Holiday Wish List 1: Groovy Horror Series

For anyone interested in getting the most out of the Groovy Age of Horror experience, I can't recommend anything better than the following paperback series. They have been the most rewarding readings I've done for this blog, and have given me much, much more of what I came to the genre looking for than the vast majority of stand-alone novels.

To me, it's just especially satisfying to have a complete set of something that really knocks my socks off. Sadly, there aren't box sets or omnibus editions for any of these, which means they'll have to be put together piecemeal, often from different sellers (which means extra shipping costs--GRRRRR!!). Without further ado, here's what to ask for, or what to buy the groovy horror fan in your life:

The Guardians by Peter Saxon
This is my favorite series, and a great example of everything that groovy horror should be. A band of mod monster hunters based in Swinging London travels the world battling all kinds of supernatural creatures. Most intriguing are the hints of tension and menace within their own ranks--is their founding member on the side of the angels, or has he assembled the Guardians to keep his enemies close? The good news is, this is one of the easier series to acquire in its entirety.

Dracula Horror Series by Robert Lory
If you love the comic books series Tomb of Dracula, here's a different take on Dracula in the seventies that's just as fun. The Count is revived and controlled by wheelchair-bound psychic Damien Harmon. Harmon is assisted by his niece Jenny, and Cam, a tough ex-cop, but Dracula's servant, the bizarre cat-woman Ktara, more than evens the odds. Horror action abounds, in all sorts of settings against all sorts of supernatural nemeses. This is truly must-have, for anyone who wants to experience what the Groovy Age of Horror was all about! Putting this set together shouldn't be too difficult, but it will most likely cost a lot.

Kitty Telefair Gothic Series by Florence Stevenson
Kitty is a with-it, cosmopolitan young woman like That Girl or Mary Tyler Moore, only she has inherited occult talents that constantly involve her in horrible supernatural danger. She battles some truly weird creatures, and never has an easy time defeating them. The bad news is, this is by far the hardest of the series to acquire. I only just recently managed to acquire the #2 installment, which I hope to review here shortly, and then I've been told there's one more after that (Stevenson's Horror from the Tombs), published separately and not numbered. Still, I'd say this is one series pretty well worth seeking out.

Lucifer Cove by Virginia Coffman
Satan runs a spa in a valley south of San Francisco--that's the premise, and Coffman does a masterful job of developing it. The swinging, contemporary California setting gives this a definite groovy vibe, and the occult goings-on absolutely deliver on the horror. We cycle through a number of interesting points of view, each revealing secret facets of the major characters--all of whom are changed and some of whom are killed as the series progresses! Whether you do or don't find "gothic romance" appealing, I'd really urge you to give this a try. It should be relatively easy and not too expensive to put the whole thing together.

Mind Masters by John F. Rossman/Ian Ross
Britt St. Vincent is a psychic spy for the shadowy Mero institute, literally racing all over the world (he's undercover as a race-car driver!) to deal with various occult phenomena in ways that will advance Mero's agenda and prevent insidious governmental and terrorist organizations from putting them to nefarious uses. This series is so much fun it's ridiculous, chockablock with sex, violence, espionage, the psychic and supernatural, jet-setting, and racing awesome cars in exotic locales.

These, then, are the series that form my core conception of groovy age horror at its best. Of course, there are others, some of which I haven't read yet, but I can and do give those above my highest recommendations. Happy holidays, and happy reading!