From Gregory Burkart at Blumhouse.com
SUDDEN STORM: A Literary Tribute to North America’s Most Terrifying Monster
Having delved into this book from cover-to-cover, I can say that it came as quite a revelation; while I’d seen his feature film WENDIGO and his amazingly creepy “Skin and Bones” episode of FEAR ITSELF (my all-time favorite Wendigo tale), I had no idea how intimately the lore of this horrific monster was woven into Larry’s creative life.
I won’t divulge some of the best surprises in store, but rest assured you’ll be bowled over by some of the research Fessenden and his fellow authors bring to the party… say, for example, did you know that U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt knew at least one tale of the Wendigo? Me neither, but it’s right there on page 41 (in my copy, anyway).
Some of my favorite contributions include Alison Natasi’s intriguing analysis of the link between Ruggero Deodato’s CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and the Wendigo legend; Carter Meland’s examination of the Wendigo’s influence on Antonia Bird’s horror-western RAVENOUS; and Samuel Zimmerman’s overview of the Wendigo’s treatment on television shows like THE X-FILES, SUPERNATURAL, SLEEPY HOLLOW and — of course — FEAR ITSELF. Also enlightening is Chris Hibbard’s historical account of “Wendigo Psychosis” (a well-documented condition) as it relates to real-life crimes throughout North American history.
It’s still shocking to me that this terrifying, archetypal monster hasn’t become as entrenched in American folklore, media and popular culture as vampires, werewolves and zombies… Larry’s taken some significant steps to changing all that, and hopefully this book may inspire other creative minds to further explore this monstrous myth.
SUDDEN STORM: A WENDIGO READER is available now from Fiddleblack Press, and can be ordered from Amazon.
