I can't think of a better way to get into the Halloween spirit than listening (for free!) to Neil Gaiman read the first chapter of his brand new novel, The Graveyard Book. I'm currently about halfway through reading this novel, and it's fantastic. Press the play button on the widget below to listen:
LINK OF THE DAY: Today's Halloween link is the October 1, 2008 "Aural Delights No. 44" show from StarShipSofa: The Audio Science Fiction Magazine, which includes, among other things, a dramatic reading of David Kopsaka Merkel's "Flesh Eating Alien Vampire Sex On The Moon," and a commentary segment by yours truly about "Five 'Must Read' Stories for Halloween." (To avoid repetition, none of the stories I mention in my segment will be featured this month here on my blog.) Download the show here or listen to it live streaming here. I hope you enjoy it!
Also, be sure to visit
fungus_files and magicwondershow, both of whom are hosting their own daily October celebrations this year. Their posts are not to be missed!LITERATURE OF THE DAY: Today's story is a short but thoroughly spooky tale by William Fryer Harvey (1885-1937) entitled "August Heat." Don't let the title fool you; it's perfect for October!
Excerpt from "August Heat" by William Fryer Harvey:
He pointed to the end of the gravestone on which he was at work, and I sat down.
"That's a beautiful piece of stone you've got hold of," I said.
He shook his head. "In a way it is," he answered; "the surface here is as fine as anything you could wish, but there's a big flaw at the back, though I don't expect you'd ever notice it. I could never make really a good job of a bit of marble like that. It would be all right in the summer like this; it wouldn't mind the blasted heat. But wait till the winter comes. There's nothing quite like frost to find out the weak points in stone."
Read the complete story.
