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Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

Horror Movies Based on Books

That Aren’t by Stephen King

Everyone’s got a favorite horror movie.  But, I think you would agree, the ideas have to come from somewhere.  Many of these movies are based on or strongly influenced by books.  Let’s take a look.

The Collector – John Fowles

Film Adaptation starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, 1965.

While this may be more of a thriller than a horror, meh, this is a personal favorite of mine and will be included on the list.

 From Amazon: Hailed as the first modern psychological thriller, The Collector is the internationally bestselling novel that catapulted John Fowles into the front rank of contemporary novelists. This tale of obsessive love–the story of a lonely clerk who collects butterflies and of the beautiful young art student who is his ultimate quarry–remains unparalleled in its power to startle and mesmerize.

Burnt Offerings – Robert Marasco

Film Adaptation: 1976

This is one of the first horror movies I’ve ever seen and Bette Davis was in it too!

From Amazon:  Ben and Marian Rolfe are desperate to escape a stifling summer in their tiny Brooklyn apartment, so when they get the chance to rent a mansion in upstate New York for the entire summer for only $900, it’s an offer that’s too good to refuse. There’s only one catch: behind a strange and intricately carved door in a distant wing of the house lives elderly Mrs. Allardyce, and the Rolfes will be responsible for preparing her meals.

Jaws – Peter Benchley

Film Adaptation: 1975

“Smile, you son of a bitch!”

Gosh, how many times have I seen this?  Too many.  I read the book as a teenager, back in the 80s, after having seen the film.  The book offers a different slant, concentrating on a lot of soapy stuff between Mrs. Brody and Hooper, but it’s still a keeper.

From Booklist:  This novel about a rogue shark that terrorizes a beach community hasn’t aged a day since its publication more than 35 years ago. Benchley’s writing is lean and efficient—this is his first novel, and also by far his best—and the story is a solid mixture of small-town politics, mystery, and outright terror. The author positions his protagonist, police chief Martin Brody, as virtually the lone voice of reason in a town filled with people who want to downplay the shark’s presence (so as not to scare away tourists with their bulging wallets); and when the body count starts to rise, it’s Brody who has to find a way to kill the beast, even if it means putting his own life on the line.

The familiar characters—Brody, oceanographer Matt Hooper, shark-hunter Quint—are not as likable as they are in Steven Spielberg’s classic film adaptation, but in the context of the novel, they are well drawn and compelling. Those who are familiar with the movie, but not the book, are in for some surprises, and those who read the book way back when should definitely give it another look.

A Stir of Echoes – Richard Matheson

Film adaptation: 1999 as Stir of Echoes

Richard Matheson’s first entry on this list is a heck of a thriller written on 1958.  Granted, the story is dated, and some of the “morals” aren’t as strong as they are today, but the book is still a good ride.  The film version updates the core issue quite a bit, and is a great starring vehicle for Kevin Bacon.

From Amazon: Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, until a chance event awakened psychic abilities he never knew he possessed. Now he’s hearing the private thoughts of the people around him-and learning shocking secrets he never wanted to know. But as Tom’s existence becomes a waking nightmare, even greater jolts are in store as he becomes the unwilling recipient of a compelling message from beyond the grave!

The Stepford Wives – Ira Levin

Film adaptations:  1975, 2004

“I thought you were my friend…I thought you were my friend…”

Written by Ira Levin, this sci-fi/horror mash-up had a concept that most are familiar with.  Again, the book itself is dated, but the writing packs a good punch that keeps you reading, even though you probably already know the twist.  Sometimes it’s the journey, not the destination. It was made into two film adaptations,  one in 1975 and in 2004.  The 1975 is far superior in its execution and also has no Matthew Broderick.

From Amazon:  For Joanna, her husband, Walter, and their children, the move to beautiful Stepford seems almost too good to be true. It is. For behind the town’s idyllic facade lies a terrible secret — a secret so shattering that no one who encounters it will ever be the same.

The Sentinel – Jeffrey Kovitz

Film adaptation:  The Sentinel, 1977

This is one of the books I haven’t read, so I cannot offer personal commentary.

From Amazon:  Jeffrey Konvitz’s New York Times–bestselling horror novel about a young woman descending into demonic madness who discovers it’s not simply in her mind.

Aspiring model Allison Parker finally moves into her dream apartment: a brownstone on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. But her perfect home quickly turns hellish.

The building is filled with a cast of sinister tenants, including a reclusive blind priest, who seems to watch her day and night through an upstairs window. Eventually, Allison starts hearing strange noises from the empty apartment above hers. Before long, she uncovers the building’s demonic secret and is plunged into a nightmare of sinful misdeeds and boundless evil.

Let Me In – John Ajvide Lindqvist

Film adaptations:  Let the Right One In (2008), Let Me In (2010)

This too, I have neither seen nor read.

From Amazon:  It is autumn 1981 when inconceivable horror comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenager is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last—revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.

But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door—a girl who has never seen a Rubik’s Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night.

The Silence of the Lambs – Thomas Harris

Film adaptation: 1991

“I’m having an old friend for dinner….”

Of course, you know this one and it’s kind of caught between thriller and horror. I judge it….mash up.  Both chilling and entertaining, the reader finds themselves drawn to Lector’s suave, cultured personality while at the same time repulsed by his killer/cannibal ways.  It’s a great read and adds layers to the film.

From Amazon:  A serial murderer known only by a grotesquely apt nickname–Buffalo Bill–is stalking women. He has a purpose, but no one can fathom it, for the bodies are discovered in different states. Clarice Starling, a young trainee at the FBI Academy, is surprised to be summoned by Jack Crawford, chief of the Bureau’s Behavioral Science section. Her assignment: to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter–Hannibal the Cannibal–who is kept under close watch in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

I Am Legend – Richard Matheson

Film Adapations: : The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971), I Am Legend (2007), and direct-to-video I Am Omega (2007).

This author was prolific, to say the least.  I purchased an anthology of his stories a while back and realize most of them were Twilight Zone episodes.  This is his second entry on the list, and I believe the one that was adapted into the most fillm.

From Amazon: Robert Neville has witnessed the end of the world. The entire population has been obliterated by a vampire virus. Somehow, Neville survived. He must now struggle to make sense of everything that has happened and learn to protect himself against the vampires who hunt him constantly. He must, because perhaps there is nothing else human left.

Falling Angel – William Hjortsberg

Film Adaptation:  Angel Heart 1987

“I gotta thing about chickens.”

Interesting movie, stands out because of Robert DeNiro’s performance as a mysterious Louis Cyphre.

From Amazon:  Big-band frontman Johnny Favorite was singing for the troops when a Luftwaffe fighter squadron strafed the bandstand, killing the crowd and leaving the singer near death. The army returned him to a private hospital in upstate New York, leaving him to live out his days as a vegetable while the world forgot him. But Louis Cyphre never forgets.

Cyphre had a contract with the singer, stipulating payment upon Johnny’s death—payment that will be denied as long as Johnny clings to life. When Cyphre hires private investigator Harry Angel to find Johnny at the hospital, Angel learns that the singer has disappeared. It is no ordinary missing-person’s case. Everyone he questions dies soon after, as Angel’s investigation ensnares him in a bizarre tangle of black magic, carnival freaks, and grisly voodoo. When the sinister Louis Cyphre begins appearing in Angel’s dreams, the detective fears for his life, his sanity, and his soul.

Duel  – Richard Matheson

TV Movie adaptation – 1971

As you can tell, I am kind of a Richard Matheson junkie, but I’ll be brief.

Man in car vs. Evil 18 wheeler

Psycho – Robert Bloch

“A boy’s best friend is his mother.”

Film Adaptation:  1960

Classic.  What more can be said about this one?

From Amazon:  Norman Bates loves his Mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better though. He has lived with Mother ever since leaving the hospital in the old house up on the hill above the Bates motel. One night Norman spies on a beautiful woman that checks into the hotel as she undresses. Norman can’t help but spy on her. Mother is there though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.

The Birds and Don’t Look Now – Daphne DuMaurier

Film Adaptations:  The Birds – 1963

Don’t Look Now – 1973

Two separate titles made into two very good film adaptations.

Don’t Look Now is the story of a husband and wife grieving from the loss of a child while in Venice.

The Birds – well, basically, they get theirs.

These are short stories (novelettes?) rather than full blown novels. Still they offer a quick read with a big punch.

The Hellbound Heart and The Forbidden– Clive Barker

Film adaptations:  Hellraiser (1987) and Candyman (1992) respectively.

The Hellbound Heart focuses on a mystical puzzle box and the horror it wreaks on a family that is unfortunate enough to come across it.

The Forbidden is about a university student named Helen is doing a thesis on graffiti, and selects a run-down estate to focus her study. She notices disturbing graffiti in an abandoned building that makes references to some sort of mythical figure known as the Candyman. Further enquiries lead her to believe this is connected with recent murders and mutilations in the neighbourhood, although the locals are seemingly reluctant to discuss the incidents. She eventually encounters the Candyman himself, gaining notoriety by becoming his latest victim.

Herbert West: Reanimator, The Dunwich Horror, From Beyond –  H. P. Lovecraft

Film adaptations:  Reanimator (1985),  The Dunwich Horror (1970), From Beyond (1986) respectively

Herbert West: Reanimator

From Goodreads: “Herbert West: Reanimator” is a short story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was written between October 1921 and June 1922. It was first serialized in February through July 1922 in the amateur publication Home Brew. The story was the basis of the 1985 horror film Re-Animator and its sequels, in addition to numerous other adaptations in various media.

The story is the first to mention Lovecraft’s fictional Miskatonic University. It is also notable as one of the first depictions of zombies, as corpses arising, through scientific means, as animalistic, and uncontrollably violent creatures.

The Dunwich Horror:

From Wikipedia: Written in 1928, it was first published in the April 1929 issue of Weird Tales (pp. 481–508). It takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town in Massachusetts. It is considered one of the core stories of the Cthulhu Mythos. “The Dunwich Horror” is one of the few tales Lovecraft wrote wherein the heroes successfully defeat the antagonistic entity or monster of the story.

From Beyond:

From Wikipedia:  The story is told from the first person perspective of an unnamed narrator and details his experiences with a scientist named Crawford Tillinghast. Tillinghast creates an electronic device that emits a resonance wave, which stimulates an affected person’s pineal gland, thereby allowing them to perceive planes of existence outside the scope of accepted reality.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, nor is the graphic meant to do any more than to augment the article.  So, show me what you got.  What are some of your horror movies that were influenced by books.  And, which did you think was better – the book or the movie?  Throw your thoughts in the comments.

Dahlia


Filed Under: Movies--Books--Music--Television Tagged: horror books, horror movies, horror movies based on books, movies based on books

Blogtoberfest – Loving Among the Dead Playlist

loving-coverIt’s been a while since my first zombie novel, Loving Among the Dead was released through Loose Id. However, no matter how long ago I’ve written a book, the characters stay with me for quite a while. It takes a lot to get into a characters personality- how he or she walks, talks, behaves and reacts in certain situations, and this doesn’t go away very quickly.

With that in mind, I started looking through my Google playlists and found a list of songs I used to evoke moods with my two characters, Jude and Sky.

A little about the book: Jude is my female lead. When the zombie outbreak happened, she endured a scary journey from Philadelphia, where she was going to graduate school, back to Princeton (or thereabouts) where her parents’ lived. She’s a bit spoiled and a lot privileged, however, her parents were survivalists/hoarders, what have you, and they stocked their home with provisions and food, “just in case”. Though her parents are dead when she finally a makes it back home, she stays in her old boarded up home, the only person left alive in her neighborhood. It’s a lonely, scary existence, to be sure.

Then along comes Sky, traveling through solo on his way out of New Jersey to his home state of Tennessee. Before the apocalypse, he’d been a teacher in an urban district, having gone to college on a baseball scholarship.

The two meet in the stock room of a drugstore and Jude ends up allowing him to come stay with her. And as one would imagine, having been starved for human contact for many weeks, they cling together.

That’s the basic premise. The book continues with the push/pull of the relationship, where Sky wants to keep moving South, whereas Jude believes it’s safer to stay in one place.

All that being said, here’s a taste of their soundtrack. Some songs are hers, some are his, and some belong to them both. I’ve included a link to the playlist on YouTube, if you want a listen.

 

                     Jude Sky Both
Counting Cars – Snow Patrol Faster – Matt Nathanson Don’t You Forget about Me – Simple Minds
Time after Time – Cyndi Lauper Don’t Dream It’s Over  – Crowded House Follow you, Follow Me – Genesis
Invincible – Pat Benatar Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones Perhaps Love – John Denver
Like a Prayer – Madonna Melt with You – Modern English Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd
Nobody Does it Better – Carly Simon The Flame – Cheap Trick Never Surrender – Corey Hart
Head over Heels – Tears for Fears Sign Your Name – Terence Trent D’Arby Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
 A Matter of Trust – Billy Joel Hey, Jude – The Beatles Anthem for the Already Defeated – Rock Plaza Central


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Movies--Books--Music--Television Tagged: black girl geeks, black girl nerds, blogtoberfest, colors in darkness, dahlia dewinters, halloween, horror books, loving among the dead, zombie apocalypse, zombies

Blogtoberfest – Stephen King's Pet Sematary

Horror is different for everyone.  I don’t think the “experts” can agree on what horror is and thus there are tons of movies and books that represent the horror

Cover of "Pet Sematary (Special Collector...
Cover via Amazon

genre, as it should be.

I also believe that horror is different depending on where you are in your life.  What’s represents horror for a twenty-year-old might be old-hat to a forty year old. Books that resounded for me in my twenties are just “eh” now that I’m a lovely seasoned woman of a certain age.

But Stephen King’s Pet Semetary broke that mold.  It’s just as frightening now as when I first read it many years ago.

Here’s the blurb

“Sometimes dead is better….”When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son — and now an idyllic home. As a family, they’ve got it all…right down to the friendly cat.

But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth — more terrifying than death itself…and hideously more powerful.

 

SPOILERS  SPOILERS   sort of SPOILERS sort of  SPOILERS  SPOILERS 

My goodness, what a story.  It runs the gamut from the “real-life” horror of the death of a child and the grief that follows, to the otherworldly horror that awaits when the family tries to alleviate the grief that follows the death of a family pet.

The first time I read the story the scene on the hill wasn’t so horrifying.  You know why?  Because I didn’t have children of my own.  I think I was more touched by the death of the pet than I was by the other.  However, when I read it now, that scene on the hill makes my gut twinge and jump.  After reading it, I had to go “check on the children”.  Having children of my own makes the following scenes more poignant and so much more touching.

Sympathy turning to empathy.

SPOILERS END (they were half-assed anyway)

My theory of horror if you’re “just watching” it makes it a lot less scary.  “This could never happen to me because blah blah”.  When an ordinary situation turns into a “horror” situation, something that could happen to anyone, something that is plausible (with a little “what if” thrown in)  that’s when the true terror begins.

Pet Sematary is about grief, loss and at its core, the horror of not letting go and where it can get you.

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Movies--Books--Music--Television Tagged: adult fear, black girl geeks, black girl nerds, blerd, blogtoberfest, CID, colors in darkness, dahlia dewinters, halloween, horror, horror books, horror fan, horrormoviefan, movies, pet sematary, scary, scary movies, Stephen King, top scary books

Five Scary Books – Lori Titus

As a fun part of Blogtoberfest, I asked my artist friends to send me their top five scary movies or top five scary books.  The results were varied and interesting.

According to Lori Titus:

My top five scary books are: 

 

5) Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz

4) The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

3) Fledgling by Octavia Butler

2) The Shining By Stephen King

1) My Soul to Keep  by Tananrive Due
lori-titus
Lori Titus is a Californian with a craving for all things dark and scary. She sleeps most days and powers through her nights with the help of caffeine and waking dreams. When not working on or plotting out her novels, she is a voracious reader and pet lover. Catch up with her latest work on her blog, The Darkest of Lore  (loribeth215@wordpress.com) catch her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter or Instagram as Loribeth215. Her latest novel, The Art of Shadows, will be released in November 2016.

Want in on this?  Send me your bio, your site and your top five scary movies or top five scary books!


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Movies--Books--Music--Television Tagged: black girl geeks, black girl nerds, blerd, blogtoberfest, CID, colors in darkness, dahlia dewinters, five scary books, halloween, halloween party, horror books, movies, scary, scary books, top scary books

Five Scary Books – Kenya Moss Dyme

As a fun part of Blogtoberfest, I asked my artist friends to send me their top five scary movies or top five scary books.  The results were varied and interesting.

According to Kenya Moss Dyme:

My top five scary books are: 

1. The Light at the End, John Skipp/Craig Spector
2. They Thirst, Robert McCammon
3. Storm of the Century, Stephen King
4. The Amulet, Michael McDowell
5. Whispers, Dean Koontz
kenya
Bio: Kenya Moss-Dyme began writing short-form horror in her teens and won several scholastic writing awards for her creative work. Prey for Me, the hard-hitting story of a monstrous child-abusing preacher, was her first published work, followed by the dark romance, A Good Wife. A lifelong fan of the macabre, she is now focused on publishing her nightmares and creating new ones. “Even as a child, I was never into princesses and cute kitten-y things; I’ve always found the witches and monsters more interesting because they have layers. There’s no layers to goodness and light.”

 

Site: http://www.kenyamossdyme.com/

 

Want in on this?  Send me your bio, your site and your top five scary movies or top five scary books!


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest Tagged: black girl geeks, black girl nerds, blerd, blogtoberfest, CID, colors in darkness, dahlia dewinters, daymares, five scary books, halloween, halloween party, horror books, kenya moss dyme, movies, scary, scary books, top scary books

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