spotlight

something wicked is brewing in a trio of writers’ minds...

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RUMMAGING around in the human subconscious and wrenching out fears unimagined, the writers — known as novelist Michael Slade — have put a new face on horror.

Behind the Slade persona is North Vancouver’s Jay Clarke, his wife Lee and lawyer John Banks making up the writing trio that ~ lends its skills to the 500,000-seller Headhunter and the recently released Ghoul.

Dishing up a graphic serving of the macabre, Canada’s premier

‘horror writers journey into the blackness of perversion and return with feel-it-in-your-stomach bestsellers. :

“The human mind has got a * light side and a dark side,’’ Clarke, 40, explains of people’s fai ination -with life’s horrors..‘*Anybody who ‘tries to tell me they. don’t have a dark side is a liar.

. “Some people think the way to deal with it is to ignore it. But if “you don’t exercise the dark side of the mind in a positive way, it’s go-

ing to twist and become . perverted.” : :

Steeped in the finest horror ‘traditions of EC Comics, Poe and” Lovecraft, Clarke has over the years in his law practice with

- Banks: been involved in more than _: 70 murder. cases, many involving ue criminal insanity. _:¢/ Brom this literary and profes- : «sional background then comes the * building blocks for a Slade novel; '. from joint sessions with all three . ‘comes the finished product. ’ ‘In both of Slade’s books, the North Shore and the North Van- ouver RCMP detachment figure ‘prominently, with local officers heavily involved in the investiga- tions. “TI thought it was good reading and very factual,’’ North Van-

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couver RCMP Insp. Dave Roseberry says of Headhunter. ‘*1 read it as a story and (the twist en- ding centring around an RCMP officer) didn’t offend me at all.’’ Putting the squecze on psychological pressure points, Slade in both books lays into the human psyche with gusto, expos-

STEPHEN BARRINGTON

feature writer

‘ing and feeding on darkest fears:

unseen danger, live burial, an ap- parent friend turning into a thing grotesque, .

‘*Many of our darkest instincts are the ones that scare us the most — sex and aggression and the overlapping of those two, say — and they all come from the rep- tilian (centre of the human) mind,’’ says Clarke.

“We are able to put the aura of civilization over our lives because of an intelligent part of our mind, but we haven’t lost that other part.”

Chinese Food

ALY DELIVERY

In Slade's serving of straight-up horror, no character is safe — “in téality, everyone's life is up for grabs"? — and with this and other no-holds-barred shockers he has become the hero of Canada's hard-core horror fans.

Cranking up the suspense to breaking point, Slade puts charac- ters inextricably in a vice and slow- ly squeezes — what sprays out is not pretty, but readers cringe and squirm, driven to turn the page.

With horror writers such as Slade and Britain’s Clive Barker upping the ante with their unrestrained style, they are cross- ing the taboo line into a forbidden zone wherein lie what Clarke calls the true horrors.

Imagine: twisted sex killings, murder victims drained of blood before they die, acid baths afloat with fatty sludge and Vancouver shoppers treated to extra protein in their hot dogs | after a killing ina meat processing plant.

‘People ask me how I sleep at night,’’ he recounts. ‘‘I sleep just fine because I exercise those (dark) thoughts down on.the page.’’

But some critics have found the book’s gore too much, and have put Slade down as nothing more than a pediar of cheap thrills.

Says Clarke: ‘‘Horror is a posi- tive experience — the more (readers) sweat for the characters the more they can look at the book and say, ‘Wow, I thought I had problems.’”’

Fans can meet the Slade trio March 26 at 1 p.m. at Duthie Books’ 10th Avenue location in Vancouver.

CORRECTION NOTICE

The Advertisements run on Friday, March 4 and Friday, March 18 for the Elephant

‘Show's ERIC NAGLER gave an incorrect time. The correct time for the March 30 evening show is

7:00 P.M.

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

23 - Friday, March 25, 1988 - North Shore News

Lumberja

Bonjour, comment ca va? is a familiar phrase to most school- age children.

But audience members (o Cen- tenniat Theaire’s latest offering March 27 will hear more French than that when Les Bucherons — The Lumberjacks perform there.

Playing an assortment of in- struments fram woaden spoons to saws, guitar, fiddle and accor-

LES BUCHERONS —

dian, they perform traditional! lumberjack axe dances.

“We try to bridge the gap be- tween English and French Cana- dian culture in’ Canada,"’ ex- plained Les Bucherons' artistic director, Gilbert Parent.

The show starts at 2 p.m., with tickets available at the door one hour before the show's start, al the Lonsdale Rec Centre or by calling 987-PLAY.

Photo submitted

The

Lumberjacks will bridge the gap between English and French Ca- nadian culture at their Centennial Theatre performance March 27, The 2 p.m. show will include tradi- tional lumberjack dances, square dancing and the playing of a varie- ty of musical instruments.