Supernatural Friday: Binging on Horror: 13 Scary Films, Plus One More

I know there are many more good horror films, but here are thirteen, plus one more to get you started on binging for Halloween, beginning in September.

1. The Haunting (1963). Based on the novel, The Haunting of Hill House. Don’t rent the 90s stinkero remake. Get this one. But with Netflix to have The Haunting of Hill House as a TV series to binge watch beginning October 12, 2018, I think going back to watching the black and white film is perfect now. Premise: Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity. With him are the skeptical young Luke, who stands to inherit the house, the mysterious and clairvoyant Theodora and the insecure Eleanor, whose psychic abilities make her feel somehow attuned to whatever spirits inhabit the old mansion. As time goes by it becomes obvious that they have gotten more than they bargained for as the ghostly presence in the house manifests itself in horrific and deadly ways. The film doesn’t need special effects to scare you. So grab this film, turn off the lights, huddle on the couch or your favorite chair, and be prepared to be frightened.

2. Dog Soldiers (2002). No this is not a military film, though there are English soldiers in it. Plus a pack of werewolves they end up battling for their lives. And all set in the Scottish wilderness. Intense, this is one of the best werewolf horror films I have seen in a while. 

3.  An American Werewolf in London (1981). A horror film with werewolves that will make you think twice about traveling to English and hiking through it with your buddy at night and during a full moon.

4. Cabin the Woods (2011): The premise sounds old hat in horror films: “Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.” But honestly, it takes a surprising about-face, added with a dash of Lovecraft. I loved it. 

5.  30 Days of Night (2007). This is a vampire film that is intense from beginning to end. If you are looking for those breaks in humor, forget it, this movie won’t give it to you. If you’re looking for vampires that sparkle, forget it. These vamps are vicious and out for one thing you can give them, and it is not to love, but blood.

6.   Psycho (1960). Premise: a young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother. Though black and white, this Alfred Hitchcock film will scare you as only Hitchcock can. Famous for the shower scene.

7.  Evil Dead and Evil Dead II (1981 and 1987–both by Sam Raimi). First one is more grade-B horror, while the second one, a kind of remake has humor in it. The second one is the movie that made Bruce Campbell a B-movie icon and won Sam Raimi a whole lot more directing gigs. This film has equal parts humor and gore, but when the scares happen, they happen on a grand scale. Ever wondered what it would be like to fight your own hand? You won't have to wonder anymore after watching this movie. But still, I thought I point out the first one, too.

8.  28 Days Later (2002). Undead, or zombies as they are calling the ghouls of these films these days, this is a good one. Many movies have tried to recreate what a major city could look like after an apocalypse, but not many do it as hauntingly well as Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later." The terrifyingly fast zombie-like creatures roaming the landscape proved to be so effectively scary that the movie spawned a wave of movies featuring fast-paced zombies. And the zombies don’t have to die to change and are logical in why they act the way they do.

9.   The Descent (2005). This movie will terrify you if:  1) You’re claustrophobic. 2) You’re scared of the dark. 3) You have a fear of being trapped under the earth.  4) You have a fear of being trapped under the earth with vampire-like creatures that can see you but you can’t see them. netflix has the sequel that you can watch too.

10. Trick 'r Treat (2007): Now it's after Labor Day, we can go full blown Halloween crazy. Premise: Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pulls a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband. Perfect Halloween horror tales that will make you nervous about answering the door to trick-or-treaters.

11.  Alien (1979): “No one can hear you scream,” as the crew is stuck on a mining spaceship nowhere near Earth, where they run across something on a planet, what remains of a giant alien and what appears to be eggs or weirdly shaped rocks. One of the objects opens and something leaps from it to clasp onto the helmet of the crewmembers. Nostromo battle something that proves ET is not so friendly.  

12. John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982): This science fiction body horror movie is based on the short story, “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell that I had read back in college in an anthology, and John Carpenter's version is a more faithful adaptation than the 50s version with James Arness. It will make you question if your friend is really your friend or something that may want to take over the Earth.

13. A Quiet Place (2018):  Another science fiction horror movie with monstrous killing aliens. Premise: On a devastated Earth overrun by lethal and ever-hearing predators of a possible extraterrestrial origin, the Abbotts and their children struggles to survive in a desolate world in a new era of utter silence. As this new type of invader is attracted to noise, even the slightest of sounds can be deadly; however, it's been already twelve months since the powerful monsters' first sightings, and this resilient family still stands strong. To learn the rules of survival in this muted dystopia is essential; nevertheless, an otherwise joyous event is threatening an already frail stability. Now, more than ever, don't make a sound.

I am adding a 14th movie: Halloween (1978): with the new film by John Carpenter that says all but the first film never happened, where Jaime Lee Curtis returns and ready to battle Michael,  and releasing close to Halloween this October, this is a good time to watch the original film. Premise: This American slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut. The film tells the story of Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his older sister Judith Myers but escapes back the house he grew up in on Halloween.

Supernatural Friday: Alien Abduction

The term, alien abduction or abduction phenomenon describe "subjectively real memories of being taken secretly against one's will by apparently nonhuman entities and subjected to complex physical and psychological procedures, making them abductees.".  

Due to a paucity of objective physical evidence, most scientists and mental health professionals dismiss the phenomenon as "deception, suggestibility (fantasy-proneness, false memory syndrome), personality, sleep paralysis, psychopathology, psychodynamics [and] environmental factors. Prof. John E. Mack (October 4, 1929 – September 27, 2004), a respected Harvard University psychiatrist, devoted a substantial amount of time to investigating such cases and eventually concluded that the only phenomenon in psychiatry that adequately explained the patients' symptoms in several of the most compelling cases was posttraumatic stress disorder. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, and was a leading authority on the spiritual or transformational effects of alleged alien abduction. Mack had a world view inspired by elements of spiritual and philosophical traditions which hold that people are all connected to one another; this theme of "connection" was taken to a controversial extreme in the early 1990s when Mack commenced his decade-plus study of 200 men and women who reported recurrent alien encounter experiences. Such encounters had seen some limited attention from academic figures (R. Leo Sprinkle perhaps being the earliest, in the 1960s). Mack, however, remains probably the most esteemed academic to have studied the subject.

Post traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, may develop after a person is exposed to one or more traumatic events, such as effects of war, sexual assault, serious injury, or the threat of death. The diagnosis may be given when a group of symptoms, such as disturbing recurring flashbacks, avoidance or numbing of memories of the event, and hyperarousal continue for more than a month after the traumatic event. With abductees going through probing and more by their alien captors, this would be in line with them developing PTSD.

The first alien abduction to be widely publicized was the Betty and Barney Hill abduction in 1961. Reports of the abduction phenomenon have been made around the world since then. An entire subculture has developed around the subject, with support groups and a detailed mythos explaining the reasons for abductions: The various aliens (Greys, Reptilians, "Nordics" and so on) are said to have specific roles, origins, and motivations. Abduction claimants do not always attempt to explain the phenomenon, but some take independent research interest in it themselves and explain the lack of greater awareness of alien abduction as the result of either extraterrestrial or governmental interest in cover-up. 

Greys: Typically depicted as dark grey-skinned diminutive humanoid beings that possess reduced forms of, or completely lack, external human organs such as noses, ears or sex organs.  Their bodies are usually depicted as being elongated, having a small chest, and lacking in muscular definition and visible skeletal structure. Their legs are shorter and jointed differently from what one would expect in a human. Their limbs are often depicted as proportionally different from a human's; their humerus and thighs are the same lengths as their forearms and shins. Around half of all reported alien encounters in the United States describe Grey aliens. Such claims vary in every respect including their nature (ETs, extradimensionals, demons, or machines), origins, moral dispositions, intentions, and physical appearances (even varying in their eponymous skin color). A composite description derived from overlap in claims would have Greys as small-bodied sexless beings with smooth grey-colored skin, enlarged head and large black eyes. The origin of the idea of the Grey is commonly associated with the Betty and Barney Hill abduction claim which took place 1961, although skeptics see precursors in science fiction and earlier paranormal claims. The Grey aliens are also famous from the Roswell UFO incident from 1947. Greys are seen in movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and depicted in television in Stargate SG-1.

Reptilians: Also called reptoids, reptiloids, or draconians are reptilian humanoids that play a prominent role in science fiction, as well as modern ufology and conspiracy theories. The idea of reptilians on Earth was popularized by David Icke, a conspiracy theorist who says shape-shifting reptilian people control our world by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate our societies. Icke has claimed on multiple occasions that many of the world leaders are, or are possessed by, reptilians ruling the world. One of the earliest reports of an abductee encountering one of these type of aliens was that of Ashland, Nebraska police officer Herbert Schirmer, who claims to have been taken aboard a UFO in 1967 by humanoid beings with a slightly reptilian appearance, who wore a "winged serpent" emblem on the left side of their chests. Maybe Star Trek had it right with the Gorn?

Nordics: Nordics are typically described as six to seven feet tall (about two meters) with long blond hair and blue eyes, and are commonly reported as being male. Their skin is said to range from fair colored to tanned, they are reported to be in excellent physical shape, and they are sometimes described as wearing skintight clothing. During the 1950s, many contactees, especially those in Europe, reported beings fitting this description. Such claims became relatively less common in subsequent decades, as the grey alien supplanted the Nordic in most accounts of extraterrestrial encounters, but Nordic aliens are still occasionally reported. Some sources, such as UFO Contact Center International, refer to Nordic-type aliens as Pleiadians, referring to the Pleiades star cluster. They have been described as benevolent or even "magical" beings who want to observe and communicate with humans. Contactees have said that the Nordics are concerned about the Earth's environment or prospects for world peace, and may transmit messages telepathically.

Though the Hills were the most televised abduction case, if one looks back in history, one could find a possibility in mythology, with people and children taken by fairy and coming back years later hardly aged. Fairies steal babies, leaving a changeling in the child’s place. Fairies stole young women as brides, or perhaps for other, less honorable purposes. In the aptly named tale “Stolen Bride,” a gang of fairies carries off a young woman, and something similar happens in "Jamie Freel and the Young Lady.” In both cases, the women are put under an enchantment that leaves them mute and confused. Sounds somewhat like alien abduction, doesn’t it?  And sometimes the women are left pregnant—like in fairy stories—only to lose the child one night after abduction.

Next time you out alone in the country, looking up at the stars scattered across the night sky and one of them moves too oddly to be a plane, make sure it’s not heading your way. You never know, you might get abducted.

Supernatural Friday: Alien Abductions and Cattle Mutilations

Aliens appear to be doing more than just flying through our air or landing. No, they’re abducting people and even doing cow mutilations. Horrors! 

I am sure abductions have been happening for centuries. Think about fairy stones and people disappearing in the circles, returning sometimes to admit to finding themselves in Faerie. Sounds familiar? People abducted by aliens, returned by the beings, the abductees telling of being in spaceships, operated on. And no matter where they were taken, whether driving, in their beds, at a festival, or what, the lost of time.

But I will talk about some famous abductions.

In 1961, an interracial couple by the names of Barney and Betty Hill were driving along a road in the evening during a short vacation. Because of Barney's ulcer problems, the two had embarked on a vacation into Canada. It was when they were returning home on September 19^th, that Barney noticed a star acting erratic. It was 10:00 p.m. They were just north of North Woodstock, when Barney noticed that the star was moving in a very unusual manner. When they arrived at Indian Head, they stopped their car, and got out to have a better look. Using binoculars, Barney zoomed in what he thought was a star. This was no star! He could make out different colors of lights and see several rows of windows around a flying craft. The object moved closer, and now Barney could actually see people inside the ship. Was this strange flying object being piloted by humans?

The next thing the Hills recalled was being frightened by the unusual flying object, and the occupants inside of it. Barney scurried back to the car where Betty was waiting. They jumped into the car, and raced down the highway. Looking for the object, they found that it was now gone. As they drove on, they began to hear a beeping sound... once, then again. Although they had been driving only a couple of minutes, they were 35 miles down the road!

Betty and Barney finally arrived home safely. After seeing the UFO, the rest of their trip home had been uneventful. They were tired from their journey, and immediately went to bed. When Betty awoke the next day, she telephoned Janet, her sister, and told her about the strange object they had seen. Janet urged her to call Pease Air Force Base, and tell them what her and Barney had seen. After hearing Betty's report, Major Paul W. Henderson, told her: "The UFO was also confirmed by our radar."

They had been stopped on the road by aliens, and abducted by them too—becoming a famous case. They had lost two hours of time. Regressive hypnosis by Boston psychiatrist and neurologist Dr. Benjamin Simon played a major role in unveiling a dark secret of alien abduction and medical experimentation. During the intensive regression sessions, the Hills would describe their captors as "... bald-headed alien beings, about five foot tall, with grayish skin, pear shaped heads and slanting cat-like eyes." This description very much described what would become known as the "grays," now a standard description for the small beings with large heads, small mouths, and little or no ears, and hairless.

In South Ashburnham, Massachusetts on the night of January 25 1967, Betty Andreasson was working in her kitchen while her seven children, mother, and father were in the living room. All of a sudden, a bright red beam of light invaded the home. Betty rushed from the kitchen to her children, on edge from the phenomenon. Betty's father ran to look out of the kitchen window to see where the light came from. Amazement filled him at the sight five strange creatures heading toward their house in a hopping motion. He became shock as the creatures walked through the wooden door of the kitchen and entered the house. All of a sudden, the entire family was put into a type of trance. The five creatures wore a blue coverall with a wide belt. On their sleeves could be seen a logo of a bird. Three fingers were on their hands, and their feet were shod with boots. They did not actually walk, but floated as they moved along. Betty later would recall that she was not frightened by their presence, but instead, felt calm. In fact, one of them—one thought to maybe be the leader—communicated to her by telepathy.

Betty's mother and children were still in a state of suspended animation, while she was taken to the spacecraft. It rose in the air and joined a mother ship. She was subjected to a physical examination and then various tests by strange equipment. She was given one test which caused her pain, but resulted in being a religious awakening. She was gone for four hours.

As Patrolman Schirmer passed through the intersection of Highway 6 with Highway 63 on the outskirts of Ashland in 1967, he saw what appeared to be red lights on a large truck stopped a short way down Highway 63. He decided to turn around and check it out. He drove the short distance down 63 and stopped with his headlights shining on the object. According to Schirmer, the object was definitely not a truck. The red lights that he had seen were blinking through the oval portholes of a metallic, oval-shaped object.

Seven and a half years after the Betty and Barney Hill tale, Buff Ledge in Vermont would be visited by four UFOs doing revolutionary aerial maneuvers. Two counselors suffered missing time, and ultimately, sought professional help.

Fifteen different people see a large, silver UFO fly over a housing project in St. Tammany Parish, New Orleans, Louisiana in 1973. Only a scant 24 hours later, Calvin Parker and Charles Hickson would unwillingly take a journey twenty-four hours later after the sighting, thanks to strange creatures with claw-like hands abduct them. J. Allen Hynek investigates.

Author Whitley Strieber, author of horror fiction, The Wolfen (werewolves of a kind—I loved it) and The Hunger (vampires), was abducted by aliens from his isolated cabin in upstate New York he shared with his wife and son over the Christmas season of 1985. He encountered four kinds of aliens—one a little robot type, another was a short, stocky humanoid, the third type was very thin and frail with haunting black, slanted eyes, and the last had smaller, button-type eyes.. They preformed a number of medical procedures on him in the UFO they took him to. He wrote the book, Communion that had the entire story in it.

Strieber had activated his system at about 11:00 PM on December 26, and his family began to retire for the evening. A few hours later, he heard a strange sound, which woke him from sleep. Thinking that he might have a burglar who had set off the alarm system, he went to check it out. As he did, he was shocked to see a creature standing in his bedroom.

Before he knew it, Strieber was sitting in the woods that encircled his cabin. He was at a loss to explain what had happened, and how he had gotten from the bedroom to the woods. His memories were lost, and he eventually sought the help of Dr. Donald F. Klein. Klein would perform regressive hypnosis on Strieber in an attempt to recover the lost time.

One of the harrowing procedures Strieber went under was the insertion of a long needle directly into his brain. The aliens also inserted a tool into his rectum, and took a blood sample from his finger. Because many of the details of his alleged abduction were so bizarre, Dr. Klein diagnosed Strieber as having "temporal lobe epilepsy." One of the most common effects of the condition is the onset of hallucinations.

There are many more stories of people having these harrowing close encounters, the abductees not telling anyone, but a doctor and usually to be put under to account for lost time. Not just one or two, but entire families have been abducted.

COW MUTILATIONS:

Cow mutilations are another sign of the UFO beings. These mutilations are a phenomenon that has been plaguing cattle ranchers in the United States ever since the late 1960s. They have been recorded in all 50 states, but no one's ever been caught. The FBI concluded a report in 1979 stating that these strange animal deaths were attributable to mundane events such as predators and humans conducting cult activities. However, the report has never been accepted by the ranchers most affected by this enigma. Strange cattle deaths have not ceased and have actually picked up in frequency over the years. The signature descriptions of these deaths still persist: exsanguinations, no bodily fluid traces around the animal corpse; internal organs taken with surgical precision, etc.

Some in the UFO field of study have hypothesized that these strange mutilations are an ongoing program of radiation and/or infectious disease tracking. Though this theory seems a little far-fetched at face value, there exists plenty of circumstantial and tertiary support to seriously consider this explanation. Between 1957 and 1968, the US conducted a host of underground nuclear detonations. The sites included the states of Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. The purpose for these tests ran the gamut from providing information for hardening silos and measuring the effects on layers of rock to producing gases for use in providing an energy resource. However, these tests produced effects that were not totally anticipated prior to their detonations. Some of the tests caused minor fault tremors and on at least one occasion, the energy produced by one series of tremors immediately following a test exceeded the energy of the detonation. But more importantly, large doses of radiation were released into the immediate environment. It is wondered about the possible effects that underground radiation would have on our underground water reserves. The Ogallala Aquifer is a vast underground deposit of fossil water that spans the central region of the United States. It has provided drinking water and water for crops for the last 200 years. Any appreciable radioactive poisoning would have severely deleterious effects upon the entire food chain in the area – not to mention the effects upon anything grown in the area and transported to other areas of the country. If a researcher bothers to track the dates of cattle mutilations and compare them to the nuclear testing dates performed by the US government, it becomes immediately obvious that there exists a correlation. Surprisingly, the increase in cattle mutilations in the late 60s and early 70s seems to follow an increase in the underground nuclear testing events.

Another possibility going hand in hand with the radiation testing argument is that cattle mutilations are part of an ongoing program to test for infectious diseases gaining ground alongside the suspicion that radiation testing has been occurring. Some may even argue that both of these types of testing have been occurring simultaneously. Infectious diseases in animals provide a constant concern for governments with the Mad Cow Disease and Bird Flu epidemics as two examples. Again, the rationale for testing animals for infectious diseases lies behind its effects upon humans that use these animals for a food source. There has been considerable research done to support this theory. Of particular note is the extensive and well-documented work compiled in the report forwarded by the National Institute for Discovery Science based in Las Vegas, Nevada. This report delineates the specific diseases present in our dairy and cattle herds as well as the effects that it could have on the population. The report further goes on to report how the same aspects common to animal mutilations serve to suggest that some type of covert governmental testing is ongoing.

Greatest threat to the food supply and the human population that depends on its source for nourishment may lie in the formation of prions (something that is used for werewolves in the novel, Red Moon I am reading now). A prion is an abnormally-shaped protein strand that plays havoc with the internal organs of the infected host. These prions may form as a result of of an animal being fed food tainted with a specific disease, or by feeding the animal the reconstituted remains of the same species. The broad category that describes these diseases is Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE), and this category includes Mad Cow Disease, Scrapie, and Kuru. All of these diseases form as a result of the formation of prions.
The practice of feeding reconstituted animal parts to animals is not new. Approximately 100,000 cattle die of unknown causes each year, and the carcasses of these animals is often used to produce a protein-rich feed to give to other animals that are used as a food supply to humans. It is estimated that approximately 10% of these animals may have died as a result of TSE and feeding this tainted food to other animals may have greatly accelerated the spread of the disease.
Two possible explanations come to mind of why would any government do a covert operation on cattle, both disturbing. The agencies conducting the tests may be monitoring the herds that they wish to target as well as the possible actions that may be taken to combat and react to the mutilations. The lights could be the lights on helicopters being used to ferry the animals to an undisclosed testing site. The presence of strange phenomena prowling the skies and territory of the affected areas could be part of a vast program of disinformation targeted at the affected populace with the intent of steering them away from any action that may cause the truth of these strange activities to be revealed. Ranchers and farmers have been puzzled by the US government doing nothing. Some ranchers have complained that the government has actively worked against the affected cattle owners in getting a viable explanation for their cattle deaths.  Interestingly enough, I discovered that the National Institute for Discovery Science that is based in Las Vegas, is investigating into current mutilations. They are the only scientific organization in the country that is seriously pursuing the mutilation mystery, to determine who or what is doing this.
What is the real truth? Government? Or Aliens? Whichever you choose, either one is frightening. And let’s not go into a sort of vampire creature: chupacabra.
Whatever is happening on either subject, they are both interesting. It will be fascinating to see what is really behind one or the other.

Supernatural Friday: Eleven Scary Horror Films

October will be here in a couple of days and at the end of October is Halloween. At this time of year there are those who will read scary fiction or nonfiction ghost books, or watch scary movies. Personally, I watch the movies all year round or read the books the same. But today, on this last Supernatural Friday of September, I will start with what I think are eleven films to rent or buy on DVD, and watch.(Yeah-right, only I could make it an uneven number. . . )

1. Cabin the Woods (2011). This film just came out on DVD last week and I have watched it twice already. With Joss Whelon’s name as producer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity and The Avengers) attached to this film, I knew I had to have it, even though I didn’t catch it in the theaters this past spring. I heard it was worth the price of admission. And I will say, that is so true. Definitely a Whelon trademark, with some familiar faces too. The premise sounds old hat in horror films: “Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.” But honestly, there is a surprisingly difference. I loved it. Watch the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/

2. The Haunting (1963). Don’t rent the 90s stinkero remake. Get this one.  It is based on the novel, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Premise: Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity. With him are the skeptical young Luke, who stands to inherit the house, the mysterious and clairvoyant Theodora and the insecure Eleanor, whose psychic abilities make her feel somehow attuned to whatever spirits inhabit the old mansion. As time goes by it becomes obvious that they have gotten more than they bargained for as the ghostly presence in the house manifests itself in horrific and deadly ways. The film doesn’t need special effects to scare you. So grab this film, turn off the lights, huddle on the couch or your favorite chair, and be prepared to be frightened.

3.  Dog Soldiers (2002). No this is not a military film, though there are English soldiers in it. Plus a pack of werewolves they end up battling for their lives. And all set in the Scottish wilderness. Intense, this is one of the best werewolf horror films I have seen in a while. 

4.  An American Werewolf in London (1981). A horror film with werewolves that will make you think twice about traveling to English and hiking through it with your buddy at night and during a full moon.

5.  30 Days of Night (2007). This is a vampire film that is intense from beginning to end. If you are looking for those breaks in humor, forget it, this movie won’t give it to you. If you’re looking for vampires that sparkle, forget it. These vamps are vicious and out for one thing you can give them, and it’s not love!

6.   Psycho (1960). Premise: a young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother. Though black and white, this Alfred Hitchcock film will scare you as only Hitchcock can. Famous for the shower scene.

7.  The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II (1981 and 1987–both by Sam Raimi). First one is more grade-B horror, while the second one, a kind of remake has humor in it. The second one is the movie that made Bruce Campbell a B-movie icon and won Sam Raimi a whole lot more directing gigs. This films has equal parts humor and gore, but when the frights happen, they happen on a grand scale. Ever wondered what it would be like to fight your own hand? You won't have to wonder anymore after watching this movie. But still I thought I point out the first one, too.

8.  28 Days Later (2002). Undead, or zombies as they are calling the ghouls of these films these days, this is a good one. Many movies have tried to recreate what a major city could look like after an apocalypse, but not many do it as hauntingly well as Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later." The terrifyingly fast zombie-like creatures roaming the landscape proved to be so effectively scary that the movie spawned a wave of movies featuring fast-paced zombies. And the zombies don’t have to die to change and are logical in why they act the way they do.

9.   The Descent (2005). This movie will terrify you if:  1) You’re claustrophobic. 2) You’re scared of the dark. 3) You have a fear of being trapped under the earth.  4) You have a fear of being trapped under the earth with vampire-like creatures that can see you but you can’t see them.

10. Trick 'r Treat (2007). Premise: Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband. Perfect Halloween horror tales that will make you nervous about answering the door to trick-or-treaters.

11.  Alien (1979) and John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). Since both are about creepy, monstrous aliens, then I think both should share equal billing, don’t you? In Alien, “no one can hear you scream,” as stuck on a spaceship not near Earth, the crew of the mining spacecraft, Nostromo battle something that proves ET is not so friendly. Same for The Thing, based on the short story, “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell that I had read back in college, it is a more faithful adaptation than the 50s version with James Arness. It will make you question if your friends are really your friend, or something that may want to take over the Earth. You can even download the short story here: http://www.whogoesthere.info/download.php

There are many more films I loved, but could only put down ten. Other scary films included Poltergeist (1982), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dracula (1931-with Bela Lugosi), The Wolfman (1941-Lon Chaney Jr.), The Grudge (2004), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The House on Haunted Hill (1999), The Woman in Black (2012), The House of Wax (1953—with Vincent Price), Salem’s Lot (1979 and 2004), Rosemary’s Baby, so many more. What are your favorites?

Linda Andrews’ Stop on Blue Maneuver Blog Tour

I'll be the first to admit that some of my characters have potty mouths. I know that many readers don't always appreciate vulgar bombs in their writing. To me, as long as it fits the characters, I don't mind. Many people swear in real life; some even swear a bit too much.

Rae, my heroine in my urban SciFi novel Blue Maneuver, could make a sailor blush. She knows it. I knew it going in. But she's trying to change so she decided to have a swear charge. Every time she lets one rip, she pays the jar a quarter per forbidden word she utters (She's unemployed so that's all she can afford). Note the emphasis on utters? That's because, while she only occasionally slips verbally; mentally is another story.
And while a quarter per word may not seem like much, she's amassed over fifty dollars in the last month.
I told you she is quite fluent at it:-)
She had planned to buy a flatscreen TV with the proceeds. After all, shouldn't a change for the better be rewarded? Before being drafted as a coordinator for aliens on Earth, she worried that she might have to dip into the jar to buy food. Now she's worried that she might have to take from it to feed the technology inside her (but that's a story for another day)
While writing Blue Maneuver, I decided Rae wouldn't curse (much--after all, she's only human) and if I wrote 'she cursed under her breath' money needed to be added to the jar. So how did I let the reader know that she was upset in a few, somewhat pithy words?
Rae invented her own curses. Her favorites are crap on a cracker and son of a monkey's butt. I didn't use my all-time favorite: Got dandruff; some of it itches (say if fast and you'll get it). But I think it's pretty clear what words she substituting for, isn't it?
So if you had to give up swearing what phrase would you substitute? Those who leave a comment will be entered into a drawing for a free electronic copy of Blue Maneuver.


Linda Andrews


http://www.lindaandrews.net
http://lindaandrews.wordpress.com



Blurb:
The extraterrestrials have landed and they're human.

Rae Hemplewhite didn't believe in aliens until a close encounter with out-of-this-world technology drags her into the extraterrestrial security program. Helping alien refugees adjust to life on Earth is difficult enough, but her first clients have a price on their heads. Plus, her new partner seems torn between the urge to kiss her or kill her.
And that's the good news.
The bad news: Alliances are forming in deep space. If Rae doesn't keep her witnesses alive long enough to transfer their top secret information to the right faction of humanity, Earth will become a battlefield.


About Linda:
Linda Andrews lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, three
children and a menagerie of domesticated animals. While she started
writing a decade ago, she always used her stories to escape the redundancy
of her day job as a scientist and never thought to actually combine her
love of fiction and science. DOH! After that Homer Simpson moment, she
allowed the two halves of her brain to talk to each other. The journeys
she's embarked on since then are dark, twisted and occasionally violent,
but never predictable


Blue Maneuver is now available:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

Next on my blog tour, on Wednesday, I'll be talking about the big 'What if' question with Lynda Hilburn on Paranormality and I'm talking about the budding romance between Rae and the two men in her life (who are on opposite sides) on Tracy Sumner's blog on Friday.