Happy Birthday!

Today is Bram Stoker’s birthday.

Click here to read the review of his famous book, Dracula.

So happy birthday to one very well-known author.

Also check out the google doodle

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

Summary

In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that, one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in that house. But the property complete with boathouse and swimming pool and the price were too good to pass up. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror. This is the spellbinding, best-selling true story that gripped the nation, the story of a house possessed by evil spirits, haunted by psychic phenomena almost too terrible to describe.

-From Amazon.com

The Amityville Horror (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Review

WOW! This truly was a Halloween novel and definitely something you want to read during the month of October.

The thing which I really liked about the book is that it is actually a true story and which added to the scariness and creepiness of the novel

There was not really anything gruesome and inappropriate, but it was all based around suspense and just weird things happening to this family. You never actually found out what was terrorizing  them and you never knew where it came from. You also never found out what its purpose was. That also added to the mysteriousness of the story. Since it was a true account, many of the mysterious events were never explained. Many “ghost-hunters” went to the Lutz’s house and tried to find out what was causing all of the terror, but nothing was ever found or recorded. Some psychologists posed the idea that there may have been a mass hallucination by the family and the town.

James Brolin, George and Kathy Lutz during an interview on Good Morning America marking the launch of the first film version in July 1979 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It would take to long to describe what I mean by that, but do a little research on this. It really is interesting but don’t read it in the dark. There were some really interesting theories put into place about what was going on.

Also don’t read this book in the dark when you are home alone. Definitely not a good decision (on my part).

But this is a really good book to read for Halloween. So go and check this book out from your local library. And let the horror begin.

*There are also movies based on the book. I am going to be watching it soon, and will be reviewing it

A Word From M.O.M.

You may have noticed that posts are a little scarce at the moment. Actually, scarce is being generous. Where are the posts? the funny observations? the book and movie recommendations?

Sophomore year, that’s where. Do you remember yours? (And for our wonderful international readers that translates to second year high school) Essays, readings, lab reports, power points (didn’t have them in my day), piano practice, dance and let’s not forget a little social time too. So, while MLCWO struggles to get to grips with everything (dealing with distractions isn’t her strong point……..) posts will be tended by me. Only for a while. So, the voracious book reader can catch her breath, help with Halloween parties at the library, plan her costume and such like. With Halloween fast approaching (one of our favorites times of the year – such great books and movies) we can’t let it slip by…….silently……and unnoticed.  M.O.M. is here to help.

Need some pumpkin inspiration?

Ever wondered what the connection is between books and pumpkins?

Then check THESE out. Creative, charming and totally cool.

What do you think? Do they inspire you to get creative? I hope so.

 

Poltergeist – 1982

Starring

Craig T. Nelson – Steve Freeling
JoBeth Williams – Diane Freeling
Beatrice Straight – Dr. Lesh
Dominique Dunne  - Dana Freeling
Oliver Robins – Robbie Freeling
Heather O’Rourke  - Carol Anne Freeling

Summary

“What a combo! Tobe Hooper, the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, teamed up with family-oriented producer Steven Spielberg to make Poltergeist. The film is about a haunted suburban tract home in a development very much like the Arizona one in which Spielberg was raised. (Because it came out the same summer as Spielberg’s E.T., it was tempting to see both movies as representing Spielberg’s ambivalent feelings about childhood in suburbia. One was a fantasy, the other a nightmare.) Spielberg also cowrote the screenplay, which taps into primal, childlike fears of monsters under the bed, monsters in the closet, sinister clown faces, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. At first, some of the odd happenings in the house are kind of funny and amusing, but they grow gradually creepier until the film climaxes in a terrifying special-effects extravaganza when 5-year-old Carole Anne (Heather O’Rourke) is kidnapped by the spooks and held hostage in another dimension. Though not nearly as frightening as Hooper’s magnum opus, or the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, which came along two years later, Poltergeist is one of the smartest and most entertaining horror pictures of its time. –Jim Emerson”

- From Amazon.com

Review

This was a very….interesting movie. It was rated PG but this movie is about 30 years old and I would say it definitely was not PG. It was more like PG-13. The movie was not scary when you compare it to todays standards, but it did have its moments which were definitely not  PG moments. There was a scene where The Beast made one of the ghost hunters hallucinate that something really gruesome was happening to his face and it was creepy. It would not be considered that to todays standards but the rest of the movie was so harmless that it was not expected and made you jump.

Then there was the clown. Don’t get me started on the clown. I hated clowns to start with but this just did it.The clown was there and then it wasn’t. I HATE clowns. Except Bello and Grandma.

    

But I hate these clowns.

Never have and never will.

This is a definite movie to watch as it is a classic (along with Nightmare on Elm Street (not seen that yet )) but I would definitely wait until you are at least 13 years of age to see this one. Just for a few reasons.

To read CommonSenseMedia.org’s review click here.

I did enjoy this movie and I may just have to check out Poltergeist II and Poltergesit III.

Hope that you enjoy this one.

“They’re here!”

FunDay Friday

Halloween is just around the corner and just in time I found this interesting video on Barnes and Noble. Scary readings by some interesting people. Check it out.

Click here to view the video.

Van Helsing (2004)

As Halloween is just around the corner I thought that I would start watching some Halloween movies. So, the other night I saw this DVD beckoning me, and it was an interesting one. So, I decided that it would be a great Halloween movie. Scary, exciting, with a little undead. So here we goooo…..
Starring
Hugh Jackman – Van Helsing
Kate Beckinsale – Anna Valerious
Richard Roxburgh – Count Vladislaus Dracula
David Wenham – Carl

Summary
“Legendary monster hunter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is summonded to mysterious Transylvania on a mission that will thrust him into a sweeping battle against the forces of darkness. With non-stop action and electrifying special effects, VAN HELSING is an adrenaline-powered monition picture even Roger Ebert calls “Spectacular!”"

-Back of Movie Box

Review

This is the classic Dracula story with a nice twist. It had Frankenstein, it had werewolves, and other demonic creatures as well. This story is about Count Dracula and his mission to make his kind thrive, but then Van Helsing, his old enemy, arrives to make his life just a tad more difficult.

This is an amazing Halloween movie. The action was non-stop, there were some things which made you jump, but it was not too scary  - for teens. This is the perfect movie for younger teens and up (14+.) There was some gore but it was not too bad. The monster got cut and the blood spurted but it was literally a frame and that was it. Some of the creatures in this movie were a little scary, like Dracula’s brides. I though that Richard Roxburgh was the perfect actor for Count Vladislaus Dracula. He looked like a Dracula to me and he played the part extremely well. Hugh Jackman was the hero of this film and he played his party of Van Helsing very well. He made his character come alive with his subtle jokes now and then. Then Kate Beckinsale played the beautiful Anna Valerious. She was not your ordinary woman. She would kick butt along side Van Helsing.

This story is perfect for a family with older teens. There is nothing sexual in this at all and there is only mild language like “godda**” and words like “oh my God.” Nothing too extreme at all. I loved this movie and I recommend  watching it as it is a perfect Halloween movie,  and Halloween is just around the corner.

I hope that you all enjoy it and tell me what you think!!

Looking For Some Scary Reads??

Just as the season of the seriously creepy has arrived with darker nights, billowing leaves, sighing in the trees the nights are longer, lonelier….. in case you are stuck for something seasonal to read Book Riot has just the answer with a list of Spooky Reads. There are some great suggestions to keep everyone happy – including wimps! Be sure to check out their piece on Dracula. A classic tale  - reviewed here.

A Little Halloween Fun!!!!

I know that it is almost Saturday, or late in the day on Friday for many people, but I just thought to share this game with you guys for my FunDay Friday!!!

This is called Bowling Cats (don’t worry, no cats were harmed in the making of this game.) What you do is bowl and this game can keep you entertained for a little while.

My mom showed me this game like 4 years ago and I just remembered it. Hope that you enjoy it.

Click here to play the game.

Or if it does not work the link is…

http://www.brandextract.com/catbowling/

The Spider and the Fly by Tony DiTerlizzi (Based on poem by Mary Howitt)

This is such an amazing book. It is, admittedly, a picture book. Not something that a Young Adult’s would read, but I have to say this is a very good book. The story is very cute and there are also some really good illustrations as you can see.

I was curious how the pictures were drawn or created because they are so good, so I looked in the back of the book. It said, “The illustrations that appear in this book were rendered using Lamp Black and Titanium White Holbein Acryla Gouache and Berol Prismacolo Pencil on Strathmore 5-Ply, Plate Bristol board and reproduced in silver and black duotone. The “ghosts” were created in graphite and then added as a transparent layer using Adobe Photoshop.” To sum it all up into a few simple words, a lot of it was drawn by hand, but some of it was “enhanced” with Adobe Photoshop. When I say “enhanced” I mean the edges were rounded and the pictures were softened and there was a glow added. But overall this book was hand drawn. A very impressive work of art, if you would call it that. This story was based around the poem and became its own little masterpiece.

This book is not for younger children because they might find the spider scary or the story a little frightening. I have always loved it because I like the pictures. They are really good and they are just so much fun to look at. There are little things hidden all over the place. Not a treasure hunt, but the ghosts and the butterfly are on almost every page. I would definitely check this book out because it is really cute and a great Halloween read.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer : Season 1 : Episode 0-12

What is this TV show about?

This movie is about a girl named Buffy Summers who from her first day at her new school was having problems. Her mother and her moved to this new town to get away from the last school which she burned down. On her first day at school a girl is dead and after that many more problems follow. Then there is the weird guy Angel who keeps telling her about what is going to come and what is about to happen. She also find out that the town which she is living in is on top of a entrance to Hell – Hellmouth – and that means with her being the Slayer, she is kept busy around the clock kicking some tough demon butt.

What are my thoughts on the TV Show?

I personally love this series. I watched the first two seasons completely and now I am just jumping around between the seasons watching whichever episode has an interesting title. The story is interesting and it is fun to watch but I must warn you that you should screen the movies before you watch them. This series – I say - is for no one under the age of 12-13 because it is violent – lots of demon fighting and stakes through hearts – and there is also a lot of romance. As the series progresses the romance gets much more intense and the violence become much more. Instead of just demon violence there is violence between humans and that sometimes involves blood. The first series is, however, quite harmless, just the regular demon butt kicking.  There are a lot of jokes cracked and some of the humor is sexual based. If you are over the age of about 12-13 as I said before, this series would be great. Exciting, keeps you entertained, and you do not want to turn it off. I watched three episodes in one night and I got in a lot of trouble because the episodes are about 45 minutes each. So if you want to watch a few, time table because they are long episodes. Also when you hear the name ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ you think ‘Hey, that must be a childish movie/tv show. What a dumb name.’ Or let me rephrase that, that is what I thought. But then I though hey, let me watch the trailer for the first episode and I did and I thought it looked good. So I tried the first one, one night near Halloween and I got hooked. Also watch the TV episodes, not the movie because there is a movie called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it looks horrible to me. It does not look Buffy-ish to me. But that is my own opinion and so you could watch the trailer and let me know if it is any good. But this review is only for the first season and there are 8 seasons all together. I will do a review for all of the seasons but you must watch the first season. You should not just watch any one because there is a sequence to the first and second season and after that it is just the same with Buffy kicking vampire butt. But I will review them all and enjoy.

What is the Episode Order?

 Season 1
Episode 0 – Unaired Pilot
Episode 1 – Welcome to the Hellmouth
Episode 2 – The Harvest
Episode 3 – Witch
Episode 4 – Teacher’s Pet *
Episode 5 – Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
Episode 6 – The Pack *
Episode 7 – Angel
Episode 8 – I,Robot…You, Jane
Episode 9 – The Puppet Show **
Episode 10 – Nightmares
Episode 11 – Out of Mind, Out of Sight
Episode 12 – Prophecy Girl

*Creepy and Slightly Disturbing.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Cast

Halloween Thoughts

Halloween is finally here and once again it is time to get out the jack-o-lanterns, and time to get out that scary mask that was stored deep into the box. This is the time when if you are not in bed by midnight, you will turn into a pumpkin or the witches will come and snatch you up. But on a happier not here is a little poem which I found. It was made into the book THE SPIDER AND THE FLY by TONY DiTERLIZZI. But it was based on this poem.

Walk Into My Parlor
- by Mary Howitt

“Will you walk into my parlor?”
said the spider to the fly;
“Tis the prettiest little parlor that you ever did spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there.”
“Oh no, no!” said the little fly,
“to ask me is in vain;
For who goes up your winding stair
can never come down again.”

If you know any good Halloween poems, share them. Even if you made it yourself. Even if you don’t think its good. It is still a poem and Halloween is still Halloween and this blog need all the Halloween spirit that it can get. So even if it is a little Halloween story, share it.

And let the Halloween Season begin!!!!!!

The Old Willis Place A GHOST STORY by Mary Downing Hahn “An empty house….full of secrets”

Summary

Diana and her little brother, Georgie, have been living behind this old mansion for what seems like a century. They can never go into the house because of a strict set of rules and what is behind the closed doors. Something terrible is lurking in the parlor of the house. And if they go into the house, not even the parlor but just the house itself, dreadful things will happen. But when a new caretaker and his daughter, Lissa, arrive, Diana will risk everything to meet and be friends with her. But soon after that, Georgie and Diana learn that breaking the rules could be the end of it. Especially for Diana and Georgie.

Review

At some points in this book, I got little goosebumps. This book is not what it seems. What I liked about this book was the atmosphere that Mary Hahn created. It was kind of ……….surreal yet at the same time it seemed real. I liked this book so much I read it in about 4 days. This book is not a very hard to read. When this book is read at night………….you really get the goosebumps. Especially when you get to the middle. This book does have a couple of deaths so if you do not like those type of things, this book is not for you. If you are going to read it, read it soon since we are in the halloween season. I hope you enjoy it

Happy Reading!!!!!

Halloween Poll

Halloween Books

Since we are in the season, I thought that it would be appropriate to review some of my favorite Halloween books to get you in the mood.

These are my top 4.

#1. Winnie Flies Again

by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas

This book is about how Winnie the Witch use to fly on a broomstick but she decided that the skies were too dangerous for her and so she tried many different ways to get around.
This little book is very funny and even though the topic of the story has nothing to do with Halloween, the Witch part does. This book has great illustrations. They are very colorful and the drawing are the best part of the book.

#2. Winnie’s Magic Wand

by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas

This book is about how Winnie the Witch WASHES her magic wand and how the wand starts to have a mind of it’s own. This is a very funny book and again, even though it is not about Halloween, this is still a good book to read at that time of the year. Again the books illustrations are great. That is what makes it so good.

#3. I’m Not Afraid of This Haunted House

by Laurie Friedman

illustrations by Teresa Murfin

This is a great book for Halloween. It is very funny especially the end but I cannot tell you why. You will just have to read it yourself to find out. The book does not have many words but the pictures in this book literally say a thousand word.

#4. Whooo’s Haunting the Teeny Tiny Ghost?

by Kay Winter

illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

This also is a really good book for Halloween. It pertains to the holiday. It also makes you have little goosebumps. (Especially when you read it in the dark.) The pictures are very good and they help elaborate the book even thought the word in the book do a pretty good job of doing that as it is.

Halloween Time is Arriving Once Again

Halloween is a great time of year. You get to dress up and run about with your friends saying “Trick or Treat” and collecting candy at every house in your sight. You get to eat sweet things that you would never be allowed but because this is a special time of year, you get this one time opportunity. So now that time of year is rolling around once more and the time for the scary displays and the costumes is arriving. It is time for the witches to do their hurleyburley and try and scare all of the little children into giving their candy to them. In recognition of the holiday (which is on a Saturday this year) for the rest of the month, I will be doing Halloween books. Some of the books I will be reviewing are The Graves Family by Patricia Polacco, HOOOOO’S Haunting the Teeny Tiny Ghost by Kay Winters, Winnie the Witch by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas and many, many more. I hope you enjoy this little treat.

Halloween Quotes

On Hallowe’en the thing
you must do
Is pretend that nothing
can frighten you
An’ if somethin’ scares you
and you want to run
Jus’ let on like
it’s Hallowe’en fun.
- – - from an Early Nineteenth Century Halloween Postcard

From ghoulish and ghosties and long leggety beasties and things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
- – - Scottish saying