My Anniversary Gift to You

Over the past three years I’ve written more than 200 articles, reviews, and essays for this site and others. I’ve had a lot of fun and made a lot of money (just kidding), but the best part of the process has been the opportunity to collaborate with people who creatively inspire me and whose work I respect.

And, as I celebrate the second anniversary of Cinematically Insane this weekend, I’m proud to announce that one of my favorite pieces of writing has been included in a new book – one that also features the work of some of my favorite colleagues.

My essay What I Learned from ROSEMARY’S BABY is featured in Bride of Monster Serial, a new anthology of writing about horror movies past and present. Edited by the lovely and talented Wallace McBride, the book covers an eclectic collection of fright films, from early Talkies like DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931) to contemporary creepfests like HOSTEL: PART 2. Most of the movies were released in the the 1970s and ‘80s, when many of us first cut our fangs as fans. And some, like NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955), expand the definition of the word “horror.”

Contributors include McBride (who also runs the award-winning Collinsport Historical Society blog, a must for fans of the Dark Shadows TV series), Pre-Code film expert Danny Reid, Professor Frank Jay Gruber (my go-to for classic TV knowledge), comic book author and man-about-town Patrick McCray, Badass Digest writer Phil Nobile Jr., humorist Morgan Ashley Harrell, filmmaker Ansel Faraj, graphic designer Jonathan M. Chaffin, podcast personality Sara McBride, Desmond Reddick from DreadMedia.net, and Jim MacKenzie and Sarah Giavedoni, creators of StuffMonstersLike.com

The book also features an introduction by Peter H. Gilmore from the Church of Satan, which I probably won’t mention when I donate copies to my old Catholic school for summer book club. It’s also got cover art by McBride and some inventive, smile-inducing layout, done in the style of retro newspaper advertising. Bride of Monster Serial is available in ye olde print form, with a Kindle edition to come. And if you buy a copy (and send me proof) I will email you an exclusive picture of me as a teenager, dressed up like a vampire (with hair).

Seriously, how can you resist? It’s like the best anniversary present ever.

Best of all, as befits a book about genre films, Bride of Monster Serial is a sequel. The first installment of Monster Serial, published earlier this year, is also available in paperback and Kindle formats. And it also features an essay by me, of course.

Here’s a list of the shocking, horrifying, etc. films reviewed in Bride of Monster Serial:

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931)
THE BLACK CAT (1934)
SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR (1947)
BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (1955)
NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962)
THE RAVEN (1963)
THE TOMB OF LIGEIA (1964)
SPIDER BABY (1967)
QUARTERMASS AND THE PIT (1967)
ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968)
THE DUNWICH HORROR (1970)
THE OMEGA MAN (1971)
NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS (1971)
DON’T BE AFRIAD OF THE DARK (1973)
SEIZURE (1974)
THE DEVIL’S RAIN (1975)
SUPERVIXENS (1975)
KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977)
SUSPIRIA (1977)
THE NINTH CONFIGURATION (1980)
HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)
THE THING (1982)
THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE (1982)
SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983)
THE TOXIC AVENGER (1984)
THE STUFF (1985)
RE-ANIMATOR (1985)
THE FLY (1986)
ANGEL HEART (1987)
PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)
THE EXORCIST III (1990)
THE LAWNMOWER MAN (1992)
DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE (1994)
HOSTEL: PART II (2007)
DIARY OF THE DEAD (2007)
MURDER PARTY (2007)
THE LAST EXORCISM (2010)

As always, thanks for reading.