FORGOTTEN BOOKS: TEN FOR OCTOBER

October is the month for scary books.  Actually, every month is the month for scary books but October seems particularly appropriate.  That being said, here are ten books that deserve your perusal this month -- some may not be the scariest or the best-known, and some may not be the most literate or well-written, but all are worth your time.

The Parasite by A. Conan Doyle, 1894  Although perhaps best know for his stories about Sherlock Holmes and of Professor challenger, Doyle also produced this effective short novel of mind control via mesmerism in the Victorian era, with a nod to doyle's beleif in occultism.

The Long Walk by Stephen King, originally published as by "Richard Bachman," 1979.  Dystopian novel about a deadly contest, and the basis of the current film.  This was the first novel that King wrote, begun while he was a freshman in college in 1966.  Some critics can see the influence of Vietnam and the Vietnam draft here, but I also see echoes of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery."  This is King as his bleakest and at his most gut-punching.

The Monster from Earth's End by "Murray Leinster" (Will F. Jenkins), 1959.  A survival horror story about an alien threat and mysterious deaths on a remote Pacific island.   Although a little clunky by today's standards, the book still reads well and compares well to John W. Campbell's ("Don A. Stuart") classic novella "Who Goes There?".  This was made into the film The Navy vs. the Night Monsters in 1966 -- a movie that would have been completely forgettable except for its star Mamie Van Doren, ably assisted by Anthony Eisley, Billy Gray, Bobby Van, and Pamela Mason.

At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft, 1936.  Lovecraft had many faults as a writer, but he sure could turn out an effective horror tale.  This short novel, written in 1931 and published in three parts in the March, April, and May issues of Astounding Stories, is arguable his most accomplished story, and certainly my favorite of his output.  An Antarctic expedition encounter ancient ruins within a mountain range that is higher than Everest...unknown prehistoric life forms...millennia-old sculptures and murals.., shoggoths...star-shaped snow mound...mysterious dissections...the Elder Things, the spawn of Cthulhu and the Mi-Go...and the horrifying sound of tekeli-li! tekeli-li!  This one was heavily influenced by Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" and W. Clark Russell's The Frozen Pirate.  Since 2010, director Guillermo del Toro had hoped to make a film of the story, but circumstances have prevented it; he announced this year that the film will probably be not made.  A shame, because I would have paid good money to see it.

A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson, 1958.  Yeah, i  could have gone with I Am Legend, or The Shrinking Man, or Hell House, but this lesser-known novel is also worthy of your attention.  Tom Wallace suddenly gets a psychic ability to ear the private thoughts of those around him; then he begins to hear a message from the afterlife.  There was not much of a market for horror or supernatural books in 1958, so the publisher marketed this one as "a novel of suspense."

Ghosts by "Ed McBain" (Evan Hunter), 1980.  An 87th Precinct mystery, included here  because of a short passage (about two pages) which has haunted me for 45 years.  The rest of the book is also good, but this passage is bone-chilling.

Helltracks by William F. Nolan, 1991.  A phantom train,. a psychotic serial killer, and the parallel story of a Montana farmer searching for his missing daughter.  A chilling and rare dark fantasy novel from a skilled writer.

Gila! by "Les Simons" (Kathryn Ptacek), 1981.  Ptacek's first novel, and the only one under the Simons pseudonym, was the work that led her to be known as "The Gila Queen."  A tribute to  the giant monster films of the 50s, Gila! is a quick and pulpy read of giant Gila monsters rampaging their way through New Mexico.  Pulp is may be, but it is slyly written and a hoot to read.  Ptacek went on to edit the Women in Darkness anthologies, and to publish eight romance novels under various pseudonyms, as well as six well-regarded horror novels under her own name.  As Kathryn Grant (she had been married to writer Charles L. Grant until his death in 2002) she published a trilogy of fantasy novels.  She is also the editor of the very helpful The Gila Queen's Guide to Markets.  {Ptacek was born in Albuquerque, which by coincidence is where Christina and Walt are driving to this morning to pick up Mark.)

Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon, 1961.  A very different vampire story as only Sturgeon could write.

Bad Ronald by John Holbrook Vance, 1973.  A creepy and disturbing suspense novel about an unwanted and unseen visitor.  The basis of a 1974 made-for-television film.  Later printings were under his Jack Vance by-line.