Ashley Lister’s A-Z of Horror: T is for Torture

 nounthe action or practice of inflicting severe pain or suffering on someone as a punishment or in order to force them to do or say something. verbinflict severe pain or suffering on. In the real world torture should not exist and is indicative of a warped society. In fiction, particularly horror fiction, torture is a wonderful … Read more

Ashley Lister’s A-Z of Horror: Q is for Quarantine

Q is for Quarantine By Ashley R Lister   (Please note, a version of this article appeared in issue 17 of The Digital Dead).   “That would never happen.” I think it’s fair to say that these are words that most of us have said at some point during our careers as aficionados of the … Read more

Ashley Lister’s A – Z of Horror: O is for Omen

Start listing classic horror movies from the 70s and, after mentioning The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror, it won’t take long before someone suggests The Omen. The Omen (1976) was directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. According to Wikipedia: The story introduces Robert Thorn, the American Ambassador in Italy who adopts the … Read more

Ashley Lister’s A – Z of Horror: N is for Necronomicon

Necronomicon is a fictional grimoire, first appearing in the stories by horror writer HP Lovecraft, and later being mentioned by his followers. It was first referenced in Lovecraft’s 1924 short story ‘The Hound’ written in 1922, although its most nefarious author, the ‘Mad Arab’ Abdul Alhazred, had been quoted a year earlier in Lovecraft’s ‘The … Read more

Ashley Lister’s A – Z of Horror: M is for Mummy

by Ashley Lister It’s no surprise that we’re frightened of mummies. Firstly, mummies are associated with foreign cultures (Egyptian predominantly) and it’s long been a trope of the horror industry to demonise anything associated with foreign culture. When you consider that Dracula came from Eastern Europe to terrorise British citizens, that zombies have their heritage … Read more