From the Dust to the Grave

The leaves are scraping the pavement and the night is turning cool. It’s time to return to that country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun, as Ray Bradbury described it. My favourite time of year, unsurprisingly. As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m an Autumn person at heart. I come from the dust, and to the grave I go.

As I mentioned last year, its an annual tradition of mine to celebrate the season by having a bit of a film festival. One horror film a day, every day for thirty-one days. Often its old favourites, but last year I decided to mix things up by including some films I’d never seen before, chosen at random, rather than watching them in some sort of prearranged order.

I’m planning to do that again this year, but I thought rather than simply noting what I’m watching on social media, I might do something a bit more involved – like, say, write a little about each film after I’ve watched it. One film and one post a day, for thirty-one days.

It’ll either be a lot of fun or a pain in the ass. Place your bets.

As always, the only exception to the impromptu order of things is my Halloween night viewing. I have a long standing tradition of watching Halloween (1978) and Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) on the thirty-first, which I’m probably not going to break anytime soon.

Anyway, tldr; thirty-one days of writing about monsters. Hope you enjoy it.

They sift the human storm for souls, eat flesh of reason, fill tombs with sinners. They frenzy forth….Such are the autumn people.

– Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes