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Dr. Drib · 08-07-2022, 10:50 AM

Just an update on fans of Norman Prentiss, who also visits this horror Forum.

I finally started his novel, Life in a Haunted House. I'm 57% into it. It's a fine - but understated - horror novel that (for me) I can relate to on a personal level. This is a novel that explores those who were influenced by horror movies during the (I think?) period of the 1960s. But it's also about how we connect with friends and with family, and how these connections sometimes get broken and/or crossed and how we sometimes lose our way, which means we sometimes lose who we are. In many ways, I see it as a coming-of-age story, using some of the familiar horror tropes that many of us recognize due to our shared love of this genre.

Personal info: In the mid 1960s I started reading Famous Monsters of Filmland and then in 1969 I discovered Castle of Frankenstein, and a host of other magazines devoted to horror. I remember listening to Old Time Radio on a small transistor radio as I lay in bed at night, preparatory to falling asleep. This was in Japan during the period of 1961-1964. I listened to Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, I love A Mystery, The Whistler, and so many other wonderful OTR shows - almost every single night. About this time I discovered the wonderful Universal Horror films of the 1930s and 1940s. The theater on base (in Japan) had every Saturday morning - for 25 cents! - 1 newsreel covering WWII, 2 Loony Tunes cartoons, and a serial. We were in that theater for hours, and I loved every minute of it! Every week, for years! Years later, I realized that this is what my parents and (possibly) some grandparents must have experienced during the 1940s. This sense of discovery. This sense of the magic that embraced our active imaginations.

For me, Mr. Prentiss captures much of what it was like to be a child totally immersed in all things labelled 'horror' and 'fantastic'.

There's no real overt horror in this book. So far. But that's perfectly fine with me, because I see this novel as a serious work that makes inquiry into those things that I just mentioned.

Norman Prentiss is a very fine writer, and I very much admire his work.

I just want to say 'Thank you'.

08-07-2022, 10:50 AM	#2244
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,492 Karma: 60119087 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Just an update on fans of Norman Prentiss, who also visits this horror Forum. I finally started his novel, Life in a Haunted House. I'm 57% into it. It's a fine - but understated - horror novel that (for me) I can relate to on a personal level. This is a novel that explores those who were influenced by horror movies during the (I think?) period of the 1960s. But it's also about how we connect with friends and with family, and how these connections sometimes get broken and/or crossed and how we sometimes lose our way, which means we sometimes lose who we are. In many ways, I see it as a coming-of-age story, using some of the familiar horror tropes that many of us recognize due to our shared love of this genre. Personal info: In the mid 1960s I started reading Famous Monsters of Filmland and then in 1969 I discovered Castle of Frankenstein, and a host of other magazines devoted to horror. I remember listening to Old Time Radio on a small transistor radio as I lay in bed at night, preparatory to falling asleep. This was in Japan during the period of 1961-1964. I listened to Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, I love A Mystery, The Whistler, and so many other wonderful OTR shows - almost every single night. About this time I discovered the wonderful Universal Horror films of the 1930s and 1940s. The theater on base (in Japan) had every Saturday morning - for 25 cents! - 1 newsreel covering WWII, 2 Loony Tunes cartoons, and a serial. We were in that theater for hours, and I loved every minute of it! Every week, for years! Years later, I realized that this is what my parents and (possibly) some grandparents must have experienced during the 1940s. This sense of discovery. This sense of the magic that embraced our active imaginations. For me, Mr. Prentiss captures much of what it was like to be a child totally immersed in all things labelled 'horror' and 'fantastic'. There's no real overt horror in this book. So far. But that's perfectly fine with me, because I see this novel as a serious work that makes inquiry into those things that I just mentioned. Norman Prentiss is a very fine writer, and I very much admire his work. I just want to say 'Thank you'. Last edited by Dr. Drib; 08-07-2022 at 10:53 AM.