Another Wicked Karnival #5 Review

Straight into a story - THREE LITTLE PIGS by Jeff Strand. Starts off bright enough, every pig, skippy and happy – lovely build up and then into the old but well loved story! You would have thought these pigs would have learnt a thing about house building by now, but no! I loved the pace of the story and the revelation at the end, good stuff. I really agree with Jeff, in his interview, about the remakes of old movies. As a writer and avid reader myself, there are so many good short stories out there bursting to become films. After his interview, please read MY PRE-HOLLYWOOD ADVENTURE on Jeff’s own web, a very funny example of what could happen to our precious little scripts and stories.

I liked ARE YOU SQUIDDING ME? by Nick Cato. Something there to be learnt about food – you can eat anything as long as it doesn’t eat you back! And yes Nick, I won’t be sending any scripts to you – I think we got the message – you should be so lucky!

Have to say the piece, FAIRY TALES: THE ORIGINAL HORROR was really interesting but as far as rewriters of fairy tales are concerned Mr Johnson how could you leave out THE BLOODY CHAMBER by Angela Carter?

From fairy tale archives, I also like the version of Little Red Riding Hood called THE FALSE GRANDMOTHER, where apparently little red beats the crap out of the wolf!

As for Ouija boards. Won’t have one in the house! It was an excellent discussion on them witchy boards though, from Horror Sleuth Brett Blumfield. I enjoyed WITCHCRAFT: RESPECT FOR THE OLD FAITH by Scott A. Johnson. I totally agree with the positive view of Pagan religion. Quite right! If only we all got our act together and let live.

I have a few favourites amongst the TWISTED FAIRY TALES. It never fails to amaze me how many diverse, interesting and ultimately blood chilling adaptations of Little Red Riding Hood have been written and we can add to those, SEEING RED by Bob Freeman and GRAN O’HOOD AND THE WOLF by John Irvine. Interesting, that the child protagonist in SEEING RED sinks into ever deeper levels of wickedness and the shocking image of “the lycanthrope gulped at the sinew and baby fat,” reminded me of “the human infant…deep fried and whole,” in John Grant’s The Cook’s Tale, featured recently in Scifantastic. Gruesome for a mother to read (but we do!) The layered symbolism of the child wearing red (obvious impending death, blood and here we go again, she is a young child and dressed in red, she’s going down!) appears in many films and stories. Think of the child wearing the red raincoat in the dark and disturbing Nicholas Roeg film, Don’t Look Now.

Some pretty scary fairy art work in there by Tom Moran and Sandro Castelli. I liked SALLY HAD A POCKET KNIFE by Kelli Dunlap. The simplest of rhymes can be so brutal sometimes! MASTER OF THE MACABRE, the Jack Ketchum interview – more of him please! As the quote reads “Ketchum has become a kind of hero to those of us who write tales of terror and suspense.” I really enjoyed reading about a writer who really knows his subject, so I was hooked by the interview with Tom Mes, ALIEN INVASION! Zombie dolls were to die for. Not all dolls have to be nicey, nicey! Grief and loss are all consuming in the gritty, dark and exciting tale, THE SEEKER by Sarah Dobbs.

What’s wickedly in store, for readers in THE FUNHOUSE really keeps you riveted to your seat.

MORE CARNY! MORE!

Will definitely be buying WICKED KARNIVAL HALLOWEEN SE for more of that!

review by Allyson Bird