Lawrence C. Connolly's Blog, page 16

A Trap Full of Monsters:Responses to Last Week’s Mystery

“Well then, I suppose that leaves us no choice but to enter through the devil’s door.” — August LaFleur, “A Trap Full of Monsters,” Act I

Since our previous episode of Prime Stage Mystery Theatre concluded with August LaFleur suggesting that the only way into the New Towne Theatre is through something he called a “devil’s door,” we posed the question: What is a devil’s door and how might it  … [read more at The 21st Century Scop].

Mystery Theatre Supplement:The Strange History of Devil’s Doors

This guest post is a response to Prime Stage Mystery Theatre’s  opening act of “A Trap Full of Monsters.” 

If you have not yet listened to that episode, you can do so by clicking here.

Also, you’ll want to be sure to check out Act II when it drops on Thursday, October 14, where we’ll be sharing more listener responses and playing portions of an audio recording of Dr. Wisker’s thoughts on devil’s doors.

I’ll meet you there!

Devil’s Doors

by Gina Wisker
University of Bath, UK: University of Trom...

The Enduring Influence of Ambrose Bierce

Earlier this year, after turning in the manuscript for a new collection of Ambrose Bierce stories, I was watching The Criterion Channel and engaging in an activity that screenwriter calls “eating your vegetables.” In other words, I was finally watching some of those classic movies I’d heard about but … [read more at The 21st Century Scop].

The Enduring Influence of Ambrose Bierce

Earlier this year, after turning in the manuscript for a new collection of Ambrose Bierce stories, I was watching The Criterion Channel and engaging in an activity that screenwriter calls “eating your vegetables.” In other words, I was finally watching some of those classic movies I’d heard about but had never got around to actually watching.

I had just finished Carnival of Souls (1962), a stylish, low-budget horror flick that seemed to be a retelling of Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Ow...

A Trap Full of Monsters:The Return of Prime Stage Mystery Theatre

“It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize out of a number of facts which are incidental and which are vital.”

The above advice comes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the father of modern detective fiction. And it will be good advice to keep in mind as Prime Stage Mystery Theatre launches its third season today (Tuesday, October 7) with an all-new five-part mystery titled “A Trap Full of Monsters” … [read more at The 21st Cent...

A Trap Full of Monsters:The Return of Prime Stage Mystery Theatre

“It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize out of a number of facts which are incidental and which are vital.”

The above advice comes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the father of modern detective fiction. And it will be good advice to keep in mind as Prime Stage Mystery Theatre launches its third season today (Tuesday, October 7) with an all-new five-part mystery titled “A Trap Full of Monsters.”

Here’s the synopsis:

Crucial...

Beyond the Imagination:Frankenstein, Shelley & Karloff

It’s not easy making a monster. Just ask Victor Frankenstein who “worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.” And when he finally succeeds, he steps back, takes a look … [read more at The 21st Century Scop].

Frankenstein, Karloff, and Spike the Mutant

“I was euphoric in June. Look where we are now.” So begins a new essay in the New York Times that considers how the summer we hoped for got preempted by Covid-Delta. That’s the thing with monsters. You can never be sure they’re gone for good.

Take the creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein … [read more at The 21st Century Scop].

Cartoon by Dana Summers, Copyright 2021 Tribune Content Agency, from The Week .

Frankenstein, Karloff, and Spike the Mutant

“I was euphoric in June. Look where we are now.” So begins a new essay in the New York Times that considers how the summer we hoped for got preempted by Covid-Delta. That’s the thing with monsters. You can never be sure they’re gone for good.

Cartoon by Dana Summers, Copyright 2021 Tribune Content Agency, from The Week .

Take the creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He ends the 1818 novel by promising to vanish forever, but then – after leaping onto an ice floe in the frozen north, he returns...

Splash Music: What are the shortest songs ever recorded?

Two of the more popular posts featured on this website deal with flash fiction. That is according to Google Analytics, which shows Putting the Flash in Fiction and The Shortest Flashes Ever Written continue to garner clicks years after being posted.

Such interest in ultra-short stories has me pondering their musical equivalents … and contemplating the question What are the shortest songs ever recorded?

With this post, I don’t intend to provide a definitive answer so much as open the discussion a...