Category: pop culture

newbie not newbie: my history with horror

I never thought of myself as a horror fan.

I grew up with “horror” meaning either 1) gore, like the projectile vomit in “The Exorcist” or bleeding walls in “The Amityville Horror, or 2) something so terrifying it kept me awake. I particularly remember one sleepless week after finishing Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” (I know, but I was fourteen and lived with a big black cat at the time, after reading that book he was terrifying!)

Then I read through NPR’s 100 best horror stories and realized not only have I read and enjoyed about half the list but that my definition of horror was incredibly narrow.

I’ve read du Maurier’s “Rebecca” and Jackson’s “Haunting of Hill House” multiple times to savor the wrongness creeping in. I didn’t know “psychological horror” was a genre and now I find myself writing it.

Dracula, Carmilla, Lestat and Louis… well, I never found vampires scary. Quite the contrary. Being “the things that others fear” sounded like a good deal to my insecure teenage self. Many years post-goth and I still love vampires.

Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer giving the 2 finger salute
Except for the sparkly kind. Via.

The inclusion of Strieber’s “Communion” tickles me because while as non-fiction it’s controversial to say the least, it’s compulsive reading if you take it as fiction, with an “extraordinary intruding on ordinary” vibe that still gives me the chills.

So I’m going through this list with my library card (tangential: I forgot how much I loved the library! Online renewal and automatic download of e-books makes them even better!) because it turns out I am something of a horror fan.

An 11 year old Kirsten Dunst as child vampire Claudia in Interview with the Vampire: I want more

What’s a genre you never thought you would (or did) enjoy, until you did?

biweekly links 8-1-2018

Satan’s Honor Roll: can Satanism be ethical? Oh yes! I’m finding very little here to argue with, and surprisingly (or not) very little of it has to do with actually worshipping a devil. Thoughts?

“Head Over Heels,” Reviewed: A Trans-Positive Spin on a Sixteenth-Century Romance, with Help From the Go-Gos: it’s Philip Sidney’s “The Arcadia” with early 80s pop! I’ve actually been hearing about this for a long time but this is one of the first reviews I’ve found with photos. Personally I’m tickled by all the Elizabethan clothing in day-glo lamé, but then, I love a good mashup.

Mary, Queen of Scots film ‘problematic’ says historian: how much fiction do you want in your historical fiction? The author’s argument is accurate (Mary Queen of Scots likely had a French accent, and Mary and Elizabeth I never met) but I also understand the director when he claims that letters back and forth don’t translate to a visual medium. Not sure where I stand on this. I love Cate Blanchett’s “Elizabeth” and “Elizabeth the Golden Age” but both are veer so far from true that they’re historical fantasy at best. But the acting is so good! I may see this because Saoirse Ronan has been fantastic in everything I’ve ever seen her in.

Nineteenth century engraving of Mary Queen of Scots, complete with hourglass figure and rosy cheeks
But is this picture any more accurate? In their enthusiasm for medieval revivalism, the Victorians got a lot wrong and their erroneous scholarship colors our impressions of the Middle Ages today. Is this worth a post of its own? Via.

Project Blue Book trailer goes all-in on UFOs for History: sure to piss off anyone who laments that the History Channel hasn’t had much to do with history for a long time! This new series about the 1950s Air Force UFO research project dramatizes J. Allen Hynek‘s investigations for Project Blue Book. While I expect they’re going to get a lot wrong I’m still eagerly anticipating “X-files 1950” (no, this isn’t a spinoff or continuation of the X-files franchise but the overall mood is similar).

biweekly links 4-11-2018

LGTBQIA historical fiction: ‘White Houses’ explores Eleanor Roosevelt’s romantic life; Alan Hollinghurst sketches the evolution of gay rights in latest historical novel, ‘The Sparsholt Affair’: I’ve not read either but I’m especially looking forward to “White Houses”.

‘Nosferatu’ and 96 Years of Expressionistic Nightmares: I didn’t know that Albin Grau, one of the producers of this classic vampire movie, was a dedicated occultist. Grau intended “Nosferatu” to be the first of a string of supernatural/occult themed movies by Prana Film but the lawsuits from the Stoker family following “Nosferatu”‘s release bankrupted them. I also didn’t know that Robert Eggers is directing a remake. I loved “The VVitch” so I’m cautiously optimistic.

Review: Shakespeare’s hidden astrology revealed: that Shakespeare’s play’s show occult influences isn’t news; he based the wizard Prospero from “The Tempest” on John Dee, a man Shakespeare might have known in person. Astrologer Priscilla Costello has written several books arguing that Shakespeare poured far more Elizabethan arcane symbolism into his plays.

Helen Mirren in robe of shining blue shards, wielding a staff
I thought of digging up an old Nosferatu pic for y’all, but I’ll use any excuse to include a picture of Helen Mirren in something fabulous. Here she is as Prospera in “The Tempest”. Via

The murder that instigated the UK’s most dangerous autopsy: in light of the more recent Russian poisoning attempts I thought it worthwhile to look back on a terrifyingly successful one. It took multiple doctors and an atomic weapons specialist to diagnose Alexander Litvinenko’s poisoning by polonium-210, and the doctors performing the autopsy had to wear what sounds like level 4 biohazard suits. More chilling information in the article’s references.

page to screen: Babylon Berlin

Is the book always better than the movie (or tv show)? Sometimes, maybe even often. Sometimes they’re just different.

Much as I love to read I’m a sucker for spectacle, and I first heard about Babylon Berlin in the context of its recreation of 1920s superclub Moka Efti. A Google later revealed the show’s based on a series of historical crime novels, so I decided to do my homework before the show debuted in January. I’ve enjoyed both, though they’re different creatures.

The books are a standard crime procedural from a single point of view, that of Detective Gereon Rath.  Most of what I know of Weimar Germany comes from “Cabaret” so the story is a revelation of the grime under the glamour. Much of the “action” is Rath’s sleuthing and suspicions, review and realizations. This close perspective is involving to read but would likely be tedious to view.

Which is why the tv series is more of an ensemble piece: inevitable because it’s impossible to convey the characters’ inner world on screen. This “outside looking in” inherently leads to numerous side stories and subplots (some say too much, but yo, Weimar Germany was messy and scary). The writers expanded and altered some backstories (some quite a bit) but they’re still true to the characters and time/place.

Woman in male drag singing on a stage
Russian spy Svetlana Sorokina is one of many book characters expanded on in the tv series. This is her guise as cabaret singer “Psycho Nikoros”. I want ALL HER COSTUMES. Except for the mustache (that must itch). Via Tumblr [tangentially: BB screencaps are rarer than hen’s teeth. Get right on that internet!]
I think both versions of Babylon Berlin work because they stay true to the corruption, vice, “grit beneath the glitz, no truly good guys” vibe of the books.

two animated men nodding their heads saying: Both. Both is good.
Via.

I think the trope of “book is always better than the movie” comes about when screenwriters aren’t true to the characters, or try to make up rules/ignore established rules for the world in which the story takes place.

What about you? Already have your favorite book cast with your favorite actors, or run screaming from any and all movie versions? Or does the movie occasionally improve upon the book (Blade Runner. Fight me)?

biweekly links 1-24-2018: commerce witchcraft

All of these potential additions to the extended weird section conveniently popped up in my Google Alerts this week. Never shopped with any of these so I make no claims re: quality or customer service. I just share the joy:

Hexcellent News: Occult Bookstore Catland Is Launching a Magazine: Catland Books‘ Venefica will be a “celebration of Brooklyn arts and occulture”. First issue coming in the spring; as of 1/18 they were still accepting submissions.

Get your senses going at the Magickal Pathways in Newton: New Jersey shop offering witchcraft supplies and classes.

The Thorn And Moon Magickal Market Offers Magic for the Daring: First Fridays of the month in Houston; if you can’t make it they have an Etsy store.

Mail-order magic: the rise of subscription witchcraft: wow, everyone’s getting in on this subscription box thing! UK article but most of the featured boxes ship internationally.

Black and white newsprint ad of a woman in 1970s Charlie's Angel hair hair holding a cat: The Academy of Mystic Arts Invites You to: Become A Witch!
Mind, weird-by-mailorder is nothing new-hell, the ads sprinkled through the old “Fate” magazine were half the fun! This one’s from the July 1973 issue; find more of the same at Archive.org’s Pulp Magazine Archive.

biweekly links 1-10-2017

Happy new year! New year, new (well, not so new) links:

King-Slapping, Devil-Dressing, and Avoiding Blondes: The Crazy Ways Humans Have Rung in the New Year Throughout History: and to think I just stayed home with champagne.

From the Pentagon’s UFO program to death by cyanide at the UN court: 17 unbelievable stories that got lost in the relentless news cycle of 2017: some of these really would have been striking in any other year: a cholera outbreak, multiple natural disasters, ongoing wars, and smuggled artifacts.

Explore The Largest Early Map Of The World: This 1587 map is beautiful, all the more so for the incredible effort it represents. The article is a good introduction to the history of Monte’s map but go to DavidRumsey.com for truly impressive images.

Why ‘Frankenstein’ Is More Relevant Than Ever: originally published on January 1, 1818, this “first science fiction novel”*’s warnings about the hazards of abandoning of our high-tech creations still ring true.

Nineteenth century illustration of three kittens in a basket. Text: A Happy New Year.
In honor of my cat Spice, who made it one day into 2018 – RIP. Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “A happy New Year.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections.

*Debatable. Does Margaret Cavendish’s “Blazing World” (1668) count as sci-fi?

the stupidest Slytherin

I’ve been re-watching the Harry Potter movies of late. I find myself still impressed again at how engaging the saga is and how the stories grow up with the characters: as they mature to into a more nuanced, less black and white outlook the stories gain complexity as well. And damn if she doesn’t know how to world-build!

And I got to thinking about The Book (hell, I’m always thinking about The Book). Rowling rolled at least one historical magician into the Potterverse (are there more I’m forgetting?) so surely there are others. So:

If John Dee were any more Ravenclaw he’d live in a library OH WAIT. He certainly embodies wit, learning, and wisdom, even if he’s a bit gullible. What do you wanna bet his wardenship of Christ’s College Manchester was just cover for his real trip north for a Hogwart’s fellowship?

Edward Kelley may have all the ambition of a Slytherin but he’s not together enough to carry out his wildest schemes…or is he? I think the Snapes and Malfoys of the world would disown him if he didn’t get himself kicked out of Hogwarts outright.

Jane Dee is a muggle, period. She doesn’t approve of all this magical nonsense–it’s dangerous and unseemly besides.

I imagine Kelley’s brother Thomas is clearly Hufflepuff. He’s loyal and patient to though Kelley often doesn’t deserve it.

Joanna Kelley may well be the only Gryffindor. She’s got to be brave to see all of their continental travel as an adventure rather than a hazard, and she’s determined to put a bright spin on everyone and everything.

Elizabeth Jane Weston (Lizzie), Joanna’s daughter? She’s about four years old during the story – too young to sort, certainly. But she’s definitely got some of her mom in her.

The spies Sledd and Pucci are Slytherin through and through. Sledd would make a stone-cold Death Eater but Pucci would be a toady like Peter Pettigrew and possibly less competent than Kelley.

Draco Malfoy sitting under the sorting hat
Pucci would make Draco Malfoy look strong willed. Courtesy Giphy.

Of all my characters Joanna is possibly the only truly likeable one of the lot (but are there any unlikeable Gryffindors?). But at least my less-than-savory characters aren’t dull.

How do your characters (or your favorite fictional characters) sort out?

biweekly links 7-26-2017

Notorious look at 16th century: check this out! An amateur (!) builder spent 10 years (!) researching and building a replica of a Portuguese caravel. This is the kind of insanely dedicated experiential archaeology I lurve. To my eternal regret I can’t find a website or blog chronicling the building process, but the ship’s Wikipedia page has some information. To find out where it docks next check out its Twitter and Facebook page.

Photo of ship Susan Constant at sunset
Reproduction of the “Susan Constant” at the Jamestown Settlement, no less impressive though it wasn’t made by a single man in his backyard. Author’s own.

A $70 ‘Worry Stone’ and Other Bizarre Spiritual Products You Can Buy Online: I used to have a worry stone – can’t imagine where it got off to but it’s nice to know I can replace it from the comfort of my keyboard. For serious high rollers you can get an “orgon [sic] accumulator” starting at $2000.

What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Dunkirk: One of many articles about the movie, but I think covers history vs. fiction the best. As a former stickler for historical accuracy at all costs, writing The Book has humbled me to the real difficulties of hammering historical events into a compelling narrative. Nolan’s aim was to “put you on that beach” and I think he did so admirably, while sticking astonishingly close to the facts. Not included: why Germany stopped their attack or the fate of those left behind.

Will: 5 ways ‘The Two Gentlemen’ twists history: from painstaking historical accuracy we go to flamboyant liberty with the facts, or at least the image. I’ve not seen “Will” (yet?) but I can’t hammer it’s “punk rock Elizabethan” aesthetic too hard – I love artful anachronisms – but opinions differ.

biweekly links 4-5-2017

Gore blimey! New exhibition looks at Tudor medicine: in case you find yourself in Stratford-Upon-Avon between now and December. More about “Method in the Madness: Understanding Ourselves Then and Now”;  the exhibit will include replica surgical instruments and other interactive elements.

Parchment drawing of a wheel with flasks around the edges, each flask filled with a different color.
Fifteenth century drawing of a urine diagnosis wheel from Johannes de Ketham’s Fasciculus medicinae. This and other fabulous public domain medical illustrations are available in the National Library of Medicine’s digital collections.

Henry VIII clauses and how 1539 compares to 2017: Brexit, sport, and public humiliation – the more things change, the more they stay the same, or do they? What do you think?

Does Bela Lugosi’s Ghost Still Haunt This $3M ‘Hollywoodland’ Tudor? Former residents Jon Cryer and Kathy Bates aren’t saying. Frankly, it doesn’t look all that Tudor-y to me, but the beamed ceiling is nice.

biweekly links 3-8-2017

A handful of UFO-related links as I mine my blog feeds: