Anyone heard of Killian H Gore?!

[carolinec]

Have any of you heard of Killian H Gore? (what a name! Sounds like he should be in one of those heavy metal rock bands all dressed up and painted like Alice Cooper!)

I came across this on eBay:

Before Halloween - 13 short horror stories by Killian H. Gore

www.myspace.com/killianhgore

Descended from real life serial killer Ellen Mort, Killian H. Gore has horror running through his veins. In this, his first collection, he invites you to join him for thirteen weird and terrifying tales.


In the small fishing town of Port Vine, Scotland, Kade Maclean is about to meet his fate...by a rogue great white shark in The Shore Thing.

Creeping Jesus - A lost chapel embedded into the rocks of the Judean Mountains contains a very lifelike Jesus Christ statue. Very lifelife indeed.

In Born to be Food, Kyle Sawa observes a strange lake creature. But is there something much, much worse to fear out in the wilds of Idaho?

And what's with those unearthly cameras hovering about the woods of Tennessee in Video Projects?


Ghosts, serial killers, aliens and lake monsters, Killian H. Gore wants to chill, thrill, entertain and scare you.

For fans of the horror genre, those of us who like to walk on the darker side of life, Killian wants to stroll with you through a horror movie infused landscape in which your own imagination is called upon to ruminate the dreadful delights dredger up from the new twisted name in horror, Mr Gore!


"A real page turner" - Emma Pearson, The Pony Girls

"Frickin' Brilliant!" - Richard Dutton, Producer of "Red Route"

Anyway, I've never heard of him before, but it sounded good so I've gone and bought myself a copy - signed, direct from the author! I'm not impressed by his being descended from a real-life serial killer - heck, I like my horror to be pure fiction, there's enough real life horror around - just watch the news!

So, I'll let you know what it's like when it arrives, but I just wondered if anyone else had heard of him ...?

[Jaqhama]

Nope...but sounds intriguing.

I particularly like aliens/monsters/sea creatures stuff.

[carolinec]

Yep, I have a bit of a thing about "monster" stories myself.

I unintentionally sparked a discussion about this on the Vault board, ie. the idea that using your relationship to a real life serial killer to sell a book is in bad taste. I agree. That declaration made me think long and hard about whether to buy it, in fact. But now it's been pointed out that no-one's ever heard of "Ellen Mort". It seems to me Mr Gore might have a strange sense of humour. Perhaps the book will reveal all when I get it ... ;D

[Jaqhama]

If it helps sell your novel...who cares?

If it's well written then there is the likelyhood that people will buy your next novel, on the strength of the first one.

People have been voted into office/more senior positions by claiming or declaiming or saying they will put a stop to...serial killings and other nefarious crimes.

If the general public were disgusted by the whole idea or serial killers or people's relationship thereto...movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, SAW and Hostel wouldn't be so popular.

I find the Hostel movies particularly disburbing...who is the sicko?...the person who wrote the screenplay? The guy who produced/directed...or the upstanding citizens who have seen the movie and claim 'It's great!".
(And there are whispers around cyberspace that the Hostel scenerio is not completly fictional.)

[carolinec]

I think you're missing the point a bit though, Jaq. Real life serial killers have real life victims, and victims have relatives and friends. How would they feel if a relative of the person who killed their loved one was using that as a "selling point" for their book?

I'm not sure that's actually what this writer is doing - like I said, I'm starting to doubt the existence of Ellen Mort. But if it is what he's doing, then, personally, I do feel it's in bad taste, and it really made me think carefully about whether I'd buy the book or not (which makes it not a very good "marketing tool" anyway if other people react that way!).

However, I have to say (particularly as Killian H Gore now has my address! ) that he seems perfectly nice in my dealings with him so far - he even leaves very prompt feedback on eBay! If he is really descended from a serial killer and using this to "sell" his book, then I think it's probably just lack of realisation that this could be upsetting to people affected by it. So, Killian, if you google your name and read this, I'm not having a go at you, honest - just expressing an opinion about that particular selling tactic and how I reacted to it.

[benedictjjones]

i'd agree there's a big difference between me writing a serial killer story and me saying 'my grandad tortured and killed women in his root cellar' (he didn't) to try and sell my stuff.

that said 'killian. H. Gore' somehow doesn't sound like the name his mother gave him...

...and a quick search for ellen mort reveals nada and considering how much the web likes their serial killers i'd have thought there would be something.

but he's got us talking about his stuff so i think whatever he was trying to do in terms of publicity/marketing has worked.

[carolinec]

Jan 26, 2009 10:42:02 GMT benedictjjones said:

... 'my grandad tortured and killed women in his root cellar' (he didn't)

... but are you SURE he didn't, Ben. I mean, he might have! ;D

I responded to your PM on t'other site by the way, Ben.


.. and the book arrived in the post today, but I'm too busy at present to have a look at it (except to notice that he's signed it in red -------- felt pen!). More on it later when I've had the chance to have a proper look at it ...

[benedictjjones]

^cheers.

pretty sure - only because one was a dockworker and the other was a photographer so they'd probably have done it in the coal shed or the dark room ;D