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Horror/Scary: October 06, 2010 Issue [#4000]

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Horror/Scary


 This week: The Unsparkly Undead - Zombies
  Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Greetings! I am a guest editor for the Horror/Scary Newsletter, and honored to be able to share some horrible thoughts in October, a particularly scary month.
~ Ben Langhinrichs Author Icon


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Letter from the editor



The Unsparkly Undead

Shambling and mindless, never stopping and always hungry, the zombie taps into our deepest fears from childhood. There are no magic silver bullets or crosses or incantations to make the zombies go away. We can't argue with them, persuade them to give us a chance, or trick them into going somewhere else. They smell us, they want us, they eat us alive. They are difficult to kill, and there are always more to take their place if we do, because the tiniest bite or scratch and their victims join in the shambling horde.

Worst of all, nobody is safe or immune. Our friends and loved ones may get bitten and turn on us, milky eyes no longer knowing us, teeth ready to tear out our throats and turn us into horrific monsters that never die and never sooth the terrible hunger.

A couple weeks ago, I went to Horror Realm, a convention for those obsessed by horror and particularly zombies. It is held annually in Pittsburgh, where George Romero's Night of the Living Dead was set and filmed. That movie sparked the modern zombie craze, although it certainly didn't invent it. I was at Horror Realm to meet various authors I have gotten to know on-line. One, I think it might have been David Dunwoody, author of Empire and many other zombie and horror novels and stories, talked to me about what was special about zombies.

When we write about zombies, he explained, the creatures don't take center stage. They don't think or have feelings, so we focus on the people who have to deal with them. The best zombie novels, he went on, show the humanity and inhumanity of people under intense, unrelenting pressure, with the zombies simply a prop to ramp up that pressure.

Zombies have also been described as a blue-collar horror because the people dealing with zombies aren't helped by knowing the right things or having the right background or having money or being beautiful, or any of the things which help people get ahead in our society. Zombies are the great equalizer - young or old, men or women, black or white, we all look equally like fresh meat to a zombie.

I should note that there are lots of types of zombies, slow, fast, mindless, sentient, but I have focused on the shamblers, as they are often known. In my Editor's Picks below, there are different types represented.

Sorry, I have to run. I hear moaning at my door.


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On a side note, I am the editor for the Short Stories Newsletter this week. My newsletter: "Those in Front of the CurtainOpen in new Window.



Editor's Picks



Editor's Picks

Please note, zombies are flesh-eating undead creatures, so the picks below are often rated 18+. Also, zombies come in many flavors, and I have given you a taste of different types. Yum!

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor


 The Kill Shot Open in new Window. [18+]
The world as we know it is fading away due to a cannibalistic sickness. Can it be stopped?
by P. Browne Author Icon


Ghouls Open in new Window. [18+]
Don't let death stop you living.
by Bilal Latif Author Icon


 Dog Leg Open in new Window. [E]
A short passive-aggressive zombie story.
by Warlock1111 Author Icon


The Trap Door Open in new Window. [13+]
Tommy's back, along with Josh and Brandon, trying to find where a trap door leads.
by Pacazac Author Icon


 Pallor Open in new Window. [18+]
A zombie Novella - the end of the world is here, but what does it mean to be human?
by Diaboliqua Author Icon


 Unstoppable Millions Open in new Window. [13+]
A lone zombie heralds the media apocalypse.
by Martin Rusis Author Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor


 Rise of the Flesh-Eaters Open in new Window. [18+]
My homage to the B-Horror film genre.
by BurningBeastie Author Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor


 Bodies Left Behind Open in new Window. [18+]
Zombies meet Revelation in this post-apocalyptic horror
by M. Rice Author Icon



 
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Ask & Answer


Feedback from my last newsletter, "The Origin of the BeastOpen in new Window.:

Loreli Author Icon If you like virus vampires, there is an RPG that's close to SteamPunk called Shadowrun that their vampires are made through a virus

         Thanks for the tip.

LJPC - the tortoise Author Icon Hi Ben! Thanks for the attention to monster lore and the tried-and-true shockers that may have been done one too many times. I think it's very true that any writer wishing to take on a classic monster had better come up with a new twist. Good newsletter. *Smile* -- Laura

         Thanks, Laura.

billwilcox Great beastie stuff Ben. Welcome to the team!*Cool*

         It's an honor.


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