Mummy Dearest...

Today is my mummy's birthday. Happy Birthday Mummy!!

My mother is solely responsible for my weird and twisted obsession with Halloween and all things haunted. She allowed me to watch the Munsters and The Addams Family, as well as stay up late on weekends watching whatever horror flick we could find. She introduced me to Bela, Lon and Vincent among others.

She never once scolded me for checking out only spooky and magic books from the school library. I'm sure she had to think I was a "little off" when the only books I brought home were full of haunted tales. I'm also certain she grew weary of my magical illusions which I gathered from my fave book Spooky Tricks by Rose Wyler and Gerald Ames. The Mummy Finger was one of my greatest.

Let me see...it went something like this.... You cut a hole in the bottom of a small box near one end - just big enough for your finger to slip through. Place the box in the palm of your hand, put your finger through the hole, surround finger with cotton batting and top off with the lid. Now, run to show your mom. Spin the tale of how you found a mummy's finger, have her remove the lid and as she peers inside wiggle your finger. Loved it!

And, when it came time to come up with a costume for Halloween both her and Dad would jump right in and help me conjure up something great. Oh there were some plastic masks and such nonsense along the way but I also had some pretty good witches, robots and other wacky costumes too.

While the Halloween decor was a bit lacking there were always plenty of corn stalk tee-pees, homemade treats, kleenex ghosts, freshly carved Jack O'Lanterns and this one little guy I blogged about here (which started an obsession).

I don't have any photos of my mom as a child in costume. I did stumble upon what I truly believe to be her in a book called Halloween: Vintage Holiday Graphics by Jim Heimann. She does not recall this photo (second from the left, front) but it looks just like her at that age. (I think she's just experiencing some memory loss.)

Anyway, it's a great little book. At least I think so as I somehow managed to purchase it - twice. Check it out when you get a chance as it's loaded with page after page of Halloween photos of yesteryear.

Hope you're having a great birthday Mom!!

Well, that's a wrap! Haunt on!

The Diary of Mary Shelley

My favorite classic horror monster of all time is Frankenstein's monster. Which would explain why I'm obsessed with keeping up with Frankensteinia: The Frankenstein Blog. This is an amazing blog loaded with...well...

Everything Frankenstein! It is divine!

I think we all know the story behind the conception of Frankenstein...Mary Shelley and friends write ghosts stories, etc. What I didn't know was that Shelley first made mention of Frankenstein in her diary on June 24, 1831. One hundred and eighty years ago today. [Credit to Frankensteinia: Genesis of Frankenstein]

I'm also currently reading Mary Shelley a biography by Muriel Spark. Actually I've been reading it for some time and I keep getting interrupted. If you are interested in the author I highly recommend it.

And I can't leave this post without at least one movie reference. This was a tough one but I've chosen to take this opportunity to defend Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994). I realize that this may make me unpopular as it seems you either love it or hate it - and it does take some cinematic liberties with the original story.

Personally I found that I could really feel the passion of Victor's character (masterfully portrayed by Kenneth Branagh). His obsession to create life, be damned his moral responsibilities, and his desperate attempt to stop the inevitable destruction of everything that he loved, kept me glued to the screen. While all along you know how the story will end, one gets emotionally involved. First in the hopes of a successful regeneration and then praying that he will stop before it's too late.

I have to admit that when I heard that the Monster would be played by Robert DeNiro I just couldn't imagine that it would work. I was wrong. DeNiro's portrayal was one of the best screen representations I've seen that shows the complexity of the character. I really felt that he was the victim. Shunned by society and abandoned by his own "father", I felt sorry for him. So much so that I could even rationalize his violence.

I could go on and on about this particular film but I'll leave it here and just wrap up with this...For 180 years this story of man's struggle with his own mortality has withstood the test of time and, actually, seems a possible reality by today's standards. The irony is that Mary Shelley's creation has taken on a life of it's own. I like to think she would be pleased.

Haunt on!

Romancing The Vampire

Father's Day is on the horizon and the hubby is taken care of. His poor PC is painfully slow and has developed an attitude so I decided it was time to get him all techno-geeked out with a new laptop. All done and crossed off the to-do list. Yeah!

Oh, but wait... Now I have to figure out what to get my dad. This is a bit more challenging and even though he loves gift cards I always feel like a loser when I give him one as they don't take much thought. So, as I'm pondering this dilemma the dear hubby calls. He's needing assistance on what to get his mom for her birthday which happens this year to fall on - yep - you guessed it...Father's Day! Yeah.

The MIL is impossibly hard to buy for and never remotely excited about any gift she receives. I inform said spouse that I have enough problems to solve and am on the hunt for a gift for my dad. Big mistake! He feels it would be so very easy for me to kill two birds with one stone and shop for her at the same time. Yeah me.

So here, in the middle of my work day, I'm standing in the book store considering the ideal dad gift. (The MIL doesn't read so I was going to have to throw more than one stone.) I wander the aisles and something catches my eye. Romancing The Vampire From Past To Present.

Here's the overview:

"Long before Edward Cullen and the Twilight phenomenon, there was Angel, Barnabas Collins and Bela Lugosi, and many others in between. They are vampires the undead. Add an infusion of Bella, Buffy and Carla Laemmle, then sprinkle in unforgettable characters such as Renfield and little Eddie Munster, and you have a capsule of how cinematic vampires are viewed by today s world. But there were vampires walking this earth long before the invention of movies and television. In this book, author David J. Skal weaves a narrative history of vampirism, from the ancient Aztecs through the writings of Bram Stoker, Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer. But what makes this book even more unique are the replicas tucked inside sleeves and pockets. There are removable photos of Bram Stoker, Carmilla and Lord Byron. For movie buffs, it has posters from Nosferatu, Dracula Has Risen From The Grave starring Christopher Lee, and Bram Stoker s Dracula along with a replica of Stoker s Dracula notes. Take a walk through the history of the undead, with romance, horror and blood along the way."

This puppy is huge, heavy and a vampire pictorial delight! Loaded with pockets and pull-outs, it resembles a scrapbook and covers everything from Bela to Buffy and Vlad to movie vampires. There's even a paper, vintage style vampire mask complete with elastic headband at the back of the book. And it's as if the Great Pumpkin himself knew how challenging my day had become he granted me a bonus. The book was a mere $4.99!

Needless to say, I scooped up a copy (a well deserved gift for yours truly) and I intend to spend tonight discovering all the little treasures it holds inside.

Oh, and don't worry. I found the perfect book for my dad.

As for the MIL? She's getting garden frogs for her birthday and hubby is pleased. To-do list...Done!

Haunt on!

Haunted Tales of Youth

Ok, I admit it. I was a strange child. When I was in grade school and our class got to go to the library I would always pick out a book on one of two subjects: Halloween or magic.

One of my favorite books, that I somehow talked my mother into buying for me, was The Haunted House and Other Spooky Poems and Tales edited by Gladys Schwarcz and Vic Crume. I own the 1970 Scholastic version - the cover exploding in autumn colors around a Victorian style house that is most assuredly haunted. The back cover of the book states:

Here are chilling, thrilling tales and poems...ghosts, witches and evil creatures of the night. You'll shiver and shake, quiver and quake, at their ghastly moans and chuckles.

With a description like that, what's not to love?

The book features wonderful tales of ghosts and hauntings. My favorite was the Velvet Ribbon by Ann McGovern. I don't want to infringe on any copyrights so I won't post the story here - you'll have to pick up your own copy - but let's just say if your bride wears a velvet ribbon around her neck all the time there is probably a good reason for it.

I still have this book in my possession and despite the number of times it's been read it's in pretty good shape. The pages have yellowed and the cover is worn but the tales inside are still endearing. It's cold outside today so maybe I'll just curl up with a blanket and revisit the haunted tales of my youth.