The Vault of Horror's Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide!

It's that time of year again, when we each come up with our fantasy "wish list" of horror goodies, and hope that our loved ones pick up the hint and get us something we want, instead of another bland stocking stuffer we have to pretend to be excited about. That's why I've gone to the trouble once again of putting together this special catalog of brand new horror-related gift ideas for Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Festivus, or whatever.

Whether you print this out and hand it over to the folks buying you gifts this year, or if you're the woeful significant other of a horror freak trying to figure out what the hell to buy for them, I hope you find this useful...

Video

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer - Blu-Ray, $17.98 (Big Blu-Ray releases are the order of the day this year. Sign of the times...)
Gremlins - Blu-Ray, $28.99 (The Dante/Spielberg '80s classic comes to Blu-Ray for its 25th anniversary.)
The Monster Squad - Blu-Ray, $19.99 (I confess this cult favorite has lost a bit of luster for me personally, but most from my generation go nuts for it. Here it is on Blu-Ray for the first time.)
Near Dark - Blu-Ray, $19.99 (Another, more deserved cult fave takes a Blu bow. And to think, there was a time when all prints were believed lost...)
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - DVD, $19.99 (The sole DVD release I've included is of my personal favorite horror TV movie of all time. Believe it or not, this is Warner Bros.' first official DVD release in the United States.)

Books

English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema - Paperback, $32.95 (This acclaimed 2001 history of British horror films from the silent era to the 1970s has finally come to paperback. Yeesh, I wonder how much the hardcover cost!)
Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 2 - Graphic novel, $24.99 (More of Alan Moore's groundbreaking run on DC's greatest horror character. I've got a review copy from DC that I can't to jump into. Yes, it's good to be me.)
Strange Suspense: Steve Ditko Archives - Graphic novel, $39.99 (An amazing collection encompassing the first few years of Ditko's work in comics, when he pumped out uncompromising horror tales, just prior to the inception of the Comics Code.)
Eerie Archives, Vol. 2 - Graphic novel, $49.95 (In addition to Creepy, Eerie was one of Warren Publications' innovative mag-sized horror comics of the 1960s and 1970s. This Dark Horse compendium collects more of the best of them.)

Toys

Last Night on Earth - Board game, $57.95 (A zombie survival board game. Pricey, but looks like a lot of fun.)
Arkham Horror - Board game, $59.99 (An even pricier, yet even more fun board game based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.)
The Simpsons Tree House of Horrors Monopoly - Board game, $35.95 (I know, I know, we've all had enough of these themed versions of Monopoly, but I like this one, don't you?)
Edgar Allen Poe - Action figure, $12.95 (How cool is this? It even comes with a raven accessory...)
1954 Godzilla - Action figure, $15.25 (Bandai outdid themselves when they put out this 6-inch vinyl figure of Godzilla as he appeared in his original movie. A must-have for any G-fan.)

Music

The Definitive Horror Movie Music Collection - CD box set, $39.98 (This four-disc collection was just released last Halloween, and features the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra performing a vast array of beloved horror themes from movies such as The Omen, Young Frankenstein, Let the Right One In, The Thing, Poltergeist, The Haunting, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist and yes, Twilight.)

The Vault of Horror's Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide '09

In the midst of America's yearly tribute to gluttony and greed, the Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend, I bring to you my second annual holiday season gift guide. This year, I've tried to focus on the items that might not be among the most obvious, but deserve attention. In other words, you don't need me to tell you to run out and grab Hellboy II or I Am Legend. But here are some ideas that you may have overlooked:

Video

Resident Evil 3-Pack - DVD, $29.95 (Blu-Ray elitists got this set earlier this year, but this is the first time DVD luddites can own the nu-zombie trilogy of RE, RE: Apocalypse & RE: Extinction. Available 12/9.)
Vampyr Special Edition - DVD, $39.95 (Not my cup of tea, but this last gasp of German Expressionism is a revered early favorite, with its first deluxe DVD treatment.)
Night Gallery Season 2 - DVD, $59.98 (The newly released second installment of Rod Serling's other landmark horror/sci-fi series.)
Oasis of the Zombies - DVD, $9.99 (This piece of Nazi/zombie trash, reissued for the first time since 2001, is worth seeing for a laugh. And wisely priced at under $10.)
Lights Out, Vol. 3 & 4 - DVD, $7.98 each (The long-awaited follow-up installments of one of TV's earliest horror series, based on the classic radio series of the '40s. Each DVD contains four episodes.)
Dark Shadows: The Beginning Vol. 6, DVD $59.98 (For the stark raving Dark Shadows fanatic in your life, this is the final collection of DS episodes from the earliest era of the soap, before Barnabas Collins showed up and changed the course of the series. Contains episodes 179-209, from the spring of 1967.)
The Terror - Blu-Ray, $11.98 (On Blu-Ray for the first time, it's Roger Corman's classic. See Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholshon on screen together!)
The Beyond - DVD, $24.95 (It's the spiffy new edition of Lucio Fulci's masterwork. Having just caught this gem for the first time, I can't recommend it highly enough to fan's of exploitation horror.)

Books

Sookie Stackhouse Boxed Set - Paperbacks, $55.93 (The seven books of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries, the inspiration for HBO's True Blood. Available for $39.15 at bn.com!)
Wolves at the Gate - Graphic novel, $15.95 (The third collection of Joss Whedon's history-making "Season 8" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told in comic book form.)
The Living Dead - Paperback, $15.95 (An excellent anthology of zombie fiction featuring stories by the likes of Stephen King, Joe Hill, George R.R. Martin, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison and Poppy Z. Brite. The hottest horror anthology on shelves today.)
Let the Right One In - Paperback, $15.95 (By Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, translated into English by Ebba Segerberg. The novel that led to the movie of the same name.)

Toys

Flesh Eating Zombies - Action figures, $17.99 (A nine-piece set of hard vinyl, 3 1/4-inch zombie figures. Fun for the whole family!)
Cthulhu Plush Slippers - $36.99 (The price may be a bit steep, but what do you expect? Wearing Lovecraft's undying beast from beyond on your feet doesn't come cheap!)
Michael Myers Head Knocker - Bobblehead, $12.59 (It's a Michael Myers bobblehead. 'Nuff said.)

My Bloody Christmas

We all know it's better to give than to receive, don't we? Still, it's an awful lot of fun to receive, isn't it? And I certainly did my fair share of receiving this Christmas. I could get into the clothing items and electronic gadgetry that came my way this year, but for the sake of thematic unity, I think I'll stick with the horror-related gifts. So here are this year's newest additions to The Vault:

Fido

My insufferably cute six-year-old daughter saved up her allowances to get this for dear old Dad (with a little help from Mom.) She was intent on "surprising" me with a "monster movie", so I asked my wife to give her the choice between this and the new edition of Nosferatu. She wanted it to be something we could watch together, which effectively eliminated the Return of the Living Dead special edition.

30 Days of Night, Books 1 & 2

My sister, who never fails to pinpoint my tastes with perfect accuracy each and every year, picked me up the first two volumes of Steven Niles' vampire series. I enjoyed the flick very much, plus Niles is a friend of a friend, so I had been curious to check these out. Thanks, Sis!

Hammer Horror Collection

Now here's a box set I've had my eye on ever since it came out four years ago. Finally got around to buying it by gathering together a bunch of my Christmas/birthday gift money. It's got the first two Hammer Frankenstein films, the first three Draculas, and The Mummy. Perfect for a kid who grew up watching the Hammer classics on those lazy weekend afternoons in the glory days of syndicated TV.

The Vault of Horror's Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide

Yes, folks, the holiday season is drawing near once again! Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice/Festivus is almost upon us. And you know what that means. Peace on Earth? Good will toward men? Sure, all that stuff, too--but I'm thinking of gift guides. So I figured, why not put in my two cents, as well? Here's a look at some goodies that happened to catch my eye, for that special sicko in your life. I've organized them by release date:

11/20

• Nosferatu: Ultimate Edition - DVD, $29.95 (discussed here a couple days back)
• Stir of Echoes 2: The Homecoming - DVD, $26.98 (starring Rob Lowe; should be good for a laugh or two)
• Tremors - HD DVD, $29.98

11/21

• The Bride of Frankenstein - Paperback, $6.99 (Intriguing novel which postulates that the Bride wasn't destroyed at the end of the movie.)

11/25

• Demon Night - Paperback, $11.95 (new one from J. Michael Straczynski)

• The Essential Dracula - Paperback, $14.95 (annotated edition of Stoker's classic)
• The Essential Phantom of the Opera - Paperback, $14.95 (you get the idea)

11/27

• The Omega Man - Blu-Ray, $28.99 (100% Anglo-Saxon, baby!!)

11/28

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Panel to Panel - Paperback, $19.95 (a look back at ten years of Buffy in Dark Horse Comics)
• Hellboy Animated Vol. 3: The Menagerie - Graphic novel, $6.95

11/29

• The Fly & Other Horror Stories - Paperback, $10.54 (British anthology)
• Winter Moon - Audiobook (for the blind/lazy Dean Koontz fan!)

11/30

• Trashfiend: Disposable Horror Fare of the 1960s and 1970s - Paperback, $19.95

12/1

• The Hellbound Heart - Hardcover, $30.00 (20th anniversary edition of Clive Barker's masterwork)

12/4

• Carrie - DVD, $19.98 (Re-released as part of MGM's "Decades Collection", comes with a CD of some kind)
• The Last Man on Earth - DVD, $14.98 (a spiffy re-release to capitalize on the sure-to-be-vastly-inferior I Am Legend)
• 20 Million Miles to Earth - DVD, $24.96 (50th Anniversay edition)

12/5

• Batman: Vampire - Graphic novel, $19.99 (continuation of Doug Moench & Kelley Jones' compelling and unrelenting saga)
• Hellblazer: Bloodlines - Graphic novel, $19.99 (hopefully better than Hellraiser: Bloodlines!)

12/11

• Masters of Horror: Season 1, Vol. 4 - Blu-Ray, $29.98
• Silent Night, Deadly Night - DVD, $14.98 (back to piss off soccer moms nationwide once more!)

12/15

• Final Destination: Spring Break - Paperback, $17.99 (see: Stir of Echoes 2)

12/18

• The Evil Dead: Ultimate Edition - DVD, $34.98 (previously talked about here)