Monday 18 October 2010

Trick or Treat

So October's eighteen days old - it's all legal now, you hear? - with only two weeks to go before it falls out of fashion entirely. And not one to miss out on a fine excuse to read some spooky books, I'm thinking... what better time to get our Trick or Treat on? Am I right?

Honestly, I'd hoped to tweak the blog template a bit in honour of all the Halloween fun, but after a few experiments behind the scenes, that notion's proven rather more problematic than I'd hoped. So what I want you all to do is imagine bats with bloody fangs and a pumpkin or two on the borders of TSS. Can you picture them? Good.

Timely design considerations aside, I keep hearing "content is king" anyway, and let's hope there's a touch more truth in that statement than the enduring success of the likes of the dreaded Hotlist suggests. Because content? That, I've got covered.

For the next fortnight, everything here on The Speculative Scotsman is going to have an edge of the horrific, a sliver of the spooky about it. Every bit of news I ramble on about, every book I read and review I write is going to be about something you could feasibly dress up as come All Hallows... so ghosts, vampires, maybe a zombie here or there - you name it. The BoSS - as well as any other semi-regular features which don't immediately pertain to the creeping creeps - is on hereby on hiatus, to return just as soon as November's upon us.

Take this a warning, all ye who hate fun. We're going to have some; you might want to duck out.

With that, then, let the good times roll!

8 comments:

  1. Not being a Scotsman sometimes the sarcasm goes over my head but it seems as if you have just insulted Pat's fantasy hotlist. Am i right?

    If so, it seems a bit unprofessional. Just sayin'. But like i said i'm not extremely bright and sarcasm, therefore, gives me some trouble.

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  2. No no, I did.

    I do sarcasm too, mind you. Here all week! Unlike some...

    But I don't know that we need to go into that. I'm sure Pat's a lovely guy, but between the relentless chest-thumping, the dearth of actual content on the Hotlist short of yet another hundred giveaways and his latest shenanigans - adorably transparent pleas for attention... well, no. I can't say I'm a fan.

    That said, each to their own.

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  3. Bringing it!

    Thank you, Alex, for getting us back on track - for a second there I had a sinking feeling I was being drawn into a tangled web of... dare I say Canadian proportions? ;)

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  4. Christmas be damned, right?

    Halloween is pretty awesome. Spent the last one in a graveyard with the other half, where we took turns reading the last chapters of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman to one another. Fine-ass times...

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  5. I bloody ADORE Halloween. Best holiday of the year. ( have you read Dark Harvest yet Niall? Perfect seasonal fare.I'm half way through and loving it so far - as if Raymond Chandler and Tom Waits had a baby then gave it to Ray Bradbury to home school. Glorious.)

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  6. "As if Raymond Chandler and Tom Waits had a baby then gave it to Ray Bradbury to home school" is cover copy I'd kill to see on Dark Harvest!

    Alright, Celine - appreciate the recommendation. Consider me in soon as I can lay my hands on a copy. :)

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