The Night Wanderer

In 1992, the Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon staged A Contemporary Gothic Indian Vampire Story, a play commissioned by The Young People's Theatre of Toronto. Directed by Tibor Feheregyhazi, the story was written by Drew Hayden Taylor, who in 2007 adapted it as a YA novel called The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel. Although I wasn't familiar with the original play, I came across the book while researching Canadian horror literature, and was instantly intrigued by the title.

The Night Wanderer is a coming-of-age tale about a First Nations teenager, Tiffany Hunter, whose family boards a mysterious stranger from the East named Pierre L'Errant. Turns out the man is no longer quite human, and is returning to his homeland after centuries abroad. It's a very interesting premise that unfortunately didn't quite hold up to my expectations--although I suspect the target audience will get much more out of it.

Eddie (2011)

After an accident a decade ago, renowned Danish painter Lars Olafssen (Thure Lindhardt) lost his muse, and hasn't produced anything noteworthy since. In an effort to abandon the professional art world altogether, he seeks refuge in Koda Lake, a remote Canadian town, where he accepts a teaching position at a struggling art school.

Despite Olafssen's best efforts, everyone from the overzealous school administrator (Alain Goulem) to his seedy agent (Stephen McHattie) are hoping he will once again pick up a brush, yet all he can do is stare at a blank canvas. But that changes after he takes in one of his adult students, Eddie (Dylan Scott Smith), whose curious nocturnal habit turns out to be just the inspiration he needs to paint once again. But how far is Olafssen willing to go for the sake of his art?

Terrors from the Lobby!

I happened across the booth of one of my favourite shops in Toronto, the Hollywood Canteen, while wandering through the otherwise disappointing SuperFan ComicCon back in May.

Since I'm in the middle of researching and writing my new book, The Great Fright North, I'm on the lookout for anything to do with Canadian pop culture horrors. So when I came across a few stacks of lobby cards, I dove right in--and wasn't disappointed!

Silent Retreat: A Horror Creature Feature à la The Stepford Wives

Janey is a troubled young woman, recently orphaned, who has been sent to a "silent meditation retreat" to get her life back in order. The facility is run by a man simply known as the Doctor, who rules the isolated campground with a heavy hand. Only five patients are treated at a time, and there is to be no talking, reading, or writing among them--only silent reflection and meditation for a period of 60 days.

As Janey struggles to conform with the almost Puritan lifestyle that's been forced upon her, she notices that the other patients--who are all women, and about the same age--are seemingly becoming docile introverts after receiving "special treatment" in one of the cabins.

To make matters worse, at night, as silence descends upon the remote facility, Janey starts to hear strange, inhuman noises coming from the woods...

WolfCop: Here Comes the Fuzz!

Lou Garou (Leo Fafard) is a small town cop who drinks too much and hasn't taken his job seriously in years. Instead of patrolling the streets, he spends most of his time at the Tooth & Nail, boozing it up while flirting with the bartender (Sarah Lind). Thanks to Lou's indifference, thugs and drug dealers essentially have free rein, despite the best efforts of his overachieving coworker (Amy Matysio).

After investigating a routine call to break up a party in the woods, Lou wakes up the next morning with no recollection of what happened afterwards--and discovers that a pentagram has been carved into his chest. With the help of his friend Willie (Jonathan Cherry), Lou tries to piece together the events of that fateful night.

Turns out he's become an unwitting pawn in a secret occult ritual that has taken place every thirty-two years. And under the light of next the full moon, both Lou and the hamlet of Woodhaven will forever be changed.

The Rise of the Vampire by Erik Butler

The back cover notes that "whether they’re evil, bloodsucking monsters or sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight, vampires have been capturing our imagination since their modest beginnings in the rustic fantasies of southeastern Europe in the early eighteenth century. Today, they’re everywhere, appearing even in movies in Japan and Korea and in reggae music in Jamaica and South Africa. Why have vampires gone viral in recent years?"

In The Rise of the Vampire, Erik Butler seeks to explain our enduring fascination with these creatures of the night. And it's a wholly enjoyable journey that explores our collective obsession with these bloodsucking undead.