End of an era: The London Dungeon
The London Dungeon is moving.
What? They can move dungeons now? Apparently so.
The old Tooley Street venue, famed for its crumbling, rumbling arches (situated beneath London Bridge railway station) and dank, dripping alcoves is to be dropped in favour of new premises further along the river near to the London Eye. It will be interesting to see if the new locale will try to emulate the atmosfear (pun intended) of the old, or create the shock of something new.
The Tooley Street Dungeon holds a special place in my heart and many fond memories – I worked there for a few years back in the early 90s, made many friends and frightened a lot of people. Yes, my weekend job as a student was jumping out on tourists and scaring them half to death (a fainting meant it was time for lunch – job done) which really was as much fun as it sounds.
I impersonated Michael Jackson there once, following a rumour he was going to visit (these were much thinner days you understand) and I was chased down Tooley Street by rabid paparazzi screaming “Michael!” I even waved a single white-gloved hand at them from the upstairs window before the ruse was up – he’d gone to Hamley’s instead. I also secured my first ever runner’s job following a video shoot at the Dungeon, and had several fanboy moments meeting the likes of Robert Englund, Tom Baker and James Herbert who were just some of the stars being filmed/interviewed among the torture implements.
Now, thanks to the move, you can own a piece of this unique horror history. The Dungeon is holding a car boot sale in Pimlico on Feb 3rd, so if you fancy bagging some thumbscrews or a scold’s bridle of your very own you know where to go.
I recall a time during my tenure at the Dungeon when several old exhibits were to be consigned to the scrapheap. I rescued one – the curvy, blood-drenched form of Countess Elizabetha Bathory herself – took her home in a cab
“guess who i had in the back o’ my cab last night? only bleeding Countess Dracula! nah, she didn’t tip”
and placed her at the foot of my bed where i could keep an eye on her. And there she stayed, until I – like the Dungeon today – moved house… and discovered she was full of cockroaches.
Ghastly.
RIP London Dungeon, here’s wishing you an equally ghastly afterlife (hopefully for the right reasons).
Euro #scriptchat #horror chat starts 8pm GMT!
If you wanna chat horror screenwriting, or just the horror genre in general, join me on Twitter for Euro #scriptchat.
Starts tonight, 8pm GMT. Details here. Full instructions on how to chat are here.
(go to TWEETCHAT or search the hashtag #scriptchat on the web, Tweetdeck or Seesmic and jump in)
Thanks to the #scripchat team for inviting me to be their guest tonight. Look forward to chatting HORROR with you!
Nature Unveiled: The Jack in the Green cover art & release date
Pleased as pumpkin pie to reveal the cover art for my new Samhain Horror novel THE JACK IN THE GREEN. Just take care not to wake him dear f(r)iends, as you can see, he’s a sleeping beast…
I think cover artist Scott Carpenter (who also wove his magic on THE LAMPLIGHTERS cover) has done Jack proud. My thanks, as ever, to Scott and to editor extraordinaire Don D’Auria.
And I now have a release date for the novel. It will be published by Samhain Horror around 1st October 2013, just in time for next Hallowe’en! Hope you’re as excited as I am 
More news on this, and other projects, soon.
All Horror, all Hallow~eek!
It’s that time of year again folks. The time when the air turns frigid and the trees drop their leaves in terror and excitement for the tricks and treats to come. A time for Monster Munch. And Monster Movies.
I’ve been gearing up for the ghoulish with a free short story and Q&A over at the supercool Hell House Hotel Halloween Advent Calendar, and a Halloween Haunts guest post at the Horror Writers’ Association Blog ~ check ‘em out!
And if you find yourself in foggy old London this Hallow-eek-end, do drop by and say hi…
27th OCTOBER ~ SAMHAIN STORIES AT ABNEY PARK CEMETERY
28th OCTOBER ~ WRITING HORROR at LONDON SCREENWRITER’S FESTIVAL (5pm, LSWF delegates only)
And whatever your plans dear f(r)iends, i wish you a very HAPPY HALLOWE’EN…and a SCARY SAMHAIN of course…muah ha ha!
Blog Newsflash: Novel and Novella Sales
I already Tweeted and Fassbocked about this of course, but methinks this news is worthy of a quick Blog entry!
I’m thrilled to announce I just inked contracts with Samhain Horror for my novel THE JACK IN THE GREEN and novella THE LUCIFER GLASS.
Executive Editor Don D’Auria told me he loves the books and I’m excited to be working with him and Samhain again on these new titles.
Cover art, release dates and further details to follow, keep an eye on this here Blog and also www.samhainhorror.com.
Samhain Stories at Abney Park Cemetery (Oct 27th 2012)
Announcing the first ever UK Samhain Horror event!
Join horror authors Maynard Sims, Frazer Lee and Peter Mark May at Abney Park Cemetery, London on October 27th (6pm-9pm), for:
- a guided historical cemetery tour
- live readings in the atmospheric Chapel
- followed by book signings/meet and greet
The event is free, with a voluntary donation to Abney Park Cemetery on the gate. All are welcome (but please note the event will include adult content).
Join the:
Official Facebook Event Page
for further details/updates.
Samhain Stories at Abney Park Cemetery is Supported by Samhain Horror http://www.samhainhorror.com
October Appearances
Thrilled to announce I will be speaking at this year’s London Screenwriters’ Festival (October 26-28) It’s an honour to be part of such a cool line-up.
I am also putting together the first ever UK Samhain Horror event, to be held in London on the same weekend and which promises to be very special indeed.
More details on both events nearer the time!
Don’t Panic! – An Interview with PANIC BUTTON Writer Frazer Lee (Starburst Magazine)
Head on over to Starburst Magazine where I am interviewed by Paul Mount about the Panic Button movie and book, the evils of the internet, new projects and more!
Panic Button: Meet the Team (Watch the Guerilla Filmmakers Masterclass Q&A Video)
With thanks to all at Movie Mogul Films and the inimitable Chris Jones, check out the Guerilla Filmmakers Masterclass Q&A, which details the creation of indie horror/thriller ‘Panic Button’ from script to screen…and beyond. Hit the link below for the full video.
And a reminder that the Official Movie Novelization is FREE for your Kindle for 5 days!
Amazon.com
http://amzn.to/xLIBEn
Amazon.co.uk
http://amzn.to/zKPm77
Panic Button movie novel: Starburst Review
Paul Mount reviews PANIC BUTTON: the Official Movie Novelization for Starburst Magazine.
“this is an intelligent and propulsive book, pressing all the right buttons – panic or otherwise – as a standalone piece of fiction even if you’ve not seen the movie version” (click to read full review)
Read PANIC BUTTON on ebook & paperback:
Amazon.com
http://amzn.to/xLIBEn
Amazon.co.uk
http://amzn.to/zKPm77
