One of the strangest and darkest of professions is that of the sin eater; people paid them to consume the sins of a recently deceased person. This was done so the departed could avoid a miserable fate in the afterlife and prevent them from haunting this world as an unholy spectre. From as early as the 1600s, right up to the early 20th century, becoming a sin eater was a viable, if somewhat macabre line of work. Originating from folklore and…
Happy Halloween, have a great weekend and whatever you’re doing please stay safe. © Colin Lawson Books Top^ Suggested posts:New Website Design12 Funny Horror Movies Worth Watching TonightVideo: Stephen King, His Books, and Their Origins at Lisner AudiotoriumWhat Stops You Writing Your First Book?
The history of Halloween is long and complex but here’s a video sharing a lot of information in a short six minute presentation. The video brings a lot of known information together with some lesser-known details such as the fascinating legend of Stingy Jack. Treat the video is a broad overlook of the Halloween origins which will lead you to to further research of your own. It’s intriguing stuff! Video: The History Of Halloween – Halloween Traditions Explained Video Credit:…
For me, the golden age of horror movies ran between the 1920s and the 1960s mainly in the USA and then 1960s to 1970s in the UK . The movies produced in this timeframe were classic films that stood the test of time and stand up against any of today’s contemporary offerings. Some of the finest actors in horror movies were introduced by Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount followed by the British studio, Hammer Film Productions. Here I…
Growing up in the 1970s and ’80s means I was fortunate enough to be present in the early days of home computers and games consoles. It was, however, the 1990s that saw me discover and explore the horror genre to the full via video games. Through video games I was able to slake my thirst for all things horror via the games being released. Games that blew me away with their cutting edge graphics, atmospheric audio and immersive story telling….
A fascinating documentary from 2011 about Gerald Gardner (13 June 1884–12 February 1964) and the religion he created in England during the 1940s – Wicca. Personally, I feel this documentary would be better titled, ‘The Man Who Made WICCA’. Anyone in the know will tell you witchcraft predates Wicca by quite some time and while the two compliment one another, they are separate entities. Then again, the followers of Wicca are used to non-believers holding misconceptions about them. Some of…
Social media is an important part of getting the latest information out there. At the moment, Facebook is the number one source many people access to find information they need. With this in mind the official Colin Lawson Books author page is designed to provide fun and factual information for Facebook users, horror fans, readers and writers, as well as the latest news from Colin Lawson. It’s not purely a way to sell product like many other Facebook pages out…
If you’re looking for help with anything, on any subject, it’s always best to seek out the advice of an expert, some who can demonstrate their expertise. So, if you need help with writing horror who do you seek out? Who better than the master of horror, Stephen King? How about an hour and twenty minutes of pure gold from a writing genius? Are you up to it? Here it is and you’ll love what King has to say. How…
We all love horror movies (or why else are you here?) and many of us enjoy comedies too but rarely do the two genres come together with any level of success. When I’m talking about less successful film attempts at horror/comedy alliances, movies that simply failed to achieve much horror or comedy when combining the two, I’m thinking of the deplorable ‘Scary Movie’ franchise as a prime example. The original may have been a fresh spin on things but after…
A good movie can entertain and stay with you for a while. A great movie/movie scene can change the way you and the rest of society think forever. Here are a few examples of when that happened:- Swimming in the sea/Sharks – Jaws (1975) Ever since the release of the movie Jaws many swimmers have entered the water and immediately heard the dreaded music that heralded the approach of the shark in the Spielberg classic, half expecting an ominous shadow…
