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: B is for Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga

Within the realms of Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is a supernatural being, usually portrayed as an old, crone-like witch, who can control the elements and has also been known to eat people. Despite this appetite, Baba Yaga is as thin as a skeleton and, due to this, the phrase "bony legs" is often used after her name. Her nose is extremely long, and she seems to use it to smell out people. In some tales she also has teeth made of iron, which she will sharpen when preparing to consume someone.

She travels around in an over-sized mortar - either by flying or dragging herself along the ground - and carries a pestle, broom and/or mop around with her. The hut in which Baba Yaga lives, deep in the forest, seems to be 'alive', can move about using the giant chicken legs on which it's perched, and sometimes uses its windows as eyes.

Sometimes, there are three Baba Yagas who are sisters, very similar in appearance, but they are often described as being different ages or have somewhat differing personalities and temperaments. However, even when there is only one Baba Yaga, her role is extremely varied, ranging from a cannibalistic witch, to a helpful and wise "earth mother", and everything in between.

For more in-depth information about Baba Yaga (a version of her, anyway) Old Russia's Baba Yaga page is quite useful. You can also read a Baba Yaga story from Folk Tales From the Russian, by Verra Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal, [1903], at Internet Sacred Text Archive.

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: 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↓

Fright-day Foods: Bat's Blood Wine

Bats Blood Wine

About Bats Blood:

"Bats Blood is produced in Banat which is part of the historic region of Transylvania by one of Romanias finest wineries : Cremela Recas. 

Legend has it that the Banat region of Romania was where Bacchus, the god of wine, spent his childhood – certainly the first records of viticulture date back to the Roman Empire when it invaded and annexed the central part of Dacia in 106 AD. 

This region west of Romania, surrounding the city of Timisoara, is the home of our multi award winning producers Cremela Recaş. The vineyard areas and wine region have both benefited from centuries of influence from Hungarian, Bavarian and Austrian immigrants – all laying claim to have influenced the present day viticulture. 

Recaş is now a 700ha modern day winery, exporting to major wine buyers throughout Europe and the Americas. It has a Mediterranean climate, cooler than the rest of Romania, and dryer with a longer harvest season, allowing many varieties to ripen easily." 

Being a sucker (pun intended) for items like this, I decided to buy a bottle of Bats Blood last year. I'd love to tell you that it has a wonderful flavour and has a delightful aroma, but actually I don't drink (...wine!). It does, however, look pretty on my shelf and the coffin box it comes in is quite lovely.

For more information, or to order a bottle for yourself, visit the sites below:

• Bats Blood Website
• Bats Blood on Facebook
• Bats Blood on Tumblr

This post is part of Fright-day Foods!

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.