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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Category Archives: Horror
John Wyndham’s “Web”
John Wyndham (1903-1969) is one of those authors who falls into the category of “famous writer that you’ve never heard of.” A number of his novels are undeniable classics that were made, and remade, into movies and television series multiple … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Science fiction
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Basil Copper’s “And Afterward, the Dark”
I’ve been reading and blogging about the works of Basil Copper (here, here, & here) over the past few months, and have a nice backlog of his works to go through. Most recently, I finished the second of his collection … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Basil Copper’s “From Evil’s Pillow”
It is always a great joy to discover the works of an author that I’ve previously been completely unaware of. Recently, I started reading the works of Basil Copper (1924-2013), thanks to the Valancourt Books re-release of his 1974 novel … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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Halloween Treats 2013
Every year since I started this blog back in 2007, I’ve been posting a collection of “Halloween Treats”: classic short stories of horror that are freely available to read on the internet. You can read my previous editions: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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H.G. Wells’ zombies
These days, zombies are everywhere: from television series, to movies, to books, even to television commercials. If you were to ask people how this craze got started, most would point back to the classic 1968 film Night of the Living … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Science fiction
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Basil Copper’s “Necropolis” and “Into the Silence”
Thanks to a busy workload over the past few months, I’m way behind in my blogging on a variety of topics! I thought I’d start catching up first on my backlog of weird fiction, as I’ve been reading an immense … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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John Blackburn’s “A Scent of New-Mown Hay” and “The Flame and the Wind”
Valancourt Books has been releasing new editions of classic John Blackburn books faster than I can blog about them! I’ve spent a fair amount of time talking about Blackburn on this blog, and with good reason: he was an amazing … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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The Challenge from Beyond, with Moore, Merritt, Lovecraft, Howard, and Long
No matter how much classic weird fiction I read, there is still plenty out there that I have not read, or even heard about. Recently I was surprised to learn about a five-part tale of weirdness, The Challenge from Beyond … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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A few intriguing Valancourt Books releases!
Been very busy with work lately, trying to meet some deadlines before the start of the Fall semester. In the meantime, I thought I’d say a few words about a few recent Valancourt Books releases that I read on my … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Richard Le Gallienne’s “The Worshipper of the Image” (1899)
I have been arguing for some time that there is much more of a connection between horror and science than is generally appreciated. In fact, I explore this relationship in detail on my Tumblr, Science Chamber of Horrors. Occasionally, however, … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Horror
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