The Wraiths of War hits shelves from Titan Books tomorrow, October 11th, so we encourage our readers to continue reading today's Highlights for an exclusive excerpt from Mark Morris' new novel. Also: a new trailer for The Shelter, IFC's "Wake Up and Smell the Evil" Marathon, 360 Degrees of Hell VR experience, and photos / release details for the Slimer and Sloth pins.
Exclusive Excerpt from The Wraiths of War: Synopsis: "Alex Locke is desperately trying to hold onto the disparate threads of the complex web of time he has created. He travels to the First World War, living through the horrors of trench warfare in order to befriend a young soldier crucial to his story; then to the 1930s to uncover the secrets of a mysterious stage magician. He moves back and forth in time, always with the strange and terrifying Dark Man on his heels, gradually getting closer to uncovering the true nature of his destiny with the obsidian heart."
Written by Mark Morris, Wraiths of War is due out on October 11th from Titan Books. To learn more, visit:
Exclusive Excerpt:
As soon as I opened my eyes, I thought: I’m dead.
Around me I could see only white. I could hear no sound. When I took a breath the air smelled of nothing at all.
Is this what death is? I thought. A white nothingness? No pain? No sensation?
Or maybe I was in limbo. Maybe I was awaiting sentencing, poised between one direction or the other.
I didn’t know whether to panic or just lie there. I didn’t know whether I was even capable of panicking – or of any emotion, for that matter.
I felt… empty. Did I even still have a physical body? I could see, and I could breathe, but was that only a memory? Were my senses the equivalent of phantom limbs? And if so, how did I feel about that – assuming I could still feel, of course?
Nothingness was better than pain, wasn’t it? Well, wasn’t it? My last memory was of excruciating agony, of vomiting blood as my body turned inside out.
Anything had to be better than that. I’d suffered enough in my life to know that when it came to a choice between suffering and death, death was preferable.
But that was when I’d thought of death as oblivion, not awareness. Maybe, though, this was what death truly was? Eternal awareness. But awareness of nothing.
The thought was terrifying. Or at least it would have been if I’d thought myself capable of terror.
I decided to close my eyes, and was thankful to find I could do so.
When I opened them again, God was sitting next to me.
He was smiling. He had white hair and a white beard. Blue eyes in a wrinkled face.
‘Hi,’ I said, only mildly surprised to find I could speak. ‘Is it good news or bad?’
‘Good,’ God said. He was wearing a nice suit. It fitted him really well. It was a pale blue-grey colour that made me feel calm.
I sighed in relief – or at least in my head I did. ‘Thank fuck,’ I muttered, and then realised I’d sworn in front of God. I clenched my teeth in apology.
‘Sorry. That just came out. It’s just that I’m glad I’m not going… down there. I mean, I’ll admit I’ve done some dodgy things in my time, but overall I think—’
‘I’m not who you think I am, Alex,’ he said. ‘I’m not God.’
My mind felt like thick soup stirred slowly in a pot. I tried to think about what God had said. Was he trying to catch me out? I smiled – in my head, I smiled.
‘You must be God,’ I said, trying my hardest to remain respectful. ‘If you’re not him, how did you know that was who I thought—’
‘You’re still woozy from the procedure. Look again.’
Procedure? What procedure? I stared at him. His face looked familiar. But maybe that was because God looked like someone we all knew when we finally met him. Aren’t we all supposed to be created in his image, after all? Aren’t we—
Then the clouds parted and a shaft of light beamed straight down, and everything became clear.
‘Fuck,’ I said again.
God shrugged as if to say: Sorry to disappoint you.
‘When do I grow that beard?’ I asked.
The older me, who I’d mistaken for God, shrugged. ‘A few decades down the line.’
‘Bloody hell,’ I said, ‘you’re old. You’re the oldest I’ve ever seen you.’
‘Why do you think I left it so many years before coming back to this moment?’ said my future self. ‘It was to delay these insults for as long as possible.’
But he was smiling. He wasn’t really hurt by my comments, he’d been expecting them. After all, he must have spoken them himself years back, when he was me.
‘So I’m not dead then?’ I said, and realised that although I was pleased, I also felt wearied at the prospect of more life, more struggle.
‘Not now,’ my future self said. ‘You were, though. Technically. For about thirty-two minutes.’
‘Thirty-two minutes?’
‘Give or take.’
Fuck. I’d been dead. Another thing to tick off the bucket list.
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Watch the New Trailer for The Shelter: Press Release: "Written, directed and produced by John Fallon, The Shelter stars Michael Paré (Eddie and the Cruisers, The Virgin Suicides) in one of his most acclaimed performances in recent times.
Scream Horror Magazine says Paré “steals each and every scene” while Aint it Cool News says he “really gives it his all here, plunging to emotional depths I never thought he was able to do”.
Gayle James, Rachel Whittle, Amy Wickenheiser and Daena Turner co-star in “the smart man’s horror film” (Icons of Fright).
On a star-filled night, a widower and homeless man Thomas Jacobs (Michael Paré) finds shelter for the night when he falls upon a vast two-story house with the lights on and an inviting open front door. He strolls on in thinking he just caught a lucky break and for a while, it would appear as though he did. But soon enough, he realizes that the house won’t let him leave, as its doors are all locked while its windows cannot be opened or broken. Destiny has brought Thomas to this place. What does it want from him? Will he survive the ordeal?
The Shelter will be released in theaters and digital Nov. 4th and DVD January 3rd from Uncork’d Entertainment."
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IFC’s "Wake Up and Smell The Evil" Marathon Details: Press Release: "Cursed werewolves, dead fish-monsters and cheesy special effects can only mean one thing: a campy, B-movie horror flick. And they only get better with time.
Throughout the month of October, get into the Halloween spirit by watching IFC’s “Wake Up and Smell the Evil” movie marathons, airing every weekend morning. What better way to kick-off a Saturday than watching classic films such How to Make a Monster, Fiend Without a Face or The Horror of Party Beach. You’ll have no choice but to watch with the lights on!
"Wake Up and Smell the Evil" – Weekend Horror B-Movie Marathons:
Saturday, October 8th:
War of the Colossal Beast @ 7:00AM
Voodoo Woman @ 8:30AM
The Brain Eaters @ 10:15AM
Sunday, October 9th:
Cat Girl @ 7:45AM
The She Creature @ 9:15AM
Invasion of the Neptune Men @ 11:00AM
Saturday, October 15th:
Teenage Caveman @ 8:19AM
Creation of the Humanoids @ 9:49AM
Day the World Ended @ 11:48AM
Sunday, October 16th:
Blood of the Vampire @ 7:00AM
Earth vs. the Spider @ 9:00AM
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster @ 10:45AM
Saturday, October 22nd:
The She Creature @ 6:30AM
The Horror of Party Beach @ 8:15AM
Friend Without a Face @ 10:00AM
Sunday, October 23rd:
Teenage Caveman @ 6:00AM
Cat Girl @ 7:30AM
Invasion of the Neptune Man @ 9:00AM
Teenage Caveman @ 10:45AM
War of the Colossal Beast @ 12:15PM
Saturday, October 29th:
The Flesh Eaters @ 8:00AM
How to Make a Monster @ 10:00AM
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster @ 11:45AM
Earth vs. the Spider @1:30PM
Sunday, October 30th:
The Brain Eaters @ 6:00AM
Blood of Dracula @7:15AM
Undead @ 8:45AM
The Langoliers: Part 1 @ 11:00AM
The Langoliers: Part 2 @ 1:00PM
The Hills Have Eyes 2 @ 3:15PM"
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360 Degrees of Hell VR Experience: Press Release: "Recall Studios has released ‘360 Degrees of Hell’, a new horror VR experience for Halloween. The film stars Amanda Wyss, from ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, and Lauren Compton, star of Justin Lin's blockbuster VR experience, ‘Help!’
Directed by B Harrison Smith (Camp Dread, The Fields, Zombie Killers, the upcoming Death House), the experience follows up on events that transpired in Smith's ‘6 Degrees of Hell’, directed by Joe Raffa.
Shot inside one of the world’s freakiest Halloween haunts, the Hotel of Horror (www.hotelofhorror.com) in Saylorsburg, PA, the VR experience features real-life haunters inside this nationally ranked and renowned haunted attraction.
The immersive 360° sequel to Corey Feldman’s cult horror film ‘6 Degrees of Hell’ can be viewed for free by downloading the Recall VR app on both the Apple and Google Play stores and can be watched on YouTube 360:
Apple: Download it here (http://apple.co/2dScev8)
Google Play (Android): Download it here (http://bit.ly/2dA5Jdd)
YouTube 360: Watch it here (http://bit.ly/2dSe4Ms)"
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Slurpee Slimer Pin / Sloth Pin from Hippo Sausage and Pop Sticker Co.: ""He's an ugly lil spud isn't he?"
Slimer doin' his thing with slurpy in hand, ready to terrorise your city.
Pin sizes up to 1.25" soft enamel cut out with a single rubber clutch backing designed by the folks over at Pop Sticker Co. exclusively for Hippo Sausage & Friends.
$10.00"
To learn more, visit:
Super Sloth Pin from Hippo Sausage and Pop Sticker Co.: "Hey you guys!
Your favorite Goonie, Sloth, comin' to save the day, Baby Ruth in hand, of course.
Pin in hand at 1.25" made of a soft enamel cut out with a single rubber clutch backing, designed by the folks over at Pop Sticker Co. exclusively for Hippo Sausage & Friends.
$10.00"
To learn more, visit:
Tamika hails from North Beach, Maryland, a tiny town inches from the Chesapeake Bay.She knew she wanted to be an actor after reciting a soliloquy by Sojourner Truth in front of her entire fifth grade class. Since then, she's appeared in over 20 film and television projects. In addition to acting, Tamika is the Indie Spotlight manager for Daily Dead, where she brings readers news on independent horror projects every weekend.
The first horror film Tamika watched was Child's Play. Being eight years old at the time, she remembers being so scared when Chucky came to life that she projectile vomited. It's tough for her to choose only one movie as her favorite horror film, so she picked two: Nosferatu and The Stepford Wives (1975).
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