Creating Beauty

As a child, I was frightened by a humongous Kissy doll. At 3, it was as big as I was and when you pulled it's hands together it made a smacking or a supposed kissing sound. I was sure it would get up and get me......making smacking sounds as it neared my bed.

Now I make dolls.....some are supposed to be scary, but most just reflect how I look at beauty. To me we have a very narrow view of what beauty is and is not. I have cerebral palsy and don't think I'm whining about it I'm not. I'm lucky my case is very mild compared to some people's. But you can pick me out as different, I walk awkwardly, but my arm and leg work correctly.....for someone with a partially paralyzed arm and leg.

I look like someone with CP is supposed to and in my way I'm attractive. I try to reflect alternative beauty in the dolls I create and so in some ways I'm still dealing with fear, but now it's not my own.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Old Horror Movies-The Black Cat

I love painted movie posters. The colors in this one are wonderful.


Dr.Verdegast


Poelzig leading the black mass
This has always been one of my favorite horror films.                                                                                          The basic plot is straight forward..."Honeymooning in Hungary, Joan and Peter Allison share their train compartment with Dr. Vitus Verdegast, a courtly but tragic man who is returning to the remains of the town he defended before becoming a prisoner of war for fifteen years. When their hotel-bound bus crashes in a mountain storm and Joan is injured, the travelers seek refuge in the home, built fortress-like upon the site of a bloody battlefield, of famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig. There, cat-phobic Verdegast learns his wife's fate, grieves for his lost daughter, and must play a game of chess for Allison's life. " (IMDB synopsis)

Little did Joan and Peter know their European honeymoon would be so scary.
Poelzig and Vertegast's daughter
But the underlying creepiness of all the relationships is what intrigues me... Poelzig is married to Vertegast's daughter... the lovely lady floating in the box.....Vertegast's dead wife.

Vertegast's wife
Considering the time period, the marriage of Poelzig to Vertegast's daughter almost seems to be incest.

The verbal battling between Poelzig and Vertegast is intense and Vertegast's descent into despair is frightening.

I think I love black and white movies so much because the lighting is usually so beautiful. The mood is always sinister and much of the horror is left up to the imagination...fortunately.  I don' t think I'd want to see Vertegast's revenge in any great detail.

No, not much gore or any sudden shocks, but I prefer interesting characters and a plot.

If you want to be creeped out emotionally....you might want to check out The Black Cat..... starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi(1934)
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