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Buffy the Vampire Slayer– #1 Now and Forever

Nope, not biased at all here. I unashamedly admit that I am a huge fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer— and especially of Rupert Giles, who is one of my favorite fictional librarians ever. I hooked my husband, watching it on my grainy television with him well before we ever got married; I converted my best friend after the DVD’s came out, one episode at a time.

So I can’t say I’m surprised that Entertainment Weekly chose it as the #1 cult TV show of the past 25 years. The thing about Buffy The Vampire Slayer is that it taps into things that are truly scary– I have never been able to go back and watch The Body.

And also, Rupert Giles is an inspiration, at least for this mild-mannered librarian. Ruthless, determined, witty, patient(sometimes), able to find obscure answers and motivate teens to learn and use vital research skills, doing his best to save the world. Monster Movie Month is over, but that doesn’t mean you should stop searching for ways to connect horror readers to the best of what’s out there… and Buffy has translated into many mediums, including some fantastic graphic novels. I love No Future For You, from Season 8. It’s written by Brian K. Vaughan, who also wrote Y: The Last Man and Runaways, both great graphic novel series in their own right. There are books based on specific episodes, original works that take place in the Buffyverse, and so much more. Hey, if Twilight can inspire huge numbers of people to read Fifty Shades of Grey, just imagine the directions intelligent and witty writing  inspire!

In the meantime, my kids are asleep, and I think I’m going to sneak in Halloween, from the second season, where Giles’ true colors start to emerge from beneath the tweed.

 

Monster Movie Month: Guest Post by Becky Siegel Spratford- Marketing Horror All The Year Through

Well, we’ve reached the end of Monster Movie Month. If you’ve been following along, you have a lot of background information, resources, and recommendations for both movies and books at your fingertips, on topics from Asian ghosts to killer rats. So how do you use all this to get horror movies and fiction into the hands of likely readers? We asked Becky Spratford, author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror, Second Edition (reviewed here), which includes an entire chapter on marketing horror, to share her expertise, and she wrote us this guest post.

 

 

Marketing Horror All the Year Through

By Becky Spratford

 

One of the biggest questions I get from my fellow librarians is how they can best market their horror offerings throughout the year.  Of course it is easy to get patrons to notice horror in October.  Every other marketer in the world is priming the public for all things scary, so when people walk in the library, they are horror hungry zombies, looking for their next meal.  We have to do little more than place the horror books within their line of sight, and patrons snatch up the books by the handful.

 

Ah, but the rest of the year we do not have the entirety of mass media working for us; we have to try just a little bit harder. But as daunting a task as it may seem, marketing horror to your patrons during the other 11 months of the year, is not as difficult as you might think. I have 2 easy ways you can seamlessly incorporate horror into your general work marketing books at your library.

 

First, let’s talk about traditional library displays.  Most of you out there probably put up a big horror display in October.  But why aren’t you doing it other times of the year?  The most common answer is that you think your patrons aren’t thinking about horror outside of October.  But in the last few years this is not necessarily true.

 

Let’s take the first 6 months of 2012 as an example.  In April, we saw the release of The Cabin in the Woods, a terrific and popular haunted house movie.  In May, there was the Johnny Depp vampire soap opera Dark Shadows and in June, the king of mash-ups, Seth Grahame-Smith helped to bring his bloody, smart, and amusing novel, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter to the screen.  Each of those movie releases had their own marketing campaigns that resulted in buzz about them among the general public.  For each, a small display could have easily been created.

 

You begin by putting up a graphic of the movie poster on regular 8 ½  by 11 paper (just do a Google image search for the movie) next to a handful of books.  Then you grab some books that are connected with the movie.  So for Cabin in the Woods, you could pull out some haunted house books, vampire books for Dark Shadows, and some comic horror novels for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.  Displays do not need special shelving.  Just put books out anyplace where you have space.  For example, at the Berwyn Public Library, we put these small, current event displays up on our desk, on a top shelf that we keep clear to rotate with impromptu displays, and even on small side tables in our seating areas.

 

These current event displays not only show your patrons that you understand their interests, but they also make a trip to the library easier for them.  Patrons are daunted by the large number of books on our shelves, so anything we can do to pull out good books for them, makes them less intimidated and more willing to browse.  And, displays linked to current media darlings are a sure fire crowd pleaser.

 

But how do you choose the books?  Here is where I can help.  In my new book and on its companion website, I have a lot of lists that would help you to identify titles that you could highlight.  I am even fine with you using my annotations, as long as you cite where they are from.  In the book I have entire chapters on haunted houses, vampires, and comic horror that include long annotated lists of popular titles available at most public libraries.  On the website, RA for All: Horror, I use tags on each post.  You just need to choose a tag, like vampires, and all of the relevant posts come up.  There are literally hundreds of options at your fingertips.

 

Another way you can work horror into your displays throughout the year is to simply include a few horror titles in the mix in your larger, more planned displays.  For example, we have done displays featuring coming-of-age stories at our library.  Since this is such a popular theme in novels, on the display we included books from every genre.  There was literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, suspense, and horror, just to name a few.  As I argue in my new book, a coming-of-age theme is huge in all horror.  In most horror novels, the protagonist has to overcome his own shortcomings, face his inner demons, and grow up before he can defeat the physical monster in front of him.  So what horror books can be included on a “Coming-of-Age” display? Any you want.

 

What about a display on gardening? I have lots of “plants of terror” titles to suggest to you in  my book or on the blog, but here are two of my favorites– The Ruins by Scott Smith and The Caretaker of Lorne Field by Dave Zeltersman.

 

This plan works with just about any theme.  If you just make an effort to incorporate horror into all of your displays, I am sure you will find a tale of terror to fit most displays.  The moral here is to consciously mix all genres into your displays.  You will have more fun, and you will make a wider range of patrons happier.

 

My second tip for marketing horror all year also plays off of the media.  I mentioned a marketing strategy for one-time movie releases, but what about the excitement we are seeing for popular horror television series throughout the year?  Again, let’s stick with just the first 6 months of 2012 and talk about two of the most popular series on television, period– AMC’s The Walking Dead and HBO’s True Blood (okay, technically True Blood is paranormal, not pure horror, but trust me, I will address that in a moment).

 

The Walking Dead ran on TV in the winter and spring, while True Blood is currently running this summer.  For each series I took a different marketing approach at the library.  For The Walking Dead, I focused on a web campaign of all things zombie.  On my blog, I ran many Walking Dead inspired posts and worked hard to incorporate book suggestions in these posts.  I did this throughout the run of the show, culminating with a display of zombie books in the library during the week leading up to the finale.

 

True Blood was a little more difficult, since its fans are mostly those who like paranormal stories.  In paranormal, the main thrust of the story is NOT to invoke fear, as it is in horror.  The scares come, but they are not the overall point of the work.  As a result, some horror fans do not like paranormal and vice versa.  But, that doesn’t mean NO horror fans like True Blood.  To address the wide range of appeal in the TV series and the book series, a few years ago, I created this list of Sookie Stackhouse read alikes broken up by appeal.  I considered all of the reasons you may like the series and included plenty of horror options on the list.  This list is available online and in the library and is one of most popular lists.

 

I hope I have inspired you to consider marketing horror throughout the year.  The popularity of horror TV series and movies today proves horror’s staying power.  And if huge production companies think it is okay to push horror during the other 11 months of the year, why shouldn’t you?  We have way less to lose than they do.

 

And don’t be scared of helping your horror patrons.  They are not monsters, they just like to read about them.

 

Becky Spratford is a busy Readers’ Advisor. Between manning a desk at the Berwyn (IL) Public Library and corrupting the minds of library school students at Dominican University, she runs two popular and critically acclaimed RA blogs: RA for All and RA for All: Horror.  Her new book The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 2nd edition (ALA Editions, 2012) is available now.  She also writes content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and is a proud member of The Horror Writers’ Association.  She can be reached at bspratford[at]hotmail[dot]com.

 

 

 

 

 

Monster Movie Month: Eaters of the Dead and The Thirteenth Warrior- Review by Wendy Zazo-Phillips

 

As we finish off Monster Movie Month, we have one more book/movie review to share here on the blog.  It may be that you don’t think of Michael Crichton’s Eaters of the Dead as a horror novel, or of The Thirteenth Warrior as a horror movie, but when you are helping horror lovers find their next fix, think big! Our reviewer, Wendy Zazo-Phillips, notes below that neither the book or movie are primarily focused on the horrific aspects of the story, but there’s certainly enough darkness, gore, and terror within the pages to make it attractive to some kinds of horror readers–there are horror fans who specifically seek out historical horror, for instance. While some horror readers and movie watchers are very specific in what they like, others are willing to really stretch their boundaries, so it definitely doesn’t hurt to identify some possible crossover titles. Enjoy!

 

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Harper, 2009 (Reprint edition)

ISBN: 978-0061782633

Available: Paperback and Kindle

 

The Thirteenth Warrior, directed by John McTiernan and Michael Crichton (uncredited)

Original Release: Touchstone Pictures, 1999

DVD Release: Walt Disney Video, 2000

 

 

 

When I chose this movie and novel for Monster Movie Month, I recognized that they weren’t conventional selections: no paranormal circumstances, no chainsaws, and not a sex-crazed teenager to be found. However, when considering Eaters of the Dead and The Thirteenth Warrior’s sinister characteristics, the inherent gore, and the terror of the antagonists, the wendol, I submit that these works still fit the bill nicely.

 

According to the afterward, The Eaters of the Dead was originally written on a dare issued by a friend of Crichton in 1974, who claimed the epic poem Beowulf was a “great bore.” The author had read some of the manuscripts of the real Ibn Fadlan in college and decided the ancient chronicler would be the perfect narrator for the Northmen’s quest to rid themselves of the “monsters of the mists.”

 

For both versions of the story, the plot is relayed to the reader/viewer by Ahmed ibn-Fadlan, ibn-al-Abbas, ibn-Rasid, ibn-Sulayman; an employee of the Caliph who falls out of favor and is sent as an ambassador to a far-away king, for all intents and purposes exiled from his homeland. He travels north by caravan, where the Arab eventually meets a tribe of Northmen (Vikings) observing the passing of their king. The main contender for the throne is Buliwyf, a celebrated warrior who comes from another tribe. Shortly after the pyre ceremony, however, a messenger from Buliwyf’s homeland arrives, asking the warrior to come to assist the king, Rothgar, against a menace whose “name cannot be spoken.” The angel of death (a wizened woman) is called, and she assigns twelve other men to accompany him. Ibn Fadlan is named the thirteenth warrior, specifically chosen because he was not a Northman.

 

The band of Vikings journey over numerous days and nights, eventually finding the people of Rothgar’s kingdom beleaguered, their defenses almost depleted. (In the book, the unnamed menace is punishing the king for his extravagance and over-importance. In the movie version there seems to be no reason, except that it just happens from time to time.) The warriors help the remaining Northmen reinforce the battlements and manage the king’s treacherous son, who secretly craves the king’s throne. In the warriors’ first encounter with the mist monsters—a night raid on Rothgar’s great hall—Ibn Fadlan sees the cannibalistic beasts as “black, grunting shapes” with “gleaming red eyes” and covered with coarse, dark hair. After a couple of failed attempts to eradicate the creatures, Buliwyf finds his numbers rapidly dwindling and seeks counsel from a dwarf in the book; another angel of death in the movie. The adviser tells him that he must seek out and kill the mother of the wendol, though it will ultimately mean his death. (The dwarf even goes so far as to insinuate that Buliwyf has been acting in a way that is beneath him, that he needs to step up and be the hero he was meant to be.) They ultimately succeed in their mission, and in the end only four warriors (including Ibn Fadlan) survive the final battle. Buliwyf’s body is prepared and burned in the fashion of a great king, and Ibn Fadlan continues on his journey, eventually writing down his account of the adventure for future generations.

 

In my brief summary, I can do neither the book nor the movie justice. What makes both of them great is their treatment of the Northman culture, described in respectful detail by both mediums in their own unique way. Ibn Fadlan is completely unprepared for his encounter with the Vikings, and it is quite enjoyable and entertaining to watch him grow from a stranger with barely-veiled contempt of the Northmen to showing begrudging acceptance to finally adapting their ways completely, including drinking mead and enjoying Viking women. The warriors, as well, eventually accept the foreigner into their group, though not seamlessly: “You are an Arab,” Buliwyf observes in the book, “but no fool.” For Ibn Fadlan, who is the first to admit he is no warrior, this is high praise.

 

The main differences between the book and the movie are where each medium focuses its attention and how. In Eaters of the Dead, it is clear that Buliwyf is the hero. In The Thirteenth Warrior, most if not all of the story’s concentration is on Ibn Fadlan himself, played by Antonio Banderas. In the book, Ibn Fadlan pretty much spends the tale staying out of the warriors’ way and trying not to get himself killed. In The Thirteenth Warrior, Ibn Fadlan takes a more active role: he puzzles out where exactly to seek the mother of the wendol, and he figures out how the group eventually makes their escape from the wendol’s lair. Being the main protagonist and the box office draw, it does make sense that Banderas’ character would need more things to do to keep the character (and the audience) involved in the story; the added actions also serve to make the Arab more valuable to the mission and more heroic to the viewer.

 

Another difference between the two interpretations of Ibn Fadlan’s tale is the overall purpose of the telling. In the introduction to Eaters of the Dead, Crichton says that the chronicler’s style is of “an ambassador delivering a report; his tone is that of a tax auditor, not a bard; an anthropologist, not a dramatist. Indeed, he often slights the most exciting elements of his narrative rather than let them interfere with his clear and level-headed account.” When I first tried to read this book fifteen years ago, I found this style to be very boring and stilted. However, I’d like to think I’ve matured as a reader since then, because I now find Ibn Fadlan’s accounting of Buliwyf’s mission to be clean, detailed, and fast-paced. The reader does get the impression that, if the concept of nerd was understood in the tenth century, he would have been categorized as one. But it is an endearing quality, especially when the ambassador adapts the ways of the warrior so thoroughly by the end.

 

The movie’s purpose, in contrast, is boldly-executed action. The humorous scenes are more pronounced, the warrior’s characters more developed—the film uses a much brighter palate of colors and way-larger brush strokes to develop the story. I wouldn’t say that is gauche—quite the contrary, I love its pace and bawdiness—but it is clear that the movie’s main purpose is to entertain and thrill; the book, to witness a legendary journey, quietly allowing the story to speak for itself.

 

The Thirteenth Warrior tanked at the box office, and has yet to earn back its initial budget. While the making of this film was plagued by delays, rewrites, and other challenges, I think Touchstone still managed to produce a well-done product. The actors, especially the warriors themselves, do a tremendous job of filling out each character, most notably in their treatment of Ibn Fadlan as more-than-useless until he learned their ways. (The scene where the archer has to growl at him to not step in his line of sight, and how the warriors jested when he got seasick, both reminded me of my own more-than-useless existence right after boot camp.) I will say that I liked the development of the translator, Herger, more in the movie than in the book—if nothing else, he was more personable, and was he was used very successfully in the film to allow the plot to come up for air. While I was reading Eaters of the Dead, I found myself missing the movie-Herger’s quips.

 

In the end, I liked the book and the movie equally, but for very different reasons. I can highly recommend Eaters of the Dead for its ingenious, respectful retelling of a classic tale, The Thirteenth Warrior for its well-balanced application of suspense, action, and humor, and both to just about anyone who likes a good story full of culture, intrigue, and creatures too terrifying to be named.

 

Both contain: gore, suggestions of sexual congress, cannibalism

 

Reviewed by: W.E. Zazo-Phillips