I caught up with yet another 'old fiend' the other day, one which I first saw in one of my Famous Monsters magazines back in the early Seventies. I still have that magazine although its oddly coverless. It may always have been as I got a lot of horror comics and mags from a brilliant second hand comics stall on Preston outdoor Market. I can still see the seller now. He reminded me of McGill in Man in a Suitcase. I've been collecting horror comics and monster books ever since.
The 'old fiend' is the film Diary of a Madman starring the prince of horror Vincent Price. It concerns a French magistrate, grieving for the loss of his wife. Into his life breezes a young lady who poses for his re-discovered sculpting. Amidst all of this blossoming romance are the Horla, evil presences from another dimension, hell-bent on driving Vincenzo to heinous acts. I won't spoil anything and leave it there in case you wish to read this particular deranged diary.
The story was by Guy de Maupassant and there is an excellent resume of his ghostly tales on Darkworlds http://darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas.org/the-diary-of-a-madman-the-horror-stories-of-guy-de-maupassant/
I still have many more old monster chums to watch, first seen in Famous Monsters and my horror guides by Dennis Gifford and Alan Frank and never actually viewed.
One day I will have seen them all but till then ...
Wasnt the Horla itself a sort of lizardlike creature that fastened itself to a victims spine?
ReplyDeleteThats the Tingler, courtesy of schlockmeister William Castle. When it was first shown in the flicks they used 'Percepto' to make the chairs tingle!
DeleteHa ha The Tingler, sounds a bit Anne Summers to me!
ReplyDelete