Vintage Paranormal Books, Exploding Head Syndrome, and a Giveaway!

Every Day is Halloween #99: The Official Newsletter of Lisa Morton

Hi All!

I know my chatter has been pretty glum recently and I wish I could say things changed over the last few weeks, but…well, they haven’t. I’m still in Writer Purgatory, just endlessly waaaaaaaaaaaaaaitttttttting.

I have decided to go back to my first love and produce some new fiction, so I’ve begun a novella; at this point I have no idea what I’ll do with the finished product. I just NEED to drop into a world I’ve created for a while. I will still continue to create articles for my paid subscribers, because I do enjoy that non-fiction treasure hunt…but the research-heavy pieces take longer to create, while fiction is an instant, ongoing shot of mental serotonin.

At least spring has arrived, and work put into my garden throughout the year is paying off - everything’s blooming, sprouting, growing. When I was a kid, summer was my favorite season because I was out of school and could spend those warm months reading and watching horror movies. But now I no longer have that time, and, thanks to global warming, much of summer is a broiling slog. Fall is my favorite season, but spring is a close second.

A blooming pea plant in my backyard.

And one other pieces of surprise good news: Placerita, the novella I co-wrote with John Palisano, is in the running for the Rondo Hatton Award for Classic Monster Fiction! I had no idea this might happen, so you can imagine my surprise when I went to check out the awards list (as I do every year) to see what new book and DVD releases I might’ve missed, and there was our book. If you want to see the full list, just click the button below…and if you enjoyed Placerita and feel like voting for it, you have until April 20th (anyone can vote).

Thanks as always for tagging along with me.

Lisa

NEW STUFF I LIKE

Okay, I know this is cheating because this is NOT “new stuff,” but work with me here…

Excited by the idea of the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, I decided to revisit my favorite ‘90s/’00s television series, starting right from Episode 1 and working my way through all 144 episodes.

I’m currently wrapping up Season 2, and re-watching Season 1 with the advantage of distance and age was an eye-opener. Season 1 feels uncertain; it stumbles a lot. The cast is stellar right from the start, but the writing is still finding its way; the writers seem to have been uncertain about the mix of comedy, action and horror. They also couldn’t quite decide just how often Buffy should be the Vampire Slayer as compared to the General Supernatural Things Slayer. Who remembers the possessed ventriloquist dummy episode from Season 1? It’s a prime example of how the show occasionally fumbled in the dark too long.

But with Season 2 the writers found their groove and the episodes are one classic after another. My only complaint about Season 1 that carries over into the first half of Season 2 is that they still didn’t know what to do with Willow (who arguably goes on to become the entire series’ most interesting character). The first five episodes of Season 2 still consign her to being Buffy’s Lieutenant Uhuru, the dedicated sidekick who does little beyond using her technology skills and providing support. This is especially frustrating because Alyson Hannigan is plainly the most skilled comic actor in the cast, and yet most of the one-liners go to Nicholas Brendon’s Xander. Xander is also given a number of episodes that center on him, but Willow is not.

Then, Season 2 offers up one of the series’ best episodes - “Halloween” - and finally Willow is allowed to come out of the shadows more. Hannigan’s talents and appeal make the episode soar.

Now I’m interested in tracking how the writers continued to bring her more to the front.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is streaming on various services.

THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT

In my introduction, I mentioned how much I loved summers as a kid because I got to read.

Among the things I loved to read even back then were the paranormal paperbacks. My summers would often start with Mom driving me to a local used bookstore, where I could fill up on paperbacks for just a few dollars. I’d buy a mix of horror, science fiction, and books about ghosts and UFOs.

Yesterday I attended the annual Vintage Paperback Show here in L.A., and I always enjoy scouring the show for the kind of ghostly paperbacks I used to devour. The above is a prime example (although I certainly didn’t pay 50 cents for it yesterday!). These books always give me that same warm sense of nostalgia that Halloween does.

What gives you that feeling?

STRANGE DOINGS

Have you ever heard of Exploding Head Syndrome? EHS, to keep it short and sweet, is a condition that sometimes occurs during sleep, when an individual is suddenly awakened by loud, explosive sounds. What, you may be asking, does this have to do with ghosts?

EHS is one of the sleep disorders that was associated with an increased belief in the paranormal, according to a 2023 British study reported in the Journal of Sleep Research. The study also looked at those who suffer from sleep paralysis and other sleep disorders, comparing measurements of reported difficulty sleeping to belief in ghosts and the supernatural. For that latter part, the tests used the “Paranormal Assessment Scale,” which was created in 2015, although similar tests have been around since 1983 and are constantly being revised. These tests ask the respondents to rate how much they agree or disagree with statements like, “The soul continues to exist though the body may die,” or “During altered states, such as sleep or trances, the spirit can leave the body.”

What the study ended up concluding was that those who suffered from sleep disorders like Exploding Head Syndrome or Sleep Paralysis were likelier to believe in the existence of ghosts and aliens. Now, this might just make you think that those of us who are sleep-deprived are likelier to have some oddball thinking, but the study suggested it might go the other way, too: those who believe in malevolent supernatural entities might have more difficulty sleeping because hey – sleep happens at night, when things are at their spookiest.

The report wraps up with a little call for empathy (something we can all agree with): “The study findings can help support patients' experiences by increasing healthcare practitioners' understanding with regards to people reporting such events.”

BEHIND THE SCREAMS

“The Stone Tape and Ghostbusters: How Two Movies Helped to Define the Modern Paranormal Investigation” from Feminine Macabre Vol. VII

Women have been a major source of paranormal history, whether as legend (Circe, Erichtho), researcher/historian (Eleanor Sidgwick, Catherine Crowe), medium/psychic (Florence Cook, Helen Duncan), or purveyor of ghost fiction (Elizabeth Gaskell, Shirley Jackson). But when the idea of paranormal investigations gained in popularity in the mid-2000s, women seemed to be non-existent. The stars of the new ghostly reality series were all dudes, a situation that has changed only slightly twenty years later.

Fortunately, Feminine Macabre came along to address and correct that problem. Conceived by Amanda R. Woomer as a bi-annual journal, Feminine Macabre was first published in early 2021. Each issue is huge, packed with articles on history, philosophy, experience and more, all written by skilled, gifted women (full disclosure: I was honored to be asked to provide the foreword for Volume IV).

I knew I wanted to write an article for the journal, but it took me a while to find the perfect subject (for one thing, the earlier volumes have already covered a lot of ground!).

When I finally saw The Stone Tape (for the first time) two years ago, I knew I’d found my topic.

In case you’re not familiar with it, The Stone Tape aired in 1972 as a British television movie (this is actually why it took me so long to see it - I thought it was lost until it showed up streaming). As written by the brilliant Nigel Kneale, the story follows a crew setting up in an old mansion to produce a new, superior form of audio recording, and stumbling on a haunting instead.

If you follow paranormal research at all, you’ve heard the phrase “Stone Tape theory,” which suggests that certain objects (like a particular stone) can record and playback traumatic events from the past. Yes, that idea is at the heart of this remarkable 1972 movie, but no less amazing is the way the high-tech crew turns their equipment to solving the mystery of the haunting. It was the fast time that we saw this truly scientific approach to ghost investigation in a movie, and its impact is still being felt half-a-century later.

Just as influential, if not more so, is everyone’s favorite ghost comedy classic, Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters didn’t just slime box offices in 1984, it also gave us the image of the jump-suited investigator who finds ghosts by using handheld meters with flashing lights.

I suspect the modern paranormal investigation wouldn’t exist - or at least wouldn’t exist in the same form - without these two films. Hence, the gist of my essay for Feminine Macabre Vol. VII, and I’m so happy that it was accepted.

THE WRITE STUFF

I’ve talked before about the importance of developing good relationships with local bookstores, but I wanted to say a few words this month about genre specialty bookstores.

Here in Southern California, we’ve been privileged to have a number of genre bookstores over the decades, including A Change of Hobbit, Dangerous Visions, Mystery and Imagination, Mysterious Galaxy, and Dark Delicacies (I know that’s not comprehensive, but these are the ones that meant something to me personally). These stores don’t just provide a wide range of genre titles that you won’t find in a chain bookstore, they also serve as a focal point for community. They’re a place where readers and writers can come together to share a mutual love for a certain type of story.

Sadly, with the loss of Dark Delicacies (their last day will be April 5th), I’ve seen many local horror fans and creators wondering where they’ll gather now. Dark Delicacies has been a big part of our horror community. Even more sadly, though, is that L.A.’s genre specialists are nearly all gone now. Mysterious Galaxy is still around, but it’s in San Diego, too far for us Angelenos to drive for anything but a signing event.

All of this is to say: if you’re fortunate enough to live near a genre specialty bookstore, become a part of that community. Patronize the store. Become friendly with the owners and staff. Attend events there. When you have a book out, ask the store to stock it and maybe hold an event for it. Becoming part of your bookstore’s community will not only ultimately benefit your writing career, but will pay off in new friendships and fun as well.

NEWS & WORKS IN PROGRESS

For HWA’s ongoing “Nuts and Bolts” series, I had the pleasure of chatting with Tom Joyce about my favorite horror author and mentor Dennis Etchison.

Fumptruck, which includes my story “The Fool on the Hill,” is a finalist in the Anthology category at the Foreword Book Review Awards.

HWA’s next anthology, Scaring and Daring, is coming out on August 12, and check out that gorgeous cover below!

What I’m working on: the novella I mentioned in my introduction; an essay on the Jack Hill exploitation classic The Big Bird Cage; and one or two other things still too much in the early stages to talk about yet.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

• June 12-15 - I’ll be in Stamford, CT for StokerCon

THE WHOLE HAUNTED WORLD

In March I offered up my two-part take on the Bible’s most famous ghost story, Saul and the Witch of Endor (including how it ties into the insanely gory Roman tale of the witch Erichtho), and a few odds and ends. Coming up:

• The batshit crazy story of Simon Magus, the magician who challenged Christ’s apostles to ghost-summoning battles

• A brief history of Cagliostro, who just might be history’s greatest ghost hoaxer

WHERE YOU CAN BUY MY BOOKS

• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble

• Bookshop.org

GIVEAWAY

In honor of Placerita showing up on the Rondo Hatton Award shortlist, I’m going to give not one but TWO print copies, signed by both John Palisano and me! To enter, just leave a comment.

PLEASE NOTE: If you enter, remember that I will have to contact you via Substack to get your shipping address, so keep an eye on your messages around the end of April - I really want to give these away!

Thanks as always for reading this far!