On September 16th, Harper Colllins will be releasing THE BOOK OF LISTS: HORROR, AN ALL-NEW COLLECTION OF SPINE-TINGLING, HAIR-RAISING, BLOOD-CURDLING FUN AND FACTS (SRP: $14.95), which is exactly what you think it is… a head-spinning (all the way around) concordance of lists (favorites, bests, worsts, the underrated, the overrated, the forgotten, the unknown, the classic, the seminal) written by and for horror fans.  Not strictly focused on movies (although fright films do account for a shocking percentage of the book’s contents), these lists cover literature, music, poetry, movie posters, you name it.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I should point out that I’m one of the many contributors to THE BOOK OF LISTS: HORROR, which puts me in the strange but happy company of novelists Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Poppy Z. Brite, Jack Ketchum and Ramsey Campbell, horror comics visionary Steve Niles, film directors James Gunn, Edgar Wright and Eli Roth, late great rocker Johnny Ramone, Video Watchdog  editor/publisher (and Video Watchbloger) Tim Lucas, my fellow VW contributor Kim Newman (a frightfully prolific novelist and film critic in his own right) and many, many more.  (Those I’ve neglected to mention shouldn’t feel in any way slighted, as in all official press releases I too am lumped into the “and many, many more” category, being an all together lower wattage name on the marquee of this production.  But that’s okay – there are no bad seats at this freakshow.)  The book also boasts an introduction by cartoonist Gahan Wilson, whose bizarre take on life has influenced my own worldview ever since I began sneaking my Dad’s Playboys into the bathroom.  Which, come to think of it, is where I read the lion’s share of THE BOOK OF LISTS and where I will no doubt learn a lot from my fellow contributors to THE BOOK OF LISTS: HORROR.  This project is the red-handed stepchild of the original BOOK OF LISTS, an international best seller compiled by Irving Wallace back in 1977 with the assistance of his son David Wallechinsky and daughter Amy Wallace.  My family had that un-put-downable volume in our house and I think it eventually turned to powder from overuse.  I think you’ll find THE BOOK OF LISTS: HORROR equally compelling, even if horror movies aren’t your cup of tea.  The editors of this latest stab at list-making are original BOOK OF LISTS editor Amy Wallace, Scott Bradley and Del Howison, proprietor of the legendary Dark Delicacies horror bookstore in Burbank, California, and editor of the Dark Delicacies anthologies of horror fiction. 

Amazon.com is currently offering THE BOOK OF LISTS: HORROR at the attractive presale price of $10.17.