Followers of this site know I’m all about the horror reference book. The more the better! But it does get a little annoying when a publisher puts out an barely updated version of one of their previous releases, but only changes the cover and even the title enough to where to looks a completely new book. Carlton Books has done it once again.

The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies by Kim Newman and James Marriot (who passed away in 2012) has recently been released. Because of those two authors’ names and the way the title is, I figured the publisher was doing it again and re-re-re-releasing the same book again, but adding a few pages. Which is in fact just what they are doing. This was originally released back in 2006, under the simple title of Horror: The Definitive Guide to Cinema of Fear. Then it was released again in 2010, under the title Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death, with Lee Remick from The Omen on the cover and 253 pages. Jump ahead 3 short years and they release it again as Horror! The Definitive Companion to the Most Terrifying Movies Ever Made with Leatherface on the cover. Again, with a few more pages added (360 total). And 5 years later, it has another 8 pages added and now called The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies: 365 Films to Scare You to Death with a shot from Poltergeist.

Don’t get me wrong. The other two versions are great books. Even though besides the added pages, the content and layout is exactly the same. So if you don’t have a copy of any of these versions, I would recommend adding it to your library because it is a very well done and researched volume. But I just don’t like how the publisher keeps re-issuing it, changing the title just a wee bit, giving it a new cover and putting it out there for collector’s like us to accidently buy it without realizing what it is.

But now you’ve been warned.