Movie Review: The Man They Could Not Hang

Dr. Savaard in a rare good mood.

Movie Review: The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) directed by Nick Grinde Dr. Henryk Savaard (Boris Karloff) has a radical idea to improve the chance of successful surgery. Much of the risk of an operation comes from the fact that the patient is alive, their body still functioning. Make a mistake, and you kill the… Continue reading Movie Review: The Man They Could Not Hang

Comic Strip Review: High Moon: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks

Comic Strip Review: High Moon: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks written by David Gallaher, art by Steve Ellis It is summer 1890, and there have been 100 days since the town of Blest, Texas has seen rain. Drought is bad enough, but cattle have been going missing, and now a little girl as well. The… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: High Moon: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks

Book Review: Artful

Book Review: Artful by Peter David As long time readers will recall, some years ago I read and reviewed the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. Towards the end, the last we see of Oliver’s friend acquaintance the Artful Dodger is in court, where he’s sentenced to be transported to Australia for thievery. (A crime… Continue reading Book Review: Artful

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz This hefty volume collects a variety of public domain stories concerning the supernatural. While the majority fall roughly into the category of horror, some are more what we’d call “dark fantasy” and a handful are just “well, that’s a weird thing that happened.”… Continue reading Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Movie Review: Return of the Fly

The Fly displays its diplomatic skills.

Movie Review: Return of the Fly (1959) directed by Edward Bernds It has been fifteen years since the mysterious and horrific death of Andre Delambre, which was officially ruled a suicide. His widow Helene never got over the events, and her passing seems almost a mercy to her brother in law Francois Delambre (Vincent Price). But… Continue reading Movie Review: Return of the Fly

Book Review: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic

Book Review: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic by Catherine Lundoff Per the author’s introduction, the style of stories in this volume were inspired by her love for the artwork of Edward Gorey and Victorian ghost stories. And so we have a dozen short stories of horror and dark fantasy. “The Mask and the… Continue reading Book Review: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic

Book Review: Bad Things

Book Reviews: Bad Things by Tamara Thorne When Ricky Piper was small, his twin brother Robin was taken by the greenjacks, amoral nature spirits that only certain people (such as Ricky) can see. Robin’s body still existed, but his mind became alien–and dangerous. Now it is decades later, and Rick Piper has his own children.… Continue reading Book Review: Bad Things

Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931

Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931 edited by Harry Bates Strange Tales was published as a direct competitor to Weird Tales, the top fantastic/occult story pulp magazine of the time, starting with this issue in 1931. It had more of an action slant to its editorial policy as compared to the more idea-heavy stories of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931

Book Review: The Mad Visions of Al-Hazred

Book Review: The Mad Visions of Al-Hazred edited by H. David Blalock The Cthulhu Mythos is littered with the names of mysterious books and manuscripts containing forbidden knowledge. The most commonly used one is the Kitab al-Azif, the “Book of Night Insects Buzzing” (among the possible meanings), usually referred to by the Latin translation’s name,… Continue reading Book Review: The Mad Visions of Al-Hazred

Magazine Review: Doctor Death February 1935

Magazine Review: Doctor Death February 1935 edited by Carson W. Mowre While most of the single-character pulps were named after the hero of the stories, like the Shadow and Doc Savage, there were a handful of attempts to have pulp magazines centered around mastermind villains. The three-issue Doctor Death series was one of them. The… Continue reading Magazine Review: Doctor Death February 1935