Three Cover Art

It being rainy and gloomy here the past 3 days, figured I'd share these:



















[The Crimson Moon/Call of Glengarron/Eight Candles Glowing]

House Above Hollywood, by Velda Johnston [late '60s]

Snoooooozefest. :-( This novel started out promising, but ultimately bombed. There is no "nightmare cult" throughout most of it, and nothing substantial leading up to the heroine's ensnaring. What we have is a gal who goes to California in search of answers to her alcoholic father's apparent suicide (years later)...an aging silent-movie siren who likes watching TV and answering fan mail...a snide and suspicious nephew who ultimately turns nice and tries to woo the heroine...a young married Chinese-American couple who pretend to have fake Chinese accents in hopes the old mistress of the mansion will feel more at ease with them (-rolleyes-)...semi-weird happenstances...a slightly shady leech with his own new-agey type following who flatters the old dame. The cover art is beautiful. The story is a constant let-down. I give it 2 stars out of 5 for at least having gotten published. :-\

I voted for Kitty LeClaw! Ms. Horror Blogosphere 2009

http://thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com/2009/11/ms-horror-blogosphere-2009-let-voting.html

I was asked to check out this poll by Karswell (who also created my blog's lovely banner), and to vote for Kitty LeClaw. I've visited Ms. LeClaw's blog numerous times before and have enjoyed her unique style and expression.

http://killer--kittens.blogspot.com/

I'm glad to vote for you, Kitty; best of luck for a well-deserved win! Trixie also voted (and has always especially loved your blog's title)!
;-)

Cover Scan: The Haunting of Drumroe

These scans were obtained online. I own this novel and have yet to read it. Was published in the late '60s or early '70s. The story is set in Ireland and apparently combines both pagan and Christian elements/history. It also has a couple of recipes for authentic Irish food in the back of the book! :-) The cover art is gorgeous, though her being in that cold snowy night with only a flimsy nightgown (and bare feet??) staggers the imagination. I thought this would be a perfect cover to share for October.

October Already?

Yours truly has been gone a while, as I'm currently enjoying fiction of an entirely different genre; more on that later. Wasn't it *just* July?? Sure it was: We went to see "Star Trek" in a blessedly dark and cool theater while it was blistering hot and sunny outside. Zachary Quinto as Young Spock: RrrRRRrr. ;-)

Halloween is a scant 30 days away and this weekend I'll buy candy for the trick-or-treaters. At Walgreens they're selling CANDY BLOOD. :-O It looks like blood (presumably is the same sort of fruity liquid which comes in those little wax soda bottles) in an IV drip bag. Ugh! I'll pass. :-\

I'll try to post some cover art soon; this is the month of October after all! Will begin reading Gothics again in the near future. Speaking of those, my sister expressed an interest so I sent 4 to her: Satan's Rock, Circle of Death, The Devil's Daughter, The Seventh All Hallow's Eve. The very last was recommended by Absinthe, and I unwittingly obtained 2 copies of it. I have yet to read it. The others are highly recommended and I reviewed them months ago. I also tossed in some Halloween goodies (edible and non-) for sis, and a card of glowing jack o' lanterns gracefully dotting a front lawn.

Take care and have a spooktacular (you knew that was coming) October. Yeah I know I'm not the hippest wannabe Goth around, but heck...I try. :-p

Dual Cover Art: The Case of the Weird Sisters

Mid-summer 2008 I found the 1st copy at the local used/out-of-print bookstore. Couldn't pass up that quietly disturbing cover. To be honest? I think these chicks were my babysitters! This cover/edition is from 1971, if I recall the exact year correctly. It's tucked away in one of 4 [--yes, 4] metal boxes and I'm not inclined to go digging. It'll probably be a while before I read the novel.
I love the eerie aura of the 1st cover art [particularly that softly sinister golden glow amongst the trees], and equally enjoy the bold angles and colors [particularly the *green* face] of the 2nd.

Film: The Crow [1994]

This film needs no introduction nor review. It'd been a while since I'd watched it (mostly because we needed a "new" VCR as we're not going to replace all our VHS tapes with DVDs). Last evening was perfect for it: Overcast, gloomy, lightning and rain (that's a rarity in this otherwise sunny desert with its 320 days of sunshine on average; but we're currently in the rainy season). I lit three candles and put the movie on. My husband asked why I'd lit candles. Um...because it's a *Gothic* film? Duh. :-p

In 1994 I'd just come out of New Age involvement (yes, gentle reader, in the early 1990's yours truly was a 20-something hanging around with folks 20 years my senior who'd been hippies and flower children in the '60s). Four years prior, in 1990, I'd read the "comic book" series of The Crow. Its dark and disturbing imagery was a bit difficult to comprehend at the time; however, the love story was compelling and kept me reading. When the film came out I had to see it; I was immediately hooked and it's definitely a favorite.

This is of course the story of "Shelly Webster and her nice rock 'n roll boyfriend, Eric Draven" who are savagely attacked by a criminal gang on Devil's Night, and the night before their intended Halloween wedding. Eric Draven is resurrected and given powers by a crow for vengeance on their killers.

The characters of Sarah and Sgt. Albrecht are wonderful; they help to round out the film. Favorite scenes include Sarah passing on onions for her hot dog because "they make you fart big time." Sgt. Albrecht referring to Eric as "the mime from Hell" after he vanishes.

Other favored scenes are Eric's tossing rings into Gideon's face while condemning him with "Each of these rings represents a life: A life which you helped to destroy." Eric holding Darla fast before a mirror, telling her "'Mother' is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children," and making the morphine to run out of her veins. She sobers up and we next see her clean, smiling and cooking breakfast for Sarah. Eric's flashback memories of Shelly; the tenderness and passion of their romance. Rescuing Sarah the skateboarder from an oncoming car; when she complains she wished the rain would stop he replies, "It can't rain all the time." Shelly and Eric's ghostly embrace and reunion at their graves.

Also notable is the highlighting of the depths of T-Bird's gang's moral decay. When confronted by a grieving Eric, Tin-Tin has no compassion nor remorse...or shock. Tin-Tin's not the least bit taken by the supernatural quality of Eric's existence: Instead, he cruelly taunts Eric about having enjoyed raping Shelly. Funboy moans "You've ruined my sheets!" after being shot, and when dying of multiple morphine injections his last words are "You're wasting it!" Top Dollar's henchmen prove there's no honor amongst thieves/criminals.

Most poignant of course is Brandon Lee's own real-life engagement, soon to be wed and tragic death during filming. The scene of flashlight-bearing children in masks and costumes, running towards and past him on a dark street, seems a "goodbye" scene to the actor himself.

I think of The Crow as a love story first and foremost, even if I'm not a great romantic.