Horror Collectibles

If you are an avid collector of horror merchandise, then there are many websites on the Internet where you can find a generous treasure trove of such items.

You might be seeking a rare old horror movie poster, such as those of the Universal or Hammer movies. For example, an original Dracula one sheet poster (27?41-inches) style F featuring a colorful illustration of Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye aboard a doomed cargo ship sold in 2009 for $310,700 (Heritage Auction Galleries). Only three examples of this super rare poster have surfaced to date.

Or, if you are a horror bookworm, then you might be searching for that ever-elusive creepy paperback that is now out of print. For example, the original New English Library editions of the Robert Lory Dracula series, which enjoyed great popularity back in the 1970's, are still much sought after, and being one of the people who missed these books first time round, I was both thrilled and extremely lucky to finally track down a seller on eBay who still had these Lory Dracula books available! And in very good condition they are too, I am pleased to say, considering just how old these paperbacks are.

Original autographs of the top horror actors (e.g. Karloff, Lugosi) are also much sought after items, and many of these rare signed photos have occasionally been tracked down both on ebay and also on various horror movie memorabilia sites.

Horror figurines - like the classic Aurora glow-in-the-dark monster kits - are also a very popular commodity with collectors, and it is good to see that even though those much-loved Aurora self-assembly figures are now phased out, there are many new and exiting types of horror figures that have been launched on to the market, enabling the horror buff to add not only Frankenstein, Wolf Man and Dracula to their collection, but also the more modern-day monsters like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger!

Old horror magazines are also greatly sought after by collectors. For example, the 1950's EC comics, Tales From The Crypt and Vault of Horror, still exchange hands for quite considerable amounts of money. Moving on to the seventies, glossy colour horror magazines like Monster Mag - which often folded out into a gorgeous big poster of a Hammer film - can sometimes be discovered on eBay and horror merchandise sites.

But when buying old horror movie posters, collectors should always bear this in mind: fake posters have surfaced in recent years, and the list includes some Universal Pictures horror movie titles. Buying from a reputable auction house or dealer who back their merchandise with money-back guarantees can provide a collector added piece of mind.

So if you are an ardent horror fan and love collecting old horror memorabilia, then if you can't find that much-desired item at a car boot sale or in an old book shop, then there is a very good chance that you will come across it on one of the many thousands of horror merchandise sites on the web.

http://www.horrorwriters.net

The Top 10 Best Horror Movie Monsters

Let us cut right to the chase...or right to the screaming as many of the folks on this list would prefer! Not only am I married to a top home haunter, I have been a big fan of horror movies (also called monster movies) for years. In my experience, as a fan of the genre, here are my top ten monsters of all time!

10. Kraken (1981)

From the 1981 Clash of the Titans, this is a creature that stirs the imagination. Although the Kraken is a creature of myth, it is the film version that everyone remembers. Who could forget the end scene of the original Clash of the Titans where the Kraken comes for Andromeda? (What he wanted her for is not clear to me. Did he plan to eat her? Invite her to go for a swim?) At any rate, the Kraken was brought to life by the stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen, a legend in horror and fantasy movies. The image of Perseus turning the Kraken to stone is classic and so is this multi-armed monster in this writer's opinion.

9. Creature From the Black Lagoon (all versions)

There have been many movies about terrifying sea creatures, but Creature From the Black Lagoon is still the best. (Sorry, Jaws!) Released in 1954, it features a monster-like gill-man discovered on an expedition in the Amazon. Like many famous monsters of the silver screen, the Creature spawned sequels. The original Creature of the Black Lagoon movie is being remade for a 2011 release, according to the IMDB Web site.

8. Mummy (Boris Karloff)

Boris Karloff makes his first appearance on our list! The Mummy, directed by Karl Freund, is a 1932 horror film from Universal Studios. It starred Karloff as a revived ancient Egyptian priest called Imhotep. While the movie is not a drop-dead scare fest, it is a classic that is in the collective memory of our society. When people think of mummies, they invariably think of Karloff shuffling out of his sarcophagus in bandages. The Mummy was semi-remade in The Mummy's Hand (1940) but it was Karloff's version that began the Mummy movies.

7. Michael Myers (all versions)

Michael Myers is the one who started the slasher genre. He first showed up in 1978's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, and then returns home years later to kill again. His fights with Jamie Lee Curtis in the first two Halloween movies are perfect examples of how scary movie chases should work. Although, I think Michael's fights with Donald Pleasence (who played Dr. Loomis) are the best parts of the Halloween films. The only negative aspects to the Halloween movies to me are the continuity issues. For instance, Halloween III, although not a bad movie, has nothing to do with the other installments. Also, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later almost ignores established continuity from earlier movies with no explanation.

6. Dracula (Bela Lugosi)

Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian actor, best known for playing Count Dracula in the Broadway play and classic Universal Studios Dracula films, too. The now classic Dracula that made Lugosi a star came out in 1931. Although the movie is a little slow and not as exciting as other Universal classics, such as the Frankenstein films, Lugosi made the film work. No matter how many vampire movies are made, too, this is the most memorable. Ask anyone who is Dracula and they immediately think of Bela's Dracula. His Dracula is an icon.

5. Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund)

Robert Englund is best known for playing serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. According to Wikipedia, he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in 1987 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master in 1988. I am not surprised. He was excellent as Freddy. The new Freddy cannot hold a candle, or dingy red sweater, to Englund. He approached playing Freddy with a mixture of horror and comedy. His witty banter with his victims is the stuff of legend.

4. Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr.)

"Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright."

When you talk about werewolves, there is none better than Lon Chaney's Wolfman in the 1941 Universal Studios movie. From the iconic makeup to the gypsy curse, it is Chaney's Wolfman that society knows best, and with good reason - it is a darn good movie that stands the test of time.

3. Frankenstein's Monster (Boris Karloff)

Do I really have to write that Boris Karloff's portrayal of the Frankenstein Monster is a classic creature of the cinema? The crash of thunder, the sizzling laboratory machines, the monster's hand moving-these are the images we all have embedded in our minds. No version of the Frankenstein Monster gets better than Karloff's version from the classic 1931 horror film.

2. Leatherface (all versions)

Leatherface is the main killer in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror-film series. He wears masks made of his victims' skin (which is where the name Leatherface comes from) and is the character from the movie who normally carries a chainsaw. Not only is Leatherface one of the first slasher-type villains but he is drop-dead scary! While I think all versions of Leatherface are scary as heck, the best Leatherface actors were Gunnar Hansen (from the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and Bill Johnson (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2). I still think the scene in Massacre 2 when Leatherface runs, chainsaw roaring, out of the darkened radio station toward the lead female actor is horrifying.

1. Jason Voorhees (all versions)

Sure, Kane Hodder has played Jason more than any other actor, but I can't pick one Jason that is better than another. Each actor who played the undead slasher Jason Voorhees brought something new to the role. Jason Voorhees is the killer from the Friday the 13th series. He first appeared in Friday the 13th (1980); although, he was not the main villain in the first movie. Jason is a great character because of the iconic hockey mask, the creepy camp setting, and because you feel some sympathy for him. He was a deformed child who was mocked by peers and ignored by camp counselors. He also loves his mommy. (Watch the movies and you will see what I mean.) Because he evokes sympathy in the audience, he is a little like Frankenstein's Monster but definitely more evil.

Agree with my choices? Disagree with me? Post a comment. And remember to watch over your shoulder when walking in the woods at night. The guys above may be stalking.

Scott Faubion is one of the owners of Halloween Hill (http://www.halloween-hill-props.com), an online store that sells Halloween decorations, animated Halloween props, and handmade haunt items.

Top Horror Movies

We watch movies in order to experience a roller-coaster ride of emotional responses. Horror movies aim to evoke fear, whose family of tertiary emotions consist of shock, alarm, mortification, panic, hysteria, horror, terror and fright. Whether or not a horror movie is good or bad is subjective. This short article explores those movies which are commonly regarded as the top horror movies; the movies that - for one reason or another - most potently engaged our fears.

Psycho (1960)

Originally a book by Robert Bloch, later adapted for the screen by Joseph Stefano, and famously directed by the late, great Alfred Hitchcock, this is the seminal slasher movie that shocked America and set the fear-formula for many future horror movies. We have a serial killer who dresses in drag to imitate his Mother; we have a beautiful heroine who, shockingly, dies a third of the way in; we see a bloody bathroom scene that was all the more jarring for earlier audiences, who were unused to seeing toilets on cinema screens. But none of this captures what really terrifies us about Psycho, for psycho is an exploration into madness, a place where - God forbid - anyone of us might one day journey.

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

A group of people hold up in a farmhouse and must fight off the hungry advances of an approaching zombie army. Written by John A Russo and George A Romero, and directed by Romero in 1968, this is the original zombie flick that even today ranks as one of the top horror movies ever put on film. What makes it so scary? Honestly, I think it's the simplicity. We have a lonely farmhouse besieged by the undead and no explanation as to why the dead are rising, other than the haunting line "when there is no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth". We have zombies obsessed with one thing: eating the living; and the living obsessed with one goal: avoiding becoming a zombie-dinner! Even the film stock is simple: grainy black and white. At times, perhaps when the camera jolts and the sound crackles, as we watch brain dead zombies tear apart and chew on their freshly dead neighbors, we get the distinct impression of documentary filmmaking. Simplicity can be terrifying.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The movie that proves sequels can surpass their originals. Boris Karloff reprises the role that made him famous, that of The Monster and, likewise, James Whale returns to direct another sinister masterpiece. The primary theme in both Frankenstein movies is man should not play God because there will be horrible consequences; indeed, even The Monster is aware that his existence is an abomination. What makes Bride better than Frankenstein? I'd say both Whale and Karloff use their experience of the original to enhance their performances.

Halloween (1978)

In Halloween we see a deranged murderer escape a mental asylum and return to his home town where he slays the local teenagers. The movie opens with a scene from the point-of-view of Michael, a young boy who proceeds to massacre his sister with a kitchen knife. This sets a shocking and unpredictable tone for the rest of the movie. Yet again simplicity in horror proves to be the terrifying ingredient, easily making this one of the top horror movies ever made. Michael is a simple, yet efficient killing machine, much like the shark in Jaws. What we find so chilling about him is his God-like ability to remain alive, but - as they say - you cannot kill the bogeyman!

The Exorcist (1973)

The best word to describe The Exorcist? Shocking. A girl who becomes possessed by an evil entity and her mother enlists the help of two priests to save her. Watching this movie you get the distinct impression that what you see is real. Audiences are compelled to believe both the Devil and his demons exist. But what truly shocks are the taboos: a weak, alcoholic priest; intense use of blasphemy; a young girl who urinates, curses, blasphemes and implores a priest to sexually gratify her. The Exorcist leaves you with a persistent uneasy feeling, wherein you find yourself believing more so in the devil, a creature whose evil is definitely unquantifiable.

There are many more top horror movies but you'll find the five listed above to be those commonly regarded as the scariest.

If you want horror movie trailers, news and reviews of upcoming horror movies, visit Kristian's site: Upcoming Horror Movies.

How to Write Horror for Children

Today children are regularly "scared" by the most responsible parents and guardians in order to instil basic moral principles and ensure the survival of the species: it is wrong to steal, to lie, to talk to strangers, to disobey a parent's instructions. The whole purpose of horror fiction is to scare readers, but the thought that deliberately setting out to scare children is immoral and reprehensible is deeply ingrained in our society. It's probably as deep as the belief that children's literature should be useful and valuable, conveying good and sound ideals upon young and impressionable minds. The notion that children might actually enjoy being scared is an unpleasant one, because we are all aware that nobody reacts to fear in quite the same way as a child. Children suffer inexplicable and unreasonable phobias and nightmares. Children can become obsessed with a single glimpse of an image, which can cause terror for months. Yet this same little person will actively seek out a copy of Lee Striker's "Revenge of the Vampire Librarian". It doesn't make sense!

Or does it?

Horror is synonymous with "scaring", and not necessarily with an educational or moralistic purpose. One problem is the actual word Horror; it's often referred to dismissively and without positive comment. It seems difficult to say horror fiction can be a good thing and that it's acceptable, even advisable, for children to read this genre. These are points all the most successful writers in the children's horror genre acknowledge, and all approach the sensitive subject with consideration and respect. And when one considers the phenomenal growth of this genre it would seem these writers know what they're doing.

So, what happens in children's horror writing?

Most books in this genre share a similar structure or formula - a familiar situation becomes unfamiliar. Cliff-hangers are very effective, because they lead the reader along from chapter to chapter. Frequently the victim never quite escapes, and there's often a slight chill included in the ending. Here are a few points I've picked up during my research into this topic:

Know Your Audience.

Your target audience is generally aged between eight and 12 years, sometimes even 14 years. Both sexes are included, and it's worth noting this genre is encouraging boys who 'don't like reading' to change their negative attitudes towards books and reading. Noted children's horror writer Margaret Clark claims that while some of her younger readers might not understand every word in the book they are able to grasp the general storyline. She also feels reading this genre has become "cultish, so it's important to be seen reading one of these books."

Clark wrote a thesis on television and violence for her honours degree, and has an understanding of her target audience: "I watched kindergarten children playing with bits of bark trying to shoot each other, and I would say that you cannot have guns at kindergarten, and not allow violent games, but you're still going to get them jumping off the top of the climbing frame screaming 'Heroes of the Universe!' So, if you can't beat them you join them."

Empowerment is the Key.

Human beings love to be scared, and children are no exception. One of the most important points to remember when writing children's horror is to keep the victims in the story in charge of the situation. Make them take control of the story; Clark refers to this as "the safety net". So while they are frantically trying to escape from a wicked witch, dispatch a possessed toy or perhaps free a friend or family member from a nasty curse there is always hope, and always a solution. Granted, the solution may require a bit of effort and thought and application of knowledge learned, but there must always be a way to deal with a horrific situation.

Be Naughty.

It's natural for children to be naughty, so applying this aspect of childhood to this genre offers a very obvious appeal to young readers. Children love to push the boundaries, to test the limits and offer a bit of resistance to authority. In children's horror literature there's an excellent chance for a writer to allow young readers a degree of freedom to indulge their "naughtiness". For children part of the lure of reading a horror story is that some adults might not approve of the genre, but reading an exciting horror story is a pretty safe way to indulge in a bit of "naughtiness". Children's horror fiction is a way of coming to understand the ethical chaos that we all encounter in our lives, so it makes sense that a good horror story could become a benefit to many young readers.

Know the Limits.

Do not let detailed descriptions of monsters/witches/vampires and their dastardly deeds get in the way of the storyline. Do not focus on gore. Irresponsible writing can have a negative effective upon a young, growing mind. The last thing any children's horror writers wants is to be told his or her work has corrupted a young mind. Also remember that the mind and imagination of an eight year old is very different to that of a ten, 12 or even 14 year old.

Robert Hood of the "Creepers" team of writers has untaken many promotional book tours, and tells of meeting children who have read three of the books in the series in quick succession. When he asks them what their favourite bits are most of them enthused about the gory parts: "'Like where the guy pulls his face off and all the maggots fall out!' The adult were absolutely horrified, but the kids absolutely loved it." This kind of description is known as silly horror - because indeed it is silly, and in the hands of a skilled writer will not affect any impressionable mind.

Do not use horror simply for the sake of horror. Use your discretion to decide what will and will not enhance your tale. Some children's horror stories can develop from everyday fears, like relationships with siblings and loneliness. Slithering worms, oozing slime, pus and mucus are common features, but blood is used with caution. In "Revenge of the Vampire Librarian" a rust-coloured carpet stain is believed by the parents to be a water mark. According to author Margaret Clark: "Often the adults are idiots who can't see what's going on under their noses."

Do Not Go Too Far

It's not easy to justify murder and gore for children's writing. Do not turn parents or siblings into monsters, and do not inflict unnecessary and irreparable bodily damage on anybody close to the hero/s or heroine/s - including beloved pets. The villain or chief monster should symbolise a threat, but that threat should always be able to be defeated, overcome or temporarily halted. There should always be a solution. You can also emphasise good social qualities such as friendship, faith, loyalty, trust and responsibility in the story.

Control and Comedy

Writing children's horror gives you the opportunity to help your young readers realise that it's possible to confront the more scary things in life. Fear, bereavement, loss, the monster under the bed... your words can help them examine these issues, and gain some sense of power and control over them. Horror fiction offers a safe place to examine and perhaps take control over the scarier aspects of life. Horror fiction can proved a playground for children to safely explore everyday fears.

The more ghastly the horror story becomes, so the element of humour becomes an important consideration. A zombie chasing a person - adult or child - doesn't seem so malevolent if it starts decaying and losing body parts during the chase. Use humour as a buffer, counteracting any possible psychological trauma with literary fear.

Horror writers must not and cannot depict genuine horror so realistically that young and impressionable readers develop fears they take with them into everyday life. Neither must you mock your monsters so much they fail to evoke the appropriate terror. When they open your book you readers need to believe in the horror you create, or they gain no emotional pay-off. Horror writing for children is a difficult and delicate balancing act, and if you get it right your audience will love you for it!

The writer was born in Africa, and lived there for the first 38 years of her life. She worked in the world of public relations for over five years, running her own PR company and dealing extensively with the world of journalism and the print media. She is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/, a site for Writers. Her blog can be visited at: http://www.writing.com/authors/zwisis/blog

Monsters from the Subconcious

As a Horror writer I've been often and pointedly been asked why I write this stuff. It's not ever said directly, but it's always there: Is there something wrong with you? In my own defense, quite a few people enjoy reading this same stuff and even more get a thrill out of watching it on the big screen. Just to hazard a guess, I'd say most people have in their life read a horror book or seen a horror movie. The question then becomes: What's wrong with us?

My first occasions to hear horror stories was as a child in church. I was told that there was a man in a red suit and horns who carried a pitchfork and watched everything I did and wanted to send me to the worst, most horrible place ever if I did bad things. Worse than this, I was told that there was something called 'original sin' and just by being born I was on God's crap list and if I didn't repent for things I'd never done, the man in the red suit would still get me. It didn't seem quite fair to me that my little three year old wrong-doings could earn me the same trip to Hell that someone like Hitler got.

I was scared constantly. And that was the point of those stories, to scare little boys into behaving as their parents wanted them to.

Fairy tales have the same theme: Obey your parents, or bad things will happen. I can't swear that I remember all of my fairy tales, but I do remember as a child being - probably - unreasonably worried about being eaten. For the time, being eaten seemed about the worst thing that could happen to me and I looked warily at strangers trying to evaluate in my mind whether they would try and eat me. Fortunately, there were very few cannibals in Wisconsin at that time. Jeffrey Dahmer was one, but for the life of me, I can't think of any other Wisconsin cannibals. Oh, wait. Ed Gein - but that's it.

Parents frightening their kids is one thing, but why do people want to scare themselves? Did you ever wonder why you paid good money at the bookstore and at the movies for this service that your parents would happily provide you for free? Well, horror stories are about fear, but it's not just about making yourself scared - that alone is no fun. Horror stories are about conquering your fear, and the way they do that is symbolically by creating a monster that represents a fear and by having that monster defeated. Thus it helps you to overcome your subconscious fear/Monster by identifying with the destruction of the one in the story. Works out pretty neat, huh?

Here's how it plays out in a few familiar scenarios. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, was thought to the first real science fiction book, although it really is a horror story. In the story Victor Frankenstein discovers the secret of life - itself! As an experiment he creates for himself a man sewn together from cadavers and then embues it with life, and then seeing what an awful looking creature he's created, he abandons it. He does this because it looks so hideous, though for the life of me, I can't figure out why he had to make the thing out of several icky corpses instead of just finding one beautiful one and giving that one life. Anyways, the monster runs away and then comes back to haunt him and he has to destroy it.

The explanation for Frankenstein is that the monster represents science and the Victorian fear that science and progress had gone too far. Science, once the obedient servant of mankind, had, like Frankenstein's monster, broken free and turned against its master - us. A hundred or years later this same theme is echoed in the movie The Terminator, only this time the science that breaks free is computer science. Computers, our formerly docile servant, turn against us and band together to become one giant warlike mind which for some reason or other decides that all humans must perish throughout time. I guess we had it coming to us.

Vampires, another popular monster, have represented the once prevalent infectious disease that used to regularly wipe out giant swathes of human population. In modern times, Vampires have been reinterpeted to be kind of sexy, that is, they represent the dark sexual impulses people have inside themselves that they also think may destroy them. Vampire stories, then, become our victory over our dark, forbidden desires. Which are represented by those sexy, sexy vampires.

Sex is a constant theme in the slasher movies. The Scream movies brilliantly satirize this by having the teen-agers in the movie aware of the conventions of the genre they are living through, yet helpless to change them as those conventions become their fates. In the slasher movies young girls fear of their own sexual maturity is confronted symbolically by the slasher who represents teen-age boys through the menace of wielding the very Freudian penis/knife. You'll notice that the heroine that inevitably prevails in these movies is the virgin who never succombs to the temptation of sex and not coincidentally, does not succomb to the slasher, either.

My favorite monsters are the ones from the Japanese monster movies, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and, of course, Monster Zero. The reason I love these monsters is that they are political monsters. Think about it: Godzilla is a giant, super-powerful radioactive monster who comes from over the sea who is created by radioactivity and then attacks Japan with that same radioactivity. Sound familiar? (Hint: It's America). All these monsters from overseas are constantly attacking Japan and being beaten up by the cohesion of the Japanese people.

Now, the obvious question for me - being a horror writer and all - is: What are the symbolic monsters in my book, Breakfast with the Antichrist?

Well ... I'm not telling.

Steve Sommers is the author of Breakfast with the Antichrist. Visit his Website at http://www.breakfastwiththeantichrist.com

Finding the Perfect Monster for Your Horror Story

Horror writing takes many forms. Psychological, supernatural, and everyday horrors are but a few of the story plots you will come across when reading scary tales. Another great one is the monster story. Monsters come in many shapes, sizes, and nationalities. Every country has its own legends and myths about them. If you want to create a unique monster story, why not use one of those monsters to terrify your reader?

When planning your next horror story, consider researching the area you pick for the setting. You never know what you will find if you do this. Here are some creatures I have found during my research of the major continents. I choose one monster to highlight from each.

North America - Windigo

This man-eating creature comes during the winter months, when food is hard to find. Much larger than a human, it has glaring eyes, is naked and gaunt, and brings blizzards with it when it hunts. It feeds on human beings, at times possessing them to find more victims. It is said that throwing excrement is a way to avoid possession. The only way to get the Windigo out of a person is to kill the person, cut their body into pieces and burn it. Not very helpful to the victim, but a great horror plot twist.

South America - Munuane

Considered by the Sikuani to be the "Master of Fish", the Munuane appears as a toothless, gray-haired guardian demon with eyes in his knees. He travels on a raft and uses a bow and arrow to dispatch those who are taking too many fish from the river. He is very large and not very bright. He only attacks greedy fishermen and is an excellent shot. If the victim has a chance to fight back, the creature's knees are his weak point.

Europe - Duergar

This is a fairy from Great Britain who leads travelers astray by using am image of a flickering torch. He is about one foot tall, wearing a lambskin coat, moleskin shoes and a hat made of green moss with a feather sticking out of it. He believes the woods are his and will harm or kill any human he catches trespassing, usually by trickery. He is an illusionist and can fool the human mind into seeing things that are not there. If caught by a Duergar, staying still until daylight is the only way to survive. Any movement can be deadly.

Africa - Bori

A mischievous spirit that is easily offended or angered. Most often appears human with hoofed feet. One way to spot one, should your victim come across a stranger in your story, is the stranger will seem slightly weird and have oddly unfocused dreamy eyes. It kills an offending human slowly by sucking the victim's life force out of their body. Iron is a powerful repellent for this creature; even the word spoken several times can drive the creature away long enough for an escape.

Asia - Yuki-onna

This creature appears as a beautiful and an irresistible maiden. Dressed all in white, her skin is pale and her breath is like frost. She can appear as a vapor or mist, and kills her victims by sucking their life from their own lips. Should a male victim catch her eye, she will extract some sort of promise before letting him go. Later, she will disguise herself as a human female to become romantically involved with him. Should he break his oath, she appears in her true form and kills him. There is not much that can be done should she attack; avoidance seems to be the best course of action.

Australia - Mamu

A malevolent man-eating demon who roams the desert, this shape-shifter is seen at times as a friend, fellow traveler, birds, and even inanimate objects. When in its natural state, it is tall with a huge pointed head and bloody fanged teeth. The males carry large clubs to use against their victims. A good defense to these creatures is fire and dogs. When traveling in the desert overnight, sleeping in a circle of fire with dogs keeping watch will keep you safe.

This is by no means a complete list of the worlds legends and myths surrounding monsters, but a sampling of what you will find. Research your choice carefully and have fun creating your horror story based on that choice.

Monsters make wonderful horror story characters. Big or small, they are frightening because they are part of the mist and shadow of our own fears. It is up to the horror writer to use that fear to scare the pants off his reader. So, what are you waiting for? Start scaring!

Dawn Arkin is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Creative Writing. Her portfolio can be found at http://darkin.Writing.Com/ so stop by and read for a while.

Top Ten Horror Movies

Horror movies are basically scary, chilling and daunting. They are generally based on imagination of incredible happenings and mysterious events, also sometimes based on scientific experimentation and psychological statistics of eerie ideas. Most of them are made with false vision of existence of mysterious characters possessing supernatural powers or ghostly attitude.

Horror film makers try to use most of their imagination in creating the situation in horrified manner in order to make the film more frightful and interesting at the same time, since the audience find illogical events more interesting and yielding with conscious mind and zeal to destroy the demon. Hollywood is popular for production of horror movies. Horror movies are always watched and admired for their unusual presentation and special arousing effects. Let me list a few of top horror movies and brief gist about them:

Psycho

Made in 1960, was the masterpiece by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the psychological misconducts, which enhanced rousing terror that become more interesting than the revolutionary supernatural events.

The Bride of Frankenstein

Made in 1935 used the most tragic figure the monster in the history of horror movies. Its maker was forced to create a mate for the monster from old body parts and the brain of a madman. The terror prevails the show.

The Night of the Living Dead

Made in1968 by George Romero. The movie is about an android girl who dispatches her dad, is one of the most horrifying sequences with plenty of chills and thrills in the horror film history.

The Exorcist

Made by William Friedkin in the year of 1973, a horror classic where a little girl (Linda Blair) experiences a demonic presence in herself, two priests are called to throw away the demon from her body. The movie is presented with terrific special effects.

Friday the 13th

Considered to be an inauspicious date, misshapenness is expected on this particular combination of day and date. The movie is about an old camp that was shut down for some time due to murder of two counselors by an unidentified killer. The camp reopens in 1980; the inmates of the camp are victimized by an adherent wearing a hockey mask and killed one by one.

The Mummy

Made in1999, uncovers the mummy of a prince Im-ho-tep who was buried alive in Egypt 3000 years ago. The mummy become alive and escapes where starts the havoc in the realm.

Dracula

Count Dracula possessed the characteristics of a vampire, soon after his attack, his victim turned insane. The movie is a horror classic with many haunting images and more like a silent film.

The Evil Dead

The horror is created by the use of an audiotape; if the tape is played, the listener faces spiteful consequences. Whoever listened to the recording in the tape turned into a deadlight.

The Sixth Sense

Made in 1999, a supernatural ghost story, where a child psychologist treats a nine-year-old boy who perceives dead people and communicates with them.

Cat People

Made in1942 by Jacques Tourneuer. An innovative and thoughtful thriller without violence but psychological tension is throughout the movie. It is the story of a woman played by Simone Simon who fears lest she falls prey to a baffling curse and turn into a deadly panther when she is emotionally aroused.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used DVDs, used movies, and used car stereos. You can find the best marketplace for used DVDs, used movies, and used car stereos at these sites for used DVDs, used movies, and horror movies, Hollywood horror movies, popular horror movies, best horror movies.

The Most Popular Horror Films of All Times

Horror films are designed to frighten and panic, to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale. The earliest horror films were Gothic in style - that means that they were usually set in spooky old mansions, castles, dark and shadowy locales.

The main character of these films were the "unknown", human, supernatural creatures like vampires, devils, ghosts, monsters, demons, evil spirits, werewolves to the unseen presence of evil. The first horror movie, was only about two minutes long created by the French filmmaker Georges Melies "The Devil's Castle"(Le Manoir du Diable) (1896) which contained some elements of later vampire films.

The most influential of the early films was "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"(Das Kabinet des Doktor Cligari) (1919) the Germany's silent expressionistic landmark classic. IN the early 1900's the German film Der Golem was the first horror-themed film which achieved great success. In the early 1930's Universal Studios created a modern film genre and brought to the screen the successful movies like "Dracula", "Frankenstein" and "The Mummy".

In the late 50's horror movies became a lot gorier as the technical side of cinematography became cheaper. Early 60's saw the release of two films which close the gap between the subject and the viewer. One was "Peeping Tom" and the other was "Psycho", both films rather use human monsters rather than supernatural ones to scare the audience.

"The Exorcist" (1973) broke all records for a horror film, after that in 1975 "Jaws" became the highest grossing film ever. Horror movies turned to self-mocking irony and downright parody in the 1990's when the teenagers in "Scream" often made a reference to the history of horror movies.

There is argument that horror films are socially and morally irresponsible, and they even influence to some people to imitate the brutal methods of the killers portrayed on the screen.

Anyway horror films have the opposite effect on normal people - sick minds will commit crimes anyway. When we watch horror films we encounter our secret fears, share them with other viewers and eliminate the terror by facing with it.

But if you are not a movie lover or maybe you are too scared to watch a horror movie then maybe I have the right solution for you. Why do not you turn your computer on and look for some scary games on line?

Trust me you will be amazed by what you will found. There are a lots of games from creepy, horror, scary to those which are not too much scary. So choose the right one for you and enjoy playing it.

Or if you are a film lover than go ahead and take a troll through these favorite films of all time. If happens to you to hear sounds like whispering, or creepy sounds, just pay no attention to it. It is probably just the wind.

Hello my name is Marija i am from Bitola Macedonia. I consider writing to be my passion and i write about things that interest me.

New and Classic Horror Movie Costumes For Halloween

Halloween is here again- have you got your costumes sorted out for the big night yet? While many people will be turning  to the traditional ghosts and ghouls, there is a whole universe of movie related Halloween costumes out there that would  be perfect for every taste! Horror movies are the perfect place to look for inspiration for Halloween costumes this  year, and there are a wide range of horror themed Halloween costumes from the classics of horror cinema as well as the  latest gore fests.

But which would be the right one for you? You must keep in mind your build, and what would be comfortable and practical  for you to wear throughout the night of your Halloween fun. Also keep in mind the fact that other people may be going  along in similar Halloween costumes, so be sure that the outfit you choose is better than the rest!

In the realm of classic horror movie Halloween costumes, there are few finer than those based on the classic Universal  monsters. Universal Monsters is that bunch of famous monsters as they appeared in the legendary Universal films of the  black and white era. Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Wolf Man and so on are all  instantly recognizable characters that would make great costumes. A number of versions of each of these hugely popular  characters are available from costume retailers online and in physical stores.

For fans of the modern era of horror film icons, there are even more choices available. Characters such as Freddy  Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street films, Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th, Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw  Massacre, Jigsaw from SAW, Pinhead from Hellraiser and many, many more. The characters are available in full costumes or  as standalone masks and accessories, which you can add to garments that you already own.

There are horror movie Halloween costumes for men and women, boys and girls, in a variety of sizes and designs. How  about Ghostface from Scream, or Hannibal Lecter from the films based on the novels of Thomas Harris? Then there are also  the characters from the famous Tim Burton related movies such as Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse  Bride! Whatever your favourite scary movie is, there's a great horror movie Halloween costume out there for you. Perhaps  under your bed...

Andrew is a widely-read popular culture blogger and music journalist for print media. Are you looking for more horror movie Halloween costumes? Trick or Treat!!!

Classic Horror Movies

What happened to all the classic horror movies that many generations of people knew and loved? Well they are still out there somewhere, hidden in old movie sections of video rental stores, waiting to scare the crap out of people once more. Many original black and white movies have bee restored and digitized to DVD format, some remain in their original black and white form, while others have been colorized.

What was it about the classic horror movies that attracted so many audiences, again and again? It was the state of the art special effects back then, stop motion camera techniques, allowing you to see Lon Chaney Jr. transform from a normal human to the tortured soul of the wolf man. How many people watching this transformation in utter horror, even though they knew they were watching a movie?

When people are watch the horror movies of today, they take for granted that many of the special effects incorporated today were born from the classic horror movies of yesteryear. Stop motion photography, rubber masks and other add ons, make up techniques, were all unheard of before these movies came out. Special effects teams back in the day didn't have all the computer generated graphics back then and had to come up with everything literally from their own imaginations.

It wasn't just the special effects that made classic horror movies something to watch over and over, it was also the characters brought to life by actors who often put their hearts and souls into their works. Although the classic Dracula has been redone many times, just like Frankenstein, and spin offs of the wolf man, many of us will always remember Bella Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney Jr. in these classic roles. Not only did they brilliantly bring these characters to life, they put heart and soul into these classic monsters.

These actors also told the characters sad story in these classic horror movies, from the problems that Dracula had faced having to live forever, lonely, watching the world evolve around him while he didn't. Or Boris Karloff's portrayal of the innocent Frankenstein Monster, brought to like from pieces stolen from graves. You experienced his child like demeanor and his sad wonderment when he accidentally kills the child. You can almost see the question in his eyes while the villagers are attacking, 'why are you doing this to me?' These are the characters that many loved to hate, but were also the first ones with tears in their eyes when these poor creatures met their demise.

Many of the younger generation today watching scary movies of today are horrified by special effects. An while story lines may have changed, or some that don't even have a very good plot, 'slasher films' as they are often called, they just don't have the same engagement as the classic horror movies many have grown up with. It's all right though, because with modern technologies, these classic movies of yesteryear have been brought back from the dead once more. I guess you just can't keep a good monster down, which is perhaps a good thing in the 'end'.

The Cool Ghoul is a Horror Host in Northeastern Ohio. That's the Cleveland area, to you and me. His show was on the air, on a weekly basis, from 1970 to 1972 and from 1984 to 1986. George Cavender, (AKA The Cool Ghoul) is not only a huge fan of the classic horror movie genre, he is also an authority on the subject.

He has now taken his show to the internet. You can Visit The Cool Ghoul to watch his show in it's entirety with new classic horror movies online. And, of course, the lot's of humor and some very funny bits. http://www.thecoolghoul.com

Horror Movie - Attracts the Movie Lovers

Industry of movies offers numerous kinds of movies. These are particular genres of movies which entertain us. They make us laugh, make us cry and sometimes makes us scare also, but in any case we get entertained and feel excitement. Main movie genres can be categorised into 11 kinds. These 11 kinds of movie genres are Action Movies, Adventure Movies, Comedy Movies, Crime & Gangster Movies, Drama Movies, Epics/Historical Movies, Horror Movies, Musical (Dance) Movies, Science Fiction Movies, War (Anti-War) Movies and Westerns.

As name suggests each genre of the movie is filled with the named element, such as action with great stunts, comedy with nerve-tickling sequences and like that. Along with traditional genre movie kinds there are also non-genre movie categories. Some of these non-genre movie categories may be Animated Movies, Classic Movies, Cult Movies, Children Movies and like that. Whatever the genre is whatever the categories are, this is a true fact that movies entertain truly and they lead us to a whole new world of fantasies.

The movie show most beautiful faces, most ugly faces, most tender love-filled heart and at the same time the most ruthless heart, that is, we can see every emotion of our life in these movies. The movies have great dance sequences, music and views. No one can spare oneself with the magic of these movies. Social movies spread good message for making the society a good place for living. These films inspire us a lot. Movies do impart education in that sense.

One genre of movie which attracts a huge mass of movie lovers is horror movies. The horror movies have strange characters with unusual faces and body structures. These movies show sound effects which are very scary that causes chills and shudders. Horrors movies excite us also and they are full of spine-chilling sequences.

Horror movies have often a terrifying and shocking finale. They scare us while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror movies feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. They are sometimes combined with science fiction. Here the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The scariest movies show sequences of an old and deserted big palace with no one, but a ghost and a group of people meet him or her in bizarre consequences. These movies are full of special sound effects and light effects.

Everyone loves to get oneself scared by watching these horror movies. It scares, excites and sometimes makes us laugh under fear also. There are many sub-genres of horror movies also like slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. You would love to move away in a fantasy land with these movies so often. Movie industry has produced many excellent horror movies. Some of the top rated horror titles are Psycho, The Innocents, Dead of Night, Peeping Tom, The Wicker Man, The Haunting, Theatre of Blood, Dracula, Brides of Dracula, Dead Man's shoes and Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde to name a few. The horror movies are generally a tale of repression, superstition and sexual hysteria. These movies boast excellent cinematography, superb acting and seriously scaring moments.

It is very difficult to find the movie of your choice particularly in horror movies genre. New-age online shopping portals are offering many titles under this category. They have classical horror movies, cult horror movies, scariest horror movies and like that. The titles available wouldmesmerise you for sure. Shopping for these titles is also very easy and full of fun. Just check one of these sites and you can see lots of excitement is waiting for you.

Alden Jerry is an expert writer. Visit to know more about latest horror movies at movie stores from price comparison shop

Horror Fiction - Ten Cliches to Avoid

For anyone thinking about writing in the horror genre, there are certain situations that, over the years, have been done so often that the audience knows exactly what to expect. Using any of these is fine if you're being post-modern and ironic as in the Scream series, because you can get the audience laughing as they jump. But if you're trying for the big scare, here are some situations to avoid, and alternative scenarios to consider.

The woman alone in the old dark house

She's usually blonde, big breasted and not very bright. She shouts things like "Who's there?" or "Is that you Joe?" Then she goes into dark rooms to see what's in them. Tippi Hedren plays a fine example in The Birds, as does Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. This scene has been so successfully lampooned by the Scream series that its going to be hard for anyone to do it again; but if you must, you'll need to find a new way of raising the tension. Making the woman blind has been done, as has having a man being stalked by a woman. But how about having the stalker existing inside mirrors, and only able to reach out at arms length. What happens if he gets a knife?

The kid who's Mom isn't Mom any more

The kid says "That isn't my mom" A smug doctor says, "It's all in your mind kid: The Mom leads the kid off, and the next day both Mom and the kid give the doctors far-away stares. This was a staple in 1950's paranoia flicks like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Invaders from Mars, and was given a new lease of life in Dark Skies. Serious thought is needed to give a new slant. How about if its the pets that are getting taken over, and only the kids notice?

The experiment gone wrong

They say things like "Morals are for lesser mortals" and "The ends justify the means" Then their creation jumps up and bites them. Think of all the movie versions of Frankenstein or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and you can't go far wrong. A more recent example was Beau Bridges in Sandkings, the pilot for the modern Outer Limits. Anyone planning on using this scenario should really meet some scientists. Many of them are weirder than their fictional equivalents, and they provide great material for stories.

The mob of villagers

Sometimes there's a ringleader, such as an old woman whose grandchild has been killed. Other times there's just an angry mob shouting "Rhubarb" and waving torches. Perhaps the best example is actually in a spoof, Young Frankenstein. How about trying a calm mob? I can't think of a new way of doing this that would be scary, but maybe you can do better?

The priest who's lost his faith

There are two ways this can go. The creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and kills the priest in particularly gory fashion. Or the creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and the priest steps up to the base and drives the creature away. There are fine examples of the first in Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and John Carpenter's The Fog. You could try having the creature banishing the priest to hell? I haven't seen that one... yet.

Running through woods in the dark

People run around in the dark, shouting things like "Mulder, where are you?" and waving flashlights, followed all the time by a malevolent presence in the trees. This is otherwise known as The Blair Witch Project. The idea was taken to extremes in Pitch Black where there wasn't even hope of daybreak to come. A variation would be to do it in daylight, but Big Arnie covered that in Predator. How about having the monster as an urban creature that is actually afraid of the woods when chased into them? Time for that angry mob again perhaps?

Playing with dark forces

Somebody says "Let's play with Grannie's Ouija board" The next thing you know a planchette is flying around the room on its own. This idea has turned up a lot on TV recently, and usually involves scantily clad girls, in shows like Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.The way to use this scenario without looking tired is to find a new way of calling up the evil. How about a character who mouths the words as he reads them, thus calling up the beast by accident?

The love of a good woman

The monster dies an inglorious death and somebody says "T' was beauty that killed the beast" Our cavemen ancestors probably told this one round the campfires. On film it dates back to at least 1933 and King Kong. More recently there was a variation in the Beauty and The Beast TV series and even the Disney movie of the same name. Why not try having the beauty fall in love first while the beast never succumbs? You'd need to find a neat resolution to the story, but then again, you're a writer, so that'll be easy :)

Let's split up

Everybody knows that the monster is around somewhere, but someone says, "We're off to explore that dark place. You go the other way and we'll meet up later." Why does everybody always think this is a great idea? Just watch Buffy TVS and count how often the gang lose each other. Or go back to the original Scooby gang and watch Shaggy and Scooby get split up in every episode. Why not have them stay together for a change? Or maybe they keep in contact via cell phones to foil the bad guys. Or, better still, what about a monster that can split up and be in two places at once?

I'm free

The monster has been vanquished, the victor turns back to the other survivors to take the acclaim, and the suddenly resurgent monster chomps him to pieces. There are nice examples in Starship Troopers and Deep Rising. One way to subvert this would be to have another monster save your victim? Or how about doing something brave and have your monster die first time?

Conclusion

I'm off to write my new script "Chomp!" It starts as a mob of angry villagers storm the lab of a mad scientist who has been dabbling in powers man is not meant to understand. The priest with the mob is killed by a "creature" that escapes into the forest.

A year later 10 nubile teens are shipwrecked on the island. They split up to search the area and find themselves being chased by a mutated man-beast, half-man, half Komodo Dragon. Soon there's a lot of running through forests at night, and a tense scene where a blonde is trapped in the ruins of the lab.

The big climax comes when the last two of the teens confront the monster. The boy thinks he's killed it, and turns back in triumph, only for the beast to rear up and dismember him.

In a poignant final scene the last girl cradles the monster's head in her lap and weeps as it dies.

Do you think it will sell? If your answer is "No", what would you do to make it work?

William Meikle is a Scottish writer, with seven novels published in the States and three more coming in 2007/8, all in the independent fantasy and horror press. His short work and articles have appeared in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Greece, Saudi Arabia and India.

Read free fiction at his web site http://www.williammeikle.com

Gore - Black Leather and a Whole Lot of Hair - Horrifying Movie Monsters

Everyone has their own personal horror movie characters that they just love to hate. Some people may hate them because they disagree with their motives or because of their evil and manipulative natures. But I really hated those old movie monsters because they could make me piss in my pants from intense fear!

Take Pinhead, from 'Hellraiser' fame. That guy has more nails in his face than my entire house and the theme of him and his Cenobite friends being explorers of forbidden pleasures aka horrendously brutal ways to torture, deflesh, and utterly destroy someone made my grow goosebumps the size of gigantic warts. The fact that they were all dressed for what seemed to be really twisted BSDM and bondage scenes didn't help either. It was however the unreal voice and performance of Doug Bradley in his signature role that made it all the more terrifying and traumatic for me. His cold, intelligent and unfeeling delivery made it absolutely impossible for me to get even a wink of sleep. Needless to say I was scared of meeting big, bald guys for the rest of the year.

And just when I thought that I could rest on my laurels and watch television to get my mind off supernatural terror, her comes Sadako and 'The Ring' to completely destroy my opinion on televisions completely. Now I couldn't watch any normal TV show or video without half expecting an outlandish looking female ghost to come out of the TV, freaky nails first. It's one of the most annoying (and definitely the scariest) fact about Asian horror villains that they seem to have very ambiguous motives to do what they do. Because they seem like motiveless and unstoppable killing machines, Sadako and her fellow Asian phantoms can be part of our collective psyches for a long, long time.

Movie monster bring out the best and worst in us. And for someone who has seen them all his life, I can definitely say that movie monsters like this are here to stay.

If you want a comprehensive list of some of the most notorious horror movie monsters of all time, visit: http://crunkish.com/category/article-pages/entertainment/movies-television/top-ten-most-terrifying-horror-movie-characters/

Horror Movie Review: "The Cave"

Plot: When a group of professional cave explorers go for a deep sea ocean dive to explore a mysterious cave, the cave collapses during the expedition, leaving the team stranded in the underwater cavern, and completely unaware of the bloodthirsty creatures that lurk within it.

Cast:

Cole Hauser

Morris Chestnut

Eddie Cibrian

Daniel Dae Kim

Rick Ravanello

Piper Perabo

Kieran Darcy-Smith

Lena Headey

Marcel Iures

Review:I have to admit going into "The Cave" I didn't expect much. In fact I didn't expect anything to be honest. But I don't know whether it was my low expectations or whatever but I really liked this movie. In "The Cave" a group of men disappear in a Cave system thats collapsed. After the collapse it's suggested that "something" claimed their lives. Fast forward to present day, a group of cavers played by Eddie Cibrian, Morris Chestnut, Cole Hauser, Daniel Day Kim, Piper Perabo, and Rick Ravenello along with two doctors one of which played by the very attractive Lena Headey are sent in to explore this new found cave system. Totally unaware of the something that lies within it. I've heard some people compare "The Cave" to "Pitch Black" which is an extreme put down. "Pitch Black" for the mildly entertaining movie it was was boring as hell compared to "The Cave" which after about 20 minutes or so of the main characters arriving at the cave system and setting up shop, switches gears quickly when one of the group members is attacked in a scene where we get a brief quick glances of one of the cave dwelling monsters. The monsters themselves aren't overddone or shown too much and while some horror fans may hate these *less is more* patterned movies this formula works in "The Cave".

Mainly because these monsters are f*cking scary even when they aren't shown fully because we get glimpses of their long razor like teeth, and the films writers Michael Steinberg and

Tegan West did a fantastic job of picking the right moments when they would show up on screen. The stars of the movie are really the monsters along with Eddie Cibrian, Morris Chestnut, and Cole Hauser and Lena Headey who does her best to steal the show a tad bit with her acting rather than being the comic relief with funny one-liners, which is rare in horror movies nowadays. In fact in this movie there isn't that one comic relief character who says something funny during those suspenseful moments,which more so helped me enjoy this film since it kept with the serious tone of things throughout. After one of their group members is killed and their lead caver played by Cole Hauser is bitten,their course of action now becomes to escape the cave rather than continue the expedition. Problem is Hausers character is infected and slowly changing which creates mistrust amongst his fellow cavers since hes the one who can lead them out. Not to mention the cave monsters which become more and more aggresive in their attacks as the film wears on. The scenes where they attack are very well done and not often predictable which is another thing I liked about the movie.

Piper Perabo and Eddie Cibrians characters are involved in 2 of the most intense of the monster attack scenes and overall two of the most enjoyable parts of the film. So whats the origins of these creatures and what do these creatures look like?One theory is tossed out connecting them to the films tagline "Beneath Hell Lies The Cave" but their real origins are explained early on in the movie after Hausers character is bitten. I won't give away too much about how they look except that they're original enough in design to be separated from your standard horror movie monster. I also liked the fact that we got more and more full looks at them as the movie went on.

In the very early going they're kept hidden in the shadows but are revealed more and more until we finally get to see them fully in the films exciting climax. "The Cave" also keeps you guessing in alot of areas as to who will live and who will die. I guarantee you might be able predict a few of the deaths but not all of them...atleast I couldn't. Theres a few subplots one of which involving Cibrian and Hausers characters which further enhances the overall story and a love story subplot between Cibrian and Lena Headey and Piper Perabo which are all briefly hinted at but never materialize fully for a number of different reasons.

Pros: Nice creature FX,intense and suspenseful scenes galore in this movie,good acting by everyone, and for a movie like this the storyline was pretty meaty.

Cons: Some of the early creature sequences were a bit choppy and during the attacks the scenes cut so fast you can barely see whats happening but being that "The Cave" was rated PG 13, I think some scenes of blood may have been trimmed thus contributing to the moderately choppy looking attack scenes so we'll see when the dvd comes out. The twist ending was a coin flip. I could've done without it but it wasn't that bad... but it wasn't necessarily a great idea either.

Overall: Go check this out, I think you'll be very surprised at how good it is for a PG-13 creature/actioneer.

Mr. HoRrOr Horror Movies & stuff.com http://www.hms.notlong.com

The Monster High Dolls Review

There's a new wave of fashion dolls that have taken the US by storm and they're set to be just as popular in the UK this Christmas, with retailers already bracing themselves to sell out fast!

The Monster High Fashion Dolls are inspired by some of the most iconic monster horror films of the last fifty years, including, Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman and Monster from the black lagoon.

Created by Mattel these alternative looking toys are already enjoying a cult following from girls who want something different from their dolls. Spreading the message that toy can dare to be different, the Monster Dolls offer a fantastic message to girls, in a cynical age when young women feel the need to conform to 'the norm'.

In response to the huge wave of popularity that the Monster High Dolls are enjoying, Mattel are working to extend the range, creating bags, stationary, accessories and even plush toy versions of these funky dolls. You can also collect their oh-so-cuddly, ghoulish pets...

There are four spooky Dolls to choose from;Clawdeen Wolf, Draculaura, Frankie Stein and Lagoona Blue and whilst they might be ghouly girls, there also super-trendy, super-cute and super popular too! In fact, the students have even released their own hit single!

Whats really captured peoples attention about these eye-catching dolls is just how non-conforming they are; a message that resonates with young girls - and their parents. Celebrating individuality to great aplomb, these freeky, kooky,spooky dolls offer something uniquely different - which is why they are sure to be a Top Toy for Christmas 2010.

Find out more about the new monster high dolls and the rest of the dream toys for 2010 including the latest reviews and where to get the cheapest prices.

Halloween Horror Movie Night - Universal Monsters Recommendations

A Universal Monsters movie marathon should be more than just a once a year event! These are some of the movies that started it all and have been cited as movies that inspired many of the great horror writers and directors of today and yesterday working in the film industry. The franchise actually started with a silent era in the 1920's but the Golden Age of the 30's and 40's is where the most popular and best movies are. Here are my favorites:

Frankenstein

A classic that is still cited today as one of the best horror movies of all time. Originally released in 1931 and based on the book by Mary Shelly it stars Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster in the role that launched his career and made him an icon of horror. This is a must see for any horror fan and while you're at it check out "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein" starring Robert DeNiro as The Monster as well as Bride of Frankenstein.

The Wolf Man

The Wolf Man is a beautiful movie that has remained timeless. This movie, the second to last of the original Universal Monster movies starring the great Lon Chaney, has inspired virtually every werewolf themed horror film including modern day classics like An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. It should also be noted that The Wolf Man was the most successful movie released in the 1940's under the Universal Monsters moniker. That decade was dominated by spin-offs of previously successful monster movies from the 20's and 30's with a few original ideas thrown in.

Creature From the Black Lagoon

Released in 1954 this was the last of the original Universal Monster movies that came out thirteen years after The Wolf Man. This was also the only new monster released during the 1950's "Monster Revival" period. The others were "Creature" sequels an "Abbot and Costello Meet (insert monster here)" movie. This isn't really a horror movie but more of a Science Fiction film and even a love story. However it is one of the most brilliant movies ever made.

Dracula

Dracula was the first monster of the 1930's "Golden Age" of Universal Monsters movies unleashed on the world. Released in 1931 and based on the book by Bram Stoker this movie made Bela Lugosi a horror icon. A Spanish version of Dracula was also released the same year. It wasn't unlikely for studios to release foreign language versions of their films in this era, however, most of these no longer exist with Dracula being the exception. It's almost impossible to find someone who hasn't seen Dracula in one form or another so I doubt I can really say much of anything else. I would also recommend checking out "Nosferatu."

There are several other films to note, mainly The Invisible Man, The Mummy and Werewolf of London. For a full list of Universal Monsters films check out the Wikipedia entry on it here.

And if you're a horror fan check out my two favorite horror sites (I am not affiliated with either) Dread Central and Shock Till You Drop

Universal Studios Monsters Collection

Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection includes eight distinctive and iconic horror films produced by Universal Studios during the 1930's through the 1950's. Universal has provided a treasure chest of horror films for their fans since the 1920's. However, those films included in this collection have proven to be some of their most popular.

Universal's horror film production began with the making of 1923's The Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Lon Chaney. This silent era classic paved the way for a successful series of monster films that created an unforgettable impression on generations of fans.

In spite of the financial woes caused by the Great Depression, Carl Laemmle Jr. was able to produce two massively successful monster films for Universal Studios. Both Dracula and Frankenstein were released in 1931 and are permanently entrenched in movie history. The success of these two motion pictures skyrocketed the careers of their stars Bela Lugosi (Dracula) and Boris Karloff (Frankenstein). These landmark horror films helped give birth to a new generation of cinema monster films.

The Mummy, also starring Boris Karloff, was released in 1932. Karloff was given the starring role in The Mummy based on his outstanding performance in Frankenstein and the film was a box office sensation. Next followed a trilogy of films that included Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Black Cat (1934), and The Raven (1935). These motion pictures were all based on the popular stories of writer Edgar Allen Poe.

The success of the series of Universal horror films lead to many monster movie sequels with two of the most successful being Bride Of Frankenstein (1935) and Dracula's Daughter (1936).

By the end of 1936, the continual and rapid production of profit-seeking horror films began to water-down the product. The public, having previously been treated to monster movie classics, would no longer accept just anything that the studio produced. This led to a series of box office flops, financial losses, and the letting go of the Laemmle family as producers. The first run of Universal horror movies had ended.

Today, the classic collection of Universal monster films can be found in a DVD box set that includes eight of their most notable pictures, all beautifully remastered, and including a host of special features.

The eight films included in the DVD box set include:

Dracula (1931)

Frankenstein (1931)

The Mummy (1932)

The Invisible Man (1933)

Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

The Wolfman (1941)

Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)

This collection will continue to allow horror movie fans, for generations to come, to enjoy viewing these classic Universal Pictures monster films.

Carl DiNello is a Blogger whose passion is Hollywood history and those movies from the 1920's - 1950's that make up this rich history.

Hollywood Movie Memories... Movies to Remember and Discover!

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Monster Games - How Scary Are These Monster Games?

The Monster games are always full of scary creatures that make them hugely popular especially during the Halloween and holidays. The list of scary things is quite long including the blood sucking vampires, haunting werewolves, the dead zombies and mummies. The more horrifying game is the more fun it is to play. Here are some ideas about these gruesome games.

The horror games like werewolves in Paris and London are quite catchy. One can play these classic games as they tend to be full of creepy things popping almost every few seconds. The unexpected factors and the fear is great part o these game, and the path to end is always filled with the gruesome fights.

The Zombie games in this genre are also quite interesting; one can play shooting these zombies for hours. The undead and the scary zombies do contain the sense of black humor too. The real joy of these games is often the fearsome graphics and one has to install the shockwave to enjoy these fully. Interestingly the zombie games are making a comeback with the kids after the success of the Scary Movie franchise.

The Haunted House Massacre is often seen as the classic horror game that is popular among many generations. You can play this scary game with bizarre storyline and full with the creepy mansion containing the horrific villains. Searching for the lost friend in these scary walls is full of adventure too as remaining quick on your feet is the only way to survive in there.

The Monster Basement is yet another exciting horror game. You are stuck in the basement with the secret laboratory of evil doctor. Hiding yourself and staying alive is quite hard as the place is filled with the beakers, round bottom flasks and strange chemicals. There are many monsters that frequent this scary place so running and hiding is the real idea of the game till you explore the different ways to fight them.

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Horror Movie Cliches

Movie clichés are somewhat inevitable especially in an industry where ideas are endlessly recycled in the hope of raking in more cash. Perhaps the greatest offender is the horror genre. Most clichés can be traced back to an original film which featured an excellent scene that later film makers felt compelled to copy, for example we have Psycho to thank for endless shower scene murders. Let´s take a closer look at some classic horror movie clichés.

Goodies

The main culprit in this category is slasher films, they virtually always feature a cast of mostly unsympathetic teen fodder and generally include a range of characters who probably wouldn't hang out together in real life. There´s the angry dumb jock, the stoner, the cheerleader, the slut, the token minority guy, the fat guy or geek and of course the virginal heroine. Groups will always find a reason to split up so they can be picked off one by one and the bad guy in the group will usually redeem himself with an act of self-sacrifice. Funnily enough seeing your friends brutally butchered is often a big turn on for teens and they love to stop at inopportune moments for a quickie which inevitably gets them killed. Cops are always inept, they never believe the victims and they always turn up too late to help or just in time to get knifed in the back.

For supernatural horrors the set-up usually involves someone returning to their home town after an absence of years. This often ties in with the main guy and girl, usually a cop and a doctor, having had a previous relationship and they are now forced to work together, of course you know they will be in love again by the end of the film. Children, animals and old people can always sense an evil spirit but no one pays them any attention. If there´s a priest character then he will always have a crisis of faith.

In monster movies the hero is often a cop, reporter or scientist. If there´s a mad scientist or evil government character he will always want to capture the monster so he can study it or use it but his plan will always backfire and usually after he double crosses the rest of the group by locking them in somewhere he´ll immediately run into the monster and get eaten.

If the main character gets murdered early on in any type of horror expect a cut to them waking up from a nightmare.

Baddies

The killers have their own set of rules. In slasher films they can take ludicrous amounts of damage without showing pain, they often have a mother complex and they aren´t allowed to run. I´m always reminded of the old Pepe Le Pew cartoons where no matter how fast the cat runs away the skunk just skips along slowly and catches up with ease. Killers also seem to spend a large amount of time moving bodies around and displaying them to scare their remaining victims. Don´t stand under a tree or the inevitable drip of blood will draw your view upwards to the body perfectly poised to fall on top of you.

One of the most over used scenes features the killer or monster appearing to be dead and then returning to life unexpectedly. This is made all the more annoying by the fact that the hero or heroine will often shoot or batter the baddie and then as soon as the baddie goes down they drop their weapon and run instead of mashing it up.

Another common trick, especially in supernatural movies is the glimpse of the ghost, in a mirror, over the shoulder of the hero, running past in the background and of course being suddenly illuminated when someone turns their torch on. Ghosts who are trying to convey a message will always do it by terrifying the person they are trying to talk to.

Fake Scares

Fake scares are annoyingly predictable and irritating. For example why do cats in horror films hide in cupboards and jump on people who open them? Sound effects suddenly booming are a great way to get the audience to jump without actually having anything scary happen on screen. Sometimes the fake scare is used like the boy who cried wolf, so an annoying male character will scare a girl and then later when it´s the killer for real she´ll still think it´s the joker of the group.

How to Survive

Arm yourself and stay armed, victims in horror films are always dropping their weapons to run away or ignoring guns on the ground, pick up any weapons you find and keep a hold of them.

You should be aware that technology always fails during a horror movie. Your cell phone will be unable to get a signal and if you do get through the authorities will think it is a prank or the phone will go dead when you are about to give your location. Cars are a waste of time too, they break down at the most inconvenient times and if you do manage to start it you are going to crash into a tree five meters down the road anyway.

If you try to rescue someone who has already been stabbed or partially eaten you will end up losing more people in the attempt.

Diversions are another good way to lose people and they seldom work. Usually someone heroically sacrifices themselves setting an explosion or racing for car keys and the remaining group are still stuck in the same situation but one person down.

If you hear a mysterious sound, like growling, do not go out into the dark wearing a skimpy top and panties to investigate. If you are being chased do not run to a stupid location to escape, for example up the stairs, into the creepy basement or into the killer´s lair where you´ll accidentally fall into a pit of dead bodies. If you are running from a psycho why hide somewhere you´ll be easily trapped, why not just keep running?

Films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre teach us a few valuable survival lessons. Never pick up hitchhikers. Do not take a shortcut that was given to you by a toothless leering old hillbilly at a deserted gas station. When you do break down, which you inevitably will, and you find what is clearly a serial killer´s shack or house do not go inside to look for a phone.

Clichés aren´t always a problem and they can be usefully employed but too often they are lazily pasted into films without any real thought. The upside is with the expectation in the audience clever directors can use it to shock you with a surprise turn of events.

Simon J Hill watches too many horror films and reviews them at http://www.eathorror.com/

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The Many Faces of Horror Movies

For those who love to be thrilled and be scared, horror movies are something they cannot miss. Dealing with the psychological fear of humans, these movies are made to send the chills up anyone's bones. There are, nevertheless, three types of horror depicted in movies, and they are the supernatural, the scientific, and the naturalistic.

The supernatural type of horror revolves around supernatural beings such as ghosts, zombies, and vampires. These are the monsters that are beyond what is perceived as natural. Our fear for them stems from legends, cultural beliefs and literature of how they terrorize the lives of human beings, which is rather unexplainable when you refer to the natural law. With the birth of cinematography, these legends are remade into modern day horror. There are also those that do not involve monsters, but of occult curses, voodoo, divination, and spells that occurs by interacting with spirits or the dead.

The second one would be science fiction horror. This type of horror usually involves a mad scientist with an evil plot, creation of monsters, science experiment gone awry, futuristic technologies, or the presence or abductions of extra-terrestrials. The ideas of this type of horror come from speculations, and phenomena that are unconventional to mainstream science. At times, the ideas can be plausible, while there are times when the horror is illogical but seductive. A lot of photography effects are used to generate the horror that seems so real.

The third type would be naturalistic horror. These tend to be real-life nightmares of beasts that we may or may not be afraid of in usual circumstances, for example snakes, wolves, or even humans. In naturalistic horror, it is either the knowledge of the food chain or the psychological vulnerability that evokes our fear for the beast. In the case of the food chain, a beast, whether animal or human, becomes vicious, where they hunt, attack, and feast on the meat of mankind. The ones that deal with psychological vulnerability are usually stories of traumatic pasts, where the person or animal becomes psychotic or is simply back for revenge.

These three types of horror can overlap each other at times, and when they do, such horror movies can scare the shadow out of you.

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Watch a Horror Movie For a Spine Chilling Experience

Watching movies of any genre - romantic, comedy or horror is a fun experience. Among these, horror film is watched by many as it is chilling, haunting and scary. Horror films are usually based on the imaginary world full of incredible incidents and mysterious events. Sometimes, the storyline of these films is influenced by psychological themes, creepy ideas and supernatural science as well.

A horror movie shows the unearthly existence of mysterious characters possessing supernatural powers or ghostly nature. The makers of horror flicks exhaust their imagination in creating the most horrifying situation in order to make the films more frightful and interesting. For the production of the most popular films in the 'Horror' category, Hollywood takes the cake. Some of these films are Psycho (1960), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Night of the Living Dead (1968) and so on.

The horror movie 'Psycho', made in 1960, is a masterpiece made by Alfred Hitchcock. This movie is based on psychological theme, more appealing and spine-chilling than supernatural events. It fills in the audience with so much horror that they seem to lose their movement. In the history of horror films, The Bride of Frankenstein was the first horror movie to introduce the figure 'monster'. In this film, the creator of the monster is forced to create a mate for the monster from old body parts and the brain of a madman.

Along with these movies, The Night of The Living Dead, made by George Romero is a most dreadful horror movie with plenty of chills and thrills. These are some most terrifying films which are better characterized as horror flicks to the pedestal of fame. In contrast to these movies where you get to know your voice limit with all the screaming whenever a 'ghost' or 'monster' appears on the screen, kids movies are full of enjoyment and laughter.

Many movies for children portray a world of fantasy rather than exposing the young little audience to the shattering truths of hatred and distrust. The kids movies are mostly based on fairies, folktales and fables. The incredible rise of the animation industry is due to these children movies as most of them are animated. These animated kids movies are becoming a craze in the industry and even adults are bowled over by the special appealing effects of the advanced software.

Disney is one of the renowned producers of kids movies. Some of the most popular animated movies produced by them are Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, The Princess and the Frog and many more. These Disney movies are loved by both children and adults of all ages. In Disney movies, the characters touch the imagination of a child and reveal the moralities and ways of the world and society in general. The stories of these kids movies are also quite relevant and meaningful. These stories also convey special messages to the children. Although all the characters in the movies are fictitious, still they hold some reality in them since the characters have the same kind of emotions like a normal human being.

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Top 10 Horror Movies

A few months back I set a poll on one of my sites which asked horror fans to rate their top ten horror movies of all time. In this article I list the movies and explain what makes horror fans rate them so highly.

Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho terrifies audiences because it is an exploration of insanity which concludes that anyone, even the sane, can become insane and suffer terrible consequences.

Alien (1979)

The powerful theme in Alien is one of disease. The crew aboard a futuristic space vessel become infected by an alien species and hunted down in grisly fashion. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about Alien is the theme it shares with Psycho: Evil is inside of us and, thus, cannot be easily escaped.

The Shining (1980)

Almost every college campus bedroom has the poster of Jack Nicholson peering through a recently-axed bathroom window, grinning in his uniquely iconic, maniacal manner. This easily deserves to be one of the top 10 horror movies of all time. Derived from the book by Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece is a haunting look at insanity and claustrophobia, as the Wife and Son of Jack Torrence are mentally abused and later on hunted down by him in a remote hotel called The Overlook. What perhaps scares us most here is the possibility that our trusted loved ones can become our worst enemies.

Aliens (1986)

In Aliens we see Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) return with a rescue team to a colony where she must do battle with yet more aliens. No one believes her, of course, until it is too late and both herself and the other crew members are besieged by dozens of drooling, toothy beings. It is the claustrophobic settings here, more than the Aliens, that we find most scary.

Les Diaboliques (1955)

A boarding school headmaster is murdered by his mistress and wife who has a weak heart. They submerge his corpse in their school's swimming pool but, upon being brained, the body has disappeared. What ensues are scenes of suspense that slowly turn the murderers insane with tension. This movie is painful and terrifying to watch as we, unwillingly, must become the killers and share their fears. Although it is one of the top 10 horror movies of all time, I would say it is - possibly - the best suspense movie of all time.

Jaws (1975)

Amity Island has everything: beautiful beaches, warm weather, friendly inhabitants . . . oh, and a fifteen-foot killer great white shark! This is the original summer block buster known to all movie-goers. The theme here is man against nature. What terrifies most about Jaws is the uncompromising monster. He will not be reasoned with, he will not stop eating, and you will not escape his teeth, even if you're an expert shark fisherman. In this film only the lucky survive.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

This horror movie takes up where Frankenstein left off. Frankenstein and his monster are both still alive. The crazy Dr Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's wife and blackmails him to create another monster to become bride to the original abomination. With grave-digging, decaying corpses, re-animated living tissues, and the terrifying theme that man should not play God, this is a truly terrifying tale.

The Thing (1982)

In a remote Antarctic station, an expedition of American scientists encounters a dog, being perused by a helicopter which crashes. That same night the dog attacks both dogs and scientists and soon a shape-changing entity is loose among the survivors. The notion that evil lurks within those we trust is explored here to terrifying affect.

King Kong (1933)

When original audiences watched King Kong many of them literally ran screaming up the isles. Never had a monster been so realistically portrayed.

The Exorcist (1973)

In the Exorcist we are confronted by the ultimate evil: The Devil and his minions. Unlike serial killers or ghosts, Satan seems invincible; success feels hopeless. This terrifying film was made shocking by the use of blasphemy, a child becoming possessed and spouting obscene language; and the weakness of Good (namely an alcoholic priest) in the face of purest evil.

The top 10 horror movies of all time will, of course, change in the future, but - perhaps - the themes will remain the same. We will always be scared of inner evils (insanity), invincible evils (nature and the Devil), and monsters, of all shapes and sizes, will likely still prove to entertain and terrify!

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A Different Kind of Horror Story Character

Recently I was watching a pretty bad horror movie with a very unique character. The hero came across a cryptozoologist tracking the same creature terrorizing the hero's town. Together, they tracked and destroyed the creature. I thought to myself "what a creative idea for a character".

Cryptozoology is the search for animals believed to exist, but haven't been proven to exist. While normally considered to be a joke among the scientific community, Cryptozoologists are serious about finding proof of the creatures they seek.

You can't take courses in Cryptozoology. There isn't a degree you can get to prove you are one. Cryptozoologists come from all walks of life. Some are highly educated while others are just dedicated researchers. But they all share a common goal -- finding and proving the unknown species.

But how can you use this wonderful character in your horror story?

Every monster horror tale has a character who knows the history of the area or the creature being hunted. This character can be a helper of the hero, or an antagonist who is fighting to stop the hero from destroying the monster. This character can even be the hero himself.

Here are some of the ways you can use a Cryptozoologist in your story. One thing you should do before writing a Cryptozoologist into your horror tale is to research the field. There are many web sites devoted to the study of Cryptids, the creatures they search for. An internet search will bring you plenty of research material to use.

As a Hero

He can be many things to a story. Mild and meek, rough and tough, know what he is doing, or even be the one who has to learn to be strong. Having him as the hero means you can do without a secondary character who gives the hero the information he needs to locate the creature.

As a Helper

He can be used to give the hero area or creature information, help track the creature, document the event, or even help capture the beast. He can be a serious or comedic character.

As an Antagonist

He can be a wonderfully fun character. Pretending to be a helper, only to sabotage the hero's plans. He can be fully evil, driven insane by his desire to find and prove this creature's existence. Or simply someone who needs the status this monster's proof would give him.

There are so many ways to use this type of character, above the standard information giver. It all depends on the kind of story you want to write and what you want to do with this terrific character.

Dawn Arkin is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers. Her portfolio can be found at http://darkin.Writing.Com/ so stop by and read for a while.

The Secret Origin of the Horror Movie Franchise

It has been said that the 1933 movie Frankenstein, with Boris Karloff, was the most important horror movie ever made. It might not have been the first ever horror movie, but it was so popular that it enabled Universal to continue with their series of monster movies, and it inspired other movie studios to jump on the bandwagon. What I would add to that, is that Frankenstein led the way not just for horror movies, but also for the horror movie franchise. The way the series of movies developed set the blueprint for future horror franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Alien.

There were three sequels to Frankenstein (Bride, Son, and Ghost of Frankenstein) before the crossovers started - Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, and House of Dracula - then a spoof movie with Abbott and Costello. The first Frankenstein movie was great, and the second one was also good with some interesting new ideas. However, the director and main actors jump ship around episodes 3 - 4, and then the downwards spiral began. Later sequels ignored the plot developments from earlier episodes if they were inconvenient, hoping audiences would not notice. Then, the most celebrated actor from first film (Boris Karloff, who had not had a hit for a while) returned to the franchise in episode 6 after a gap of a few movies. Eventually the series descended into team ups / face-offs with characters from other franchises. If you are a fan of more modern horror movies, does any of that sound familiar?

Other features I would point out is that the monster was killed at end of every episode, forcing the next movie to start with a far-fetched resurrection. Also the monster becomes more powerful in each episode, so that after a few movies it seems to be indestructible (although that doesn't stop it form being killed each time). Also, episode 3 was in 3D - well, okay, maybe not, but it would have been if the technology had existed. Finally, the franchise rebooted a decade or two later.

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