
Shelter For The Damned: Mike Thorn
Like everything else I’ve written, my debut novel Shelter for the Damned draws inspiration from a wide array of sources. It was influenced by books, short stories, essays, personal memories and relationships, music, dreams, and cinema. I have always been interested in films focused on adolescent experience and suburban milieus (especially, but not exclusively, within the horror genre).
To that end, I have assembled a list of films connected to Shelter for the Damned. My book explicitly references some of these titles; others were direct or indirect influences; and some of them didn’t cross my path until after I’d finished editing the manuscript. I have explained each movie’s relationship to the novel in the list notes.
Think of it as a cinematic “mood board.” Happy reading (and viewing).
Letterboxd link: Shelter For The Damned
Shelter For The Damned
While looking for a secret place to smoke cigarettes with his two best friends, troubled teenager Mark discovers a mysterious shack in a suburban field. Alienated from his parents and peers, Mark finds within the shack an escape greater than anything he has ever experienced.
But it isn’t long before the place begins revealing its strange, powerful sentience. And it wants something in exchange for the shelter it provides.
Shelter for the Damned is not only a scary, fast-paced horror novel, but also an unflinching study of suburban violence, masculine conditioning, and adolescent rage.
You can buy Shelter For The Damned from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Additional order links: Journalstone – Barnes And Noble & Walmart
Mike Thorn

Mike Thorn is the author of the novel Shelter for the Damned and the short story collection Darkest Hours. His fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, anthologies and podcasts, including Vastarien, Dark Moon Digest, The NoSleep Podcast, and Tales to Terrify. His film criticism has been published in MUBI Notebook, The Film Stage, and In Review Online. Visit his website (www.mikethornwrites.com) or connect with him on Twitter (@MikeThornWrites).
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