The following "comment" pieces by Stephen Volk first appeared in The Third Alternative magazine, in 2007 re-launched as Black Static. Formerly called Electric Darkness, in April 2011 the column was re-named Coffinmaker's Blues. For more information on Black Static and other TTA publications go to TTA Press.
"Constantly insightful" Horror World Reviews
"Electric Darkness alone is worth the cover price" Colin Harvey (Suite 101)
"Blisteringly powerful... Volk's column draws on a dizzying number of references and shows admirable conceptual depth and density as well as a muscular and evocative style. This is precisely what writing a magazine column should be about." SF Signal
"Chasing The Dead Babies" (Black Static #25 Nov 2011)
(on THE PARANORMAL and CULTURE)
"Naming Names" (Black Static #24 Aug-Sep 2011)
[on CHARACTERS' NAMES]
"Monsters in the Heart" (Black Static #23 Jun-Jul 2011)
[on EMPATHY and EVIL]
"Writing Pictures" (Black Static #22 Apr-May 2011)
[on VISUAL ART]
"The Fallacy of The Real" (Black Static #21 Feb-Mar 2011
[on REALISM]
"To Be Continued" (Black Static #20 Dec 2010-Jan 2011)
[on CONTINUING TV SERIES]
"What Would Alfred Do?" (Black Static #19 Oct 2010)
[on HITCHCOCK AND PSYCHO]
"Human Thumb Prints" (Black Static #18 Aug 2010)
[on SPECIAL EFFECTS]
"Angels Long Forgotten" (Black Static #17 June 2010)
[on CHILDREN IN HORROR]
"Holding Hands in Quicksand" (Black Static #16 Apr 2010)
[on SUPPORT MECHANISMS]
"Adaptive Behaviour" (Black Static #15 Feb 2010)
[on ADAPTATION]
"People of Glass" (Black Static #14 Dec 2009)
[on VICTIMS]
"That's The Way To Do It" (Black Static #13 Oct 2009)
[on ANARCHY IN HORROR]
"Through Other Eyes" (Black Static #12 Aug 2009)
[on RESEARCH]
"Witches and Pricks" (Black Static #11 Jun 2009)
[on WITCHCRAFT]
"Resurrect or Die" (Black Static #10 May 2009)
[on NAMES VS ORIGINALITY]
"It Has To Be Said" (Black Static #9 Feb 2009)
[on DIALOGUE]
"Walking Milwaukee" (Black Static #8 Jan 2009)
[on IDEAS]
"The Masque of Mary Whitehouse" (Black Static #7 Oct 2008)
[on CENSORSHIP]
"Fur vs. Iron" (Black Static #6 Aug 2008)
[on HUMANITY VS HYPE]
"Not In Front Of The Grown-Ups" (Black Static #5 Jun 2008)
[on TELEVISION]
"The Big Perhaps" (Black Static #4 Apr 2008)
[on RELIGION IN HORROR]
"Poetic Accuracy" (Black Static #3 Feb 2008)
[on SCREENPLAY VS NOVEL]
"Shamans and Shitmeisters" (Black Static #2 Dec 2007)
(on DIRECTORS)
"Too Dark" (Black Static #1 Sep 2007)
(on GENRE)
"In Purgatory" (TTA #42 Summer 2005)
(on SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT)
"Avoiding the Furniture" (TTA #41 Spring 2005)
(on ACTORS)
"The Peekaboo Principle" (TTA #40 Winter 2004-5)
(on PSYCHOLOGY OF HORROR)
"Talking Blood" (TTA #39 Autumn 2004)
(on GHOST STORIES)
Guest blog (July 2011) on Steven Lockley's web site (on WHY HORROR IUS LIKE COMEDY)
Guest blog (July 2010) on Simon Marshall Jones's web site Ramblings Of a Tattooed Head. (on SET VISITS)
Feature: "WESTWORLD" (Cinema Futura, ed. Mark Morris, PS Publications, 2010)
"Alfred and Jack: Ripping Yarns"
(on HITCHOCK AND JACK THE RIPPER)
Fortean Times #241 (October 2008)
"Stephen Volk's 10 Most Terrifying Movie Deaths"
The Book of Lists: Horror (2008)
"Can Hammer Ever Rise from the Grave?"
(on HAMMER)
Pantechnicon 6 March (2008)
"The Dust of Vesuvius"
(on BRITISH HORROR)
Introduction to British Invasion ed. Tim Lebbon, Christopher Golden (2007)
"Stiff Collars"
(on M.R. JAMES)
"Some [Further] Remarks on Ghost Stories" ed. Brian J. Showers (2006)
"Empathy for the Devil"
(on DENNIS WHEATLEY)
Horror: Another 100 Books ed. Stephen Jones, Kim Newman (2005)