The New York Grimpendium Streets Today
October 1, 2012 — They say that the best work is its own reward, so I guess it’s a reflection on the quality of my new book that I really want you to buy it.
I can’t call my Grimpendium project a book series yet, but, with the release today of The New York Grimpendium, it’s now officially a set, a set that covers the most macabre sites in seven of the 50 states.
Like The New England Grimpendium before it, The New York Grimpendium covers sites and artifacts connected to legends and personalities of the macabre, cemeteries and other memento mori, crimes and tragedies, classic monsters, and horror movie filming locales.
This time, of course, they’re all located in the state of New York. It’s also 50 pages longer than its predecessor, features more pictures, and represents almost an entire year’s worth of travel and writing.
Besides the stories behind the sites and my experiences visiting them, the book has all the information you need to see about 98% of the places yourself. There were a few times that I used the “I’m writing a book” line to get into places I probably wouldn’t have otherwise been let in. Of course, if you use that line too, then you can visit 100%.
Also, for those of you who don’t live in or near New York, I made a purposeful effort to ensure the book was of universal interest. Actually, “purposeful effort” oversells my role by a large mark-up. It wasn’t too hard to do since the book by its very nature features people of international renown, crimes and tragedies of national interest, funerary art of universal beauty, memento mori of global relevance, and monsters of common terror.
But you don’t have to decide right now on whether you want the Grim Reaper Statue of Liberty on your bookshelf. As you already know if you've been following the OTIS blog for the past couple of weeks, I’ve chosen a small selection of the 250 or so sites and artifacts to feature in photo essays throughout the Halloween season here on OTIS, everything from my visit with Lloyd Kaufman at Troma Studios to New York’s Edgar Allan Poe landmarks to collections of brains, shrunken heads, and derelict ships. I took a vast number of photos over the course of my travels in New York and, due to the obvious physical and production constraints inherent in a book, could only feature 1 to 2 per entry. That means I have a lot of bonus material to share with you without actually spoiling the book. I've posted a bunch so far, but I've saved the best for October.
You can buy The New York Grimpendium anywhere you can buy books (here’s the Amazon link), and it’s available both in paperback and digital-back.
Also, if you want to hear me talk about the book or have a few complaints about it that need to be delivered in person, here are my scheduled appearances and interviews so far. Also, some press, as well, if you want a more objective take on it. I’ll be updating that page throughout October as more reviews come in.
So if this kind of stuff interests you, check out The New York Grimpendium. I promise you’ll have a grim old time.