“Now you know what it feels like.”

In the mid-1960s Alfred Hitchcock was planning a film called Frenzy (A.K.A. Kaleidoscope) that would have detailed the crimes of a misogynist serial killer. The viewer would be treated to agonizing scenes of suspense as they watched the killer charm his victims to their doom. Regrettably Hitchcock’s project was never realized*, but in its place I present to you a little known literary masterpiece called Rendezvous in Black.

Written by the late Cornell Woolrich (best known for writing the story on which Rear Window is based), the novel is a grim study of one man’s quest to avenge the untimely death of his fiancee. One by one he targets the most important women in the lives of the five men he deems responsible. The rendezvous are spread out into five separate chapters, and each plays out like its own short story. The depiction of the killer, Johnny Marr, ranges from an invisible presence (the introduction by Richard Dooling describes him as “omniscient”), to a sensitive lady’s man. It is the latter portrayal that really reminded me of the aborted Hitchcock project, while the former is not unlike the shady assassins of the Italian giallo†. Like Hitchcock, Woolrich understood that suspense was the key to making such a story work, and he milks it for all that it’s worth. It’s no surprise that he’s known as  the Hitchcock of the written word! Where Woolrich differs from Hitchcock is in the unceasing gloominess of his approach. ‡ Read the rest of this entry →

If there wasn’t already enough evidence that I’m a total wuss, my newly found love of Elizabeth Scott just might be the icing on the cake. Although I haven’t had the pleasure of reading all of her novels, it’s fairly obvious that her intended audience is teenage girls. To be fair, I happened upon this book on accident. I saw someone posting about it on Twitter, and not realizing how recently it was written (2009), assumed that it was the inspiration for the Rob Zombie song. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Living Dead Girl is hands down, the most disconcerting book I have ever read, and likely will ever read. That said; it’s amazing and should be read—NO—experienced by everyone. It follows the life a 15 year old girl named Alice. Five years ago she was kidnapped by a man named Ray and made into a…well, basically a slave. What makes this different from an episode of Law & Order: SVU, however, is that it’s told from the perspective of the victim, and trust me when I say that Scott does not pull any punches during the many scenes of first person sexual abuse. Read the rest of this entry →

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If you’ve ever listened to the podcast you know that I have an insatiable fascination for all things absurd or just plain wrong. Whether it be my obsession with Law & Order: SVU (A.K.A. Law & Order: Rape Edition) or my excitement for mutilation in horror movies, my desire to be disgusted is unnaturally high. That being said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a recent trip to the used bookstore resulted in the purchase of a book exclusively dedicated to people eating people.

Cannibals, by English author Jimmy Lee Shreeve, is a non-fiction romp through the world of anthropophagy. Published in 2009, it was written in response to an online friendship Shreeve had with a self-hating cannibal named Eric Soames. Believing that his hunger for human flesh was caused by demonic possession, Soames contacted Shreeve after reading his book Doktor Snake’s Voodoo Spellbook. He was convinced that Shreeve was an expert in the occult, and asked him to help cure his cannibalistic cravings. Read the rest of this entry →

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