tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180218272024-03-14T00:43:23.634-05:00Dr. Zombie's Midnight Theater of TerrorTaking over the world... one undead soul at a time.Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.comBlogger374125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-88718222362881993392020-04-24T11:39:00.001-05:002020-04-24T11:39:05.893-05:00More Writing UpdatesCouple more writing updates... <div>
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COVID-19 and the slow motion apocalypse we find ourselves in aside, it's still been a good couple months in terms of publishable work for me. </div>
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I had the <i>Scary Monsters Magazine</i> article, and I have two stories coming out in the next couple of months in various and sundry anthologies. I had a burst of writing mania back in the fall of last year... and turned the stories around pretty quickly in terms of publishing. </div>
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The first up is progressing pretty well. </div>
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It's an anthology by Transmundane Press entitled <i>On Time</i>. They're publishing a story of mine called 'The Unloved Dead'. We're moving pretty quickly on edits and it should be out within the next couple of months. </div>
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Next up is an anthology entitled <b>Fearrington Road</b> by Dark House Publishing. Contracts have been signed, and what not... and it was supposed to be published at the end of last year; but I've heard no updates, other than a Facebook post on their authors' page mentioning a hard drive crash. I plan to follow up soon for any kind of an update, but I'm assuming they've pushed production back. This accursed plague has probably not helped with that much either. The story I'm having published in this antho is a Lovecraftian story that I wrote entitled "The Raven's Lookout Regulars". This story was a labor of love from me. I absolutely loved the story and it's characters, and I shopped it for over a year. I knew it was a good story, and I just needed to find someone who loved it as much as I did. Hopefully, Dark House will move on the anthology soon... so I can share it with you, dear readers. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working cover for the Dark House anthology</td></tr>
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So that's where I'm at. I'm working hard to try writing more (and part of that may be driven by my sudden brush with and glimpse at the mortal existentialism of incurable illness, but, hey... whatever, man. In the meantime, I'm trying to get over the deep, biting disappointment of this apocalypse having exactly zero fucking zombies in it. </div>
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This is the worst. Apocalypse. Ever. </div>
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In the meantime, cover up, shelter in place, and stay healthy! </div>
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Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-65707794243214797552020-04-23T12:56:00.001-05:002020-04-23T12:56:14.514-05:00Writing Update - My Monster Kid MemoriesI had a nonfiction article published back in February in this really cool magazine called <i>Scary Monsters Magazine. </i><br />
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I met the publisher and editor when I went to the 2019 <a href="https://www.theghoulardifest.com/">GhoulardiFest</a> in Berea - which is also home to my undergrad college alma mater, Baldwin-Wallace University. I'd been dying to attend a GhoulardiFest for years, and I finally got the chance in October. GhoulardiFest, for those who don't know, is an annual con dedicated to Cleveland's classic horror hosts - Ernie 'Ghoulardi' Anderson, 'Big Chuck' Schodowski, Bob 'Houlihan' Wells, and 'Lil' John' Rinaldi. These were the horror hosts I grew up watching, and it was a blast to finally meet these guys who were such an indelible part of my growing up. <a href="http://doctorzombie.blogspot.com/2008/12/moment-of-silence-please.html">I've written about them before.</a><br />
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As an update - and more background - Ghoulardi was THE original horror host. He started the whole horror host thing and was a genuine super star local celebrity. Unfortunately, Ghoulardi was a little bit before my time, and left Cleveland for Hollywood before I was born. He found fame as an announcer. You might know his voice from numerous 70s and 80s television shows, including <i>The Love Boat </i>and <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>. Interestingly, his son, Paul Thomas Anderson - is the director of films like <i>There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, The Master</i> - and has been nominated for seven Academy Awards. He's also married to Maya Rudolph - who I have a weird celebrity crush on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ernie 'Ghoulardi' Anderson - "Turn blue, ya purple knif!"</td></tr>
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So that's kind of cool.<br />
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After Ghoulardi left, Big Chuck and Houlihan took over the late night show. They eschewed the usual horror host schtick of being creepy - with tons of spiderwebs, coffins, and dry ice fog. Instead, they did funny skits between the horror movies. This established the tenor of the show. At some point, Hoolie left CLE for Florida and radio work, and Lil' John took his place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Houlihan and Big Chuck</td></tr>
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I remember the Hoolie and Big Chuck era, but not as well as The Big Chuck and Lil' John era. <i>They</i> were my horror hosts, and I watched them every Friday night growing up. It's been said, you never forget your first Doctor - in reference to Doctor Who. I feel it's likely the same with horror hosts.<br />
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While Tom Baker will always be my first doctor, Big Chuck and Lil' John will <b>always</b> be my favorite horror hosts.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My personally autographed photo of Big Chuck and Lil' John! </td></tr>
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I also attended GhoulardiFest this year for more pragmatic reasons as Chuck is getting older and not doing any public appearances anymore, except at GhoulardiFest. I figured it would be a prime chance to reconnect with the guys one last time. I should note that, when I was twelve, I went to a taping of the show and it's one of my cherished childhood memories. Seriously.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleveland horror host royalty - and Doctor Zombie! </td></tr>
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So, anyway, I've digressed a little bit.<br />
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While there, I met and talked to a bunch of people - or as many people as my social anxiety and introversion allowed. I met several new horror hosts, and was a little jealous because - truthfully - my Doctor Zombie alter ego was always intended to be a horror host in his own right. I also met Don Smeraldi - editor for <i>Scary Monsters Magazine</i>. I was immediately struck by how cool his magazine was. It was a throwback to the awesomeness of Forrest Ackerman's <i>Famous Monsters of Filmland</i>. I can't begin to tell you how much I loved that and Fangoria when I was younger. I mentioned to him I was a writer, and he encouraged me to send something along. I repurposed an older piece I'd written and not done much with, and sent it to him. He quickly wrote back, said he loved it, and published it.<br />
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It felt like the easiest and most stress-free effort I've ever made to get something published. Seriously. And, it's also admittedly a bit nostalgic and smarmy. You see, I wrote about my late Uncle James. He's who introduced me to my first really bad horror movies, and the wonder of Cleveland's storied horror host history.<br />
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So, anyway, I've attached a copy of the cover below, as well as the article. Feel free to check it out.<br />
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And, feel free to check out <i>Scary Monsters Magazine</i> on your own. You can get digital copies and physical copies at their website... <a href="https://www.mymoviemonsters.com/">www.MyMonsterMovies.com</a>.<br />
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Don and his crew are holding up a classic horror tradition with their magazine. If - like me - you're a horror freak like me, you should definitely check it out. See below for images.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover of <i>Scary Monsters</i> 116</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My article and tribute to my late Uncle James</td></tr>
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-29015775519454987632020-04-06T15:38:00.003-05:002020-04-06T15:38:37.950-05:00Some ridiculously long overdue updates... so yeah. It's been like years since I've done an update on the blog. That being said - I recently had some short stories published, so I've realized that I need to be better about my social media presence. I've been posting stuff on Insta and Twitter... but I really really need to get better about the old blog.<br />
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It's the closest I have to a website now (that will maybe change sometime in the near future, but who knows).<br />
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All I known is that - with the COVID-19 apocalypse upon us - I have no excuse to NOT update the old blog-aroo.<br />
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So... in that vein...<br />
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Old Doctor Zombie will be dusting off the Midnight Theater of Terror and making a bunch of updates. This will include some horror-themed travelogues I've done, some general updates and writerly shenanigans, and some updates on work I've sold and that will be published over the next few months.<br />
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All of this, however, has been overshadowed by some pretty big news on my part. It's not the best news (he wrote, with a masterful flourish of understatement).<br />
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You see, a few months back (around the middle of November 2019), I realized that I was having trouble catching my wind. About that same time, I pulled a muscle in my side. It was pretty debilitating. After toughing it out for a month or so, I said fuck it and went to the doctor. I used the health services clinic at my workplace. The doctor, at that time, focused an awful lot on the shortness of breath - you see, my dad died of a major heart attack about 3 1/2 years ago. So, the thought was that it might be a heart problem.<br />
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So, they did nothing about the stitch in my side, did an x-ray, and saw what might have been pneumonia in my lung. They gave me an antibiotic and wanted me to follow up with a cardiologist and a CT scan. Thing is, I was now getting other 'pulled muscles' in my core - and they were really painful - and the breathlessness was getting worse.<br />
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That didn't sit right with me, so I followed up with my regular GP. He didn't think it was my heart at all, but did think I should get a CT. So, at the end of February, he called me back with the bad news.<br />
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The CT scan showed my cancer was back.<br />
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For those who don't remember - I was diagnosed with male breast cancer in 2009. I was treated surgically, went to the doctor for a couple years afterwards, and was told I was clear.<br />
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Unfortunately, cancer sometimes comes back.<br />
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I have stage 4 metastasized male breast cancer. It's in my bones and in my lymph nodes. The pulled muscles I was feeling was cancer causing my lymph nodes to swell, and the other general soreness I attributed to arthritis or just middle age, was the bone cancer. The breathing issues was because of swollen lymph nodes as well - they were pressing against my lung and irritating it. This led to a pleural effusion - which is basically fluid on the lungs.<br />
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So, I've now - since March 12 - been on chemotherapy. The thing is my oncologist is confident that he has a good course of treatment in order. He has people who live for years on this treatment. And, I've responded really well to it - which is good. The hope is to fight it to a standstill and get at least a few more years under my belt. I've a lot more writing to do. I've got a lot more time I need to spend with my family. I've still got time. So I hope to make the most of it.<br />
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And - with the compromised lung, and lowered immune system - this whole COVID-19 is especially terrifying and worrisome. Seriously - a little over five months ago I was strong, healthy, working out several times a week. Now - I've got to worry about getting coronavirus and ending up on a ventilator. This is NOT the apocalypse I was hoping for. Fuck - there's exactly ZERO zombies in this one. COVID-19 is the WORST apocalypse.<br />
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Anyway - that's it for now.<br />
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Just know - Doctor Zombie is here for the foreseeable future.<br />
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I’m young, I’m strong, I have an amazingly supportive family, and I have a great doctor. I will survive this.<br />
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As Lord Byron said, “Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey”.<br />
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-26157819577511399152018-08-15T14:24:00.000-05:002018-08-15T14:24:50.783-05:00FrankenJeep IIIThis brings us up to the present...<br />
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"<i>Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave, or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?</i>" - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, <b>Frankenstein</b><br />
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Small update on the nature of 24+ year old Jeep YJs.<br />
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So, from the moment I brought FrankenJeep home, he gave me trouble starting. Especially when cold. It improved a little after I tuned him up, went with new plugs and wires, and replaced the idle air control valve (IAC)... but he persisted in his dogged refusal to start at times. The IAC took care of some of the idle issues, and cleaning out the throttle body helped with the starting a little, but it just got worse and worse.<br />
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About a month ago, he started just cranking. He'd eventually fire over, but it wasn't looking good. After some web crawling and Youtubing, I realized that there was a delay between turning the key and when the Check Engine light came on. Once I cranked for a it, or just left the key in, the Check Engine light would eventually come on, and Frankenjeep would fire right up. Yep. It was the telltale and terrifying sign of a bad ECM. Ridiculously common on YJs, but a pain in the undead butt, ya' know?!<br />
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So I pulled the ECM (gorram 8mm bolts!), packed it up in a box, and sent it to a place I found on Ebay out of Chicago. Cost me $115. I sent it on 7/31, received it back on 8/9. Reversed the pull out, and reinstalled... and now FrankenJeep fires up EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.<br />
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The idle issues are gone, and it takes like half a crank to fire it up.<br />
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NOW I can move on to the serious modifications, like a lift, tires, armor, etc.<br />
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In an unrelated note, I did do some useless, completely aesthetic and mall-Jeepy things to it.<br />
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<b>My gear shift knob...</b><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q6sfw5ypGAQ/W3R9YJyx-ZI/AAAAAAAADII/hBYqLj73IcMySl_XbATpf9YRhdd7T8y2gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-03%2Bat%2B12.00.55%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="1294" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q6sfw5ypGAQ/W3R9YJyx-ZI/AAAAAAAADII/hBYqLj73IcMySl_XbATpf9YRhdd7T8y2gCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-03%2Bat%2B12.00.55%2BPM.png" width="315" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>My transfer case knob...</b><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hVHo8AtqRz8/W3R9pKxvdYI/AAAAAAAADIQ/0Dg8a83CfeMeZN-56bqseiI4b3JKYmgdQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-08-15%2Bat%2B2.44.51%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="954" height="315" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hVHo8AtqRz8/W3R9pKxvdYI/AAAAAAAADIQ/0Dg8a83CfeMeZN-56bqseiI4b3JKYmgdQCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-08-15%2Bat%2B2.44.51%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>And, my tire cover! </b><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Hmmmm. I'm sensing a pattern...<br />
<br />
I'm looking forward to having a running Jeep, especially since this weekend is Jeepalooza 2018. In my hometown, we have the Last Stop Willoughby festival - it's named after the Twilight Zone episode where a train traveler gets stuck in a small town in the past. It's named after my hometown. The episode was written by Rod Serling... but it was contributed to by the late, great Harlan Ellison (who grew up in the next town over - Painesville). They have a big parade and over the last 8 or so years, there's also been a Jeep Parade at the end of the regular parade. We're talking 100+ Northeastern Ohio Jeeps, tooling down the road. It's an amazing sight to see!<br />
<br />
I kind of thought, in the back of my mind, that I wanted to make sure FrankenJeep was ready to go for the parade no matter what, and now I'm happy to say he'll be there!<br />
<br />
The adventure continues!Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-22393475344063980782018-08-15T14:11:00.003-05:002018-08-15T14:11:12.623-05:00FrankenJeep - It's Alive!! “<i>Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.</i>” - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, <b>Frankenstein</b><br />
<br />
So... a couple months later, and there's been some progress.<br />
<br />
The main issue is... Frankenjeep failed eCheck yet again. I spent quite a bit of time working on him mechanically, but it looks like it's not happening. That's what temp plates are for, I guess. In January 2019, I'll get plates for him once he's 25 years old and grandfathers out of eCheck.<br />
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<i>(Getting new brakes, a tuneup, oil change, and basic maintenance [3/14/2018])</i></div>
<br />
Also squared the brakes away, so he stops when you tell him to.<br />
<br />
Other than that, he's running amazing after everything that we did to get him up and going<br />
<br />
I also began body work. Pulled the front flares and found that the fenders had quite a few holes in them. So a bunch of new sheet metal, some tiger hair, and some finish bondo later, and the tub is in tip top shape.<br />
<br />
Now, I am not a body guy. I'll be the first to admit that. However, I have Youtube and several years of half-assed painting experience; enough to be dangerous. In other words - the body's not super smooth, but it's good enough.<br />
<br />
REMEMBER: FrankenJeep is a low buck project. He's for cruising in the summer and off-roading when I can. He'll never be a show quality ride. This means I'm not dumping a crap load of money (beyond the crap load I've ALREADY dumped into him) for paint... so I went with a backyard paint job.<br />
<br />
We went with a Rustoleum spray job. The boy and I spent a day sanding and doing additional body work, spent a day taping and prepping, and then painted it in like 2 hours.<br />
<br />
The paint job looks amazing from 10 feet away. Up close, you can see some runs here and there... but Frankenjeep looks pretty damned good now. Plus, I used Rustoleum 2x from Home Depot... so I'm not concerned about dings or anything because I can always just give it a quick, $3.49 spritz to touch him up from trail rash and mall parking lot door wangs. All told, with bondo, primer, paints, painting supplies... I spent like $150. I could have probably bought an HPLV sprayer and did it the right way, but rattle cans worked with the spirit of the build.<br />
<br />
NOW that all that other crap is done.. and while I'm waiting for him to age into some plates... I can spend some time working on mods.<br />
<br />
I also added:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A Rampage soft top</li>
<li>Bestop soft doors (I LOVE these doors!) </li>
<li>A Rampage Center console</li>
<li>Seat covers</li>
<li>Other little odds and ends</li>
</ul>
<br />
On the immediate list:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Lift</li>
<li>Bigger tires (31s or 32s. Nothing crazy)</li>
<li>New bumpers</li>
<li>Some offroad lights (I'm thinking round halogens mounted over the windshield. Old school, ya know? That's how Jeeps had them when I was younger and dammit, these kids today with their new-fangled LEDs need to get off my gorram lawn!!!)</li>
<li>Paint the hardtop black</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Nothing too crazy... just want it to look good and perform a little better.<br />
<br />
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-56176395449898488012018-08-15T14:04:00.002-05:002018-08-15T14:17:16.828-05:00FrankenJeep - Grave robbery! <b><i>Ed. Note</i></b>: I've had a running Jeep build over on JeepForum.com, and figured I'd put it over here for posterity. And... maybe... it'll prompt me to do more goddamned writing.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
“<i>I am alone and miserable. Only someone as ugly as I am could love me.</i>” ― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, <b>Frankenstein </b><br />
<br />
So, I finally re-entered the Wrangler world.<br />
<br />
I have a long history of Jeeps (I’ve really owned nothing else my entire adult life). However, my last Wrangler (a a 2002 TJ I purchased new ) succumbed to the awful horror of northern Ohio winters and road salt. The frame completely rotted out and, at the urging of my wife, I replaced it with a Commander. I love the Commander, and its both my DD and our traveling vehicle because its so comfortable, but it wasn’t quite a Wrangler, you know?<br />
<br />
So, a year or so ago I began to get the itch to go topless again. It was almost unbearable. I finally decided to pull the switch last fall and picked up a new project for a ridiculously low price. Now, after spending the winter working on it (when the weather would let me), it’s finally ready to begin its undead return.<br />
<br />
Shambling back from the dead… it’s Project FrankenJeep!! (Cue the dramatic flash of lightning and crash of thunder!)<br />
<br />
Why’d I get it? Because it was in pretty good shape, despite her appearance. Plus, it’s become a great project for my teenage son and I.<br />
<br />
<b>The gruesome details: </b><br />
It’s a 1994 YJ with the 2.5. It’s pretty stock, but it has a hard top (something I’ve never had before with any of my previous 5 Wranglers). Per the prior owner – it had new floor pans, new body mounts, brand new fuel pump. Also did some body work to patch holes in corner panels, installed new inside door panels, and seat belts. The motor has 55,000, while the body has 200,000. It also had the frame repaired.<br />
<br />
All of these details – especially the body work – made it almost impossible to pass up. The frame and body are in great shape and the body work was done right.<br />
<br />
However, there were some issues (aren’t there always, though?!)<br />
<br />
It had been straight piped. Unfortunately, my neighbors don’t deserve that, so I had to put on a new muffler and tailpipe. To complicate this, and the single most important issue with it - Ohio has 9 counties where we need to do emissions testing. I live in one of them. It failed it’s first echeck (high NOX), so I spent the winter doing all kinds of stuff that precluded the last resort - replacing the catalytic converter. Why? Because emissions testing is only needed on vehicles less than 25 years old. Frankenjeep is 24 years old. I’ll be damned if I’m going crazy and dumping a bunch of money at something stupid when, in like 6 months, I don’t have to do anything for it. So I’ve done a tune up (new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor), oil change and filter, and changed the air filter. I’m going to Seafoam it, hit it with some high test gas and some Guaranteed to Pass. Im also going to run it on the freeway to heat up the cat and hope that I can cheat the roller test enough to get plates for it.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, it also looks like the brakes have never been done on it. I had to replace the brakes all the way around, a rear brake cylinder, and a couple brake lines. It’s still giving me some trouble getting bled, and the brakes are still a little soft. I’m planning to fix that in the next few days. I fear I’m going to need to replace the front bleeders (Curse you, road salt!) and/or the master cylinder.<br />
<br />
Once FrankenJeep passes echeck, it’s time for body and paint. I’m thinking of painting him orange. Half thinking of doing the $50 Rustoleum paint job.<br />
<br />
The key with FrankenJeep is that he is a fun Jeep. He’s not my daily driver, and I’m going to build him up and do so cheap. He’ll see trails, and he won’t be pretty, but he’ll be kick ***.<br />
<br />
Future plans:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A soft top</li>
<li>32s and a small lift</li>
<li>New bumpers</li>
<li>Expedition rack (had one on my last jeep and LOVED it)</li>
<li>Bunch of small things to make it as fun as possible! </li>
</ul>
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<b>Here he is the day he came home on 9/13/2016! </b></div>
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<br />
<br />
Here are some pictures of the work that was done to him by the dude who had him before me... as he wrote: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Has been completely gone through, new floor pans, new body mounts, brand new fuel pump, did some body work to patch holes in corner panels, new inside door panels, seat belts, motor has 55,000 and body 200,000, frame repair on rear where leaf spring shackle goes, everything has been done right. 4 Cylinder with five speed. will make someone a really nice jeep </i>(<b>Edited for illiteracy</b>).</blockquote>
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-73329166587976537782016-06-24T17:56:00.000-05:002021-11-03T12:11:41.434-05:00A (Belated) Return to Zombieland - Day of the Dead Film LocationI have been horribly negligent when it comes to my blog, and I've been woefully behind on updating anything.<br />
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Take this post for example. Believe it or not, it's almost a year late. My apologies for that.<br />
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Any-hoo.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LiltNvfbnPI/V21eqcpXAjI/AAAAAAAACqE/vlxek0-OjO8jrNXzhxpPyRpuVQmOHWZygCLcB/s1600/DeadWalk.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LiltNvfbnPI/V21eqcpXAjI/AAAAAAAACqE/vlxek0-OjO8jrNXzhxpPyRpuVQmOHWZygCLcB/s320/DeadWalk.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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In October of last year, myself and ZombieBoy partook in what is likely to be an annual pilgrimage to Zombieland... the area of Pennsylvania where George A. Romero filmed his classic unholy zombie trilogy... <b>Night,</b> <b>Dawn</b>, and <b>Day of the Dead</b>!<br />
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This time around, it was to attend the recently started, but annual <a href="http://www.livingdeadmuseum.com/" target="_blank">Living Dead Fest in Evans City</a>, Pennsylvania. Yes... that Evans City. The bucolic town where <b>Night of the Living Dead</b>, as well as <b>The Crazies</b>, was filmed!<br />
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Interestingly, the Living Dead Fest is actually pretty small. Really small, in fact. Evans City is a small little town, and it and the festival's center point is the newly moved Living Dead Museum. You may remember, the original was actually located in the <a href="http://doctorzombie.blogspot.com/2010/08/zombie-mecca.html" target="_blank">Monroeville Mall</a> - the filming location of 1978 <b>Dawn of the Dead</b> - and I related how cool it was when myself, the wife, and the undead and evil prodigy I call my kids visited it a few years back.<br />
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Now, it's in Evans City, and it seemed to -- at least the day of the Festival -- be hopping.<br />
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Organized by none other than Gary Streiner - the sound guy for <b>The Night of the Living Dead</b> (and brother of Russel Streiner - who played the iconic Johnny in the original <b>NOTLD</b>). There were a slew of people who appeared in the movie, people dressed as zombies, and all kinds of other coolness.<br />
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Probably the highlight, for me though, occurred while we were walking through the vendor area. I was perusing some zombie posters in a tent, and I looked to my left to say something to ZombieBoy. Only he wasn't there. he'd moved on to the next booth. It was who was standing next to me that freaked me out, however. Standing next to me instead... and I get giddy thinking about this still... was none other than TOM SAVINI!<br />
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<b><i>That's right Tom Mother-Flipping Savini! </i></b><br />
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I made an "Eep!!" sort of noise, stammered, and said, "Tom, wow! Hi! How are you?"<br />
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"I'm good," he said, and reached out and shook my hand.<br />
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Then he moved on. And I stood there, all star struck. Like a total fan boy.<br />
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I snapped a quick picture of him at the next booth, but did it surreptitiously because I know it's uncool to take a pic of a celeb at a convention or fest without paying them, but I was so fucking jazzed! He was the one person I was hoping to see, and to have a one-on-one personal interaction like that was mind-blowing!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IUYjBsNU5nM/V21ec7msr3I/AAAAAAAACpk/LP83RDCUgoALXQhoPN8vxZVcbgEY0xZNQCLcB/s1600/Savini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IUYjBsNU5nM/V21ec7msr3I/AAAAAAAACpk/LP83RDCUgoALXQhoPN8vxZVcbgEY0xZNQCLcB/s320/Savini.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Anyway, after that and given how small the town and festival space itself was, ZombieBoy and I found we had walked through the entire event within a half hour or so. And it was only like 1:00 in the afternoon. We had tickets for the festival movie later that night (<b>The Crazies </b>was playing on a screen in EDCO Park after the sun went down), and needed to kill some time, so we headed up to the Evans City Cemetery as ZombieBoy had never been there.<br />
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I started showing him around, and as I'd been there before and knew where things were, I actually managed to pick up a couple of other visitors and wound up leading an impromptu tour. Amazingly, one guy in the group actually had a printout of my blog article on it and was using it as a guide for himself and his girlfriend!<br />
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<a href="http://doctorzombie.blogspot.com/2011/10/doctor-z-visits-evans-city-cemetery.html" target="_blank">You can check out my first, geeky visit to the Evans City Cemetery by clicking here. </a><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t13iDBC21JA/V21eWRirJ3I/AAAAAAAACpE/IjLC05RKypYXGdN1vsiD0RzYhqcpx0ndwCLcB/s1600/Blair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t13iDBC21JA/V21eWRirJ3I/AAAAAAAACpE/IjLC05RKypYXGdN1vsiD0RzYhqcpx0ndwCLcB/s320/Blair.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ilTfJDH85-o/V21ebDcqO-I/AAAAAAAACpc/Y6z3Hna2SUU0gf3tJkA0a8fXCOOnMmK-ACLcB/s1600/Kramer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ilTfJDH85-o/V21ebDcqO-I/AAAAAAAACpc/Y6z3Hna2SUU0gf3tJkA0a8fXCOOnMmK-ACLcB/s320/Kramer.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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The newly restored chapel looks amazing compared to my last visit, and I'm so, so glad I could contribute to and kick a couple shekels towards the restoration and resurrection of this iconic structure. <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fFHYZwbUmqg/V21eY7iOAzI/AAAAAAAACpQ/Fz28Fwttbigu3c8pUBUPrLqAdgL_Kw2SwCLcB/s1600/Chapel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fFHYZwbUmqg/V21eY7iOAzI/AAAAAAAACpQ/Fz28Fwttbigu3c8pUBUPrLqAdgL_Kw2SwCLcB/s320/Chapel.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Having finished the tour, it was getting on lunch time. As Mrs. Zombie wasn't around, it became necessary for us to eat unhealthy fast food. I feel no shame in this. Dr. Zombie - on occasion - needs to sneak some unhealthy food when he can. Just saying... So we motored up into Zelienople, which was having a huge Oktoberfest celebration. And by huge, I mean HUGE. The Living Dead Fest, which is down the road a mere 5 minutes, was paltry in comparison.<br />
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Anyway, we headed into the local Zelienople Burger King where we got to try something I'd been dying to try since it had come out --- The Burger King Halloween Whopper.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gqx_prD7eNM/V21gmTl5REI/AAAAAAAACrI/SbE4K2Mz2CkPxGYo1oy1TMq3TE2MseJewCLcB/s1600/Whopper.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gqx_prD7eNM/V21gmTl5REI/AAAAAAAACrI/SbE4K2Mz2CkPxGYo1oy1TMq3TE2MseJewCLcB/s320/Whopper.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
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And, in case you're wondering:<a href="http://kdvr.com/2015/10/06/burger-kings-halloween-whopper-has-unexpected-side-effect/" target="_blank"> The news articles were all true.</a> For days afterward, ZombieBoy and I were plagued by neon green, iridescent, 2-4-5 Trioxin colored poop. Unpleasant, I know. But true. So horribly, horribly true. True and sooooo worth it!<br />
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As we were eating lunch, I was thinking about how I'd already pretty much seen all Evans City had to offer in terms of movie locations. It was then that I struck upon the idea of visiting the final movie location for Romero's classic <b>Day of the Dead</b>... the one place I'd yet to see! I talked it over with ZombieBoy, and as we had several hours to kill, we went for it.<br />
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About a half hour or so ride from Zelienople, you can find the Gateway Commerce Center in Wampum, Pennsylvania.<br />
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It was here that George Romero filmed the underground scenes from the fabulous 1985 zombie classic, <b>Day of the Dead</b>!<br />
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Here are some shots from the original movie:<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B6fqbAXQJ-Y/V21eVG6zwqI/AAAAAAAACo0/wJ6WywQui_AHBSelUjy85i8dScrHHFT-gCLcB/s1600/Cave2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B6fqbAXQJ-Y/V21eVG6zwqI/AAAAAAAACo0/wJ6WywQui_AHBSelUjy85i8dScrHHFT-gCLcB/s320/Cave2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Odo6ufsrI8k/V21eVU11HZI/AAAAAAAACo4/UBiYhyuGejoFh-OyLlAAthnUWP5ave-KwCLcB/s1600/Cave1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Odo6ufsrI8k/V21eVU11HZI/AAAAAAAACo4/UBiYhyuGejoFh-OyLlAAthnUWP5ave-KwCLcB/s320/Cave1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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A former coal mine, it's been turned into a storage shelter and it made the perfect location for Romero's film. Romero chose it because it was still close to Pittsburgh, and it had the requisite claustrophobia-inducing gloom for the underground military research facility the film's characters find themselves in. <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Og_PE9l_hXA/V21e70-8DNI/AAAAAAAACqs/c23Q5ZH5ooU3qRBMCeGVwXBjHmG8JP27ACLcB/s1600/Wampum%2B9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Og_PE9l_hXA/V21e70-8DNI/AAAAAAAACqs/c23Q5ZH5ooU3qRBMCeGVwXBjHmG8JP27ACLcB/s320/Wampum%2B9.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AfAGbU2DzlA/V21e6lYhHoI/AAAAAAAACqY/9Ht3MW_u_MYgwRmSblLK7aTxd41a7ofvQCLcB/s1600/Wampum%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AfAGbU2DzlA/V21e6lYhHoI/AAAAAAAACqY/9Ht3MW_u_MYgwRmSblLK7aTxd41a7ofvQCLcB/s320/Wampum%2B4.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Needless to say, it's just a really cool location.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RmWp8tZwFhU/V21e6ubZ-VI/AAAAAAAACqU/IJZYysT6sG84B5AO7tIxJ7OJLMbiOInTACLcB/s1600/Wampum%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RmWp8tZwFhU/V21e6ubZ-VI/AAAAAAAACqU/IJZYysT6sG84B5AO7tIxJ7OJLMbiOInTACLcB/s320/Wampum%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wXmSpztyoLo/V21e7HDiD2I/AAAAAAAACqg/uDaVmV72zSclafqQSOVwAQkjIS0qbeGnwCLcB/s1600/Wampum%2B8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wXmSpztyoLo/V21e7HDiD2I/AAAAAAAACqg/uDaVmV72zSclafqQSOVwAQkjIS0qbeGnwCLcB/s320/Wampum%2B8.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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As you approach, there are two entrances. you drive up a winding road and are met with imposing, monstrous, real-life zombie proof gates that lead into the side of a mountain. Unfortunately, you can't get into the facility because it's private property, but that didn't stop me from driving up to both gates and taking some pictures between the gaps in the security gate.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qg8PGP23ZoY/V21e7GPMldI/AAAAAAAACqk/G75lwzhPMHAIoJzM3lRi9nHEdCEgRZsIwCLcB/s1600/Wampum%2B6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qg8PGP23ZoY/V21e7GPMldI/AAAAAAAACqk/G75lwzhPMHAIoJzM3lRi9nHEdCEgRZsIwCLcB/s320/Wampum%2B6.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D-7Jfs4cZ9g/V21e73NO4UI/AAAAAAAACq0/AYenVoPiVNou-qc7MGZWKIOfvPm4EPXCACLcB/s1600/wampum%2B7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D-7Jfs4cZ9g/V21e73NO4UI/AAAAAAAACq0/AYenVoPiVNou-qc7MGZWKIOfvPm4EPXCACLcB/s320/wampum%2B7.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jEWSx_Hyu3M/V21e6D4ymYI/AAAAAAAACqQ/mzYl0-bP_3821VsBAEv5enGFz-zo4Sg1gCLcB/s1600/Wampum%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jEWSx_Hyu3M/V21e6D4ymYI/AAAAAAAACqQ/mzYl0-bP_3821VsBAEv5enGFz-zo4Sg1gCLcB/s320/Wampum%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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It may have been wistful thinking, but the shot above feels an awful lot like the shot from the original movie. Here are some screen shots for comparison...<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHuqwU1Ej2g/V21eg-IBqMI/AAAAAAAACps/dEC-1esmijQPHEgWnIFIOkg_-vjgwDhLQCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-06-24%2Bat%2B11.15.24%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHuqwU1Ej2g/V21eg-IBqMI/AAAAAAAACps/dEC-1esmijQPHEgWnIFIOkg_-vjgwDhLQCLcB/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-06-24%2Bat%2B11.15.24%2BAM.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dEki1ILeAAs/V21ekWR_82I/AAAAAAAACp8/0tAws5v15vIAUpKm2LlTQesxsfr_PBCmgCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-06-24%2Bat%2B11.17.33%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dEki1ILeAAs/V21ekWR_82I/AAAAAAAACp8/0tAws5v15vIAUpKm2LlTQesxsfr_PBCmgCLcB/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-06-24%2Bat%2B11.17.33%2BAM.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SrphR7e3urY/V21eit6Vs_I/AAAAAAAACpw/7bMdw6fdU4knZQkdqcPBuqLsLK62e8-LACLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-06-24%2Bat%2B11.16.43%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SrphR7e3urY/V21eit6Vs_I/AAAAAAAACpw/7bMdw6fdU4knZQkdqcPBuqLsLK62e8-LACLcB/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-06-24%2Bat%2B11.16.43%2BAM.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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What do you think?<br />
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Anyway, it was still cool as hell! There was an undeniable creepiness to the place. As I looked through the massive gate into the very bowels of the mountain that towered above us, the smell of mustiness and earth and the coolness of subterranean wind was chill-inducing.<br />
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We snapped pictures at both gates and were very pleased to have checked yet another unhallowed horror movie filming sites off the list!<br />
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We returned to Evans City afterwards, and got some dinner, before moseying down to EDCO park at dusk to watch the amazing and political charged classic, <b>The Crazies,</b> with a small crowd of fellow Living Dead aficionados! ZombieBoy and I cuddled under blankets, ate popcorn, and I had a couple beers under the chilly, October sky in the birthplace of the modern zombie movie.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P9PTdfOK35M/V21kwNELW-I/AAAAAAAACrU/VmU36Dn-Sh0LoD0hqz0A9R_9Ah21AZDywCLcB/s1600/Crazies.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P9PTdfOK35M/V21kwNELW-I/AAAAAAAACrU/VmU36Dn-Sh0LoD0hqz0A9R_9Ah21AZDywCLcB/s1600/Crazies.jpeg" /></a><br />
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What was great was that <b>The Crazies</b> was filmed in Evans City proper. It was really neat, and a little surreal, to see many of the same buildings and bridges and streets we'd just spent the day walking through on the big screen. All in all, the movie in the park was one of the highlights of the entire trip. I'd return just for that!<br />
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After the movie, we drove back home, and I reflected how glad I was to have shared some of my geeky love of all things horror with my now teenage son, ZombieBoy. He was there when we went to Monroeville to see the <b>Dawn of the Dead</b> Mall, and now, as a young man, he was there for this other great experience. It was cool, and also a little bittersweet as he will soon be leaving for college soon and opportunities like this -- opportunities to share in our mutual geekiness-- will be forever reduced.<br />
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He's gone from this...<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-noapReJhB94/V21lzHyYfKI/AAAAAAAACrc/4jsz3dSL6poBNGrHnlTgDCWHYvn7SSnPgCLcB/s1600/Dummy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-noapReJhB94/V21lzHyYfKI/AAAAAAAACrc/4jsz3dSL6poBNGrHnlTgDCWHYvn7SSnPgCLcB/s320/Dummy.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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To this...<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rizdowfd4k/V21eYf4wi1I/AAAAAAAACpM/cdwUWaILH_wk08eRwe_sfr6ehG85y_XIgCLcB/s1600/ChapelSelfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rizdowfd4k/V21eYf4wi1I/AAAAAAAACpM/cdwUWaILH_wk08eRwe_sfr6ehG85y_XIgCLcB/s320/ChapelSelfie.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Crazy, right?<br />
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All in all, it was a great weekend.<br />
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-45910199783729858292016-05-31T19:05:00.000-05:002016-05-31T19:05:03.257-05:00Holy Shit... I've Been a Total Slacker! Holy shit.<br />
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It's been since August of goddamned LAST YEAR since I updated the old <b>Midnight Theater of Terror</b> blog.<br />
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I am, apparently, a lazy, lazy slacker.<br />
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When last we left off, I was on my way to Providence, Rhode Island, to attend and present a paper at the 2015 <b>Lovecraft NecronomiCon</b>.<br />
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Sadly, that never happened.<br />
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You see, Mrs. Zombie was stricken by a severe emergency medical condition that necessitated a nearly month long hospital stay. That hospital stay began roughly a week before I was due to leave for Providence. And because I'm not always the cold, sociopathic bastard that I sometimes portray... I had to cancel my trip.<br />
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Fortunately, I explained my situation to the Chair, and they were amazingly cool with it.<br />
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I even was offered the opportunity to reapply to next year's 2017 conference, which I plan to do. I will make it to Providence, I will walk in Lovecraft's footsteps, and I will bask in the hallowed New England town that gave birth to the greatest horror writer of all time.<br />
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So I've got that going for me.<br />
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Additionally, my inability to update my blog has been further complicated by the insanity that was my first year of grad school. That's right, Dr. Zombie is working to get himself a Masters in English Literature. My hope is to teach college at some point.<br />
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And on that day, I will be known as PROFESSOR Zombie.<br />
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That's right -- tremble in fear, mortals!<br />
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The work for my Masters, and the ridiculous amount of reading I've had to do, has seriously compromised my ability to write long, meaningless posts about my ego, read anything for personal pleasure, and have any semblance of a normal life.<br />
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But, now that I've survived my first year (and I have the summer off before I start my next, and hopefully final, year) I plan to rectify this unacceptable drought of fart jokes and ridiculous opinions. I also plan to write this year (in between getting ahead on my readings for NEXT fall).. so watch for more frequent updates, dear reader.<br />
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In fact, I'm writing this because I realized that - last fall - Zombie Boy and I took a late Autumn pilgrimage to another horror movie filming site, and I never bothered to write it up. That's what prompted me to dust off the old, forbidden tome that is my blog and start writing again.<br />
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So, watch for a Dr. Z Horrific Road Trip post in the next few days.<br />
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Until then, gentle reader, Unpleasant Dreams! <br />
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-9512215132949321142015-08-10T20:36:00.006-05:002015-08-10T20:36:51.535-05:00The Road to Providence - The Horror Begins!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DDaAnZfrJno/VclREPhKZhI/AAAAAAAACiw/FmIHOEzYgdI/s1600/NecroPoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DDaAnZfrJno/VclREPhKZhI/AAAAAAAACiw/FmIHOEzYgdI/s320/NecroPoster.jpg" width="259" /></a>So I'm sitting here, listening to the fall of rain and the crash of thunder outside of my window, drinking a Red Hook Brewing Out of your Gourd Pumpkin Porter, thinking of another Red Hook. The Red Hook, NY neighborhood where H.P. Lovecraft spent two years of his life - two long miserable years - married to Sonia Greene. It was the only time in his too short life he lived anywhere but in his beloved Providence, and he hated it. He returned to Providence in 1925 and wrote <i><b>The Horror at Red Hook</b></i> in the same year -- the story very much an allegory for his own turmoil at living in such a non-New England environment.<br />
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And, it is on that note, that I'm excited to say that plans are starting to come together for my own trip to Providence. I'm presenting at the Henry Armitage Symposium on Saturday, 8/22, at around 9:30.<br />
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And, HOLY SHIT, I just realized I'm a little over a week from leaving! Wow. It's coming up quick! I need to put my presentation together!<br />
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So far, I've signed up for just a few things that I need to attend for the conference, but there's also a lot of free and/or down time to explore.<br />
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I'm doing two sponsored tours of Lovecraft's Providence; one by foot and the other by bus. I've been assured by the Con organizers that they are different and both exciting. I'll also be partaking in a new card game taht's being play tested called "<b>Feed the Shoggoth</b>". I've recently learned that Sandy Petersen, the designer and creator of Chaosium's <i><b>Call of Cthulhu</b></i> will be there as well! I'm really hoping he will be available to sign a copy of my original CoC rule book, or perhaps my original copy of his <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Petersens-Field-Guide-Cthulhu-Monsters/dp/0933635486" target="_blank"><i>Peterson's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters</i></a>!</b><br />
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I've also signed up to see a live theater production of <i>The Shadow over Innsmouth</i>, as well as a big Party honoring HPL's 125th Birthday on 8/20. How cool is that, I'll be in Providence, on HPL's birthday, and partying with live music and plenty of Narragansett Innsmouth Ale and Lovecraft Honey Ale!<br />
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My Convention experience will end on Sunday morning with a special Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast, and then I'll begin the long trip home -- with a stop in a special old town north of New York City, on the banks of the Hudson River. A town that Washington Irving described as, "In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee, and where they always prudently shortened sail and implored the protection of Saint Nicholas, there lies a small market town." Indeed, I will venture, at the early cusp of Autumn, to the haunts of the late, mourned Ichabod Crane and his haunting, goblin pursuer... the Headless Hessian of lore!<br />
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I'll probably be updating as the week goes on, doing a combination of vlogs and blog article on shit that happens.<br />
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Stay tuned, this is going to be Doctor Zombie's biggest Horrific Road Trip to date!<br />
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-20763799473665122432015-06-23T11:07:00.002-05:002015-06-23T11:08:20.629-05:00What?! MORE Lovecraft? Really?!? Exciting news! I've just received final word... I've been asked to participate in the Dr. Henry Armitage Scholarship Symposium at this year's NecronomiCon in Providence, RI. I'll be presenting my article on Lovecraft's development of a unique mythos.<br />
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So, I'll be making the pilgrimage to H.P. Lovecraft's beloved Providence in August to attend the conference and convention!<br />
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In other words, I'll be hobnobbing with various other weird fiction weirdos like myself for 4 days!<br />
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It's also a momentous time to be in Providence. Why? The conference runs from August 20th through August 23rd. The 20th is HPL's 125th birthday!<br />
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This is a great honor and I'm sooooo excited to make the trip to Providence. In addition to visiting Providence, and walking in HPL's footsteps, I plan to visit some of the surrounding locales as well.<br />
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<b>Things I <strike>plan to do</strike> MUST DO while I'm there include:</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>Meet S.T. Joshi and Ramsay Campbell, who will BOTH be there! </li>
<li>Visit Brown University - the basis for Miskatonic University</li>
<li>Visit Salem. I was there once back in college, but it was night and I didn't get the opportunity to explore</li>
<li>Visit Marblehead and/or Newburyport, the coastal towns that formed the basis for Kingsport and decrepit, dark Innsmouth.</li>
<li>On the way home, swing through Sleepy Hollow NY. Just because. </li>
<li>Spend three and a half days immersed in gaming, lectures, and all manner of Lovecraftian shenanigans</li>
<li>Find and consume Narragansett Brewing's Lovecraft-themed frothy adult beverages (only available in Rhode Island!) </li>
</ul>
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This is going to be AWESOME!<br />
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-85984358815927410982015-04-29T19:30:00.000-05:002015-04-29T19:30:00.955-05:00Happy Half-Yeard! Here it is... Operation Dwarven Beard 2.0 has reached a critical milestone. I'm halfway to my full yeard. That's right, I hit six months on my year beard (yeard!).<br />
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It's my half-yeard!<br />
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There are some things I want to let you know about my half-yeard. There's a need to clear some shit up around here.<br />
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First and foremost, this is no goddamned hipster beard. I am, and will always be an old Goth dinosaur. No indie rock for this boy. Besides, I am too gray, my pants are too baggy, and I wear way too much black to be considered anything remotely hipster.<br />
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I do realize I have a love for beard products. Beard balm, beard oil, natural moisturizing soap, and mustache wax have become part of my morning ritual. The shit works, and works well.<br />
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I'd recommend the Grave Before Shave line of beard products. They smell amazing (especially the Bay Rum scent and the Gentleman's Blend scent!) and do wonders to tame the wild 'trapper-who's-spent-too-long-in-the-woods' look of the beard. I'll provide a review in an upcoming article.<br />
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In addition to the beard oil and balm, I've been using soaps by Dr. Squatch. They smell delicious and are super moisturizing. They're perfect for the old soup catcher on my face. Dr. Squatch soap works so well and is so slippy, I now use it when I shave the old zombie dome.<br />
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I've also been using the Fisticuffs mustache wax. Truthfully, the old lip cover has given me the most trouble (besides the fact that I've had to stop wearing collared shirts because they mess up the beard from rubbing). I needed something to hold it's unruliness at bay -- and mustache wax is like mana from heaven.<br />
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Another thing you need to know -- I will straight up falcon punch any motherfucker who makes a Duck Dynasty comment. Seriously. I shouldn't need to explain how inappropriate and insulting that is. It's like calling a pretty girl a Kardashian. In my case, though, it could be deadly...<br />
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Anyway, Check the half-yeard out!<br />
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It is a manly beard. It is a good beard. It is a beard with great potential.<br />
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Fear the beard!<br />
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Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-48203140738350326992015-02-27T23:45:00.000-05:002015-02-27T23:45:00.230-05:00Primal Ooze: The Origins of Lovecraft's Weird Fiction in Arthur Machen The burst of weird fiction popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s gave rise to modern horror and science fiction. Coming into its heyday in the early 20th century, this unique brand of literature’s influences can be traced to an even earlier date. Modern horror can find its roots in the gothic horror and ghost stories of the Victorian Age and, more specifically, in the period at the end of the 19th century, from 1890 through 1900, in what is referred to as the fin de siècle. It is at that time that the true roots of weird fiction manifested itself in the works of British weird horror writer Arthur Machen. A Welsh writer, Machen first began writing short stories that would become an early influence on the pulp writers of the 20th century. Machen’s works would go on to establish ideas and motifs that have become essential parts of weird fiction and influenced generations of writers.<br />
That being said, no discussion of weird fiction would be complete without including the master of weird fiction, H.P. Lovecraft. His ideas of cosmic horror and development of a unique mythos, as well as his influence on a large group of fellow writers, shaped the course of early twentieth century weird fiction. And yet, despite his vast influence and unique style, Lovecraft owed a significant debt to the earlier works of Arthur Machen. This paper will examine Machen’s influence on Lovecraft, as well as his influence on horror and science fiction on a broader scale.<br />
Born in 1863 in Carleon-On-Usk, in Gwent, Wales, Arthur Machen’s rustic upbringing proved immeasurably influential on the tone and imagery of his writing. Although he moved to London and became a member of the Decadence movement, his writing invariably recalled the ancient myths and unique landscape of his boyhood home. As Machen himself wrote in his autobiography, <i>Far Off Things</i>, his early home in the wilds of Wales was filled with:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
…deep silence, deep stillness everywhere; hills and dark wintry woods growing dim in the twilight, the mountain to the west a vague, huge mass against a faint afterlight of the dead day, grey and heavy clouds massing over the skies… Carleon-On-Usk, the little silent, deserted village that was once the golden Isca of the Roman legions, that is golden forever and immortal in the romances of King Arthur and the Graal and the Round Table(<i>Far Off Things</i>, 9).</blockquote>
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It was against this backdrop, and tinted with the earthy pagan myths and fables of Carleon-On-Usk’s ancient Celtic and Roman influence, that Machen comingled the cosmopolitan urban settings of his stories with the wilderness of the more untamed parts of England. His stories comprise a counterpoint of wild and urban, modern and ancient, and sacred and profane. This seemingly incongruity worked extremely well, and would help in the transition of the literature of the time. From the Gothic romance of Shelley’s <i>Frankenstein</i>, to the Victorian prudery and xenophobia of Stoker’s<i> Dracula</i>, or the allegorical conflict of Stevenson’s <i>The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i>— Machen’s works represented a shift in horror fiction, a shift towards the more modern and realistic horror of the 20th century.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This idea of modernity is what most signifies the impact of Machen’s works. In 1894, he wrote <i>The Great God Pan.</i> Widely believed to be the best and most exemplary of his works, <i>The Great God Pan</i> is a masterpiece that combines elements of horror that would later become indispensible tropes of weird fiction. The story opens with a Dr. Raymond and his colleague, a man named Clarke. They are in the midst of a medical experiment on a young girl— the ward of Dr. Raymond, Mary. Dr. Raymond has taken her in and raised her from childhood, although his intentions are not honorable. He has done so specifically to conduct this very experiment when she is old enough. Through surgery, he manipulates Mary’s brain in such a way that it levels, “utterly the solid wall of sense, and probably, for the first time man was made, a spirit will gaze on a spirit world…Mary will see the god Pan! (<i>Arthur Machen Collected Works,</i> 2)”<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The surgery is successful, but only briefly. When Mary awakes, she has a moment of seeing something, but what she sees proves too awful for her mind to handle. The experiment leaves her hopelessly catatonic. The story moves forward several years later, and a beautiful but sinister girl named Helen Vaughn plagues the local town. Helen leads two of her playmates into the local woods, where they encounter strange creatures who rape both of the children.<br />
Again, the story moves forward several years, and we find that Helen has grown up and moved to London, where she has married a man named Herbert. Herbert is found some years after his marriage to Helen alone and destitute. Herbert’s former school chum, a man named Villiers takes him in, and hears from Herbert a horrifying tale about Helen.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to Herbert, Helen dragged him into unnatural acts of perversion and vice. As Herbert exclaims: “I have seen the incredible, such horrors that even I myself sometimes stop in the middle of the street and ask whether it is possible for a man to behold such things and live. In a year, Villiers, I was a ruined man, in body and soul – in body and soul” (<i>Arthur Machen Collected Works</i>, 10).<br />
At this point, Helen has left England. She has fled to South America, but not after leaving a string of dead men and hinted at sexual deviance. She returns later, and we find that Villiers has made the acquaintance of Clarke, from the early part of the story. Upon hearing of Helen’s return, they confront her and she goes through a horrific transformation. As Machen describes it:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />Though horror and revolting nausea rose up within me, and an odour of corruption choked my breath, I remained firm. I was then privileged or accursed, I dare not say which, to see that which was on the bed, lying there black like ink, transformed before my eyes. The skin, and the flesh, and the muscles, and the bones, and the firm structure of the human body that I had thought to be unchangeable, and permanent as adamant, began to melt and dissolve… I saw the form waver from sex to sex, dividing itself from itself, and then again reunited. Then I saw the body descend to the beasts whence it ascended, and that which was on the heights go down to the depths, even to the abyss of all being. The principle of life, which makes organism, always remained, while the outward form changed… I watched, and at last I saw nothing but a substance as jelly (<i>Arthur Machen Collected Works</i>, 30).</blockquote>
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It is revealed at the end that Helen is the offspring of a union between Mary and the pagan god, Pan. Her lascivious behavior and illicit sexuality are manifestations of her father, and the ill conceived experiment of Dr. Raymond.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is in this narrative that Machen creates the overarching thematic elements that make <i>The Great God Pan</i> what Stephen King called, in the end notes to <i>Just After Sunset,</i> “…one of the best horror stories ever written. Maybe the best in the English language” and led H.P. Lovecraft to say of Machen, “Of living creators of cosmic fear raised to its most artistic pitch, few if any can hope to equal the versatile Arthur Machen, author of some dozen tales long and short, in which the elements of hidden horror and brooding fright attain an almost incomparable substance and realistic acuteness”(88). The Great God Pan along with his other works (like <i>The Novel of the Black Seal, The Hill of Dreams</i>, and <i>The Novel of the White Powder</i>) has an acute sense of the blending of modernity and antiquity. In Machen’s case, his horrors are ancient: the horrors that stalked his Celtic ancestors. The monsters he writes of wear the faces of fairies, satyrs, strange creatures, and magic-imbued people whom evolution has left behind. At odds with this are his protagonists. Taking the form of scholars, philosophers, and modern, urban men, his protagonists walk the border between the old world and the burgeoning, technological era of the late 19th/early 20th century. Or, as Jones wrote, “Throughout his writings, the ancient Celtic and Romano-British legacies of spiritualism and the occult, and the permeable borderland between the two worlds of spirit and matter, are all imaged forth in geographical terms on the Welsh border in Caerleon, and in the occult investigations of seedy men of letters, theosophists and scientists, working in exile, obscurity and poverty in the secret labyrinths of the shabby outer suburbs of West London” (36).<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To support this supposition, and show the influence of this theme on later fiction, one need only look to the acknowledged father of modern horror, H.P. Lovecraft. This melding of the mythical and the scientific was a common component in the stories of Lovecraft. Often, his protagonists were— like Machen’s— erudite men of education who found themselves at odds with ancient evils. Although, Lovecraft’s monsters and horrors were much older and more cosmic, there are echoes of Machen’s <i>The Great God Pan</i> throughout Lovecraft’s work. In <i>The Dunwich Horror</i>, for example, there are undeniable traces of Machen’s Clarke in Lovecraft’s Dr. Henry Armitage. To further compare, there is a considerable parity between Helen Vaughn and Wilbur Whateley, his monstrous twin brother, and both Helen and Wilbur’s awful, inhuman fathers. In fact, Lovecraft actually mentions Machen’s <i>Great God Pan</i> in a conversation between characters in <i>The Dunwich Horror</i>. A further influence on Lovecraft can be seen in the surgery Dr. Raymond performs to open up Mary’s mind to other realities. Here, we see a striking resemblance and similarity to the resonator experiments of Crawford Tillinghast in “From Beyond”. As Joshi writes, “Machen’s influence stands behind only Poe’s and Dunsany’s in Lovecraft’s work”(75).<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> While Lovecraft was a rational, scientific atheist, Machen remained a lifelong Catholic. His Catholicism and faith did not prevent him, however, from dabbling as a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, along with his friends and contemporaries: W.B. Yeats and Oscar Wilde. Keeping with his standing as a fin de siècle Decadent, he also mixed faith with the controversial scientific theory of evolution. In <i>The Novel of the Black Seal</i>, Machen tells the story of Professor Gregg who spends the latter part of his career searching for a devolved race living in the wilds of Wales. He finds an artifact that leads him to Monmouthshire. There he finds a mentally disabled boy who has traces of the ancient race in his blood. Using him as a compass-like tool, the professor ventures into the forest and disappears, taken by the monstrous elder race. Professor Gregg’s housekeeper, Mrs. Lally, tells the story. As previously mentioned, this idea of the modern world butting up against the ancient remains a theme that Machen used to great effect.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That science can exist in a world of the supernatural is a tenet of modern horror and science fiction. There is a philosophical element to this idea of science and the supernatural coexisting. As Camara observed, weird fiction “presents nature as preeminently unnatural, as rival with ‘supernatural’ phenomena such that the occult and the scientific not only exist in a continuum, but inquiries undertaken in one field can lead directly into the precincts of the other” (100). In the case of The Novel of the Black Seal, Professor Gregg, and Machen by extension, argue that the myths and fairy tales we know may be window dressing. The scientific improbability of a race of throwbacks in the Welsh mountains is perhaps explained by myth, although time and storytelling have prettied up the reality. As Kandola explains, “…Machen’s fictional scientist contends that both folktales and literature are guilty of ‘dressing up’ these ‘dreaded beings … in charming forms, knowing the truth to be the very reverse’”(501).<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This scientific view of evolution, or atavism, as it were, is an interesting approach by Machen. As Forlini observed, in <i>The Novel of the Black Seal</i>:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
… [With]A professor’s investigation of strange races that have fallen out of the grand march of evolution… we need not read such tales as evidence of the text’s ‘Darwinian anxieties’ about devolution or the instability of matter… Instead, we can see how Machen flags his engagement with contemporary science and plays with object-driven narrative of evolutionary anthropology to destabilize the hierarchical relation between the ‘primitive’ and the ‘modern’ (487).</blockquote>
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It is specifically a desire on Machen’s part to meld 19th and 20th century ideas around science and faith, much like H.G. Wells did in <i>The Time Machine</i>. This concept of devolution has become standard fare for modern science fiction and horror and the idea of an atavistic fall reverberates as very modern fear. Lovecraft, however, expanded on this idea, but gave it his own uniquely cosmic twist <br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Novel of the Black Seal,</i> from Lovecraft’s standpoint, supported many of his own beliefs. His stories are rife with examples of this idea of devolution and primitive humans. Notwithstanding his racism and sense of patrician superiority, one of the best examples of Machen’s influence can be seen in Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls”. Lovecraft’s wealthy American protagonist, Delapore, moves into his ancestral home in England, the Exham Priory. The sound of rats in the walls leads to an expedition into the ancient tunnels beneath the Priory— tunnels that predate the Romans and Celts of antiquity. The story ends with Delapore driven mad by the call of his ancestors and the cosmic horror of the eons of civilization found in those dark passages. Delapore is found at the end of the story screaming in ever devolving language and madly eating the corpse of one of his fellow explorers. Additionally, other stories of his speak of strange, subhuman creatures living in the wilds of the New England countryside. The motif occurs again and again in Lovecraft’s stories and can be seen in, for example, <i>The Whisperer in the Darkness</i>, “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and his Family”, and Lovecraft’s most famous work, <i>The Call of Cthulhu</i>.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Defining weird fiction, and modern horror is difficult. Weird fiction in and of itself mixes elements of the supernatural with science fiction, and is distinctly different from the Gothic and Victorian ghost stories of the 18th and 19th century. As Camara observed:<br />
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Machen’s urban horror questions modernity, its notions of progress, and its technological breakthroughs with the specter of a metaphysical force from the remote past that invades civilization from its wild outside… Moreover, despite the fact that Machen’s fiction is steeped in an antique world, it is also at the same time thoroughly modern in terms of its settings, formal experimentations, and engagement with the sciences (72). </blockquote>
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At the time that Machen was writing, in the 1890’s, literature was undergoing a change. His unique approach to horror led to the advent of weird fiction, which morphed into modern science fiction, horror, and— to a smaller extent – fantasy literature. H.P. Lovecraft extolled, and in some cases emulated, Machen’s style and freely acknowledged Machen’s exceptional mastery of early horror. Machen’s reach, however, went far beyond Lovecraft and the other weird fiction writers of the time. Traces of the dark, comingled urban and rural horror of Machen still resonate in the works of authors like Stephen King, Brian Keene, Ramsay Campbell, and T.E.D Klein.<br />
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<b>Sources Cited</b></div>
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Camara, Anthony Christopher. Dark Matter: <i>British Weird Fiction and the Substance of Horror, 1880-1927</i>. UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2013. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.<br />
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Forlini, Stefania. “Modern Narratives and Decadent Things in Arthur Machen’s The Three Imposters”. English Literature in Translation 1880 – 1920. 2012. 3 Dec 2014. Web.<br />
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Jackson, Kimberly. “Non-Evolutionary Degeneration in Arthur Machen’s Supernatural Tales”. Victorian Literature and Culture. 41 (2013): 125-133. Web 3 Dec. 2014.<br />
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Jones, Darryl. “Borderlands: spiritualism and the occult in fin de siècle and Edwardian Welsh and Irish horror”. Irish Studies Review. 17.1 (2009): 31-44. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.<br />
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Joshi, S.T. H.P.<i> Lovecraft: Nightmare Countries</i>. New York. Metro Books. 2012.<br />
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Kandola, Sandeep. “Celtic Occultism and the Symbolist Mode in the Fin-de-Siècle Writings of Arthur Machen and W. B. Yeats”. English Literature in Translation 1880 – 1920. 2009. 3. Dec. 2014.<br />
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Lovecraft, H.P. <i>Great Tales of Horror.</i> New York. Fall River Press. 2012. Print.<br />
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--- <i>Supernatural Horror in Literature</i>. New York. Dover Publications. 1973. Print.<br />
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Machen, Arthur. <i>Collected Works: 23 Tales of Horror & Other Fiction Short Stories</i>. USA. 2012. Print.<br />
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--- <i>Far Off Things</i>. Aegypan Press. USA. 1922. Print.<br />
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Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-65464279925738118292015-02-12T19:47:00.000-05:002015-02-12T19:47:00.333-05:00Horror Block Unboxing - January 2015!Join me and my daughter, Wolf-Girl, as we do an unboxing video for the January 2015 Horror Block! <div>
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Still the best deal on horror-themed mystery boxes out there! </div>
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Also, make sure you check out the <a href="http://doctorzombie.blogspot.com/2015/01/an-introduction-to-horror-block.html" target="_blank">Introduction Video</a> I did a few weeks back. Doctor Zombie says so! </div>
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Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-27518305346605088752015-02-09T20:33:00.000-05:002015-02-09T20:33:00.154-05:00The Arcane and The Rational: Lovecraft’s Development of a Unique Mythos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My academic article on HP Lovecraft's development of his unique mythology was recently published in the<b> Case Western Reserve University Discussions</b> undergraduate research journal. <a href="http://case.edu/discussions/archive/2014.11.1-fall.pdf" target="_blank">You can check it out by clicking here... Ia Ia Cthulhu Ph'tagn! </a> (It begins on page 22.)<br />
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Like the insipid, formless colour out of space, the article is already starting to spread through the internet world. It's been linked to on <b>Tentaclii,</b> an online research for all things academically Lovecraftian. That's kind of cool, because <b>Tentaclii</b><i> </i>is one of the first places I went when was beginning my own research for the article. They have a much better copy of the article, where you don't need to page through it. <a href="https://tentaclii.wordpress.com/open-lovecraft/" target="_blank"><b>Tentaclii</b>'s version can be found by clicking here.</a><br />
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I should warn you you can lose yourself for hours in <b>Tentaclii'</b>s archive looking at all manner of Lovecraftian academia. It's a great site, seriously.<br />
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I also found a link to the article on a Facebook page called the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SwissLovecraftSociety/timeline" target="_blank">Swiss Lovecraft Society</a>. Not sure how many people read that page, but it was kind of cool that someone across the pond found and posted it.<br />
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Finally, I've been told that the <b>Lovecraft eZine</b> would like to publish it as well. I was told so several months ago, but it has yet to happen. I'm eagerly awaiting publication over there as it is a bit more mainstream than the more cerebral academic research journal at CWRU. Fingers crossed.<br />
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Here's the abstract for the article:<br />
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<b>The Arcane and The Rational: Lovecraft’s Development of a Unique Mythos</b> </blockquote>
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The early 20th century saw the rise of a unique subgenre of science fiction and horror literature known as weird fiction. H.P Lovecraft, one of its more prolific and lasting contributors, is rightly considered one of the fathers of the genre. Like the rapidly modernizing world around him, Lovecraft developed his own universe and mythos that was itself a unique mix of old and new. He created monsters that would have been at home in fairy tales or the ancient mists of folklore. At the same time, these ancient, mythic evils were at odds with Lovecraft’s 20th century protagonists – men of education, breeding, and science. The inevitable result of their clash was death and madness on the part of the protagonist. </blockquote>
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Prior to Lovecraft, literature portrayed ancient religions and gods as benevolent protectors of mankind and the devout. Lovecraft subverted this and instead argued that the cosmos, and the god like beings that reside there, are indifferent to the plight of man. Tempered by his own rationality and atheism, he created a world that was unique only in its insignificance. An avid reader, Lovecraft understood the prior works of writers like Milton and Dante, and the concept of higher and lower worlds that bookend our own place in the universe. Heaven, hell, and the earthly world were places of equal size and influence. However, Lovecraft’s writing rejected this and instead minimized the human realm to a sliver, sandwiched between the pitiless depths of an indifferent underworld below and an infinite, cold, and remorseless cosmos above. </blockquote>
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This paper studies how, through stories like “The Call of Cthulhu,” “At The Mountains of Madness,” “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” and others, Lovecraft redefined both weird and traditional fiction. While perhaps unintentional, he nevertheless established new perspectives on science fiction and horror.</blockquote>
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-58838364662996800242015-02-04T20:29:00.000-05:002015-02-04T20:29:00.444-05:00Operation Dwarven Beard 2.0: The Yeard! So, not necessarily horror related, but I thought I've give an update on my most recent project. You see, it's now the first week of February. Way back in November, there's this little thing called "No-Shave November". Basically, men don't shave.<br />
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For Cancer or some other shit... but that's not important. </div>
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What's important is that I stopped shaving, and it's kind of snowballed. </div>
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Last year, I did the same thing, and made it until the 2nd week of December until I finally gave up and cut it back to a goatee. It was cool, and I liked it, but I think I had a family thing and I got tired of listening to the wife bitch about it. Hence the ignoble end of Operation Dwarven Beard. </div>
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This year though, I made the commitment to a yeard.</div>
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What's a yeard, you ask? A yeard is a beard that has grown, unmolested in any way, for a year. </div>
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It's a manly beard. A lumberjack's beard. An outdoorsy beard. A beard any viking or dwarven warrior would be proud of. And I'm going all in. </div>
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I'll be updating now and again with the progress of said yeard, but I figured I'd get you up to speed as to where I started, and where I am today. </div>
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We started here. I last shaved on Halloween, 10/31/2014.</div>
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I also dyed it to match my Halloween costume. I went as the Dude from The Big Lebowski. </div>
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I pulled it off I think, although my daughter, WolfGirl, spent the evening calling me 'Fat Jesus'. She has been disowned and banished to the dungeon as a result. </div>
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Here we are at 1 month. The growth is not good. I also still have beard dye in it. It is all bad. </div>
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I trimmed the dye out in December. It is beginning to fill in a little better now. By the end of December, it looked like this. </div>
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I hit my 3 month mark, the first 90 day mark, just last week. It's starting to fill in nicely and I'm starting to get some nice coloration. That said, i wish I wasn't so damned gray. I'm only 44 years old, and have been going gray since I was about 16... but I still wish it didn't make me look so damned old. </div>
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So, some thought on what I'm going for. </div>
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As I've said, I've dubbed this whole fiasco Operation Dwarven Beard 2.0., so it goes without saying that I'd like to look as glorious as -- say -- Gimli, son of Gloin! </div>
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Of course, it's pretty scraggly... so I feel lie it's more like that of Trevor Slattery (Aka: The Mandarin). Here's a side by side... what do you think? </div>
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And, in keeping with the geeky, horror theme of my blog: There's always the kick ass awesomeness of the MacReady beard from <b>John Carpenter's The Thing! </b></div>
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Although, again, with the gray, I'm sure I'll more likely fall into the vicinity of, say, Otis Driftwood from Rob Zombie's <b>The Devil's Rejects. </b></div>
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I can probably live with that. </div>
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Watch for more updates! </div>
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Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-4612887200158946322015-01-26T19:50:00.000-05:002015-01-26T13:51:51.039-05:00An introduction to Horror BlockI was previously doing unboxing videos for the Dread Central Box of Dread here in the Midnight Theater of Terror, but I stopped my subscription to them and made the switch about six months ago to Horror Block.<br />
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Now that I've tried both, I decided to do a video to just explain the hows and whys of my switch to Horror Block, discuss the added bonus of monthly horror-themed t-shirts, and to also explain my reasoning behind switching.<br />
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Related to that, I just received, not ten minutes ago, my confirmation that my January Horror Block has shipped. When I get it, I'll post up an unboxing video. You can count on future unboxing videos showing up on a regular, monthly basis.<br />
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One final thought: I don't get anything for doing these videos other than satisfying my need for attention and my unrequited desire to become a Youtube Horror Host star. Hopefully I can introduce others to mystery boxes, take some of the apprehension out of spending money on of them, and share my love for horror-themed memorabilia and horror wear!<br />
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Check it out!<br />
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To subscribe and get your own Horror Block, <a href="https://www.nerdblock.com/horror" target="_blank">clickety-click here!</a><br />
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-22616255582755390382014-08-23T12:09:00.000-05:002014-08-23T12:09:36.159-05:00The End is Nigh: A Critical Sociological Examination of Post-Apocalyptic Fiction<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Zombies, nuclear wastelands, hungry vampires,
alien invaders, biblical plagues, raging illnesses concocted in labs, the
desolation of protracted war, werewolves, or even unknown catastrophes that
leave society irreparably destroyed; post-apocalyptic fiction has recently
benefited from an explosion of interest. There are numerous novels, stories,
and forms of digital media devoted to exploring a world where, in almost all
cases, there is a significant depopulation of the earth. Against this backdrop
of desolation and death, valiant survivors do their best to survive in a
wasteland filled with harrowing dangers of both the human and non-human kind
alike. The fascination with these types of stories is at an all time high, and
the allure is understandable. In an attempt to explain the preoccupation and
advent of the recent wave of post-apocalyptic fiction, one can argue that it is
tied – from a sociological perspective - to French sociologist Emile Durkheim’s
theories on Structural Functionalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As mentioned earlier, the types and reasons
for the fall of society in these novels are manifold. From the wildly popular dystopian
world of Panem in Suzanne Collins' <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hunger
Games</b> trilogy, to the Pulitzer Prize winning bleakness of Cormac McCarty’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Road</b>; from the shambling, always
hungry zombies of Robert Kirkman’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Walking
Dead</i> graphic novels, to the snarling, vicious vampires of Guillermo Del
Toro’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Strain</b> trilogy; we are
fascinated by the end of the world. But how can we examine this fascination
from a sociological perspective? There are three distinct ways in which we can
better understand the appeal of a total breakdown of modern society. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The first is a longing for escape from our
everyday, humdrum existence. In this case, the longing for a post-apocalyptic
future is a reflection of Durkheim’s theories posited in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Division of Labor in Society.</i> Organic Solidarity, as Durkheim
explains, is a hallmark of a modern, complex, technological society, and leads
to specialization of labor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a society
grows too specialized, the specialization becomes “a source of disintegration
(Applerouth, Edles, 94).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
dissatisfaction leads, in Durkheim’s view, to anomie. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the idea of anomie that is at the heart
of the longing for escape. Anomie describes a lack of social norms or
self-regulation. It leads to a breakdown of social bonds between an individual
and their community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It results in a
fragmentation of social identity and the rejection of self-regulatory values.
As Durkheim explained, while explaining the consequences of economic disasters
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Suicide, A Study in Sociology, </i>“…[Those
affected by the disaster] are not adjusted to the condition forced on them, and
its very prospect is intolerable; hence the suffering which detaches them from
a reduced existence even before they’ve made a trial of it (Appelrouth, Edles 109).”
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In other worlds, the fans of post-apocalyptic
fiction are responding to the loss of individuality and personal self worth as
a result of modernized society. As Paul Cantor explained, those members of
society to whom an apocalypse most appeals to:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 1.0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“…display an ambivalent attitude toward
modernity in general, perhaps a general disillusionment with it, a sense that
all technological progress upon which we pride ourselves has not made us
happier and may, on the contrary, have made us miserable by depersonalizing our
relationships and limiting our freedom “</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 1.0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A breakdown
of society relieves people of their responsibilities and the things that should
make our lives easier, causing distance between us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another sociological perspective
that may help explain the proliferation of, and interest in, apocalyptic novels
can be found in Durkheim’s idea of normative behavior, and the self-regulation of
social order upon individuals. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Rules of Sociological Method</i>, Durkheim explores this when he talks about
criminality. He argues that it is a critical and essential function of society
to perform crimes; that criminal behavior is, in fact, normal and only bound by
the larger moral judgment and regulation of society. He writes, “…crime is
normal because a society exempt from it is utterly impossible (Appelrouth,
Edles 91). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It is in this idea of normal behavior, and
the morality of crime, that we find the allure of the apocalypse. The novels we’ve
mentioned imagine a world where one is free from the normative expectations of
their neighbors because they are dead, irradiated, or eaten by zombies. With
the lack of the societal inhibitors on behavior – less the morality of societal
expectations and community standards – one can find true freedom. In a post-apocalyptic
landscape, the only law or moral is survival, and the constraints of society
are secondary to this. The fiction of this genre appeals to a longing for
lawlessness within us. We can kill, steal, and do things we might otherwise not
do in a more regulated society. As Todd K. Platts observed, apocalyptic motifs,
“serve as conduits of and for exploration of societal ideals, values, ideas,
and ideological contradictions (551).”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Finally, the apocalypse envisioned
in, for instance, Max Brook’s novel, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">World
War Z: An Oral History of The Zombie War, </b>is a reflection of our fears in a
post 9/11 world. The novel details the fall, and eventual resurrection of
society after a zombie apocalypse. Durkheim’s pivotal work, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Suicide</b>, addressed the significant
social changes that bring about a lack of moral regulation. Again, as Apelrouth explains, a lack of moral regulation in times of intense social and
personal change leads to individuals feeling unanchored. Furthermore, “In this case, the pursuit of individual desires and goals can overtake
moral concerns (101).” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The attacks of 9/11 heightened this sense of
low moral regulation and caused fear. Literature is a reflection of the mood of
society, and in this case, the fear takes the shape of a bad economy, fears of
terrorism, and the further breakdown of society – as Durkheim posited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Aupers wrote, “Emile Durkheim in turn,
lamented the increased power of a distant nation-state that undermined social
cohesion and motivated feelings of anomie (28).” An apocalypse represents an
opportunity to imagine a world where we are in charge of our own fates, and not
subject to the whims and fear of larger, global threats. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At their heart, the novels discussed
here, and others of the same genre, are about the degradation of social
structure and fall squarely into the structural functionalism of Emile
Durkheim. The fascination with a modern world that loses its structure and
collapses as a result of anomie and normlessness, as Durkheim defined them, are
a fantasy rooted largely in response to a post 9/11 era. The allure of
post-apocalyptic or dystopian literature is primarily about the fragmentation
of social identity and the rejection of self-regulatory values. But, besides
that, they appeal to the survivor in all of us, and are glimpses into a world
where social theory entertainingly comingles with zombies, vampires,
cannibalism, and nuclear winter. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sources
Cited</span></b>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Appelrouth, Scott A., and Edles, Laura Desfor.
<i>Classic and Contemporary Sociological Theory</i>. Los Angeles: Sage Pine
Forge, 2012. Print.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Auspers, Stef. “Trust No One: Modernization,
Paranoia, and Conspiracy Culture.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">European
Journal of Communication.</i> 27.1 (2012). 22-34. Print. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Cantor, Paul A. “The Apocalyptic Strain in
Popular Culture: The American Nightmare Becomes the American Dream.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hedgehog Review</i>. 15.2 (2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Web.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Platts, Todd K. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Locating Zombies in the Sociological
Popular Culture." <i>Sociology Compass.</i> 7.10 (2013): 547-560. Print.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
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Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-81136548234506621042014-06-22T10:28:00.001-05:002014-06-22T10:28:45.131-05:00Dr. Jack Seward: The Old and New Personified in Bram Stoker’s 'Dracula'A piece of literary analysis...<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Published in 1897, at the end of the
Victorian Age and on the cusp of the modern 20<sup>th</sup> century, Bram
Stoker’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dracula</b> is a story that is
acutely aware of its place in time. The world of Stoker’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dracula</b> was both an example of, and at odds with, the distinctly
Victorian sensibilities that were commonplace even a few years earlier. The
cultural and definitively British way of life was undergoing a change that began
with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, but was also being hastened out
the door by a move towards more modern, secular, and scientific worldviews. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The unshakeable conviction that the British
way of life -- both at home and in England’s far-flung colonies -- was
undeniably right and good and God-given was butting up against the realities of
an evolving world. Science was supplanting faith, and the works of Charles
Darwin and other scientists were challenging the world order. Stoker saw and
recognized this, and created characters that were archetypes of proper subjects
of Queen Victoria in the age named after her. All of these characters were
essential to the story, but none more so than Dr. Jack Seward. Jack Seward was
an everyman who represented both the old and the new, and embodied the best of
both. His interactions with the other characters showed this time and again. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As Quincey wrote early in the novel, when he
learned that Art had won Lucy’s hand:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My Dear Art, --</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We’ve told yarns by the camp-fire in the
prairies; and dressed one another’s wounds after trying a landing at the
Marquesas, and drunk health on the shore of Titicaca… there will be only one
other, our old pal at the Korea, Jack Seward (62).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is in
this throwaway line that Stoker tells us much about the man Seward is. While
Jack Seward represents the modern, staid, conservative English physician, he is
simultaneously revealed as typical colonial adventurer of Victorian England.
Much like Arthur Conan Doyle’s Dr. Watson, he is a man of letters and
education, but one who’s dabbled in the violent and the adventuresome life of a
British gentleman. He’s hunted, presumably on safari, in far flung corners of
the empire and participated in conflicts and imperial skirmishes. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While Dr. Seward would seem to be a quiet,
contemplative physician; Stoker left us further clues to the contrary. Quincey
Morris is the personification of the rough and tumble American frontiersman who
moves effortlessly, if a bit crassly, amongst his very English compatriots, and
we learn through him that Dr. Seward is -- in fact -- an adventurer in his own
right. After beginning their pursuit of Dracula and their race to beat his ship
to Varna, Quincey remarks:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I understand the count comes from wolf
country, and it may be that he shall get there before us. I propose that we add
Winchesters to our armament. I have a kind of belief in Winchesters when there
is any trouble of that sort around. Do you remember Art, when we had that pack
after us in Tobolsk (282)?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Even though
he is speaking to Art, it is implied that Quincey, Art, and Jack Seward have
all spent some time together in dangerous situations, and this is confirmed
when, later, Seward says, “I think I had better go with Quincey. We have been
accustomed to hunt together and we two, well armed, will be a match for
whatever may come along” (307).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stoker created a complex character
in Seward and throughout the novel we get hints like this -- hints about a life
that is much more than that of a simple doctor. He is the very modern man of
science who embraces the newest technology and, rather than write out his
journal, records it on phonograph. He studies the unique eccentricities of his
zoophagous patient, Renfield, and is excited about a possibly new diagnosis of
insanity. He relies on modern chemistry and chloral hydrate to sleep, and
although he successfully runs his hospital and has the prestige that comes from
it, he still attempts to woo Lucy and improve his station and fortunes by
asking for her hand. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At odds with this very modern man of
the 1890’s, he is also comfortable with all things traditionally Victorian. He
defers to Art as Lord Godalming; as is only proper given their different
stations. While Seward is a doctor with a very respectable post at his
hospital, Art is still nobility and is treated as such by Seward. When faced
with a medical problem that he is at a loss to explain with modern treatments,
he defers to his mentor, Dr. Van Helsing, who relies as much on myth and
folklore as medical procedures like blood transfusions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Van Helsing represents the old world and is
juxtaposed against the new world that Seward embraces. And, although he is
proud of his modernity, he also always acts like a proper British gentleman
when it comes to the woman in the novel. To save Art’s feelings and Lucy’s
honor, he conspires with Van Helsing to lie about having transfused Lucy and to
also cover up the death of Lucy’s mother, respectively (137). He is always
polite and respectful to Mina, and his treatment of her is both brotherly and
paternal. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At the climax of the novel, as the
foursome of heroes converge on the gypsies carrying Dracula to his castle, the
majority of the action focuses on Jonathon, who is driven by his need to avenge
his beloved Mina, and Quincey, who strikes the killing blow to Dracula. Art and
Seward are reduced to standing guard over the gypsies with their rifles.
However, this course of action does not in any way change the importance of
Jack Seward to the novel. While the wild American and the wronged husband
strike the final deathblows, Jack Seward upholds the traditionally Victorian
values the so perfectly personified throughout. While he is a man of science
and seeming frailty, he is in fact anything but. Seward faced the danger
bravely and with stereotypical British resolve. He followed the lead of the
others, and proves critical in stopping the threat that was Dracula. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Quincey and Art had spent time with
him in dangerous situations – as evidenced by the hints peppered throughout the
novel by Stoker – and they trusted him to be there as he had in the past. That
trust in his backbone and strength, and the manner of man Seward was, was
critical in their triumph of good over evil… and the redemption of Mina. By
extension, Jack was a critical piece in saving Mina. Additionally, he was an
exemplification of both traditional Victorian values, and the emerging cultural,
scientific, and social changes that were on the horizon for England. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Work Cited</b>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stoker, Bram. <i>Dracula: Norton Critical Edition</i>. Ed. Auerbach, Nina and Skal, David J. New York. W.W. Norton and Co. 1997. Print. </span></div>
Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-60703665620257411812014-06-20T12:57:00.001-05:002014-06-20T14:21:33.787-05:00Box of Dread - June 2014 - UnboxingBox of Dread - June 2014!<br />
<br />
Box of Dread continues to be the best $20 a month I've spent. It's not crazy expensive stuff... but it's a surprise and it's a bunch of cool little things that add up to some groovy, geeky, horror-themed goodness.<br />
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-28748818950774876092014-05-13T16:11:00.000-05:002014-05-13T16:12:55.146-05:00Project Spooky Door - Week ThreeSo, my sign made it up a whole week this last time. I replaced it yesterday and found it had been removed over the weekend. Someone has no sense of humor.<br />
<br />
In an interesting quirk of fate, the company I work for, here in evil corporate world, is a subsidiary of a larger conglomerate. They dabble in the financial industry, but their bread and butter is manufacturing.<br />
<br />
They make all kinds of interesting things, things like ion/nuclear based terraforming generators, planetary mining equipment. They also dabble in commercial space vessel building, colonizing outer rim worlds, and private off world prisons. That's not to mention their lucrative government contract. Their massive synthetics program has both commercial and military applications, and the fact that they have their own private army - The Colonial Space Marines - makes them a true multinational/trans-galactic conglomerate of immense reach.<br />
<br />
That's right, we are a lesser known branch of the Weyland-<span style="text-align: center;">Yutani corporation. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bNv6Vs6hqyY/U3KErm7B5QI/AAAAAAAACXE/bjAWonDYqfM/s1600/Weyland_Yutani_Logo_by_VincentConti85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bNv6Vs6hqyY/U3KErm7B5QI/AAAAAAAACXE/bjAWonDYqfM/s1600/Weyland_Yutani_Logo_by_VincentConti85.jpg" height="168" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="text-align: center;">I've heard strange things around the water cooler. I've heard that they've a secret facility out in Nevada, </span>in the Groom Lake area. They took it over from the US Government some years back. They're doing strange weapons research out there. The words gotten out to the peaceniks too. The company, in order to make sure there's no homegrown terrorist shenanigans that might derail their not-so-secret xenomorph weapons research, have decided to spread the research - and its disturbing and alien specimens - amongst its cast corporate holdings.<br />
<br />
Which brings us to this week's Spooky Door.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cyGSvp0-WW8/U3KJe8g-RoI/AAAAAAAACXY/Etw6KRVYcBI/s1600/Spooky+Door+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cyGSvp0-WW8/U3KJe8g-RoI/AAAAAAAACXY/Etw6KRVYcBI/s1600/Spooky+Door+3.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Could there be things lurking back there? Alien things?<br />
<br />
Things with acid blood and sharp, metallic teeth?<br />
<br />
I don't know. Maybe. Nobody knows what truly may be hiding behind the Spooky Door. That's all I'm saying…<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dNGVR0V7dGI/U3KHPkXcHMI/AAAAAAAACXM/jkEdkKS0IHE/s1600/ALienGif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dNGVR0V7dGI/U3KHPkXcHMI/AAAAAAAACXM/jkEdkKS0IHE/s1600/ALienGif.gif" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
Mostly they come at night.<br />
<br />
Mostly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Author's Note: I posted the Alien sign on the Spooky Door yesterday, not having any idea that H.R. Giger - the xenomorph's delightfully twisted creator - had passed. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Giger was a talented artist who had such an insanely unique vision. His art has been, and continues to be the stuff of nightmares… and I love it. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>My brother, Richie, has a copy of Giger's book, 'Biomechanics', and it is something that I - to this day - covet. Giger's weird mix of the organic and the mechanical, the hard metal and sensually fleshy is unlike anything any artist had ever done… and his grotesque, ultra-modern demonic imagery became one of the most iconic horror monsters of all time. <b>Alien</b> remains, to this day, one of the best horror movies ever made. And my unconditional appraisal of it as such, is largely because of how incredible Giger's designs were. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>H.R Giger will be missed. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gAFl6IGBz2o/U3KKPnwbfzI/AAAAAAAACXg/nPP877OO6uA/s1600/prometheus2_2234185b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gAFl6IGBz2o/U3KKPnwbfzI/AAAAAAAACXg/nPP877OO6uA/s1600/prometheus2_2234185b.jpg" height="248" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-4003443340651311502014-04-29T16:24:00.002-05:002014-04-30T16:01:05.644-05:00Project Spooky Door - Week TwoI came in on Monday, and someone had removed last week's Spooky Door sign.<br />
<br />
It's really early in the game, and I've already made an enemy!<br />
<br />
I'm used to that, though. Someone's got to be the good guy, the Dudley Do-Right, the hero… and someone's got to be the villain, the bad guy.<br />
<br />
For the record, I'm the bad guy here. I wanted to be clear about that.<br />
<br />
So, like Moriarty and Holmes, our battle of wills has begun. I'll warn you though, faceless do-gooder, you have underestimated your opponent. As your newfound nemesis, you'll find yourself unworthy of my evil -- due to your undoubtedly limited intellect, creativity, and laziness. So it has begun, so shall it end… in your grisly, painful death!<br />
<br />
Anyway, melodramatics aside, Week Two of the Spooky Door project finds us giving into my own proclivities. There's not REALLY a Death Ray in the electrical room with the scary sign. If someone, say an undead evil genius who's name rhymes with… I don't know… Moctor Crombie? Anyway, if this mad scientist had himself a really real Death Ra, he most definitely wouldn't store it at work.<br />
<br />
It'd be stored deep in his underground… well, never mind where he'd store it. The point is, as far as I know, there really may be one in there. Hence the need for PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.<br />
<br />
So, this weeks sign…<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hklkPJ3KPrQ/U2AWvy6krOI/AAAAAAAACWc/Bz-CcUtdkCk/s1600/Spooky+Door+Week+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hklkPJ3KPrQ/U2AWvy6krOI/AAAAAAAACWc/Bz-CcUtdkCk/s1600/Spooky+Door+Week+2.jpg" height="320" width="307" /></a></div>
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And a better picture of the bald, evil genius on the sign…</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OHI0LNYcdVw/U2AXWrx5RpI/AAAAAAAACWk/EUevkRcqp9w/s1600/Death+Ray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OHI0LNYcdVw/U2AXWrx5RpI/AAAAAAAACWk/EUevkRcqp9w/s1600/Death+Ray.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
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Should this whole door thing be as funny as I think it is? I think I'm getting way more amusement out of this than I should. Seriously. </div>
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Of course, if you agree that I am, in fact, getting way too much amusement out of something so simple as this, you probably suck. If that's the case, stand still and wait a minute… <b>Imma get mah Deaf Ray and liquimidate you! MUWAHAHAHAHAHA! </b></div>
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-43341373543019721772014-04-28T10:03:00.001-05:002014-04-28T10:03:55.040-05:00Box of Dread - April 2014 - UnboxingSpent a few days camping in the Wayne National Forest this weekend, and came home to find the April 2014 Box of Dread waiting for me.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure how much my regular readers enjoy these unboxing videos, but I do have to say I'm loving the video format of these posts. When I originally envisioned my Doctor Zombie persona, it was within the frame of being a horror TV host. You know, like in the 70's and 80's? A bunch of guys, dressed up like mad scientists who took over the local TV affiliate after the 11 o'clock news on Friday or Saturday night… and made bad jokes and played kick ass horror and monster movies; things like classic Hammer films, or Night of the Living Dead, or classic Universal monsters flicks, or even Grindhouse-style films.<br />
<br />
I could see this becoming a more structured show, and I'm kind of playing with the format with these unboxing videos. Perhaps you're seeing the unnatural mutation of Dr. Zombie's Midnight Theater of Terror?!<br />
<br />
But I digress. Check out the unboxing video and, if you haven't put down the $20 drachma or shekels or whatever to get on the Box of Dread bandwagon… do so now! I LOVE ME SOME BOX OF DREAD!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WZlWIQjjF5E" width="480"></iframe>Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-37716323230436630642014-04-22T20:10:00.000-05:002014-04-23T08:51:53.621-05:00Project Spooky Door - Week OneSo, I work on the third floor of my building here at Evil Corporate World. I have a cool job. I'm an editor and writer for a lot of our internal communications, so it's pretty neat that I get to do what I love and get paid well for it. Of course, that's not to say I wouldn't give my left nut to be a full time fiction writer… but Dr. Z's got to pay the bills because he likes to have a house, a Jeep, and a wife who'll, you know, actually swallow her disgust enough to have sex with me every now and then.<br />
<br />
The thing with working in Evil Corporate World, however, is that one has to find alternative ways to entertain one's self lest said individual becomes dead inside.<br />
<br />
Which brings us to my newest fascination and idiocy at work here.<br />
<br />
You see, there's a door across the way from my office that, according to the tag, says it's an electrical room.<br />
<br />
Makes sense. We have a metric fuckton of computer networks, and the same equivalent electrical needs as an aircraft carrier. Seriously.<br />
<br />
So an electrical room makes sense. I understand the purpose of the room. I grock that there might be phone lines, or network servers, or telecomm junctions… or other fancy techno things that my creative right brain wouldn't understand, or give two steaming monkey shits about.<br />
<br />
Until you see the sign that they just posted on the door a few weeks ago.<br />
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Here's a copy.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nr6vvgukKc/U1bStkDzRlI/AAAAAAAACV4/_GKblDJNpoI/s1600/Spooky+Door+Original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nr6vvgukKc/U1bStkDzRlI/AAAAAAAACV4/_GKblDJNpoI/s1600/Spooky+Door+Original.jpg" height="184" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
What in the holy hell?!? Right?!?<br />
<br />
That sign cracks me up. Suddenly a room that is probable the size of a closet with a shitload of wires and that is only visited a couple times a month by some fat, neck-bearded IT guy has taken on a whole new dimension. Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick… that sign is bat-shit crazy!<br />
<br />
The problem, when presented with a sign of such immense exaggeration is that the creative side of old Dr. Zombie goes into overdrive. I already have trouble NOT slacking and screwing off at work… but the introduction of this weird, alarming, and utterly hyperbolic variable is almost overwhelming to my never dormant sense of laziness. Plus, I'm a writer, and the creative gears are always turning in the vast empty warehouse of my skull. So, I spent several minutes delighting in imagining what might be lurking behind the door, what might ACTUALLY be there, just behind the nondescript yellow door with the klaxon-like, red warning sign. What secrets are hiding there? Is it a CIA safe house? Could it be a portal to another dimension - a portal requiring the added safety of some special portal-proof suit that is inventoried and assigned by Jim… our main facilities guy?<br />
<br />
Because if that's the case, I think they're seriously overestimating Jim's abilities. I've been down to ask Jim things, down to his dank office in the basement of the building. It is small, cramped, and overfilled with boxes and tools. It smells bad because it's right next to the loading dock, and I think that the constant saturation of poor Jim's already taxed brain with the diesel fumes that roll off of the Fed Ex trucks may have caused some serious mental injury. Either way, do we want to trust poor, addled, diesel fuel-goofy Jim to protecting us from whatever it is that sits ominously behind the third floor spooky door? Whatever it is, waiting there ominously, champing at the bit to release it's malevolence upon the world.. because NO ONE HEEDED THE DANGER AND WORE THE PROPER PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT!<br />
<br />
So… what's a poor undead drone to do. Well, let Doctor Zombie tell you, dear reader.<br />
<br />
I am - right now - officially announcing the inception of <b>Project Spooky Door</b>. Or Project Not Doing Any Work.<br />
<br />
Whichever. They both work.<br />
<br />
I spent about 10 minutes making up some signs and have decided to indulge my reckless imaginings and - in so doing - maybe add some levity to the workplace. At the least, one should look at it like it's a piece of performance art.<br />
<br />
I will be updating the sign to the Spooky Door in the hallway on a weekly pass. The sign will hopefully explain what's going on in the room that such strident precautions must be taken.<br />
<br />
I'm curious about two things… first, how long before someone actually catches on and pulls the signs down; and second, who'll actually notice.<br />
<br />
This is how I entertain myself, and hopefully you'll be somewhat entertained as well.<br />
<br />
So, kicking off Project Spooky Door -- here's our first guess at what might actually be behind the door.<br />
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<b>Watch out. They're bite-y and know how to open doors!!!</b></div>
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-61294389156928674322014-03-28T22:28:00.000-05:002014-03-28T22:28:16.067-05:00Box of Dread - March 2014Video blog! I came home to find my monthly mystery box - Box of Dread - waiting for me! <div>
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Check it out! </div>
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Another great month… TOTALLY WORTH THE PRICE! </div>
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Any horror fan would LOVE this! </div>
Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18021827.post-47179783069743825292014-03-25T19:16:00.000-05:002014-03-25T19:16:00.018-05:00A Lamentation and the Origins of a Life-Long Obsession<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, I recently had cause to pull out an old piece I'd written a few years back for a book intro about H.P. Lovecraft. I've been in full-on Lovecraft mode for the last several months because I did an independent study about Lovecraft's development of a unique mythos and its comparison to the classical concept of man's place in the universe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm still trying desperately to get the paper I wrote published, so hopefully you'll be able to read it sometime too. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But, on top of that, I ran a one shot Call of Cthulhu RPG with two friends about a week and a half ago, for the first time in like 10 years! So that's had me thinking about the Old Man from Providence as well. Anyway, back to the article… I pulled the article and cannibalized it because I answered the question on the Lovecraft Ezine forum, <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>"<i>When or how did you discover H.P. Lovecraft?</i>".</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was an interesting question, and one that I've examined before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I mean, obviously I've thought about it. I wrote a fucking article about it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But that also got me thinking about the larger question… why am I the way I am? Or, to put it another way, what is the origin of my unnatural obsession with all things horror and H.P. Lovecraft? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's a good question, a question that goes beyond my weird geekishness. As you can see, I'm moving intellectually and writing-wise into actual, serious literary analysis of weird fiction and - more specifically - the titans who defined the current horror universe. From the Victorians like Stoker, Shelley, or Stevenson; to the weird writers like Lovecraft, Machen, Derleth, or Chambers; or the sublimely American masters of early creepiness like Poe or Hawthorne - I'm reading, analyzing and trying to academically and professionally find the roots of literary horror. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This in no way diminishes my love for all the other tropes and trappings of horror. Horror films, anime, Halloween, visiting the filming sites of classic horror films - my obsession knows no bounds. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So - again - it asks the question… where did all of this madness begin? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It all falls, I believe, on my late Uncle James. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He was only 10 years older than me and, after the death of my grandmother - when I was around 5 or so - he came to live with us. He was 15, a teenager, and cool... and I idolized him. It was through him that I learned to love horror, and - believe it or not - as an obsessed Lovecraft scholar, I didn't come to Lovecraft until I was in high school myself. But that seed was planted many, many years ago by James. His was a hard life. He lost his mother and father at an early age, and never recovered. He was raised for a time by my mother, who was only a few years older. He crawled in a bottle at a young age and never crawled out</span>…<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and that addiction cost him his life at the </span>relatively<span style="font-family: inherit;"> young age of 52. He died alone. </span>His life came to an end sadly.<br />
<br />
But for a time, when he was living with us, he was my favorite uncle and he introduced me to horror movies.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I grew up on a steady diet of horror.
Whether it was movies or books, I can remember always being fascinated by the
darker things in life. My Uncle James introduced me to the Universal monsters on Saturday afternoons, to The
Munsters, and to classic Hammer horror films when I was 4 or 5 years old. His
recent death made me reflect on how integral a part of me this early education
was, and I will always be grateful to him for that. It’s not much of a legacy,
but to me, he was solely responsible for the writer I am today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I grew up in the 70’s, and as a combination
of my Uncle James’ love of horror films and the unique time period it was for
toys, movies, and pop culture -- I was
inundated with horror in all of its incarnations. I'd stay up late on Friday night watching creepy Hammer films, or Classic drive-in horror flicks on our local late night horror host show. Then I'd then wake up late on on the following Saturday morning and eat Count
Chocula and Boo Berry cereal while listening to albums of spooky
tales told by the deep baritone of Boris Karloff. Then I'd watch the Saturday afternoon creature features, Addam's Family reruns, and go to bed under my Frankenstein sheets -- under the watchful eye of of an Aurora Model of Lon Chaney, Jr.'s tragic Wolfman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My fascination with the horrific grew as I
did. I taught myself how to read before I was five (and Sesame Street’s The
Count taught me my earliest arithmetic) and I remember sitting in the back of
the classroom while the rest of my first grade class learned how to read (my
parents wouldn’t let me skip grades). While they were learning that the snake
says, “Sssss…”, I was imagining myself
hiding in the dark of a cave with Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher, hiding from
Injun Joe in the stygian depths. Although Mark Twain hadn’t intended it, he’d
come up with a masterpiece of suspense and horror that resonated with my own
ghoulish proclivities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I remember being 8 or 9 and reading Stephen
King’s ‘<i>Salem’s Lot</i>; and it scared
the crap out of me. I still – to this day – glance at the windows on dark,
stormy nights and shudder as I imagine a soft tapping, or perhaps the quiet <i>skree </i>of a bloody fingernail on it. I’ve
obviously always had a great imagination, but that imagination is a detriment
when you’re in your 40’s and still give yourself the heebee-jeebees imagining
the deathly pallor of the Glick boy outside the bedroom window, asking me -
pleading with me - to let him in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I devoured every book I could. My movie
tastes evolved as I came of age in the golden age of the 80’s slasher flicks
and amidst George Romero’s first holy trilogy of zombie films. I plunged into
the darkness and reveled in it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And yet, against this rich background and
vast horror experience, <i>I had never heard
of H.P. Lovecraft</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At least not until I was freshman in high
school, that is. I was in a health
class, ignoring the teacher and reading Tolkien’s <i>Lord of the Rings</i> for the fourth or fifth time, when the kid in the
desk next to me – his name was Sean -
commented on it. We started up a conversation, and as true geeks and purveyors
of the odd know, we can smell our own. We became fast friends and he invited me
to do something I’d always wanted to do – namely join in one of his and his
friends’ weekly role playing game. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He had a disdain for Dungeons and Dragons,
having long since played and evolved past that. Instead, my book being a clue
to him, he asked me to join him and a few other friends in playing Middle Earth
Role Playing (MERP). Surprisingly, I agreed, despite my usual quietness and
non-social tendencies. I told him I’d always wanted to do it, and was pleased
he’d asked me. The thing is, the more we talked, the more obvious my love for
horror became. After a few days, he made a decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“D.,” he said, “I think you’d totally love
MERP, but there’s something else I think you might like better. There’s a game
out there called <i>Call of Cthulhu</i>
that’s based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft. It’s a horror game and, although
it’s probably not the best game to learn to role play with, I think you’ll
really, really like it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When he saw my quizzical look at the
strange name of Cthulhu and the name of the dark master, Lovecraft, he grew
excited and tried to explain to me the Cthulhu Mythos and Lovecraft’s strange
world. I had no idea what he was talking about, but it intrigued me nonetheless.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
next day he handed me a dog-eared copy of a mass market paperback with the
most disturbing artwork I’d ever seen upon its cover. I held it at arm’s
length, shocked at the images upon it.
There were corpses, spiderwebs, and strange insect-like dog creatures
with clusters of ruby red, murderous, eyes. There were strange men standing
before bloody altars and drawn in such a way as to imply dark human sacrifice
and all manner of debauchery. In other words, it had all the things that still
warm my ghoulish heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I was speechless, and Sean rubbed his large
hands together in delight <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“HP Lovecraft, my
man…” he said with absolute certainty, “Lovecraft is by far the greatest horror
writer of all time. He’s influenced more writers, artists, novels, stories, and
movies than any other writer EVER has. His influence is deeper than Edgar Allan
Poe’s; deeper than Shakespeare’s. I guarantee you you’ll never be the same
after reading Lovecraft. He’ll scare the hell out of you, brother. Seriously.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hyperbole not
withstanding, damn him if he wasn’t right. That night, as I lay in bed reading <i>The Doom That Came to Sarnath</i>, I
experienced true vertiginous terror. Never before had I experienced anything so
horrifying, so gooseflesh-inducing, so mind-numbingly terrifying in all of my
life. I came to realize that Lovecraft had a unique power, the power to see
into the dark, nebulous space between the stars over our heads and in the
shadows that lurk in the darkest corners of our homes and SEE things; things
that no one else can see. He opened my eyes to new horrors – horrors that are
all around us, and I was never the same.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Needless to say, my
first taste of Lovecraft left me hungering for more. I began researching and
studying his work -- to the detriment of my own studies at times. I became
enamored with all things Lovecraftian; and that love of Lovecraft’s wild New
England and the hallowed, brown, ivied walls of Miskatonic University still
call to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That following
weekend, in the midst of a howling, cold, Northern Ohio snowstorm -- I joined
Sean, and two other young men, Jason and Curtis, and we explored for the first
time ancient Arkham. Together, we three plumbed the depths of Lovecraft’s
mythology and, to this day, I look back at those many hours when the four of us sat in
Sean’s attic as some of the best times of my life. That tiny dark room, lit by
candlelight and filled with the quiet, but pervasive, sound of dark, eclectic
background music. I feel a tugging nostalgia when I recall the deep, melodic,
and mesmerizing voice of my friend Jason (our Game Master) as he led us to comb
the Miskatonic Library, or investigate a trapper’s shack in the middle of a
hoary, primeval Massachussetts forest. We played for years afterwards, and
gleefully lost sanity with the role of a die when confronted by one of
Lovecraft’s otherworldly monstrosities. Those afternoons and nights are part of
who I am today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One chance encounter
in high school health class changed my life, and I will always be grateful to
Sean, Curtis, and Jason for making my life better, for introducing me to the
man I consider the master of modern horror -- the man whose tombstone reads,
simply, “I Am Providence.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition to reading
all of Lovecraft’s works, and playing <i>Call
of Cthulhu</i>, we also immersed ourselves in the Brian Yuzna-helmed movies
that make up the best Lovecraft adaptations to date. I still shudder with
delicious pleasure to think of the depravity that is <i>The Reanimator</i>, and cannot look at the actor Jeffrey Combs as
anything but ‘that tow-headed freak, Herbert West’. I still devour Lovecraftian
moves, and hold dear those that truly capture Lovecraft’s vision; movies like <i>Dagon</i>, or The HP Lovecraft Historical
Society’s brilliant silent film, <i>The Call
of Cthulhu</i>. I almost wept when I heard that <i>At the Mountains of Madness</i> was not to be made into a film version
because of the idiocy of Universal Studios suits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And, later, as I
became more literate, it was almost impossible to not see Lovecraft’s sinister
touch in the works of the giants of today’s horror writing world. Brian Keene,
Dean Koontz, Edward Lee, even New England’s other dark son, Stephen King. I
found out many years later that my first of his novels, <i>’Salem’s Lot</i>, was his own attempt at a Lovecraftian tale. Lovecraft
can be found in music as well. From the overt work of Metallica and a myriad of
other heavy metal, industrial, and gothic bands; to the more subtle and
visceral musical scores of Nox Arcanum and Midnight Syndicate. Lovecraft is
everywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Born in Providence,
H.P. Lovecraft himself lived a sad, lonely life. Laboring under a persistently
ill and quiet existence, he found solace in the writing of the type of stories
that had come into vogue in the pages of such classic pulp collections as <i>Weird Tales</i> and <i>Amazing Stories</i>. He was a recluse, but he kept prodigious
correspondence with many of the writers of the time, writers like Robert Bloch
and Robert Howard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We know much of
Lovecraft through these letters, and through the impressive body of his work.
When taken as a whole, we can maybe not forgive his patrician attitude, his
racism, his classism, and the other faults that were a product of his time and
breeding, but we can give them context. Much has been said of his persistent
racism; but now we can look back at the inappropriateness of some of his
portrayals and characters, of his representation of New England locals as
inbred, degenerate inferiors, as a failing that is eclipsed by his writing. His
own somewhat erroneously inflated upper class ideals pale when compared to the
brilliance in his imaginative mythos. He created a new world (two, if you
consider his Dreamlands) that still resonates through the membrane of the
horror genre to this day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He died painfully, but
his legacy is left intact. Lovecraft was the first to imagine a cold, dark universe in which
we’re insignificant insects. He wrote about the darkest fears of man, and the
morphic thread that ties occult, magic, and science into one twisted Gordian
knot. They are not separate; instead they are inextricably linked.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And that is
Lovecraft’s greatest gift to mankind – namely, that WE ARE NOT ALONE. There are
things that science, and the occult, and the human mind can’t explain. He is
the progenitor of the horror concept that we are not – nor have we ever been -
in control. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And we’re all the more
terrified at the thought of that than anything else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For me, that history -- those throbbing, alien roots of cosmic horror -- inundated all that came after it. The movies, the music, the literature, they all owe a debt to Lovecraft and the others. And it is through my late Uncle James, and the horror movies and books he introduced me to, that I learned my love for them and came to appreciate them. It comes full circle. </span></div>
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<br />Dr. Zombiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03525449619889098723noreply@blogger.com0