I was brought up watching horror movies, thanks to my cousins who constantly were able to hire out such ridiculous movies like Chucky and Halloween. Looking back, I have no idea how our parents were able to know that we were in a room by ourselves watching things that parents would normally protest. Or maybe they had no idea. However, I never really began to truly appreciate and enjoy a good horror movie until roughly ten years ago. I have watched an endless amount of these movies, even my favourites countless times and the only answer I have for why I like horror is I find them truly entertaining and also very funny. So if you’re like me and you like reading about your favourite genre, here is a list of 8 Horror Movie Books that’ll get you on your way.

1.Horror: The Definitive Guide to the Cinema of Fear - James Marriot.

This is a great reference book, both for newbies to the genre and for die-hards. This book provides brief plot summaries to films ranging from the 1930s to 2005 with pictures along the way. There are also great summaries on the turn of the genre as time goes on, contributions to the genre and different traits such as Zombies and Serial Killers.

2. The Encyclopedia of Horror - Richard Davis.

This book is not directly about Horror films, but more about the aspects of Horror itself. It studies creatures such as Vampires and Werewolves and the folklore behind them. It ties them in with the films which makes for interesting reading.

3. Shock! Horror! Astounding Artwork from the Video-Nasty Era - Francis Brewster, Marc Morris, Harvey Fenton.

This book is absolutely fantastic! Page sized posters in alphabetical order by movie title throughout. Filled with banned or censored video covers from the Video Nasty era. There is also vast information about “video nasties” which describes various films at the time and what got them banned in the first place. Very informative and also a great creative inspiration in terms of illustration.

4. The Psychotronic Video Guide to Film - Michael J. Weldon.

There is not only horror films listed in this book, but also sci-fi, fantasy and even porn. A lot more comprehensive than Horror: The Definitive Guide to the Cinema of Fear. This book runs through over 3000 films - some famous and some you may never find. At over 650 pages, it is one of the most complete guides to the weird, wacky and gruesome films.

5. 60 Great Horror Movie Posters - Bruce Hershenson.

Well presented selection of 60 Horror Movie Posters on gloss paper. They are page sized posters so they truly show off their creativity. It is interesting to see the evolution of the posters as time goes on.

6. Nightmare, USA - Stephen Thrower.

One of my absolute favourite books of the genre. Thrower puts together such a comprehensive book on American Horror Films between 1970 - 1985. This is similar in size to a phone book but there is no space wasted here. Every horror movie fan should own this book!

7. Trash: The Graphic Genius of Xploitation Movie Posters - Jacques Boyreau.

Mainly focusing on the different aspects of the exploitation genre, this book is a compilation of the best and the weirdest exploitation movie posters with varying prints throughout. Not exactly the best book out there on the subject, but certainly one of the more interesting ones.

8. Sleazoid Express: A Mind-Twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Times Square - Bill Landis, Michelle Clifford.

At first I was disappointed with this book because it looked like a text book that you would find at any university campus. But as I began to read, I felt that the book truly captured the essence of 42nd Street and the movies that played there. Some find this book tedious with it’s focus on certain movies, however I feel that a lot of the movies brought into focus were certainly some of the most profound and affective. This book is a must read.

I was recently reading the January 2008 issue of Terrorizer magazine. It was the first time in quite a while that I had read any metal media outside of the internet as i like to read all of my stories and news online. However, whilst reading a section on upcoming band news for 2008, they deemed Arch Enemy as “Ozzfest-bothering sell-outs” which pissed me off more than I would have liked.

Aside from the fact that I don’t think I’ve called anyone a sell-out since 1999 (because I kind of think the term died in the ass), at the end of the day we’re most probably all sell-outs. As one man famously put it, “I sold out before you ever knew my name.”

So selling out is swapping to a bigger label to put dinner on the table. Or playing at Ozzfest to spread the word of the band outside of your home country to earn a decent buck in an industry that is only soldiering on by the support of it’s fans. Sure, it fucking sucks when bands change their sound completely to be more commercial under advice of their newer shinier record label. But they were never truly metal in the first place and therefore, not worth worrying about.

To be honest, I think that magazines like Terrorizer have to lead by example. Sure, people are going to make their own decisions at the end of the day but it doesn’t mean that they have to join the minority of dickheads who slag off other bands just for trying to earn a living in the metal industry. Perhaps they describe certain bands as sell outs because they feel that it’s only just - and to appear in tune with their fellow metal heads. But I believe that calling fellow metallers sell-outs is NOT endorsing the attitude of being truly metal and therefore they should keep their juvenille “sell-out” thoughts to themselves.