Spooky Season Begins!

Now that we're officially into Spooky Season once again, you're no doubt searching for something appropriately weird and macabre to read as we hurtle our way toward All Hallows' Eve. Why not try my latest nonfiction book, HOLLYWOOD HAUNTS THE WORLD: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CINEMA OF OCCULTED TABOOS, or my 2021 novel inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood and all the tragic ghosts that wander the streets of Los Angeles, BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD? Both of these books were nominated for Rondo Awards, the former for "Book of the Year (Nonfiction)" and the latter for "Best Classic Horror Fiction."

PRAISE FOR HOLLYWOOD HAUNTS THE WORLD: 

 

"In HOLLYWOOD HAUNTS THE WORLD, Robert Guffey takes his readers for a trip behind the magic curtain to reveal the true Wizards at work - those behind the lenses, making magic and moving the secret levers. To this end, Guffey plays the role of Toto, tearing the curtain aside to reveal these flesh and bone Wizards of the military-industrial-entertainment complex, and the occult role they play in influencing our inner dreams and everyday realities."

--Adam Gorightly,  

author of SAUCERS, SPOOKS, AND KOOKS
and THE SHADOW OVER SANTA SUSANA: BLACK MAGIC, MIND CONTROL, AND THE MANSON FAMILY MYTHOS

"Hollywood has truly haunted the world. So too should this book, one of the best ever written on American cinema."

--Gary D. Rhodes,

author of THE PERILS OF MOVIEGOING IN AMERICA and TOD BROWNING'S DRACULA, 

from his Foreword

 

"A heady, occult-driven exploration of cinema!"

 

--Larry Wade Carrell,

director of GIRL NEXT, THE QUANTUM DEVIL, and THE DARKSIDE OF SOCIETY

 

"HOLLYWOOD HAUNTS THE WORLD is an eccentric, erudite, freewheeling, groundbreaking, tongue-in-cheek but facetiousness-in-check extravaganza. Robert Guffey’s wry homage to cinematic taboo-breaking delighted and captivated me.”

--James Morrow, 

award-winning author of ONLY BEGOTTEN DAUGHTER and BEHOLD THE APE 

 

 "This is a fascinating, mind-expanding trip into some seriously dark corners."

 

--CINEMA RETRO 

 

 "[An] enjoyable trip from a tour guide likely (and proudly) on at least one agency watchlist."

 

--FLICK ATTACK 

 

 "[A] work of remarkable consequence, one I urge you to read."

 

--Peter Normanton, CRYPTOLOGY MAGAZINE 

 

"Highest recommendation!"

 

--Stephen R. Bissette,

writer/artist of TYRANT, CRYPTID CINEMA, and SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING 

You can hear me talking about the secret origins of HOLLYWOOD HAUNTS THE WORLD on several different podcasts including CONSPIRINORMAL, THE FARM, FORGOTTEN HOLLYWOOD, HI, STRANGENESS, THE NEW BOOKS NETWORK, RAVENSTAR'S WITCHING HOUR, THINGS VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, THE WARPED REALITY PARANORMAL PODCAST, and WHERE DID THE ROAD GO? 

As for BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD, Gary D. Rhodes (Lugosi's premier biographer), PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, NIGHTMARE MAGAZINE, CEMETERY DANCE, and Alan Moore all loved this novel! What more do you want? How about an audio version? Yes, indeed, the unabridged Audible Audiobook of BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD is also available! It's brilliantly read by the talented SAMUEL E. HOKE. Hoke was so dedicated to nailing the audio version that he contacted me before he began narrating the novel to make sure the accent of a particular character was exactly correct. He also went out of his way to research some of the films and documentaries about the real people and events upon which the novel is based. If you're interested, you can listen to a sample of the audiobook right HERE!

PRAISE FOR BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD:

“Blending intertextual rampage through the horror-movie canon with engrossing noir mystery and a backdrop of Hollywood esoterica, Robert Guffey serves up an intoxicating pulp cocktail that will leave you wanting more. A crepuscular treasure from a fascinating author.”

--ALAN MOORE, author of V FOR VENDETTA and WATCHMEN

“In Robert Guffey's latest and greatest novel, dreams of old movies and nightmares of classic horror rack into sharp focus through the lens of a brave film historian, one determined to squint clearly at fleeting grains of film through the shifting sands of time. Never has the truth of Hollywood been so well revealed through fiction. As a result, BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD delightfully and definitively proves that Bela Lugosi isn't dead.” 

--GARY D. RHODES, author of LUGOSI and TOD BROWNING'S DRACULA

"[H]orror fans will delight in how Guffey cleverly immerses movie monsters in the real world. Film buffs and monster enthusiasts will relish the supernatural characters brought to life in this atmospheric celebration of monster mayhem." 

--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"The sensation [of reading BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD] is like being led deep underground while your flashlight grows dimmer and dimmer, until you’re left in total darkness. That’s when the lights of a subterranean crypt flash on to reveal that you’re not where you expected to be, and where you are is far worse than you could have imagined. The result is an ending that left me chilled and took me a few days to fully process. As shocking as it was, everything was set up from the beginning. I know, I went back and checked, and have to give Guffey credit for pulling off a literary sleight of hand that caught me by surprise. I won’t spoil it with more, except to say that like the frog in water that’s warmed so slowly it doesn’t realize it’s coming to a lethal boil, Guffey’s readers face an equally stunning conclusion." 

--TERENCE TAYLOR, NIGHTMARE MAGAZINE

"BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD is a remarkably authentic, hypnotizing interpretation of all the glitz and pure talent behind Lugosi’s fame, as well as the hubris that steered his downfall. Guffey depicts how Lugosi’s Dracula transformed horror from a genre of make-believe to one that spreads the notion that monsters lurk among us."

--HALEY NEWLIN, CEMETERY DANCE

Back in 2021, Adam Sayne and Serfiel Stevenson of the CONSPIRINORMAL podcast interviewed me about BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD, focusing on Lugosi's relationship with esotericism and Manly P. Hall. You can hear that entire interview on YouTube:

Conspirinormal 372- Robert Guffey 4 (Bela Lugosi's Dead):