Mort Castle remembers being frightened when his third-grade teacher played Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Pit and the Pendulum” on a phonograph. “I was one of the weird kids who liked being scared. I dug nightmares,” said Castle of Crete.
The Horror Writers Association will present him with a Lifetime Achievement Award on June 1 during the Bram Stoker Awards ceremony at StokerCon 2024 in San Diego. The award honors individuals whose work has influenced the horror genre substantially. “I am very happy.
I am very proud. I am very humbled,” said Castle, who added that the more than 60 past recipients include Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Stephen King and George A. Romero.
“What this organization is doing is saying, ‘You have created something that has an effect.’” Castle’s many honors include Bram Stoker Awards for superior achievement from the Horror Writers Association for the graphic novel “Shadow Show: Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury” in 2015, the anthology “Shadow Show” in 2012 and the fiction collection “New Moon on the Water” in 2012. His fellow Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Steve Rasnic Tem.
“Elvira has always had me laughing since she first came on. She is brilliant and a beauty,” said Castle, who recalled being excited when monster movies with the funny host were televised. “Steve Rasnic Tem I’ve known for years.
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