I'm Seeing More Things

Back when we were in Germany I saw these strange bubble candle blocks. They brought back memories of Dr.Who interiors and Sci Fi locations. What do you think?

Similarly these hand candles - handles! - stirred my id of monsters therein.

Those being the dreadful Hand of Glory in the film, The Wicker Man, placed menacingly by the bedside of the young doomed constable played brilliantly by Edward Woodward.

These small LED-lit Christmas houses, especially the one on the right, though quaint for sure, made me think of less festive dwellings ....

..... namely the iconic Bates house in Hitchcock's seminal Psycho. His Mother's in the window too! 

And equally, though less so, the Marston House in the terrific 1979 Stephen King mini-Series, Salem's Lot. Would you go in it? 

I'm Seeing Things

Being abroad always makes me see things in a different way, a sort of filofax of the stuff I love that colours what I come across.

With Flash and Buck on my mind, I was chuffed to see a restaurant named Wilma. Wilma Wunder i.e. Wilma Wonder!

 

At first glance. I thought these were cola cans but they're candles. Candles for graves. Keeping relatives graves in decent order for 25 years is mandatory in Germany, so millions of these are sold, especially for feast days and All Hallows.

As everywhere, Wednesday fever is rife and the Adams Family daughter merchandising machine is in full swing now Halloween looms. Here's some Kaugummi or chewing gum.

Somewhere I have the autograph of the original Wednesday from the 1960's on this big Adams game picture card. I got it to spice up my old vintage toy stall.

And as Halloween approaches we all need a quart of Kunst Blut or fake blood. That's a lot of mess right there!

In another shop I clocked these Fooßball players now turned into much less lively fridge magnets. A sort of suspended retirement!

In the same arty shop were these statues. For some reason I immediately thought of David Wies All the Madmen, the line Where the Thin Men Stalk the Streets and the Saints lay Underground coming to life!

Finally in this European medley I saw these small sofas.

. They reminded me of the prop sofa in The Secret Service I saw on an old props site.

http://www.gerryandersonprops.com/models.php

I wonder if the C21 team would have bought one - or all - of these off the shelf jobs and save time?

The Fading Pawprints of Halloween Night

I do love a good monster pawprint. There will be lots of them around this morning!

There are two that really had an impact on me as a nipper. Both from the 1950's and both seem invisible ..... at first.

The monster from the id stalking the ship in Forbidden Planet. Who can forget those one-toed footprints and those creepy boinging steps!

Is Forbidden Planet possibly the birthplace of modern science fiction films?

 

The Demon in Night of the Demon, that huge fire devil summoned by the runes. There is a classic scene where the monster pads its way along the forest floor.

I often conclude that this is the best monster movie ever made. You?

Have you got a fave footprint readers?

In the Halls of Idle Fiends

Halloween Movie: Impulse

I always liked Tim Matheson in National Lampoons Animal House, so when I came across the movie Impulse years ago his face felt familiar.

Impulse is an eco-horror/ sci-fi film from 1984 about a small American rural hamlet where the good folks turn nasty after some even nastier chemicals get into the water.

It recalls movies like The Crazies and The Andromeda Strain. 

I've only seen it the once but really enjoyed it, so for Halloween it's my film recommendation. 

Impulse, 1984. 

Background:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_(1984_film)

The full Movie:

https://youtu.be/2dIo3d2mS6A?feature=shared

The Dry Grimoire

Whenever I stay away from home for any length of time I write a short horror story.

Returning from the Continent on a long ferry voyage I wrote The Dry Grimoire.

It's quite a grisly tale so be warned if you do choose to indulge.

https://thegargoylesdispleasure.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-dry-grimoire.html?m=1

The Bandaged Imp

Happy Halloween from Terranova47

The Lurker in the Dark!

Happy Halloween from Tony K

H U G G E R

Goodnight Readers!

 

Sleep tight!

Monster High - the Ghoul Mobile!

Monster High is a range of Monster-themed fashion dolls. A mix of Barbie, Universal movie monsters, and Beverley Hills 90210. The result is pretty weird.

The dolls are the children of various types of monster, mainly from the movies, and attend Monster High School, in New Salem. The usual collection of Frankenstein-type monsters, vampires, werewolves, Mummies, and Sea Monsters (I assume inspired by the Creature From the Black Lagoon).

They were launched by Mattel in 2010. Just like Barbie, there are various playsets and accessories. These include a purple Monster High Ghoul Mobile, which is a purple two-seater sports car.

Given the Monster/horror theme, the Ghoul Mobile is covered in cobwebs, the grille has teeth, the windscreen and headlight lenses are tinted a spooky green colour, and even the seats have horns. The accessories include a cat-like Ghost Pet.

This is the Wikipedia article for the line.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_High#:~:text=Monster%20High%20is%20an%20American,launched%20by%20Mattel%20in%202010.

Photographs from Worthpoint.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

It will come in you know

 

Ravensblight - Cliff House!

If memory serves me badly, I believe this was the very first Halloween themed paper house I made back in 2016 downloaded from http://ravensblight.com/

WELCOME To RavensBlight

Dark creations by Ray O'Bannon! Gothic art gallery, dark paintings and photography, over 300 works on display, Free haunted paper toys for you to print out, Free goth/rock music, free PC games, short horror fiction, short horror films, artist info, and horror links.

ravensblight.com

The downloads are free, and the builds are straightforward. I brace all of my paper builds with strip wood so they can take the punishment of moving from storage to display and back to storage again. This one includes the house atop a cliff but no way into it like a stairway. Stairs would be an easy enough build but really, ghosts don't need stairs do they?

From Vegas Spooky Town

Ed

USA

Fantasia!

In these Holes we Wait

How Many Frankenstein Films Did Boris Karloff Make ?

My Dark Corner of this Sick World is a You Tube movie review channel devoted to what most people consider bad movies (and a few good ones). Frankenstein 1970, in which Boris Karloff plays Frankenstein rather than the creature, was recently reviewed. This got me wondering, how many Frankenstein films did Boris Karloff make in his long career?

He only played the Monster in the first three Universal films: Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Then retired from the role.

But this would not be his last appearance in a Universal Frankenstein movie. Following on from Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), Universal made House of Frankenstein, which added Count Dracula to the cast.

In House of Frankenstein (1944), Karloff plays the central villain, Dr Gustav Niemann, who has just escaped from prison, and is out for revenge on those who put him there. This time Glenn Strange played the Monster.

Then came Frankenstein 1970 (1958), in which Karloff plays Baron Victor von Frankenstein. Mike Lane played the Monster.

Mad Monster Party ? (1967) was a stop-motion animated film, in which Boris Karloff provided the voice of Baron Boris von Frankenstein. The puppet somewhat resembled him.

So that makes six films by my count.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Sleep Tight!

 MORE DASTARDLY POSTS ON THE MORROW READERS,

ALL HALLOWS!

Don't let the bed bugs bite!

IT WAS LOOKING OUT OF THE DOLL'S HOUSE

The phantom monochrome swill will clog the windows of the living night.