Short, Scary Tales Publications
Birmingham, England
- 2016 -
Copyright ©2015 Paul Kane
Introduction copyright ©2015 Alison Littlewood
Cover art copyright ©1998 Dave McKean
RED (previously published by Skullvines Press, 2008.
Cover art copyright ©1994 Dave McKean.)
Blood RED (original to this edition) copyright ©2015 Paul Kane
RED and Blood RED title logos copyright ©2015 Dave McKean
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-909640-46-7
2016 SST Publications eBook Edition
Published by
Short, Scary Tales Publications
15 North Roundhay
Stechford
Birmingham
B33 9PE
England
www.sstpublications.co.uk
eBook design by Paul Fry
First Digital Edition: January 2016
PRAISE FOR RED
‘RED not only tips its hat to “Little Red Riding Hood,” but “Peter And The Wolf,” and “Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?” and every werewolf type motif in between... This time around Kane puts a twisted horror spin to it, with even a fair amount of social criticism thrown in for good measure... Kane does an incredible job of combining horror and humor into one tasty morsel.’
(Cemetery Dance Magazine)
‘Kane expands on the “Little Red Riding Hood” mythos with a sharply-written novella that pits a descendent of the classic fairy tale character against the “real” creature of the same story. But make NO mistake: this isn’t for kids! You can tell Kane had a real ball twisting time updating “Riding Hood”, especially in how he has crafted this new, psycho-sexual “wolf.” For the sake of not ruining anything else, let’s just say RED is a real BLOODY good time.’
(Horror Fiction Review)
‘RED is a gleefully gruesome tale that moves at an excellent pace. Its length is a joy, reminiscent of a line from another fairy tale: “Not too big, not too small, just right.” Paul Kane does a rip-roaring rendition of the Red Riding Hood story… He has the gift of summing up a situation in a sentence. RED is wonderfully written; it is easy to sink one’s teeth into it and devour it with relish.’
(Hellnotes)
‘This is a good scary story for those stormy nights or bright days. It is strong enough to terrify either way and will stay in your mind for days afterwards. Stories like this don’t come along very often, as all readers know.’
(Horror Bound Magazine)
‘RED is bloody brilliant – clever, classy and bound to chill you to the bone!’
(Horror World)
‘Paul Kane has enriched the werewolf mythos with a seamless re-imagining of a hypnotically suggestive fairy tale, embellishing it with the harsh, alluring scent of an ages-old psychosexual predator who easily rivals that other undead villain from Eastern European folklore, the vampire. A relentless and grisly fairy tale for dark times, RED is filled with the blackest blood from the deepest parts of our bodies, and is thoroughly recommended.’
(Mathew Riley, BookGeeks)
‘From RED’s shocking first chapter through wicked twists and turns to the end, the story surprises, intrigues and beguiles you. Paul Kane’s taut, muscular, yet descriptive prose conjures up disturbing images in your mind that you won’t be able to dislodge for months. Kane’s writing is frighteningly realistic… RED is a beautifully visceral, dark tale and if any novella was ripe for a film adaptation, it’s this one.’
(Barbie Wilde, Female Cenobite in Hellbound: Hellraiser II and author of The Venus Complex)
OTHER BOOKS BY PAUL KANE:
NOVELS
Arrowhead
Broken Arrow
Arrowland
Hooded Man (Omnibus)
The Gemini Factor
Of Darkness and Light
Lunar
Sleeper(s)
The Rainbow Man (as P.B. Kane)
NOVELLAS
Signs of Life
The Lazarus Condition
Dalton Quayle Rides Out
RED
Pain Cages
Creakers (chapbook)
The Curse of the Wolf (chapbook)
The Bric-a-Brac Man
COLLECTIONS
Alone (In the Dark)
Touching the Flame
FunnyBones
Peripheral Visions
The Adventures of Dalton Quayle
Shadow Writer
The Butterfly Man and Other Stories
The Spaces Between
GHOSTS
MONSTERS
EDITOR & CO-EDITOR
Shadow Writers Vol. 1 & 2
Terror Tales #1-4
Top International Horror
Albions Alptraume: Zombies
The British Fantasy Society: A Celebration
Hellbound Hearts
The Mammoth Book of Body Horror
A Carnivàle of Horror: Dark Tales from the Fairground
Beyond Rue Morgue
NON-FICTION
Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide (Major Contributor)
Cinema Macabre (Contributor)
The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy
Voices in the Dark
Shadow Writer – The Non-Fiction. Vol. 1: Reviews
Shadow Writer – The Non-Fiction. Vol. 2: Articles & Essays
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My thanks to Paul Fry at SST for his unrelenting enthusiasm, not only for this project, but also a few others we