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20~MAY-1993 15:22
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FROM HODDER &~STOUGHTON

TO

8185602

P.02

MEDIA RELEASE
from Hodder & Stoughton Australia LEIGH BLACKMORE Australia's leading horror expert
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Leigh Blackmore, editor 'of Terror' Australis: The Best of Australian \ .. .

Horror (publishing

July 1993 at $12.9S)'js to horror what Glen A Baker is to rock 'n'roll and Bill Collins is to movies .
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Black by name and black by nature, Leights fascination with the macabre has produced a ground~
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breaking co~on

of ~b-~.bY.the-tbroat

stori~ from A~~a's '~-,,-

best writers of horror. Stories , .

guaranteed

to gtve

you nighJares.

"My interest is $0 intense 1 suppose you could say that horror is myi life, II says I..eigh Blackmore, and
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this is'reflected in his home, The Blockmauaoleum.

'!be walls

driP with horror

posters and portraits '"

of horrorgreats.

The rooms are over-run by Leigh's 6()()0 books on horror and the supernatural
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(pro~bly the largest privately-owned collection in Australia), horror film magazines and journals,

horror audiocassettes and horror rlim soundtlacks.

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Always a voracious reader, Leigh Blackmore's love of,bona: began at 13 when be was introduced to -~ ....... ~ . the wode of HP Lovecraft. At IS he SW'ted his firs~ ,horror society which was soon banned by his
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Newcastle high school. His interest in the world of doom, death and ~y

escalated and Leigh

started writing horror stories himself. Over the years, he,QJntinuec1 to collect his hmmr memorabilia,
edited and published Terror Australis magazine and co-foonded the GargoyleClub, a support group
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for horror writers and artiits.

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Of Terror

Australis:

The Best of Australia'n Horror

Leigh Blackmore writes, "B race

YDurself in your uneasy chair. And when you turn the page to enjt?Ythe first delicious tingle

of 'fear,

be re"ified. Be shocked. Be IwrriJied. Above all - be entertained. "

For an interview with Leigh Blackmore: Dianne Cunningham: tel (02) 684 0446
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10-16 South Street, Rydalmere NSW 2116

ph: (01) n~R t;?QQ J:::tv'
{()?) (.SV1 AOLl?

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20-MAY-1993
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15:23

FROM HODDER & STOUGHTON

TO

8185602

P.03

THE BLACKMAUSOLEUM
Home to Australia's leading horror .expert,
Leigh Blackmore's home is affectionately dubbed The Blackrrumsoleum. This is partly a play on

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words (the same way science fiction writer Harlan Ellison calls his abode Ellison WontJerland and Forrest 1 Ackerman dubs his residence the Ackermanslon) and partly a play on the Black Museum, ScotlanCl. yants infamous museum of criminal relics. ' The walls of The Blackmausoleum are covered , with Leigh's collection of movie posters ranging from ,

the old Hammer honors through to contempotary films, book promotion posters and portraits of
horror greats like HP Lovecraft.
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The

roomIarc largely

overtaken with Leigh's 6OQO _

books: ~blY

Australia's largest privately

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owned cotlection of horror and su:pematuialli~ hardcover horror fiction of the 19608.:fil1 the living

Horror anthologies from 1970 to 1993 and

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loom.

The library holds film magazines and

journals, paperback fiction, horror pnthologies from 1900-1960, an almost complete collection of

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titles from legendary horror I fantasy publisher Arldwn House and hardcover fiction chronologically
from

~J9th

li~tute,

J9t:h, ce~too' to war-time and post-war borror fiction up through

century hOITO['literature, through

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British, European and American horror the 1970s to the present day.
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Leigh shares his bedroom with hoiTor biographies and reference books on the aesthetics and history of the horror genre, the occult, vampires, true crime and serial killers. The Black Cabinet (a case full , of reference books on horror flIm ~ named of course .after the classic. silent horror film The Cabinet of
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Dr Callgari), long runs of books by Algancm Bla~

and Arthur Machen; IUs Jack the Ripper

collectiOn and his HP Loveeraft, the Harlan Collections; plus piles of horror journals including rare pulps like Weird Tales.

.~Son, Ramsay Campbell and Dennis Etchison audiocassettes aDd. film soundtracks; and hundreds of magazines and

Ana Of course, there's Leigh's ~ prtzcd. mines including an original photograph of, and a signed postcard by, HP Lovecralt, as well as copies of his rare books -such as The Shadow Over '-..Ii Innsmouth; and signed envelopes by Clark A'Shton Smith, together with rare early volumes of Smith's fantastic poetry.
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The bouse also features several mementoes donated by movie special effects specialists Lewis and

Marilyn Pride. These include a mask from the Phantom of the Opera stage show, a wax skull created for an episode of Mission Impossible and leigh's favourite prop. a painted plaster panel depicting the skeleton of a human and his pet dog blasted by an apocalyptic nuclear fallout!
For further information:: Dianne Cunningham Tel: (02) 684 0446 I Fax: (02) 684 4942