The steeples are white in the wild moonlight,And the trees have a silver glare;Past the chimneys high see the vampires fly,And the harpies of upper air,That flutter and laugh and stare. For the village dead to the moon outspreadNever shone in the sunset’s gleam,But grew out of the deep that the dead years keepWhere the … Continue reading Poem – “Halloween in a Suburb”
The Dress Shop Doll: A Malachi Burke Mystery
I had seen her – it – many times, of course. It sat in the corner of the glass cabinet, propped up among the many relics and trophies of my friend and mentor Malachi Burke’s celebrated career as a detective; an ugly little rag-doll in a blue-checked dress, with black curls of yarn and a … Continue reading The Dress Shop Doll: A Malachi Burke Mystery
Friday Flotsam: Mostly On Halloween
1. "The spirit of wickedness in high places is now so powerful and so many-headed in its incarnations that there seems nothing more to do than personally to refuse to worship any of the hydra's heads."-J.R.R. Tolkien (from a letter written in late 1969) 2. Our problem with Halloween is that we miss half the … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly On Halloween
Thought of the Day: Bram Stoker’s Classic Story
From Fathom Events, I discovered that tonight they're showing Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (which may be the most ludicrous adaptational title expansion on record). I find that they begin their summary this way: Based on Bram Stoker's classic and dark love story about the vampire who travels from Eastern Europe to England in … Continue reading Thought of the Day: Bram Stoker’s Classic Story
Fun Horror Movie Anecdotes
Here are a handful of entertaining behind-the-scenes horror film stories: -The cast and crew of Frankenstein are gathering to drive to location. It's the day they film the (in)famous scene where the monster encounters little Maria, and the crew are nervous. Boris Karloff is in full makeup and costume, and 7-year old Marilyn Harris has … Continue reading Fun Horror Movie Anecdotes
Reviews: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
There are some curious superlative exceptions in the history of cinema. The great epic of the American screen – Gone With the Wind – was made by someone other than Cecil B. DeMille. Humphrey Bogart’s greatest romantic role was opposite someone other than Lauren Bacall. And, in my opinion, the best and most frightening horror … Continue reading Reviews: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
Kaiju Appreciations; Death Ghidorah
Got another Kaiju Appreciation up over the weekend, this one for Mothra Leo's first opponent, Death Ghidorah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0dWe48OyNw&t=84s So, Death Ghidorah heralds from the first of the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, which spun off Mothra in a whole different direction. The twin fairies are now an older and younger sister duo, with a third, evil … Continue reading Kaiju Appreciations; Death Ghidorah
Poem – “The Apparition”
When by thy scorn, O murd'ress, I am dead And that thou think'st thee freeFrom all solicitation from me,Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,And thee, feign'd vestal, in worse arms shall see;Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,And he, whose thou art then, being tir'd before,Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake … Continue reading Poem – “The Apparition”
Feast of St. Boethius
There are a surprising number of people whom even knowledgeable Catholics don't realize are Saints, and Boethius is one of the more prominent. While secular scholars loftily debate whether he was even Christian (which seems to me absurd given even a cursory reading of De Consolatione), the Church has recognized him as a Saint and … Continue reading Feast of St. Boethius
Friday Flotsam: Bl. Karl, Lasik, Tolkien, and Anime
1. First and foremost; today’s the feast of Bl. Karl of Austria, whose prayers we desperately need today as the wreckage of Christendom spirals ever more wildly out of control. Just learned of a quote of his that has immediately become one of my favorites: “We are bearers of culture even in the land of … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Bl. Karl, Lasik, Tolkien, and Anime
Serpent's Den 