More Halloween entertainment for people like me who don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters out their way... and who don't do parties because we're introverts.
The last time I picked out some Halloween entertainment I was going for upbeat and/or family friendly picks. This time, I
want to go in the opposite direction and pick some of my favorite
stories and movies that are scary, heart-pounding, and even gory in
keeping with the spirit of the holiday. (Like I said before, I’ve been
desensitized to prove I wasn’t a wuss when it comes to scary stuff.)
Most of these picks this time aren’t for kids, but if you’re curious as
to what my family picks were the last time, just go back a couple weeks in the blog.
BOOKS:
My feelings for books are still the same… they’re still superior to
movies in when it comes to the horror/thriller genre. I am also of the
opinion that the horror/thriller genre is better in short-story format.
The best scary stories will always be those that are most like campfire
ghost stories. However, since I began my picks last year with a full
length novel, I’ll do so again this year. (Oddly enough, two of my
three recommendations are technically not even of a horror/thriller
nature.)
A Wrinkle In Time (Madeleine L’Engle) This is the first book I
ever willingly read in school. It’s not a horror story, but a lot of
science fiction concepts are meant to be scary and many of the
characters are frightening – even the good ones. It’s also a metaphor
for the dangers of an over arching, central planning system which seems
sadly familiar to this day and age. There are aspects of it that, if I
were taking it seriously, I feel are misguided, but you can say that
about almost any fiction book you read. It’s never taken away from the
originality and the suspense of a good story. This book always gave me
chills and I’ve always loved it even when I didn’t like to read. If
your imagination is as vivid as mine when it comes to reading, it will
be a nice scary story to read over the month to lead up to Halloween.
Masque Of The Red Death (Edgar Allen Poe) I could pick a Poe
story from here until the end of the next decade and not run out of
stories! Poe is the master of short horror stories. Stephen King is
good, but Poe did it first. This one is on my top 10 favorites of his.
Masque is the terrifying tale of Prince Prospero being chased,
literally, by death. It has many layers of psychology and ethics
running throughout the book with him. And the concept of the different
colored rooms in Prospero’s abode always appealed to me on a childlike
level. But, that’s not why it’s so much fun. It’s fun because it’s just
downright scary! Read it alone in a dark room!
The Adventure of the Speckled Band (Arthur Conan Doyle) It’s
amazing how creepy many of these Sherlock Holmes short stories are.
Several of them are so intense and suspenseful that, even when the
subject isn’t a fake haunting, they can scare the socks off you. This
particular story, with the choice of murder weapon, dovetails quite
nicely with Halloween, I think. I’ve always enjoyed this one!
MOVIES: Just as last time, I kept a general theme of family friendly
movies, this time I’m going to give a tribute to my favorite Halloween
creature – the vampire. I still lament that the religious nature of the
original novel, Dracula, has been entirely lost and bastardized, but
speaking from a writer’s heart, I’ve found the vampire to be one of the
most versatile fictional creations of all time. I credit that to the
soap opera Dark Shadows. After the creation of a vampire that accidentally became a good guy all bets were off. I’ll say it again, the
great thing about fiction is that you can change the rules any time you
want because it’s not real, and vampires are a great example of it. Can
they be good guys? Sure, why not… anyone who remembers Forever Knight
can see how that was. In almost all cases of good guy vampires it’s a
curable condition. (That is more influence of Dark Shadows.) Blade
tweaked the lore into vampires being able to have kids with regular
people creating half-breeds that can live in the daylight… how
convenient! Do you really think Stoker would approve? Probably not,
but I do. It’s the reason, for me anyway, why taking the stories to
seriously is so absurd. For me they’re just good, scare-me fun. Here’s
a few. (And they just get worse as they go down as far as violence, so
tread at your own discretion.)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992 Comedy.) I didn’t think I’d like
this movie. The concept seemed silly at first and then after seeing
Vampire in Brooklyn, I’ve come to the conclusion that comedy and serious
horror cannot be married together… it’s like mixing hot sauce in ice
cream. It doesn’t work. But, this one does! It’s mostly a comedy.
It’s not very scary and during the times that it’s trying to be it
doesn’t make much sense, which is the only bad part. (I think it would
be much better as a written story, if you want any kind spookiness to
it.) But, other than that, it’s fun to watch. Donald Sutherland and
Rutger Hauer are great in their roles. And of course, the fashions take
me back to when I was a junior in high school, so maybe that’s why I’m a
soft touch where this movie is concerned… lol.
Near Dark (1987 Thriller/Romance.) Near Dark is a “B” movie, I
won’t lie. Lots of blood and guts. Lots of gratuitous violence. But,
it’s unique and different from other vampire movies and I think it has
helped evolve the vampire lore over the years paving the way for the “A”
vampire movies that followed. Apart from the fact that the term
“vampire” is never once used, it had some pretty original spin on how a
gang of undead travelers could manage in modern times with no coffins
and the means (and desire) to move in the day time if necessary. It
breaks a lot of the rules and it’s a good exercise in creative writing.
That’s why I liked it. It’s not what most people expect from a vampire
flick.
30 Days of Night (2007 Horror.) This movie is straight-up
horror. It’s also pretty typical vampire stuff. The only reason this
one caught my attention is entirely because of the setting in which it
takes place… Alaska. What happens when there’s vampires in a place
where the sun stays set for weeks on end? What a great idea!!! Why
hasn’t anyone thought of this before? It makes this movie unique and
creative and ever so appealing to a fiction-loving writer’s heart like
mine! Like I said, no real surprises, but it’s very interesting to
watch nonetheless.
But you’re not into vampires? Okay.
Forbidden Planet (1956 Science Fiction.) This is one of the
greatest movies of all time. It is a golden classic, and it is one of
my favorite movies of all time. Leslie Neilson used to be a serious
actor and he stars in this movie as the captain of a space crew that is
sent to retrieve a scientist and his daughter from the title planet
because of the strange goings-on that are taking place there. I used to
be so scared when I watched this movie as a kid! Even Robbie the Robot
was creepy to me. The story is filled with suspense, a great original
story, a surprise twist and the special effects are simply remarkable
for 1956. It is family friendly for the most part… it can be scary for
young kids. It’s good for any time of the year, really. And it makes a
good spooky ghost story for Halloween.
Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone!
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