I was driven to the dark side by you.
The psychological warfare you declared on my soul
was swift, brutal, embracing and total; for that is what you do,
the use of my fears, you coveted and stole.
You climbed into my bed and ravaged me late at night,
it is not an accusation, more of a memory of the first line
we shared, and then forever, I have kept you in sight,
even with you missing from the night time, your nightmares became mine.
One of the foremost British horror writers of any generation, James Herbert, died yesterday aged 69 and left a huge hole in the genre and millions of fans around the globe grieving for his passing.
The master of psychological horror had given his readers terrifying blood curdling moments through-out a 39 year career that started in 1974 with the release of the book The Rats and finished only recently with the paperback release of the 2012 novel Ash.
Tom Ellis and Suranne Jones in The Secret Of Crickley Hall. Picture from the B.B.C.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Suranne Jones, Tom Ellis, Douglas Henshall, David Warner, Sarah Smart, Iain De Caestecker, Olivia Cooke, Maise Williams, Bill Milner, Kian Parsiani, Pixie Davies.
It seems odd that the premier 20th century British horror writer, James Herbert, has never had many adaptations of his copious amount and in most cases prestigious work. What has been filmed has been woeful at best and an affront to British Horror at its seedy worst. For the B.B.C. to pick up the option to one of the great writer’s latter works, the sadistic and suspenseful The Secret of Crickley Hall is a coup for both writer and television viewer.
Originally published by L.S. Media. September 10th 2012.
James Herbert has been the undisputed master of British Horror for the last 40 years. His books have thrilled millions and his writing has been loved all over. Aside from Stephen King, he is the very embodiment of spine-chilling terror.
In his first book for six years he re-visits an old character in David Ash, last seen in The Ghosts of Sleath in 1994. Whilst it is plain for his legion of fans to acknowledge that he still has the command to influence your darkest thoughts, to terrify the reader into a unconscious state of trepidation and despair, his books have become staid in parts, overblown and disturbingly grandiose which is not the reason the public fell in love him.