We, at Weird Little Worlds, are pretty sure that it would be impossible to assemble an anthology of musical-themed horror without including John Palisano. That is why we are thrilled to announce that John will be contributing to the rocking world of Playlist of the Damned!
John has been playing guitar and writing for most of his life. Music and writing are recurring themes when he’s asked to describe his favorite things. He has also played bass as part of the notorious Heather Graham and the Slush Pile band.
John doesn’t listen to music while he writes. He often composes entire soundtracks about what he’s writing. His first novel Nerves features a character who is in an old R&B band. So, naturally, he composed the band’s entire album for them while writing the story.
Among his most life-changing horror experiences is the first time he saw “Alien” and then later serving as an intern to Ridley Scott. And, being introduced to the book Interview with a Vampire by his mother and the privilege of having Ann Rice sign his copy.
His short story “Happy Joe’s Rest Stop” won the Bram Stoker Award® in 2016.
John Palisano lives in Los Angeles, on a hill that overlooks the Universal Studios back lot and the ‘Psycho’ house. He also served as the president of the Horror Writers of America from 2019-2022. In true storyteller form, John’s bio on his website is a thing of beauty. If you’ve never read his work, we recommend starting there.
John didn’t give us a specific song to hint at his story for Playlist of the Damned (probably because he was too busy creating his own music for it), but we did manage to uncover that “Darkness on the Edge of Town” from Bruce Springsteen is a favorite album of his.
The Weird Team is comprised of several unhinged individuals that have a love of life and a lust for adventure. They scour the world to find the strangest, scariest, and most wonderful news in the universe.
