News

‘Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles: An Alphabettery’ in Bookstores Today

Published

6 years ago

October 23, 2018

Fans of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles have an all new reason to be excited today with a brand new companion book available in bookstores and from online retailers. Written by Rice’s longtime assistant, Becket, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles: An Alphabettery is a repository of every name, every place, every vampiric gift, featured in the 15 novel (and growing) series.

Encyclopedic in scope, filled with details that even the most devout fans might have missed, and stunning illustrations by Mark Edward Geyer, the Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles: An Alphabettery is a masterpiece, and Becket sat down to speak with iHorror on just how it came to be.

“She [Anne] was talking to her agent right around the release of Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis and the agent told her that she loved the book but she was having trouble remembering details from the Chronicles,” Becket explained. “She suggested she needed some sort of encyclopedia to remember all the names and places and Anne turned to me and asked if I would write something like that and I said sure I’d love to.”

Outside of the author herself, Becket might have been the perfect choice for this project. He discovered Rice’s books while attending his Catholic high school and became a lifelong fan. Several years later, when he was living as monk in a Benedictine monastery in New Orleans, he had the chance to meet the author when she needed a harpsichord to decorate for a book signing at a local bookstore.

The two became friends, developing a relationship via email and when a few years later, he decided he wanted to leave the monastery, not having taken his solemn vows, he wrote to Rice asking if she had any jobs available.

He went to work in her library and soon began traveling with her to book signings and interviews, helping coordinate her calendar. Before long, he was her personal assistant and they’d known each other for 18 years.

However even knowing the author personally and having read the books numerous times, the task of compiling the information was a daunting one.

“My first draft was basically made up of the main characters,” Becket said. “I wrote down about 100 names and then wrote little entries for each of them based on my own memory. Then I went back through the books and re-read them. If I read a name, I wrote it down. If I read an ability, I wrote it down. I did the same with all of the places, the homes, and property.”

By the time the book had gone through its final edits, it had grown to an impressive 160,000 words. It was when we asked the author his favorite entry, that he gave us the rarest treat, a little Easter Egg hidden inside each of Rice’s novels that you might never have noticed before.

“In the “O” section, you’ll find an entry called One Fine Blow,” he said. “When Anne published her first book, she gave a copy to her father and among the things he commented on was the phrase “one fine blow”. He loved the phrase, and because of that, she included it in every single one of the books since then.”

Becket made sure, in the entry, to note where the phrase turns up in each book so that fans can search them out themselves.

In fact, one of the more interesting aspects of the 450 page Alphabettery is that each entry comes with annotations, pointing to other entries that relate to them, ultimately giving the reader three ways to use the book:

One can simply sit down and read it cover to cover.
You can use it as a reference so that when you encounter a name or place in the Chronicles that is vaguely familiar to you, the information can be looked up to refresh your memory.
OR, and this is absolutely fascinating, you can actually choose a character, read their entry, then follow the references at the end of the entry. You can follow whole bloodlines this way. It’s a whole new way of discovering vampiric families, alliances, enemies, truces, etc. and I encourage you to spend at least a little time with the book in this way should you choose to pick it up.

Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles: An Alphabettery by Becket released today on Amazon and in bookstores nationwide!

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

5 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

7 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.