SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 31: HALLOWEEN NIGHT VIEWING!

Happy Halloween! It was a wet and low-key night for us here in South Louisiana, but we still managed to get out and get some candy (well, the kids did, at least!) and now it's time for Halloween 2013 to join the history books.

Almost.

If you're like me, you enjoy staying up on Halloween night and watching at least one horror film before bed. Instead of spending time trying to convince you of my favorite horror flicks, I thought I'd share five trailers of five films I feel are perfect for Halloween night viewing. I leave it up to you watch one, or all, or none.

Thanks for reading SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! Perhaps next year, another monstrous relative will rise to take on the task of a thirty-one day Halloween celebration...only time will tell!

5. The Conjuring

4. Scream



3. Psycho


2. Night of the Living Dead



1. Halloween

THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 30: MY FIRST (AND LAST!) GHOST PHOTOGRAPH!

Roughly ten years ago, I was driving through Lafayette as part of my work as a merchandiser. It was Halloween day, and I was hoping to finish work early so I could spend the rest of the day watching horror movies at home. While scanning through the local radio stations, I happened upon Bobby Novosadt talking to another DJ about the Protestant Cemetery in Lafayette. I was familiar was the cemetery since I passed it almost every day. Bobby was talking about a tree that "collected" the souls of the dead in the cemetery, and that a person could see the faces of these souls in the tree. I thought this sounded pretty dumb yet creepy enough to investigate.

I drove to the cemetery that day, found the tree, and discovered that the "faces" were nothing more than knots in the tree. It was a spooky tree to be sure, but there were no "faces" in the tree. The cemetery itself was, however, extremely eerie, so I made sure not to stick around for long.

I've thought of that visit for years and this morning, finding the sky just gray and overcast enough for some cemetery visiting, decided to return. I photographed the "tree of souls" for tonight's entry, but didn't expect to find something else in the photos, something I definitely didn't see when I was taking the pics.

Below are the labeled pics of the tree. I didn't notice anything in the pics after taking them, but after uploading them to my computer and examining them closely, I found something unusual in photograph D. Look and see if you can find it.



 

Here's what I'm talking about in photo D:



For a better look, open photo D in another window or tab and zoom in on your own. I don't believe that image is a part of the tombstone or the sun playing on the trees behind the tombstone. I can't exactly say what it is, but I know it wasn't there when I took the pic. Is it a ghost? Nothing at all? I'm not sure.

All I am sure of is that I won't be revisiting the Protestant cemetery anytime soon.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 29: VINCENT PRICE PERFORMS "THE RAVEN!"

In yesterday's entry of SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN!, I wrote about my affection for the works of Edgar Allan Poe and how they had inspired me in high school as a reader and performer. I performed Poe's The Raven numerous times in prose/poetry competitions, but always felt that I wasn't doing the work justice. Indeed, I'm not sure anyone ever could...except for one person, a man of singular ability and presence with regard to the performance of the macabre and horrific: Vincent Price.

You may or may not know Price as I do, from his many wonderful horror films of days gone by, movies like The House of Wax, The Bat, House On Haunted Hill, The Tingler, The Fly and of course, the various loose adaptations of Poe's works in which Price starred. But you've heard his name and you know his voice, especially from Michael Jackson's Thriller. You may also remember his final performance in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands.

Price lent a weight, credence, and nobility to the roles he played and the films he starred in that elevated the material and made it classic. There are no bad films featuring Vincent Price, and he shines even in short works like his performance of Poe's The Raven from the late 70s. He truly brings the poem to life and leaves you feeling as haunted as the narrator of the poem.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 28: THE TELL-TALE HEART... ANIMATED!

One of the main reasons I'm writing SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! and why I love the horror genre so much is because of the experiences I had reading the works of Edgar Allan Poe as a child. No other literature during my formative years (outside of comic books) captured my imagination and thrilled me as much as Poe's stories. I was well-known in high school for my readings of Poe's The Raven in speech classes, as well as my performance of that poem and The Tell-Tale Heart in prose/poetry competitions.

Years ago, while watching the special features for the first Hellboy film, I discovered an animated adaptation of The Tell-Tale Heart. It brought me back to the feeling I had when I first read the story, as well as Poe's other works. Though mild by our standards today, The Tell-Tale Heart was the first animated film to be given an X rating in the UK and was also nominated for an Academy Award.

Poe and Halloween are made for each other, so enjoy this brief animated adaptation of one of Edgar Allan Poe's most beloved short stories, The Tell-Tale Heart.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 27: WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BUY A HAUNTED HOUSE!

It might seem like an obvious "never in a million years," but according to realtor.com, more than half of Americans are willing to purchase a haunted house.

You may not believe in ghosts or spirits, or you may believe some are peaceful, harmless spirits and that the violent, malevolent, and sometimes deadly activity seen in haunted houses is a creation of Hollywood.

I personally believe that sometimes, human spirits spend some time among the living, or perhaps some sort of "echo" of their life remains. I also very much believe that most hauntings, even those people claim are "harmless," are generally the work of malevolent entities, in other words, demonic spirits that wish to inflict fear, pain, and suffering on human beings.

Because of those reasons, I would not even consider purchasing a house that has a history of negative supernatural activity. Thankfully, there are laws in place that require homeowners and realtors to disclose details about such houses, for example, if a person has died within the home in the last three years before the sale.

You might think it would be "neat" to live in a haunted house, but there are numerous cases (some of which have become horror movie fodder, like the recent film The Conjuring) that would quickly convince you otherwise.

Read this article for more information, including an interview with Carmen Reed, whose family experience the supernatural events which became the basis of the film "A Haunting In Connecticut." The case involved the Catholic Church and is generally accepted as valid within the supernatural investigation community.

Here's an infographic from realtor.com that provides a nice breakdown of the current trends with regard to the selling and buying of haunted houses.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 26: ZOMBIES OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM!

I was speaking with a co-worker recently about zombies. We're both fans of the zombie genre, especially The Walking Dead and the original Romero series that began with Night of the Living Dead. I said that I was very glad zombies aren't real, and he smiled and told me to look up "zombie bugs."


I did so, and have been disturbed ever since. The concept of organisms being "possessed" after death and then utilized for various purposes is one alive and well in the animal kingdom. (yep, I went there.)

This is one of the best articles on the phenomenon. What are we talking about here? How about a fungus that takes over the body of an ant and then controls the ant, even after the ant dies? Good stuff.

Visit the article for more info on zombified animals!

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 25: IS "HALLOWEEN" THE BEST HORROR MOVIE EVER?

Today's entry in SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! is a brief one, as today is my oldest daughter Ava's eighth birthday! We're about to have pizza and open gifts, so I wanted to get this entry up before the festivities begin.

John Carpenter's Halloween has long been one of my favorite horror films, if not favorite films, period. It was one of the first truly independent films, and the story of its creation is almost as engaging as the film itself.

The story is known to just about everyone: Michael Myers, age 6, kills his teenage sister Judith, and is then institutionalized. Fifteen years of being in a state of near catatonia, Myers escapes the asylum and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, and proceeds to stalk and kill more teenage girls. Myers' doctor, in the meantime, races against time to stop the bloodshed or, at the very least, keep it to a minimum.

So much of what makes Halloween work is found in this article, which prompted me to write this entry. If you've never seen Halloween, I think you'll want to after reading the article, which gives some of the background behind the film, including the intriguing origin of Michael Myers' fearsome mask, and other details of the film's production.

You can purchase the 35th anniversary edition of Halloween on Blu Ray now. It's also available on DVD for under ten dollars at Wal-Mart.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 24: SMARTPHONE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!

As I've mentioned in a few previous entries in SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN!, the costumes folks in my generation had to deal with as a kid were terrible. Really terrible. One of the best examples I can give you is a Star Wars costume I remember wearing as a child of perhaps five or six. The costume consisted of a vacuformed character mask (with an elastic string to hold it on) and a mylar poncho that didn't look like the rest of the character you wanted to be for Halloween. Oh no, that would be FAR too sensible! Instead, the poncho featured not only a photo of the character but also, the character's NAME! I guess costume makers of the early 80s thought we were too stupid back then to remember who we were without having two visual reminders outside of the mask. Either that, or they too realized how crappy their costumes were and that very likely, other people might need help in identifying who the hell we were supposed to be "in costume."

My mom was nice enough to send over a photo of a photo of me (age 4) and my brother Jarrod (age 11) from way back in 1980. He's Dracula, and I'm The Batman! Notice the weird, over-sized mask, the bizarre mylar costume, and worst of all...BATMAN written on the bat-symbol on the costume!



Sorry...rant over. I just get frustrated by those horrid "costumes" we were stuck with back in "the dark ages."

Times have most definitely changed. Not only can you purchase movie-quality costumes of just about any character you want to be these days, you can also use your smartphone to bring your costume to digital life.

I discovered these Digital Dudz costumes whilst doing my usual research for this blog, and I am absolutely floored by the fact that such amazing costumery exists. What a truly wonderful time we're living in, kids! There is a great variety of extremely innovative, smartphone or tablet-enhanced costumes available from Digital Dudz/Morph Costume Company, but I'm going to focus on my favorite: the "Flesh iWound."




This is one of those multimillion ideas so simple you wish you'd thought of it, yet at the same time, it took a former NASA engineer to bring it to life. Mark Rober, an ex-NASA scientist who worked on the Mars Rover, had the brilliant idea to link two iPads together and attach one to his chest and back, creating the illusion that a hole had been blasted through him. After this idea became a YouTube sensation, he created other concepts, the best of which is, in my opinion, the Flesh iWound.



It's simple: you buy the special latex appliance that fits over your neck, download the free Digital Dudz app, and then put your favorite button-down shirt on over the appliance or cut a hole in an on t-shirt and voila! You now have a simple yet digitally-animated Halloween costume, appearing to be a person who has survived a massive chest wound that has exposed your beating heart! The app provides both the visual of the beating heart and and the beat to go with it!

Watch the video below to see the Flesh iWound in action, and visit the Digital Dudz site to see what other digital wonders await!

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 23: EX-PIXAR ANIMATOR DELIVERS CHILD-FRIENDLY FRIGHTS!

It's rare to find a horror film that's truly appropriate for kids and yet manages to still be truly scary. There are a few films out there we could discuss that fit the bill, but I've never seen a short film that so brilliantly ramps up tension and suspense and then delivers the final scare in such a creepy way.


Alma is a Spanish short film produced by ex-Pixar animator Rodrigo Blaas. The film gets its name from the main character, Alma, which is the Spanish word for "soul." Keep this in mind while viewing the film.

There is no violence or gore in Alma, and it's silent except for music and sound effects. It is nonetheless effectively chilling and might be too much for some kids. Be sure to watch first to decide if you want to show it to the children in your life.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 22: DEAD YOURSELF APP!

Have you ever wondered what you'd look like as a zombie but without, y'know...the whole dying/reanimated part?

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can now rock a zombie look without having to be bitten. The Dead Yourself app, courtesy of The Walking Dead, allows you to upload a photo which you can then apply various "undead filters" to. Once you're satisfied with your "make-over," you can save the photo and then post it to Facebook or other sites of your choosing.

Think of it as an apocalyptic, undead version of Instagram.

The app does take some tweaking, but after just a few minutes, I decided to go with this "first draft" as an example of the app's features. Creepy, huh? And I thought my high school yearbook photos were gruesome!

Feel free to share your photos with me in the comments section below, and happy zombifying!

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 21: THE ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN APP!

Okay, forgive me for a little false advertising in the headline there. "House of Horrors" is not a Halloween app, technically speaking.

It is, however, one of the best apps I've ever seen and perfect for the Halloween season, or just for those times before and after Halloween, when you want the horror to live on.

"House of Horrors" is an app available for both Android and Apple devices that allows you to watch up to 150 classic horror films that are all in the public domain. We're not talking some of the modern crap that's out there these days on Netflix and Redbox. These are true gems from days gone by, some in color and some in gorgeous black and white (my daughters hate black and white...what's wrong with them?!) but all well worth the time and the price of the app.

Screens from "House of Horrors"

We're talking truly classic horror stuff, though those of you who aren't horror movie fans might not have heard of some of them; films by directors like Hitchcock, Corman, Romero, and even Coppola are available on "House of Horrors." Here's a breakdown of the ones I think are well worth your time if you've never seen them:

Night of the Living Dead (the original and the one that gave birth to the current zombie craze we're currently experiencing!) Strangers holed up together in a farm house as hordes of the cannibalistic undead close in for an all you can eat buffet! This film still terrifies me today, as it implies much more than it actually shows and builds tension and dread like few films since have.

Carnival of Souls: a very creepy, yet also tragic film featuring "ghouls" that influenced the look of the zombies in Night of the Living Dead. The ending is straight out of the Twilight Zone or an M. Night Shaymalan flick, though this film proceeded both.

Dementia 13: Francis Ford Coppola's mainstream directorial debut, which debuted a few years after Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho. The Gothic atmosphere and axe-wielding precursor to the Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees of the future makes this a must-see.

House on Haunted Hill: one of the many Vincent Price classics available through this app, this movie features Price as a millionaire who offers five people $10, 000 (this was the 60s, mind you) if they can spend the night in his "haunted" mansion.

Nosferatu: Last but certainly not least is the 1922 German Expressionist masterpiece "Nosferatu." This is a movie I believe anyone who loves movie should see at least once, and it's always featured as a part of the "ambiance" at our annual Meauxloween parties. It's a silent film that adapts the story of Bram Stoker's Dracula, albeit with differently-named characters to avoid lawsuits from Stoker's widow. Actor Max Schreck's performance as Count Orlok remains one of the most unnerving and creepy performances in the history of cinema. I love this movie so much that I will often watch it on my Netflix app on my phone when I have time to kill and am I'm not near a computer or TV.


So how much will these grand collection of macabre masterpieces and terrifying treasures cost you? Only a paltry .99 cents! House of Horrors can be found in the iTunes app store and Google Play. If you have an iPad, you'll pay a dollar more, but it's well worth the price.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 20: REVENGE OF THE CEREAL AISLE MONSTERS!

One of my fondest Halloween memories as a kid was getting the General Mills Monster cereals. They were discontinued in 2010 as year-round offerings, only being made available during the Halloween season thereafter.

The three most well-known were Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry, but there were also two others monster cereals that did not have the same longevity as their monstrous brethren: Fruit Brute (which eventually came to be spelled "Frute Brute,") and Fruity Yummy Mummy. Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy haven't been available for twenty-five years, and their boxes, along with the other monsters' boxes from days gone by, fetch quite a bit of money on eBay.

Vintage and modern box designs together for the first time!

Not content with simply resurrecting the Monster Cereals themselves, General Mills has also brought back the vintage box designs, which are only available in Target stores.

So far, we've gone through a box of Boo Berry and a box of Count Chocula, but I'm planning on hitting up Target before Halloween to grab the vintage boxes. If you've never had these cereals before or you haven't had them since you were a kid, or if you just want to grab them again this year, now is the time to get your paws and claws on 'em before they disappear back into the night. In other words, until next year.

Click here to read more about the Monster cereals and their impact on the "old fogies" of our generation.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 19: 8 SIGNS YOUR HOUSE COULD BE HAUNTED!

Alleged ghost photograph at the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville.

If you're not one who believes in the existence of ghosts or supernatural entities or occurrences, then you might be able to easily explain away the items on this list.

But can you explain them away if they're all happening in your home, and you or a loved one is being injured by these unexplained events?

"When Ghosts Attack," premiering on Destination American tomorrow night (October 20th), deals with people who believe that not only are their homes haunted, but they the entities haunting them have also inflicted violence upon them.

Click here to read about the series and the eight signs your house might be haunted or, as it's called in demonology, "infested."

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 18: CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL ZOMBIE PREPAREDNESS?

In our information-saturated, fast-paced age, we are either not fully aware of the significance of an event or completely forget about a significant event not long after it has occurred.

On May 26th, 2012, the infamous "Miami Zombie" incident seized the attention of the world. Numerous reports of related cannibalistic attacks began to surface, and there was serious talk in the media as to whether or not a zombie outbreak was possible.

Rudy Eugene, left, attacked Ronald Poppo, right, eating most of his face and resisting police before succumbing to multiple gunshot wounds.

Perhaps strangest of all, the World Health Organization announced that a zombie outbreak is something the global community should be prepared for within the same month as the Miami zombie incident. The CDC featured "zombie preparedness" materials on its site, which it claimed was simply a means of "engaging a new audience with the preparedness message." The CDC's zombie site crashed, but was soon back up and remains so today.

Image from CDC zombie site

Is it possible that there is something we're not being told? Consider that there are many things humans have considered impossible before they happened: breaking the Earth's gravitational pull, putting a man on the moon, curing various diseases deemed incurable, and countless others. Is it not within the realm of extreme possibility that some sort of virus or other catalyst could lead to an outbreak of zombies, or at least, behavior similar to these fictional creatures and, frighteningly, Rudy Eugene, a.k.a., "The Miami Zombie?"

I leave it to you to decide what you want to think or feel about such things, and I also offer you a link to the CDC's zombie preparedness site. While the organization states that  it "does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie-like symptoms),"
the fact remains that they continue to prominently feature zombie preparedness materials on their website.

Click here to visit the CDC Zombie Preparedness site.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 17: NOTHING GOOD FOLLOWS A LATE-NIGHT PHONE CALL...

For day seventeen of SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN!, I offer a very brief yet very chilling short film. "Bedfellows" manages to use very little time (two and a half minutes!) to quickly establish setting and characters before rocketing to it's horrifying climax and denouement. It's not often that I get the chills when I watch a scary movie or show, but "Bedfellows" managed to send ripples of fear through me. I hope you have the same experience as well. Enjoy the brief though thrilling ride!

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 16: DOES THIS DAD TAKE HALLOWEEN DECORATING TOO FAR?

Okay, I'm not the right person to really judge whether or not someone, anyone, can take Halloween "too far." If I had the means and opportunity, our house would be a nightmare factory every Halloween, causing those who gaze upon it to quake in terror and ponder calling the authorities to report us.



That's just the scenario that happened to Johnie Mullins, a resident of Mustang, Oklahoma. Apparently, some people thought his decorations were real and decided to bring in the boys in blue.

Look for yourself and decide by reading the original article here.

Personally, Mr. Mullins is a hero and inspiration to me...

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 15: A HEART-WARMING ZOMBIE SHORT!

It's time for another short horror film, this time clocking in at seven minutes and five seconds. "Cargo" deals with a by now familiar scenario, that of a zombie outbreak. However, it does so in a new, creative, and even moving fashion by offering up a plot point not seen in other zombie films. You might be undead yourself if you don't find yourself moved by the entire film and, especially, the ending. You may never look at a balloon the same way again...

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 14: HORRIFYING OLD-TIMEY HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!

Today's entry comes from one of my readers (maybe my only reader?), Susan Hebert, who shared a great article with me that spotlights what appear to be homemade yet truly unnerving Halloween costumes from days gone by. We're not talking Halloween costumes so bad they're scary, like the dumb costumes I remember wearing as a kid that featured the name of the character (or movie) the character was from on the front of the mylar poncho. We're talking disturbing, haunting costumes that one would expect to be the brainchildren of the demonically possessed or mentally deranged.

Click here to visit the article and see the rest of the photos, and thanks to Susan for reading and contributing to the SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN!

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 13: 10 HALLOWEEN FILMS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

Though I do consider myself a "Halloween purist," avoiding any "cute" decorations for Halloween and enjoying intense and gory horror films, I never forget that I fell in love with the Halloween season as a kid. After all, the season really is perfect for kids: they love being scared (not terrified, mind you, just thrilled) and of course they love wearing costumes, getting to be someone (or something!) else for one night, and best of all, getting FREE CANDY in the process! Halloween doesn't have to be a scary or nightmarish experience for children, and neither do the Halloween movies they view.

Here's a list of ten great Halloween films the whole family can watch together as we reach the midway point in the 2013 Halloween season. Click here to read the full article, which includes descriptions of each film. We've watched most of the films on the list as a family, and the only ones that might need some extra caution would be 9, 4, and 2. Of course, your mileage may vary; many of these films deal with the reality of death, which might be too much for your kids or just a topic they're not ready to discuss yet.

10. Bedknobs and Broomsticks
9. The Nightmare Before Christmas
8. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
7. Casper
6. Halloweentown
5. Hocus Pocus
4. Ghostbusters
3. Pooh's Halloween Heffalump Movie
2. The Corpse Bride
1. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 12: THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MISTER HOLLOW!

How about a horror film that's only six minutes and nine seconds long and only involves one frame? "The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow" is one of the most brilliant pieces of filmmaking I've ever seen. It's a delectable Halloween morsel that qualifies as both treat and trick. Enjoy!

Description from the official site:

An image that tells an entire story, THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MISTER HOLLOW centers on a single photograph that dates back to the early 1930s. As the camera begins to investigate the particulars of the photo, however, it reveals a tapestry of secrets hidden in the details, and a tale of murder, kidnapping and sacrifice captured in a haunting moment. 

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 11: KNOW YOUR ZOMBIES!

Despite the massive popularity of zombies in our culture today, there are still a few holdouts, people who either don't know, are afraid to know, or simply don't care about zombies. If you're a member of the latter group, then I can't help you. If you're the first two, fear not: you don't need to know much about zombies to get in on the fun, whether it's watching classic zombie films like "Night of the Living Dead" or "Dawn of the Dead" or diving in to the phenomenal TV series or comic book series "The Walking Dead."

Discovery.com has put together a great article explaining the different types of zombies in various forms of media over the last few years. This brief guide is a great primer for those "dying" to get into the zombie craze. Yep. I went there.

Discovery.com: Know Your Zombies

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 10: "THE RING" CURSED VIDEO(TAPE!)

Dateline: 2003. Having survived the Great Scare of Y2K and enjoyed a few Halloween parties thrown by myself and my then-girlfriend, I was feeling a new sense of interest in horror films. I'd always loved horror movies, but there were some I had been truly scarred by as a kid, among them: the original Night of the Living Dead and the not-related but still scary Return of the Living Dead. I had also been pretty terrified by the experience of watching "The Blair Witch Project," which I thought was real found-footage (I was so naive!), in a theater. It was the only time I'd ever seen people leave a movie in silent procession before.

So while I was not yet ready to confront my fear of zombies and witches, I was becoming more interested in watching then-new horror films. I'd heard how terrifying "The Ring" was, but believed it was all hype. I mean, really, a cursed videotape? What, did you die from not rewinding before returning it to the video store instead of getting charged for another day? It was with this arrogant mindset that I went down to Blockbuster (remember those?) and then returned to my apartment with "The Ring."

I should point out that DVD technology was still relatively young; I'd only had my DVD player for two years and was still floored by the quality of both picture and sound. I mention this to get those youngsters reading this to realize that utilizing a cursed videocassette as the central conceit of the film made plenty of sense back then, as most folks still didn't have DVD players.

I'm not going to review the movie, but I will say that it disturbed me. A lot. I watched it midday on Halloween, the windows covered with blankets to create a better viewing experience. Being a bachelor, I'd become accustomed to falling asleep on the couch in my living room. After watching "The Ring," I didn't fall asleep near at TV for a long time.

Though some have mocked me for being afraid of this film, it remains one of the most effective and disturbing horror films I've ever seen, which has been quite a few in the last decade. I don't know what's at work within "The Ring," but it's tone and creepy haunts you long after you've seen the film. I also find it very interesting that "The Ring" isn't played very often on television, even during the Halloween season.

Perhaps the scariest aspect of the film was the "cursed videotape," copies of which were left in various public places as part of the film's brilliant marketing strategy. If you've never seen the film or the cursed tape at the center of it's narrative, you can watch it right here. But be warned: though we don't use tape anymore, methinks a video can still be haunted no matter the format...

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 9: MYTHBUSTERS VS. ZOMBIES!

In celebration of the fourth season premiere of the wildly popular AMC series "The Walking Dead," the Mythbuster gang is tackling the concept of the zombie. Since zombies are a fictional creation (at least, that's what I'm told!) the Mythbusters will follow the well-accepted "zombie rules" that have emerged since the modern zombie genre began with George Romero's 1968 classic "Night of the Living Dead." Those rules include the following: zombies, being reanimated corpses, are slow-moving (take that, Zack Snyder), zombies can only be dispatched when their brains are destroyed (meaning heads shots and strikes are crucial) and the zombie "virus" can be contracted through contact with zombie fluids, a scratch that breaks the skin, or a bite.

Here's the preview of the Mythbusters Zombie Special, which will feature special guest Michael Rooker, best known to fans of "The Walking Dead" as badass redneck Merle Dixon. The special airs on Discovery at 9 PM on Thursday, October 17th. "The Walking Dead" returns to AMC Sunday, October 13th, at 8 PM.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 8: WHEN VAMPIRES WERE VAMPIRES...

One of my all-time favorite films is Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula," for many reasons. I'll detail those in my review of the film in a later entry in this SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN!, but for right now, I want to share my favorite scene.


THIS is how vampires are done, if you will. In this time of sparkly, emo, "can't we all just get along?" bloodsuckers, we need to be reminded that the original version of the vampire we know today began in Abraham Stoker's wonderful novel, Dracula. Drac himself, along with his brides, were monsters. They were vicious, manipulative, blood-hungry living corpses who possessed devilish cunning and intellect. Dracula's goal in the novel, if not in the movies based on it, was to make the world one giant graveyard for the undead, starting with London.

All the aspects of film production come together in this scene to create an experience I have never forgotten. I still find myself transfixed with fear and awe when I watch this scene, just as I was when I first saw it in the theater almost twenty years ago.

If you're queasy or don't like blood, well...you've been warned.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 7: HYUNDAI SANTA FE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL MACHINE!

 Just a few months out of college, I had a full-time job and was ready to take the next "real world" step: buy a car. My '87 Honda Accord, a.k.a. "Valiant," had done her duty and done so well. But it was time for a new vehicle.

Long story short, I was unemployed after the first year on the job (after deciding to work on my Master's Degree) and so a new car was out of the question. The vehicle I had in mind, though, was a Hyundai Santa Fe. I liked the look and the feel of it (took one for a test drive!) but ultimately, I went with the cheaper Oldsmobile Alero a few years later.

I'm going to be getting a new (or new to me!) car in the not too distant future, and I'm thinking of getting a Santa Fe this time. But only if I can get this one:


This is just a mock-up, designed by a fan of The Walking Dead, sponsored by a host of advertisers, including Hyundai. The design, created using the Chop Shop app, has been made into an actual vehicle and will be revealed at the impending New York Comic Con.

Now I just need to figure out how to steal the thing...

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 6: WHITE ZOMBIE "I'M YOUR BOOGIEMAN" MUSIC VIDEO

Those of us from "the old days" of music and music video remember when a music video was an experience and sometimes, even an event. There are a number of music videos that made a deep impression on my young mind as a kid growing up in the late 80s/early nineties. These days, lyric videos have now become a new genre of music video; they've grown in popularity and in usage due to the inexpensive nature of their creation and because they allow music fans to learn the lyrics of their favorite songs.

Hopefully, lyric videos won't replace the "mini-movie" type of videos of days gone by, or those that use costume design, makeup, set design, and performance to make a video truly unforgettable.

Behold one of my favorites, the video for White Zombie's cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's "I'm Your Boogieman." I should warn you now: you might find this video highly disturbing, which is the point. It has no graphic violence or sexual content, but it is visually arresting, gory,  and also, dare I say it: fun. I especially enjoy it because it's a homage to those glorious "horror movie theater" shows from days gone by, that featured a creepy character (like Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) introducing classic and not-so-classic horror movies on late night weekend television. Enjoy!

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 5: GIANT KILLER HORNETS ON THE ATTACK!

I don't have much to add to this. It's truly horrifying, and yes, they've been sighted in America.

Full story here. Pics below are of queens and the drones.

Time to replace that handheld bug zapper with some hurricane fencing hooked up to a cattle prod...

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 4: "DARK KNIGHT'S TWO FACE IS FRANKENSTEIN!"

I pride myself on being up to speed on the latest in sci-fi, superhero, action, and horror film news; yet somehow, I completely missed this one.

Aaron Eckhart, perhaps best known for his roles in "Thank You For Smoking" and "The Dark Knight," is going to play Dr. Frankenstein's creation in a horror-action film entitled "I, Frankenstin." The film is due in Jaunary 2014, and features Frankenstein's "monster," sporting his less monstrous appearance from the novel (as well as his name, Adam) fighting gargoyles and demons.

As a fan of the character of Frankenstein's monster, especially in stories that feature him in the present day, I'm excited by the look and feel of this film. Aaron Eckhart is a great actor and the special effects look superb.

The only thing I don't understand is this: why isn't this film being released before Halloween? Check out the trailer below:

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 3: "THE BATMAN VS. DRACULA"

With October here, it's that time for Halloween-themed TV shows and films. Horror movies will get more playtime than usual, even the classic black and white gems or so-bad-they're-awesome horror flicks of the full color generation. Children's programs will follow suit as well, though one animated film from a few years back will not likely see the light of your TV set: the animated feature-length film "The Batman vs. Dracula."

"The Batman vs. Dracula" was a spin-off of the animated series "The Batman," which debuted in 2004. The series did fairly well in the ratings, leading Warner Brothers Animation to release "The Batman vs. Dracula" on October 18th, 2005., capitalizing on the Halloween season and the home video release of the well-received "Batman Begins" on the same date.

The film is the first time outside of comic books that Batman faces that other guy with the cape and an association with bats, the Lord of the Undead himself, Dracula. The film uses the same fluid and dynamic animation style seen in the TV series its based on, though the film's tone is darker and the horror-level greater than what would be normally seen on television.

"The Batman vs. Dracula" is a great film to enjoy with the family during this Halloween season. It's not too scary or violent, features classic Batman villains Joker and Penguin, and of course, a new foe in the form of Dracula. Drac is pretty scary in the film and pushes The Batman to use his intellect to defeat him.




You can stream "The Batman vs. Dracula" on Amazon Instant Video, Netflix DVD, and Warner On Demand through YouTube. You can also buy a copy of the DVD on WalMart.comhttp://www.walmart.com/ip/4098489 and Amazon, though finding a copy in stores will be difficult right now. It's dirt cheap on Amazon and well worth the few bucks you'll pay to watch it. If you or someone in the family is a fan of Batman, superheroes, or animation, you'll enjoy the flick.

SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 2: REAL POLTERGEIST?

I've watched this video (and the others uploaded by the same user) a number of times. "Mellowb1rd" frequently uses a Ouija board and seances and then records these experiences in his home. I completely believe in evil entities and that they can be summoned, but is this real? I could see some of it being faked, but what happens to the chair at the very end is what convinces me this is very real and very dangerous. How exactly would a person fake that?!

Watch and decide for yourself. (Click here if the video below doesn't work)

THE SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 1: MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES!

Years ago, I wrote a blog post a day during October, each dedicated to a topic that fit the tone of the Halloween season. That first "Thirty-One Days Of Halloween!" has been lost to the Internet ether, but like every classic horror movie monster, its spawn lives on! Over the next thirty-one days, I'll be your tour guide through lands of shadow and mystery, horror and terror, both real and fictional, and environs in between.

Today, I begin with a recent discovery I made while listening to the often spooky and always fascinating Coast To Coast AM. Monday morning, I tuned in an in-progress interview with David Paulides, a former law enforcement agent who has researched and investigated the Bigfoot phenomenon extensively. That research led Paulides to a far more disturbing discovery: a large number of unexplained missing persons' cases, stretching back over a century both in the US and across the globe. The persons missing are often children, and in most cases they are never seen again, nor any evidence that they had ever been in the last place they were seen. Other cases involve the finding of a body, though all cases involve a dog in the presence of the person who goes missing and the context of a national park or forest.

Paulides has written three books on these disappearances, which can be found on his website. He continues to work with other retired law enforcement officials, former park rangers, and search and rescue personnel in researching cases new and old, as well as informing the public about these incidents and the commonalities among them.

As a sort of "primer" on these cases, watch this short (under six minutes) news report on Paulides and his work:

Missing In Parks: David Paulides

Below are links to various audio episodes of Coast To Coast AM featuring Paulides as a guest. These are riveting interviews with chilling details about these unsolved missing persons cases.

This past Monday's episode:

Another episode from March of 2013:

The Shadow of the Bat falls upon...Kaplan!

As most people know, I am a diehard and lifelong fan of comic books, especially those published by DC Comics. My two favorite superheroes are The Batman and Superman. My love for them is usually just about equal, but it was the first Batman movie back in 1989 that made me a full-fledged, regular devourer of comic books, especially those starring The Batman himself. It was through those comics that I began to read the adventures of other characters like Superman, The Flash, and Green Lantern. I always had a special place in my heart as a kid for Superman and Batman, and though my memory is hazy, I feel confident that the first comic book (from my brother's collection) that I ever saw/read was Batman #352.



A few years ago, I discovered a site run and populated by fellow Batman fans who took their love of the character to the next level: The Brotherhood of the Bat. I joined up as a member so that I could see the costumes these guys (and girls) created with their own hands. These aren't cheap Halloween costumes, these are movie-quality (and in a lot of cases, superior to movie quality) costumes that cost lots of money and hard work and dedication to make.

Batman costumes and cowls by the super-talented Shawn Reeves

It would just be a neat thing if these folks made really cool costumes and wore them to comic book conventions, and some of them do only that. There are others, though, who become The Batman, or Robin, or Catwoman, or Nightwing, or the Joker, for the entertainment and delight of children. These men and women suit up and bring joy and wonder to children in need, whether they're sick, underprivileged, or even just for their birthdays.

I dreamed of doing this myself, but couldn't afford the expensive costumes. I purchased a Batman cowl and then put together a costume passable for Halloween. I enjoyed the experience of becoming The Dark Knight, especially seeing the looks on the faces of little kids who had never seen a six-foot Batman, even on Halloween.

I wanted to do more, however, but put aside the desire to focus on other priorities, like job changes and family. Then a longtime friend of mine, Alexa Marceaux, asked me if I or anyone I knew had a Batman costume. One of her friend's sons, Grant,  was having a birthday party and they were hoping for Batman to make an appearance. I was thrilled to accept the offer to appear for Grant's birthday, all the while hoping my costume would hold up to the scrutiny of children, which can be quite unforgiving.


I "armored" up and made the drive to Kaplan in everything but my cowl. Alexa had presents for Grant wrapped in black paper with yellow ribbon, which looked awesome. I walked over from an adjacent lot where I parked the "BatMeauxbile" and entered, asking for Grant. He was speechless, and soon the other kids at the party gathered around to watch Grant open his presents. One boy told me he wished I could have gone to his birthday, that it was in June, and that he lived two doors over. I told him I'd be sure to make it next year. Another boy asked me how I got to there, and I told him I parked the Batmobile a few blocks over. We posed for the picture below and then Grant gave me a hug. My friend, who has serious connections, had the mayor of Kaplan arrive to tell me that the Joker had broken out of prison! I told everyone I had to go and exited the scene.

I had a great time, partially because I've always loved wearing costumes, but primarily because I got to make a child's birthday a little more special. My goal is to acquire a better costume and continue offering my services, free of charge, to anyone who would like The Batman to visit a child or children in need.