Hanging Out with a Famous Corpse

Life can be eerie sometimes. Back when I was in college and just starting to write fiction, I studied screenwriting at the University of Texas. One of my assignments was to write a 30-page screenplay for any television show I chose. At the time, Tales from the Crypt was airing every week on HBO and, since I've always been drawn to write horror, I chose to write an episode for Tales from the Crypt. If you've ever watched the show, you might remember the old corpse who hosted the show - the Crypt Keeper - used to say really bad puns like "Hello, boys and gouls" and "So glad you could drop in, kill-seekers! Don't worry about me, it only hearse when I laugh!"

Well, even with all the corny quotes from the Crypt Keeper, I loved the show for it horrific plots, campyness and creepy episodes that always ended with a twist that was punctuated by the host's sinister laughter. It was just good scary fun. So for my assignment, I wrote a TFTC episode called "The Refuge." Set in WWII Germany, it was about four U.S. soldiers running for their lives after their platoon had just been slaughtered by something in the foggy woods. They take refuge in an abandoned church and discover some Occult-obsessed Nazis have unleashed something evil into the war.

My professor loved my script and gave me an A. I later attempted to submit my screenplay to HBO, but never found the proper person to send it to. And then the show got cancelled. I eventually expanded my WWII horror story into my first novel, Shadows in the Mist.

Ironically, the first weekend of May 2013, I attended the Texas Frightmare Weekend horror convention in Dallas, Texas and did a book signing at the FEARnet.com booth. And guess who happened to be sitting beside me to pose for photos with all the boys and ghouls? The Crypt Keeper himself. It was an honor to autograph my books right alongside him. One of them was the WWII story he originally inspired.

Funny how events in life can circle back around years later. I had a blast hanging out with my favorite corpse that day. He was just as charming in person as he was on TV. As the Crypt Keeper would say, "Now, that's INTERRORTAINMENT!"
 

Horror Hound Photos

At the end of March I traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio for Horror Hound Weekend. The headliners were Director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog, The Thing), the cast from The Walking Dead, and a handful of us horror writers from Samhain Horror. Here are some pics from my trip.

My publisher Samhain Horror was the sponsor and invited me and authors Kristopher Rufty, Jonathan Janz and David Searls to sit in the booth all weekend and autograph books.

 

There were plenty of booths selling artwork, movie posters, T-shirts, DVDs, toys and anything related to horror.

 Jonathan Janz and I showing off our guns.

 There were a lot of people dressed up in costumes.

 Kristopher Rufty and myself posing beside our covers.

 My friends Dawn and Jocob, who worked the booth with us.

My good friend, Erin, the book reviewer for Hook of a Book drove 3 hours and waited 3 hours in line to just to see us.

 Erin's daughters drew pictures for me that were inspired by my book cover for Dead of Winter.

 Some Samhain Horror titles that were on sale at the convention.

 One fan, Lindsey, brought a poster for us to sign.

 I ran into Jay, a talk show radio host for The Horror Happens Radio Show. I was a guest on his show back in December. You can hear my interview here.

 I met a new friend, Meli.

I got to meet several book lovers and signed autographs.

A day of fun in Cincinnati.

My friend, Dawn, gave me a personal tour of the city. Then we stopped off at a local Irish pub for a beer, then had dinner at a Cajun restaurant with live jazz.

We visited the stable where Dawn has 3 horses. I wanted to ride them but it was 21 degrees outside. Too cold for this southern boy.

I also got to visit my publisher Samhain Publishing. The staff took me out to lunch at Red Robin. I have the best publisher. All in all, my trip to Cincinnati and Horror Hound was a great time.

Horrorfind Weekend, Gettysburg, PA

I just got back from a book signing at Horrorfind this Labor Day weekend. I had a great time meeting fans of horror, fellow authors, and the marketing and editing team from my publisher, Samhain Horror.

Left to Right: David Bernstein, Russell James, Me, Dawn Martin, Don D'Auria (my editor), John Everson, Jacob Hammer, Damien Walters Grintalis, and Mick Ridgewell

 Signing alongside Damien Walters Grintalis, author of INK

Posing with David Bernstein, author of AMONGST THE DEAD.

 

With horror fans

  Signing alongside Hunter Shea, author of EVIL ETERNAL

 With Ronald Malfi, author of THE NARROWS and SNOW

 Posing with John Everson, author of NIGHTWHERE.

 

World Horror Convention 2011

I just signed up to attend the World Horror Convention in Austin, TX Apr 28-May 1, 2011 http://worldhorrorconvention.com/future-whcs/

http://www.BrianMoreland.com

Twitter: @BrianMoreland

Facebook: Author Brian Moreland

Traveling to Iraq with the USO

When I'm not writing novels, I work as a video editor on documentaries, TV commercials, and corporate videos. This year I was invited to travel to Iraq to edit a TV commercial. On January 1st, 2010, Tostitos and the USO hosted a "Salute the Troops" Bowl game, where the soldiers stationed in Iraq got a chance to play flag football with some celebrity football players and coaches from the United States. Among the celebrities traveling with the USO were Coach Barry Switzer, Coach Tommy Bowden and eight football players: Tony Casillas, Rocket Ismail, Bruce Smith, Brian Bosworth, Ty Detmer, Tee Martin, Tommy Frasier, and Joe Washington.

I was part of a video crew that filmed the entire event to produce a TV commercial, Hi-light video, and documentary. I got the privilege to travel to Camp Liberty military base in Baghdad to edit on site. On January 4th, the two-minute commercial played during the half-time show at the Tositos Fiesta Bowl. You can view this a the bottom of this article. First, I have posted several photos from the trip.

First stop: London.

On our way to the Middle East, we stopped off for a day in London to change planes. Since we had a ten-hour layover, we decided to take a day trip into the city. We took a train to to Picadilly Circus, which reminded me of New York's Times Square. We ate dinner at a pub called The Sussex. I ordered Fish 'n Chips and had a beer with the crew. Below is a busy street where there were many billboards advertising musicals and shows.



Me posing outside the pub.


After an overnight flight from London we landed in Kuwait.




We spent one night at the Radisson Hotel and ate some wonderful Middle Eastern cuisine. Below is Kuwait City on the coast of the Persian Gulf. I found the city to be beautiful with a mixture of modern architecture and Arabic buildings. There was even a space needle like the one in Seattle. The people in Kuwait were very friendly.



The next morning we were escorted by U.S. soldiers to the military airport where we boarded a C-130 cargo plane. Flying on an Air Force plane was one of the most exciting parts of the trip.



Inside the plane we all sat across from one another.


We were required to wear helmets and Kevlar vests in case we were fired upon. Missile tracers were fired off to make sure our path was clear. Behind me is the cargo area where all our gear was stored.

We were able to go up to the cockpit and watch the pilots in action.


On December 29th, we landed at the Baghdad airport. This was a very surreal moment for me. We were greeted by a welcome party of troops and members of the USO.


Two of my heroes, Coach Barry Switzer and Tony Casillas, getting off the plane. Switzer coached the Dallas Cowboys in the mid-nineties when they went to a Superbowl. Tony Casillas was also a member of the Dallas Cowboys and proudly wore his Superbowl ring.


The flight crew posing with cheerleaders from Colorado University. The cheerleaders came on the trip to cheer at the pep rally and football game and to boost the troops's spirits.


The legendary Brian Bosworth (a.k.a. "The Boz") from the University of Oklahoma.

Here are quarterback Tee Martin and running back Joe Washington being greeted by an Army officer.

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and Notre Dame star Rocket Ismail visiting with an Army officer.

Campy Liberty. Every day choppers flew over the base in Baghdad.


The base encompasses several lakes with beautiful palaces that had once belonged to Saddam Hussein. These palaces are now used as military headquarters.



Here are two young men from Uganda who were hired by the military to guard the posts. They were very serious about their jobs. My hand is hovering over one of the guard's shoulders, because I started to put my arm around him, and then I stopped short, thinking, "Woah, he might not like that."

The JVB was a palace converted into a hotel for soldiers and civilians who come to visit the base. This is where we ate three meals a day in the mess hall. Our sleeping quarters were in trailers surrounded by concrete walls to protect us from mortar fire. There were four bunk beds to a trailer. Sharing a trailer with three other people, I felt like I was at summer camp.


Above and below are views from the back of the JVB hotel where we ate.



Below is a sequence of soldiers in action around the base.

I got the opportunity to work at Saddam's main palace, which is considered the Pentagon of Iraq.

My editing suite was a very small storage building beside the palace. It was very cramped quarters.

On New Year's Eve, I was working inside this tin box when I suddenly began hearing explosions right outside. The booms were the loudest I had ever heard. The repercussions made the walls shake and rocked the ground like an earthquake. A U.S. soldier came into my edit room and told me we were under attack and that we needed to take refuge in the palace. He gave me a helmet and handed a Kevlar vest to a producer I was working with. We began running for cover. My heart was racing as we ran flat along the palace walls. We heard sirens going off and the rotors of helicopters as we took cover inside the palace foyer. There were at least a dozen soldiers coming out with guns drawn. It was quite exciting. Within a half hour the base was secure. I found out later some Iraqis had pulled a truck up to the base wall and fired 9 mortars. They exploded at random places around the base, but thankfully no one was hurt. The film crew and celebrity players had been in the middle of their pep rally at the gym when the explosions started happening. They all hit the deck and had to lay flat on the gym floor until the sirens stopped.

After the barrage of mortar shells, it was back to work. We had a film to make. Here I am editing footage the camera guy just brought me.

The entire week the soldiers got to hang out with the celebrity football players.

Bruce Smith posing with two soldiers.

Rocket Ismail and Sgt. Taylor

One of the troops posing between football greats Ty Detmer and Joe Washington.

Tee Martin and a soldier.

The Colorado University cheerleaders.

Me in front of Saddam's palace.

Tony Casillas with several fans.

The entire Tostitos and USO crew.

Traveling over to Camp Liberty in Iraq was an amazing experience. I met so many wonderful troops and returned home with a deep sense of pride. Below is the two-minute commercial that I edited for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. My next project is to edit a longer documentary which I will post at a later date.

If you are looking for a great way to support the troops, I recommend donating to these two charities: Books for Soldiers and the USO.