thanks TR!

[@salty-walt]

Thank You! Night Shift was a seminal novel in horror and it does not get enough attention these days. Clive Barker used to be ubiquitous - has that changed? I don't know I'm not talking to other people about horror. But Angela Carter always used to be a publishing secret. Literati knew her, sure, and all sorts of book critics used to tie themselves in knots to make sure she didn't get ghettoized into horror ( she *certainly* wrote more than just horror & SF.) But this left her so often hidden from a venerative audience. Great Stuff.

[@cmmosher8035]

I think Barker went away for a bit but is coming back with the release of the books of blood movies and the new Hellraiser remake.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes, Barker does seem to be coming back into popularity. He deserves to.

[@bebopgaming7254]

Can you do a vid on Neuromancer please if you can. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[@freelivefree7221]

Great list. I've read most of these. I read a fair bit of horror every year around Halloween. This year I read The Boats of Glenn Carrig by William Hope Hodgson, who is in someways a flawed writer but he was ahead of his time in others. I recommend it I'd also recommend Karl Edward Wagner's horror stories, though they can be hard to find. Then there's Belgian writer Jean Ray, who is apparently very influential in the French speaking world, but not so well known here. I'd recommend his novel Malpertuis and his short story collection Cruise of Shadows.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I love both Hodgson and Wagner. I haven’t read Jean Ray yet. I guess I should!

[@freelivefree7221]

I would strongly recommend the Ray books I mentioned in my post. His other collections are more uneven in quality. His weakest book IMO was his first Whiskey Tales, though it was what got him critical notice.

[@briteskin]

'Skeleton Crew' over the years has become my suggested short story collection to try and get new King readers to try. I have had better success with people getting past the novella length story 'The Mist' rather than 'Jerusalem's Lot' and 'Graveyard Shift'. I contribute that to the more fantastical horror approach rather than the letter/diary (Lot) and playing off people's real fear of rats (Shift). It's good King tapped in to that fear but sad it made people I know stop reading the book. My mom for a short time decided to try some of the things I was reading around the waning years of junior high school. She read 'Thinner' from King as Bachman and the first 'Books of Blood' volume. I think because she had watched the movies adaptions she didn't have me get rid of what King books I had but she took away 'Thinner' (she was upset at what led to a certain accident) and, I think had, the first three volumes of the Blood books. When 'IT' by King came out I wasn't allowed to buy it day one because of the book jacket blurb. Once I officially reached high school she backed off. 'Eyes of the Dragon' was my return to King and 'Cabal' from Barker.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Skeleton Crew is pretty great from what I remember. Perhaps my opinion will change after I read it again.

[@stephenwalker2924]

The Mist is a stone cold classic. Love it.

[@PaxPanic]

This is an excellent list! Wow!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks Pax!

[@mediumjohnsilver]

After reading the book, I always have to resist the temptation of referring to Victor Frankenstein as “Doctor” Frankenstein (3:26), since it looks like he never got his doctorate. His professors were still addressing him as Monsieur Frankenstein until he left the university. Though I admit that “grad student Frankenstein” does not have the same gravitas.

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

True. Victor was not a doctor in the novel. Almost everyone gets it’s wrong.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yeah, I don’t know why I said Doctor instead of Victor. That’s what I get for doing videos in one take.

[@mediumjohnsilver]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I find myself sometimes letting “Doctor Frankenstein” slip out, too. Probably because I heard it so many times in the movies.

[@stephenwalker2924]

Good spot. Missed that one. But then I called Mr. Spock 'Dr. Spock' for years until someone corrected me.

[@TheMcMonster]

I love sci-fi, so my choice for October so far was At the Mountains of Madness and from it I moved to Frankenstein. Wonderful books, Frankenstein in particular is far different than what my mental image of this story was. Song of Kali by Dan Simmons was next in queue, but you're tempting me to pick I am Legend instead. What will actuall happen, nobody knows, me included.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I read Song of Kali years ago. I remember it being pretty intense!

[@Kikilang60]

Thanks. You are always full of good poop. Going to check out most of these.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I try always to be full of good 💩

[@Kikilang60]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617Well, you are.

[@BookishChas]

Great list Michael. Some of these I’ve never heard of. I do want to read Books of Blood. I actually didn’t like Haunting of Hill House. The ending didn’t work for me. I’m currently reading Dracula.

[@GypsyRoSesx]

Hey, it’s Nosferatu 😂

[@LiamsLyceum]

Great video as always. I don’t think I’ll fulfill my booktube obligation and do likewise 😅. Have you read any of Leiber’s horror? He is a grand master of the genre, apparently. I really like Our Lady of Darkness by him. Another I’d like to read is Michael R. Collings.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes, Leiber wrote some great horror. I have a lot of it, actually.

[@ItsTooLatetoApologize]

I am Legend was great.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

It really was.

[@DZIGIN]

Michael by Night 😉👌😁

[@OrangeLibrary]

I never 100% understood exactly what the elixir in Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde did. I'm told that the doctor had a conflicted split personality BEFORE he even took the elixir. Did it isolate his two natures so that when he was Jekyl he was 100% good and when he was Hyde he was 100% bad? Did he intend to use the elixir to suppress his dark side but instead it started eating away at his lighter side? Did the elixir have no real effect and it was just a convenient excuse for him leading a double life? Somebody please explain this to me.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

He was never 100% good. He used his formula to transform into the evil Hyde so he could give his dark side free reign. That way he could keep his squeaky clean image untarnished.

[@OrangeLibrary]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 So the elixir temporarily suppressed all of his lighter side? So that when he was Jekyl, he was in fact normal but looked like an angel in contrast to hyde? Is that it? Or am I still not getting it?

[@stephenwalker2924]

@@OrangeLibrary The elixir split Dr. Jekyll (a man with a light and a dark side) into two separate selves: Dr. Jekyll 2.0 (all light) and a new creature: Mr. Hyde (all dark). So the surface story isn't only about a man with two warring sides - but also about two incomplete men with one side each. That's why early stage and screen versions of the story often had two different actors playing the parts of Jekyll and Hyde. That's my take anyway, for what it's worth.

[@mescalito]

Just books from anglo -saxons authors ?! It's a little deceiving and restrictive for say the least...

[@MagusMarquillin]

Deceiving? He promised his personal recommendation and he delivered that. Where's the deception?

[@stephenwalker2924]

The French really championed E. A. Poe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And the Japanse ghost story also. You should come up with your own alternative 'international' list and educate us all, if you would like.

[@mescalito]

@@stephenwalker2924 Maybe I'll try soon. I have to think of...Anyway thanks for your comment - and yes the Japanese ghost story is great !

[@stephenwalker2924]

@@mescalito That's okay. Someone else on here mentioned Jean Ray - so at least I've been educated about someone I didn't really know. And my knowledge of early German and French gothic and horror writers is probably very poor and needs greatly improving, I'm sure. So thanks for your original comment; we often need reminding that the world is a big and diverse place and doesn't begin and end with just the English Language!

[@mescalito]

@@stephenwalker2924 Great ?! You mention Jean Ray, and, in fact, he is my favorite author in french language ( he is a Belgian writer). So, after all, I think I have to prepare a list of books and authors. Yours sincerely

[@frankmorlock9134]

FIRST FRANKENSTEIN MOVIE Apropos of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein I came across an early silent movie adaptation (1910) . It's not in very good condition but it's only 12 minutes long. I thought some might be interested in looking at it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXuano2cnrSmZ7c