{"id":13498,"date":"2021-07-08T17:13:51","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T17:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/?p=13498"},"modified":"2023-01-03T13:34:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T13:34:53","slug":"pickers-bleed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/archive\/pickers-bleed\/","title":{"rendered":"[Review] Picker’s Bleed"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Picker\u2019s Bleed<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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William Brown reviews Picker\u2019s Bleed<\/em>, a tale of witchy curses, haunted houses, and demonic possession from Mark R. Faulkner... <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Mark R. Faulkner\u2019s Flux<\/em> (2012) was a very promising debut novel, distinctive in voice and premise. The Dark Stone<\/em> (2013) was even more striking: a gruesome werewolf horror set amongst the plague-ridden streets and monasteries of Middle Ages England. Picker\u2019s Bleed<\/em>, his latest, is comparatively conventional: a tale of witchy curses, haunted houses, and demonic possession that offers few surprises but thrills nonetheless.<\/p>

\"\"The novel begins some five hundred years ago, with a supposed witch, Ella Jameson, being burned at the stake. It\u2019s familiar horror territory, but Faulkner portrays it with compellingly horrific imagery:\u00a0<\/p>

\u2018Fat was dripping onto the fire, hissing and spitting while clouds of black, greasy smoke rose into the morning sky. The morning smelled more like a hog-roast than an execution. Her body whistled like a sausage as her skin blistered and split, before blackening to a crisp.\u2019<\/p>

The same can be said of Picker\u2019s Bleed<\/em> as a whole. Innovation and originality aren\u2019t its forte, but strong writing and vivid horror definitely are.<\/p>

The story is reminiscent of James Herbert\u2019s The Magic Cottage<\/em> (1986), as Jake and Hannah move into the eponymous Picker\u2019s Bleed, a \u2018ramshackle country cottage, complete with thatched roof and oak beams,\u2019 on the outskirts of Marsham. Of course, the house is going for a song: \u2018Somebody must have died in there or something for it to be so cheap,\u2019 Jake comments, instantly letting us know that he is to be the designated wary half of the couple. And of course, Picker\u2019s Bleed has a dark history befitting its ghastly name\u2026<\/p>

After diverse unusual goings-on in their new home, Hannah consults the locals about its history. Ella Jameson \u2018opened up a portal to somewhere else and something came through,\u2019 the refreshingly forthcoming Vincent Mandeville tells her. \u2018Trouble is, only she could close it. It\u2019s a curse which has blighted the village ever since.\u2019 It turns out that Hannah is related to Jameson, and Vincent \u2014 who transpires to be a full-blown occultist, complete with a wardrobe filled with black robes \u2014 thinks Hannah might just be the solution to the curse: \u2018I believe there\u2019s enough of her DNA in you, enough of her spirit,\u2019 he enthuses. But are Vincent\u2019s motives as righteous as he claims?<\/p>

What follows is pure, schlocky goodness, including a priest tormented by psychic powers, a haunted mirror, ghostly children, a devil dog, and demonic possessions aplenty.<\/p>

The characterisation and dialogue are some of the novel\u2019s weaker aspects, occasionally detracting from the atmosphere. Jake and Hannah are pretty sweary, it must be said. \u2018Fuck me it\u2019s in the middle of nowhere,\u2019 Jake says of Picker\u2019s Bleed when Hannah shows him the details; \u2018Shit the bed!\u2019 Hannah exclaims when a face appears at the kitchen window. But these flaws are forgivable in the same way that the cardboard characters and questionable acting of \u201880s horror films are; when the action starts, at around the halfway mark, the book evolves into an Evil Dead<\/em>-esque thrill ride that frequently shocks but never takes itself too seriously.<\/p>

Haunted houses are a mainstay of horror fiction. As much as I yearn for innovation and originality in the genre, there\u2019s something about the traditional set-up \u2014 young family filled with hope, shadowy house filled with secrets \u2014 that snares my attention every time. Picker\u2019s Bleed<\/em> delivers on every level that really matters. It\u2019s nostalgic, it\u2019s funny, and it\u2019s pleasingly dark and brutal.<\/p>

Picker\u2019s Bleed will be released in September 2021.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWilliam Brown\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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William Brown has an MA in English Literature or some such. He\u2019s presently researching British fairy lore and glutting on Christmas horror movies. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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More To Explore<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTales From The Crypt (1972)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tales From The Crypt 1972 \/ Freddie Francis Where does one start with examining arguably Amicus\u2019 greatest portmanteau film? Well, for me, wiping away the<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t20\/09\/2023\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe People That Time Forgot (1977)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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The People That Time Forgot 1977 \/ Kevin Connor The success of Amicus\u2019 first two Edgar Rice Burroughs-based fantasy adventures in 1975 and 1976 led<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t19\/09\/2023\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tAt The Earth’s Core (1976)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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AT THE EARTH’S CORE 1976 \/ Kevin Connor Amicus\u2019 first foray into the science fiction adventure, The Land That Time Forgot (UK, Kevin Connor, 1974)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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William Brown reviews Picker\u2019s Bleed, a tale of witchy curses, haunted houses, and demonic possession from Mark R. Faulkner…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2030],"tags":[1874,644],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pickers-bleed.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122684,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498\/revisions\/122684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}