Horror people are basically big kids. None of us ever really grow up. Oh, most of us pay our bills, maintain a home, grunt our way through a job. It's hard to get around that stuff. But inside, where it counts, we are a bunch of overgrown children. We like it that way.
Most of us began our obsession with horror at very young ages. I know I did. The first scary movie I ever saw was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Yeah, it's a silly movie, but I was very young, and it scared the hell out of me. I couldn't sleep that night. And I couldn't wait to do it again. From then on I watched every horror movie I could. I read the horror magazines and comics. I read horror fiction paperbacks when I was old enough for that. I've been doing it ever since.
Being a horror fan is a happy life. We still believe in the magic. When the lights go out and the movie starts, or we read the pages of a good creepy book, ghosts and monsters become possible. Even probable. Not that many of us really, truly believe in vampires and werewolves, but we want it to be so, and we suspend our rational disbelief.
Horror people seem more alive, more vibrant, than the dreary individuals we endure at our day jobs. The dead-eyed automatons in line at WalMart. Our hearts haven't died.
So, naturally, we want to share that gift with the children in our lives. They love it. That's why so many continue to celebrate Halloween, why spooky animated films succeed, why a substantial amount of children's books deal with the supernatural and the fantastic.
I can think of no greater gift to a child than to expose them to the joys of horror. I'm not talking about blood and guts. That can come later. I mean fun, mildly scary stories that ignite the imagination.
Which at last brings me to The Zombie Who Cried Human, written by Brian James Freeman and illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne. It's a beautiful children's book from Cemetery Dance Publications.
CD has dealt in children's horror before, with Richard Laymon's The Halloween Mouse, and with F. Paul Wilson's The Christmas Thingy. Now they are at it again with The Zombie Who Cried Children.
As the title suggests, The Zombie Who Cried Children is an homage to The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Yes, there is a lesson involved, but it isn't too heavy-handed. Kids don't want literary lectures, they want a cool story. The Zombie Who Cried Human is morbid enough to qualify as cool for today's jaded youth, but it is gentle enough to assuage the concerns of parents.
I preordered The Zombie Who Cried Human not once, but twice. I bought one for myself, and I snagged another on one of the Cemetery Dance half-price sales. I took the second copy to my dealer's table at Scares That Care Weekend recently, and an excellent parent or guardian quickly grabbed it up. I charged what I paid for the book, and was glad to pass it along to someone.
My wife and I have two granddaughters. They are learning to love horror, and to see it as fun and imaginative. A positive force. They love the Scares That Care Weekend, and the week before the convention we had them overnight. Before bedtime I laid between the girls in bed and I read The Zombie Who Cried Human to them. They loved it, and I loved reading it to them.
I spoke of the gift of introducing children to the exhilarating joys of horror, but another great gift is to teach them about the wonders of beautiful books. Cemetery Dance publishes some of the best books in the world, and The Zombie Who Cried Human is a gorgeous edition. The book is attractively designed and it has wonderful illustrations by the incomparable Glenn Chadbourne. Then there is Freeman's cool story. If all that isn't enough, the trade hardcover is a very reasonable nineteen dollars. There's a paperback for a bit less, but you'll want to spring for the hardback with this one.
The Zombie Who Cried Human is the first in a series called Friendly Little Monsters. I fervently hope it is successful, as I will buy every one of them. For the children in my life, and also for myself. I always have, and always will, love children's literature.
Written by Mark Sieber
Most of us began our obsession with horror at very young ages. I know I did. The first scary movie I ever saw was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Yeah, it's a silly movie, but I was very young, and it scared the hell out of me. I couldn't sleep that night. And I couldn't wait to do it again. From then on I watched every horror movie I could. I read the horror magazines and comics. I read horror fiction paperbacks when I was old enough for that. I've been doing it ever since.
Being a horror fan is a happy life. We still believe in the magic. When the lights go out and the movie starts, or we read the pages of a good creepy book, ghosts and monsters become possible. Even probable. Not that many of us really, truly believe in vampires and werewolves, but we want it to be so, and we suspend our rational disbelief.Horror people seem more alive, more vibrant, than the dreary individuals we endure at our day jobs. The dead-eyed automatons in line at WalMart. Our hearts haven't died.
So, naturally, we want to share that gift with the children in our lives. They love it. That's why so many continue to celebrate Halloween, why spooky animated films succeed, why a substantial amount of children's books deal with the supernatural and the fantastic.
I can think of no greater gift to a child than to expose them to the joys of horror. I'm not talking about blood and guts. That can come later. I mean fun, mildly scary stories that ignite the imagination.
Which at last brings me to The Zombie Who Cried Human, written by Brian James Freeman and illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne. It's a beautiful children's book from Cemetery Dance Publications.
CD has dealt in children's horror before, with Richard Laymon's The Halloween Mouse, and with F. Paul Wilson's The Christmas Thingy. Now they are at it again with The Zombie Who Cried Children.
As the title suggests, The Zombie Who Cried Children is an homage to The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Yes, there is a lesson involved, but it isn't too heavy-handed. Kids don't want literary lectures, they want a cool story. The Zombie Who Cried Human is morbid enough to qualify as cool for today's jaded youth, but it is gentle enough to assuage the concerns of parents.
I preordered The Zombie Who Cried Human not once, but twice. I bought one for myself, and I snagged another on one of the Cemetery Dance half-price sales. I took the second copy to my dealer's table at Scares That Care Weekend recently, and an excellent parent or guardian quickly grabbed it up. I charged what I paid for the book, and was glad to pass it along to someone.
My wife and I have two granddaughters. They are learning to love horror, and to see it as fun and imaginative. A positive force. They love the Scares That Care Weekend, and the week before the convention we had them overnight. Before bedtime I laid between the girls in bed and I read The Zombie Who Cried Human to them. They loved it, and I loved reading it to them.
I spoke of the gift of introducing children to the exhilarating joys of horror, but another great gift is to teach them about the wonders of beautiful books. Cemetery Dance publishes some of the best books in the world, and The Zombie Who Cried Human is a gorgeous edition. The book is attractively designed and it has wonderful illustrations by the incomparable Glenn Chadbourne. Then there is Freeman's cool story. If all that isn't enough, the trade hardcover is a very reasonable nineteen dollars. There's a paperback for a bit less, but you'll want to spring for the hardback with this one.
The Zombie Who Cried Human is the first in a series called Friendly Little Monsters. I fervently hope it is successful, as I will buy every one of them. For the children in my life, and also for myself. I always have, and always will, love children's literature.
Written by Mark Sieber
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