The second volume of Rue Morgue Radio’s free downloadable compilation of horror music, Hymns From the House of Horror Vol. II, has been unleashed! Download your own copy, complete with printable artwork, by clicking here.

It’s 20 songs by 20 bands, including sneak peeks, killer cuts, previously unreleased oddities and exclusive remixes by the likes of GWAR, Blood Ceremony, Calabrese, Timber Timbre, The Brains, Kreeps, The Young Werewolves, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, Corpusse, and more!

Don’t forget to read the whole story on the bands and songs of Hymns Vol. II in the May issue of RM #111 (cover: John Waters). And don’t drag your feet – Hymns II will only be available for download for a limited time. Just like last year’s comp, once it’s gone….it’s gone forever!

We here at Rue Morgue are a kind, hardworking bunch but that doesn’t mean we won’t take every conceivable opportunity to pawn off the grossest parts of our towering, Jenga-like workload on interns.

Seeing as how one of our current helper monkeys, Mike Beardsall, has largely been relegated to feeding and being forcibly cuddled by the zoo of beasties we house in the basement since he first started showing up a few months back, we thought it was high time we taught him the art of multi-tasking. Translation: we threw a refurbished TV and DVD player down in the cellar so he could at least review a few short films for us while he was checking the vents for rodents we could feed the office ball python (Lenore), or watering the man-eating venus flytraps we grow for…research, yes, that’s it…research. Here’s what I was able to transcribe from the scribblings Mike left with his empty food tray at the top of the stairs.

Spring: the time when a young man’s fancy turns to supernatural spookshows…
Well, good news for Torontonians, Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s Ghost Stories – which I previously reviewed here – is still on at the Panasonic Theatre. When the two lads stopped by the House of Horror a couple weeks ago, they asked if I’d give it a second look once they’d tweaked it and share my thoughts. I’ve never had the opportunity to see a stage show evolve and I was curious to see what kind of impact it would have on me once I already knew the surprises, so I agreed.

Just released today, Mondo’s Rabid poster, by our own Justin Erickson! Feast your eyes and weep… literally if you were hoping to get one, because they sold out before I could finish this post. D’oh!

A video of my recent Rue Morgue Podcast interview with Andrea Subissati, author of WHEN THERE’S NO MORE ROOM IN HELL: THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE LIVING DEAD is now available on YouTube.

Viddy well.

:- FDBK

Everyone’s got a favorite film. You know, the one you never get tired of sitting down and rewatching. The one where you might be a little bit apprehensive of admitting to anyone that you’ve seen it, oh, let’s say 20, 25 times.

Well, for me, that film is the 1980 John Carpenter classic, The Fog. And, if admitting I’ve seen it 25 times makes me appear obsessed, then so be it.

This classy, creepy tale of a Northern California coastal fishing village under siege by the vengeful ghosts of long-dead mariners is a movie that I grew up with and I love it to death. In fact, I think my affection for it grows as the years go by. So, I thought it was high time I paid tribute to this vastly underrated flick by showcasing some of the memorabilia I have collected for it over the years. Without further ado, here’s a look at some cryptic collectibles for John Carpenter’s The Fog …

The good folks at Texas Frightmare Weekend have finalized Roger Corman’s autograph schedule for this weekend’s premiere horror fest:

Saturday, April 30
4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Roger Corman Q&A

4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – Autograph Session

Sunday, May 1
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Autograph Session

1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. – Autograph Session

Don’t forget to come say ‘hi’ to us at the Rue Morgue booth (tables 18-21) and be sure to think up some tough questions for RM Founder Rodrigo Gudiño and Art Director Ghoulish Gary Pullin as they’ll take part in a screening of SPACE channel’s History of Rue Morgue documentary, followed by a Q&A session hosted by RM’s resident cryptozoology expert/Ghoultown front man Lyle Blackburn on Saturday at 2 p.m.!

The full schedule and program guide has been posted online so you can start planning out your weekend ahead of time. Go here to take a look…or you can download a low-res PDF version of the full program guide here.

With only five more sleeps ’til Hymns II is released, we’re pleased to announce occult rockers BLOOD CEREMONY have contributed one of their sonic séances to Rue Morgue Radio’s Hymns II compilation! If you’ve never been put under by the quartet’s audio witchcraft, check out this other number ripped from their latest spellbook, Living with the Ancients (out now on Rise Above/Metal Blade)!

The Syfy original movie, MONGOLIAN DEATH WORM, is set for DVD release on April 26. Directed by Steven R. Monroe (I Spit on Your Grave, Sasquatch Mountain), the film draws inspiration from the alleged giant worm of the same name said to live in the Gobi Desert. As one of the more intriguing and creepy cryptozoo creatures, the Mongolian Death Worm is perfect for Syfy monster mayhem.

Feeling a bit left out of all the Easter festivities, horror fans? Then watch this, and feel better. If you haven’t seen it yet, just watch it — the less you know going in, the better. (Except this warning for my fellow Southerners: Don’t watch it while you’re eating grits.)