Video: Two Adaptations of M. R. James’ “Whistle and I’ll Come Back to You”

The ghost stories of M.R. James are something of a Christmas Tradition in the UK.  And this year is no exception with BBC 2 airing a brand new adaptation of arguably his best known ghost story “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” staring John Hurt (above).

But we thought the readers of Ghost Radio might like to view several earlier adaptations of the story.  First up Robert Powell giving an effective staged reading of an edited version of the original text:

And after the jump we have Jonathan Miller’s 1968 adaptation for the series “Omnibus”.

New Site Feature: Tweet Our Posts!

Once again we want to thank everyone for continuing to visit the site while we were on vacation.  It warmed the cockles of our collective hearts.  (BTW, what are cockles?  Are they a part of the heart?)  And now that we’re back we beginning to add some new features to the site.  First up is a series of share buttons you will now see at the bottom of every post.

This will allow you to easily share our posts with others by emailing them, printing them,  or posting them on your favorite social media sites like Twitter or Facebook.  If there’s a method of sharing we haven’t included that you’d like to see.  Let us know and we’ll happily add it.

We have a lot of other exciting things planned for the coming year.  But for now, just enjoy our posts, and start sharing!  As mothers everywhere say:  Sharing is good.

GHOST RADIO CONTEST: 5 More Days to Enter!

You still have five more days to enter the contests that were part of the “Ghost Radio: Countdown to Paper” event, celebrating the paperback release of Leopoldo Gout’s hit horror novel Ghost Radio.

This is your chance to win autographed copies of the book as well as other exciting prizes, such as CDs, DVDs, audiobooks and more!

To find out how to enter click here.

And, remember, every day of the event has contests.  So enter them all.  And increase your chance of winning!

The contests close on March 13, 2010.

GHOST RADIO Contest Continues!

The “Ghost Radio – Countdown to Paper”  event contest, celebrating the mass market paperback release of Leopoldo Gout’s hit horror novel Ghost Radio, continues.  We’ll be accepting entries till March 13, 2010.

This is your chance to win autographed copies of the book and other exciting prizes!

To find out how to enter click here.   And enter now.   It only takes a few seconds!

And, remember, all days of the event have contests.  So enter every one of them.  And increase your chances of winning!

COUNTDOWN TO PAPER: DAY 10

Welcome to Day 1O the final day of the “Ghost Radio: Countdown to Paper” event! Our celebration of the mass market paperback release of Leopoldo Gout’s hit horror novel Ghost Radio. And make sure to read to the bottom of the post for a chance to win some exciting PRIZES!

In less than 24 hours, the paperback hits store shelves!  This ends a journey that began years ago, when I presented a proposal to Harper Collins for a potential graphic novel, and they said:  Why don’t you write it as a novel!

Many sleepless nights later, the novel hit stores shelves as a hardback in October 2008.   It received great reviews from both major and minor reviewers.  These rave reviews exceeded my wildest expectations.   Now a year and a bit later, the mass market paperback release is a about to be reality.  I’ve always felt that it was in its mass market paperback edition that Ghost Radio would find its real readers.  People who don’t necessarily follow the publishing industry, nor are first on board to snag hardbacks.  Just people who love horror novels, and pick up any new paperback that strikes their fancy.  This book is for them.

But just because its US publishing releases have ended doesn’t mean it’s the end for Ghost Radio.  The blog, which has been hugely successful, will continue.  And the future of the novel remains bright.  Chances of a movie version remain very much alive.  We will report on that front as it progresses.  And editions in new countries continue to appear, such as the recent release in Korea.

And, more important than that, the novel is still alive.  Every time a new reader cracks the spine on a copy of Ghost Radio the book has a rebirth,  opening its world to a new pair of eyes, telling its story anew.  For books are always alive.  We only have to open them to find out.

And if you’re one of those people who’s yet to experience Ghost Radio, please enter today’s contest, or any of the contest held throughout this event. Winners will receive autograph copies of the book as well as other exciting prizes! The contests will be open till March 13, 2010.  So there’s still plenty of time to enter.

So I wish to thank everyone who’s followed this event.  And hope you continue to return to the blog for our daily news on Ghost Radio, horror movies, comics, books, video games,  television and other news items from the world of the fantastic and the  paranormal.  You’ve made this site and this book a big success.  And I can’t thank you enough.

CONTEST INFORMATION!

Each day of this event we offer the chance to win prizes. Every winner will receive autographed copies of both the hardback and paperback editions of Ghost Radio. But they will also receive a special bonus surprise tied to the day’s theme. This could be additional books, DVDs, CDs, audio books, or maybe something even more exciting. So what are you waiting for? Enter today’s contest now.

Here’s all you need to do to enter today’s contest:

Just send an email to ghostradioinfo@gmail.com, and put “COUNTDOWN TO PAPER – DAY 10″ in the subject line, and “Ghost Radio” in the body of the email. Or just use the contact form below:

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Message

This contest closes on March 13, 2010. Winners will be chosen at random, and notified the following week.

If you’ve missed any of the COUNTDOWN TO PAPER event you can catch up here.

Every day has contests!  So increase your chances of winning by enter everyone of them!

COUNTDOWN TO PAPER: DAY 9

Welcome to Day 9 of the “Ghost Radio: Countdown to Paper” event! Our celebration of the mass market paperback release of Leopoldo Gout’s hit horror novel Ghost Radio. Today Leopoldo gives you an exercise to increase the power of your horror writing. And make sure to read to the bottom of the post for a chance to win some exciting PRIZES! Take it away, Leopoldo:

It’s late at night.  The room is dark.  You hear something moving in the other room.

Those few words set up a standard horror scenario.  And many an effective horror sequence can be garnered from such a set up.   But superior horror writing looks beyond such tropes.  Finding horror in unique and varied settings.   And in unique and varied forms.

Here’s an excercise:  Pick the least horrific setting they can think of, and then find a way to twist it to reveals hidden horrors.  Isn’t Jaws effective because the shark lurks in shallow water a few yards from a crowded beach?  But a beach is too easy.  Because beaches harbor other lurking forces of danger.  You have storms, the possibility of drowning, shipwrecks, and so on.  Let’s examine a couple of other less obvious settings.

What about Christmas morning?  That’s a cheerful setting.  Isn’t it?  Think again.  Do dangers lurk inside that tree?  Is something hiding beneath the brightly colored wrapping paper?  Has the turkey just come alive in the oven?

What about waiting in line at the DMV?  That’s not cheerful.  And, though it may be horrifically boring, it’s not rife with traditional horror tropes.  But can we find some?  Sure we could plop some zombies in there.  But the DMV is full of “zombies” already.  Let’s think deeper.  What if everyone there was smiling?  Eyes glistening.  The room quivering with an excitement you rarely see outside a revival meeting.  Or on the faces of children at circus.  Now this setting becomes creepy.  Unnerving.  Now its ready for the horrific to occur.

When you do this a few times, it will fire your horror imagination.  You will find it becomes easy to see the horrific in any situation.   And then you take the first steps from being someone who writes horror to becoming a horror writer.

Because horror isn’t really a genre or way of writing.  It’s a way of seeing the world.   Horror fiction reveals the frightening and dangerous that lurks all around us.   No area of comfort is immune for its subverting force.   From mothers to children.  From birds to pet dogs.  From Christmas morning to the DMV.   Nothing remains in its original form.  With just the turn of a phrase they can all become founts of evil, spewing their bile on all who venture into their domain. They can cut off all paths of escape.  They can ring the bells of your doom.

But when you finish reading or writing such a story, you realize your dog isn’t a hound of hell.  You mother isn’t casting spells while you’re at school.  And your children don’t have “666″ emblazoned on their scalps.  In fact, it often makes you realize that these things aren’t even metaphorically true.

And this is why reading and writing horror is important.  It allows us to safely explore these ideas.  To bring them to life.  And when we’re done, you place them safely on a shelf or inside a DVD cover.  And you feel better.

This is one of the reasons why horror writers are some of the calmest, sanest people you’ll ever meet.  They face fear head on, and, more often than not,  find it’s just a story we tell ourselves.

So fire up your word processor and tell yourself some of those stories right now.

CONTEST INFORMATION!

Each day of this event we offer the chance to win prizes. Every winner will receive autographed copies of both the hardback and paperback editions of Ghost Radio. But they will also receive a special bonus surprise tied to the day’s theme. This could be additional books, DVDs, CDs, audio books, or maybe something even more exciting. So what are you waiting for? Enter today’s contest now.

Here’s all you need to do to enter today’s contest:

Just send an email to ghostradioinfo@gmail.com, and put “COUNTDOWN TO PAPER – DAY 9″ in the subject line, and “Ghost Radio” in the body of the email. Or just use the contact form below:

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Message

This contest closes on March 13, 2010. Winners will be chosen at random, and notified the following week.

And don’t forget to check back to tomorrow for another day of this exciting event, and another chance to win PRIZES!

If you’ve missed any of the COUNTDOWN TO PAPER event you can catch up here.

COUNTDOWN TO PAPER: DAY 8

Welcome to Day 8 of the “Ghost Radio: Countdown to Paper” event! Our celebration of the mass market paperback release of Leopoldo Gout’s hit horror novel Ghost Radio. Today Leopoldo shares his cinematic inspirations. And make sure to read to the bottom of the post for a chance to win some exciting PRIZES!

As a filmmaker, movies heavily influence my writing.  So I thought I’d share a few movies that inspired me while writing Ghost Radio:

The original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) may be more than fifty years old.  But it offers the best template for horror entering a convincing, modern world.

Signs (2002) also takes place in a convincing, modern world.  But it’s was the film’s create scares without extensive action or gore.  One of the film’s scariest scenes is an alien leg poking out of cornfield.  Audiences jumped at that moment, proving that modern audiences can still react to subtle scares.

The Exorcist (1973) is a model for  slow building horror.  You’re scared before anything scary even happens.

Who wouldn’t be inspired by a film like The Devil’s Backbone (2001)?  And knowing that it was directed by a friend makes it all the more inspiring.

Los Olvidados (1950) is not a horror film.   But it features some of the most haunting and brutal images ever put on film.

Although not good films, the Santo films remind me of my childhood, and of the wildness of my native Mexico.  And I wanted to make sure some of that was in the novel as well.  Above is a scene from Santo Contra Los Zombies to give you sense of what I’m talking about.

CONTEST INFORMATION!

Each day of this event we offer the chance to win prizes. Every winner will receive autographed copies of both the hardback and paperback editions of Ghost Radio. But they will also receive a special bonus surprise tied to the day’s theme. This could be additional books, DVDs, CDs, audio books, or maybe something even more exciting. So what are you waiting for? Enter today’s contest now.

Here’s all you need to do to enter today’s contest:

Just send an email to ghostradioinfo@gmail.com, and put “COUNTDOWN TO PAPER – DAY 8″ in the subject line, and “Ghost Radio” in the body of the email. Or just use the contact form below:

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Message

This contest closes on March 13, 2010. Winners will be chosen at random, and notified the following week.

And don’t forget to check back to tomorrow for another day of this exciting event, and another chance to win PRIZES!

If you’ve missed any of the COUNTDOWN TO PAPER event you can catch up here.

COUNTDOWN TO PAPER: DAY 7

Welcome to Day 7 of the “Ghost Radio: Countdown to Paper” event! Our celebration of the mass market paperback release of Leopoldo Gout’s hit horror novel Ghost Radio.  Today Leopoldo shares some reader responses. And make sure to read to the bottom of the post for a chance to win some exciting PRIZES!

Getting good reviews from major publications is great.  But it’s the reader response that creates real excitement .   It’s great when they hear the exact reaction you wanted.   I worked hard to make this book a page-turner, and it’s so satisfying to hear people talk about how hard it was to put down or how fast they read it.   In this anti-literary age that reaction is special.

There’s a devilish glee to find out that the parts intended to scare worked.  Or to hear someone point to a line or paragraph you worked very hard on.   And all the comparisons to the early work of Stephen King are beyond flattering.

But it’s also great when readers surprise you, seeing things in the book that never consciously contemplated.   Or when they draw parallels to their own lives.  A writer learns so much from this kind of response.

So in light of this, and because I’m shamelessly proud of the book, here’s some reader responses posted on various sites around the Internet.  Yup, writers do look at these things:

“One of the most thoughtful and original horror novels I’ve ever read.” — Adam Sadler (Amazon)

“Ghost Radio doesn’t fit neatly into the paradigms of the horror genre. The author uses disturbing ambiguities to sustain a constant sense of being off-kilter – a sense shared by both the the reader and the protagonist. Characters and chronology are intricately messed with in a way that screams for resolution; for most of the book we are follow a protagonist who alternately craves The Answer but also seems to run from it. The resolution, when it comes, is specific enough to make the novel feel complete (there is no sense of lingering but cheap mystery) but also true to the elusiveness of the rest of the book.” — A. Reader (Amazon)

“[Ghost Radio] grabs you by the scruff of the neck, sends chills down your spine as it takes you to places you don’t want to go. Scary stuff, but deliciously scary. I was awake all night, even though I finished the book by two. I couldn’t help myself, I started it again.” — Mallory Smith (Amazon)

“I enjoyed every moment of reading this novel.” — Amy (Good Reads)

“I’m a horror fan and have read all of Dean Koontz and Stephen King. And I’ll say that “Ghost Radio” is right up there with King and Koontz.” – Weatherman (Amazon)

“Haunting, creepy, and incredibly hard to put down.” — ANT “azrealart” (Amazon)

“Ghost Radio is a very impressive debut by Leopold Gout.” — Liviu (Good Reads)

“This is more than a good horror story. It’s a good book with characters you care about and a plot that will keep you riveted to the pages. I just loved it. Brrr, I really loved it.” — Sarah Hackett (Amazon)

“I had a blast reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good suspense/ paranormal thriller.” — Tina Hayes (Amazon)

” I recommend this book to all.” — JK8 (Amazon)

“One of the best books I’ve read this year.” — Paisley Monsoon (Amazon)

“Leopoldo Gout writes a thriller masterpiece with Ghost Radio.” — Reviewette (Barnes & Noble)

“Don’t read this late at night, unless you want to stay awake.” — Margaret Bonaham (Amazon)

“This is a haunting story and expect to hear much more from Leopoldo Gout.” — Neal C. Reynolds (Amazon)

CONTEST INFORMATION!

Each day of this event we offer the chance to win prizes. Every winner will receive autographed copies of both the hardback and paperback editions of Ghost Radio. But they will also receive a special bonus surprise tied to the day’s theme. This could be additional books, DVDs, CDs, audio books, or maybe something even more exciting. So what are you waiting for? Enter today’s contest now.

Here’s all you need to do to enter today’s contest:

Just send an email to ghostradioinfo@gmail.com, and put “COUNTDOWN TO PAPER – DAY 7″ in the subject line, and “Ghost Radio”  in the body of the email.  Or just use the contact form below:

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Message

This contest closes on March 13, 2010. Winners will be chosen at random, and notified the following week.

And don’t forget to check back to tomorrow for another day of this exciting event, and another chance to win PRIZES!

If you’ve missed any of the COUNTDOWN TO PAPER event you can catch up here.

COUNTDOWN TO PAPER: DAY 6

Welcome to Day 6 of the “Ghost Radio: Countdown to Paper” event! Our celebration of the mass market paperback release of Leopoldo Gout’s hit horror novel Ghost Radio. Today we give you a preview of a potential Ghost Radio podcast.  And make sure to read to the bottom of the post for a chance to win some exciting PRIZES!

We’re always looking for ways to expand the Ghost Radio experience.  The blog has been hugely successful.  Its daily readership goes way beyond our wild expectations.  And we’d like to continue this momentum.

One of the ideas we’re toying with is a Ghost Radio podcast.   Like the blog, this podcast won’t be limited to information on the book, but will cover a range of material.  We’ve yet to decide if this is a direction we wish to take.  But we’ve created a tentative show open to whet your appetite.  It’s still a bit rough, but it gives you a feel of what the open for such a show might sound like:

Let us know what you think?  Is another media podcast something you think you need?

CONTEST INFORMATION!

Each day of this event we offer the chance to win prizes. Every winner will receive autographed copies of both the hardback and paperback editions of Ghost Radio. But they will also receive a special bonus surprise tied to the day’s theme. This could be additional books, DVDs, CDs, audio books, or maybe something even more exciting. So what are you waiting for? Enter today’s contest now.

Here’s all you need to do to enter today’s contest:

Just send an email to ghostradioinfo@gmail.com, and put “COUNTDOWN TO PAPER – DAY 6″ in the subject line, and  “Ghost Radio”  in the body of the email.  Or just use the contact form below:

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Message

This contest closes on March 13, 2010. Winners will be chosen at random, and notified the following week.

And don’t forget to check back to tomorrow for another day of this exciting event, and another chance to win PRIZES!

If you’ve missed any of the COUNTDOWN TO PAPER event you can catch up here.

Venus Vulture News Raves about GHOST RADIO

Some nice words about Ghost Radio from the Venus Vulture News blog:

I’ve just finished the very hip book Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout. It’s a quirky and challenging novel with a seemingly well-paced story, but hiding a subtle and slow build. By the time I realised what was happening, it was almost done, even though all the clues are sown throughout the story. It’s told in episodic fashion, with snippets of radio interviews, flashbacks and with shifting points of view (at times I did find it tricky to know who the pronouns meant immediately). Each chapter begins with a haunting illustration that hints at what is to come.

Thanks.  Never get tired of reading stuff like this.