Suspense, Mystery, Horror and Thriller Fiction

OCTOBER 2012

Visit With More of Today's Bestsellers SPENCER QUINN PETER MAY PETER JAMES SANDRA BROWN

Alma Katsu Brings You MODERN HORROR: ELEGANT READS FOR THE WITCHING SEASON TEN RULES FOR WRITING SHARP, FAST, & DEADLY With Catherine Coulter

CREDITS From the Editor John Raab President & Chairman October is my favorite time of year. It is the Shannon Raab Creative Director only month where all four major sports—football, baseball, basketball, and hockey—take place, and Romaine Reeves CFO we begin to leave the heat of summer behind for the fall foliage and cooler weather. However, you don’t Starr Gardinier Reina want to hear me talk about sports even though I Executive Editor could for probably the entire eighty pages of the Terri Ann Armstrong magazine. Instead, let’s take a look at horror. Executive Editor October is the month where horror fans unite Jim Thomsen and rejoice, since the movie channels play all the Copy Editor best horror movies. Many of the publishers also bring out their biggest scares and frights Contributors in October. While the horror genre has not been as popular among most readers in the Donald Allen Kirch past couple of years, hardcore horror fans are still delighted to see their favorite author Mark P. Sadler Susan Santangelo having no problem trying to scare the hell out of them. DJ Weaver Like I mentioned last month, horror is the one genre in which there are no rules and CK Webb Kiki Howell authors can take things from the other genres to create stories that chill the reader to the Kaye George bone. So with such a wonderful genre, why are authors and publishers shying away from Weldon Burge Ashley Wintters horror novels? I’ve asked myself this question many times and the only answer that I can Scott Pearson come up with is that horror has turned too much into gore, which is better on a screen D.P. Lyle M.D. Claudia Mosley than in a book. But let’s face it, we all love a good scare and a horror novel is the place to Christopher Nadeau turn. While they might give you nightmares, you can’t deny the fact that if it happens, the Kathleen Heady Stephen Brayton author is an incredible storyteller. Brian Blocker Andrew MacRae Arguably, one of the greatest storytellers of all time is Alfred Hitchcock. His writing Val Conrad is mainly horror, even though in today’s standards it might be considered more suspense. Laura Alden Melissa Dalton But the fact is that Hitchcock produced many of the greatest horror movies of all time. If Elliott Capon you take the Universal Studio tour in Hollywood, the tour guide points out his bungalow. J.M. LeDuc Holly Price You still drive along the grounds of the Bates Motel and the Psycho House, among the Kari Wainwright most iconic buildings in movies. David Ingram Bill Craig Yes, horror is a very important genre in Jodi Hanson writing and in movies, and one never to be Amy Lignor Susan May overlooked. It is a shame that we really only J.S. McCormick think about horror in the month of October, Kestrel T. Andersen Cassandra McNeil as it should be considered throughout the Jenny Hilborne whole year. Do yourself a favor and search out Tanya Contois Sharon Salonen some horror writers, either past or present Anthony J. Franze and give yourself a treat, not a trick. Enjoy Bill Craig Jeanine Elizalde the beauty of horror writing and the range of Kristin Centorcelli emotions that you feel when reading it and

Customer Service and you will see that the horror genre is not only Subscriptions: the most diverse writing genre, but the most For 24/7 service, please use our website, www.suspensemagazine.com or write to: emotional. SUSPENSE MAGAZINE at 26500 Agoura Road, #102-474 John Raab Calabasas, CA 91302 CEO/Publisher Suspense Magazine does not share our  magazine subscriber list to third-party Suspense Magazine companies. “Reviews within this magazine are the opinions of the individual reviewers and are provided solely to provide readers as- Rates: $24.00 (Electronic Subscrip- sistance in determining another's thoughts on the book under discussion and shall not be interpreted as professional advice tion) per year. All foreign subscrip- or the opinion of any other than the individual reviewer. The following reviewers who may appear in this magazine are also tions must be payable in U.S. funds. individual clients of Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine: Mark P. Sadler, Starr Gardinier Reina, Ashley Dawn (Wintters), DJ Weaver, CK Webb, Elliott Capon, J.M. LeDuc, and Terri Ann Armstrong.”

SuspenseMagazine.com 1 CONTENT SUSPENSE MAGAZINE October 2012 / Vol. 039

Stranger Than Fiction: Ouija!by Donald Allen Kirch ...... 3

The House Without Doors by David Floody...... 6

Modern Horror: Elegant Reads for the Witching Season by Alma Katsu. . . . 9

Excerpt of The Reckoningby Alma Katsu...... 11

The Madaline Incident by David Byrne...... 20

Hollywood Hexes: James Dean's Death Car by CK Webb...... 25

Excerpt of Treachery in Bordeaux by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noel Balen . . . . .28

Inside the Pages: Suspense Magazine Book Reviews...... 33

Suspense Magazine Movie Reviews...... 42

Featured Artist: Maria Jose Hildago Barranco...... 43

Rules of Fiction with Catherine Coulter by Anthony J . Franze...... 49

Why do we Love Horror? by Al Natanagara...... 60

Excerpt of Ice Fire by David Lyons ...... 61

St. Georges by Stanley Wilkin...... 68

What Does it Take to be a Successful Short Story Writer? by Jeani Rector . . . 73

The Ballad of Leonard and Maryby Steven Mace...... 76 By Donald Allen Kirch

OUIJA Innocent! and fun. Others see it as a SOME THINK OF IT AS A CHILD’S GAME. board game sold at any department store meant to pass the time on a stormy night. “Truth or Dare” has nothing on the “innocent” avenues that can be used to scare your date on a dark Friday night, than that of an Ouija board. The subject has received a lot of press over the years. A Ouija board is at the fictional heart of all the “Paranormal Activity” movies, and has been used as a center of drama in most thrillers. Simply put: they are scary! However, these ancient doorways are not to be taken lightly. At one time in human history, they were used to decide the fate of empires, to test the future for war, and to help guide royalty down the path of their earthly reign. Some have benefited from the advice given, while others wished they had taken it more seriously, and cursed the day they ever placed their hands upon the device and opened “the door.” The Ouija did not come into popular American culture until Kate and Margaret Fox started the spiritualist movement in 1848. They called it “spirit rapping” and had their tiny hamlet in upstate New York in a craze. The “game” became so popular, that even President Lincoln was known to host an occasional séance in the White House. Lincoln was said to have been given a dire warning by his board just before the breakout of the Civil War. Conventional history places credits for the modern Ouija board with a Baltimore-based toy company owned by William Fuld. He claimed to have invented the board around 1890. For a long time after the game giant Parker Brothers obtained the rights to the Ouija, they labeled each box with the phrase “William Fuld’s Talking Board Set.” Ouija was on its way! Norman Rockwell painted this picture during the height of Ouija Board madness

SuspenseMagazine.com 3 The origin of the name “Ouija” has its legends as well. Sellers of the device claimed that its name was an ancient Egyptian term for “good luck.” It isn’t. Fuld stated that it was a marriage of the French and German words for “yes.” That’s more likely. A more absurd explanation: an early investor of the invention stated that Ouija spelled out his “spiritual” name. In any case, mystery does exist. However popular an “American” pastime the Ouija board game is, it is not a modern a