It’s the most wonderful week of the year! Tuesday marks the day when ghosts and ghouls and goblins and ghastlies come out to play. Not down our street so much, but then we do have an honest-to-goodness cemetery at one end. It may be a little too real for the tinies in bedsheets. Even more terrifying, November 1st marks the starting gun for 2023’s Nanowrimo! As ever I will be banging out the word count, although this year’s attempt aims to finish off a previous project than starting something fresh. I’d love to hear from you if you’re up for the challenge. This chapter of the newsletter is dedicated to the wild-eyed rebels who choose November to let their inner novelist out. I salute you, and welcome you as a friend and fellow traveller.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
Alastair Bonnett’s Off The Map. A fascinating treatise on the corners of the world which Google Maps has not been able to reach. A celebration of the mysteries which still surround us and of topophilia, the love of place. It’s a fast read, but deep and surprisingly affecting.
Rob is watching…
Rob is listening…
This is such a gorgeous head rush of a tune. Once, I would have sneered at the very idea of anyone daring to cover The Boss. I have mellowed over time. Nowadays, Bruce’s oeuvre is pretty much part of The Great American Songbook, and different interpretations bring a new relevance to old, familiar songs. Especially when a second track slips into the mix so neatly.
Rob is eating…
Friday night pizza. Store-bought veggie special is fine (Morrison’s made-fresh is always good) with posh tuna and an extra sprinkle of mozzarella on top. There never quite seems to be enough cheese. Cook it for slightly less time than the packet instructions but a bit hotter. If your oven has a pizza setting with heat coming from below, use it. The result will be worth that tiny extra speck of effort. I know, I should make my own base but it’s Friday night and Taskmaster awaits. No need to overthink it.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Backstreet Boys. Don’t you dare judge me. Like the top comment on Everybody makes plain – we all listen to them in secret.
Right, let’s begin with a Spooky Season primer. Lincoln Michel guides us through the realms of the uncanny, including a couple of excellent stories along the way. Snuggle in, take notes, let’s get creepy.
Joel Stein has been, along with many of his fellow Writers Guild members, on strike. I’m sure it’s been tough on him, but that’s not how he’s selling it. Sidebar: I offer solidarity to SAG-AFTRA in their continuing struggle, even as it hits very close to my own pay packet, and wish them luck in the latest round of negotiations. Stand strong, folks. You’ve got this.
After last week’s visit to AC’s Bar And Grill, let’s check out a bar you can actually visit. As more pubs close in the UK weekly, it’s heartening to read a success story of a place run with passion, care and a sense of humour. More power to their elbows!
Back to the scary stuff, with a rundown of the films which offer more than just chills and jump scares. Thrills of a different variety are, to my mind, a key component of the whole horror experience. When Lucy and Mina are lured into the embrace of that Eastern European count, they do so out of a certain kind of twisted desire.
Walk in the clogs of a chef and you’ll be pacing the hard yards. I devoured this account of Hank Shaw’s time in the kitchen of a hunting lodge. You have to admire the craft and graft he shows but boy howdy, I don’t envy him the hours, the work or the lack of thanks.
Horror and Disney don’t really go together, even if you include franchises like The Haunted Mansion and Hocus Pocus. It’s all just a bit too safe, really. So I was highly amused by the tale of an animated short which went a little too close to the bone for the Mouse House’s liking.
I don’t know if the following is fiction or not. It reads like a wild mix of The Amityville Horror, Poltergeist and even The Blair Witch Project. The account of a house with a dark history and a host of ghosts is deeply eerie, profoundly creepy and the perfect long read for this weekend. This one honestly haunted me.
These. Are. ADORABLE.
Lastly, Scott Hines at The Action Cookbook (my new favourite newsletter) offers up a few tips for those of you who want to switch up your doorstep game this Tuesday. You can do better than Haribo grab-bags!
There’s More To Trick Or Treat Than Candy
I’m running a little short this week—I have pumpkins to eviscerate and monsters to mash. Plus Nanowrimo prep is heavy on my brow. I hope to be back to full power next week. Let’s Outro with something appropriate from Halloween dress-up specialists Broken Peach. I am very much on board with the creepy cheerleader vibes, and they serve up this classic blast of Blondie with the right level of sass and verve.
See you in seven, ya groovy spooks.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 