Under a Black Rainbow

Over the last decade or two, we've been absolutely blessed with an embarassment of riches in terms of great television to choose from. Granted, it's all stupid and spread out across various overpriced providers now, but at least the shows are there (for now...).  Here are a few of the full shows that I've enjoyed during that timeframe that make for good watching during the spooky season. Is it all of them? No. I haven't seen every great show out there; I simply don't have the time for that. There will be plenty of great options missing from this list, but feel free to leave a comment about those worth checking out so others might know what else is good to put on the tube.  Most of the titles mentioned below (save for the first one) are single seasons, and were meant to be, so you won't have any trouble enjoying them for what they are. They were written as is and all have solid conclusions that don't leave nasty cliffhangers to a second season that never got ...

I always say I'm going to watch a ton of horror during the year and there usually ends up being a few things that tickle my fancy, but rarely do any of the previews make me yearn for more. A few movies piqued my interest in the last few years, but I've also not been watching a ton of movie-length stuff recently.  I'm trying to change that.  So here are a few of the horror/suspense/terror movies I've had on my list to watch for awhile and have finally gotten around to watching. I'll try to do one of these a week purely so you can have good options leading up to Halloween.  *     *     * "Cuckoo" (2024) 3/5 [In Theaters] I wouldn't consider this pure folk horror, but it definitely leans pretty heavy toward that way. The trailer was good, the movie was...interesting. The pacing was good and, while there were some interesting concepts within, I left the theater feeling pretty 'meh' about the whole story. Some smoothing out of narrative heavy-handed...

AUGUST  (0 books | 0 pgs) Obviously, I was unable to read as much as I have in prior months. September, however, is looking nice and ripe for some catching up on the books I meant to complete this month. If nothing else, I've already read 93 books and had planned on reading 80 for the entire year, so...not a bad time to take a break for a minute while life has its way with me.  August found me busy with two of the remaining four stops on the 2024 "Book Tour" I've tried to complete, with one event in Blue Springs netting me 16 book sales and my reading/signing event in St. Louis netting me 8 more book sales. I had the pleasure of meeting a ton of great people at the local event and can't wait to meet more at the Phantom Pages Festival on Saturday, October 5th .  I was inspired by several of the authors seen at the Blue Springs event, and decided to up my own self-promo game by buying a collapsible vinyl banner and creating some excerpted bookmarks.  I began helping...

  While completing work on my latest book (which you can purchase HERE ), I made it a goal to have more readings and get involved with more literary events in the hopes of widening my reach and, hopefully, growing my audience outside of my normal circles.  I was fortunate to have my first book release party at Afterword Tavern & Shelves here in KC back in April. It was a fantastic event and I've never seen so many of my people in one place to help support my literary endeavors. Even the bartenders were shocked at the turnout.  I'm fortunate to, again, get to do a reading and signing at Subterranean Books in St. Louis this month. It's a great little store and I'm looking forward to a ton of my favorite STL people to show up (and snag dinner with afterward).  And now I've gotten to meet some great word nerds around town who are putting on regular events to hype local authors. Through Sarah Wakeman , the Karma Community Market, and others, I'm getting the cha...

JULY (13 books | 5,733 pgs) 81.) SCP Redacted by G.D. Falksen (Stories, 211 pgs) | 2/5 82.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #15: The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints , by Nick West (Young Adult, 182 pgs) | 3/5 83.) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Young Adult / Novel, 768 pgs) | 5/5 84.) Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies by John Langan (Stories, 304 pgs) | 1/5 85.) Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul Tremblay (Stories, 476 pgs) | 2/5 86.) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Young Adult / Novel, 912 pgs) | 5/5 87.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #16: The Mystery of the Nervous Lion , by Nick West (Young Adult, 160 pgs) | 3/5  88.) The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski (Novel, 285 pgs) | 3/5 89.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #17: The Mystery of the Singing Serpent , by M.V. Carey (Young Adult, 146 pgs) | 3/5 90.) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Young Adult / Novel, 688 pgs) | 5/5 91.) Harry Potter and th...

JUNE  (13 books | 4,561 pgs) 68.) This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances by Eric Larocca (Stories, 240 pgs) | 3/5 69.) Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories (Stories, 184 pgs) | 3/5 70.) X-Men Epic Collection: The X-Cutioner's Song by Jim Lee (Graphic Novel, 280 pgs) | 3/5 71.) X-Force Epic Collection: Assault on Graymalkin by Fabian Nicieza (Graphic Novel, 496 pgs) | 3/5 72.) Small Horrors: A Collection of Fifty Creepy Stories by Darcy Coates (Stories, 266 pgs) | 2/5 73.) Dead Relatives by Lucie McKnight Hardy (Stories, 213 pgs) | 4/5 74.) We Spread by Iain Reid (Novel, 289 pgs) | 5/5 75.) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Young Adult / Novel, 368 pgs) | 5/5 76.) The Dark Tower, Book 2: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (Novel, 459 pgs) | 5/5 77.) Burn You the Fuck Alive by B.R. Yeager (Stories, 380 pgs) | 3/5 78.) Phoenix Omnibus Vol. I by Chris Claremont (Graphic Novel, 688 pgs) | 4/5 79.) The Nightmare Dimension by David Conyers (Stories, 234 pgs...

  MAY (17 books | 4,475 pgs) 51.) Mimi's Tales of Terror by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 224 pgs) | 4/5  52.) The Liminal by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 211 pgs) | 4/5  53.) Soichi by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 413 pgs) | 1/5  54.) Tombs by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 343 pgs) | 4/5  55.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #5: The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure , by Robert Arthur (Young Adult, 152 pgs) | 4/5  56.) The Umbrella Academy Boxed Set by Gerard Way (Graphic Novel, 568 pgs) | 2/5 57.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #6: The Secret of Skeleton Island , by Robert Arthur (Young Adult, 158 pgs) | 4/5 58.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #7: The Mystery of the Fiery Eye , by Robert Arthur (Young Adult, 164 pgs) | 4/5  59.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #8: The Mystery of the Silver Spider , by Robert Arthur (Young Adult, 184 pgs) | 4/5  60.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #9: The...