Let's Get Medieval
Books. Booze. Beats.
Books.
It’s May in Los Angeles, the smell of wildfires in the air, and another Ren Faire season has come to a close. To be fair(e), I haven’t been to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire since pre-Covid times, and from what I’ve heard, they no longer offer my favorite treats: their concoctions of mead, stout, and chocolate port. Alas! At least there is a renaissance of ancient and medieval horror to sustain us.
There is almost no limit to how far back you can go to tell a compelling story. The horror movie Out of Darkness, for instance, takes place some 45,000 years ago and is deeply compelling. But we’re going to start our literary tour of history by sliding into Biblical times with David Scott Hay’s original and captivating The Butcher of Nazareth. DSH seems to defy genre, but there is a distinct horror sensibility in Butcher, a Biblical-era novel that asks the question: what if you received a divine prophecy that Jesus would cause the end of the world? The historical intricacy and apocalyptic visions in the book are a wonder to behold.
Then let’s jaunt to 1485 Austria with C.J. Cooke’s The Last Witch. This fascinating and disturbing novel is based on the true story of Helena Sheuberin, who was accused of witchcraft when the infamous Heinrich Kramer—author of Malleus Maleficarum—came to town. The experiences of the accused women are harrowing. This book would pair nicely with a viewing of The VVitch.
Finally, I wanted to highlight two books that are still on my TBR: Howls from the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror, a short story anthology that has been on my shelf for a few years and that I would like to finally pick up soon; and Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman (who also edited Howls), a fantasy/horror novel about the Black Death that I’ve heard nothing but good things about. And I know there’s a ton more! Let me know your favorite ancient and medieval horror novels in the comments.
Booze.
My first optional drink pairing is specifically for The Butcher of Nazareth: mead is considered the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage. Made from fermented honey, mead is thousands of years old, considered the nectar of the gods in ancient Greece, and predates both beer and wine. So, for an ancient story of Biblical times (in which honey does, in fact, play a curiously central role…), it is the perfect drink pairing.
But in my exploration of ancient and medieval beverages, I stumbled upon an interesting drink I’d never heard of before: hippocras. This is a specific kind of spiced wine that was common in medieval and early modern Europe. Unlike mulled wine, which is simmered with spices and served warm, hippocras is infused at room temperature and can be enjoyed cold or warm. There are also many variations of hippocras, some which use white wine instead of red, and some which use milk or cream during the straining process, which clarifies the result.
In my research, I came across some old recipes in a blog called Cooking in the Archives: Updating Early Modern Recipes (1600-1800). This is also where I got my recipe from. Check out the link if you want to learn more about this ancient spiced wine.
Hippocras
Ingredients
1 bottle red wine
4 cinnamon sticks
1 small thumb of ginger, sliced
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 whole cloves
4 black peppercorns
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 cup sugar
Directions
Combine the wine, spices, and sugar. Cover and let infuse at room temperature for 24 hours.
Strain through cheesecloth to serve.
Beats.
Today, we’re listening to some medieval metal, courtesy of Apocalypse Orchestra.
Bonus!
Short Stories
My most recent short story publication, “The Canopy Tour,” just appeared in Tiki Horror edited by Catherine Jordan. This anthology of vacation horror stories also includes tales by both of this year’s Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, Lisa Morton and Jonathan Maberry. Here is a tidbit on my inspiration:
My story was inspired by the first time I went ziplining, on a family vacation to Puerto Vallarta. It was exhilarating and somewhat terrifying to fly though the canopy on a wire, and many of the details for the story were drawn from my memories of this experience. Well, except for the awful things that happened to the characters. Luckily, everyone on my tour made it out alive!
If you’re planning your summer vacation, now is the perfect time to snag a copy and prepare for a delightfully horrifying beach read!
Upcoming Events
StokerCon
I’m going to StokerCon this year! Here’s where you can catch me at the convention:
Author Readings
Friday, June 5 at 10 am
Mass Author Signing
Friday, June 5 at 5 pm
The Devil’s in the Details: Writing to a Theme
Saturday, June 6 at 11 am
Is it possible to write to the theme for a submission call, but maintain your own voice? In this panel, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Lisa Morton, Kate Maruyama, Jo Kaplan, and Rena Mason explore the art and nuance of crafting prose to a theme, whether in fiction or non-fiction, short story or essay, whether it be for a themed anthology or a full-length work-for-hire book.
Sludging through Doom: Heavy Metal and Horror History
Sunday, June 7 at 11 am
Good horror disturbs and distorts reality with all the fuzz of a heavy metal guitar pedal. And metal music, for its part, has long drawn inspiration from the genre of the supernatural and occult. In “Sludging through Doom,” panelists will explore how the horror genre has intersected with heavy metal music across time and how horror writers continue to derive inspiration from the scary music genre, banging their heads as they bang stories out on their keyboards.
Women of Horror Music Fest
Saturday, July 18 at 5 pm
The Offbeat, Los Angeles CA
Tickets: $8 / $10 at the door (cash only)
HazyChaos presents a tribute to the women in horror and music, featuring female-fronted bands and a variety of horror-inspired vendors. I’ll be there selling my women-led metal horror novel, The Midnight Muse!
Burbank Book Festival
Saturday, October 3
Buena Vista Branch Library, Burbank CA
I’ll be one of the attending authors at this year’s book festival!
About Me
Jo Kaplan is a Shirley Jackson Award nominated author whose work has been described as “addictive… as beautiful and moving as it is creepy” (Publishers Weekly) and “immersive, chilling, and compelling” (Library Journal). She is the author of It Will Just Be Us, When the Night Bells Ring, and The Midnight Muse, as well as short stories which have appeared in publications such as Fireside Quarterly, Black Static, Nightmare Magazine, and award-winning anthologies. In addition to writing, she teaches English and creative writing at Glendale Community College and is the co-chair of the Horror Writers Association’s Los Angeles chapter. She also plays cello in both the Symphony of the Verdugos and the indie Spanish rock band Guerra/paz. Find her at jo-kaplan.com.