Hopefully you enjoyed my first blog, or in keeping with my Bram Stoker theme, I should write, first “Journal entry” enough to arrive at this second. A strange title, but allow me to elaborate.
Growing up I was an avid consumer of both horror films, and horror books. Before “On Demand” television and more than three terrestrial channels to choose from, if you wanted to watch a late-night horror flick, you had to invest your time, put in due diligence, and stay up late into the night. Even into the early hours of the following morning. I did this on so many occasions to watch films released by Hammer House of Horror, my absolute favourites which I still repeatedly watch to this day. These were films produced under strict budgetary limitations, which nevertheless produced, in my opinion, some of the most iconic British horror movies ever made. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were, it seemed, ever-present, together with a raft of other stars of the horror genre. My favourite films from this stable were always the Vampire and Werewolf movies… Particularly the Werewolf movies. I also read many, what would now be termed “Pulp Fiction” horror novels. Gary Brandner’s series: “The Howling.” Guy N Smith’s werewolf trilogy (followed by two more similar books) to name just a few. As I got older, I discovered the works of Stephen King, reading the “Cycle of the Werewolf” (which became the film Silver Bullet) and it is no secret to those who know me, that my favourite film is John Landis’s amazing “An American Werewolf in London.” You get the idea.
In 2023 I wrote, and published a collection of short stories under the title, Eclectica. These stories were a mix of “light and dark”, hence the fictional play on words. One of the darker stories is titled, “Best Goon Brenn”, and is my take on the Cornish myth that we read about in my opening entry.
I wrote this particular story as a series of interviews, newspaper articles, witness statements and accounts, and although the characters and events are largely fictional, the geography and integrity of the myth, together with the 1995 investigation, are factual. In fact, the original prose is peppered with “facts.” My intention was to put a spin on the myth and turn my “Best Goon Brenn” into a completely different beast. There is a certain ambiguity in the story as to what this beast may be, but I think, looking at the first part of this particular “Journal entry” you can see where I was going with my thought process.
The book, Eclectica, comprises 11 short stories altogether and there will be no prizes for guessing that there is a “Vampire Related” story in the book also, though the title gives nothing of this away.
These two stories, therefore, are my versions and in someway, small tribute to my nights of staying up late waiting to see Peter Cushing’s character “Van Helsing” plunge a stake into Christopher Lee’s heart as he played the indomitable “Dracula”. Or for a Werewolf to be brought to ground with a silver bullet, or chased off a cliff by a “Pitchfork-Wielding” mob.
My books arrived from the printers at the start of December 2023, and, having kept the project a secret from friends and family, I gifted several of them as Christmas presents, thinking that they would be read, enjoyed, and put to one side on the family bookshelf.
Then, I had a message from my son, Elliott.
“I have just finished reading your book, Dad. I reckon Best Goon Brenn would make a great film.”