Category Archives: Books

Putting Gothic Back In Fairy Tales

Books, Monsters,
Gothic Fairy Tales

If you grew up on Disney cartoons like I did, you are probably blissfully unaware of the more sinister original versions of fairy tales. A true old fashioned fairy tale is gothically dark. Rape, incest, mutilation, monsters…that was the stuff of real fairy tales. These stories were not meant to entertain 5-year-old little girls (like the Disney movies do), but instead to stir the thoughts and emotions of older readers who are just becoming aware of the existence of evil in the world around them. In an early version of Cinderella, the story begins with a king whose dying wife has a baby girl. After 15 years, the king is lonely and can’t find anyone to marry. So he decides to alter the law and marry his own daughter. (Ewww!) The 15 year-old girl decides to run away from home and find’s refuge in a merchants home were the Cinderella story as we know it begins. Not exactly something you would want to share with your young child right? So I guess I can applaud Disney for cleaning up these stories for younger audiences, but as an adult it’s fun to explore the darker grittier stories of the originals. Continue reading →

Monsters And Steampunk Unite

Art, Books, Monsters, ,
Steam Crow

I must admit, I am a big fan of Steampunk art! When I learned that there was a company that has combined steampunk with monsters, you bet I was interested! The company is called Steam Crow and it is run by two artists, a husband and wife team, who create books, comics, art, and other fun products inspired by monsters. I came across their booth at a comic convention and was really blown away by the quality and imagination of their art prints. As I started to research what Steam Crow had to offer, I was pleasantly surprised by the various projects they had cooking in the creative kitchen! Continue reading →

Creepiest Twins Of Them All

Books
Creepy Twins

When I first saw The Shining, there was nothing that creeped me out more than the Grady twin sisters who appeared to Danny Torrance in that long hallway of The Overlook Hotel. There was just something that didn’t look right with them, like they couldn’t be trusted. “Come and play with us Danny.” Uh…I don’t think so! After that movie I was always intrigued by twins and had heard that twins share a unique bond with each other. I used to wonder if maybe they had a special secret power like mental telepathy or something. Then I grew up and realized twins are just ordinary normal people, that is until I read the story of the Gibbons sisters, a real pair of twins whose story is so weird that these two girls just might be the creepiest twins of them all! Continue reading →

Carols for the Horror Fan

Books,

Not quite in the Christmas spirit yet? Still hungover from another great Halloween season? A surprising way to help you to ease into it is to pick up a book by Michael P. Spradlin called “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies!” This frightfully delightful book has 2 dozen Zombie carols. For example, Deck The Halls With Parts Of Wally, and I Saw Mama Chewing Santa Claus are only a few of the twisted carols sung from a Zombie point of view. The book also has wonderfully gory illustrations from artist Jeff Weigel. It’s a good Christmas gift idea for that hard to shop for horror fan!

19 Facts About The Exorcist

Books, Movies,
exorcist

I hated to do that to you (the image above), but I knew it would get your attention. Today someone forwarded me a site that listed 19 facts about The Exorcist. When I read the list, I was literally blown away! First let me start by saying The Exorcist is the holy grail of all horror movies, and I believe it is still the scariest movie ever made. It is the one movie that haunted my subconscious well into adulthood and although I have seen it hundreds of times, I still find things in the movie I don’t remember seeing before. Maybe its because of all the times I watched it with my eyes closed. Anyhow, if you have seen this movie you must…READ THIS LIST! I’ll give you my breakdown of the list too! Continue reading →