Without question, tonight’s DESTINATION AMERICA live exorcism was the biggest bore and waste of time I have ever sat through.. pitiful.. poor.. awful..
There is something really creepy about songs from 1915 around Halloween.. especially when you really, really listen to the words of GASLINE GUS AND HIT JITNEY BUS..
This could be the beginning of everything strange and bizarre, wonderful and amazing. From the NEW SCIENTIST report,
THE curtain at the edge of the universe may be rippling, hinting that there’s more backstage. Data from the European Space Agency’s Planck telescope could be giving us our first glimpse of another universe, with different physics, bumping up against our own.
That’s the tentative conclusion of an analysis by Ranga-Ram Chary, a researcher at Planck’s US data centre in California. Armed with Planck’s painstaking map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) – light lingering from the hot, soupy state of the early universe – Chary revealed an eerie glow that could be due to matter from aneighbouring universe leaking into ours.
This sort of collision should be possible, according to modern cosmological theories that suggest the universe we see is just one bubble among many. Such a multiverse may be a consequence of cosmic inflation, the widely accepted idea that the early universe expanded exponentially in the slimmest fraction of a second after the big bang.
Read on if you comprehend..
Some people I speak to about these subjects, particularly those who don’t take well to science ruining certain religious principles they have grown up with, hate the concept of multiple universes. But regardless of our acceptance or not, certain truths still exist.
There have long been many people who have believed in such things. And these strange and spooky things…? Well they come closer to being true..
Some are opposed… others are non-believers. Regardless, the live television exorcism set to premiere tonight–Halloween Eve 2015–is making a number of headlines.
in an article about the DESTINATION AMERICA live show..
Emily Yahr wrote,
All reality TV producers have to prepare for worst-case scenarios when they air a live event. Jodi Tovay’s worries are a bit more unusual, because she is sending paranormal investigators into a house they believe is infested with demonic spirits.
“The worst-case scenario is that one of these entities will attach to someone,” Tovay said. “It is dangerous.”
Luckily, Tovay says, the physical symptoms are usually obvious when an evil spirit attaches itself to a person: nausea, scratches, superhuman strength. A team of paramedics will be on standby, as will police. She’s ready.
But if you believe that exorcism is real, that demons are not just imaginary devils of our wild antiquated religious imagination, then how can anyone be ready? How could one prepare for the battle against evil. All while the rest of the world watches..
More from the POST report,
Welcome to “Exorcism: Live!” airing at 9 p.m. Friday on Destination America, a cable channel owned by Discovery Communications. The two-hour telecast tasks a clergyman, a psychic and the team from the network’s “Ghost Asylum” series to go into the spooky suburban St. Louis home that inspired “The Exorcist” book and movie. Ghost hunters insist that the house is filled with a dark, sinister energy, and “Exorcism: Live!” is determined to cleanse it.
prepares witnesses to the live event for the story.
Maryland’s famed Roland Doe–the subject of reality who was played by the fictional Linda Blair’s Reagan in THE EXORCIST horror movie–traveled back and forth between the state and St. Louis in the 1940s. The house Doe stayed at in Missouri is the house where Destination America will attempt to propel out demons tonight. Even more, Doe underwent an exorcism on the second floor of the home. The rumor, the legend, the story: The house has been possessed every since then by an evil entity..
The Washington POST story points out something that many have thought of–and something Destination America has bragging rights about:
The most thrilling aspect for Tovay is that this will be live. No one can accuse them of manipulating anything, she said — a criticism often leveled at paranormal shows.
“We can’t fake it on live TV. We can’t fake evidence or pump in sound effects. The drama is unfolding right in front of you,” Tovay said.
But what about the people (okay, lots of people) who believe that this is all completely made up? Long, the clergy member who will accompany the group, is used to that. He just doesn’t have time to worry about it anymore.
“I’m not here to prove that demons exist. I am here to help families who know they do,” Long said.
Peeking into the hallways and lighted home, it’s actually remarkably lovely.. Even the aged basement and attic are both well maintained. A visual peer would prove no spirits, no devils, and no darkness besides the normal shadows that would accompany any sundown. The exact opposite of what we are being told by psychics and priests, ghost hunters and television executives.
But some are not so kind.
Pre-reviews are coming in. Without the event able to have taken place yet, we are relying on the mystery that will unfold. VARIETY for one is not impressed..
Discovery group president Henry Schleiff, who counts Destination America among the networks he oversees, along with the higher-profile Investigation Discovery, has a bit of P.T. Barnum in him, but he’s much too polite to ever suggest that those people tuning in expecting to see glasses fly around the room might be suckers.
As for the likelihood that “Exorcism Live!” will deliver anything dramatic enough to require steam-cleaning the carpet, he says, “I don’t think we will have Geraldo Rivera and the empty vaults,” referring to the much lampooned but highly rated 1986 special devoted to opening Al Capone’s “secret” vault, which spurred a wave of copycats before the trend cooled. “The people we’re working with really believe in this,” Schleiff adds, noting that much of the public does as well.
Not kind words. There are equally unkind words from other pundits in the online peanut gallery.
The truth is, we don’t know what will happen until tonight. If producers are planning up some trick to ensure we get our money’s worth, then it’s yet to be seen.. Or on the other hand, if reality will prevail and either nothing at all (if that’s your reality) or something strange (if that’s your reality) then we will have something to talk about on Halloween morning.
And if nothing else, Destination America has already won. The buildup has been spectacular–almost a year long, I heard about this first months ago back in the spring time warmth, long before the leaves changed to their vibrant colors of death. The network has conjured up attention from mainstays of media and alternate sources as well. They won. Even if they don’t conjure demons or ghouls..
“Earlier this month, an object called WT1190F was spotted on a trajectory that will bring it right to Earth. It came here from far beyond the moon, and its hollow nature and cylindrical shape suggest that it’s not an asteroid of meteorite, but human-made. It won’t cause any major problems on the ground, but there’s still something troubling: Astronomers don’t know what the heck it is, or why it’s only now coming up on their radar. ”
But it is almost certainly human made .. Maybe a remnant of an old rocket or the Apollo missions. And soon it will hit the planet earth..
“Earlier this month, an object called WT1190F was spotted on a trajectory that will bring it right to Earth. It came here from far beyond the moon, and its hollow nature and cylindrical shape suggest that it’s not an asteroid of meteorite, but human-made. It won’t cause any major problems on the ground, but there’s still something troubling: Astronomers don’t know what the heck it is, or why it’s only now coming up on their radar. ”
But it is almost certainly human made .. Maybe a remnant of an old rocket or the Apollo missions. And soon it will hit the planet earth..
This article details the apparent lack of interest in Hollywood horror. The article is right.. The newest PARANORMAL ACTIVITY flick is a sure sign of the big budget failures..
But there’s hope. And it’s not Hollywood. Independent horror makers (and all genres for that matter) are sorting things out and spicing things up far stronger than the known actors guild and pious studios ..
There’s hope. Just look beyond what’s spoon fed and find your own meal..
From the AP: Witnesses reported seeing the blimp drifting between Jerseytown and Turbotville, a sparsely area north of Harrisburg. Its tether was snapping power lines. The local electric utility, PPL, reported about 20,000 customers without power in the area, although it was unclear how many could be attributed to the blimp. Bloomsburg University canceled classes, citing a “widespread power outage.”
More.. The Pentagon says that the blimp is now descending..
The blimp on the run is now attacking by nature.. It’s not harmlessly drifting but instead, according to the reports like this one above, causing power outages..
F16s are tailing it, we are told.. Tether on the run. Blimp on the sky.. Runaway blimp never coming back
<b>Filmed in Cato bar in Singapore’s Chinatown district, the vision depicts three men sitting inside the venue when a bar stool begins to wobble back and forth. The CCTV switches to another angle, which shows the stool rocking about more forcefully until it eventually topples over, startling the men who rush over to inspect it. But the scene turns truly spine-tingling when a tiny white ghost-like figure appears to emerge from the back of the bar, scampering quickly past them.</b>
<b>Filmed in Cato bar in Singapore’s Chinatown district, the vision depicts three men sitting inside the venue when a bar stool begins to wobble back and forth. The CCTV switches to another angle, which shows the stool rocking about more forcefully until it eventually topples over, startling the men who rush over to inspect it. But the scene turns truly spine-tingling when a tiny white ghost-like figure appears to emerge from the back of the bar, scampering quickly past them.</b>
<b>Filmed in Cato bar in Singapore’s Chinatown district, the vision depicts three men sitting inside the venue when a bar stool begins to wobble back and forth. The CCTV switches to another angle, which shows the stool rocking about more forcefully until it eventually topples over, startling the men who rush over to inspect it. But the scene turns truly spine-tingling when a tiny white ghost-like figure appears to emerge from the back of the bar, scampering quickly past them.</b>
First meat and cancer.. Hot dogs and human DNA.. And. Now the sacred cow and holy grail of Halloween buckets across the world: Sugary candy..
From TIME: “ But proving that the rise of the chronic diseases was actually linked to higher sugar consumption is a challenge. Dr. Robert Lustig, from the department of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, who has made a name for himself publishing books and research addressing the question of sugar’s effects on the body, wanted clearer answers. Now, in a paper published Tuesday, he and his colleagues believe they have come up with the definitive evidence that sugar, as Lustig says, “is toxic.” ”
Of course this isn’t the first time sugar has made the don’t eat list.. Katie Couric gave us a sugar free challenge a year ago.
But this week the war on food, or at least food-lite, is evident..
“It’s a lost piece of space history that’s come back to haunt us,” Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told Nature.
Detected by the Catalina Sky Survey, an observation lab at the University of Tucson, the alleged piece of space debris initially puzzled observers. But astronomers then went back through the lab’s past images from telescopes, and noticed that it had been present for quite a while.
BUT WHAT!
What could it be?
November 13.. some lucky or unlucky water (not land) will find out near the coast of Sri Lanka..
And now the late night fringe is coming closer to George Noory’s COAST TO COAST AM empire.. the same city that now houses the Coast, the post-Bell edition, is going to be joined by Bell himself..
MORE..
From Art Bell: MIDNIGHT IN THE DESERT IS PROUD TO ADD KABC RADIO IN LOS ANGELES STARTING MONDAY NIGHT! THEY ARE AVAILABLE ON XDS ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.
And LA is among those now served..
All beginning Monday October 26, 2015. TONIGHT.
THE NIGHT THAT ART BELL TAKES BACK THE CITY OF ANGELS, OFF THE PACIFIC..
A WHO report is going to label certain processed meats to be as bad as smoking..
The food industry is fighting back early.
While industry groups are preparing for a damaging blow to consumer confidence as a result, The North American Meat Institute (Nami) has accused the IARC of “dramatic and alarmist over-reach,” CNBC reported.
Nami president Barry Carpenter said: “Red and processed meats are among 940 substances reviewed by IARC found to pose some level of theoretical ‘hazard’.
“Only one substance, a chemical in yoga pants, has been declared by IARC not to cause cancer,” he claimed.
You are what you eat. Perhaps to the extreme in the case of hot dogs..
MORE:
Clear Foods, which “uses genomic technology to analyze the world’s foods at a molecular level, ingredient by ingredient,” released a report recently that it said was designed to look at the accuracy of the content labels of several major hot dog brands.A new report, however, adds extra meaning to the phrase “you don’t want to know how the sausage gets made.”
The company analyzed 345 hot dog and sausage products from 75 brands and 10 retailers, and said they found “human DNA in 2% of the samples, and in 2/3rds of the vegetarian samples.”
Additionally, 10 percent of all vegetarian products appeared to contain meat.
Despite some of the shocking findings, Clear Foods reports “there are a number of hot dog manufacturers, large and small, that are producing high-quality hot dogs with integrity.”
Butterball, McCormick, Eckrich and Hebrew National were among the major brands that received top scores from Clear Foods. Gardein was the top specialty or regional brand.
That’s fine. They can produce the higher quality.
You know.. I think I will just continue by 20-year-tradition (I admit I ate them during the early years) and avoid this ‘food.’ And also reinforce my son’s 4 and a half year tradition of not eating them as well.
Human DNA, eh?
Nice.
People wish they could be Oscar Meier wieners, I guess somehow we got the chance.
Battling howling winds, driving rain and icy temperatures, thousands of migrants today marched into Slovenia.
Photographed from above, the refugees formed a single column as they crossed into the country from Croatia.
It comes as Slovenia’s Prime Minister warns the EU will break up if leaders cannot agree on how to deal with crisis.
MORE..
Nine days after Hungary’s move to seal its southern border drove unprecedented migrant flows into tiny Slovenia, Prime Minister Miro Cerar sent out a dramatic call to fellow central and eastern leaders in Brussels for emergency talks.He said: ‘If we don’t find a solution today, if we don’t do everything we can today, then it is the end of the European Union as such. If we don’t deliver concrete action, I believe Europe will start falling apart.'Since October 17, more than 62,000 migrants have arrived in Slovenia, with some 14,000 still passing through the country on today alone. Cerar said Croatia, which has already seen some 230,000 migrants pass through since mid-September, was still waiving migrants through into Slovenia without alerting Slovenia authorities.
Nbc news reporting in full:
KABUL — A magnitude-7.5 earthquake hit northeastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least 72 people there and in neighboring Pakistan.
“More [deaths] are expected,” the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Pervez Khattak told state TV about three hours after the incident. At least 48 deaths were confirmed there, along with 554 injuries.
The victims also included around 12 girls who died while trying to flee their school in Afghanistan, a official told NBC News. Some of them were crushed in a stampede. Twelve more deaths were confirmed throughout the country.
No better time than Halloween week to visit the ‘island of misfit dolls’
It’s a real place in Mexico that lots of people every year seek out. I would imagine being there during the creepy week we’re in would be among the best times to acquaint yourselves with the statues of strangeness..
The story of the island:
A half century ago, a little girl drowned off a small island hidden deep among the canals of Xochimico. The island’s only permanent inhabitant was a hermit named Don Julián Santana Barrera, who despite having a wife and family, chose to live alone on the island. Soon after the girl’s death Barrera fished out one doll after another from the canals. Convinced that this was a sign from the evil spirit, Don Julian Santana began hanging them on trees to protect himself from evil and calm the spirit of the dead girl. Soon Don Julián had made the entire island into a shrine.
Santana did not clean up the dolls or attempt to fix them, but rather put them up with missing eyes and limbs, covered in dirt. Even when dolls arrived in good shape, the wind and weather naturally decomposed them over time creating a gallery of eerie and ghoulish faces. Don Julian Santana lived on the island for 50 years before his death in 2001. He was found drowned in the same area in which he believed the little girl had died.
And the creation still exists.
Sun-damaged and all.. Creepy dolls across the land.
An artist in Ukraine uses the placeholder the statue of Lenin used to be on to showcase Darth Vader..
The point: In April, Ukraine ordered all Soviet era statues and ‘stuff’ to be destroyed or removed. Or both.
Oleksandr Milov, the sculptor of the new statue, said this to the AFP news agency:
“Honestly, I did not like the idea of destroying it, so we decided on a more flexible solution,” he said, adding that they were planning to install a Wi-fi router on the statue’s head so that he can “communicate with the other Siths.”
“The main candidate of the Internet Party of Ukraine, named after the legendary Star Wars villain Darth Vader, is campaigning in Odessa, cruising through the town on a black van to the sound of the Imperial March from the saga. The Sith Lord often seen flanked by his loyal storm troopers and Chewbacca is the official candidate of the party which has become known for its theatrical public stunts.Vader and storm troopers were recently seen waving at passers-by from atop the van as flames shot up at the helm of the vehicle. “When I am appointed to my position, I will distribute free accommodation as a first policy,” the man dressed as Darth Vader said.”
Otherwise, check out http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/11b-x-1371, the site I go to when I need to get on top of the current MEMES floating around the net. While there is not much on there I did not know at this point, there certainly is a good bit of information for newcomers to this topic..
One point that is new information for me from only a few days ago:
On October 21st, Twitter user @Exen pointed to the now-abandoned Zofiowka Sanitarium near Otwock, Poland as the location where the video was filmed.
Debate continues.. what is the video? A threat? a test? a terrorist? or a movie/game ad?
Time will tell..
Maybe depending on what the conclusion it, we don’t want to know.
The week before Halloween, and all through the box, not a horror flick was stirring, and it took a knock.
The makers of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 238947, or whatever one we’re on now, had some high expectations. Those hopes fell flat after real box office numbers potentially showed Paramount/Blumhouse that it could very well be time to move on in horror.. The full weekend take for the GHOST DIMENSION could be around $6-7 mil–rough when the studios were publicly saying $12 mil with private hopes of more.
The STEVE JOBS biopic also seems to be flopping..
ROCK THE KASBAH never took off.
But what did take off for weeks: THE MARTIAN, a clear dominant factor in this seasonal box office and potentially one of the best films (if not the best) of the year, according to many people.
As usual, I am late for the party. I did not see the MARTIAN yet, but plan to today .. if that doesn’t work out, I will simply take a day off of work and see if alone! Not only do I want to, but I got extremely excited when Art Bell said that they chose to use his bumper music in the soundtrack.. Picture an astronaut stuck on Mars with ABBA’s WATERLOO playing? That is excitement only a theater can provide..
And you thought CENTRALIA was a big story!? That town only had a little around 2,000 people when the government forced all to move because of an underground mine fire–mine included.
And with the personal history I can pen about a town on fire, it’s with particular interest that I read this story from the LATIMES written by Matt Pearce..
Giving all credit to Pearce for his words describing the troubling situation, this:
A fire is smoldering beneath a landfill in a densely populated suburb of St. Louis — and it has been there for five years.
Underground landfill fires, or “smoldering events” as some officials call them, aren’t rare. What makes the fire at the landfill in Bridgeton, Mo., so unusual is that it’s less than a quarter of a mile from a large deposit of nuclear waste — with no barrier in its way.
The radioactive legacy of St. Louis’ role in the World War II atomic weapons program has unleashed Cold War-style nuclear paranoia in the area, as some residents debate what kind of gas masks to buy or whether to move away.
When you read more on the subject, you realize that state, local, and federal officials are not in agreement whatsoever about what type of threat this would hold for St. Louis and if it even poses a threat at all.. Sort of like Centralia’s story, scientists and residents are arguing over whether the underground fire is even moving..
More from Pearce:
Even if the underground fire eventually burns out without any problems, the radioactive dump could cause trouble, according to Ed Smith, the safe-energy director for the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.
“Either the government puts together a plan for the removal of the radioactive material in a way that is done as safely as possible,” Smith said, “or at some point in the future, I can say with some confidence that a flood, fire, earthquake, tornado, what have you, is going to move this radioactive material and other contaminants at the landfill in a way we cannot control.”
I am not an expert. Never claimed to be. But I will say this: The fire will not burn out. History of underground fires sort of showcase that.
And this fire, so close to radioactive materials, needs broad attention in a quick manner.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Lawn chairs, blankets and water bottles were strewn in the street and bodies remained at the scene as Oklahoma State University fans walked past an intersection where a woman had plowed her car into a homecoming parade crowd hours earlier and killed four people.
Some lingered Saturday to look at the aftermath that also included a gray car with a smashed side and shattered windshield, and a crumpled motorcycle. Dozens more were injured in the collision that sent some spectators flying through the air.
The driver is suspected of being under the influence, and investigators were awaiting results of blood tests to determine if she was impaired by drugs or alcohol.
And this:
Three adults died at the scene and a 2-year-old boy died later, Stillwater police Capt. Kyle Gibbs said. He said 44 people were injured.
Adacia Chambers, a 25-year-old Stillwater resident, was arrested on the DUI charge after the morning crash
x x x
Not to take anything away from the victims of this tragedy, but I remember one that was narrowly averted when I was a younger child.. Around the age of 8 or 9, I remember being at the Ashland PA ‘ABA parade’ on a cool September night, standing at the top of town in rows of people near the May’s Restaurant. I have a vivid memory of a car going too fast in the parade–it was actually one of the cars IN the parade.. the car was coming straight for the crowd that I was standing in but made a sharp turn to the right at the last minute.. It was later found out that the man driving the car had a heart attack and someone who was a passenger took over at exactly the right moment. So right that if it did not occur, I may not have been typing this blog post right now..
I can only imagine the suffering that these families are going through–especially when a 2-year-old passes away from the moronic choice a drunk driver made by getting into a car and plowing into a crowd of people. It’s disgusting..
May the collective consciousnesses of all who are thinking or praying for them shine on them.
Actress Maureen O’Hara dead at 95..
xxx
She appeared in five of director John Ford’s films including How Green Was My Valley, Rio Grande and The Quiet Man, has died. Awarded an honorary Oscar last year, O’Hara was 95 and died at her home in Boise, Idaho
More from her movie past:
She appeared opposite John Wayne in the aforementioned Ford pictures Rio Grande and The Quiet Man (Steven Spielberg replicated their famous kiss in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial ) as well as The Wings of Eagles, McLintock! and Big Jake. She also starred in the original 1947 Christmas classic Miracle On 34th Street
Although several of the movies O’Hara starred in were nominated for or won multiple Academy Awards, she was never nominated. The Academy rectified that oversight with the honorary Oscar presented to her at the 2014 Governors Awards ceremony in November. She made her final major public appearance then to accept the long overdue honor. It was a night to remember.
The 40-second cellphone video, released Thursday by the Nevada Department of Public Safety two days after the Las Vegas Review-Journal had requested it, was taken from a berm atop Trench No. 11 overlooking the soil cap of Trench No. 14.
Trench No. 14 is where containers of low-level radioactive waste were buried in part of a pit the size of a football stadium in the 1970s.
Think about this for a second before reading on..
And now some more words from Rogers’ excellent newspaper reporting on the subject:
State Fire Marshal Chief Peter Mulvihill said Tuesday investigators don’t know yet what caused the “energetic burning” in that pit Sunday but whatever caught fire below the surface of the unlined, clay terrain “definitely burned very hot.”
The state’s public safety team decided to allow the fire to burn itself out instead of trying to douse it because they didn’t want to put water on any material that might be reactive to water, fearing that could potentially exacerbate the problem.
But as usual.. Nothing to see here. Go about your business. IT’s all under control.
Of course it wasn’t going to be released until an information request from a newspaper made it happen.
As being reported in several publications including the linked USA TODAY story:
A Pleasant Valley man has been accused of strangling his mother, and then keeping her remains in a Pleasant Valley motel for seven weeks before moving her body to a small town in South Carolina.
The gruesome details came to light during a state police press conference Saturday at the Troop K headquarters in Millbrook.
Police are alleging that the crime occurred on August 16..
“I find it hard to imagine,” state police Capt. John Ryan said, “the circumstances that would lead a son to strangle his mother, but also to live with the body in a motel room and then travel several states away and dump her like trash.”
More .. Earth may be in great danger as the sun’s path through the galaxy sends comet flying towards our planet, scientists have warned. Researchers have identified a 26 million-year cycle of meteor impacts that coincides with the timing of mass extinctions over the past 260 million years.
There is a close shave on Halloween set by an asteroid .. And now days before that hopeful non event, this news about how eventually a comet accident could kill us all..
“I think if she killed someone, I would literally be like, ‘I got it, where do you want me to help you bury the body?’ ” the actress says. “I wouldn’t even question it, and I can’t say that about anybody else in my life.”
And there you get the headline.. reported over and over again by entertainment rags that proclaim journalistic integrity.
That is my problem with these types of publications. It would go without saying..
Lay off Kunis.
She’s a mom and the voice of Meg.
And I don’t think she deserves headlines in NEW YORK MAGAZINE proclaiming:
The same thing that has always been wrong, I would say. As said before, horror is an elementary education of the pop culture of the time. The fears presented in horror are the fears of the age they appear it. When a movie comes a little too early, or a little too late, they flop. You have to strike while the iron is hot. UNFRIENDED would not work two years from now. It works now. BLAIR WITCH worked when it did, and began a series of unfortunate “found” stories..all of which are becoming quickly hackneyed under the weight of time.
The SAW films? Enough already.. ROB ZOMBIE? I never could stomach it.. REMAKES? I never appreciated them to begin with.
The website BLOODY-DISGUSTING’S Brad Miska wrote up a story about what is wrong with the genre.. a few valid points presented:
For me, the biggest thing he nails is that modern horror is littered with fake jump-scares. I often cite the use of authentic scares in reviews of films I love – most notably ones directed by James Wan (Insidious, The Conjuring). Many studio films fatigue the audience with bullshit jump-scares that utilize loud sound design to make the audience jolt out of their seat. They aren’t being scared, they’re being yelled at. That’s not horror. He relates it to having sex – films are blowing their load and releasing tension too early, leaving the film’s climax to have little to no effect.
Graphic description .. but I see the point. Horror is slow and methodical.. it brings you to a point where you realize the conclusion is awfully scary.. Deep and disturbing .. that was the success of this autumn’s M NIGHT film THE VISIT. It took a while. You got to enjoy it.. and you got surprised at the end.
Lastly, he [
Chris Stuckmann] points to expectations vs reality as a major issue. Marketing of The Village is his prime example, in which he points out that even M. Night Shyamalan regrets the false advertising. Studios need to get asses in the seats and will do so by any means necessary (For example, much of the footage in The Gallows trailers and TV spots weren’t actually in the movie).
I agree.. Another good example of advertising to seduce is this past week’s failure CRIMSON PEAK. It was a romance horror.. And it failed, because as people found out it was not the ‘scariest movie of the year’ that was promised, they shunned like an Amish sinner in Lancaster county.
Fans vote with wallets, for sure. But sadly they vote for what is heaped on them by studios that just want quick bucks off of horror flicks.
A few horrors that were good, and not because of profit, exist in the past few years.. THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT, IT FOLLOWS, and the BABADOOK.
You can find a lot more gems on Netflix. Lower budget gems. I talk about them often on this website. And you should search them out as well..
Rummage through the pile of studio-produced garbage and find the things that matter.. the prizes in the puzzle of horror.
There are truly really scary things out there. Sadly in the way we’re given films, you have to search them out yourself. They certainly will not be handed to you.
I would love to hear feedback.
What do you, reader, say is good and bad about modern horror?
THE HALLOWEEN LEGEND: THE STORY OF STINGY JACK
We are days away from my favorite day of the year, Halloween.. the history and amazing aura of culture that has been passed down through the ages leading to Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve, or Hallo’ween is amazing. You can pick your name. Some would say you’re picking a poison. I say you’re taking part in a celebration and festival that dates back centuries.. The Celts. The Romans.. Bobbing for apples even has a history. The skimpy sexy outfits of today’s Halloween look different than what was done prior .. but that’s just the natural pop culture evolution of a populace.
But pumpkins.. Now that is one interesting topic.
I told a few folk this week of where Jack O Lanterns actually came from. They looked at my like I was crazy–literally. They rolled their eyes, raised their brows, and dismissed my brief history lesson about the origins of one of the coolest Halloween traditions that humans still keep.
With that said, here is the legend of Stingy Jack..
Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who loved playing tricks on anyone and everyone. One dark, Halloween night, Jack ran into the Devil himself in a local public house. Jack tricked the Devil by offering his soul in exchange for one last drink. The Devil quickly turned himself into a sixpence to pay the bartender, but Jack immediately snatched the coin and deposited it into his pocket, next to a silver cross that he was carrying. Thus, the Devil could not change himself back and Jack refused to allow the Devil to go free until the Devil had promised not to claim Jack’s soul for ten years.
The Devil agreed, and ten years later Jack again came across the Devil while out walking on a country road. The Devil tried collecting what he was due, but Jack thinking quickly, said, “I’ll go, but before I do, will you get me an apple from that tree?”
The Devil, thinking he had nothing to lose, jumped up into the tree to retrieve an apple. As soon as he did, Jack placed crosses all around the trunk of the tree, thus trapping the Devil once again. This time, Jack made the Devil promise that he would not take his soul when he finally died. Seeing no way around his predicament, the Devil grudgingly agreed.
When Stingy Jack eventually passed away several years later, he went to the Gates of Heaven, but was refused entrance because of his life of drinking and because he had been so tight-fisted and deceitful. So, Jack then went down to Hell to see the Devil and find out whether it were possible to gain entrance into the depths of Hell, but the Devil kept the promise that had been made to Jack years earlier, and would not let him enter.
“But where can I go?” asked Jack.
“Back to where you came from!” replied the Devil.
The way back was windy and very dark. Stingy Jack pleaded with the Devil to at least provide him with a light to help find his way. The Devil, as a final gesture, tossed Jack an ember straight from the fires of Hell. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed-out turnip…one of Jack’s favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. From that day forward, Stingy Jack has been doomed to roam the earth without a resting place and with only his lit turnip to light the way in the darkness.
And now you know.
The pumpkin you carve has a brilliant history .. filled with paranormal tales of long, long ago.
For those who fear the mystery and ghoulish days to come before HALLOWEEN, you may not want to let your guard down. Halloween begins it all. And the paranormal tales and ghost stories will continue all the way through Christmas–perhaps one of the most paranormal holidays of all..
It wouold appear that despite the fact Patricia was the strongest storm for a time on the planet earth ni history, her devastation may not of been as widespread as some feared..
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Reporting from USA TODAY:
MONTERREY, Mexico — Early reports on the aftermath of Hurricane Patricia — one of the biggest storms to ever make landfall — were cautiously optimistic: No deaths reported and no signs of major damage along Mexico’s Pacific seaboard.
TV stations in Mexico broadcast news on Hurricane Patricia throughout the night, showing bright-red satellite images of the monster storm’s landfall on the Pacific Coast and its slow trudge northeast and interviews with residents and officials near the impacted area.
Landslides and flash floods were reported, but the mass evacuations that occurred prior to the hurricane’s landing appeared to have worked in saving lives. There were no deaths initially reported or major infrastructure damage, according to early TV reports. Residents from Colima to Puerto Vallarta heeded the warnings and evacuated out of dangerous areas or stayed indoors.
Whatever they did worked well. It would seem.
And whatever storm punch that was packed appears not to have been as deadly as feared. As quickly as the storm strengthened, it just as rapidly decreased in intensity.
It will now, however, be a dramatic rain storm for Texas..
It will not be razor blades in apples–kids don’t eat them anymore.. not it’s ecstasy in the candy..
From CBS NEWS:
Parents across the country may have been spooked by warnings spread through social media in recent days, raising fears that Ecstasy tablets could be mistaken for brightly colored Halloween candy – potentially putting children at risk.
Police in Jackson, Mississippi, posted about it on their Facebook page, and the warning went viral.
“If your kids get these for Halloween candy, they ARE NOT CANDY,” the post said. “They are the new shapes of Ecstasy and can kill kids through overdoses!!!”
But don’t panic.
This is yet another baseless fear for Halloween–one spread by rumor and now helped by social networking.
It twas always thus and always thus shall be.
I can see the scares of the future: There may be nanotechnology in your Butterfinger.
This from the AP: The National Hurricane Center in Miami says that Patricia continues to be the strongest eastern north Pacific hurricane on record and is heading toward a “potentially catastrophic landfall” in southwestern Mexico later Friday.
The storm is going to be devastating.. Historic.. Dramatic. And as these events would go, deadly.
240+mph gusts. Over a foot of rain. And so many in the impact zone..
The VHS Vault is an ode to ‘80s and '90s reverie, from the Reagan-era, scare-inciting titles it proffers (Day of the Dead, Adjust Your Tracking, Night of the Demons and more) to the site itself, designed as if it’s straight from 1998, complete with a traffic counter, low pixel GIFs and the quintessential Dancing Baby.
I had those nights in high school–as VHS became DVDs but still not streamed.. we popped movies in. Had popcorn, or soda, or pizza.. and laughed often times until sunrise. Horror movies all night. Bad horror movies.. complete with MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER style sarcasm from friends and me as well.
I know there is always a melancholy attempt to bring back nostalgia. But nothing will ever be like those summer nights of horror again. HALLOWEEN 3 and CARNIVAL OF SOULS.. they are two movies I can’t watch again. I want to keep them in the past, on one of those magical nights, and let them sit in memory. In posterity. In nostalgia.
I applaud anyone attempting to bring back the VHS ‘vault.’ But it’s just not going to be the same..
I have heard some good things about THE FINAL GIRLS..
The film is a horror comedy, a slasher with laughs.. It’s directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller. The film stars Taissa Farmigaand Malin Åkerman in the two leading roles, with supporting performances from Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, Alexander Ludwig, Nina Dobrev, Chloe Bridges, andAngela Trimbur. The film follows Max, a young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, who finds herself and friends pulled into the world of her mom’s most famous movie Camp Bloodbath. Reunited, the women and others must fight off the film’s maniacal killer.
It received a March 2015 film festival premiere and had a limited release on October 9 in the United States..
The film is even getting attention from the NEW YORK TIMES, showcasing some of the most important ‘final girls’ ever in horror, such as Jamie Lee Curtis in HALLOWEEN and Amy Steel in FRIDAY THE 13TH part 2
The TIMES also writes,
A game changer arrived in 1996, when the winking “Scream” featured an in-control final girl who knew what a final girl was. Time travel in the new film “The Final Girls” introduces two fresh twists: mother-daughter final girls and a tear-jerker ending.
At first, Bush, struggled to come up with an answer, but he quickly found his answer.
“I saw that ‘Supergirl’ is on TV,” he said. “I saw it when I was working out this morning. There’s an ad promoting 'Supergirl.’ She looked kind of — she looked pretty hot.”
The safest answer would have been by saying “I am a DC Comics fan.” Instead Bush took the other route.
He needs to learn that the only candidate capable of being able to say such things in Donald Trump..
[gallery]
Hurricane Patricia in new images ..
One of the hurricane itself and he other of a forecaster I follow from Accuweather, Henry Margusity, on how just how dramatic this storm is.. 200 mph winds. Over a foot of rain. Gusts to 245mph
We are about to see weather history and, that my friends, is always scary
YouTube made its top video creators an offer they literally couldn’t refuse, or they’d have their content disappear. Today YouTube confirmed that any “partner” creator who earns a cut of ad revenue but doesn’t agree to sign its revenue share deal for its new YouTube Red $9.99 ad-free subscription will have their videos hidden from public view on both the ad-supported and ad-free tiers. That includes videos by popular comedians, musicians, game commentators, and DIY instructors, though not the average person that uploads clips.
It’s a tough pill to swallow that makes YouTube look like a bully. Though turning existing fans into paid subscribers instead of free viewers could earn creators more than the ad revenue, forcing them into the deal seems heavy-handed.
This is the amazing part; This storm intensified quick–24 hours to go from a Cat 1 to a Cat 5..
MORE..
The estimated central pressure of Patricia dropped to 880 mb, breaking the record of 894 mb from Hurricane Linda set in 1997. The maximum sustained winds of 200 mph (160 knots) breaks the winds from Linda (185 mph) for the strongest surface winds ever in the eastern Pacific and in the area of responsibility of the National Hurricane Center.
There are high degrees of risks associated with this storm–property and lives are in the eye of the system..
The red area, along with winds, will also see 12 inches of rain or more..
Developing story.. As the storm churns..The eye burns.. and the earth warms.
Days ago, there were global rumors reported in a number of papers that Pope Francis was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor by a Japanese doctor..
X X X
The story got lots of play in both religious based and non religious fishwrappers. Even the Drudge Report picked up the scoop and ran with it, giving it a headline for more than 24 hours on the page.
And now after the tumor turmoil, the Vatican has clearly denied the story..
“I fully confirm my previous statement, having verified the facts with the appropriate sources, including the Holy Father,” said Father Federico Lombardi, director of the press office. “No Japanese doctor has visited the Pope in the Vatican and there have been no examinations of the type indicated in the article.”
In a related development, Dr. Fukushima removed from his own personal web site photos of visits to the Vatican in October 2014 and January 2015. The web site had shown photos of a meeting between the doctor and Pope Francis; those photos appeared to have been retouched. Dr. Fukushima has said that he only met the Pontiff briefly, in the course of a public audience, and never for a medical consultation or treatment.
She noted that “Centralia” will not be a documentary but a story inspired by the town and the people that still live there. The story will be based on the same events that took place over the years, but Averill will add her own elements to the story.
In reality, Centralia currently has around 5 residents, but in the story, Centralia will have roughly 100 residents. Averill wants to portray the current Centralians as heroes who still have hope in saving their town. There will be an element of sadness felt but you will want to be rooting for them to succeed.
Within the timeline of the show, the government is threatening eminent domain to take the town but in the shows timeline, it has not taken it YET. The government’s reason for removing the residence of the town will be for their safety, due to the fire burning below, but the feds will have ulterior motives. The tourism draw of the town will also come into play, where they will have their own walking tour. Graffiti Highway will be included in the show. Averill also said characters will be unaware of the “evil” lurking below.
Even more, according to the interview, Averill has worked on a number of projects in the past. But this, she told the site, is giving her the most widespread attention she has ever received and generated one of the biggest responses..
Yes, indeed.. they are written .. no bad language. One call per show. And no more shooting rounds into his studio during live broadcasts..
Bell clearly believes that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. In the same light, it appears just as evident that he also believes people, with the help of guns, defend people.
Art Bell website back online; police investigation of shooting underway
Art Bell’s website has been down most of the day .(along with Richard Hoagland’s) Adding to he mystery and intrigue regarding the shooting that took place near his facilities during the live broadcast last night .. The site has resumed its presence online ..
Along with its return, an update from the page reported this:
“During Art’s live broadcast of his “Midnight in the Desert” radio program Wednesday night, gun shots rang out in his neighborhood. Police were called to the scene and it was determined that a subject had driven into Art’s neighborhood and fired shots near or at Art’s studio.”
There has yet to be yet to be any announcement or details of the shooter, the investigation, or the potential subject of gun violence last night..
While details are scarce at the hour, the MIDNIGHT IN THE DESERT radio broadcast tonight was frightening, poignant, and edge-of-seat dramatic.
Bell, who normally says that he has ample amounts of protection to keep him and his family in Pahrump safe from intruders and less than good people, was a potential victim tonight of violence during his broadcast!
While some reported hearing gunshots during the show, it is unknown yet as to whether the audio was clear enough to make it out.
At that point, very intense and dramatic broadcasting began..
According to Bell himself, multiple shots were fired around his property while he was on the air this evening.. MORE: According to Bell, his neighbor informed him that the gunfire was happening. Even more, it appears the shots were fired AT one of Art Bell’s buildings..
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Bell left he air multiple times this evening to tend to personal affairs, the motion detectors around his studio were set off..
During the initial moment when Bell said we have a ‘little bit of situation right here,’ he delayed his broadcasting using disco bumper music.. Themla Houston belted out the famed song, ‘don’t leave me this way’ and it seemed somehow extra poignant.. When he came back, he said there were ‘shots fired,’ and Bell speculated that someone driving by potentially drunk did it. Police were on the way. He reported immediately that he and his family were safe..
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Bell said, “we are very very well armed and my wife is a really good shot.”
Bell continued the interview with guest William Forstchen and the topic of the potential end of the world due to a nation-power going nuts.
A little further into the interview, Bell again played dramatic music while he checked to see what made his back sensor light activate during his broadcast.
That was some of the most intense scary radio I’ve ever heard. It was like the War of the Worlds broadcast when the aliens first strike and they keep playing music in between crazy reports.
The scariest thing to me is this happened right in the middle of tonight’s broadcast like it was timed. If it’s kids playing around in the desert, I don’t care how drunk or high you are, you aren’t going to be shooting up houses for fun.
Intense radio or not, it also appears that this it was a potentially very dangerous night for the talk show host..
At the end of the broadcast this evening, Bell signed off with his traditional song titled the same name of his radio show, saying to listeners, “Strange night to be sure.” He said went on to thank every person associated with his new show as the melancholy music played the night out..
DRAMA in the desert ends peacefully–but potentially could have had very opposite results..
While details are scarce at the hour, the MIDNIGHT IN THE DESERT radio broadcast tonight was frightening, poignant, and edge-of-seat dramatic. Bell, who normally says that he has ample amounts of protection to keep him and his family in Pahrump safe from intruders and less than good people, was a potential victim tonight of violence during his broadcast! While some reported hearing gunshots…
EW REPORTS: Across eBay and Craigslist, ticket-holders for opening night screenings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Dec. 17 are trying to pawn their seats for exorbitant amounts. There’s the $1,000 tickets for a 3D showing at 10:20 p.m. in Los Angeles, $750 tickets for a IMAX 7 p.m. show in Austin, a whopping $8,000 package for a Force Awakens event in Orlando (which includes just one ticket), and countless others.
Countless many will fall for the hijacking of hard earned wages.. Money to burn and a Jedi to watch.. Star Wars fever about to hit in time for Christmas .. At a high price.
“JPL experts predict a possible 5.0 magnitude quake in Los Angeles, but say it very well could be stronger. JPL geophysicist Dr. Andrea Donnellan, along with seven other scientists, has been using radar and GPS to measure Southern California’s chances for a sizable earthquake, and has made a sobering hypothesis about another big one. ”
This linked article is sort of where all of this online insanity started concerning the creepy video making the rounds online THE RING style.. It’s a good write up. I believe that there is an intention behind the video.. But in these days room also must be left for pure genius marketing–something else this certainly could also be..
It is beautiful, dense and tangled - it’s sometimes called the ‘sea of trees’ - and boasts ice caverns hidden in its volcanic rock.
But it has become known for a much more dark and tragic reason – it’s also been called ‘the suicide forest’, a place where up to 1988, around 100 suicides would occur each year.
A new movie, starring ‘Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer, has now been unveiled called ‘The Forest’, a horror thriller which finds Dormer searching for her twin sister who has gone missing in Aokigahara.
Last week, Johny from GadgetZZ.composted a writeup about a mysterious CD-ROM the site had received in the mail about three months before. The letter came from Poland to the site’s Swedish P.O. box, and at first it didn’t seem very interesting. The disc just had some numbers and letters written on one side that looked like a serial number.
When Johny looked at the contents of the disc, though, he discovered a strange video. In it, a creepy-beyond-creepy figure stands in a seemingly deserted building, at first in shadow and then plainly in a camera’s view. Staticky noise plays in the background and extremely subtle visual effects occasionally cross the screen as the figure gestures and holds up a blinking light. After you see it you know how the characters in The Ring felt when they watched the VHS tape that would mark them for death.
The internet has had it for months, though.. it has been circulating. And even more, REDDIT threads have been created well in advance to the latest series of news articles detailing the scary images that are tending to fright people in big numbers across the WEB as they see the video – spreading like the RING is surely a good comparison.
