Ray RussellHaunted Castles: The Complete Gothic Stories (Penguin Horror)

I had never heard of Ray Russell (for shame) before this collection. The style with which Russell writes is for me the epitome of Gothic horror. Very much like Bram Stokers Dracula, Russell’s style is both haunting and beautiful. This collection is amazing. I'm not sure what my expectations were going into this but it blew past anything I could have hoped for. I crave single author short story collections and this is one of the best I have read thus far.

Let me first say that I had never read any Russell before, so if you're a newcomer like me, listen up! (And if you're in a rush, just go ahead and buy it, it's worth your time and money.)Russell can only be labelled "modern" gothic in the sense that he was writing in the 20th century. Otherwise, his stories are set during fascinating, terrible lifespans anywhere from the 1500s to the late 1800s. His period language is meticulously researched and correct, while his grammar and writing style are gorgeous, first-rate. This rich, sometimes dense prose is balanced (I can't say lightened) by pulpy thrills: horrifically unflinching details, an unsavory but irrepressibly sexual atmosphere, and grisly motives & plot twists that will make you wince -- all of a thoroughly sadistic bent.Sardonicus, arguably the most original of the 'S' trilogy, fully deserves its reputation as a masterpiece, but it was Sanguinarius that most impressed me. When I finished that story, I had to immediately read more about Elisabeth Báthory; yet, in the end, the world Russell created is inkier, redder, more saturated and enchanting than the true history. Sagittarius had a bit of a clunky frame narrative which I can only partly endorse, but the story within was more than enjoyable. So the frame can be forgiven.I was sad and a little apprehensive after completing the 'S' trilogy -- would I be disappointed by the other stories? Rest assured, the remainder of the collection is solid. Comet Wine and The Vendetta tie in subtly to the same fictional universe by means of a minor character from Sardonicus. The Cage and The Runaway Lovers, somehow less detailed, could be called sketches. But it is probably more useful to think of them as dark parables, and they are quite effective despite having less meat on their bones.Last, I just want to add that I'm grateful to Penguin for making Russell available. It would be unjust to see a talent like his lost to dust. While other genre fiction has enjoyed increasing respect from the publishing and academic worlds, horror & supernatural literature still remain undervalued. That said, Penguin has made real efforts to correct this (usually, though not in this case, with the help of S.T. Joshi). The Oxford World Classics series has some good anthologies as well.

I was disappointed to learn that the recent series of Penguin Horror hardcovers all had the exact same introduction by Guillermo del Toro, which not only seems like a bit of a cheat but also seems like a poor idea in encouraging people to buy the whole set. Luckily, the only one I didn't already have in some form or another was this Ray Russell volume, which I picked up, and which I loved.I was already familiar with Russell as a screenwriter--and even think I had read one or two of these stories before, though I had never put the two together--but this book was right up my alley. If you know Russell's filmography, it's not very surprising what kinds of stories are here. Great Gothic stories that would have been right at home getting filmed by Roger Corman or William Castle (in fact, one of them was) in brilliant Technicolor (that it wasn't), complete with the sorts of lurid but off-camera sexiness that you can expect from those sorts of flicks.Predictably, this was right up my alley. The meat of this collection are the three novellas or novelettes in Russell's "S trilogy": "Sardonicus," "Sagittarius," and "Sanguinarius." Of the three, "Sardonicus" is the most famous, having been filmed by William Castle (with a screenplay by Russell) as Mr. Sardonicus, but, like del Toro, my favorite of the trio was "Sagittarius," which begins as a club story and features the Grand Guignol in a major role, so you know I'm right there.My favorite tale in the whole book, though, was the first of the shorter pieces, "Comet Wine," which had a great title (and a connection to "Sardonicus") and which felt very much like the kinds of stories I am always trying to tell in my own work.The Penguin edition is a nice hardcover, and while I'm not the biggest fan of the cover choice, I do love the coloring. I've said before that more horror stuff needs to be bright pink, and it works beautifully here. Plus, if you hold the book up to the bottom part of your face, it makes a mask, so that's something.