8/13/2019 Hodder Media Release on Leigh Blackmore, editor of Terror Australis: The Best of Australian Horror

1/2

,-,~, ,~

My interest is 0 in tense 1suppose you c ou ld s ay that horror ismyi life says I e i g h Blackmore, an dfthis is'reflected inhis home, The Blockmauaoleum ' be w a l l s r i with horror posters and portraitsof horrorgreats. The rooms are over-run by Leigh's 6 ) ) 0 books on horror a n d the supernatural '

p ro ~b ly th e larg est p riv ately -o wn ed co llectio n inA u str al ia ), h o rr or film m ag az in es a nd jo urn als ,~.. ,

20~MAY 1993 15: 22 FROM HO ER ~STOUGHTON TO 8185602MEDIA RELEASEf r o m Hodder &Stoughton u s t r l iLEIGH BL CKMORE

ustralia s leading horror expert. .Leigh Blackmore, editor 'of Terror' Australis: The Best of Australian Horror (publishing\ .. .July 1 9 9 3 at 12.9S ) js tohorror w h a t Glen A B ake r is to ro ck n ro ll a n d Bill C o l l i n s is to m o v ie s .

. . r . _ , , .Bla c k by n a m e and black by n atu re , L ei gh ts f as ci na ti on with th e m ac ab re h as p ro du ced a g rou nd-~ \

breaking co~on of ~b-~.bY.the-tbroat stori~ from A~~a's b es t w r it er s of horror. Storiesguaranteed to gtve you nighJares. ~-,,- , .

, ;h o rr or a ud io ca ss et te s a nd h or ro r rlim soundtlacks.

A lw ay s a v oracio us read er, Leigh Blackmore s love of bona : began at 1 3 w h en b e w as introduced to ,,-~. . . . . . ~. .the w ode of H P L o v e c r a f t . A t IS he S W t ed hi s firs~ ,horror society which w a s soon b a n n e d by his~-Newcastle high school. His interest in the world of doom, death and ~y escalated and Leighs ta rte d w ri ti ng h o rr or s to rie s himself. Over th e years, he,Q Jntinuec1 to collect his hmmr m e m ora bilia ,edited and published Ter ror Aus tra li s magazine a n d c o- fo o n d ed the GargoyleClub a support gr o u p?for horror writers a n d artiits.

Of Terror Australis: The Best of Australia'n Horror Leigh Blackmore writes, BraceYDursel f in y ou r uneasy chair . And w he n y ou turn th e page to enj t?Ythe first delicious tingle o f fear,be r e if ied . Be sh ocke d. B e IwrriJied. A bove all - be enterta ined

For an interview with Leigh Blackmore:Dianne Cunningham: tel (02) 684 0446

10-16 South Street, Rydalmere NSW 2116ph: 01)n~Rt;?QQ J:::tv { ? (.SV1 AOLl?

P 02

.

8/13/2019 Hodder Media Release on Leigh Blackmore, editor of Terror Australis: The Best of Australian Horror

2/2

20 MAY 1993 15: 23 FROM HO ER STOUGHTON o TO 8185602 P 03

THE BLACKMAUSOLEUMHome to Australia s leading horror .expert,Leigh Blackmore's home is affectionately dubbed The B lack rr umso leum . This is partly a play onw ord s th e sam e w ay sc ie nc e fictio n writer H a rla n E lliso n calls h is ab od e E ll is on Won tJ e rla n d an dF orrest 1 A ck erm an d ub s h is resid ence th e Ackermans lon) and partly a p lay on th e Black M u s e u m ,ScotlanCl.yants infamous museum of criminal relics. 'T h e walls of The Blackmausoleum ar e covered with L ei gh s c ol le ct io n o f m o vi e p os te rs r an gi ng from, ,th e old H a m m e r honors through to c on te m po ta ry f ilm s , book promotion p osters an d p ortraits ofhorror greats like HP Lovecraft.

0

The r o o m I arc largely overtaken with Leigh's O Q O _b o o k s : ~blY Australia's largest privatelyowned cotlection of horror and su:pematuialli~ Horror anthologies from 1970 to 1993 and hardcover horror fiction of the 19608.:fil1 the living l o o m The library holds film magazines andjournals, paperback f ic tio n , h o rr or pnthologies from 1900-1960, an almost complete collection oft itl es f ro m l eg en d ar y h o rr or f an ta sy p u bl is he r Arldwn H o u s e a nd h ard co ve r fic tio n chronologicallyfrom ~ J9 t h century h O I T O [ literature, through J 9 t : h c e ~too B ri ti sh , E uro pe an an d A m erican h orro rli~tute, to w ar -tim e a nd p ost-w ar b or ro r f i c t i o n up through th e 1 9 7 0 s to t he p r es en t da y.

1 - , iL eig h sh ares h is b ed ro om with h o iT o r b io g ra p h ie s and reference b o o k s on th e aesthe tics an d h isto ryo f the h orro r g en re, th e o c cu l t, v a m p ir es , true c rim e a n d s er ia l k illers. T he B lack C ab in e t a case fu ll, \o f refere n ce b o ok s o n h o rro r flIm ~ named of c ourse .after the classic. silent horror film The C ab in et o fr Callgari long runs of books by Algancm Bla~ and Arthur Machen; IU s Jack the Ripper \co llectiO n a n d h is H P L o ve eraft, the Harlan .~Son, R am say C am pb ell a n d D en nis E tch iso nC o lle ct io n s; p lu s p il es of horror audiocassettes a D d . film soundtracks; a nd h u nd re ds of m ag azin es an djournals including r a r e pulps like Weird Tales.A n a Of co urse, th ere s L eig h s ~ prtzcd. mines including an original photogra ph of, and a signe d

~postcard by, HP Lovecralt, as well as copies of his rare b o o k s -such as The Shadow Over . . I iInnsmouth; and signed envelopes by Clark A'Shton Smith, together with rare early volumes of

S m i th s f an ta stic p oe try .

The bouse also features several mementoes donated by movie special effects specialists Lewis andMarilyn Pride. Th e s e include a mask from th e P ha nto m o f the Opera stage show , a w ax skull createdfor an episode of Mission Impossible and leigh's favourite prop. a painted plaster panel depicting th eskeleton of a human an d his pet dog blasted by an apocalyptic nuclear fallout

For further information:: Dianne CunninghamTel: (02) 684 0446 Fax: (02) 684 4942