The Secret of Lucifer's Island, 1967 (?) by Miriam Lynch

This surprising stinker was so bad I nearly forgot I'd begun reading it months ago. Came to mind last evening. Miriam Lynch bombed this time. Ironically another novel of hers published around the same year -- "The Bells of Widow's Bay" -- was a 5 out of 5 stars imo; one of the best Gothics I've yet read.

This story falls flat from the onset. I managed to get to page 60 before putting it away. The story opens with a young (though adult) heroine reluctantly accompanying her flamboyant ex-Vaudeville aunt to visit other retired show-business "friends" on a remote island. Our heroine is exhausted after a long bus ride with her self-centered auntie, and now it's twilight and they're standing on a dock waiting for their boat ride which shows no indication of arriving. Aunt sends heroine to the local rowdy dive (beautiful young virgin to ruffian drunkards; what sort of an aunt is she?) to try and hire a boat. Heroine succeeds. In the darkness they're rudely driven across frightening choppy waters by a coarse and hostile man who curtly informs them he's NOT taking their bags to the island mansion; once they arrive at that dock, they're on their own. Aunt moans and frets; she and heroine struggle up craggy hills and through dense undergrowth and trees, through pitch-black darkness...groping their way to the mansion. When they finally arrive at the mansion (sans sprains, concussions, fractures) somehow they're both magically able to see in the dark. And it seems the mansion is desserted. But no, it's not -- a lady answers the door, who is immediately hostile and refuses to permit them entry. The heroine is nearly (understandably) ballistic by this point; turns out her dear old aunt had neglected to inform heroine she'd received no reply to a query to come visiting and took it upon herself to "party crash" the place. Her goal? To seduce and marry the wealthy retired actor who owns the island.

Everyone at the mansion are cold and UNwelcoming of their "guests."

Next we find the heroine escorted to a dingy, poorly furnished room. She learns, to her continued delight, that auntie's room is clear across the mansion. Somehow she manages to trace aunt and ex-lady friend (in a hugely sprawling and dimly lit strange mansion??); they're arguing. Heroine, not wanting to be discovered eavesdropping, hurries back to her room -- but not before she sees a ghost.

At this point I stopped reading on the basis of "too improbable" and just plain silly. Nice cover art though; got it from Ebay I think.

The Vampire Tarot : Part 2

Earlier this week I posted about this Tarot deck. I have a Tarot collection (related to Jungian psychology), but no longer do readings.

I'd purchased this gorgeous deck a week ago, but waited until the time was right to open the box: Tonight. Actually I've not yet removed the shrink wrap from the cards themselves to savor the art, and won't until the time is right.

A bit of humor: The box lid is difficult to remove from the box itself. It is a very snug fit and it occurred to me if an actual vampire had this much trouble lifting a coffin lid, s/he'd have suffocated already - lol!

Tucked inside the black gem of a box is the shrink-wrapped deck of cards, snug in a recessed compartment; above and covering the cards is a beautiful soft-cover book which design matches the box lid's exterior. It is 227 pages and filled not only with an overview of Bram Stoker's "Dracula," but also a history of the Tarot and then a general (though concise) history of vampirism in Europe.

If you've ever wondered why vampire legends abounded in Eastern Europe versus Western Europe (I vaguely have but never pursued it), I came across an interesting bit of history in the book: After "The Great Schism" of 1054 (the split of the eastern Greek Church and western Roman Catholic), the Greek Church continued its belief in vampires, i.e. that an uncorrupted corpse was a sign of an evildoer whom sacred ground had rejected. The RC Church held a radically different view: Uncorrupted corpses were a sure sign of a saint. Also (going further back in time), during Charlemagne's reign (800 - 814 AD) the RC Church forbade belief in vampires. However, once the Inquisition geared up centuries later...you know the rest: "Everyone's a heretic" -- including the now very real vampire.
:-\

I am very much looking forward to reading the **treasure trove** of historical information in the book!

Another humorous note: While browsing through the short section on Tarot history and black/white reproduced images of standard (other deck) Trumps, I thought I read "Lemonade." :-O Huh?! No, it is "Le Monde": French for "The World" of course.
:-p

Coffin Candle Tins from AntiSally

And other goodies!

Okay, I know it's probably not Goth to say "Oh, aren't those CUTE?" But yeah: Those coffin candle tins are *adorable.* :-D

***Introduction Priced at $3.99:

Coffin Candle Tins. Each 2" metal coffin tin filled with 100% natural soy wax in your choice of GothRosary Fragrances and a pure cotton wick. The perfect spa candle for those personal inventory days. A great over the hill gift or the best way to tell your Goth that you love them. The empty tin is a lovely keepsake box for pocket or purse...***

I've done business with AntiSally before and highly recommend her at: GothRosary.com. She makes all sorts of cool stuff, including a private Goth item I particularly cherish. Will do business with her again soon (and no, she's not aware that I'm promoting her and doesn't know about this blog).

Gothic Tarot of Vampires

Mmmm...I'd like that gorgeous vampire to bite me! ;-p If memory serves, this Tarot was manufactured in the mid-1990s. It is still being manufactured last I knew, though my years-old deck is stashed safely away. Unfortunately my favorite cards in the deck (a vampire hanging upside down and somehow magically toasting another standing on the floor [the wine in his chalice held by reverse gravity apparently], and also the sensuous embrace of a vampire and vampiress) are not available online.

It is a somewhat violent and disturbing deck of cards; a sort of fierce beauty I often don't like. It's also a strange cocktail of European sophistication, Detroit gritty city, "The Crow"-esque: Sometimes sauve and elegant, other times back-alley and grimy. I can't think of a single adjective to describe it. The inclusion of Japanese dwarf trees (of all things!) in a couple of cards is outright outlandish. It's a busy deck with a hodge-podge of semi-related images. Frankly I sometimes think it's the stupidest deck ever, yet...it does all come together somehow.

More information:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/gothic-vampires/details.shtml

Three Cover Scans

I love all three of these covers, and would particularly like to have "Bride of Death"; not because of the cover art but because it's a Belmont Gothic and I've yet to read a bomb from that publisher. ACE and the others get ballyhooed a lot, but Belmont Gothics are consistently very good.

Good Riddance to The Decade from Hell!

It's only fair to post some images (obtained via internet and NOT scanned by me) if I'm going to blather a bit. "Time" Magazine proclaimed this decade "The Decade From Hell." I heartily agree; however, we (husband/myself) have had a handful of good/fortunate things for which we're thankful/grateful. The last (I hope) "hurrah!" in this weird and troubling decade occurred a scant 2 months ago: A cute old (82!) man who I'd considered fatherly and sweet turns out to WANT me. :-O You know the old saying: Snow on the roof, fire in the hearth. Yipes! That was truly stunning. And he's not giving up either! =:-O I've been touched, followed, eavesdropped on by this man. Yesterday he was dressed To The Nines, displaying jealousy towards my husband and smiling knowingly at me. :-( It is STRANGE being aggressively pursued by a very mobile and healthy elderly man. He needs to reconcile with his estranged elderly wife and quit chasing me! Geez. It'd be funny if I weren't so UNsure I couldn't outwrestle/outwrangle him if the old boy gets insistent enough. :-( Yeah, he played it very cool and innocent until the mask came off. Life sure IS full of surprises. Sort of like Gothic Suspense!
:-\

I do have "Greystones." It'll be read later. Basically I'm something of a nerd girl with an IQ of 130 who prefers serious and nonfiction, such as "The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, The World's Most Astonishing Number" by Mario Livio [2002]. I recommend it! ;-)

Oh, and I *love* the cover of "Shadow of a Witch." I'm still hoping to obtain a copy of it.

The Vampire Tarot :: Robert M. Place

http://thealchemicalegg.com/VampTarot.html


I do like Tarot. :-) But I don't read the cards for two reasons, one of which is they're too habit-forming (to the point of being a weakness).

The other day whilst yours truly was traipsing through Barnes & Noble, this gorgeous black and crimson box grabbed my eye. Sort of like Bugs Bunny's sudden-stop {{-!!KOING!!-}} reaction. :-p

Inner thoughts: {No. Don't buy it. Habit forming!}

Next day: Bought it. :-p

But it's still unopened. These things take time...like aging wine.
;-) And I don't even like wine. Okay, like good sex then. :-D

The factor which decided me, aside from the art of course, was the direct tie-in to Bram Stoker's "Dracula."

I, a former ace Tarot reader, will also say it is powerful. Even wrapped and unopened. The second I held the box in my hands, I felt its deeply powerful resonance (as a child I had the gift of psychometry; knew what was inside wrapped gifts; always freaked my parents and sister out). I look forward to enjoying the lovely art and reading the accompanying book.

And of course Mina is always Winona Ryder (who I've not yet forgiven for breaking up with Johnny Depp!). ;-)