Halloween Round Up

Halloween is not quite over. I know today begins November, but I want to share my adventures from last night. During the day as I worked on some things, I kicked it old school with Turner Classic Movies and watched Dementia 13 and The Last Man on Earth. It was soon time to hit the streets for some candy, candy, candy.

I had the best time being escorted about the neighborhood by a zombie, the Headless Horseman, Batman and the Ghost Face Killer. We saw a tiny Michael Myers, Marie Antoinette sans head, pumpkins, witches, a Tootsie Roll, Freddy Krueger, pirates, a cowgirl and a One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater. We passed graveyards, bonfires, a Frankenstein, a funeral coach, a skeleton on a motorcycle and lots of bushes that housed giant spiders based on those webs.

After our freaky journey 'round the hood, we returned to my sister's for some well-deserved pizza and decorated some cookies shaped like ghosts, bats and jack o'lanterns. I love piping frosting, but am not very good. My ghosts looked hairy and my bats all seemed to have porn 'staches.

Now, the one rule after Trick or Treat is to not eat the candy until it has been checked over. On the ride home, the smell of citrus fills the air. "Who's eating Skittles?" I say. Silence, then a little voice answers. "Nah me." the Horseman said around a mouthful. I rode the rest of the way home with his plastic pumpkin of candy on my lap.

So how was your Halloween?

Happy Halloween!

It is my favorite day of the year, Halloween. Time for a marathon of scary movies, trick or treating and costumes galore. The South Side does it up right and I'll have some pictures posted tomorrow. I'm taking the nephews out to get their haul tonight and we'll be seeing some spooktacularly decorated houses round these parts.

Halloween in Chicago is the best. With all of our local ghost stories and lurid tales of murder and mayhem, Chitown is one hell of a town for scary. Let me share one of our local nightmarish tales

H.H. Holmes and the Murder Castle

Herman Mudgett aka H.H. Holmes came to Chicago in 1885 where he began working at a drugstore in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, which was then a suburb. A charmer, H.H. was a popular fixture at the store, building a social reputation, drawing in customers with his wit and his skill as a pharmacist. After he considerd himself "established", he struck like a raptor. His first victim here is believed to be the store owner, Mrs. Dr. Holden, who mysteriously disappeared one day while Holmes took charge of the store. He told customers she had decided to "move West." His true plans began in earnest.

Acquiring the large lot across from the store, Holmes started to construct the enormous building he told everyone would be a hotel for the upcoming Columbian Exposition. The locals referred to it as the Castle. He was very secretive about the construction, changing crews constantly, showing  no one the entire plan. While the first floor had the typical shops, inside, however, was a different story. There were legitimate guest rooms, but there were also rooms with peepholes, rooms lined with metal that had primitive blow torch equipment and a few were asphyxiation chambers that had exposed gas nozzles. Holmes would poison his guests, then remove them for experimentation. There was  also a maze of 100 windowless rooms, oddly angled hallways, doors that could only be opened from the outside and stairs that went nowhere. In the basement was a dissecting table and a crematorium as well as an acid vat and pits filled with quick lye.

Holmes chose his victims from amongst the unsuspecting visitors to the White City of the Columbian Exposition. They were excited, many having never left home before and were naively trusting. Holmes spread the word about his "hotel" and the people came, many never to be heard from again. He also lured many of his female victims with ads promising jobs and safe lodging to young ladies alone in the world. When these eager young women arrived, he kept them prisoner until he was ready for them. Some he locked in a soundproof bank vault near his office, others in the windowless rooms. He tortured his victims to death, stripped them of their flesh and sold their skeletons and organs to medical schools. Some he just disposed of in the crematorium and pits.

He probably could have continued his spree unabated for a few more years, but the economy here had taken a hard hit after the fair closed. Holmes fled Chicago in 1894 as creditors closed in on him. By this time he had taken on a business partner, Benjamin Pietzel, and they began insurance swindles. Holmes would later kill Pietzel and three of his children, two of whom were found buried in a cellar in Toronto. By the time the Pinkertons caught up with Holmes in Boston in November of 1894, the Chicago police were well into the gruesome investigation of the killings here and what became known as the Murder Castle. The picture above is a rare photo of the place from the Chicago Historical Society.

Holmes confessed to 27 murders, including the Pietzels, but the body count is estimated to be as high as 200. There were too many body parts found to get an actual identifiable count. Holmes was sentenced to death by hanging and died on May 8, 1896 at Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia

H.H. is America's first known serial killer and probably the most prolific. I tell you, Jack the Ripper had nothing on this guy. A very good book to read if you want to know more is Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America.

Now after reading this gruesome tale, go enjoy your Halloween. 

Worst Movies Halloween Edition: Paranormal Activity

With the opening of Paranormal Activity 4 this past weekend and my friends all begging me to see it with them, I thought this was the perfect time present a Halloween edition of my Worst Movies I have ever seen. I believe I may have spotlighted the original PA film a while back, but since it's now a bonafide franchise, I'll skewer it again.

I do not get the popularity of Paranormal Activity or as I refer to it: Time Elapsed Boring Shit. I saw the first one for DVD review and for shits and giggles finally checked out the next two. Time I could have spent working on the sequel to Maxie Briscoe: Werewolf. Bad move, Mel.

Paranormal Activity is to horror films what Twilight is to vampires. The first one features two people, Katie and Micah, making up dialogue as they go along to an ancient cliched story idea: Haunted House. I guess what is supposed to make it original is this ad libbing and the idea of demons. Okay, I'll give Peli that.

What follows is about 90 minutes of endless time elapsed footage interspersed with "found footage" of our intrepid couple sitting around talking about their day. Oh yay, boring rundown. At one point during this set up Katie says there was a thump last night and she couldn't sleep. Micah gets the brilliant idea to record it. Don't worry Little Lady, your big strong Man will save your sleep by placing video cameras all through the house.

Here's how it shakes out:

Day 1
Time Elapsed Boring Shit.

Day 10 
More Time Elapsed Boring Shit

Day 15 
The covers move. Oh no whatever could it be, a Peeping Tom demon? Hubs kicking the blankets?

Day 20
She gets out of bed, shuffles over and stares at hubs for three hours, then goes back to bed. Was that supposed to be creepy?

Day 444 
And still more Time Elapsed Boring Shit. But this time we have a psychic come calling. Props on originality. Not!

Day 7012 
They run around the house hearing thumps and bumps. Those interns are working overtime off camera.

Day WTF I've lost count 
She cries. "Why is this happening?" And really, why is she crying, there's nothing going on! Except now I want to stab my arm with a steak knife just to relieve the monotony.

Day 1,759,999 
In which Katie finally kills the annoying Micah then disappears until the sequel, er prequel, er whatever the eff Peli's calling it. But, she also makes sure to leave us with the "I'm constipated" face in the camera. Oohh, scary. Take a fiber supplement.

And now we go on to three more sequels...

Paranormal Activity 2 
Time Elapsed Boring Shit plus dog and baby.

Paranormal Activity 3
Retro 80's Time Elapsed Boring Shit plus urban legend Bloody Mary. Is this guy an original thinker or what?

Paranormal Activity 4 
I have not seen this yet, but I can guess: Time Elapsed Boring Shit plus video chat and new neighbors.

What are some of the worst horror films you've ever seen? Or if not horror, then what non-scary movies made you shake your head and want your money back? 

A Spotlight, Great News And Football Rituals

Yours Truly has the honor of being spotlighted by my great blog buddy and friend Maynard over at the wicked cool site Maynard Morrisey's Horror Movie Diary. He chose me as one of his Halloween Buddies (look at the cool graphic) and we did a short interview. Yay!! Thank you! You all can check me out here.

In other awesome news, my good friend Craig over at the hellabrilliant  site Let's Get Out Of Here has reached the 500 posts milestone. High fives and fist bumps! He is a movie and pop culture god in my book and you all should stop by and visit him. He is celebrating his favorite holiday (and mine) Halloween over there with some terrific posts on horror films, horror icons and other fun stuff. He's also a vast storehouse of knowledge about our fave super spy 007.

Dig metal and sci fi? Then check out super cool Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh guest post over at my incredible blog buddy, Jamie Gibbs' fantastic site Mithril Wisdom. Check it out here.

My Bears D dominated last night and we won our fourth straight to cruise into first place in NFC North. Hell yeah! And my Fighting Irish are 7-0. Holla! My little rituals appear to be working this year. You know the two different colored socks, the no beer after half time, cans crushed by right foot only, lucky jersey, lucky tee shirt, blue candles burning at the altar of the football gods... Hey now. it's only weird if it doesn't work and I'm working off a lot of calories doing my touchdown dance this season. I have  elements in there from Ricky Horror's Time Warp and since I am not quite ready for you all to see me shaking my tailfeathers, I will leave you with the Rocky Horror crew... Have a great day!

Melissa's Horror Film Survival Rules Part Deux

Last year for Halloween I did a post, Melissa's Horror Film Survival Rules that has been one of my most popular to date. It's a hilarious look at some of the conventions in horror films that drive me batshit crazy. In the spirit of my high holy holiday, Halloween, here is an addendum to the list...

Rule #13

Do Not Read From the Book Come on, you can't be bothered to read in school or any place else, why start with the decrepit tome you found in that creepy house/basement/attic? Nothing good comes from spouting off paragraphs written in a dead language.

Rule #14

Put Down the Smartphone/Camera Equipment and Run For the love of all things holy... Someone or something is trying to kill you, don't effing tape it, HAUL ASS! It's that freakin' simple. If you get hacked to pieces or possessed because you just had to film the monster/killer/ghost/demon, you deserve it!

Rule #15

Do Not Shop at Yard Sales There are only two things you'll get at yard sales: clutter and shit that will get you dead or turn you into a demon's meat suit. Go to Wal-mart if you need cheap. Nothing will kill you there except an out of control Hover Round chair

Rule #16

Stay Away From the Dolls All dolls are creepy, dead-eyed little bastards that will kill you as soon as they get the chance. Leave them alone, don't play with them, get them for your kid or stay in a room filled with them.

Rule #17

Graveyards are Not Party Rooms Let me repeat that for the stoopid peeps out there. Graveyards are Not Party Rooms. You'd think this would be self-explanatory, but no. If you grab a beer and a toke in Dead City, it's over, baby. O-V-E-R.

Rule #18

Stay on the Main Highway Backroads always mean trouble, that's a given. That's where the creepy people, you know the lunatic rednecks, psychotic  motel proprietors and chainsaw wielding maniacs, reside. When was the last time someone chained you to a radiator at a Hardee's or McDonald's?

Rule #19

Camping is Bad Unless you are Girl Scout or a Boy Scout, camping is very bad. There is always some weirdo waiting to turn you into their bitch or their dinner or just kill your ass. Not to mention the monsters. So if your main squeeze says "Let's go camping." slap them until they see reason.

Rule #20

That Killer Ain't Dead A classic rule to be sure. Don't matter if he's riddled with bullets, has a machete buried in his melon, or has a spear in his gullet, that killer ain't dead til you cut off his head like a vampire. Then burn him for good measure. Many a horror film vic has survived only to be killed at the end because of failure to heed this rule. 

Rule #21 

Be Quiet! Screaming and crying will get you dead for the most part. Screaming as you run from the ax wielding psycho is not helpful. It drains your lung capacity, hurts your throat and is just annoying as hell. Plus, if you're trying to hide, it gives you away. So please, SHUT THE FUCK UP!


Rule #22

Don't Be A Dick The assholes always get it the worst, so mind your douchebaggery. Not to mention someone like me will shove your ass in front of the zombie horde right quick you keep that shit up.

Rule #23

Found Footage Equals Trouble From that strange, label-less VHS tape to those old reels in the closet of your new house, found film means a whole heap of trouble from murder to demons. Don't watch! Throw them away, have a yard sale, but get RID of them.

Rule #24

Listen to the small fries. Kids know when shit is about to go south. Listen to them. They're the canaries in mineshaft, those demons, ghosts try to get them first. And we get our asses killed because we dismiss them. Pays to listen when your kid babbles, she's not always talking Sponge Bob. Now keep in mind that this rule applies only when you're not dealing with Creepy Little Kid with dead eyes.


Just another helpful list to get your through the scariest month on the calendar. Any ones I forgot about? Let me know, we can add them. ;)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!! It's my favorite day of the year and I'm all in black, complete with skeleton earrings in celebration. I'm also celebrating because I have been nominated for a Movie411 Award. WHOO HOO!!! Check this, yours truly has been nominated for Sexiest Female Author.

OMG!!! I cannot believe it, I am stunned, just stunned, but very happy. Sing it with me now... "I believe in miracles. Where you from? You sexy thing..." Ah, nothing like a little Hot Chocolate music to celebrate. The nominating goes through November 28 and those Top 5 with the most nominations moves on to the voting round. Fingers crossed that I move on. And since I'm from Chicago, I promise, no dead people will be involved, unless they have their own blog. LOL To nominate me or others just email The Movie411 here themovie411@live.co.uk.

You all know how I love scary movies, books, hell I'm even planning a real-life ghost hunt next year with some friends. We are going to Waverly Hills Sanitorium in Kentucky where I plan to personally inspect the infamous death tunnel.

There are, however, some things out there that truly terrify me and I'm not talking fear of the dark or hating reptiles, I'm talking bone deep fear and stomach churning horror. The following are two of the very few movies on this earth that genuinely terrify me and I have a very hard time watching them. These movies really do a number on my psyche and I just cannot watch them alone.

The Strangers Words cannot even begin to describe the creepy feeling that this film engenders in me. I think it's the way that this movie is a real life possibility. Brutal, savage home break-ins happen every day and the majority go unsolved. I knew someone whose sister was brutally murdered in her home. Fifteen years later and not one clue. One of my mother's friends was a student nurse slaughtered by Richard Speck. I can sit through the mindless horror of Friday the 13th, Halloween and other slasher flicks like that because they're mostly silent hulking killers that regenerate. I get a lot of shit for this movie, but it just freaks me out, a random act of savagery that hits too close to home.

The Exorcist William Friedkin's film stands out as the single most terrifying movie I have ever seen. I was raised Catholic, still am, and this movie hits at the heart of my spirituality and the beliefs I hold dear about Heaven and Hell. Some of its images are so shocking and revolting, especially the crucifix scene. I was frozen in horror as I watched, sick to my stomach. Yes, some of the acting is cheesy and the dialogue over-the-top and it's been much-parodied in the nearly forty years since its release, but you will never catch me watching this film alone.


So what films terrify you?

I Do Believe In Ghosts, I Do Believe In Ghosts...MOMMY!!!!!

LOL, love that title? It's Halloween and not only is it time for scary movies, monsters, serial killers and of course Trick R Treating, it's also time for ghosts. Chicago is one hell of a haunted town. We have so many ghosts running around, we're also known as Undead Central. Our ghosts even vote. Just ask former Mayor Daley. ;)

Before I get started with my post, let me share my You Should Know person for this week. Because it's Halloween and his blog centers around zombies, I think you should get to know Jeremy at iZombieLover.

Jeremy is a talented graphic artist with a hellagood, slightly skewed sense of humor. His artwork is incredible. It's creepy, it's intense and it's definitely unique. He'll turn you into a zombie, too, if you dare...Imagine that Christmas card going out to family. As if being an incredible artist isn't creative enough, the guy is also an amazing writer with a graphic novel out called Chatterbox.

Now on to my ghostly post. We have some very cool haunted places here in Chicago and places that are just plain notorious and infamous for grisly happenings. These sites have been known to have some residual spiritual activity or outright ghosts and phantoms. I've had some eerie encounters at these places and no, not full-bodied ghosts and stuff, but things. Here's a couple that creeped the hell out of me and made me want my mommy.

Mt. Carmel Cemetery is located in suburban Hillside, not far from Queen of Heaven where my grandparents are buried. This is where Julia Buccola Petta, the Italian Bride, has her permanent resting place. Julia died in childbirth in 1921 and within a few months her mother began having dreams that her daughter was still amongst the living and needed her help. For six years the dreams continued and in all that time, her mother tried to get Julia's grave opened. Finally, she succeeded and when the coffin was exhumed and opened, Julia's body was found to be entirely in tact, no decay whatsoever. Take a gander.

The picture was taken when they opened her casket and you can see the perfect condition of her body while the coffin is muddy and looks the worse for wear. Now, they say you see a woman in white near her grave, but I didn't see anything when I was there with my friends. HOWEVER, I did feel something when I got a few feet from her grave. Something took my right hand. Seriously. It was like someone slipped their hand in mine, but it was as if that hand were made of ice. I sucked in all the oxygen around me in a slow, hard breath. Every hair was on end. Now granted it was winter, but I had my gloves on and it was only my right hand. I choose to believe that I had a haunted encounter and you won't convince me otherwise anytime soon.

Another time, I attempted to go into Bachelor Grove, one of the most haunted cemeteries in America. The activity here ranges from mysterious balls of light to disappearing car and a strange woman. The picture at the left is purported Madonna of Bachelor Grove. She's been photographed dozens of times over the decades. A few years ago I went by myself, during the day, of course, to see what I could see. I never made it past the No Trespassing sign as dread froze me in my tracks. I tried walking, but my legs would not move. I was overwhelmed with fear. I don't know how long I stood there until I was able to run back to the car. I am planning to go with some friends this time and we'll see what we see. Call me a nut job, but I want to face this dread and see if I encounter anything inside the place.

Melissa's Horror Film Survival Rules

Seven days until my high holy holiday, Halloween, and as I gear up for my annual Fright Fest I want to share with you a few things that I have learned about surviving a horror film. Follow these simple rules and you have a reasonable chance of getting out alive.

Rule #1

There is no such thing as mass psychosis, it's zombies. Did we not learn anything through dozens of zombie films already? Just start gathering supplies and practicing head shots.

Rule #2

Always wear appropriate clothing. No one ever seems to be properly attired in these things. They start off on a road trip with suitcases and when they reach the creepy camp or abandoned house, suddenly all they have are flip flops and shorts. Ladies, you might also want to keep track of your bras. They disappear with inexplicable frequency in horror films.

Rule #3

Keep it in your pants. I know it's tempting, but avoid having sex on graves, in old barns, derelict houses and, or abandoned psychiatric hospitals. Think tetanus shots if nothing else, but you know the killer/zombie/monster will always get you with your pants down.

Rule #4

That shape at the end of the hall is NOT your friend. Keep your mouth shut and keep moving. Don't you just love it when the vics see a giant shuffling shape and call out "Tiffany, is that you?"

Rule #5

Go to the bathroom in groups. Safety in numbers, kids. Nothing like going for a quick pee all by your lonesome and the monster/killer comes up behind you because you didn't bring a friend for lookout.

Rule #6

If the walls or floors start to bleed, LEAVE. Don't bother to call a priest or a psychic, that house is seriously freakin' haunted. GET OUT!

Rule #7

If there's a strange lunatic guy telling you you're going to die in there, DON'T GO IN THERE. How hard is that?

Rule #8

Stay out of the basement. Nothing good ever came from heading into the creepy basement. Unless you're fleeing a tornado, but seriously in horror, how many of those have you encountered?

Rule #9

Don't skinny dip. Come on, now. You know the monster is always in the water and the killer on the shore by your clothes.

Rule #10

No matter how bad the weather, STAY OUTSIDE. That scary looking house is not going to yield any sort of help. Think about it. The place is dilapidated and dark, do you really think you're going to find help in there?

Rule #11

Don't call the cops. They're useless cannon fodder unless it's near the end of the movie when they drive in en masse AFTER it's all over.

Rule #12

Don't ask what the noise is, HAUL ASS. How easy is this one? The noise is always bad news, so just run the fuck away.

So there you have them, my twelve simple rules for surviving horror. Now, I can't guarantee you'll live, but these rules will up your odds.

BOO!! It's All Hallow's Eve

At last, at last it's All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, Samhain for all my Celtic and Wiccan friends out there. Time for trick or treating, scary movies, haunted houses, ghost stories and fun with family and friends. So get your monster on and have a great time.

Samhain, pronounced 'sa uin, is the Celtic festival marking the end of the lighter half of the year and the beginning of the darker one. It also is a time to celebrate the dead, as certain Celtic traditions hold that the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest, allowing the dead to cross back into the living world they once inhabited. It is the custom in some areas of Ireland and Scotlnd to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast.

Bonfires played an important part, with people and their livestock walking between two fires as a purification ritual. With the bonfires lit, in some villages all other fires were extinguished, to be re-lit from these communal fires.

Samhain is also the Celtic New Year and divination was considered a primary part of the celebration. Seasonal foods, apples and nuts, were used to determine one's future spouse, state of marriage, how many children and location of future home. An apple was peeled and the peel tossed over the shoulder to see if the first letter of one's future spouse could be determined. Unsure about your marriage? Nuts were roasted in the the heart and their movements watched.If they stayed together,then so would the couple. Egg whites were dropped in a glass of water and the shapes interpreted to see the number of children a couple would have.

Masks were worn to ward off evil spirits. Masks would hide the identity of the living and keep them safe from the evil spirits that had crossed over. In Scotland, young men wore veiled or blackened faces and dressed in white to impersonate the dead.

In celebration of my favorite night of the year, I'm giving away a free download of my latest story, an erotic menage tale called Maxie Briscoe: Werewolf. This is erotic, so if you're NOT 18, DO NOT ENTER. To enter, simply leave a comment. I'll post the winner here tomorrow. Here's a little excerpt...

Synopsis

The name's Maxie Briscoe and I am a werewolf…

That’s right, a real live, full moon-loving, Halloween icon. It’s hard out here for girl like me. To survive, I hide my true self and act the part of a normal human, all while discreetly indulging the Beast within. Talk about walking a narrow ledge. And that’s not even the worst part. Sex is. You see I can bench press a pick-up truck and that spells disaster in the bedroom. You can’t have any real fun knowing you might accidentally crush a lover while in the throes. Kind of kills the mood.

When a friend’s murder shatters the careful existence I’ve carved out, I come face to face with Damien and Noah, two of the hottest men I’ve ever laid eyes on. They are also the first werewolves I’ve run across since my conversion. The attraction is instant, but complicated, the sex… explosive.

Too bad there’s a killer out there with his sights on me …

Excerpt

Here's Maxie looking for a little fun at the club with her friend


I scan the crowd, checking for some possible action. Men are
like parts of a cow, really. First you have your obvious top
sirloin—men who are cut and fit, with lots of stamina, confidence
and great personality. Then you got your round steak—guys who
can keep up, but are a little too much on the beta side of things.
Rump roasts are your basic teddy bears…cute geeks and others
who’ll let you do whatever you want to them because they can’t
believe they’re going home with you. Finally, you got your ground
chuck. You know the type: total dorks, octopuses, Hoovers who
suck your face off when they kiss. These are guys you don’t even
want to think about until you’ve had four or five shots of tequila
and a Jagermeister chaser.

My eyes alight on two definite cuts of sirloin.

“Oh. My. Gawd. Would you look at the guns on that one?”

Tori’s high-pitched tones shock my ears like turning on the
radio after forgetting the volume is set on high. She is looking right
at one of my targets, damn her. A low, territorial growl rumbles in
my throat.

“Easy, Max.” Drea touches my arm, the gesture helping me
rein in my baser urge to shove Tori into the nearest wall as I
assert the fact that I have first dibs. Did I mention my dominance
issues? I turn to glare at my friend, only to see her little sister move
forward out of the corner of my eye. The little bitch.

Halloween Treats

Looking for scare-ific treats to serve for your Halloween party? Here's some things I love to serve at my annual Fright Fest. They're fun, look interesting and are pretty healthy as I am a diabetic.



Apple Bites from Family Fun Magazine

Ingredients: Apples (I like to use Granny Smith, Rome and Pink Lady), slivered almonds

1. Quarter and core apples

2. Cut a wedge from the skin side of each quarter

3. Stick in slivered almonds for teeth




Melon Brain from Family Fun Magazine

Ingredients: 1 small seedless watermelon

You'll Need: Vegetable peeler, paring knife, wooden skewer

1. Peel the green outer rind exposing the inner white rind

2. Slice off a piece from the bottom so you have flat surface to balance the melon

3. Using the skewer, score the melon in half, for 2 sides of the brain

4. Then trace squiggly lines and furrows to look like folds of the brain

5. Using the paring knife, carve channels along the traced furrows to expose the pink

Hope you enjoy these tasty, healthy and horrifically-good treats.

Get Your Monster On: Zombies

Today I want to talk about zombies. Zombies have been woven into our popular culture, inhabiting books, films, video games, etc. We know them best as re-animated, brain-eating corpses, but did you also know that they are human beings controlled by another through the use of magic? It's time to get your monster on and discover what you may or may not know about these creatures as well as where they come from.

Stories of zombies originated in western culture through the West African spiritual tradition of voodoo. A dead person may be revived by a bokor or sorcerer and they remain under the bokor's control because they have no will of their own. These re-animated beings are used as laborers, carrying out the sorcerer's commands.

The bokor captures the zombi astral, a part of the human soul. He or she uses this to enhance their power.The zombi astral is kept inside a bottle and the bokor may sell this to a client for luck, business success and healing. Eventually, God does take the soul back so the zombi is only temporary.

Feeding salt to a zombie will make it return to the grave.

Zombi is also another name for the Vodou snake Iwa Damballah Wedo.

In 1937 Zora Neale Hurston was researching Haitian folklore when she encountered the case of Felicia Felix-Mentor, a woman who had died in 1907. She mysteriously re-appeared in her village.

In 1985 Wade Davis, a Harvard ethnobotanist, wrote The Serpent and the Rainbow, one of two books presenting his case for a pharmacological reason behind zombies. In 1982 he traveled to Haiti and as a result of his research, claimed that a living person could be turned into a zombie using two powders delivered directly into the blood stream. The first is a neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX), found in the flesh of the pufferfish. The second powder consists of a dissociative drug like datura. These powders together supposedly produce a death-like state leaving the person under the total control of the bokor. Davis encountered a man named Clairvius Narcisse, who claims to have survived such a state. Though this theory was dismissed in the scientific community, it spawned a 1988 Wes Craven film titled The Serpent and the Rainbow.

These magic, drug-induced zombies populated books like 1929's The Magic Island by W.B. Seabrook. Time magazine credits this novel with introducing zombie into the American lexicon.

Bela Lugosi starred in 1932's White Zombie, a film directed by Victor Halperin which features Lugosi as an evil magician with an army of zombie henchmen.This is considered the first legitimate zombie flick.

Another interesting tidbit about zombies comes from South Africa. In some communities there, people believe that a dead person can be turned into a zombie by a small child. The spell is so powerful that it can only be broken by a very strong sangoma or shaman.

So how about our beloved brain-eaters?

Well, they make their first appearance in the 1950's in EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt in stories such as H.P. Lovecraft's "Herbert West-Reanimator". One of the most seminal works is Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend about a futuristic Los Angeles overrun with undead. Although this is technically a vampire story, it heavily influenced the zombie genre by way of George A. Romero. The vampires in the story are the result of a worldwide contagion, a theme that dominates zombie films and literature.

Other zombie theories put forth around this time include alien technology (Plan 9 from Outer Space-1958) and mad science (Creature with the Atom Brain-1955). Invisible Invaders (1959) shows zombies being the result of alien possession.

It was not until a little film called Night of the Living Dead (1968) that we get our first look at the flesh-eating, brain-chomping zombies we know and love. This film broke all taboos and really frightened people. Though it offers little in the way of actual explanation for the rise of the zombies, it is one of the most influential works on the concept of zombies. This Romerian blend of zombie and vampire results in a monster that breaks down society and signals the end of life as we know it. And yet, they are not referred to as zombies, the news reports in the film call them ghouls. Romero doesn't call them zombies until his script for 1978's Dawn of the Dead.

Romero's zombies are slow-moving, shuffling creatures that overwhelm with numbers like a swarm. To destroy them, you have to shoot them in the head, then burn the corpses. Pretty simple when you're armed to the teeth and deal with them one on one.

In 1981, Hell of the Living Dead is the first film to portray a zombie apocalypse as the result of a mutagenic gas.

The concept of zombies craving brains comes from 1985's Return of the Living Dead, a horror comedy, where the zombies utter the word "brains" and proceed to chomp on people's skulls.

Zombies undergo a radical shift in the new millennium with films like Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (2002), Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (2004)remake and Zombieland, we see the zombie break out of the shuffling, listless undead mode and into highly mobile killing machines. These newer, faster zombies are still killed in the traditional way, bullet to the brain. Only now you need to be more heavily armed and in much better physical shape if you're going to survive.

In 1989, with the publication of the anthology, Book of the Dead, zombies officially became their own subgenre of literature. These stories are all united by the premise first seen Romero's films about zombies being the result of a worldwide infestation. These stories are the various reactions to that outbreak. The stories are authored by the likes of Stephen King, Richard Laymon and Chan Varney. Three years later, Still Dead: Book of the Dead II came out. 2003's The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks details ways for the average, ordinary citizen to survive zombie uprisings including chapter entitled Weapons and Combat Techniques, On the Run and Living in an Undead World.

Video games have also given rise to some truly terrifying zombies. House of the Dead by Sega and the Resident Evil series from Capcom all feature a fight to survive against hordes of undead that are fast and strong with huge appetites.Both spawned film versions with Evil becoming a successful franchise while House is generally panned.

Zombies are the hottest monster going right now and don't appear to be stopping. I suggest we all stock up on rifles, ammo, gasoline and non-perishables. It's going to be a hell of a ride.

The Countdown Begins...

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..."

12 more days til Halloween, kids so let's get this party started. I plan on having an awesome time over the next couple of weeks. Stop by and see what I have cooking every day in celebration of this most awesome of days.There will be monsters, haunted houses, ghosts, serial killers, a regular fright fest leading up to the Big Day.

Here's a little bit of history about my favorite holiday...

Halloween or All Hallows Eve is an ancient holiday. It is linked to the Celtic Festival of Samhain, meaning summer's end. It is a harvest festival marking the end of the lighter half of the year and the start of the darker half. The Celts believed the veil between this world and the next was at its thinnest, allowing spirits, both benign and evil to pass through. The good spirits, usually one's ancestors, were honored, while the evil ones were to be warded off. Hence, the use of masks and costumes.

Black and orange are the colors associated with Halloween. Orange for the color of the bonfires and black for darkness and death.

Trick or treating is related to the medieval practice of souling, when poor folks would go door-to-door begging food on Hallowmas (Nov. 1) receiving food in exchange for prayers for the dead on All Soul's Day (Nov. 2. It's believed to have originated in Britain and Ireland, though there were similar practices found as far south as Italy. Trick-or-treating did not become widespread in the US until the 1930's.

That bright grinning Jack O'Lantern originated in Ireland when people would carve out turnips and put candles inside to ward off the spirits and ghosts.Pumpkins are easier to carve, though, wouldn't you say? A turnip seems a bit small. Jack O'Lantern comes from a tale about a man name Jack who tricked the Devil.Unable to enter Heaven or Hell after his death, he was doomed to wander the earth and to keep evil spirits from finding him he placed a piece of coal in carved out turnip and used it as a lantern.

Did you know that Halloween is the second most commercially successful holiday after Christmas? We're coming for you, Claus.

Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the US. 2 billion?! That's a lot of candy corn.

Snickers bars are the number 1 candy bar for trick-or-treating. Darn, I thought it was those scrumptious little Kit Kats.

Well, that's all for now, but I'll be back tomorrow with more scary good fun.

Maxie Briscoe: Werewolf Gets Awesome Review

Hello and Happy Monday!!

I received some stupendously fantastic news. My book, Maxie Briscoe:Werewolf garnered high praise from Miranda at Joyfully Reviewed. To read her excellent review please go here.

I also wanted to tell you that it is 13 days until my national holiday, Halloween, and I am preparing a fantastic fun time for you all here at The Imaginarium. Monsters, ghosts, demons, serial killers, etc will all be making an appearance here. I'm going to share my traditions, Halloween fun facts and have a contest or two. I'm looking forward to celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.