Oct

31

Grab Bag.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 31, 2007 | 2 Comments

Looking for some quick Halloween treats? Here are some books you can dip into for short pieces:
Now We Are Sick, an anthology of “nasty verse” edited by Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones, brings together poems written by such varied writers as Brian Aldiss, Alan Moore, Terry Pratchett, and Robert Bloch. Most of the writers in […]

Oct

29

Crying Wolf.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 29, 2007 | 2 Comments

Even a man who is pure of heart
And says his prayers by night
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
And the moon is full and bright.
–from the movie The Wolf Man (1941)
Because of Universal Studios’ golden age of horror films in the 1930’s and early 1940’s, the Wolf Man forms part of an unholy trinity […]

Oct

26

Science Fiction Double Feature.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 26, 2007 | 2 Comments

What are some of your favorite science fiction films? And, just as important for Halloween, do you like scary movies? Check with The Movie Maven for one list of the thirty best horror films of all time, as well as a tantalizing look at an upcoming release.
Personally I like the classics: Forbidden Planet remains one […]

Oct

25

The Tell-Tale Brain.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 25, 2007 | 1 Comment

“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?“–Edgar Allan Poe
Sometimes life imitates art. The writer Matthew Pearl wrote The Poe Shadow, about one person’s attempt to solve the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s death. Pearl himself isn’t exaggerating […]

Oct

24

I Want To Believe.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I generally assume that being a skeptic is a good thing. The scientific method is, after all, based on being skeptical, and even when dealing with the supernatural I think it’s important to apply the scientific method in gaining an understanding of things. Since the things may not even be real, it may be even […]

Oct

22

Kiss Me, Kate!

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 22, 2007 | 2 Comments

Every once in a while someone, usually a Yankee, will ask me, “What or who is the Bell Witch?” It’s a difficult question to answer because, on the one hand, I believe it must be mostly a story, a bit of local legend that might have begun as pranks and which became, over time, exaggerated […]

Oct

19

“I Know I’m Human.”

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 19, 2007 | 3 Comments

This year, 2007, marks the 25th anniversary of the release of John Carpenter’s classic The Thing. The film remains terrifying even now, a masterpiece of both psychological horror and fantastic special effects that are as good as any computer-generated effects you’ll see in today’s film, and even more impressive when you consider the time, effort, […]

Oct

17

Out Of The Shadows.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment

The 2007 edition of the Yearbook of English Studies has devoted an entire volume to the subject of science fiction in literature. As guest editor David Seed says in the preface, “Over recent decades SF has moved from the margins of our culture to a position of centrality.” Part of this is because science fiction […]

Oct

15

It Came From Outer Space.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Susan Clancy’s book Abducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens is guaranteed to upset some people because it’s so frank and skeptical. Clancy herself, though, is no stranger to controversy, and explains in the book that some of her first research was into how people who claimed to be victims of […]

Oct

12

“I Am…Dracula.”

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

October 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Before Bela Lugosi, before Max Schreck, even before Bram Stoker, there were vampire legends, but there was also Vlad Tepes, “the impaler”, son of Vlad II of Romania, a member of the Order of The Dragon (Dracul), who imparted to his son the name Dracula. A Fifteenth Century prince, Vlad Tepes defended his country against […]

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