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: 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)

Art: Grim Weasel's Workshop

Bernard the Zombie Farmer Paper Mâché Puppet by Grim Weasel

Working from a home studio in Illinois, USA, creepy doll customiser, paper and fabric mâché artist, and "foilgami" figure maker Jeremy T. Warren (AKA Grim Weasel) creates one of a kind horror / creepy cute art dolls and figures. Each piece is uniquely hand-crafted, and they all have their own personalities - even the zombies!

Zombie Barbie sculpture by Grim Weasel

The range of mediums used also adds to the individuality of Grim Weasel's work, with everything from old porcelain dolls and paper, to aluminium foil and flower print fabric going into the mix. It's actually quite surprising how such seemingly innocuous items can be transformed into wonderfully horrific monsters!

Holiday Demons Don't Wear Socks Art Doll - Krampus by Grim Weasel

Even though many of the art dolls are meant to be scary, some also seem to have a fun, almost cute feel to them, which makes a great contrast. After all monsters are cute...when they're not after your brains and blood that is...

Steamve, the Dragolien, foilgami monster by Grim Weasel

To see more of Grim Weasel's creations, check out the links below:

• Grim Weasel's Workshop Website
• Grim Weasel's Workshop Etsy Store
• Grim Weasel's Workshop on Facebook
• Grim Weasel's Workshop on Twitter
• Grim Weasel's Workshop on Instagram

Twin Zombies Don't Wear Hats Dolls - Austin and Savannah by Grim Weasel

Many thanks to Jeremy Warren for permission to use his images in this entry.

Interviews: Kei the Monstar Maker

UK-based blogger, crafter, and Monstar maker, Kei (of Unfortunately Oh!) recently let us into her world of monsters and shared a little of her life as a mad scientist seamstress...

What prompted you to start documenting your crafting projects on Unfortunately Oh! ?
When I first started to post photos of my projects online, people asked me how I made them. This ended up with a couple of tutorial posts and after seeing a number of awesome craft blogs, I decided to follow suit. Unfortunately Oh! was set up as a base where I could share crafting tutorials, though it's morphed into a bit more than that!

Were there any blogs in particular that you found inspiring in the beginning?
I started following a whole bunch of blogs at the same time, but I always found (and still find!) cool stuff on blogs like Flamingo Toes, Dollar Store Crafts, and Can't Stop Making Things

Many of the things you make are not as creepy-cute and scary as a monster. Do you enjoy making darker, spookier creations as a variation?
Yes! I do love dark and spooky things, so it's always fun to make things along that vein! I want to make items along that theme more frequently, it's just a case of fitting it in with the other styles and themes I love.

Have you made other types of dolls / toys before?
When I was a child I had one of those toy-making kits and ended up making a toy cat stuffed with old school tights! Then when I was older, I made a couple of ragdolls based off a pattern I found on the internet. I also customised a few old 11" dolls with paint and hand-sewn outfits, which had more of an alternative theme.

So it's been something of a lifelong hobby then?
Kind of. I've always been encouraged to be creative, but I didn't turn my eyes to toys and dolls until I was around ten or eleven.

How did you come up with the idea for Monstars?
I don't completely remember how I came up with the idea for Monstars. There have been monster-themed dolls in shops but they've always been mass produced and often only in a single colour, never unique. I made my first Monstar, named Percy, using scraps left over from old sewing projects. The name 'Monstars' was inspired by the title of the song, 'MOnsTar eAT CanDy & cHocOLaTo' by Japanese band the fool.

The Polka Dot Terror, a Monstar that found its way to HSL back in 2011

When you start making a Monstar, do you have a specific image in your mind, or do they develop as you progress?
I work using a few home-made patterns and decide upon which fabrics to put together, but details such as the eyes and mouth, any ears/hair, and the occasional third leg, happen as I go along.

That must give you a lot of freedom to make almost any kind of monster you wanted then. Even a teddy-eyed octopus monster or a doll-eyed fish yeti?
Why not!

How long does each one take to make?
About one and a half hours each, sometimes longer if I'm putting in extra details or doing fiddly bits like ears!

Each doll seems to have a personality of their own. Do they have individual back stories?
I'm working on it! They definitely seem to come to life as I make them. I feel a bit like Dr Frankenstein!

If you could bring one of your Monstars to life, Victor Frankenstein-style, which one would it be?
Percy, because he was my very first Monstar. I would like to know if he likes his hair and if he wishes I'd given him a scarf instead of a bow tie.

Percy, the original Monstar (far right)

Is Percy your favourite or does that honour go to someone else?
I don't have favourites, that would be unfair on the rest!

If you had the chance to work with another artist/crafter on a fusion between a Monstar and some of their works, who would you work with and what would you create?
It's a garden dream, but I would love to create a Music/Monstar fusion with the singer/pianist, Jill Tracy. Her music is splendidly dark and delicious! The fusion would be a musical Monstar. The Monstar would be designed to compliment her music and contain a voice box so that when its head is pressed, Jill Tracy's music would flow out.

Finally, could you give a message to our readers who enjoy your work?
My Monstars have loving hearts, so please continue to love them back!

Many thanks to Kei for doing the interview!

Pepe Monstar

If you'd like to see more of Kei's crafts, or to get your hands on a Monstar, check out the links below:
Unfortunately Oh!
Etsy Store

12th: Toys & Figures - Sam (Trick 'r Treat) 15" Vinyl

The rules of Halloween:

• Wear a costume
• Hand out treats
• Never blow out a Jack o' lantern
• Always check your candy

If you break the rules and this little horror comes knocking on your door, don't say I didn't warn you!

For those of you that haven't seen Michael Dougherty's dark comedy horror film Trick 'r Treat, the above photos are of a 15" vinyl figure (by Sideshow Collectibles) of a character called Sam, who appears in it. Trick r' Treat consists of 4 separate stories, all happening on Halloween night in the same town, with Sam tying the plots together by showing up in each one. I won't go into detail about the movie in this entry, as it's all about Sam today, but if you want to see the trailer you can watch it below, or on the official website. I actually think the trailer doesn't do it justice, but oh well...

Anyway, back to Sam...I actually got him before the film was released (on DVD...it was never given a general theatrical release at the cinema and only shown at film festivals / events before that) for around £35 and, although I had heard of the film, I hadn't seen it at the time and bought him because I thought he was creepy, amazing and weird, haha. (I have subsequently seen Trick 'r Treat and thought it was a great movie, but truthfully, that wasn't my reason at the time). 

Without the burlap sack on his head

His pumpkin-esque head is incredibly detailed with its wrinkles, stitches, veins and gory eyes and, to give him a more "realistic" look, Sideshow also applied gloss to the gory / shiny parts and matt to the rest. 

Sam comes with his ominous burlap sack (pictured above) and razor sharp lollipop, which I didn't photograph of, but if you're interested it's made of transparent orange plastic, has a stripy orange and black stick, and looks like this:

I absolutely love this figure and, even if I had hated the film, I still wouldn't regret buying him!

This post is part of The Countdown to Halloween

More picture behind the cut below↓

Movie Reviews: Surviving Evil (2009)

Surviving Evil is a 2009 horror-action film directed by Terence Daw and starring Billy Zane, Natalie Mendoza, and Christina Cole. Led by survival expert Seb (Billy Zane), a film crew go to an island in the Philippines, intending to make a reality television show called Surviving the Wilderness. 

So there is a backstory and legitimate reason for everyone being together on the island, rather than the usual "oh, all of our boats just happened to be wrecked here at the same time! And also, there are monsters!". As well as the fairly reasonable (albeit unimaginative) plot, there's a little bit of character development at the beginning, where the crew get to know each other and personalities are revealed too. Of course, whether you warm to them or not is another matter entirely. Still, at at least it gives you something to base your feelings from when you're either rooting for them to survive or wishing they'd all be massacred, rather than just watching with bored indifference.

At first, everything is going quite well, but of course, as this is a horror, the team branch off into smaller groups / pairs fairly quickly and it soon becomes apparent that they are not alone on the island. The crew make some grizzly discoveries and Seb is attacked while trying to photograph a monkey (seriously). From that point,  shape-shifting vampire-like creatures called Aswang that have been attracted by pregnant crew-member Phoebe (Christina Cole), begin to hunt down the survivors. 

After this point, the film consists largely of random creepy noises, running around through the jungle, monster fighting, guns and EXPLOSIONS! It's all very standard action-horror and very predictable, but it's enjoyable enough. The acting isn't fantastic, but it's not absolutely atrocious either. The more "emotional" scenes are pretty dire, especially from Christina Cole, but the horror-filled, screaming scenes of terror are actually fairly decent from the entire cast. (Admittedly, it looks ridiculous no matter how good someone's acting is, but that's beside the point).

Overall, Surviving Evil is an average action-horror film with a pretty good cast that is worth seeing once. It's been shown on the Horror Channel (UK) a few times and if you like this type of shotgun-monsters-action horror, then it's one to look out for next time. However, if you're looking for a thought-provoking or unusual picture, then avoid it, as even the twist at the end was somewhat obvious and expected.

Hug A Monster Day!

The people (and monsters) over at the excellently named StuffMonstersLike.com are once again running their annual 'Hug A Monster Day' this year. A day when you can show the world just how much you love your favourite monsters! All you need to do is send them a photograph of you cuddling your creature by the end of the day on July 27th and you could win a Stuff Monsters Like t-shirt and be featured on the SML site.

The 2011 Hug A Monster Day Flyer

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 1, 2012 

Grab your monster toys, hug them, win prizes. It’s so easy.

Across the Earth and for millions of miles around it, countless life forms gather to celebrate Intergalactic Hug A Monster Day on July 27 (Earth Standard Time). 

Intergalactic Hug A Monster Day is the only holiday reminding all of humanity and peace-loving extraterrestrials to embrace the monsters in their lives – whatever they may be. Participants are encouraged to grab their best monster friend, evil lawn gnomes, and other minutia of the macabre and give them a big squeeze. Hug them in public, in private, in front of cameras, and share with the world. 

It’s so easy. On July 27th, find your favorite horror toys, embrace them, make a photo, and send the pics to stuffmonsterslike@gmail.com. Also, post the pics to Facebook, Tweet them [#HugAMonsterDay], and let your friends see the fun they are missing. 

The holiday is sponsored every year by Stuff Monsters Like.com, the blog that reminds everyone that it’s okay to be afraid, as long as you are laughing. 

Not everyone owns a monster toy. But don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. You can download, print, and fold papercraft monsters from the website stuffmonsterslike.com. You can create your own friend, or even a full monster hoard. 

The authors of Stuff Monsters Like.com, who just tried  to purchase the moon through Kickstarter, are available for interviews. Please contact them at stuffmonsterslike@gmail.com.

If you need a little inspiration, take a look at some of last year's entries.
Come on, you don't want your monsters to be left out and sad do you? Well, DO YOU??

A sad, un-hugged monster
Drawing by Madame Luciel

A-Z Challenge: R is for...Rokurokubi

R is for...Rokurokubi
Stills from 'Yôkai hyaku monogatari' (1968)

Rokurokubi are a type of demon in Japanese mythology belonging to the same group as futakuchi onna. They are former humans (usually women) who, either by way of a curse or due to their desires / lifestyles, grow their necks to an extremely long length at night. They are often tricksters who revel in the fear they instill in others. They can kill humans by either scaring them to death or tightly winding their necks around the victim and crushing them. 

Stills from 'Yôkai hyaku monogatari' (1968)

However, some rokurokubi aren't intentionally malevolent, being unaware of their affliction and assuming that they have simply experienced strange dreams, in which they view the world from unusual angles. The experiences of this type of rokurokubi are similar to descriptions of out of body experiences.

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge

A-Z Challenge: P is for...Paper Craft and Postcards

P is for...Papercraft and Postcards

Papercraft is a quick, fun and cheap way to make decorations for spooky parties or just to brighten up creepy corners anytime. There's a huge choice of designs - from pumpkins to Nosferatu - and if there's nothing you like you could always try designing one of your own!

Krampus and Nosferatu papercrafts

Skull, La Catrina & Pumpkin

Pumpkin & Skull paper craft patterns from Paper Box World
La Catrina, Nosferatu & Krampus paper craft patterns from Macula

Nosferatu

La Catrina & Skull

Krampus

Krampus stealing a child

Since I also received some monster / alien postcards from a friend, as a bonus, P is also for postcards!

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

Games: Monstermind

Monstermind on Facebook

'Monstermind' is a Facebook game, in which you try to build a prosperous town while making monsters to attack your friends enemies with, set in 1940's-1960's sci-fi horror movies. Even the music is a gloriously cheesy monster movie score!

MONSTERMIND on Facebook

Your town, which will automatically be called '*your first name*-wood', is pretty empty when you first acquire it, but it doesn't take long to change that! Build houses for population, commerce buildings for money, defence to protect your lovely monsters...or people, and decorations to slow down enemy attacks. You can also change the name of your town, by clicking on it and typing/deleting. Naturally, I chose to call my town 'Horrorwood', since I'm just that original. Heh.

Now, whilst creating a thriving little town, in which you balance the population number with the amount of commerce, is all very fascinating, the best part of 'Monstermind' comes when you get to unleash your mutated creations onto another player's town! Kyahahahaha! You unlock new creature types with each level, from giant apes to giant women, and destructive robots to zombies! The first time you use them, a little information box Every kind of monster has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to experiment to see which ones work well together in the town you're attacking.

For example, zombies might be fashionable horrors right now and you might want to use them, but they cannot take on tanks! Just leave those to the bigger, tougher monsters and let the zombies run shamble in when there's not much defence left. This is important, because you get to keep all of the surviving monsters after each attack. The more creatures you have left, the more you will have to use next time. The key to all the attacks is to take out the Town Hall as quickly as possible, because nothing can function without it!

Initially, you can only attack / be attacked by your friends' towns and Doomsday, but if you hire Eva for 100, you can spread terror and destruction to random player cities too. This makes it much easier to gain experience, collection items, and extra money. Of course, they can then send their monster minions to demolish your town too, so you need to defend it!

There are also quests that appear on the left-hand side of the screen from time to time. When you click them, an old fashioned TV appears and plays a little animated movie telling you what you need to do. Not all of the movies are finished (it simply says "coming soon"), and sometimes it can be difficult to tell what you should be doing, but there is a text summary at the end of the films. Also, the animations remind me of the cartoon 'Dexter's Lab', but I'm not entirely convinced that wasn't intentional.

For all its fun, 'Monstermind' is still a Facebook game, and they can be pretty tedious, and highly frustrating when you get to the point where you suddenly need to spend a stupid amount of real money in order to progress. That's usually the point when I stop playing. However, 'Monstermind' is different, because even though you can buy addons, you don't need to. You can trade in the collections to acquire specific things, such as monsters, buildings, and decorations for free, including some which can only be bought with real money ordinarily. Hopefully they'll keep this feature, as it's something that makes 'Monstermind' much more enjoyable than other games of a similar type.

Overall, 'Monstermind' is an amusing and enjoyable sci-fi horror-themed game that provides procrastinators everywhere with more distractions than usual. It has a cute charm for those who just want to cuddle the monsters, mixed with just enough destruction to keep budding world dominators entertained for hours!