Morbid Hermit

That doesn't appeal to me either, although I'm probably not exactly part of the Mills and Boon target audience anyway..!

Are you referring to The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey? I think his 'modern' version of Satanism is a bit less OTT than the older traditional stuff, and actually encourages respect towards animals. Strip away some of the occult-related malarkey such as the enochian keys, and it's more about just releasing your potential and appreciating your individuality - a kind of new-age self-help manual, with some naughty bits thrown in to spice it up!

Reading through Robert E. Howard's short stories at the moment in 'Haunter of the Ring and other Tales', from the Wordsworth 'Mystery and Supernatural' series.

Granted, but they are all homemade films of questionable quality. I wish I could speak every language fluently.

As chrysalis_stage previously mentioned, H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe wrote some tremendous short stories. Plenty of the older horror writers wrote some great short stories actually... Bram Stoker for instance is mainly known for the full-length novel Dracula of course, but he also wrote short stories such as The Judge's House which I really like. I think Montague Rhodes James (usually just known as M.R. James) is regarded as the master of old fashioned short ghost stories. Check out 'Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James' to read almost all of them in one book! 'Oh Whistle and I'll Come To You My Lad' in particular is generally referred to as a great example of the genre. I suppose his stories would be considered very tame by today's standards, but his work was more about creating a certain eerie feeling where the reader's imagination takes over, rather than being explicit.

The Burning Plain

Hehe, sorry Charm! But surely that's better than sending me to jail! Or perhaps not! Granted, you can eat whatever you want without putting on any weight, but the food loses its flavour and it feels like you're just eating soggy cardboard. I wish I could do convincing impressions of anyone I wanted to 'do'. ("You get nothing for a pair, not in this game!" etc.)

I am 33, almost 34.

Granted, but whenever you wish to fly, you have to sing that awful 'I wish I could fly right up to the sky' song by Keith Harris and Orville! I wish I was the best arm wrestler IN THE WORLD!

beyond mere human understanding, and...

Granted, but your fairy king is a golf enthusiast, who talks endlessly to you about golf. Golf, golf, golf... all the time! Even if you like golf, it really gets too much! I wish I could drink as much alcohol as I wanted without unpleasant side-effects.

who haunted his dreams. However...

Granted, you are confined to a nice little padded cell where you can mess around all day every day. I wish I was the ruler of THE WORLD!

to serve his god called... (I need no points! )

Yvette probably doesn't even believe in this kind of thing IMO - she's establishing her new 'brand' in modern popular culture. It's like American wrestling! If one genuinely believed in this stuff, they wouldn't turn it into a programme, or jokingly pose behind a gravestone when they appear in 'Come Dine With Me'! They would be so terrified that they wouldn't dare dabble in such matters ever again!!

Thanks peeps! Scarlette, I suppose even my inherent morbid hermitude can have its 'perky' moments too!

My pleasure! I haven't seen Serial either, but it certainly seems well worth watching! It's funny in the book, they initially tell him the role he will play in Serial has a 'different side to his character', and he thinks: here we go, it'll be some typical horror twist, like he'll turn into a werewolf or something... but when they say he's a gay biker he becomes even more keen to do the role as it's something so different to what's expected from him! I adore the old Hammer Horror films too, and it's endearing to read about how Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were such good friends in real life.

'Tall, Dark and Gruesome' by Christopher Lee is worth reading for anyone with any interest in this great actor. It's a very informative, quite gentle read, detailing not only his well known horror roles, but also some unexpected ones I wasn't aware of (such as when he played as the homosexual leader of a biker gang in 'Serial', a role he loved for being so different to the kind of character he's often stereotyped as!) It also includes charming annecdotes about people he worked with, such as the late, great Peter Cushing who he speaks of with great affection. And, of course, the man himself recently received a knighthood!

I usually just use scraps of paper, or anything else of the required size which is to hand... but my sis used to collect proper bookmarks and I can see the appeal of them.

An additional point about Frankenstein - there are two versions available, one is the original 1818 text, and one is the slightly revised one from 1831... So bear that in mind when researching it for your homework, in case there are any subtle differences!

Hehe, well, glad to be of service then... Yes, I was impressed with finding The Devil and All His Works, particularly so cheap (on that day, the shop also had an old hardback copy of Lord of the Rings which I got for the same price - it's often worth a little look around charity shops when one has a spare moment!) I will have to seek out Toby Jugg in the near future!

Thanks for the warm welcome, people! I have already pottered around here since I joined last night, and this forum seems to have a pleasant atmosphere.

Ah, fair enough! Just a month or so ago I got Wheatley's non-fiction book 'The Devil and All His Works', an old hardback for just 1.50 from a charity shop. It shows how much research he's done when it comes to the occult (though he always warns his readers not to become involved with it).

Hi! I think you'll like both of those, then. Actually, those were the two of Dennis Wheatley's books which were made into Hammer Horror films, both starring Christopher Lee, who was a friend of Wheatley's.

You can't go wrong with the frequently mentioned Dennis Wheatley's black magic novels... Paradise Lost is classic but more of a poem, which has already been stated. (And, incidentally, the name of a brilliant band..!) For a slightly more 'modern' book (well, 1980's I think) I would recommend Son of the Endless Night, by John Farris, about demonic possession.