Book of the Week: Look for Me By Moonlight by Mary Downing Hahn

I'm sure I've gone on tirades before about what makes a real vampire (or a good one), and the fact that they are not in fact romantic heroes. Dracula, especially, was nothing if not a predator and monster. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'd like to tell you guys about a wonderfully dark little book I first discovered in middle school, and fell in love with. There's a romantic gloss to the cover, and a sweet title, belying the dark story behind it.

If you wanted Sarah to pick Jareth in Labyrinth, perhaps this book isn't for you. Bowie was gorgeous with his typical glam rock beauty, but he was a man pursuing a little girl who wanted to prove to the world she was a woman. There's a similar vein in this book about a young girl named Cynda vacationing with her family and trying to find her own way, isolated from the father and stepmother she doesn't know, as well as the little brother she doesn't really like. Then, Vincent shows up, and suddenly everything is different. It gets darker, and pretty soon the game Cynda thinks she's playing spirals out of control. It's a young adult novel, and certainly appropriate for the audience, but the heart of the story is a disturbing one, and that's what makes this book so fantastic.

Book(s) Of the Week: "Monster Madness"

Because, as I'm sure you're all aware, I am a highly intellectual being...I decided the perfect book to feature this week just in time for the approaching Halloween season had to be 'Monster Madness', a grizzly grimoire of garish gags. Alliteration aside, it's a collection of cute (and often very cheesy) monster jokes, riddles, and tongue twisters.

As a theatre graduate, the tongue twisters were easily mastered, but I still can't withhold the immense groans most of these gems produce, jokes such as 'What steps do you take when you're chased by a giant? Giant Steps.' Not to mention, 'What do ghouls wear on their feet in the rain? Ghoul-ashes!'...and that's why I think this is the perfect little collection to feature this week for children and parents alike. If you can't drive the trick-or-treaters away with the promise of treats...you might as well trick them into listening to these.

Book(s) Of the Week: "In The Haunted House"

Our recent podcast episode brought to mind a few children's books I'd like to recommend. Not suggestions for the adult audience, of course, but perhaps for parents. I was recently at a teacher's store with my mom helping her shop for supplies, and I spotted this little gem on the shelf. Needless to say I couldn't help myself. I had to read it...

Written in rhyme, as I find a lot of holiday books tend to be, each page has a cute illustration, most of them with flaps to open up. Not strictly a pop-up book, because there are no tabs to pull, but the illustrations rather reminded me of a less dark Edward Gorey.

I wish I could share some of the pictures inside, but it's a very short book, and much nicer to see them on the page anyway. This is a perfect way to start October off this year for the little ones. I'd even say it's easily a classic, based on the art alone.

A Short Video: Purgation

I did not produce this one, nor did I write it. In fact, I wasn't even a member of this group in film directing, because mine was a crazier project I've already shared here, but...I did play a minor role in this one as the aunt. Though it does take a few viewings to catch the whole story, the director (Jason Litman) is incredibly talented. His videos were always some of the best in that class, so I thought it would be a good idea to share this one with my readers. 

A young girl visits her aunt, and goes into the basement, then reads a book that causes strange things to happen. Is it a dream, or is it reality?

Book of the Week: Horror Show

Last year, I was browsing at Half Price Books. It's pretty much a regular haunt for me, and a lot of times I'll find odd little books there that I might not have found out about otherwise...their vintage collection is especially worth a browse. Anyway, directly at the end of each shelf there's always one of those spinning wire racks filled to the brim with books on discount (usually 1-2 bucks.) That's where I spotted this beauty, in all it's schlocky glory.

It makes an excellent companion, by the way, with the last book I reviewed (Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers.) Upon a first glance, I thought it was a murder mystery novel set in the 50s. Thankfully, I was wrong. It's actually a spooky novel about a young reporter investigating an old movie director, Landis Woodley. Think William Castle + Ed Wood + A hint of Tod Browning, and you get an idea. Landis made a lot of crazy films in the 50s on micro-budgets, the most infamous one in particular carrying it's own curse.

Then we learn the story of the curse, the movie, and Landis Woodley. This is really my favorite part of the whole book, perhaps because I have such a love for a good back-story. A satanist steals a sacred item from a tribe, summons a demon, hell nearly unleashes itself on earth, somehow this all falls on Landis Woodley's set when he finds an incredibly disgusting body at a local morgue to use in his movie.

If you've read the other book, you'll learn that there are quite a few questionable films (especially Spanish ones, apparently) in the 50s wherein actors have actually dealt with dangerous animals, dismembered human body parts, and all manner of situations I doubt the SAG would approve of. Reading this book, you can almost believe the writer experienced working on a few of these movies himself.

Ultimately, it's a great 'weekend' book. Something you'll read when you want a spooky feeling, but you don't want to invest the whole week reading it. Well-developed characters, nice transitions between past and present, and even an ending I didn't see coming. I suppose you'd say that's always the best bit.