I packed up these eBooks onto my iPad before heading to Japan--although I ordered them through the Kindle Store on Amazon. I was surprised to find so many digital titles available for horror movies. A few of these I also have in print format, but decided to go lighter on my luggage. Downloading them to my iPad was quick and easy.
Now, if anyone can recommend an efficient way of jotting down notes while reading on an iPad, I'd appreciate it. I still haven't gotten the hang of that yet, but having one gadget to read so many books is still the cat's meow.
Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda by Peter H. Brothers. Ignore the annoying typos and grammatical faux pas: Brothers' book provides an interesting and informative glimpse into the man who brought Godzilla to life and the monster movies that followed. (Dennis Fischer's review on Cinefantastique is a good rundown of the book.)
Richard Matheson on Screen: A History of the Filmed Works by Matthew R. Bradley. I had already picked this up in hardcover, but having it on my iPad made it easier to carry around and read while traveling. Bradley's book is essential reading for every horror fan: Richard Matheson's influencial writing has appeared on screen, both small and tall, and television. (Read John Kenneth Muir's review of the book, and ZC secret agent Chindi sends along this link as an appetizer: Richard Matheson--Storyteller: The Curtis Years).
Music in the Horror Film: Listening to Fear by Neil Lerner. Let 's face it, how many of you actually pay attention to the music in a horror movie? I know you hear it, but do you really understand why it works the way it does (or doesn't)? Lerner brings together a collection of essays that note the sounds of fear, making any tin ear more appreciative of how music riles up the savage beast or grates on your nerves in all the right places to enhance the horror effect. (Here's the Gothic Imagination's review.)
Horror Film Aesthetics: Creating the Visual Language of Fear by Thomas M. Sipos. Ever notice how calling a movie a film makes it sound much more important and academic? I suppose it helps when discussing horror movies--I mean films--especially their visual language. Some critics will argue horror films don't have any aesthetics, but armed with Sipos' book, you can easily show them otherwise. I already had this book in print format, but didn't want to leave it at home while I traveled. There's much to reread here and absorb over time. Agree or not, you'll still find the discussion interesting and enlightening, once you get past the rambling first chapter on what a horror movie--sorry, I mean film--is. Don't get me wrong: the first chapter is very good, but it's broad and unstructured in scope as Sipos tosses in everything minus the kitchen sink to define his perspective. (Here's Theofantastique's review.)
Ghouls, Gimmicks, and Gold: Horror Films and the American Movie Business, 1953-1968 by Kevin Heffernan. Even if you call them films instead of movies, they're made to make money first, and art--sometimes--second. Heffernan brings that point home as he discusses the financial necessities that shaped the horror genre. I also have this one in print, but I like to carry it around to refer to every now and then. With it in eBook format, that makes it all the easier to do.
H.P. Lovecraft: The Ultimate Collection: 101 Stories, 45 Poems, Biography, and Bibliography in One Volume. What can I say? This is Lovecraft, baby.
There's a ton or so more of eBooks you should consider, but these are the ones I decided to take with me to Japan. If you have other recommendations, please let us know in the comments section.







In his book, Sundays with Vlad: From Pennsylvania to Transylvania, One Man's Quest to Live in the World of the Undead, journalist Paul Bibeau packs his lifelong fascination with vampires into his Gladstone bag and heads for the hills of Transylvania to find the true Dracula. What he finds along the way is hilarious, delirious, and never disingenuous. From the foothills of the Carpathians, to the wild woods of New Jersey and the wide aisles of Wal-Mart, his search for the real Dracula will leave you wishing you were along for the ride. Along the way you will meet Bela Lugosi Jr., fighting to protect his famous father's rights of publicity, enter the Goth world of eternal night, with or without fangs, and trip the light fantasy with LARPers, those cheeky-geeky live action role playing savants we all publicly deride, but secretly yearn to be.
Make bath time more fun with this Frogmen vs. the Radioactive Octopus playset. Each set includes twelve 2-1/2" hard vinyl frogmen and one 9" soft vinyl octopus that glows in the dark!
My favorite is the Avenging Unicorn Playset, complete with posable, 3-3/4" tall, hard vinyl unicorn, and soft vinyl figures of a businessman, new age lady, and mime (mimes creep me out big time). You can have hours of fun impaling your hapless victims on any one of four stylish horns (classic spiral, chrome, glow and pearlescent). Make Mr. Mime pantomime for mercy again and again.
Through this 5-1/2" tall, hard vinyl Houdini, directors and writers can symbolically cast off the yoke of Hollywood opression using the cloth straight jacket, two sets of plastic shackles, and bit of rope included.
Make-up effects oriented horror fans can modify their B-movie victims for zombie, atomic, or classic monster effects. Add the Tub of Mini Executives for more realistic action, and turn your horrified B-movie victims into horrified corporate employee victims screaming Enron as they fruitlessly struggle frantically to escape their sweatshop-office hell. As an added bonus, modify the mini executives into their true blood-sucking and life-destroying natures to provide endless hours of sadistic fun!
Horrorheads everywhere can create numerous scenes of mayhem and torture with these single-minded, over-caffeinated, predictable-as-hell action figures, by combining them with other playsets. Imagine they're the Hollywood suits that gave us The Grudge 2 and The Return, and make them pay!
So there you stand, scratching your severed head in dismay; what gifts to get that ho-ho-ho-so difficult horrorhead in your family? Why suffer the hordes of zombiefied holiday shoppers, overwhelmed store employees, and bargain bins of the damned when you can sail down the Amazon in shopping comfort while sipping your favorite frothy beverage? To help you with your gift buying, Zombos Closet presents the first annual list of bloody best books any fan of horror cinema would die and come back for, again and again. 









