Most of the reviews sum up just how important
this story impacted them growing up and reading
horror. I to was so impressed by this book, the whole
mood and style showcased such a talent, VERY SPOOKY
and well done its sad to have
lost him a couple of years ago, too young to have
passed on but he has left many great books, if you
look around on the web you will find them.

Michael McDowell is indeed one of the best horror fiction writers, and all fans of the genre should scour the used bookstores for any of his works. However, this is one of the best. I literally was too scared to turn out the lights reading this book, so I read it all in one night!!

I Read this book when I was sixteen and unafraid, now at thirty two I still visualize the murkiness of the setting and feel the mist upon my skin as I remember the terror even now, from half my life ago...a must on the top ten list of pure horror! Proof that even the fears of a teenager still exist within the soul of a man.

I really enjoyed this series. Each book made me eager to read the next and then start all over again. I have each of the six books and read them at least once a year. Great series.

This has got to be the best series I have ever read! At first you really hate Eleanor Caskey and what she does to rule the rest of the Caskey's family. Eleanor gets married has a daughter but what are in store for the family is beyond what they could ever imagine.
I would love to have this on audio or have a movie made of this! The book is very well written it brings you there and with the maps of where every body lives is an extra touch.
At the end of the book what happens to you is awesome because you find you have falling in love with her and will miss her terribly. This is a horror story and has some parts in it that will set you up in the chair and have you looking around the room.

Read this series in 1983...still think about it often...unlike anything ever read before or since...???? what is the difference in BLACKWATER 1: THE FLOOD , Michael McDowell/Publ 1911 and Michael Mcdowell's Blackwater:I;The Flood, Publ 1983

"The Best of Pif Magazine Off-Line" offers a refreshing assortment of new stories and new voices. A standout among them is Mimi Carmen's "Love Birds". Ms. Carmen's tale of an aging mother and conflicted daughter resonates with idiosyncratic vision and gritty passion. The bird imagery is breathtaking. I also very much enjoyed "23 Johnson Avenue, 1985" by Diann Blakely. If writers were race horses, and I had money, I'd bet my wad on these two.

A wonderful collection - refreshingly different, but solid. My favorite is "Love Birds" by Mimi Carmen. I'd like to read more of her work.

I am bored with many print magazines nowadays. The same things, the same things. Ho-hum. I've been following this zine for a while now, open it every month with relish. They've definitely picked a lot of their best, and Camille Renshaw's intro says a lot about WHY I don't like other magazines. Here is something worth a read, something that will make you want to get everything the magazine has put out since the beginning. There's even a rationale for professional wrestling, something that wants me to buy a tape of the event with the Undertaker/Mankind Hell in the Cell match, and I NEVER watch that stuff! You should definitely have this on your shelf--impress your friends with how in the know you are.

Katie is the most gruesome of all Michael McDowell's books, yet it is one of my favorites. Philo is a true heroine, Katie is unbelievably evil, and then who hasn't known a person who resembles Jewel? The Slapes will leave you dumbfounded at their callousness, and you will find yourself cheering every time Philo overcomes some other obstacle in her path. This book is a really fast read, totally absorbing. Get ready for some gore, though.

Closer to the great gothic tradition and to Charles Dickens, this is a real jewel of plotting (as all of McDowell's novels were, either by pseudonym - Nathan Aldyne and Axel Young- or under his own name)about two nemeses who are bound to face off in late nineteenth-century New York.

Meet Katie Slape and Philo(mela)Drax. Both were born poor and were destined to come unto money, though one was to inherit, the other to steal it. Katie is what you would call a monster. Pretty to look out, but you wouldn't want her to look into you.

On the other hand, Philo is a heroine in the old-fashioned sense of the word, browbeaten, put-upon and constantly humiliated, yet always optimistic and resourceful, not to mention lovable, she is acharacter one roots for from the start.

Gruesome in some details, yes, "Katie" is also an engrossing read, evocative, well-researched and written, composed with a sense of [very dark] humor and a prodigious sense of wonder, this is a novel to be sought, found, and treasured forever.

An unsung classic by an obscure yet marvelous writer.

This is one of McDowell's most brutal books. It's a nice Cinderella-type story with an unrivaled evil stepsister. I like the ending- gory but ultimately a happy one.

In early 1880's New York City, a prominent citizen is found murdered in the infamous Black Triangle section. The incident set off a public outrage that was fanned by the aristocratic Stallworth family. At the center of the Black Triangle's activities is the Shanks family, known for fencing stolen goods from their "pawn shop" and abortions. During the first half of the novel, Judge James Stallworth plays an important role in the deaths of three of the Shankses. Shanks matriarch Lena orders her family to flee after an incident in which her daughter is killed. But before leaving, Lena vows to slay three Stallworths for the three Shankses slain. For several months, nothing happens and the Stallworths are lulled into a false sense of security. Then all of a sudden, each Stallworth receives an invitation card to his or her own funeral. Now the fun begins.

While this book might not have the fastest pace, it does a splendid job placing the reader in 1880's New York City. And even with the story being a little bit predictable, the characters are constructed with enough substance to appreciate the events that they either cause or feel the effects of. For instance, we have great characters like corrupt lawyer Duncan Phair, strict James Stallworth, his compassionate granddaughter Helen, and Lena Shanks who may not think twice about commiting a crime yet she has a strong sense of family.

Before I submit my review, I have to point out a few things. This may be a very difficult item to find. It was written by Michael McDowell, a horror writer. But GILDED NEEDLES is more of a historical revenge novel than it is a horror novel. When this book was first released in 1980 (I believe, don't quote me), it was marketed as a horror novel with the blood dripping from the golden finger needles and a positive blurb from Stephen King.

Also check out TOPLIN by Michael McDowell. This book is competely different from, but equally as good (and equally as hard to find) as GILDED NEEDLES.

A wonderful McDowell book, as usual. Set in 1880s New York, it's the story of evil Lena Shanks, head of a family of thieves and thugs... but is she evil? We have in the other hand, good, righteous judge Stallworth, a man who always has the law no matter what... but is he good?

This is the story of the clash of two families and how one slowly and strategically destroys the other. Shocking, to say the least, and a marvel of plotting. An unforgettable book.

This is a 3-story anthology with nuclear war as a common theme. By far the best is Spinrad's entry, which (I think) is not available anywhere else. It's a hilarious tale of a pot-smoking Arab oil sheik bent on acquiring nukes to annihilate Israel, and an attendant power struggle between a screwball American president (a former used-car salesman) and a computer-animated corpse of the Soviet Communist Party Secretary General. All the comdey ingredients are there and Spinrad makes the best of them!

An excellent parralel universe novel. Good characters investigating several alternative 1970s universes. Worth reading if you can find it.

"The Amulet", first published in 1979, was Michael McDowell's first paperback original. It set the pace for what was to be a marvelous career, including several other novels, such as "Cold Moon Over Babylon", "The Elementals", "Katie", "Gilded Needles" and the successful serial novel "Blackwater", to which Stephen King gives credit as his main inspiration for the "Green Mile" series.

Also, as a footnote, Michael McDowell was the creator of the screenplay and characters of the hugely successful "Beetlejuice" movie.

Set in the summer of 1965, at the dawn of the Vietnam war, this is the haunting story of a sleepy southern town called Pine Cone, and what went on there... After her husband is the casualty of a bizarre accident, young Sarah Howell slowly comes to realize that her strange, treacherous mother-in-law, is somehow behind an infernal plan of revenge.

Slowly, as a pendant in a gold chain passes from hand to hand, citizens of the town begin to die in horrid, violent ways. What is behind this? What leads a loving mother to set her children and home on fire? A dutiful policeman to turn against his wife? A friend against the other?... as the body count rises, Sarah must run against time to stop the accursed amulet... but slowly it seems to be finding her way to her.

Michael McDowell passed away on December 27, 1999. He was a lecturer at Tufts college, a Harvard Graduate and a Brandeis Ph.D... He will be sorely missed on account of his books, wickedly funny, consistently written and beautifully plotted. His characters stay with the reader even long after finishing the book. It's too bad he has been overlooked by many a horror and literature fan, for this si the real stuff... Horror as Modern Literature.

I have to practically sign an affidavit whenever I want to borrow this book from my Mom. We pass The Elementals and the Blackwater Series back and forth every few years.

I would give it 4 and 1/2 stars if possible. It misses out on 5 for me because I was a bit disappointed with the ending. But don't let my comments stop you from reading this great book.

I have never, ever seen The Elementals in a store. My mother found it and the Blackwater series years ago in various used bookstores in California. Good luck finding copies of any of these early McDowell horror novels.

Sometimes I dream about that house filling up with sand...

I read The Elemantals many years ago and enjoyed it very much. McDowell is a horror/suspense writer with his own very distinct style. All of his books are well worth your while if you are a horror reader.Where is Mr. McDowell now??

When I was in high school all I read were horror novels. I read everything that came down the pike and therefore became jaded and hard to impress. Mr. McDowell wrote the scariest, creep-inducing books I've ever read. Yes, even scarier than Mr. King. Thankfully I saved my copies of the Blackwater series. Sadly I did not save my copies of 'The Elementals' or 'The Amulet' which isn't even listed by Amazon. Mr. McDowell wrote Southern Gothic at its absolute best. I urge anyone who can find his books to read them and anyone who has the authority to put them back into print to do so.

This is the first in a 6 book series. Michael McDowell can write a creepy book. The relaxed and languorous atmosphere of the South combined with a horrifying, yet mystical creature, who hides among them and settles in with them. Through the 6 book series you can really feel the passing of time, as some characters age and some of them die. The Caskey clan is truly dysfunctional and you are inexorably drawn into their lives. You'll have to scout the used book stores for this series, but it is well worth it. I re-read these books about once every 24 months. Don't confuse this Michael McDowell with others, he only wrote the Blackwater series, Katie, Gilded Needles, The Elementals, and The Amulet.

I read this book about 20 years ago and have been haunted by it ever since. I was never able to finish the set and would love to own them all! An extrodinary read if you can fine it!

I found the entire Blackwater Series totally engrossing and couldn't wait for each monthly installment. Michael McDowell is so clever in his writing and seems to know what thrills readers of horror and Boy does he deliver! I have been searching over 20 years for more of the same but without success. I have read all the other McDowell books and gave away as I thought Michael would keep writing such great books. Please Amazon find him for me!