Tag Archives: Movie

Movie Review: The Haunted Palace (1963)

The Haunted Palace starring Vincent Price

What would you do if you found out that you inherited a haunted palace? Would you keep it? Sell it? Would you gamble to spend even a single night there? I’m not sure I would but I might be curious to see how haunted it actually is. For Charles Ward and his wife Anne they had no clue. They ignored dire warnings from the locals and decided to see the place for themselves. After all they now owned it. Can you blame them? Well we can pity them. In this gothic horror tale, Vincent Price plays dual roles as the original owner of the haunted palace and the unlucky descendant who inherits it.

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Movie Review: House of Usher (1960)

House of Usher (1960)

So that’s it, huh? Halloween is officially over. You might be like me, thinking of all the props you didn’t finish this year or how you ran out of candy a lot earlier than you expected. Well however your Halloween turned out, its nice to reflect on the successes and failures and toast the holiday off just right by enjoying a good horror movie the day after. In my goal to watch more classic films I decided on watching House of Usher (1960) starring Vincent Price. This film is considered one of his better ones. So kick off your shoes, pour some left over apple cider and enjoy my movie review. Continue reading

Have You Read The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe?

Edgar Allan Poe

I’ve often questioned why the works of Edgar Allan Poe are so creepy. Was he a strange recluse with a secret dark side that found its way onto the pages of his writings? Probably not. The answer is that I really didn’t know much about him at all. Sure I knew that he was the author of “The Raven” and that he had written other gothic fiction. But what were the reasons behind his taste for the macabre? I decided to investigate and maybe read some of his works again.

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;”

~ From “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

Sounds cool, huh? Edgar Allan Poe wrote tales, poems, and other works of fiction for various genres that included satires, humor and comedy. It wasn’t all just horror. Although he seemed to excel at telling stories of horror and mystery. Some of his most famous works are considered part of the dark romanticism genre. I found a website called Complete Collections of Poems by Edgar Allan Poe where you can read poems like The Raven for free. Many people at the time had interests in reading about mystery, macabre and the supernatural and Poe obliged by writing for the masses. Of course he must have reflected his own interests since he wrote so well and his works were so well received.

Any fan of Poe will want to read his most famous tales like “The Mask of the Red Death”, “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Many of these stories have been made into classic horror films starring the legendary actor Vincent Price. “The Light-House” is the unofficial title of Poe’s last literary work. Actually he died shortly after he began it. But it sure sounds like it could have been an awesome story! It begins with diary entries written by a lighthouse watchman. Only four entries were written by Poe. Well, actually only three entries exist from Jan 1-3. Jan 4th was written but there is no text for that entry. Although Poe never finished the work, he laid the foundation for a story theme that involved loneliness, isolation, and fear.

I think it’s safe to say Poe had some issues. Maybe some dark ones. But there was nothing I found that directly pointed to why he was so good at writing spooky stuff. I think I’m OK with that though. It won’t prevent me from just enjoying the literary works he gave us.

Haven’t read much of Poe’s works? Try reading some of his poems or one of his famous tales. I think I’ll reacquaint myself with the works of Poe. Lucky for me Halloween is the perfect season for reading.

Have Time For A One Minute Horror Film?

One Minute Horror Film

The beauty of the digital age is that there is no shortage of independent horror movies available online. The problem though is that there are so many it might seem impossible to find ones that are actually good. Well I’ve found one for you. It’s called “Tuck Me In” and it’s only one minute in length. Short but very effective for a one minute horror film. What do you think? Continue reading

A Tale of The Ghouls

Tale of the Ghouls

If you’re in the mood for a creepy story then keep reading. This is the Tale of the Ghouls! I transcribed the following story from the third tale in the horror anthology movie “The Monster Club” (1981) staring Vincent Price. The third tale by far was my favorite. I’ll set it up for you. The main character arrives in a mysterious village and after almost being attacked by the weird villagers runs to find refuge in an old abandoned church. Inside he finds an old journal that tells this frightening Tale of the Ghouls. Continue reading