Dark Reflections… Kim Newman

Paul Kane's collection, Dark Reflections, is out this Christmas and it includes a wonderful introduction by horror legend, Kim Newman. Here, Paul tells us just why he wanted to open the collection with a few words from Kim.

I’ve been a fan of Kim Newman’s work almost as long as I’ve been a fan of horror in general. I came across his non-fiction first, if I remember rightly – film reviews and articles for various places, plus his book Nightmare Movies was a go-to resource for me, and continued to be into the ’90s when I was studying film at university; it got me through many an essay, I can tell you. And, of course, Kim’s fiction which I read in the pages of magazines like Fear and then by grabbing his books from my local shop when they came out.

   So, when I first started out in genre journalism myself and after getting my fiction published in the small presses, then attending conventions, there were certainly people I’d hoped to meet. I think it was at a British Fantasy Society event, maybe an open night or awards showcase, that I met Kim for the first time in the early 2000s – and was delighted to find he was just as nice and knowledgeable as he seemed in print and on TV shows.

   Twenty years or more later, I’m happy to report he’s just as lovely and infinitely more knowledgeable than ever. We’ve enjoyed many a drink or several at his birthday parties over the years, which he’s kindly invited us to; chatted with him at other conventions and events; and of course he was one of our Guests of Honour at ChillerCon UK in Scarborough last year, which was where I first had the idea of asking him to introduce Dark Reflections. What better person to talk about reworkings of, or sequels to, classic stories by the masters of dark fiction than Kim? Someone I class as a master of dark fiction himself; his Dracula novels alone already mark him out as one of our most important writers over the last few decades, and I only see his reputation increasing in years to come.

   I sent the mail, and nervously waited for a reply – but naturally Kim being Kim, it was a lovely one back saying, ‘Happy to oblige!’. And the introduction, as you’ll see for yourself when you pick up a copy of Dark Reflections, is just as brilliant and informative as you’d expect! I certainly learnt a few things from it…

   Anyway, if that doesn’t tempt you, then hopefully you’ll find something within the pages – tales which pay homage to the greats such as M.R. James, Charles Dickens, William Hope Hodgson, H.P. Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poe to name but a few – that you might enjoy.

   More soon in the run-up to publication, launching just in time for those long spooky, winter evenings! Until then, my eternal thanks to Kim, Cameron and of course Greg Chapman for the wonderful cover – yet another reason to spend those pennies!

Paul Kane
Derbyshire, August 2023