Ancient Images by Ramsey Campbell (
ISFDB,
Wikipedia) is an old-school horror novel involving the horror coming out of horror films, originally published in 1989 by Charles Scribner and now free courtesy of re-publisher Samhain, who are apparently branching out into varying their freebies even more.
I approve of this increased variety, even though I'm even less likely to read horror than romance, as far as their regular offerings go. Hopefully for their bread-and-butter romance readers they will still continue to offer a bi-weekly supplementary romance freebie as well instead of replacing them entirely.
Currently free @
B&N and slated for free at
Amazon (linked for your pricedrop-check convenience).
Description
A lost horror film holds the key to terrifying secrets.
The legends have persisted for decades of a lost horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi that was never released. Rumor has it that, for reasons long forgotten, powerful forces suppressed the film and burned all known prints. Nobody now living has seen the finished film. But that might no longer be true…
Film researcher Sandy Allan is invited to a screening of a newly discovered sole-surviving print, but then the film disappears and the real horror begins. Sandy’s search for the film leads her to Redfield, a rural community known for its rich soil, fertilized by blood from an ancient massacre. But Redfield guards its secrets closely, with good reason. During every step of her search, Sandy is watched, shadowed by strange figures. Is it paranoia, or is someone—or something—determined to keep the lost film and the secrets it reveals buried forever?