Haunts, Ghost Tales

Grabbed this book at the store the other day--Haunts, Reliquaries of the Dead and am pretty pleased so far. It is edited by Stephen Jones who also edits the Best New Horror series (which I can't seem to help buying).

A decent collection that mixes writer's from the past, M.R. James for instance, and new writers like Lisa Tuttle -- who very often blows my mind (though I have come across a few of her tales that left me thinking, "is this the same writer of Jamie's Grave?).

If you like supernatural tales, and you like em short, many of these are. Perfect for a quick read with your morning coffee before getting ready for work.

She's Hot

a few of my favorite hot chicks ... can you name the movies? There's a stumper in the mix.

Say Hello to Baby

He lives in the shoe closet down the hall from my bedroom and I am pretty sure he will be on my front steps passing out candy to the kids in the neighborhood this year.

Fortress of Fear

Last year, I spent the whole month of October (Friday, Sat and Sun nights) working at The Carnival of Horrors here in town, done up in bloody clown make up and clothes, jumping out at people, inhaling fog, clanging a shovel, fighting off motion sickness because of the strobe lights, screaming at people until I was hoarse, getting whacked and run over by hysterical drunks, hit in the beans by a too bold kid, and slapped in the face by a woman who, apparently, didn't want her money's worth after all. This head shot was the pinnacle of my make up efforts. The flap waggled quite a bit when I lunged at people. This year, I am doing haunted houses the old way--as a guest. Tonight, we're going to the Fortress of Fear Screampark.

ART WEEK

Ending with one that has a more demonic shine in honor of PA3 which I will be quaking through later this afternoon. Here is The Plague, by Arnold Bocklin.

ART WEEK

Sibylle Ruppert, see more here.

and more here.

Paranormal Activity 3

Have been waiting impatiently for Paranormal Activity 3--sounds like it was worth the wait. Here on Rotten Tomatoes it is tracking pretty well so far. Last minute footage has surfaced as well, see it here. The majority of reviews say it is scarier than the other two--and I thought they were pretty f------ scary. Sign me up.

ART WEEK - Twofer Tuesday

Jaroslav Panuska

Mother's Spirit Looking in Window













Miriam Beerman, Bloody Heads (Below)

ART WEEK

Istar by Fernand Khnopff.

What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Predators

This is kind of a funny story.

In a small effort to spare myself from the fires of hell, I do volunteer work with a Children's Hospital in the area. The little dude I visit, always in his home because he has a scary immune system issue that keeps him shut in mostly, is a total, frothing fan freak of the Predator monster.

And, in a funny twist, he sees the Predator as a kind of hero good guy because (and I haven't seen these so I don't totally know what he means) in the AVP movies the Predator seems to have some kind of shaky alliance with humans as they take on the Aliens together. He will often ask me if I think Predator is good. I say, it sounds like it--based on what he tells me about the movies. I don't talk much about the original Predator film (which I have seen and love)and being a "good guy" in the same breath though. He will see that for himself some day when he's older I suppose.

Anyway, I have been searching high and low for the best of the best Predator mask for this kid as a Halloween surprise, and FINALLY found one at some weird out of the way place south of me. Here it is, being modeled by my son.

It has the metal face plate, too. I will hand it off to the kid this Saturday, probably show up at his door with it on just to see how big his eyes get--before they pop. True, it is way tooooo big for the kid's gourd but if the Predator's his hero, it will fit just as nicely on his dresser where he can stare at it for peace of mind.

The Night Gallery Gallery

Before Stephen King, Peter Straub, Ray Bradbury-all milestones in my horror Jones history—there was Night Gallery. Now, there were plenty of good episodes, 3 in particular I carry with me all these years later are: Pickman's Model (props Mr.Lovecraft), The Doll (based on an Algernon Blackwood short) and Lindeman's Catch. A mermaid love story gone wrong. Spoiler: you can see the fishy climax of Lindemann’s Catch here. But, the paintings, man, the paintings were the unspoken star of the show. How cool to find them all right here, waiting in the dark for a little company.

Here's Serling's intro to, and the painting for Lindemann's Catch."Painting number one: having to do with fishermen and what they fish for -- or, more specifically in this case, a fisherman and what he wasn't fishing for. What appeared in his net one afternoon defies logic, reason, and belief. But there it was -- Lindemann's Catch."





If you’re a youngin, and grew up after Night Gallery went off the air, you should check out the old episodes. Try The Doll for instance, and I dare you tell me that’s not Chucky’s great Grandmother.

Sir Graves Ghastly

Memory Lane … always littered with corpses.

He died in 2007.

I’ll tell you who: Lawson J. Deming. AKA, Sir Graves Ghastly.

He hosted a horror show for kids in the 70s, every Saturday at 2. Extremely popular in Michigan where I lived at the time. Each show featured a film of course, and then cornball kitschy sketch bits before and after commercial breaks. I would almost always be at my Grandparents house on weekends, working for them around the yard and in my Grandfather’s printing shop to earn money. I think Sir Graves even read letters from viewers as part of the show. I think I even wrote him.

Impossible to recall now how many classic and Bs I watched, or should say ‘discovered’ thanks to his program. I know this, though. I first saw The Thing on his show, and THEM, and IT, the Monster That Challenged the World, and my all time favorite, Creature from the Black Lagoon. That's some prime horror bouillon. Already a rabid monster fan, you can bet I finished my work by 2 so I could, as he would say in his welcome to the show, “cuddle up in your favorite place by the telly”. Pretty sure I cuddled up well into my mid-teens.

Thinking about him all these years later, and snuffling through web for info, I was shocked to find he was born in Cleveland and died in roughly the same area, just north of where I live now.









If you’re listening Graves, thanks. You were kind of like the 10th planet in my world back then, back when there were 9, back when ...

... I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green ...

--Dylan Thomas