The BHF Book of Horror Stories Book 12 Review 

The British Horror Forum Book of Horror Stories started life as a humble creative effort of a number of enthusiastic members the British Horror Film Forum. A forum now long since dead and never to be resurrected as a member of the undead.

The dead and the undead are main themes of this the twelfth edition of this book. A land mark issue for any horror anthology. 

Well what is this book like? With its Farrage face beaming at us with all the five million quid corruption grin it can muster. Well for a kick-off this edition has no connection to politics. At least that is not the intention of this volume. No, as the tag line suggests it is about the DYING, DEAD and UNDEAD. Which is the direction I hope Farrage's career veers toward.

I aim to review every story and I will do so in parts, so this is Part 1.

Let's get on with the tales:

THE MANY DEATHS OF JULIE-THE-JUNKIE A Flash McGrath Side-Step 
Ian Talbot Taylor 

Julie-The-Junkie has died many,many times. She has also lived out a multitude of lives where many of them end in rather violent circumstances. A punk/goth rebel who has grown jaded with her ability to be resurrected repetitively and ability to observe the many strands of alternative realities.
She is constantly bothered by the devil, who tries to get her to make a pact with him and turn to the dark side. And Flash McGrath, Julies boyfriend, who has accepted a deal with devil and now Julie is losing him throughout time and space.

Ian's story is cosmic in scope and contains a great deal of sci-fi elements without losing its horror footing. This story is part of wider arch, you can tell this short story hasn't began or ended with this episode and it is more of an entry within a wider epic.

This is something for those who like to mix genres and have their tales given a grand flavour.


VINEGAR AND BROWN PAPER 
Jez Conolly 


This one is a creepy one. I'm a big fan of urban horror. I mean why do people have curtains? The only reason why you draw your curtains is if your up to no good. Right?

Jez Conolly's story is disquieting and I hope I am not completely off base when I say this, but it also feels a little like "What if Alan Bennet had his characters eat each other".
The lead characters narration of the tale led me to trust him, I felt I was in safe hands with Peter, a passive, amiable man. Though he is far from ordinary like his mother and their eating habits are terribly extraordinary.

They seemed to love their food though, which must count for something.

This is local horror, it's not bombastic but that makes it all more the unnerving.

FACELESS 
Mark Humphries

A man in search for his lost brother finds himself looking in a rather rough club. His search so far is fruitless. He asks an evasive barmaid who appears not to want to answer his enquiries about his missing brother.

Or maybe she does and there is something else at hand here, something the barmaid is frightened to reveal. This night club also has live music, a band that the patrons are encapsulated by. Though the band  seem unremarkable at first there is also something uncanny about them.

Mark Humphries shows us another way a person can join a band. I have always wanted to be a lead signer of a rock band  but I never wanted to join a band the way Mark describes.