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Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Guest Post: Kristopher Ruffy
Prank Night: Origins
by Kristopher Rufty
I stink at self-promotion. I do. I am absolutely terrible at it. Even before I was published, self-promotion was hammered into my skull with a railroad spike (and I'll tell you this, it makes it hard to wear hats with an eleven-inch spike jutting from the top of your head) and I knew even then that I'd be terrible at it. Honestly, I've never been very effective when talking about myself.
And that brings me to this post for Not Now, Mommy’s Screaming. I figured since horror authors have taken over Not Now to share our love for Halloween, I should probably mention my Halloween-themed book, Prank Night, and what influenced its writing. Since I’m horrible at promoting myself, I figured I’d talk about its origins—basically, what books, authors, movies, and filmmakers influenced it.
I love Halloween, love it. From Carpenter’s classic Halloween movie and its slew of sequels, to Night of the Demons, and its subsequent sequels all endure annual viewing each Halloween season. At my house, we never truly stop celebrating, though we give it a high-octane boost, starting during the last two weeks of September. Starting with sweet, yet creepy treats, we make our way to the decorations and ultimately, carving a host of jack-o’-lanterns. It’s always a fun time that we’re sad to see go on November 1st.
But I digress... Where was I? Halloween. Right. Being a horror fanatic, a love for the spooky holiday is a given. It’s as important in the Rufty household as Christmas and birthdays.
For a long time, I’ve wanted to write something scary that takes place on Halloween night that couldn’t be compared to any of the popular movies I mentioned previously, or the abundance of great novels out there that deal with our beloved holiday. As I sat down to write Prank Night, I kept the movies I love and the novels in the back of mind at all times. Since I’ve already mentioned some of the movies, I’ll delve a bit into the authors and their works that influenced my hair-raising tale of a holiday that turns on Autumn Creek, a town that thrives on Halloween.
Al Sarrantonio has written—and continues to so—a series of novels, novellas, and short stories set around a fictional town he calls Orangefield. David Robbins loves Halloween as well, and has written a few novels about kids in peril on the spookiest night of the year. One of his books even shares the same title as my novel—Prank Night. I read it after finishing mine and can honestly say they are like night and day. Lisa W. Cantrell wrote two books, The Manse and Torments, centered around a haunted house attraction, where not all the monsters and ghosts are fake. These are good books. I read The Manse the first time when I was sixteen after buying it a drugstore while waiting on my then-girlfriend (now wife) to pick out nail polish. It still has the bookmark my wife made me tucked inside.
All great authors, all great books.
But the one author who influenced Prank Night the most has never written a novel centered on Halloween, at least, not that I’ve read.
And that author’s name is Gary Brandner.
Some of you might be scratching your heads, wondering where you've heard that name before. Mr. Brandner is the writer behind The Howling. No, not the excellent Joe Dante-directed and John Sayles-written movie from the early eighties, no not quite. It was “based” on Mr. Brandner's book, but there were a lot of liberties taken in the adaption. But the movie is probably my absolute favorite werewolf flick, with Silver Bullet coming in at a close second.
Gary Brandner wrote the original novel back in the late 70’s for a publisher looking for the next Salem’s Lot. It has many similarities to Dante’s film, but even more differences. I don't want to do a book to film comparison, because I'm sure those are already out there, but any fan of the movie should definitely check out the book. Then follow it up with Brandner's sequels: The Howling II and The Howling III.
Both of these books are fantastic reads, and no, they have nothing to do with the film sequels that followed Joe Dante's original. So please don't get them confused. Sadly, Gary Brandner passed away a couple years ago, but I did get to know him a little on Facebook. Being the fan I am, I cherished each instant-messenger chat we had. He was even there in a consoling role when my cat, Maddie, passed on. She was old and crabby to everyone but me, and it hurt me deeply to let her go. Gary was there, as a friend, with kind words of encouragement that I still value now.
I also want to guide folks to some of his other titles. When I first began reading his books, I started with The Howling series, but in a weird order. I read part III first, then went back and read the first two. No, it's not because I can't count, although many would dispute this, it's actually because most of his books are out of print (unless you own a Kindle, you can now buy the Howling trilogy and many of his other titles on Amazon for around three bucks each!) and I had to either scour used book stores to find them, or order them from online book dealers. I now have almost all of his horror books, including a Cemetery Dance limited edition hardcover that’s signed by Mr. Brandner himself. I want to get his sci-fi stuff, and even the saucy books he wrote years ago.
Here are a few I want to recommend you either start with, or jump into after you've completed The Howling books.
Floater:
This book beat Final Destination by two decades. It's not “death" picking off those who escaped him. It’s about a teenager who's wrongfully, albeit, accidentally killed, only to become a "force" of his own. He comes back for revenge ten years later. And the use of an invisible killer that is more of a force of nature has many similarities to the later Final Destination series and my debut novel, Angel Board.
What’s scarier than an unseen killer that can be anywhere you are, including your mind?
The Brain Eaters:
For a "germaphobe" such as myself, this book was the ultimate terror. Parasites that enter through open sores on your body, only to turn you into a lunatic before you explode, showering all those nearby with even more of the parasites. Oh yeah—they also multiply in your brain! This book made me want to wear rubber gloves everywhere I went, and to cover my face with a surgical mask. This one is a must read!
Carrion
What would you do if you had the power to bring the dead back to life? Would you ignore it, or embrace it? Would you abuse it? Well, those are questions that we are forced to answer when reading this horrifying novel.
Fame and fortune come, but just like with anyone, it only lasts for fifteen seconds.
And what if those that were resurrected didn't want to be? Now that they’re back, would they be angry? Violent? In this book, they are all that and more.
A terrifying read.
In all his books, Brandner does a great job of making the reader believe that no one is safe. The reason they’re so affective is because no one is safe. In Prank Night, I wanted that to come across very early, while keeping the following chapters coming in quick, breakneck speed that doesn’t slow down. Much the way Brandner did in The Brain Eaters. I wanted the threat to be very real, something that came out of nowhere at any time, the way he made the invisible killer to be in Floater. And I wanted the characters to be punished for seeds they’d planted long ago, the fruit that was produced to be angry and vengeful. Brandner did this in Carrion.
What I covered here is just the tip of the iceberg that is Gary Brandner's career. I highly recommend these to begin with, and of course, The Howling series. And when you do read them, please let me know what you think. I love chatting up Brandner's books.
Now wasn’t I supposed to promote my novel Prank Night? Yes. Did I?
Eh...sort of.
Without Brandner, there wouldn’t have been a Prank Night. His books have influenced me from the get-go, and I hope that when you read his stories, you enjoy them as much as I do. And when you’re finished, maybe you’d like to check out Prank Night for a good, Halloween scare.
Just like in any given Brandner story, no one is safe in Prank Night. No one.
About the Author:
Kristopher Rufty lives in North Carolina with his wife, three children, and the zoo they call their pets. He's written the books The Vampire of Plainfield, Jagger, Bigfoot Beach, The Lurking Season, Pillowface, and more. If he goes more than two days without writing, he becomes very irritable and hard to be around, which is why he's often sent to his desk without supper.
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