Friday Links: Wilson’s Woman, The Mutilator, and Upsidedown Cross
To quote Conan, enough talk! Let’s get to the Friday Links:
The Horrors of It All showed us the truth about Wilson’s Woman, and it’s more tragic and terrible than can be believed.
“Scratchy” Pete Ellott reviewed the movie Upsidedown Cross at The Slaughtered Bird : “At a running time of 96 minutes, this one plays out a familiar story…but with a difference that keeps it fresh and intriguing. Aided greatly by superb performances from the two leads – the very gorgeous Erin Russ and a part so well suited to David Yow you would swear it was written especially for him.”
Demons are infesting hair products in Memphis, Tennessee: “It may sound bizarre, but some people believe virgin hair from India may be possessed during a ritual called tonsuring, the cutting of hair for religious reasons, or sacrifices to idol Gods. “The bible has no reference to demonic possession of things or objects,” said Dr. Bill Adkins, pastor at Greater Imani Cathedral of Faith. Dr. Adkins is doubtful demons would possess weaves and wigs.”
Sean Eaton spread his wings a bit at his must-read R’lyeh Tribune by discussing Ross Smeltzer’s 2016 book The Mark of the Shadow Grove: “A recurring observation in the text is that ‘the way of things’ is towards death, decay and a kind of vegetable regeneration. The author’s description of the surrounding countryside, of crumbling stone fences and farmhouses succumbing to vines, moss and fungi emphasizes this theme of decay, the passage of time, and the impermanence of human ambition.”
Ghost Hunting Theories took us to The Valley of the Headless Men: “The local Dene Tribe named the region for “the people over there.” The “people” being some remote mountain folks called Naha who were evil giants who attacked their villages and behead people. These giants were said to wield weapons never seen before (a theme the Paiutes also utilized in describing the Hav-Musuvs of Death Valley). “
All sorts of fascinating things rolled out of Zombos’ Closet this week, including Mexican lobby cards of The Vengeance of Doctor Mabuse and Blacula . It’s been a good week, so get into that Closet! So to speak.
An exorcist pulled seven demons out of an 11-year-old girl: “This distressing video is said to show the moment a possessed 11-year-old girl was freed from the grip of seven demons. The video clip was first posted on the Facebook group called “God’s Words – the Bible” by Petko Asenov. He describes himself as a Commissioner for the Roma, one of the EU’s largest minority groups, in Bulgaria.”
For vampire fans, Taliesin listed his top ten favorite vampire films at his eponymous Taliesin Meets the Vampires .
Nev Murray’s had a busy week at his Confessions of a Reviewer!! , but one stand-out is his review of David Bernstein’s A Mixed Bag of Blood: ” A mixed bag it certainly is. I’m not so sure about this one. I’m not totally sold on the short stories from Mr Bernstein. There is no denying he has a fantastic imagination and comes up with some really interesting concepts for stories. They just felt a little bit rushed to me. Almost like he had this fantastic idea which could have been a full novel but then had to be squeezed into a short.” *
Hayes Hudson’s House of Horror brought us a blast from the past with the 1984 film The Mutilator: “Now the first thing you might notice when you watch this film is the acting. I have to admit it is pretty atrocious. Even by bad 80’s horror movie acting standards! Ha! But, I don’t think that will keep you from enjoying this film by any means. It has too much going for it. We all know what we are here for and that is the great kills and gore, so I’m happy to say that this film delivers on both of those aspects. One thing I love about 80’s films are the practical gore effects.”
Here, I told you about my Leap Day sale for The Blessed Man and the Witch , and pointed you to an interview I did with The Review Board . Also, I reviewed RM Huffman’s Sweet Tooth Omnibus at The Slaughtered Bird .
Illustration by Kevin Ramos for Call of Cthulhu’s Spawn of Azathoth supplement.
*I wanted to give my cyber-buddy Nev Murray an extra shout-out today. As I’ve said in multiple places and at multiple times, book reviewing is a can of worms: it’s difficult, often thankless, and you invariably puncture a fragile ego here and there if you don’t praise a particular book sufficiently. Nev is the hardest-working book reviewer I know. He spends countless hours supporting not just the horror genre, but independent publishing, both of which rely on the support of tireless fans like him to survive in an ever-growing pool of entertainment choices. He’s been an inspiration and great encouragement to me in my writing career, and I can’t thank him enough for what he’s done.
And he does it all for free. Nobody pays him a dime.
It’s an honor and pleasure to count him as a friend. Check out his site, read some reviews, and if he’s enticed you into picking up a book he’s recommended (or hasn’t recommended, as the case may be), get it through his Amazon link to thank him for the work he’s done.
