Amy H. Sturgis's Blog, page 158

Halloween Countdown, Day 13

Thanks to everyone who took part in yesterday's poll about lesser-known Halloween-appropriate films! It's still open, if anyone else would like to participate.


Today's atmospheric photo is from the wonderful lizziebelle :


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Text of the Day: Today's short story is the eerie "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" (1894) by M.R. James (1862-1936).

Excerpt:
It was not in the personal appearance of the little, dry, wizened old man that the interest lay, for he was precisely like dozens of other church-guardians in France, but in a curious furtive, or rather hunted and oppressed, air which he had. He was perpetually half glancing behind him; the muscles of his back and shoulders seemed to be hunched in a continual nervous contraction, as if he were expecting every moment to find himself in the clutch of an enemy. The Englishman hardly knew whether to put him down as a man by haunted by a fixed delusion, or as one oppressed by a guilty conscience, or as an unbearably henpecked husband. The probabilities, when reckoned up, certainly pointed to the last idea; but, still, the impression conveyed was that of a more formidable persecutor even than a termagant wife.

However, the Englishman (let us call him Dennistoun) was soon too deep in his notebook and too busy with his camera to give more than an occasional glance to the sacristan. Whenever he did look at him, he found him at no great distance, either huddling himself back against the wall or crouching in one of the gorgeous stalls.

Read the complete story.

Halloween Countdown, Day 12 (and Poll!)

I've been thinking about good Halloween films (not necessarily horror movies, and definitely not lame slasher pictures, but suspenseful, atmospheric films that put a chill up the spine) that are "off the beaten path" -- that is, films that are independent, foreign, direct to DVD, or somehow under promoted, and thus might easily slip under the proverbial radar.

For example, we recently watched the 2010 historical dark fantasy Black Death . Set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is tasked with learning the truth about reports of people who are immune to the sickness in a small village, allegedly made so by "witchcraft." What follows is a dark fable that considers evil and love, loyalty and death, faith and fate. Excellent turns by Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, and a strong supporting cast really bring this to life (pun intended), and I was more than pleasantly surprised by the atmospheric eeriness and thoughtful tragedy of this film. As Alan Jones from Film4's "FrightFest" said about the film, "This intelligent original represents a commendable break from the genre norm and is one of the most powerful films made about God, the godless and what the Devil truly represents."

Here's the trailer:



Last Halloween season we watched the 2009 Gothic film Dorian Gray , which I believe was never widely released in theaters in the U.S. I thought it was quite well done, true to the spirit if not the letter of Oscar Wilde's story, admirably restrained with the special effects, and graced by compelling performances by Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, and Rachel Hurd-Wood. It's perfect for the Halloween season, to my way of thinking. Watch the trailer here.

The year before that for Halloween we watched 2008's The Burrowers , an independent science fiction/horror Western that was short on cheap gore and long on psychological terror (just the way I like it), and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Watch the trailer here.

Some of the other recent "off the beaten path" films that I find chilling enough for the season include the following:

the brilliant, quirky, lovingly satirical films of Larry Blamire (thanks to marthawells for the recommendation), which are "must see" material, including The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2004) and its sequel The Lost Skeleton Returns Again (2009), as well as the standalone films Trail of the Screaming Forehead (2007) and Dark and Stormy Night (2009) - I simply can't praise these enough,
the Finnish historical fantasy/horror/morality play Sauna (2008 - thanks to mr_earbrass for the recommendation),
the surreal dark fantasy Franklyn (2008),
the chilling, true crime-inspired Borderland (2007),
the Spanish science fiction thriller Timecrimes (2007),
the moody, Lovecraft-inspired Cthulhu (2007),
the gorgeous, silent Lovecraft adaptation The Call of Cthulhu (2005),
the U.S. Civil War-era dark fantasy/horror Dead Birds (2004),
and the dystopian psychological thriller Final (2001).
Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Your turn!

View Poll: Your turn! What "off the beaten path" film(s) do you recommend for the Halloween season?


Text of the Day: Today's spooky story is "No. 252 Rue M. Le Prince" by Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942).

Excerpt:
To be sure d'Ardeche reviled her as a bad old woman, being himself in that state of enthusiastic exaltation which sometimes accompanies a boyish fancy for occultism; but in spite of his distant and repellent attitude, Mlle. Blaye de Tartas made him her sole heir, to the violent wrath of a questionable old party known to infamy as the Sar Torrevieja, the "King of the Sorcerers." This malevolent old portent, whose gray and crafty face was often seen in the Rue M. le Prince during the life of Mlle. de Tartas had, it seems, fully expected to enjoy her small wealth after her death; and when it appeared that she had left him only the contents of the gloomy old house in the Quartier Latin, giving the house itself and all else of which she died possessed to her nephew in America, the Sar proceeded to remove everything from the place, and then to curse it elaborately and comprehensively, together with all those who should ever dwell therein.

Whereupon he disappeared.

Read the complete story.

Halloween Countdown, Day 11

Are you looking to add a new book to your Halloween reading list? I have a recommendation, a 2011 novel that is well worth your time. It's by Mike A. Lancaster, and it's been released to various markets under the titles 0.4 and Human.4 . I highly recommend it.

Read my review.



And now, another public service announcement:




Text of the Day: Today's short story is a spooky one: "A Ghoul's Accountant" by Stephen Crane (1871-1900).

Excerpt:
In a wilderness sunlight is noise. Darkness is a great, tremendous silence, accented by small and distant sounds. The music of the wind in the trees is songs of loneliness, hymns of abandonment, and lays of the absence of things congenial and alive.

Once a campfire lay dying in a fit of temper. A few weak flames struggled cholerically among the burned-out logs. Beneath, a mass of angry, red coals glowered and hated the world. Some hemlocks sighed and sung and a wind purred in the grass. The moon was looking through the locked branches at four imperturbable bundles of blankets which lay near the agonized campfire. The fire groaned in its last throes, but the bundles made no sign.

Off in the gloomy unknown a foot fell upon a twig.

Read the complete story.

Download an unabridged narration from Librivox.org.

Halloween Countdown, Day 10

I'm back home from a fantastic colloquium in gorgeous Portland, Maine.

I have exciting news about Lenoir-Rhyne University's Harry Potter Fest 2011, which takes place on Friday, October 28, 2011!




Harry Potter Fest 2011 at Lenoir-Rhyne University on Friday, October 28, 2011
(All events are free and open to the public!)

10am: Presentation by Travis Prinzi
Belk Centrum

10am-4pm: Immortalize Yourself: Clearly You Laser Crystal Imaging
Belk Lobby

12pm: Harry Potter Q&A Interview with Travis Prinzi Conducted by Yours Truly
Bear's Lair

1pm: Insufferable Know-It-Alls: Harry Potter Trivia Contest
Rudisill Library

2-5pm: Live Owls from the Carolina Raptor Center
Shaw Plaza

3:30pm: Live Quidditch
Russell House Lawn

6:30pm: Harry Potter Costume Contest
Shaw Plaza

7pm: Wizard Rock Concert with Hawthorn and Holly
Shaw Plaza





Today's picture is by yours truly; I took it earlier this year at the Bentalou Graves in the Westminster Hall catacombs in Baltimore, Maryland.



Text of the Day: Today's chilling short story is "The Monk of Horror, or the Conclave of Corpses" by Anonymous (1796).

Excerpt:
Some three hundred years since, when the convent of Kreutzberg was in its glory, one of the monks who dwelt therein, wishing to ascertain something of the hereafter of those whose bodies lay all undecayed in the cemetery, visited it alone in the dead of night for the purpose of prosecuting his inquiries on that fearful subject. As he opened the trap-door of the vault a light burst from below; but deeming it to be only the lamp of the sacristan, the monk drew back and awaited his departure concealed behind the high altar. The sacristan emerged not, however, from the opening; and the monk, tired of waiting, approached, and finally descended the rugged steps which led into the dreary depth. No sooner had he set foot on the lower-most stair, than the well-known scene underwent a complete transformation in his eyes.

Read the complete story.

Halloween Countdown, Day 9

If you'd like more Halloween countdowns in your life, be sure to check out those by the wonderful agameofthree , sueworld2003 , and vivien529 .


John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe? Here's the new trailer for the forthcoming (March 2012) film The Raven . What do you think?




Text of the Day: Today's reading is a the short story "The Leather Funnel" by the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930).

Excerpt: My friend, Lionel Dacre, lived in the Avenue de Wagram, Paris. His house was that small one, with the iron railings and grass plot in front of it, on the left-hand side as you pass down from the Arc de Triomphe. I fancy that it had been there long before the avenue was constructed, for the grey tiles were stained with lichens, and the walls were mildewed and discoloured with age. It looked a small house from the street, five windows in front, if I remember right, but it deepened into a single long chamber at the back. It was here that Dacre had that singular library of occult literature, and the fantastic curiosities which served as a hobby for himself, and an amusement for his friends. A wealthy man of refined and eccentric tastes, he had spent much of his life and fortune in gathering together what was said to be a unique private collection of Talmudic, cabalistic, and magical works, many of them of great rarity and value. His tastes leaned toward the marvellous and the monstrous, and I have heard that his experiments in the direction of the unknown have passed all the bounds of civilization and of decorum.

Read the complete story.

Download an unabridged narration from Librivox.org.

Halloween Countdown, Day 8

Check out this amazing Halloween artwork! Just breathtaking. I love the historical flavor of these pieces. (Thanks to elizkcampbell !)




Text of the Day: Today's text is longer and oh-so-eerie, a perfect choice for the weekend: the classic Gothic horror novel The Beetle by Richard Marsh (1857-1915). Published the same year as Dracula, The Beetle was at the time considered the more popular and sensational of the two supernatural thrillers.

Excerpt:
Well, if the house was empty, in such a plight as mine I might be said to have a moral, if not a legal, right, to its bare shelter. Who, with a heart in his bosom, would deny it me? Hardly the most punctilious landlord. Raising myself by means of the sill I slipped my legs into the room.

The moment I did so I became conscious that, at any rate, the room was not entirely unfurnished. The floor was carpeted. I have had my feet on some good carpets in my time; I know what carpets are; but never did I stand upon a softer one than that. It reminded me, somehow, even then, of the turf in Richmond Park,—it caressed my instep, and sprang beneath my tread. To my poor, travel-worn feet, it was luxury after the puddly, uneven road. Should I, now I had ascertained that—the room was, at least, partially furnished, beat a retreat? Or should I push my researches further? It would have been rapture to have thrown off my clothes, and to have sunk down, on the carpet, then and there, to sleep. But,—I was so hungry; so famine-goaded; what would I not have given to have lighted on something good to eat!

I moved a step or two forward, gingerly, reaching out with my hands, lest I struck, unawares, against some unseen thing. When I had taken three or four such steps, without encountering an obstacle, or, indeed, anything at all, I began, all at once, to wish I had not seen the house; that I had passed it by; that I had not come through the window; that I were safely out of it again. I became, on a sudden, aware, that something was with me in the room. There was nothing, ostensible, to lead me to such a conviction; it may be that my faculties were unnaturally keen; but, all at once, I knew that there was something there. What was more, I had a horrible persuasion that, though unseeing, I was seen; that my every movement was being watched.

Read the complete novel.

Download an unabridged narration from Librivox.org.

Halloween Countdown, Day 7

On this day in 1849, Edgar Allan Poe died at the age of forty under mysterious circumstances.

For more information about Poe's death, read "Mysterious for Evermore" by Matthew Pearl, an article on Poe's death from The Telegraph. Pearl is the author of a fascinating recent novel about the subject, The Poe Shadow .

Two years ago, on the occasion of Poe's 200th birthday, I took over the StarShipSofa Audio Science Fiction Magazine to host an hour-long tribute to this pioneer of the short story, luminary of Gothic horror, father of detective fiction, and giant of science fiction. You can listen to the podcast here at the StarShipSofa website, or download it here, or access it via iTunes. If you listen, I hope you enjoy my celebration of Poe's life, works, and legacy!

The following are some of my favorite links about Edgar Allan Poe:
* PoeStories.com: An Exploration of Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe
* The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
* The Poe Museum of Richmond (See my pictures of the museum here.)

Earlier this year, I visited his final resting place in Baltimore and took this photo:



I was moved to see gifts and notes left for him by my fellow fans:



Text of the Day: For today, one of my favorites, "The Premature Burial."

Excerpt:
I might refer at once, if necessary to a hundred well authenticated instances. One of very remarkable character, and of which the circumstances may be fresh in the memory of some of my readers, occurred, not very long ago, in the neighboring city of Baltimore, where it occasioned a painful, intense, and widely-extended excitement. The wife of one of the most respectable citizens-a lawyer of eminence and a member of Congress --was seized with a sudden and unaccountable illness, which completely baffled the skill of her physicians. After much suffering she died, or was supposed to die. No one suspected, indeed, or had reason to suspect, that she was not actually dead. She presented all the ordinary appearances of death. The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lustreless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity. The funeral, in short, was hastened, on account of the rapid advance of what was supposed to be decomposition.

The lady was deposited in her family vault, which, for three subsequent years, was undisturbed. At the expiration of this term it was opened for the reception of a sarcophagus; -- but, alas! how fearful a shock awaited the husband, who, personally, threw open the door! As its portals swung outwardly back, some white-apparelled object fell rattling within his arms. It was the skeleton of his wife in her yet unmoulded shroud.

Read the complete story.

Download an unabridged narration from Librivox.org.

Halloween Countdown, Day 6

I'm off to Portland, Maine for the next several days to participate in a scholarly colloquium on "Freedom, Empire, and Conflict in Two Greek Wars" (to the tune of Herodotus and Thucydides). But never fear! The countdown shall continue without interruption. And speaking of the countdown...


One of my favorite groups to listen to during the Halloween season is Nox Arcana. Whether you want music inspired by the Grimm Brothers, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft, or music inspired by pirates, vampires, and haunted houses, their albums are a perfect backdrop to October. You can listen to many of their songs at their website.




They have a new thematic album available for preorder, The Dark Tower . This is the "trailer" music video. Enjoy!



Text of the Day: Today's text is "The Lady Witch" by Jane Francesca Agnes, Lady Wilde (1821-1896).

Excerpt:
About a hundred years ago there lived a woman in Joyce's Country, of whom all the neighbours were afraid, for she had always plenty of money, though no one knew how she came by it; and the best of eating and drinking went on at her house, chiefly at night -- meat and fowls and Spanish wines in plenty for all corners. And when people asked how it all came, she laughed and said, "I have paid for it," but would tell them no more.

So the word went through the country that she had sold herself to the Evil One, and could have everything she wanted by merely wishing and willing, and because of her riches they called her "The Lady Witch."

Read the complete story.

Halloween Countdown, Day 5

Today we're doing this old school.

So let's get this party started! I'll let Lio from the Lio comic strip set the tone:



Text of the Day: Today's text is a verse, the spooky 1833 poem "The Vampire Bride" by Henry Liddell.

Excerpt:

"I am come — I am come! once again from the tomb,
In return for the ring which you gave;
That I am thine, and that thou art mine,
This nuptial pledge receive."

He lay like a corse 'neath the Demon's force,
And she wrapp'd him in a shround;
And she fixed her teeth his heart beneath,
And she drank of the warm life-blood!

And ever and anon murmur'd the lips of stone,
"Soft and warm is this couch of thine,
Thou'lt to-morrow be laid on a colder bed —
Albert! that bed will be mine!"

Read the complete poem.

Halloween Countdown, Day 5

Today we're doing this old school.

So let's get this party started! I'll let Lio from Lio comic strip set the tone:



Text of the Day: Today's text is a verse, the spooky 1833 poem "The Vampire Bride" by Henry Liddell.

Excerpt:

"I am come — I am come! once again from the tomb,
In return for the ring which you gave;
That I am thine, and that thou art mine,
This nuptial pledge receive."

He lay like a corse 'neath the Demon's force,
And she wrapp'd him in a shround;
And she fixed her teeth his heart beneath,
And she drank of the warm life-blood!

And ever and anon murmur'd the lips of stone,
"Soft and warm is this couch of thine,
Thou'lt to-morrow be laid on a colder bed —
Albert! that bed will be mine!"

Read the complete poem.