Friday the 13th...eh

Since I'm not Gilgamesh hunting through the underworld for my dead friend Enkidu, scary numbers aren't a phobia of mine. Me, I'm scared of artificial humans like mannequins or ventriloquist dummies. A few TV shows and films that cemented my phobia? Oh yes, I want to share them with you.  I'll post all the links I can find so you can watch at least clips if not the entire show or film.

Kolchak was a favorite of mine and the episode with the moving mannequins really got me.  I know the effects weren't perfect, but the episode scared me.

Oh, and yes the effects are cheesy, but you've got to love a character like Kolchak... Who else would crawl into the resting place of a zombie only armed with a needle and thread, some candles, matches, and a container of Morton's salt. He was the best monster hunter.



Ventriloquist dummies are another creepy thing. Who the heck ever thought these things were cute needs to be smacked.  The Devil Doll just scared me to death. Let's see evil magician who can stuff his victim's consciousness into his little friend and force the animated dummy to do all kinds of nasty things.

Wouldn't you just love to see this little creep by your bed in the middle of the night?

Oh I do have to admit that there is one ventriloquist dummy I like. If you have never seen the Canadian comedy Puppets Who Kill, you should. A rehab or halfway house for killer puppets may seem an odd idea for a comedy. but it's quite funny. The dummy Bob is as evil as I think ventriloquist dummies are so he doesn't scare me.. go figure.

So if you want to watch something scary on this oh so frightening Friday, check out one of these.

Okay, the Devil Doll as a complete movie is here but the MST3000 version has the cleanest images.
MST3000 Devil Doll

The Kolchak The Trevi Collection episode...
Kolchak-The Trevi Collection

oh and as a bonus... The Zombie episode
The Zombie

Puppets Who Kill
Puppets Who Kill Episode 1

So, let me know what you think!

Scary Monkeys... Part two

Now evil monkeys can be scary, but these monkeys I'm talking about here like the trained chimps in Lancelot Link. Lancelot Link -the Doctor Goes Ape. They're scary only in the sense of the creepiness of dressing up and training fairly intelligent animals to imitate human behavior.

Don't get me wrong, I  am not like some people who are intimidated by animals closely related to us.  In many ways Chimps seem like humans with even less impulse control than we have.....which is why they can be so violent when provoked. We, as humans, often have such a thin veneer of civility and compassion that dressing up a so called lessor being and forcing it to act like us seems hypocritical. In many ways, we're so much more cruel.

                                                                         Now this sadness or revulsion I have about trained apes was why I had my alter ego Chat Noir create magical apes with their own set of abilities and regret it.  The saving grace of her chimps is that they are tiny and not stronger than a human so if they get really angry they aren't quite as dangerous as a real chimpanzee.

It's funny, but I feel odd about even making these figures sometimes.  Art you make even though it upsets you is hard to do.

Scary Monkeys....part one

What are the scariest creatures created for a movie? For me, it was the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz.    I tried my hand at making a flying monkey and I think my Tango is pretty creepy too.  I've never cared for the wings on the back of the figure....so I incorporated the wings into the arms.  I wonder how people like the look of the wing/arms combo. I'm designing a second winged monkey and will continue the combined arms unless it really might put off buyers. Let me know what you think.

One scary monkey TV movie I remember watching as a 13 yr old that creeped me out was this film called either A Cold Way to Die or what I knew it as The Chill Factor.  I love that this version even has the old TV movie opening.  If you watch it, I hope it creeps you out too.


             

Season of the Ghost- A White Ball of Fluff

Animal ghosts are the most delicate and timid of things.....at least the ones I've run into. It probably has a great deal to do with them being cat spirits. I can't imagine a dog ghost being timid.

In one of my Earlier stories I told you about Great Grandpa Albert. He wasn't the only ghost in MJ's Grandmother's house.

His Grandmother kept several cats and I'd see their ghosts on occasion. A cat ghost is just a delicate wisp and just flutters by you like a cool breeze.

One little wisp used to hang around with me when I was sharing MJ's studio in one of the upstalirs bedrooms. She was a quick little ball of fluff and my impression of her was that she had been a little white cat with dark patches. I'd often catch a glimpse of her zipping ahead of me on the stairs as I headed for the studio.

Quite often I'd feel a cool patch next to my paint palette. She liked sitting on the work table next to me and watching me work.

I only saw little Fluff completely motionless once. I entered the studio and there she was sitting on the table waiting for me. The house was converted into offices when it was sold and I often wonder if anyone there has a little wisp of a companion who sits beside them and watches them work.

This photo is one MJ took of one of our rescues, Kirby. Unfortunately Kirby became ill and couldn't be saved. I haven't seen him around the house yet, but who knows? :)

Season of the Ghost- The Man in the Window

This story is one that in some way makes me the saddest. I felt that Albert was always lonely and I don't like to think of him alone in a house that's different from what he remembers from when he was alive. I always hope that the white fluff and Albert find each other.

When I started dating MJ way back in 1983, he was living in his Grandma's house. She had died recently, so he and his brother were acting as caretakers.

This was an interesting old place. Albert, MJ's Great Grandfather, had built this house and the one next to it. It was 2 stories and huge. It had a big kitchen that opened up to a room with a fire place and from there, that room led to a short breezeway with small paned windows that looked
out onto the front yard. At the end of this breezeway was a shop where MJ's Grandfather had had his saw saw sharpening business.

One late afternoon MJ and I arrived at the house and parked in front of the breezeway windows. As we got out I looked up and saw an elderly man peering out at me. Since I knew MJ and his brother were the only ones living there, I was a bit startled for a second. I paused and MJ asked me what was wrong. I replied that I was fine...we'd only been dating a week or 2 and wasn't ready to have the I see ghosts regularly talk yet.

Well, I kept my eyes open, got closer to MJ and as we were getting more serious I told him about some of my ghostly encounters. I decided to wait on discussing the elderly ghost until I had done a little more investigating. In the old saw shop area, all kinds of family papers and pictures had been stored. There was a beautiful old velvet covered photo album with a lovely photo of MJ's Paternal Great Grandma and a bunch of pictures no one in the family could identify. So, my quiet search for the id of the man in the window continued.

One night we parked in our usual spot and the elderly man appeared in his window. He started like fog and solidified. I casually asked MJ if there was a white haired man that worked with his Grandfather in the saw shop. MJ replied that his Granddad worked alone. "Well then who is the old white haired guy peering out the middle window?" Before I could tell him that I was just seeing a ghost, MJ rushed in through the breezeway door and found no one.

We had a long talk and I described the ghost's white hair, large nose and red and brown plaid flannel shirt. MJ went upstairs and rummaged around forever. Finally he came down with a small stretched canvas. "I painted this when I was a kid, " he said and turned the canvas so I could see it.... a Jr high art style portrait of a white haired man with a large nose wearing a brown and red plaid flannel shirt. "He was my Great Grandfather Albert. He's the guy who built this house. When he was alive, what is now the old saw shop was his apartment."

MJ never saw Grandpa Albert, but felt cold spots in the shop when I would see him looking out of the window. He never responded to me when I tried to speak to him and no one else ever saw him. Even after Mike's Dad sold the house, sometimes I'd see Albert looking out his window when we'd drive by the house. To this day, I wonder if he's still watching and who he's waiting for.

Here's another spooky MJ illustration to dress up my post.:)

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Old Horror Movies-Brides of Dracula

I know it's an English film, but this poster is more dramatic.  Photography is an art form, but
I just prefer painted posters.

A young teacher on her way to a position in Transylvania helps a young man escape the shackles his mother has put on him. In so doing she innocently unleashes the horrors of the undead once again on the populace, including those at her school for ladies. Luckily for some, Dr Van Helsing is already on his way.

Mlle. Danielle(on right) another teacher and the headmistress... or innocent bystander, love interest and lunch

(IMDB plot synopsis)

One of my all time favorite vampire movies. I love Peter Cushing's Van Helsing. When I first saw it, the idea of a blonde vampire was unusual, so I liked that aspect of the casting. 

My favorite Van Helsing. 

The vampire as an elite spoiled brat amuses me too.  I like the Baroness even though she raised a brat. Probably because she eventually admits it and lives to honestly regret it.

What a miserable son...turning Mom into a vampire

The maid, Greta, I like because she calls the Baroness on indirectly turning her son into a monster. When she goes mad and starts helping Baron Meinster and his brides, the actress really chews the scenery. I especially like the scene where she's laying on the ground by a grave encouraging a new bride to dig her way out.... Shudder.

Greta encouraging a new bride to dig her way out.

The script writers played with vampire rules in interesting ways in this film. Van Helsing burns a bite with a branding iron and douses it with holy water to save himself. Oh and he does kill Meinster with a cross.....in a way.

Baron Meinster...after lunch

If you like old school vampire movies, the Hammer horror films are some of the best. Curl up with some popcorn and catch a great vampire romp.

Season of the Ghost- Dead Babies in a Burning Car

Yeah, I know weird, nasty title. The phrase is one I learned from an old boyfriend who was a photojournalist. He had a professor who felt this was one of the ultimate photo ops for a photojournalist. I use the phrase when I see something really horrific happen. And sometimes I can just be a w/bitch.

Well, today I have a sad little story. And yes, this one deals with another Ouija board. MJ and I were at a friend's house for pizza and a video. Maggie, Bob and their roommate, Alex were all telling gruesome stories. Bob always seemed to like to try to upset me or gross me out the point of nausea. Maggie seemed to like to pick at me and make feel less than human. But I put up with the crap cause MJ was friends with Alex and Bob. The negativity of the house's energy didn't help either. Negative people seem to collect negative spirits.

We got talking about ghosts, psychics etc and I related the Flaming Gary story. Maggie insisted on us trying out her Ouija board. I was in no mood, but I was annoyed enough with the whole miserable evening to agree....the environment had some bad vibes and the idea of scaring Bob and Maggie was appealing. .....Hey, I'm human, okay?

So the board came out and we started off. It wouldn't work unless I had a fingertip on the planchette. We had a few spirits that answered a few yes or no questions, but one kept showing up and it had a message for Shelly.

Maggie wanted to stop then, but the ghost or whatever was determined. It wanted to talk to Bob...well Bob was not happy and Maggie was pissed. Apparently Bob had had a relationship with this chick, Shelly, before he met Maggie and fathered a kid. Supposedly this ghost was the baby. Bob and Maggie were the only 2 people present who knew bout the abortion. Needless to say I got what I wanted.... Neither of them picked at me for quite sometime.

As to the entity being an aborted baby, I don't believe it, but entities/energies already in the house playing with 2 nasty people....yes. I think one of them took pity on me or I just finally used my own psychic abilities to protect myself.

Yep, this is another of MJ's illustrations. After this incident, Witchy Woman was my nickname. :)

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)

Season of the Ghost - The Ouija Board and Flaming Gary

When I was around 11, one of the neighbor kids, Susan, showed up with a Ouija board instead of the Monopoly game she said she was getting. She explained how we all needed to put a finger on the planchette and ask questions.

Well, you could tell Sue was moving the planchette. So we weren't impressed. Everybody took a turn and the planchette never moved a millimeter.

Now, I had been seeing ghosts since my Grandma Bartlett died when I was 7, so this doodad board wasn't impressing me too much. It couldn't compare with getting a last hug from Grandma or the little white floating spirits I saw in the woods behind our house.

I took my turn and wouldn't you know that planchette zipped around like it was electrified. The man who wanted to talk to me was named Gary and he was really excited to talk to me and wanted me to do him a favor. I was supposed to go get some matches and bring them out to the yard where we were all sitting.

He explained that he and his brother were killed in a house fire in a house that once stood near we were playing .....

Suddenly the planchette jumped and slid violently off the board. We all freaked and got up off the blanket we'd been sitting on. Everybody dared me to try the board again. I figured a ghost couldn't really hurt me and I did get dared.... so I plopped back down.

The planchette started moving again and this time I was talking to Ian. According to him, Gary started the fire that killed just him. I got this uneasy feeling that someone was behind me and jumped up. After that I lost interest in the ouija board, but Gary still seemed to be following me around. I thought I saw him a few times in the woods behind our house. I had a couple of dreams where I saw a man running from a burning house and through the windows.....saw a man fall into the fire.

From that experience, I learned not all spirits were good and that needed to not listen to the bad ones. Also, being dead doesn't always give the ghost any more knowledge than when he or she was alive.

As an adult I've thought about when this fire could have taken place, what were Gary's motives in wanting me to get matches and if he affected any other kids? I probably still wonder about this ghost because during that year a couple of kids I knew died in house fires.

The house had tiny little paned windows and seemed to be in wooded area. The men seemed to be in old fashioned shirts and suspenders with knee high boots.
My guess is that the fire took place during the 19th century because the area seemed so undeveloped and the style of house and the tiny panes of glass reminded me of windows I'd seen in the historic homes at Hale Farm and Village. I've always thought about contacting the Tallmadge Historical Society to see if there were any records that might tell me about those 2 brothers.

Here's Andy Corn to make you laugh after my creepy story.:)















These illustrations are also done by my husband, MJBivouac

Dolly of Doom

I thought you might be wondering why receiving my Kissy doll was such a life altering experience for me. and I happened to find this photo on Flickr.  Bet there's a knife in that hidden hand.