Morris horror writer gets anthology into Poe museum
By Molly Woulfe For The Herald-News August 30, 2011 7:26PM
Nickolaus Pacione holds a copy of his book “A Library of Unknown Horrors” Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, in Morris. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: November 16, 2011 2:00AM
MORRIS — Edgar Allan Poe, best known for chilling poems and macabre short stories, would find a kindred spirit in Nickolaus Pacione.
The Morris-based horrormeister, 35, has penned eerie Gothic tales for 15 years. He also brings long-buried spine-tinglers to light.
“I’m a picker,” said Pacione, referencing “American Pickers,” the reality TV series about two collectors who ferret out antiques in junk heaps. The show’s hosts, one of whom is from Joliet, seek “rusty gold, I go for printed gold.”
The self-published author has released eight anthologies and several e-zines through his Lake Fossil Press and struck gold this summer. He sent a copy of his latest book, an expanded 2010 collection of 28 yarns, to the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Va.
His hope: The gift shop might stock “Nickolaus Albert Pacione Delivers: A Library of Unknown Horrors” ($15.90).
And museum curator Chris Semtner bit.
Known in cyber-horror circles, Pacione dug up obscure creepy tales by masters such as Mary Shelley (“Frankenstein”), Bram Stoker (“Dracula”) and H.G. Wells (“War of the Worlds”). He’s printing their respective stories, which are in the public domain: “The Mortal Immortal” (1833), “The Seer” (1902) and “The Valley of the Spiders” (1903).
Poe made the cut with “The Premature Burial” (1844), a thriller about a man obsessed with being buried alive. Pacione rounded out the collection with one of his own stories, some classics, and works by newcomers such as Tiffany L. Proctor.
The book spans nearly two centuries of Gothic horror, Semtner said.
“It’s a historic overview of dark fiction,” he said. “It brings that kind of fiction from its roots to today.”
Semtner added the tome to the museum’s library. Few anthologies have passed muster, the curator said. Open to scholars, the library features Poe manuscripts, letters, books and biographies.
Pacione also has been asked to visit and discuss his book with horror fans.
For the writer, who cites horror and fantasy writer H.P. Lovecraft as an influence, the coup validates his accidental career. A one-time bike messenger studying philosophy and journalism at the College of DuPage, he was struck by a car in 1996, he said. Disabled by the crash, he turned to writing full-time, selling his books via his website, writingsfromthegrave.com, and on lulu.com and amazon.com.
Though he always liked the horror genre, he embraced it full-time in the wake of the accident, Pacione said. Writing became an outlet for his fears and a vehicle of fun. Terror gets the blood pumping. “Poe’s work is like a punch in the head,” he said, grinning.
He does have an ulterior motive. The author gave up an infant son for adoption 12 years ago and hopes the pre-teen may spy one of his books and contact him, he said. It would be a happy ending, one that eludes most characters in horror fiction. Michael was born Jan. 29, 1999 “during a full moon and a blizzard,” Pacione said. “Definitely a horror writer’s son.”
Comments Click here to view or make a comment