halloween – Page 8

Five Scary Movies – Eden Royce

As a fun part of Blogtoberfest, I asked my artist friends to send me their top five scary movies. The results were varied and interesting.

Here’s Eden Royce’s list:

My top five scary movies are:

The Thing

PsychoJ.D.’s Revenge

Army of Darkness

Ganja and Hess

Bio:
Eden Royce is descended from women who practiced root, a type of conjure magic in her native Charleston, South Carolina. She’s been a bridal consultant, reptile handler, and stockbroker, but now writes dark fiction about the American South from her home in the English countryside.

She is the author of Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror, a short story collection that features the language and traditions of the Gullah-Geechee people, descendants of the first slaves brought to the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. She also conceived and edited The Grotesquerie, an anthology of twenty-one horror short stories written by women.

Eden writes for the Los Angeles Review of Books, Graveyard Shift Sisters, a site dedicated to purging the black female horror fan from the margins and Dirge, the premier dark culture magazine, covering counterculture arts and entertainment, lifestyle, and editorials.

Website: edenroyce.com

Horror Movie Review: The Houses October Built

Title: The Houses October Built
Genre: Horror, Found Footage-ish
Director: Bobby Roe
Writers: Zack Andrews
Stars: Brandy Schaefer, Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1958043/

HERE MAY BE SPOILERS

Portions of the movie may or may not be revealed.

Synopsis: Beneath the fake blood and cheap masks of countless haunted house attractions across the country, there are whispers of truly terrifying alternatives. Looking to find an authentic, blood-curdling good fright for Halloween, five friends set off on a road trip in an RV to track down these underground Haunts. Just when their search seems to reach a dead end, strange and disturbing things start happening and it becomes clear that the Haunt has come to them…

Today we have the found-footage (i.e. some of the film was shot with a hand-held camera) movie.

The Houses October Built is quite a creepy movie. The gist of the movie is that five friends travel in an RV on old back roads of the countryside(you know that’s already trouble) to find the underground haunted houses which contain the REAL scares. Because, you know, the extreme haunted houses just aren’t enough scares for these people. And, I supposed bored twenty-somethings need a “real scare” to wake them out of their stylish boredom.

Of course, on the way, they’re asking the haunted house actors about the underground haunted houses where the terror is real.

Sigh. Mind you, the movie is framed as a documentary. Just seeing the interviews with these haunted house “players” was enough for me. Some of these folks presented a scary presence even without the makeup. In addition, it’s implied some of these folks are on the shady side of the law, and might not be the best folks to be trusted.

Eventually, the trip turns weird. They are being followed by a creepy crew who don’t speak but just stare, a la The Strangers. Instead of turning around and driving all night to get home, (because, movie) they continue on this trip and are stalked by some nefarious miscreants.

All in all, the movie was averagely (is that a word) satisfying and the haunted house themselves give you a bit of a scare, while the people they interview give you an overall uneasy vibe.

I do wish the ending had been different. If you want to know what I’m talking about, scroll past the trailer.

All in all I say, take the ride with the movie. If you resist the urge to get annoyed at some of the actors’ decisions, you’ll finish the movie with a couple of genuinely creepy moments.

Grade: B– The characters grew to be rather stupid and thus unlikable, but as a horror movie, they do deliver on the scares.

Note: There is a film of the same name from 2011. I have not seen that one, but from what I read about it, it’s more of a documentary than fictionalized horror movie. The same people are in it and they use some of the real clips of the interviews in the 2014 film.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

The ending was a flop for me because it ended up being just a bunch of killers. I would have liked it to be just an extreme haunted house experience. I think that would have made the entire movie much more interesting.

Blogtoberfest – Weird New Jersey

It’s only fair, since I’m writing about scary stuff this month, is to highlight some spooky places in New Jersey. Despite being the Garden State, there’s a ton of mysteries surrounding some of the horse pastures and lovely farms.

So light the lantern and let’s take a closer look behind the cobwebs.

The Jersey Devil

From Wikipedia:

The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flyingbiped with hooves, but there are many different variations. The common description is that of a kangaroo-like creature with the head of a goat, leathery bat-like wings,horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and often is described as emitting a “blood-curdling scream.”^[1]^[2]

From Me:

I’ve seen some pictures of the Jersey Devil that looks my dog trying to dress up for Halloween. There is even reported “video” of the Jersey Devil. Obviously, is a legend and a kinda corny one at that, but still, it makes me laugh to see the claims. If you happen to see the Jersey Devil while you’re wandering around in the Pine Barrens, give him (or her) a carrot and a cube of sugar.

Clinton Road

Snippets from the New York Daily News:

“It’s like a dark highway into people’s innermost fears.” That’s how Mark Moran, publisher and co-creator of the Weird NJ magazine and website, sums up Clinton Road, a quiet and twisty stretch of road roughly 55 miles northwest of New York City.

“People definitely play on the legend [of Clinton Road],” said Mark Moran. He mentions the menacing black truck that lurks on the road. Appearing out of nowhere, the truck gets extremely close to your rear bumper, flashes its lights, and then suddenly disappears into the night.

From WeirdNJ.com

This rugged ten mile stretch of deserted road is so rich in lore that it has been attracting late night visitors for generations. The stories that these sightseeing sojourners have brought back with them of their adventures are sometimes harrowing, often terrifying, and almost always intriguing. Many of these tales of midnight joyrides may seem unbelievable, while others leave one wondering just where truth ends, and an overactive imagination begins.

If you ever decide to travel down Clinton Road at midnight, stop at the bridge by dead man’s curve. As the story goes if you sit on that bridge and throw pennies into the river, the ghost of a young boy will throw them back to you. –Anonymous

My friends and I decided to find out for ourselves what is true and what is not. We went to the bridge and threw a quarter off. Not but a minute later you hear the bloop, as if you dropped the quarter in again. The water filled with ripples and a child’s reflection appeared. I flew back to the car. That scared all of us. –Dina, West Milford

The Devil’s Tree

From Wikipedia:

Local legend suggests the tree is cursed: those who damage or disrespect the tree (usually by urinating on it, or making disparaging remarks about it while nearby) will soon thereafter come to some sort of harm, often in the form of a car accident or major breakdown as

they leave.^[1] The tree’s history is surrounded by superstition, and common theories claim that Bernards Township was one of the central headquarters for the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey and that the tree had been used to lynch African Americans and rebellious slaves since Colonial times.^[2]^[3]^[4] Another theory claims that a farmer hanged himself from the tree after killing his family and that anyone trying to cut the tree down will “come to an untimely end”.^[5] Other urban legends surrounding the tree allege that visitors who get too close to the tree will get chased by a black Ford pick-up truck that will then disappear at a certain point, or that anyone who touches the tree will find that their hands have turned black if they try to eat at a restaurant.^[4]^[6]

In winter, the ground beneath the tree is allegedly free from snow, no matter how much has fallen or how recently.^[1] A nearby boulder called “Heat Rock”, and sometimes the tree itself, are said to be warm to the touch regardless of the season or time of day,^[7] and is believed to be a portal to Hell.^[1]

The township’s plans to develop the land might have required the tree’s removal, but it decided to protect the tree and keep it intact. In 2007, a sign was posted at the site stating when it is open to the public. The Devil’s Tree is currently surrounded by a chain-link fence due to vandalism.^[4]

There are so many other scary/haunted places in New Jersey! Check out WeirdNJ.com if you want to read more.

Blogtoberfest – Scary Stories – Pet Sematary

Horror is different for everyone. I don’t think the “experts” can agree on what horror is and thus there are tons of movies and books that represent the horror

Cover of "Pet Sematary (Special Collector... — Cover via Amazon

genre, as it should be.

I also believe that horror is different depending on where you are in your life. What’s represents horror for a twenty-year-old might be old-hat to a forty year old. Books that resounded for me in my twenties are just “eh” now that I’m a lovely seasoned woman of a certain age.

But Stephen King’s Pet Semetary broke that mold. It’s just as frightening now as when I first read it many years ago.

Here’s the blurb

“Sometimes dead is better….”When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son — and now an idyllic home. As a family, they’ve got it all…right down to the friendly cat.

But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth — more terrifying than death itself…and hideously more powerful.

SPOILERS SPOILERS sort of SPOILERS sort of SPOILERS SPOILERS

My goodness, what a story. It runs the gamut from the “real-life” horror of the death of a child and the grief that follows, to the otherworldly horror that awaits when the family tries to alleviate the grief that follows the death of a family pet.

The first time I read the story the scene on the hill wasn’t so horrifying. You know why? Because I didn’t have children of my own. I think I was more touched by the death of the pet than I was by the other. However, when I read it now, that scene on the hill makes my gut twinge and jump. After reading it, I had to go “check on the children”. Having children of my own makes the following scenes more poignant and so much more touching.

Sympathy turning to empathy.

SPOILERS END (they were half-assed anyway)

My theory of horror if you’re “just watching” it makes it a lot less scary. “This could never happen to me because blah blah”. When an ordinary situation turns into a “horror” situation, something that could happen to anyone, something that is plausible (with a little “what if” thrown in) that’s when the true terror begins.

Pet Sematary is about grief, loss and at its core, the horror of not letting go and where it can get you.

Blogtoberfest – Urban Legends to Keep You Up at Night – Part 2

The Thousand Steps

Behind a rusty, broken gate at the top of the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi in Eagle Point Park (Clinton, Iowa) is an ancient set of steps plagued with tragedy and wrought with mysteries and fables. Locals call them the “Thousand Steps”, and they were built in the 1930’s along with the rest of the neighboring park to allow access from the top of the bluffs to the beach below. Although originally used frequently by families and other people looking for a scenic hike, the stairs soon fell into disuse and began to decay- becoming filled with holes, structural cracks, and covered in slippery moss, making them very dangerous to use.

But of course, nothing compels children to do something more than being told not to do it.

In the 1960’s, it soon became a right of passage to descend the stairs and live- which many children and adults did successfully, but many others did not. Dozens of children died attempting to master the stairs every year all the way the 70’s, when attempts finally slowed and with it, the death toll until it was down to one per year, where it remains at today.

However, an obviously dangerous set of steps does not a legend make – it’s what began to happen after the many deaths that make the steps so intriguing. Frequent reports of ghost sightings, the confirmed discovery of human remains and even rumors that the sight used to be a Native American “Indian” burial ground began to circulate and gain credibility over the years.

The steps still stand today, as dangerous and mystifying as they were 50 years ago. If none of the legends are true – the burial ground, the human remains, or the ghosts – the death toll still stands. More than 20 people lost their lives on those steps, and the question remains… Who is the next victim?

From: http://urbanlegendsonline.com/thousand-steps/

Chapel Still Appears at Night in Flames

There is a site located in Quinton on the outskirts of Salem that was home to an African-American Church when slavery was still intact. The church was built in the woods by a pastor named Berry. It was burned down twice. The first time no harm was done to anyone, the second time the entire congregation died, including Berry. There are many stories surrounding the burned down church and remaining graveyard, which also became a teenage drinking spot along with a supposed cult meeting ground.

They say on many nights if you go out there, you can see the church fully intact and burning and you can see and hear the parishioners dancing and praising. [bctt tweet=”They also say you can hear metal scraping and people screaming. ” via=”no”]Berry himself was also buried here and his grave is marked by a stone with his name, but for some reason he was buried farther into the woods and no one can ever seem to find his gravesite. –Shannon (From http://weirdnj.com/weird-news/berrys-chapel/ )

Enjoy!

Dahlia

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