Life is But a Scream!: The True Story of the Rebirth of Famous Monsters of Filmland

ARE YOU IN THE MOOD FOR A LITTLE DEAD-TIME STORY? Life Is But A Scream! takes a candid and revealing look into the hopes, the dreams, the triumphs and the tragedies encountered in reviving the world's greatest Screamag, from the realm of the literary undead. FM Publisher/Editor Ray Ferry takes you behind-the-screams and into the very heart of the world of FM. You'll get the complete, play-by-play story of what happened and why it happened. You'll meet some of the many wonderful fans and stars who have befriended FM and you'll come face to face with dastardly fiends who tried desperately to drive a proverbial stake into the works.

Beyond an insider's glimpse into the netherworld of cult-movie fandom, Life Is But A Scream! is a searing story of passion, jealousy and ego that could easily have stepped from the pages of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is the story of what happened when a former fan grew to adulthood and re-embraced a beloved icon of his childhood only to discover the stinging truth of the adage: "You can't go home again." LIFE IS BUT A SCREAM! is like hopping aboard a runaway hearse on a mad ride through the blood-stained dungeons of Horrorwood. But if you're a fan of FM, this isn't just our story...it's YOUR story, too. Over 400 terrorific pages. Profusely illustrated with many never-before-published photos and documents from FM's private archive and the public records

RAY FERRY, Editor/Publisher of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND Magazine, is one of the leading authorities and aficionados of what he terms "the films of Classic Horrorwood." He began his love affair with the genre in 1960 as an 8-year-old charter reader of a popular 1960s era pulp magazine titled Famous Monsters of Filmland, which was the "bible" of the monster craze of the time, influencing the careers of a whole generation of then adolescent readers. Today Ferry is the editor and publisher of that very same magazine that so influenced him in his youth.

Having worked for some 20 years as a professional photographer before applying his energies to FM, Ferry has a unique appreciation of and respect for the craftsmanship of the horror classics. Since reviving the magazine from the realm of the literary "undead" in 1993, Ferry has devoted his efforts to introducing the era of the classic fright films to a new generation who have been weaned on a diet of blood and gore in modern films. An outspoken voice concerning graphic violence in film and its desensitizing effect on young minds, Ferry's retro-horror approach has resulted in reestablishing Famous Monsters of Filmland, as the leading publication of its kind. By merging the magazine's original 1960s flavor with a 1990s edge, he has bridged the gap of several generations and created an entertaining and educational forum, with both adult and child readers sharing the innocent fun of the Halloween spirit all year long.

Ferry has worked with many diverse talents in the fantasy film genre with whom he shares a love of the classics including author Ray Bradbury, Academy Award Winning Animator Ray Harryhausen (both of whom were among the most influential personalities of his youth); legendary comics Phyllis Diller (MAD MONSTER PARTY), Mel Brooks (YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) and Gary Owens; renowned performers Gloria Stuart (THE OLD DARK HOUSE), Adam West (TV's Batman), Frank Gorshin (Batman TV's Riddler), Cassandra Peterson (TV's ELVIRA), Al Lewis (THE MUNSTERS), and world renowned mentalist and occult authority The Amazing Kreskin, among others.

Ferry believes the old horror films will never be equaled. His credo is "there's no ghoul like an old ghoul."