THE HORROR OF MY LIFE BY RICHARD GADZ

25/10/2021

One night, when I was about 7 or 8, I came downstairs because I couldn’t sleep and the original Vincent Price version of The Fly was just starting on TV. “Ooo, can I watch this, Dad?”
“No, you can’t, it’s not for children.”
“Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?”
“OK, fine. You’ll be scared!”
I was. A lot.

BIO
Richard Gadz is the pen name of Simon Cheshire, author of the highly acclaimed horror novel Flesh & Blood. He lives permanently in Warwick, not far from the famous castle, although he spends most of his time in a world of his own.

WEBSITE LINKS
www.richardgadz.co.uk
https://twitter.com/Frankenwriter
https://www.instagram.com/richardgadz.horror.writer/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-Gadz/e/B096SZSCRD
linktr.ee/richardgadz

THE FIRST HORROR BOOK I REMEMBER READING

A book for kids by Aiden Chambers called Haunted Houses, which told the stories of a dozen or so real-life hauntings. It was terrifying and I loved every word of it.

THE FIRST HORROR MOVIE I REMEMBER WATCHING

One night, when I was about 7 or 8, I came downstairs because I couldn’t sleep and the original Vincent Price version of The Fly was just starting on TV. “Ooo, can I watch this, Dad?”
“No, you can’t, it’s not for children.”
“Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?”
“OK, fine. You’ll be scared!”
I was. A lot.

THE GREATEST HORROR BOOK OF ALL TIME

You can’t do better than a volume of H.P.Lovecraft short stories.

THE GREATEST HORROR FILM OF ALL TIME

My all-time favourite is James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein, but for sheer un-nerving fear I’d say either Hereditary or, of course, The Shining.

THE GREATEST WRITER OF ALL TIME

I think it’s a tie between Lovecraft, Poe and Shirley Jackson.

THE BEST BOOK COVER OF ALL TIME

Any of the covers for the old paperback Pan Books of Horror Stories, but especially the second and fourth volumes. Whoever designed them was a genius.

THE BEST FILM POSTER OF ALL TIME

The ‘80s version of Fright Night. Still creeps me out.

THE BEST BOOK / FILM I HAVE WRITTEN

Well, I’m hoping I haven’t written it yet, but the one I’m most proud of is my new novel The Workshop of Filthy Creation. It’s taken well over a decade to get from head to page.

THE WORST BOOK / FILM I HAVE WRITTEN

I know exactly which one, and no, I’m not going to tell you the title. It wasn’t horror, I’ll say that much.

THE MOST UNDERRATED FILM OF ALL TIME

There’s a recent low budget British horror-comedy called Double Date, which is just brilliant. It includes the best punch-up I’ve ever seen!

THE MOST UNDERRATED BOOK OF ALL TIME

The Darkest of Nights by Charles Eric Maine. It’s SF, but it’s certainly scary!

THE MOST UNDERRATED AUTHOR OF ALL TIME

I’m surprised Michael McDowell isn’t better known, but at least some of his work is being reprinted now.

THE BOOK / FILM THAT SCARED ME THE MOST

Orwell’s 1984. End of.

THE BOOK / FILM I AM WORKING ON NEXT

I’m currently writing a haunted house story set in the 1970s, and after that I’ll be doing a sort of semi-follow-up to The Workshop of Filthy Creation.

The Workshop of Filthy Creation
by Richard Gadz

In the autumn of 1879, an intelligent, artificially-created being — outwardly a young woman called Maria — arrives in London under the protection of biologist Professor George Hobson. He gathers a few close friends and reveals her existence, explaining that she is the final result of a research programme undertaken by a dynasty of unethical scientists, the von Frakkens. All are now dead... or so it's thought.

Maria's mutilated creator tracks her down, and she goes on the run, pursued by both her creator and the police. She finds herself at the heart of a raging controversy: some want her jailed, some want her dead, and some want to peel the flesh from her bones.

Thrilling and evocative, fantastical and grotesque, The Workshop of Filthy Creation uses a Frankenstein-ian thread to stitch together elements of real scientific history with the darkest parts of Victorian London and speculation on the nature of human life.

"A remarkable book... The perfect combination of big ideas and a rattling good yarn. Hell of a read" - James Kinsley, author of Playtime's Over

"I adore this book... a Victorian romp, a philosophical tract, and an examination of class and privilege, as well as being a pretty gory horror novel, much like the original Frankenstein in many ways" - Goodreads

https://richardgadz.co.uk/the-workshop-of-filthy-creation/

THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR FEATURES

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