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As an avid (rabid?) Stephen King fan it's been a banner few months with the announcements of film adaptations, TV series, and new novels coming fast and furious. Here's what King's Constant Readers have in store for them so far:

1. Ron Howard's film adaptation of the Dark Tower series as well as an accompanying TV show. Javier Bardem has been officially cast as Roland.

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2. The rumours are flying that King will write for at least one episode of the returning Walking Dead series (if you haven't started watching this yet, don't wait a moment longer!) There's been speculation that King and his son - bestselling novelist Joe Hill - may even turn this into a collaborative effort - exciting, right?

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3. Last - but not least - TWO new novels:

11/22/63 - Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine on an insane - and insanely possible - mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole - what?! Another Dark Tower?? I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. The Mayan calender might tell us that the world will end December 2012, but at least I'll get two more King books before it does :) :)

For more Dark Tower news check out The Dark Tower Official Website and Lilja's Library

-Trudi (a.k.a The Cryptkeeper)

It looks like it's finally going to happen!!!! -- Roland and the Dark Tower are coming to a big (and small screen) near you. Director Ron Howard is scheming and dreaming while I write this, and has been for well over a year now, all in the hopes of doing King's magnum opus justice. It's a daunting (not to mention terrifying) task considering the source material spans seven books and nearly 4000 pages (and that doesn't include the concordances, graphic novels, short stories, novellas, and poetry dedicated to Roland's world). In these seven books King creates a sprawling, genre-defying edifice that's a heady mash-up of science fiction, fantasy, western, and horror, unfolding upon a post-apocalyptic landscape in a world that has long since "moved on".

The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.

It was enough to discourage Lost creator J.J. Abrams, who walked away from the project some time ago justifiably intimidated. Not so Ron Howard and writing / producing partners Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman. They are on board full passion steam ahead, with King himself enthusiastically along for the ride. The roll out plan seems to be that Howard will direct the first film and then the first season of a tie-in television series, both of which Goldsman will write. Two more films would follow. Read full article here.

Ahhhhhh!!! I can't believe it ... part of me is so excited, but part of me is absolutely petrified they're gonna screw it up. It's not just the world building they've gotta get right - that would be tough enough to pull off credibly (and please avoid overdosing on CGI slickness!), it's the casting that will make or break this project. Who will play Roland? While many will argue he is now way too old, I still long to see Clint Eastwood step into the Gunslinger's scuffed boots. Even in his twilight years, I have full confidence that Dirty Harry can pull off mature, wise, mean Roland, merciless and calculating Roland, courageous and flawed, cool and temperamental. Who better to play a literary icon than a film legend?

Other names being thrown about include Viggo Mortensen, Daniel Craig, and heaven forbid, Kurt Russell. Then there's the casting of Susannah and Eddie Dean to consider ... not to mention uber-villain Flagg, the man in black himself!

If you want to keep up with all the news coming out fast and furious about these projects, refer to Lilja's Library Dark Tower page here -- the best, most comprehensive Stephen King website around.

Find the complete Dark Tower series in the RPL catalogue:

The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I

The Drawing of the Three: The Dark Tower II

The Waste Lands: The Dark Tower III

Wizard and Glass: The Dark Tower IV

Wolves of the Calla: The Dark Tower V

Song of Susannah: The Dark Tower VI

The Dark Tower: The Dark Tower VII

-Trudi

For those of you who are counting down the days until the season premiere of Supernatural's sixth season, here is a link for some spoilers. Enjoy!

When I was a kid, one of the scariest movies I remember watching was a made-for-TV production called Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973), starring Kim Darby and Jim Hutton. In it, a couple inherits this house that's inhabited by these little demonic creatures who torment the wife so much that everyone around her thinks she is losing her mind. I hardly remember anything about it other than it scared the wits out of me, and one scene where the "creatures" drag the woman kicking and screaming up into the chimney.

I'm sure if I watched it now, it would seem pretty tame, and perhaps a lot cheesy, but I bet that one scene I remember would still raise the hairs on the back of my neck. And it looks like uber-director-writer-genius Guillermo Del Toro feels the same way because he has co-written the screenplay for a re-make directed by Troy Nixey (Del Toro's young up and coming protegee).

For better or worse, it seems 2010 is going to be a banner year for remakes, including the highly anticipated A Nightmare on Elm Street coming in April.

Check out this article on Sci-Fi Wire: What works, what sucks and what's coming for 11 horror remakes!

Find these originals available at RPL!

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The Brood (1979)

Fright Night (1985)

The Cryptkeeper

According to Sci-Fi Wire, the Italian government is considering restricting the blockbuster horror hit Paranormal Activity because it's "too scary".

The article goes on to describe that: "some Italian moviegoers have actually suffered panic attacks after watching the documentary-style movie, sparking protests by children's and consumer groups."

I find it hard to believe that Italian movie-goers should be so .... ahem.... sensitive shall we say. After all, Italy is the birthplace of zombie gore godfather, Lucio Fulci, and slasher maestro Dario Argento.

For the record, I really enjoyed Paranormal Activity. It was supremely creepy -- so little actually happens, but my stomach was in knots the entire time -- the knockings, thumps and bumps are adrenaline inducing. Because action is minimal, the few violent, thrashing scenes that occur are quite a rush!

But is it a ban-worthy experience? No, not in the least. Like The Blair Witch Project, what you imagine is much worse than what you actually see. Now The Exorcist -- there's a movie that remains truly horrifying and disturbing on so many levels. I still think no one under 18 should see this movie.

The Cryptkeeper

The enthusiastic and knowledgeable crew over at Bloody-Disgusting.com refer to themselves as "Your #1 Source For Horror" - and you know what? They're not just bragging; they really do deliver. I use this website all the time to keep abreast of horror news, reviews and interviews. What's coming out in theaters? What's new to DVD? Will there be a Saw VII? There are insightful articles, endless trailers, and "Best" lists to die for. For example: Top Ten Cheesiest Horror Movie One-Liners.

My one criticism is that the site is exclusively focused on movies. The contributors are obsessed film buffs so very rarely will you get anything on what's being published. Except for Graphic Novels - the site has a great section called Graphic Content. Oh! and they also do video games :-)

Now the crew over at Bloody-Disgusting want to recognize the top horror bloggers on the Web with an official BD Horror Bloggers Award. I think this is an awesome idea. There are LOADS of horror blogs out there - good, bad and ugly - and this is a fantastic way of celebrating the truly good ones.

Stay tuned for nominations and winners!

The Cryptkeeper

Best Horror Movie:

1) Dead Snow

2) Drag Me to Hell WINNER!

3) Friday the 13th (remake)

4) Let the Right One In (Sweden)

5) My Bloody Valentine 3D

6) Splinter

Best Foreign Movie:

1) Dead Snow (Norway)

2) Eden Lake (England)

3) Let the Right One In (Sweden) WINNER!

4) Martyrs (France)

5) Pontypool (Canada)

6) Timecrimes (Spain)

The Cryptkeeper

Uber director Guillermo del Toro is spearheading a new horror label, Double Dare You, for Disney and makes a number of dares, including:

* Dare to scare the kids

* Dare to read and buy the thrills

* Dare to remember history

Seriously, check out the article. If Del Toro lives up to his "dares", then fans will have plenty of films to enjoy for years to come!

--May