First of all, happy Halloween! Second, the book of the week is once more brought to you by nostalgia. One of my fondest memories as a kid was going to places like Goodwill or huge library book sales where you could pay 5-10 bucks for a large brown bag to fill with books to your heart's content. This was one of many finds I had that was decommissioned after a long and honorable service (1959 actually). With most of the stories being fairly easy to read, generally no more than 2-3 pages, it's such a great book to burn through and read to kids. Not to mention, it's not so morbid or dark that you'd have to deal with too many nightmares afterwards.
With October finally winding down to Halloween, I don't have much to say today - except here's the costume I wore to work this past weekend for a Halloween event and later at a party with my buddy KP (playing Louigi, of course).
So just this afternoon (meaning yesterday by the time this is posted) I realized I hadn't done any horror trailer compilations this year! Well, wait no more, my friends. This year, in no small part because I finally watched Fatal Attraction, the theme is all about the unbalanced, the insane, and the demented. Enjoy!
Before I saw Sarah Patterson in the brilliantly lush 'Company of Wolves', which will always be one of the most fantastic dark fairytale films, Snow White gave me nightmares. No, not the Disney one (though you can't tell me it's not seriously disturbing when she's stumbling through those woods), but a lesser known 1980s version that also happens to feature Sarah. I'm not going to say it's a big budget masterpiece, because it's not, but it's good. Even more surprising, it comes from Cannon pictures. You see, they had this series of kids films called 'Cannon Movie Tales' that I'm not ashamed to say I've devoured, despite the fact that one or two of them are painfully awkward and over the top. Snow White, however, is the best of the bunch.
But why am I featuring this in a horror blog? Because there is no mask or mirror that has ever been more traumatizing, and for that scene alone you absolutely need to see this movie.
Thanks to a fun template from craftideas4kids.com I was able to throw together a couple of fun poster postcards for today's entry. It's been a rough week, but there's always time to play around with fun international and vintage posters anyway.
The month is winding down, Rocktober's candle in the wind is fading in its rotten Jack-o-Lantern, and we've got one last guitar solo - - Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, the series, and the movie, 'The End of the End'. Happy Halloween, kids.
Not a terribly long entry today, just wrapping up the last of the magazine issue before I get to work on finishing up edits for tomorrow's podcast episode. Really wish I had 2 physical copies of this one, just to have one for archiving and one to take out that awesome monster poster towards the end. Is it a crab? Is it a grasshopper? Who knows?!
"Ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time."
- H. P. Lovecraft
Have you ever eaten catfish? My mom told me once when I was a kid to be very careful of the bones, because no matter how good anybody was at preparing it, there would always be a few little sharp slivers left over. For some reason, this scared the hell out of me, and ever since I get a little paranoid about eating catfish. I shouldn't, really. The bones are small enough to chew into nothing if you just so happen to find them. There are plenty of people out there, however, who don't just stop at avoiding catfish. In fact, there are those who are entirely terrified of seeing, let alone eating any sort of fish.
Yes, I realize being afraid of sharks is technically Galeophobia, but it seemed more relevant than an illustration from Moby Dick - - which, by the way, still wouldn't be relevant to Ichthyophobia either. The fear of whales is called 'Cetaphobia'. There really is a word for every fear.
There's the common wisdom that fish are apparently packed with mercury that has given some people issues with fish, of course. Then there's the fact that their eyes and scales are just a tiny bit creepy. No man seemed more terrified of the ocean and whatever came out of it than Lovecraft, and he was a brilliant artist on the subject, so maybe Ichthyophobia isn't such a terrible thing. Still, gradual exposure therapy isn't a bad idea anyway. Often psychologists will recommend showing children especially that there isn't anything to fear when dealing with fish. Though I think we all know they're fooling themselves if they think the aquatic old ones aren't going to come after us some day.
The following is an episode of Figaro Phoo about a fish. This show gives me intense anxiety every time I watch it, but who knows? Maybe it'll help those out there suffering with their fear of fish and give them a good laugh.
Fueled by fond library memories of my childhood perusing the shelves and grabbing the most intensely-shaded books with the brightest titles, I was thinking about the Ghosts of Fear Street series this morning. I read all of R. L. Stine's stuff throughout my childhood, stopping with a Nightmare Room book before I finally felt I'd outgrown his stuff. Goosebumps, Fear Street, Ghosts of Fear Street - - I loved them all. Why? Because they were mostly kids books that rarely had a happy ending, and it just felt scarier that way.
Some day I might revisit all of his books, though it'd be a monumental task. Whether they're easy 1-day reads or not, there are a lot of them. However, this one was one of my favorites. A kid has a creepy substitute teacher who has a particular fondness for him. Nostalgia is the main operator here, because I don't remember much. Except the chills that ran down my spine whenever the substitute teacher was described, and when her true identity was revealed in all it's - - gory. (Get it? Gory? Glory?)
Not much to say this issue except - I wonder how that voodoo snake ring works? It's gotta be a good deal at only $1...unless they cut off right before '+ shipping and soul handling'.
As I just love a fun themed cocktail and I spend a lot of time promising myself I will eventually use that chemistry cocktail set my friends gave me three years ago, I couldn't help but wonder - - are there other horror fans out there who've already done the legwork for me so that when I pull out my Friday the 13th set or my Ash Vs. Evil dead collection I've already got a recipe?
That was a stupid question. Of course there are. Below are some videos I've found that seemed to fit the theme best, provided they didn't use Falernum. I hate Falernum, sorry gang. Also, please be sure to check out the other videos these guys have made if you enjoyed them. They've got some pretty cool stuff. Incidentally, a note of advice about flavored whipped creams if you're struggling to find them, use 1/2 - 1 tsp of a flavored extract and blend it with heavy whipping cream. It'll save you the legwork. If you want it sweeter, use a coffee syrup instead. Torani and Da Vinci are two of my preferred brands thanks to their sugar free options.
Many of us in the last year are so have found ourselves gruesomely fascinated with serial killers. Just look at how many podcasts are thriving out there based solely on the subject. This isn't a new phenomenon. It comes and goes from time to time, but 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile' seemed to revive interest in not only Ted Bundy, but serious concern with the celebrity of murderers. Frankly, I found the film a bit disappointing. I'd been incredibly excited to see it, but the structure just didn't work for me. Anyone who thinks it sensationalized and idolized Bundy just because Zac Efron is pretty probably didn't see it.
But I'm not here to tear apart a Netflix film that just didn't work for me, I'm here to actually recommend another Bundy film based on a book by Ann Rule, who one might say was almost a friend of Ted's. The Stranger Beside me is two stories, the side of Ann as she learns and comes to terms of Bundy's monstrosity, and a montage of Ted's more infamous killings that eventually led to his capture and ultimate demise. I really loved Billy Campbell's performance in this, because he straddled the line of Bundy's personality so well. On one side, this polished performer who could charm just about anyone with only a few words, and on the other side a seriously disturbed person compelled to commit horrible acts with overwhelming arrogance and belief that no matter what he'll always get away with it.
It's a tv movie that doesn't really need the big budget flair you'd expect from such a 'celebrity' in the world of serial killers, and somehow it just really worked as a solid film despite this, or maybe even because of it.
This week we're bringing you three metal horror movies and featuring a special guest, James from the Popcultnet podcast! Will Corey and Maddy finally escape the clutches of Coyote Guy Jake? No! But they will talk about 'Zombie Nightmare', 'Rocktober Blood' and 'Slaughterhouse Rock'! It's a week of zombies, slashers, and ghosts with sweet dance moves this week on Hallow-Holics Anonymous!
A lover, and some might even say expert on art and food, a brilliant dramatic actor, and an even more brilliant character actor who chewed the scenery so well in his performances that he might as well have seasoned and sauteed them first. A man who could bring such charm to his role that even the lowest budget picture he might have worked on had an air of class to it regardless of the plot or dialog. Yes, my friends, it's finally time - - to talk about my idol, Vincent Price.
I legitimately tried to think of one role he was lackluster in, one part Mister Price was just obviously in need of a paycheck. Even the many many advertisements he sponsored later in his life. Nothing came to mind. He was just that good. What's more, half of his villains I couldn't help but love. Except, of course, for the rare few he played an absolute bastard. Don't let that fool you though, he was very good at that too.
Born in 1911 in St. Louis to a pretty well-off family, he had the good fortune to begin life with a good education, unsurprisingly getting a bachelors in history and language at Yale. This was also where he began to act, and later in life he would return to a production he likely knew very well, playing Sir Despard Murgatroyd in Ruddigore which I can't recommend enough if you're fond of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Expanding his education at the University of London, studying art and even more history, his acting career began. In fact, he worked with Orson Welles's Mercurey Theatre. It wasn't long before he moved on to Broadway, and in 1938 his film acting career began. Dragonwyck (1946) is probably one of my absolute favorite early pictures of his before he truly blossomed as a well-known horror actor in particular. His roles were so varied that it would be impossible to list them all here without turning this short tribute into a lengthy biography, but suffice it to say House of Wax (1953) really marks when the horror element of his career took off.
He did fantastic voice-work in radio, and if you ever get the chance you absolutely have to dig up some episodes of The Saint, wherein he played a sort of detective crime-fighter with a Robin Hood flair.
Vincent was also a bit of an art philanthropist, donating 2000+ works from his collection over the years to the LA College and helping create the country's first teaching art collection. He wrote many wonderful cookbooks (one of which I've had my eye on for several years, A Treasury of Great Recipes). If the world had a dozen more people like Vincent Price, I can't imagine we wouldn't have a modern renaissance. Sadly, however, there was only one. A legend in his or anyone else's time. All that being said, here is a wonderful tribute by LordStoneRaven.
Some like to say the printed word is dying (which I disagree with) and others say that magazines will be a thing of the past in the future. Honestly, that one's harder to argue against. Just a couple of weeks ago I saw a three-pack at the store of Halloween-themed magazines I won't name. I was so excited to get a bunch of fun recipes and pictures and craft ideas, but in actuality all I found were a bunch of ads for junk I'd never buy. That's all magazines are now unless you're paying premium prices. Look back to older publications like this, though, and the ads are few/far-between, and they certainly don't dominate the whole thing. Ah well, rant over. Enjoy these awesome stills, pranks, and fun articles. Bonus points to the awesome 'Mad Magician' page about Vincent Price and his many colorful deaths.
