Robert Essig

@robertessig.bsky.social

Author of 20 books and over 100 short stories. Horror freak.

My brand of extreme horror isn't senseless gore and violence, or at least I don't think so. I'm not knocking that. Nothing wrong with that flavor. My thing is atmosphere. I LOVE rich atmosphere. My goal is always to immerse the reader in the setting.

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One of the books I'm reading right now. I'd kind of classify it as popcorn horror or a beach read or whatever, but these authors never disappoint. I wonder what happened to them. Victims of the 90s horror crash, perhaps?

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Just watched Hell of the Living Dead. I liked it a lot, warts and all. Some great effects (and some not so great). Lots of blood n guts. Clearly they were influenced by Dawn of the Dead right down to using the same Goblin soundtrack. No real plot, just a fairly mindless horror flick.

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My next book, a collection of short stories, is called Sick! Sick! Sick! I collect a few of my nastiest stories and add a few vile new ones. Sure to make you puke. Or turn you on, depending on what kinda sicko you are.

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Went to the Rob Zombie/Alice Cooper show last night in Nashville. This was my third time seeing each. Ministry and Filter were special guests. First time seeing them. Great show all around. Cooper killed it, as always. Ministry played a great set. Zombie was a lot of fun.

I watched House 2 last night. I'd seen it once maybe 25 years ago. I'd forgotten how bad it is. The first House is fantastic. A dream project would be to write the official novelization. I keep putting that into the ethers, but nothing comes of it.

I'm a huge fan of vintage horror paperbacks. I collect them both to read and for the gorgeous (sometimes cheesy) cover art. I have several thousand. I'm no completest, but there seems to be no end. And that's ok. They're fun to hunt for. And I've been on the hunt for quite a few years.

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Smoky Mountain Terror was a lot of fun. I tabled with my buddy Chuck Buda. We sold some books, met some cool people, had some laughs. Michael Berryman stopped at the table and said he thought Infected Voices was a good title. Nice guy. Great time all around. Good turnout for a first-year convention.

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Spent much of the day in the Smokies. Hiked a trail I haven't done before. Drove through the woods on an unpaved road and came out in North Carolina (or very close to NC). I love living 45 minutes from the Smokey Mountains. I'd love to live a lot closer.

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