| Author | Message | ||
     Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
I'm a bit bored so forgive me but I thought this might be fun. I have a list of 20 influential horror writers (my choice and most of the present company excepted to save blushes) who are about to fight to the death for the inaugural Horror World Cup. Rules : I make the draw (totally random, honest guv) You decide the winner of each round. So here goes. First Match is Robert Bloch V M R James | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
James. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Bloch. …this is quite odd, by the way. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
James | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.160.100.209 |
Manchester United. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Don't tell me Ramsey will lose to Hanns Heinz Ewers on penalties in the quarter final! | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
Gary you were offside..yellow card 2-1 to MR James Next Match Clark Ashton Smith V Stephen King | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
King. (I found the othet match too difficult to vote on). | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.160.100.209 |
Accrington Stanley. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Accrington Stanley? Who are dey? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.160.100.209 |
Exactly. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Showing our age, mate... I were right about that saddle. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.164.42 |
Klarkash Ton versus King? That's a really tricky one, as they are about as unalike as you could imagine. One wrote ornate, exotic, weird short stories and poems, the other is a bestselling novelist and short story writer. How do you compare them? Steve, your Ramsey losing to H.H. Ewers on penalties made me chuckle - good one! | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Stephen King… unless he's been shoved into the 2nd League again due to 'retiring', in which case I'd still give him the advantage, as he's still alive and therefore able to put fresh blood on the field (so to speak). | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
King. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.164.42 |
Smith (someone's gotta stick up for him, might as well be me). | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
3-1 to King, who would have thought? Fry is sent to the dressing room for an early bath following repeated infringements. Next match : Richard Matheson V Ramsey Campbell | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
matheson | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.76.230 |
For horror, Campbell, easy. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Another tough one. But I'd agree with Gary - HORROR world cup has to be Campbell. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
A tie. They're two of my favourites. Can't pick. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
matheson | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
This is too hard - can we make it a draw an have a penalty shoot out? I think Accrington Stanley, by the way, hold a record which no team can ever take from them. They were the first team ever to be relegated from the football league.  | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.202.234 |
For me it would be Ramsey Campbell, but I agree, it's a tough one: Matheson is a great writer. The first two were a little easier, I thought. Just don't expect me to choose between Machen and Leiber, or Le Fanu and Aickman! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.202.234 |
Caroline, if there was a penalty shoot out, Ramsey would win - Americans can't play football!  | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.77.198 |
Guy N Smith versus Shaun Hutson | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
matheson | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
seriously, that would have to be Smith. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Great idea!  I'd have gone for M.R. James, Stephen King (only because I haven't read much Smith yet) & Ramsey Campbell so far... Guy N. Smith for me too out of pure nostalgia... | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
>>Guy N Smith versus Shaun Hutson<< I think that would have to be match abandoned as far as I'm concerned!  | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Both awful writers but I still have fond memories of reading Smith as a kid in the 70s - especially his Crabs and Werewolf series. Innocent times lol. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
GNS was Charlie Grant's favourite writer apparently... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.77.198 |
Anyone ever read any Bernard Taylor? | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Not a thing... Was a big fan of Charles L. Grant back in the 80s though (I had him in the same ballpark as King, Straub & McCammon). 'The Nestling' & 'Night Songs' were particular favs. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Didn't he write 'Sweetheart, Sweetheart', Gary? I have the novel somewhere, unread. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Campbell. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.76.230 |
He did, Stephen. That's a good novel. Charles Grant said it was one the best ever ghost stories. While it lacks enough subtlety to meet this claim, it's still damned good. His other novels are decent, if a little plot-heavy and predictable. Solid storyteller, tho, and good at intrigue and weirdness. Surprised he's not known more in horror circles: He's as good as Herbert in his way. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
What a match, the young boy Campbell came back strongly in the second half to make it 5-3. Next match Mary Shelley V Ambrose Bierce | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Scunthorpe Town | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
arsenal | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Can anyone name the other football team with a swearword in the name (apart from the 2 listed above)? | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
That's right.................... it's Manchester Fucking United | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Sorry, I'm very bored | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Shelley. | ||
| Johnny_mains (Johnny_mains) Username: Johnny_mains Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 82.22.70.137 |
Ambrose Bierce | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
Bierce. He was one of the first writers that made me lie awake, uncomfortably analysing what I'd read. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Mary Shelley. …she's allowed to use her name as author now, isn't she? | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
2-1 to Ambrose Bierce. Next Match Peter Straub V Algernon Blackwood | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
Sorry Ian your post was after the final whistle | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.27.30.20 |
Blackwood. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.103.170 |
Shelley....and Blackwood. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Straub. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
2-1 to Blackwood and now a clash of the titans Fritz Leiber V H P Lovecraft | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.165.118 |
Leiber | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
Lovecraft. | ||
| Nathaniel Tapley (Natt) Username: Natt Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 78.146.242.226 |
Leiber | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Leiber (I missed all the other "matches" as I've been out working all evening  ) | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Pass. [if only to exercise my franchise… and I can't think of anything funny other than to support Ballymena's FC, but they're Ireland's 3rd league so you probably have never heard of them] | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.106 |
James King Campbell Hutson Shelley Straub Leiber | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.165.118 |
For the ones I missed, it would be: James Smith Bierce Blackwood | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.165.118 |
Gary, I have Taylor's Sweetheart, Sweetheart - Karl Edward Wagner's (ex) copy, in fact! I think I have The Godsend somewhere, too. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
Leiber. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
I've just realized that this might be the Lieber in the ultimate Motown songwriting team of Lieber Stoller Lieber… or maybe not. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.27.30.20 |
Stephen, Godsend is far better than that terrible film that was made of it with De Niro. The original version of Mother's Day is pretty good, too - far better than the Jamie Lee Curtis travesty. There's this scene in the garden . . . ugh. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.103.170 |
Lovecraft. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.27.30.20 |
Lovecraft. | ||
| Giancarlo (Giancarlo) Username: Giancarlo Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 85.116.228.5 |
I had quite forgotten about Bernard Taylor. I used to like his novels. Wasn't "Moonstone Sickness" one quiet understated horror by him? It just surfaced on my mind... | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 217.205.94.62 |
Mr Lovecraft you took one hell of a beating! Leiber 5 : Lovecraft 3 Next match Edgar Allan Poe V Bram Stoket | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 217.205.94.62 |
Stoket had to withdraw at the last minute but has been replaced by Stoker | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
Tough call, but Poe. | ||
| Nathaniel Tapley (Natt) Username: Natt Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 78.151.112.39 |
Poe | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Poe. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.27.30.20 |
Poe, easily. Easy peasily. 10-0. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Poe. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Stoker got lucky with Drac, did bugger all else (of note). Poe is a legend. Invented the short story as we know it. Invented the detective genre, and created many masterpieces of psychological horror a century and a half before it became an official genre. so it's got to go to sto... I mean Poe | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Bierce Blackwood Lovecraft Poe - though I do love Stoker and 'Dracula' is my all time favourite horror novel | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.205.144 |
Poe, without a doubt. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.205.144 |
I don't think it's quite accurate to say that Poe invented the short story. Hoffmann was writing stories of 'mystery and imagination' (not to mention detection) years before. In fact, there's an interesting study on this titled 'The Influence of E.T.A. Hoffmann on Edgar Allan Poe'. Not to mention Sheridan Le Fanu, who was writing stories with considerable psychological depth at the same time as Poe, on the other side of the Atlantic. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
Poe. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
I don't think it's quite accurate to say that Poe invented the short story. I didn't. There's a qualifier on the statement - as we know it. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.255.213 |
I'm late, but.... James, then King, then a tie between Matheson and Campbell, then Shelley, then Blackwood, then of COURSE Lovecraft - I love Leiber, but come on, Lovecraft has to win that one! - and then Poe. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.205.144 |
But Weber, others were writing short stories at the same time as (and before) Poe, so how were they not writing the short story 'as we know it'? The short stories of Hoffmann and Le Fanu (for example) certainly qualify as what I know to be short stories. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Poe. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.205.144 |
I love much of his work, but do you really think Lovecraft was a better writer than Leiber, Craig? I don't. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Huw, even Leiber considered Lovecraft a better fantasy writer as he admits in his brilliant autobiography contained in 'The Ghost Light' - which I've finally just posted back to Jonathan (thanks again). Also, as much as I'm loving the 'Lankhmar' stories, I still consider Robert E. Howard superior - so far anyway. Leiber is arguably the best of their many imitators imho. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.46.187 |
Stephen, Leiber also wrote that he considered himself a better writer than Lovecraft (although I can't remember where, at the moment). I agree with him. He may have been influenced by Lovecraft at first, but he quickly developed his own style. And let's not forget, 'sword and sorcery' was only one aspect of Leiber's writing - his scope was far wider than that. He also wrote a good number of science fiction stories and novels, and of course was the leading pioneer of the urban supernatural horror story. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.5.8.40 |
Huw, as far as superior writing goes - and that's enough to fill tomes, but let's just not define it too narrowly - I would agree with you. But I wasn't judging this all by that, or even very much. I'm sort of taking a holistic, gut-level, metaphorical, indescribable approach to this parlor-game. For me, it's was just the name, and all that name evokes, vs. the other name and all that other name evokes. And in a battle of such "names," I still think, clearly, that Lovecraft beats Leiber. But now name other kinds of battles, and I'm sure I'll change my mind.... | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Leiber's sheer versatility and boundless energy is what I most like about his writing - it is amongst the most purely entertaining I have discovered in years. From what I've read of him his three mentors were Lovecraft (horror), Howard (fantasy) & Heinlein (sci-fi) and he is quite possibly the greatest imitator of all three while carving out his own wholly distinctive style - mixing humour, surrealism, high concept fantasy and the macabre with great skill. I must read more... | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Poe. Stoker's done bugger all for me financially, whereas E.A.P. benefited me enough to get a damned good monitor and digital camera (with which I've recorded my trips to the Cradle of Civilization [England]). | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
Blimey 11-0 to Poe, poor Mr Stoker heads back to Ireland, muttering obscenities. Next Match Arthur Machen V Ray Bradbury | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
Bradbury just edges it for me. Sorry to any Machen fans out there. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Machen. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Bradbury. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.106 |
Poe Bradbury | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
3-1 to Bradbury Next match Sheridan Le Fanu V Clive Barker | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Barker. | ||
| Patrick Walker (Patrick_walker) Username: Patrick_walker Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 217.171.129.70 |
I wasn't going to join in because Matheson's been knocked out in the first round. I mean, I understand how the rules work but come on, really, that's just obscene. But nonetheless, *sigh*, Barker. | ||
| Patrick Walker (Patrick_walker) Username: Patrick_walker Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 217.171.129.70 |
By the way, is Jack Ketchum playing or did he get knocked out in the qualifiers by John Saul? | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
Patrick, due to the unique way this competition was founded (i.e. the first 20 I thought of) many others have not made an appearance. Perhaps in four years time they will turn up. And Matheson was knocked out by the young boy Campell, he would have gone through if he had met Stoker who it turns out was rubbish, luck of the draw, it's a game of two halves, the boys done good etc etc | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
2-0 to Barker. Last match in the first round now and it's: Robert Aikman V Robert E Howard | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.103.170 |
Tuttle and Aickman evenly matched. Game over. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Aickman. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Bradbury, Barker, and Aikman. I'm willing to buy Stoker a pint, if it'll make him feel better. Theatre people stick together in the end (he was Box Office Manager somewhere in London for a while before Dracula was released). | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Ian, I think he's still spinning in his grave after what Keanu Reeves did to his Harker character. He'd spill the pint. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.47.182 |
Machen Aickman Le Fanu Some of these matches seem to only last an hour, some go on for half a day - I was asleep during the last few, so I demand a recount! | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
"Some of these matches seem to only last an hour, some go on for half a day". Huw, that depends on what instructions Sir Alex gives the ref. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.47.182 |
| ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
Howard, because he wrote 'Pigeons From Hell' and 'Worms Of The Earth.' | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Mr. Bacon: I'd forgotten about that 'performance'. Keanu has two roles: Ted Logan and the one we saw in Speed and The Matrix. I've heard that The Matrix has yet to make a dime on paper; it's all been absorbed as 'production costs'. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
Le Fanu Aickman | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Bradbury Barker Aickman - though it's a bit unfair to include Howard as a famous horror writer - his occasional horror tales are all amongst the best of their kind written in that era (read 'The Haunter Of The Ring' if you don't believe me) but he was primarily a sword & sorcery fantasy writer and, as such, the finest that has ever put pen to paper imho. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.47.182 |
There was an adaptation of Howard's 'Pigeons From Hell' in the US series Thriller, and it was very creepy. I must read more of Howard's horror tales (haven't read 'The Haunter of the Ring'). Stephen, I was rummaging through my boxes of paperbacks last night and found a 2-in-1 edition of Conjure Wife and Our Lady of Darkness, Leiber's two best-known supernatural novels. I'll send it on to you if you want it. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
That would be so nice of you, Huw. I'm dying to read both those novels after whetting my appetite reading about them online. Though I never realised you lived in Taiwan so I hope this isn't putting you to great expense! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.47.182 |
No problem, Stephen! I'll send it on Monday. They are both really excellent novels (esp. Our Lady). | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.123 |
Ghost v horror? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.23.233.247 |
I don't think this game can be done; maybe play story against story? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.23.233.247 |
'then a tie between Matheson and Campbell' Ha! I thought that! | ||
| Patrick Walker (Patrick_walker) Username: Patrick_walker Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 217.171.129.69 |
Matheson and Campbell indeed. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
5-1 to Aikman. And for those of you who are questioning the match lengths.....that'll teach you to leave the message boards. Now for the second round, some might say quarter finals except some idiot started with 20 teams which doesn't work. Therefore in a rather unusual twist we will have two games of 3 and two games of two. First match is : King V Campbell V Bierce | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.106 |
Barker Aickman Campbell | ||
| Patrick Walker (Patrick_walker) Username: Patrick_walker Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 217.171.129.72 |
Now that Matheson's out you can vote Campbell all the way for me. That'll save me some posting time. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Two games of three? Are you completely mad? Is this 'cage-match wrestling' or something? …actually, a shirtless Ramsey wrestling in a cage with Stephen King and Ambrose Bierce might be something to see. What's that? 'Who am I voting for'? Oh, sorry. King (if only for sheer volume of output; sorry, Mr. C.) | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
>>Is this 'cage-match wrestling' or something?<< Cage wrestling world cup, now why didn't I think of that. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.233.126 |
But ye landlord has been known to deliver, whereas King . . . | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.106 |
...also delivers. Which is probably why he's one of the most popular authors in the world. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
King. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.233.126 |
Robert Sheckley Eric Frank Russell | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
Russell. No contest. The sheer brilliance that is 'Next Of Kin' and the loopy wonderfulness of 'Dreadful Sanctuary' seal the deal in a heartbeat. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Campbell then King then Bierce | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
Campbell wins. Next match Bradbury V Leiber V Blackwood | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
You sure that wasn't 2-2 to Campbell & King?! This one's a real toughie... Blackwood then Bradbury then Leiber but only because Blackwood specialised in horror (didn't he just!) and I've read much more Bradbury than Leiber (putting that right now). | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
Campbell. Golden goal. And Bradbury. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.161.83 |
Leiber (just) | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Bradbury, with the others wondering what hit them. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
Leiber. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
What's that... Blackwood 1 - Bradbury 2 - Leiber 2 The most exciting match yet! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.161.83 |
It's a bit silly, really - all three are splendid writers. If I absolutely had to choose one, it would probably be Leiber; but I wouldn't be without Blackwood and Bradbury, both of whom contributed so much to the field. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Algernon is seen in the car-park kicking three varieties of shit out of Stephen Walsh, all the time shrieking " ‘only because I specialized in horror’, eh? ‘ONLY’??" | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.50.148 |
Despite his somewhat menacing appearance, I can't imagine a contemplative, nature-loving soul like Blackwood kicking the shit out of anyone (although maybe he'd make an exception for Stephen!). I wouldn't describe him as specialising in horror. He wrote fantasy, ghost stories, children's books and above all his spiritual, awe-inspiring nature stories. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
>>You sure that wasn't 2-2 to Campbell & King<< Campbell wins on the away goals rule Leiber wins the second quarter(ish) final >>It's a bit silly, really<< I know  | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
Robert Aikman V Clive Barker | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.206.75 |
Silly, but fun! Aickman. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Aickman I'm only familiar with Blackwood's horror stories but it's some of the damn scariest I've ever read - and still not read 'The Willows'... gulp | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
Barker! | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
Aickman! | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
What happened to Poe? | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
3-1 to Aikman and it's the last of the quarter finals Tournament favourite Poe V MR James | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
M R James. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
Poe. | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
Poe. Although everyone else I vote for seems to be losing, so sorry fella. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
E.A. POE and his charming scarf! | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
Poe. | ||
| Nathaniel Tapley (Natt) Username: Natt Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 78.151.112.39 |
Poe | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.166.207 |
Poe. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Poe. | ||
| Patrick Walker (Patrick_walker) Username: Patrick_walker Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 91.103.168.21 |
Poe was a more gutsy writer; in many ways he encapsulates what I look for in fiction. He's a literary icon and undoubtedly massively influential. But James was a superior writer, his stories have scared me and he left behind him a more perfect body of work. So I vote for James. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
8-1 to Poe and another crushing victory. Semi final time Ramsey Campbell V Robert Aikman | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Poe | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.204.111.236 |
Campbell | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
Campbell | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Aickman. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
They are both equally great writers so is it fair to award Campbell because he wrote far more? On the grounds that I haven't read all of Aickman (but everything I have read is perfect) against the fact I've read loads of Campbell and all of it is of at least very high quality and a large percentage perfect - I have to go with Campbell (for now). | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.163.129 |
Honestly, this one is too tough to decide (even more so than Leiber vs. Bradbury vs. Blackwood), so.... Aickbell. Or Campman. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.102.160 |
"Campman"? Sounds like a superhero Kenny Everett would invent. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.163.129 |
How about Robsey Campman? | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
aickman | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Campbell. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Aickman, like M.R. James and H.P. Lovecraft, is a single-skilled writer: he writes brilliantly on weird or supernatural themes, but you wouldn't want to read him on any other subject. The first half of 'Never Visit Venice' is a case in point. Campbell, like Fritz Leiber and Ray Bradbury, is a multi-skilled writer: he is likely to be worth reading whatever he's writing about. His recent story 'Double Room' is a case in point: it's not (or not necessarily) a supernatural story, and its 'horror' is purely emotional, but the character's experience and perceptions are memorable. Multi-skilled writers are not always better writers of weird fiction than single-skilled writers, but they offer a more complete reading experience. For some readers, of course, that makes them less appealing. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
But this is a Horror World Cup and surely should be judged accordingly... | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Aickman. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Joel, are you suggesting that Ramsey is a Jack-of-all-trades rather than a master of horror? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.123 |
I used to think the best writers would like their own stuff best. I like my own stuff best a lot of the time, but not always. It's faulty but I just like being 'in' it, especially when reading it a little while later. That said, the more I read of a piece the more it sucks, falls apart. This feeling changes, though, so watch this space... | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
This is the Horror World Cup, yes? Not the he-can-write-horror-but-what-else-can-he-write World Cup. Aickman wrote non-fiction, essays, and film criticism, among other things, so he's hardly a one-trick pony. Unfortunately, almost all of that material is out of print, hard to find, or available only in Aickman's archive in Bowling Green. (Certainly I haven't read it.) I love Ramsey's "Probably" columns, and I'll read anything the man writes -- but I'd do the same to Aickman, were the material available. And nonetheless, this competition is about horror, not overall achievement, right? | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
Despite an Own Goal by Mr Campbell he still wins 4-3 Second semi-final Poe V Leiber | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.164.141 |
I'm with Chris here - I would hardly call Robert Aickman a "single-skilled" writer. He wrote horror and non-horror equally well. He wrote novels, short stories, autobiography, essays and criticism, and much that remains unpublished (plays, philosophical writings, etc. - obviously I haven't read these, but neither have I read anything by Aickman that is less than masterfully written). I honestly don't feel able to choose between Robert Aickman and Ramsey Campbell - they are both brilliant and each occupies a place in my 'top ten favourite writers' list. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.164.141 |
Leiber | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Poe | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Weber: no. That's not my point. Leiber, Bradbury and Campbell are all masters of horror. I'm just saying that that isn't all you read their work for. When M.R. James isn't trying to scare the pants off you he's the dullest writer imaginable. Also, I'm talking about how they write within their weird fiction rather than outside it. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
did I miss the  off the end of my question? | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Poe. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Poe. Could someone point out to Ramsey which end of the pitch is his? He may have had a few too many in the change room before the last match. | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
Poe. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Poe. Well said, Huw, I also consider Robert Aickman (from the the dozen or so stories I've read) a masterful writer of rare poetic technique and immense subtlety and ambiguity. All the tales of his I have read are little masterpieces that haunt the mind and refuse to give up their secrets easily. The man was a fecking genius - and remains criminally underrated as a writer irrespective of genre. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.46.71 |
Blimey, 5-1 already? Come on, where's the love for Fritz? It's like Brazil Vs. the Faroe Islands! ;-) | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.233.126 |
As much as I love Leiber - Poe. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.233.126 |
M.R. James or Arthur Machen? | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.46.71 |
Machen, for me. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Machen. No question. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.167.138 |
Machen, definitely | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
James was more frightening, Machen more haunting. I genuinely cannot decide so would have to be on the toss of a coin. Heads - James. Tails - Machen. It's James... | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
I've not read either but I own one book by each of them. The Machen book is thicker so I'll vote Machen | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
You've not read M.R. James or Arthur Machen!!!! I am flabbergasted and just a little bit jealous, Weber. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.123 |
'M.R. James or Arthur Machen' This is daft! I must say, though, that I have got more pleasure from reading James, am more held by his work. His stuff just sits together so nicely, feels as though each word is considered. I do, however, like the idea of Machen... But really - like I said before; supernatural/ghost vs horror? I'm not even sure if the two can be so easily divided. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.123 |
Weber - that is a joke, isn't it? | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Nope. I've never read any Machen or James. I'll get round to it one day probably | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Weber, do it the way I did... get yourself a copy of the collected ghost stories of M.R. James and read one story a night in bed last thing before you turn the light off until you've finished the book. If you don't find yourself rushing to bed early for the next month or so and being plagued by weird dreams of leering faces and shambling hairy beasties I'll eat my proverbial hat! It is one of the most perfect bodies of supernatural fiction it is possible to imagine ever being written at any time and anywhere and you must read it for the horror genre to mean anything to you at all. That ain't hyperbole it's the plain truth... hmmm, I guess this means I would pick James over Machen (fractionally) - thanks Heads! | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.123 |
It's like saying you've not listened to a single Beatles track. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
Machen, Machen, Machen. Easy. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.123 |
James is so consistently good, though. Not a single duff tale. They should give it out on Desert Island Discs it's so perfect. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
"It's like saying you've not listened to a single Beatles track." Who are they? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.103.170 |
Machen. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
>> James is so consistently good, though. Not a single duff tale. I love James. No doubt. But Machen's much more complex. He gets my vote. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
Despite the pitch invasion from Machen and James fans. Poe manages to retain his unbeaten streak with a 6-1 thrashing of Leiber. So it's the final, the seemingly unstoppable brilliance of tournament favourite Poe versus the total football, sorry horror of Ramsey Campbell. You now have 24 hours to decide the champion. Poe V Campbell | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Poe | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.233.126 |
I get a deep, mystical sort of satisfaction from Machen - angels singing and all that, which is mildly curious since I'm not a religious person - and huge enjoyment from James's sense of place and history, not to mention the utter nightmarishness of his horrors. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.233.126 |
Poe versus Campbell?! Now that is silly beyond description. | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
I wanted Lieber to lose, not for any intelligent reasons such as preferring Poe, but because he knocked Lovecraft out (one of my faves) earlier in the competition. It seems that the football theme of this game has aroused loyal passions that will not bow to objectivity. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.208.112.226 |
Campbell (although if Ramsey wins on home turf it's akin to him having a Russian linesman). | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.47.159 |
Campbell | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 98.220.97.79 |
Poe. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Poe | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.51.128 |
Are we allowed to vote more than once now? If so: Campbell | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Campbell. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Poe. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Poe. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Poe... but it's unfair. No-one beats Poe, except Machen. It's like comparing a current football hero with the pre-booze George Best. Or a current guitar hero with Jimi Hendrix. Or a current porn star with Jeff Stryker. There's great, and then there's iconic. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.233.126 |
I kind of wonder what Poe would have made of ye landlord's urban horror . . . | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.51.128 |
Much as I admire his work, I actually prefer RC's stories to Poe's. I think that in the future genre historians and readers will look back on Ramsey and a handful of other writers as the Poes, Machens and Lovecrafts of their generation. | ||
| Colin Leslie (Blackabyss) Username: Blackabyss Registered: 02-2010 Posted From: 86.132.5.239 |
6-4 to Poe and he is the winner of the first ever Horror World Cup...phew. Now Horror tennis........ | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.202.180.203 |
That was entertaining. Thanks Colin. |