A-Z Blogging: N is for (A) Nightmare on Elm Street

(A) Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 horror film by Wes Craven, and was the first in a long series of films (8 or 9...it's hard to know what counts and doesn't!). It introduces Freddy Krueger, played by Robert Englund (who had, up to that point, been most famous for V, though apparently been considered playing Han Solo in Star Wars...) as a murderer seeking revenge on those that killed him, which he does by killing people in their dreams.

It was a pretty low budget film ($1.8 million, which is low for a film ok!) but was an instant success and, like I said, spawned many many many more.

After a rushed wallpaper job, many wondered what happened to Freddy

It features lots of killings, some nice shadows and cinematography, and blood. Lots of blood. But what makes this film really, really scary isn't any of this. I'm pretty sure I can't just post such terror on the front page...

So...

After the cut (be warned! Cannot be unseen! D:)

 This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: M is for Manticore

Manticore

- Origin: The Manticore is a creature originating in Persian mythology, known as the Martyaxwar (man-eater). The name was taken from early Middle Persian and mistranscribed / adapted into a Greek and then English pronunciation (mantichora and manticore respectively). Due to the behaviour and locality in which Manticores originated, some believe that they were actually borne from over-exaggerated tales of tigers, of which the local people of the time were terrified.

- Descrption: Manticores have the body of lion, face of a man, and a voice that sounds similar to a trumpet. They also have the tail of a scorpian or dragon, which they use to shoot spines, like arrows, long range, and can also throw the spines, like javelins, at close range. As if that wasn't deadly enough, Manticores also have three rows of shark-like teeth in their mouths. Sometimes Manticores have the body of a dragon, in addition to wings and / or horns as well.

An illustration of Geryon the Manticore, by Gustave Doré, from The Divine Comedy.

- Behaviour: Manticores hide in long grass, showing only their human faces to those who approach. They then take those who come too close by surprise and devour them whole. They leave nothing of the person they have eaten, not even clothing and possessions; it is as though their prey has simply disappeared.

More about Manticores:

• Manticore Mythology at Gods and Monsters 
• Manticore at The Medieval Bestiary
• Manticore on Wikipedia

 
 This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: L is for La Llorona

A still from KM 31: Kilometre 31 (2006), featuring a La Llorona-like character

La Llorona, "The Weeping Woman", originates from Mexican mythology and folklore. She is said to be the spirit of a woman, dressed in white, with long, flowing hair, who roams the Earth mourning for her children, while wailing and crying. 

One version of the tale of La Llorona tells of a beautiful woman called Maria, who falls deeply in love with a man who doesn't want her. She thinks that without her children, the man may accept her and so she drowns them, in order to make her more desirable to him. However, he once again rejects her and so she drowns herself in despair. 

When she reaches the gates of Heaven, she is not permitted because of the murders of her children and, trapped on Earth as a ghost, she searches for them, crying "Oh! My children!" in sorrow. In some stories, La Llorona will also kidnap any children she finds in an attempt to replace her own children. It is also said that anyone who hears her wails will die soon after.

Other versions of the story:

• La Llorona - A Hispanic Legend
• La Llorona: One Woman, Many Stories

Some history behind the legend:

• La Llorona: A five century-old lamentation

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: K is for Kayako

Kayako Saeki is the main antagonist in the Japanese horror film series, Ju-on, as well as the US remake The Grudge. She was played by Takako Fuji six times in feature-length and short films, and once by Aiko Horiuchi in The Grudge 3.

Backstory:

Kayako was killed by her insanely jealous husband, Takeo Saeki, after he finds a journal detailing her (unrequited) love for another man, Shunsuke Kobayashi. Takeo murders Kayako by breaking her neck and stabbing her multiple times, before then hiding her body in the attic of their house, in a trash bag. He then also kills their son Toshio, the boy's cat and the pregnant wife of Kobayashi. 

Filled with rage over her violent death, Kayako returns as a vengeful ghost (onryou in Japanese) who kills Takeo and also anyone else who ventures into the house in which she was killed. Even those who leave the house are sometimes followed and killed by Kayako. Her presence is often forewarned by the appearance of Toshio's ghost, his cat's ghost / meowing, or a distinctive croaking sound, which is the only sound Kayako can make after having her windpipe crushed.

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: J is for Jack o' Lanterns

Jack o' Lantern by Madame Luciel

With their hollowed-out, glowing orange faces and distinctive silhouettes, Jack o' Lanterns are an instantly recognisable symbol of modern Halloween celebrations. Originally carved from turnips, beets, and other root vegetables, Jack o' Lanterns represented faries, spirits and the Will o' the Wisp phenomenon (lights / orbs that floated above marshland etc.) in Gaelic folklore and were part of the Samhain celebrations. 

Will o' the Wisp / Stingy Jack Folklore

One of the tales associated with Jack o' Lanterns is that of Stingy Jack, which comes from Ireland and Scotland and is similar to the story of Will o' the Wisp. Although there are many different variations, one version tells of a thief called Jack who is running from villagers from whom he has stolen. He meets the Devil,  who wants to take his soul, but Jack comes up with a plan in order to prolong his life for a little longer. 

Jack o' Lanterns by myself & Madame Luciel

He tells the Devil - who can take any form he pleases - to turn himself into a coin and allow himself to be found by the villagers. Then, when he makes himself disappear the villagers would begin to fight and their souls would be more susceptible to the Devil's trickery. The Devil agrees to the plan and jumps into Jack's wallet; however, he finds himself next to a cross, which has also been put there by Jack. The cross strips the Devil of his powers and he is trapped there. 

Before Jack releases the Devil, he forces him to promise never to take his soul, to which he agrees. When Jack eventually dies, his Earthly deeds mean that he is not allowed into Heaven, but because of the Devil's promise, he's not allowed into Hell either and so has nowhere to go. Jack asked how he would find his way in the dark without light and so the Devil mocked him by throwing him an ember from the fires of Hell, which would never extinguish. Jack then carved out a turnip, in which to put the light and endlessly roams the Earth, looking for a place to rest; thus he became known as Jack o' Lantern.

Modern Jack o' Lanterns

Jack o' Lanterns by Madame Luciel

Although pumpkins were never traditionally carved for Halloween, in the 19th century US, where pumpkins were harvested close to the Harvest Festival / Samhain / Halloween celebrations, they began to use these orange gourds. Their skin was much easier to carve and their size made it much easier to put candles inside of, and so the pumpkin became much more popular and synonymous with modern Halloween celebrations. 

Pumpkin Crafting

Death Jack o' Lantern by Kei of Unfortunately Oh!

Traditionally, pumpkin carving was limited to faces, but now there are a vast array of designs used by crafters; it really is an artform!

Witch Jack o' Lantern by Madame Luciel

Frankenstein's Monster Jack o' Lantern by Kei of Unfortunately Oh!

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: I is for Isola

Isola多重人格少女(Isola Tajuu Jinkaku shojo [Multiple personality girl]) is a 2000 film by director 

Toshiyuki Mizutani based on the book 十三番目の人格 ISOLA (jyusanbanme no "perusona" Isola/The 13th persona, Isola) by Yuusuke Kishi. It is about a woman named Yukari Kamo (Yoshino Kimura) who comes to help in the relief efforts following the 1995 Kobe earthquake. What makes this woman unusual is that she has a special gift that she can read the thoughts of others, including Chihiro Moritani (Yuu Kurosawa) a girl with multiple personalities. This doesn't really sound so bad, but one of these personalities happens to be a ghost named Isola. Yukari decides to help the girl and tries to get to the bottom of who Isola is and where she came from. I can't really say much more without plot spoiling! This is not a recommend activity More screencaps after the cut!! [Possible spoilers] Isola on Imdb This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: G is for Grendel

G is for Grendel

Grendel was a monster of the fen (marshland) featured in the epic Anglo Saxon poem Beowulf, which was written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries A.D and set in Denmark and Sweden. Although Beowulf was a great hero from Danish mythology, Grendel appears to be an original character created within the poem only, rather than an adaptation of a creature from other Beowulf tales.

Illustration by Mary French, from A Dictionary of Monsters and
Mysterious Beasts by Carey Miller

Grendel lived with his mother in either a cave underneath the marsh or actually within the marsh, which was close to the settlement of Herot. The settlement was the stronghold of the Danish king, Hrothgar and Grendel was enraged by the noise and singing coming from its people. 

One night, Grendel left his dwelling and ventured to Herot, in order to see for himself what was causing the disruption. He arrived and found a hall full of drunken guards, who had fallen asleep after a lavish banquet. The sight apparently enraged the monster further and he pounced on the guards, devouring thirty of them. The experience was a pleasant one for him and Grendel continued to return to feast on the people of Herot for the next twelve years; King Hrothgar could not find anyone strong enough to defeat him.

Crispin Glover as Grendel in Robert Zemeckis' 2007 motion-capture film Beowulf

However, after the years passed, Beowulf's ship arrived on the shores of King Hrothgar's land and the warrior and his men agreed to help the people of Herot. He formed a plan to ambush Grendel the next time he came to the town, consisting of he and his men pretending to be asleep in the banquet hall, when in fact they would be prepared for battle. 

When the creature arrived the next night, he found the doors open and the guards seemingly asleep. Once again, the sight of them infuriated him and he ate one of them men by the door. Next he tried to consume Beowulf, but instead was engaged in a battle with the warrior, someone whose strength he had not encountered the like of before. After wounding Grendel fatally in the shoulder, Beowulf allowed him to return to his cave to die. Although this marks the end of Grendel in the poem, his mother and then the dragon that eventually kills Beowulf, also battle him later. 

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

And Monster Monday!

A-Z Blogging Challenge: E is for Edward Gorey

Edward Gorey

A page from The Haunted Tea Cosy, by Edward Gorey

American illustrator, playwright, set and costume designer, author and artist Edward Gorey was probably best known for his unusual and charming illustrated books, which often had macabre and Victorian-esque themes / styles. Gorey described a great deal of his own work as being in the  "literary nonsense" genre, though his styles were much more varied than that. 

The Gashlycrumb Tines by Edward Gorey

After his death in 2000, his house in Cape Cod, Massachusetts was transformed into The Edward Gorey House. The House serves as a museum dedicated to Gorey's creations and "also honors Gorey's passion and concern for animals, raising awareness about local and national animal welfare issues" (About the Gorey House; The Edward Gorey House website).

The Haunted Tea-Cosy by Edward Gorey

The Epiplectic Bicycle by Edward Gorey

A page from The Epiplectic Bicycle by Edward Gorey.
Poor alligator!

A page from The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: D is for Darkstalkers

D is for...Darkstalkers (Darkstalkers: Resurrection, 2013, artwork pictured)

Darkstalkers

Character selection screen of Darkstalkers 3, featuring Q-Bee. Screencap by Madame Luciel

Darkstalkers is a 2D game series, released by Capcom; technically, it was originally released as Vampire (with subsequent games in the series being titled things like Vampire Hunter, Vampire Savior, Vampire Resurrection, etc.) in Japan, but in Europe and the US it's known as Darkstalkers. Whilst the game play is quite similar to other games, such as Street Fighter, what makes Darkstalkers a favourite of mine are the themes: monsters, mythology & folklore. Vampires, werewolves, bee-women, ghosts, demons, mummies, zombie rockstars, yetis, and more - they're all in there! 

The above trailer is for the release Darkstalkers: Resurrection, which combines two games in the series (Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge [1995] and Darkstalkers 3 [1997]), updating the graphics to HD and including extra modes (such as online play) and new unlockables. The game was released in 2013 for PS3 and XBox 360. The video below features an online match between Jedah and Victor (the uploader was playing as Jedah). I decided to include this one because of the background, 'MONSTER!'s,  Victor being like Frankenstein's Monster, and Jedah's crazy laughing.

Links:
Capcom Offical Website (International)
Vampire: Resurrection Official Capcom Website (Japanese)
Darkstalkers on the Capcom Database
Darkstalkopedia

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

If you want to find out more about the characters in the series and also see pictures of them, click the cut below↓  (Screencaps from Darkstalkers 3 by Madame Luciel)

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Notice

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to schedule my posts in advance this year, so D and E will probably be late. My apologies for this, but everything should be up to date on April 6th (the letter F). Whilst you wait, why not take a look at some of the other blogs participating this year? :) (Also, check out Dr. Theda's Crypt, because even though the Dr. wasn't able to sign up this year, there's still been some great horror-themed A-Z posts over there this month!)

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: C is for Count von Count

Count von Count

First appearing in 1972, Count von Count has been a regular puppet character on Sesame Street for over 40 years, voiced by the late Jerry Nelson until 2012. He is a vampire - though he doesn't drink blood and isn't effected by sunlight - who hails from Transylvania and loves to count anything and everything he can; The more he counts, the happier / more excited he becomes. (Vampires in folklore can often be distracted by throwing grains of salt, rice, etc. on the ground, as they have to count them all before they can pass).  During an "in character" interview with BBC Radio 4 (which you can read about & listen to on the BBC website), the Count stated that his favourite number was 34,969 saying that it was "a square number thing". 

Initially, the Count was more of an ominous presence; manically laughing during loud thunder storms and becoming angry when he couldn't count things. His accent and appearance are often said to have been inspired by Bela Lugosi in Dracula, though, in the 1931 movie, Lugosi didn't have fangs, a monocle, or goatee, but he also has pointed ears like Count Orlok in Nosferatu. However, after complaints from parents that he was too scary, his character was toned down and made somewhat friendlier. Although he does still appear during (quieter) thunder storms, the "scary" laughter has instead been replaced with his distinctive laugh "ah...ah...ah!" and he is much friendlier.

C could also be for Cookie Monster...

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: A is for Amityville

The Amityville Horror

"In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and Kathy's three children moved into 112 Ocean Avenue, a large Dutch Colonial house in Amityville, a suburban neighborhood located on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Thirteen months before the Lutzes moved in, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had shot and killed six members of his family at the house. After 28 days, the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there." (Wikipedia)

Article about the documentary by The Daily Mail's Tom Leonard

My Amityville Horror

After nearly 40 years of refusing to talk to the media about his experiences in The Amityville Horror house,  Daniel Lutz, the real-life son / step-son of Kathy & George Lutz, features in a new documentary My Amityville Horror. In the documentary, Lutz discusses the family's time in in the house, his step-father's occult dabbling and exorcisms performed by priests, among other things.

Whether or not Lutz is telling the truth (or at least believes that he is) is still up for debate, but he states that he "didn't want to be the Amityville Horror kid" and has tried to avoid it all these years. He also says that he wanted someone to believe him, which is understandable, but I can't help feeling that the dramatic music and shot styles used in the documentary just play on the horror movie aspects of the story and do little to further his credibility. Perhaps it's just done for the trailer, in order to lure in fans of the genre though.

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.

Full list of A-Z blogs after the cut below!

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Intro Post

This April, we're once again participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge! There are nearly 1,700 blogs taking part this year; not all of them are horror-related, but there's more than enough to interest anyone. There's still some time to sign up if you'd like to take part too.

A special "shout out" should also go to Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out for starting the challenge in the first place. Thank you! :)

To view the list of this year's blogs, click the cut below↓

Blogger Virtual Zombie Walk 2012: Books - Zombies: 'The Complete Guide to the World of the Living Dead' by Zachary Graves

So, the Blogger Virtual Zombie Walk is finally here! Last year, I decided to let some zombies make a cake, but their tastes seem to have changed to my brains and so simply writing about a zombie book seemed like a better option for 2012 (yes, shocking as it is, I do have brains :P).

"They have always lurked in the shadows, soulless and terrifying, but now zombies have come lurching back into our hearts."

Zombies: The Complete Guide to the World of the Living Dead (2010) by Zachary Graves is 192 A4, full-colour pages of everything from the origins of zombie mythology to the evolution of horror zombies to zombies in pop and more. The sections included are: The Voodoo Zombie (Haitian Vodou, The Bokor, Zombie Powder, Zombie Magic etc), 'Real' Zombies (The Zombie Myth, Zombie Sightings, Felicia Felix-Mentor, Clairvius Narcisse etc.), and The Horror Zombie (Zombie Apocalypse, The Romero Zombie, Evolution of the Horror Zombie I & II, Zombie Comics etc.). 

It's a very entertaining read and whilst, as with anything that references popular culture, it will probably be out of date quite soon it still serves as a good introduction to the history and origins of modern zombies in various media formats. Obviously, none of the subjects covered are discussed in huge detail, but the author does try to give various, balanced points of view and approaches to each topic, rather than simply stating his opinions. This is particularly evident in the sections about Vodou, Voodoo, necromancy etc.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in zombies, zombie-related mythology and zombie pop culture. While it may not be as in depth on each subject as some books, as an overview of everything zombie it's a great book!

Don't forget that you can also win the Zombie Prize Pack as part of our Halloween Giveaway!

↓↓↓↓

↓Now you've finished here, you can shamble your way over to the other blogs taking part in the Virtual Zombie Walk below!↓

Zombies Everywhere
[Retro-Zombie]
Halloween Blues
The Southern Northerner
Martha's Journey
Annie Walls
GingerRead Review
App'y Talk
Kweeny Todd
Jenny's House of Horrors
Bubba's Place
Fictional Candy
herding cats & burning soup
Author Sherry Soule Blog
Paranormal research Group Blog
Adult Urban Fantasy by Sherry Soule
Moonlight Publishing Blog
Candid Canine
Ghost Hunting Theories
Above the Norm
A Dust Bunny In The Wind
Faith McKay
Zombob's Zombie News & Movie Reviews
Flesh From The Morgue
The Living Dark
Some One Else's Cook
Stumptown Horror
Forget About TV, Grab a Book
Zombie Dating Guide
Strange State
The Paranormalist - Renae Rude
Idée Fixe
Random Game Crafts
WhiteRoseBud's Tumblr
Gnostalgia
Book Me!
Carmen Jenner Author
Sarasota Zombie Pub Crawl
Not Now...Mommy's Reading
Love is a Many Flavored Thing
Its On Random
Ellie Potts
Attention Earthlings!
Horror Shock LoliPOP
The Spooky Vegan
The Story In...
DarkSide Detectives Blog
Something wicKED this way comes....
Julie Jansen: science fiction and horror writer
Author/screenwriter James Schannep
The Zombie Lab
Creepy Glowbugg
Pickleope
Sharing Links and Wisdom
Midnyte Reader
This Blog Has A.D.D.
Carol's Creations
Jeremy Bates
Vanessa Morgan