Zombos' Closet

Blogging Around Thursday

Looking for some tasty blogging morsels? You need go no further. Step inside...

With Intent to Commit Murder, the Undead Rat explores the inky horrors grusomely saturating paper, providing reams of screams for his readers: By day I’m a librarian assistant in the Heights Libraries serving Cleveland Hts., and University Hts., Ohio. I’ve worked here since 1990. I was a charter member of the Readers’ Advisory Team Services (RATS) in 1993 and I’m still a RAT. It was this group that gave me the alias of Undead Rat because of my love of horror fiction.

Made for TV Mayhem is explored by Amanda by Night. For her, every channel is primed for fright night: I love horror movies, mostly from the 70s and 80s. I write for several websites including Retro Slashers, Film Threat, Pretty Scary, Horror Yearbook and Camp Blood.

Scary Fairy Tales, are told by Chad Helder at his new blog for the creepy children residing in all of us. They weren't called the Brothers Grimm for nothing you know. He is the Stoker Award-winning editor of Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet, an anthology of queer horror fiction, which he co-edited with Vince Liaguno.

BlueSpill may be an abandoned blog, but it still contains enough rare and original examples of mechanical and optical special effects, stop-motion, and experimental animation to satiate any fan of the visual effects arts. Does the term rotograph tempt your interest?

Cinephobia Radio broadcasts on the thriving cinema scene in Cinephobia Radio's current home base of Toronto, Onterrible, Canada. But that's not all! Lurking in their vaults is a chat with Ray Harryhausen, so light a torch and go venture inside.

Monster Movie Music And More spews from a cool cave in the Jupiter Jungle as EEGAH and TABONGA pile on the retro-zone's weirdness of soundclips, movie stills, posters, and cool stuff from way back when.

Magic Carpet Burn International's Professor Grewbeard shares his perpetual acid trip with us as he ponders what that black thing on his ceiling is. In-between his ponderings, you'll find flashburn memories filled with all that kitschy-icky stuff you loved because it was so cool: Since today is my birthday, I'm gonna say and do whatever silly little thing that comes to my head! First off, YUBBA WAB HOOP DIBBY! (Steve Gerber fans will know what I mean...) Next, Three Truths- 1) I hate Summer. 2) Jan & Dean are funny. 3) There is a big Back To Mono movement moving right now, so I present to you- Jan & Dean's Popsicle lp in MONO, because I just happen to have a copy on vinyl.

Blogging Around Friday

Here are some blogs I've been stalking and enjoy spying on. You may find them adequate to fulfill your voyeuristic tendencies, too.

...John Navroth at Monster Magazine World provides coverage on all that printed horror you hear so much about but rarely experience these days, what will all that digital distraction and such it's hard to maintain focus on all that pulpy goodness (or wholesome trashiness). Being a collector and avid reader of magazines, I find his blog a much needed light shining in horror's dark attic, to illuminate the nifty finds just waiting to be discovered. "To answer you about starting up Monster Magazine World, I've always found a need for creative expression through some form of performance (I'm a musician, too) or publication. Since I've got what I consider a respectable collection of monster stuff, I figured I'd go ahead and give a blog a shot and share it with the world. Seemed easier than building a website. I am also hoping to turn it into a sort of informational hub for monster magazines, as well as a resource for cultural artifacts of the time of the vintage 'zines. Time will tell."

...Halloween Man666 at Halloween Overkill keeps the spirit of the Jack O'Lantern burning every day of the year, sharing his passion for the holiday and the horror with us. You'll find a mix of his personal delights in this new blog that covers everything from comics to movies. He even has his wife, an editor, polishing up his posts (lucky devil!). "I'm hoping to do a halloween countdown starting in late September that should hopefully bring some more attention to the site." Why wait, I say: read his blog now.

...Rondal Scott at Strange Kids Club provides a visual smorgasbord of art and animation devoted to horror, the fantastic, and the mischievous kid in all of us who still insists sugar-packed cereals are a major food source and better come with a toy or else. "I am a designer/blogger who currently runs a blog dedicated to all things animated, illustrated or otherwise art-related with a tinge of horror sauce to complete the combo. I am truly a Monsterkid at heart whose childhood fears have become a tireless fascination of the horror genre (among the other elements that formed my youth)."

...A. Jaye's Thrill Fiction: Words Without Fear is a blog filled with stylish commentary that can be sweet and tart in its exploration of horror on the screen and in the script. Few blogs dare to delve as deep beneath the surface as he does in the search for what makes horror's genre-blood flow. You'll praise him, you'll hate him, but you'll always go back for more. "I'm writing a novel. I'm writing a blog. I'm going to get published before I write-off."

...Colum McKnight at Paperback Horror covers the cheesy, the sublime, and the just plain enjoyable (or godawful) stories of horror and terror that come wrapped inside the pasteboards. Planet of Terror recently did a Meet the Horror Bloggers post with Colum: "Why the hell do you read those things?' That's the question everybody seems to be asking me these days, usually while they cast sneering glances at whatever paperback I happen to have in hand. The short answer? Because I like them. Because I can."

Meet the Horror Bloggers: All Things Horror

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Mike and Chris from All Things Horror tag team the terror to the delight of their readers.

Mike:

I fell in love with horror around age seven by spending Saturday afternoons in the public library. After soccer games, my Dad would drop me off while he went grocery shopping. For whatever reason, the Dracut library stocked the juvenile section with folklore books. The history of witchcraft, true hauntings, werewolves and vampire mythology were all at my finger tips. These were pretty hardcore-in today’s namby pamby world I can’t imagine there’s much on the kid’s shelves about Vlad Tepes impaling his subjects then dining amongst the carnage, nor stories about ghost that appeared on elevators moments before the cables snapped and the cart plunged, sending everyone to their cruel demise. I gobbled up everyone I could check out. Granted they left me so scared if I woke up in the middle of the night to pee I’d clutch a statue of Virgin Mary in front of me while tiptoeing down the hall, just in case a vampire jumped out of the shadows. Just as fifth grade let out for summer vacation, I finished reading The Amityville Horror. That night I woke up covered in itchy splotches and my skin felt like it was on fire. I was terrified that I’d been turned into some sort of demonic hell spawn. It was the chicken pox.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal. In this installment, Emily from the Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense explains how Fangoria and Chucky made her childhood.

Like many a child born in the Reagan era, Fangoria and Chucky were as integral to childhood as Crayola and Grover. My love for horror was a pleasant blend of nature and nurture, birthed in the womb courtesy of a lovely pair of parents who still make me jealous with tales of catching Night of the Living Dead at the back-end of a drive-in double feature. Sure, I have the honor of discovering how to kill an extraterrestrial klown at the age of 6, but even someone with taste as bad as mine knows that when it comes to movies, the late '80s were more fun than revolutionary. Oh. And maybe that applies to other aspects of society, but let's maintain our priorities, eh?

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Horror Crypt

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Bloofer Lady* from Horror Crypt explains the dark shadows that led her to horror.

My mom named me after a witch that appeared on the soap opera Dark Shadows, so I was kind of born into loving all things dark and macabre. My father used to take me to cheap double features when I was a kid and that's how I first saw Xtro, Galaxy Of Terror and Dracula AD 1972. I don't remember a time in which I wasn't allowed to watch horror films. I grew up to be relatively sane and well adjusted so they didn't really do me any harm. Or did they?

I started to get heavily into gothic horror-type films when I was in high school, which was also around the time I became a goth/punk weirdo. They kind of went hand in hand for me. It was much more fun to dress like somebody out of a Hammer film than to be 'normal' after all! Soon after that I started to get into Italian horror. The Church was the first Italian horror film I ever saw and I loved the look and feel of it so much that I was instantly hooked. Soon I was watching any Euro-Horror film I could get my hands on, and over the years that particular horror genre has become my favorite.

I started doing horror movie reviews for a couple of different independent sites five or six years ago, but I wasn't completely happy writing for somebody else all of the time. After quite a few years of thinking 'My goodness, wouldn't it be fun to have my own site!' I finally got the nerve to buy my own domain name back in the beginning of last August and created Horror Crypt. I mainly started it as a venue to post my own horror movie reviews, but I have kind of branched out into other things such as recommending really morbid things that I like to others. One day I would like for it to become a full-fledged site because that would be nifty and peachy-keen!

*Zoc Note: "Bloofer Lady" is what the children called Lucy in Bram Stoker's Dracula. After she turned...

Meet the Horror Bloggers: KinderScares

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, read all about the horror with Colum and Shelagh of KinderScares.

Horror has been an integral part of our family’s life from the very beginning. Our first date was a horror movie. Our wedding favors were spoofs of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie poster, and we own a film collection that rivals the inventory of most smaller video stores.

Needless to say, our children were born into a world where Frankenstein's Monster makes a great playmate, a foot-tall Leatherface resides atop the bookshelf, monster lore makes its way into everyday conversation, and the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear is an event to look forward to every summer. But it wasn’t until we stumbled upon Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (by Adam Rex) when our oldest was a toddler that we realized there was a whole world out there of horror stuff for kids - you just have to look.

We’ve been looking ever since.

Our daughter had a Hallowe’en themed birthday party this past October, and it seemed only natural to display some of our spooky books with the rest of the decorations - and people loved them! The surprised delight of people flipping through our monstrous volumes made us realize we weren’t the only people who were looking for this sort of thing...and that our years of scouring for the fun and creepy tales that would delight little monster lovers might be of use to someone other than ourselves. By November, KinderScares was born!

Writing about horror-themed children’s literature has been a blast so far. It’s like all of our favorite things rolled into one, and well worth the work it takes to post daily (a lengthy and oft-interrupted affair when you have your own pack of little monsters wanting your undivided attention!).

Whether you’re a horror expert who wants to know every far-flung corner of the genre, a parent looking for something different to read to your kids, or a book enthusiast who gets excited by the strange and unusual, we’re here to help you out. Mini monster-lovers and future horror fiends need great books too!

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Gruesome Details

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, NM from Gruesome Details tells us how horror took a little while to embrace her.

Horror has always been a part of my life; however, I never embraced the genre until middle school. My father and my grandmother were the horror fans, enjoying the stories and the gore of the genre without a care in the world. Nothing frightened me more as a child than a scary movie; it was the music that haunted me when I traveled up the stairs to go to bed. My father would watch his weekly episode of Tales from the Crypt or another spine-tingling horror film from the 80s while my mother tucked me in at night. The music was the worst, chilling me to the bone because I knew something terrible was happening or going to happen on the screen in the living room.

After years of anxiety and torment from the horror genre, I made the conscious decision to watch a horror film without my cousins or my father. My cousins had tormented me as a child, tricking me into watching parts of horror films without my knowledge and laughing when I realized what was on the television screen. I embraced the horror genre in that first viewing without regrets or remorse, especially when I realized that I had such a selection of films I had ignored for years. Films have always been prevalent in my life, renting movies with my parents and traveling to the movie theatre sporadically during my childhood. And the horror genre was a new outlet of films I could enjoy.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Chuck Norris Ate My Baby

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Matt from Chuck Norris Ate My Baby blames his mom for all the horror.

I think I can blame my mother for indirectly pointing me in the direction of horror films and cult cinema. She wasn't a huge horror fan by any stretch, but she loved movies like Halloween, Jaws, and War of the Worlds etc...and some of my fondest memories are of us watching all of these films and others together on TV. She would wax nostalgic and tell me tales of when she went to see Jaws in the theaters and how there was a line around the block, or how people would freak out around her while viewing The Exorcist when she saw it in theaters. All of that stuff was intriguing to me as was the mystery of scary movies.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: The Horror Effect

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, B-Movie Becky of The Horror Effect explains how horror crept into her life.

Upon the lap of my guffawing father, I was raised on the horror film. Armed with a clunky VHS camcorder, I fell in love with filmmaking at the age of thirteen in my rural hometown of Maple Valley, Washington. Countless short films and bottles of fake blood later, I went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production, with minors in Honors and Legal Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. After graduation, I married the man I met over a friendly game of Counter-Strike nine years ago. We have since graduated from Counter-Terrorist vs. Terrorists to Infected vs. Survivors. When it comes to filmmaking, we are partners in crime and are constantly working on new projects. I am currently editing a documentary on ecology for a non-profit organization and continuing to build my resume with film experience.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Draculand

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Mandra of Draculand illustrates his passion for horror.

Hello everyone, my name is Tony Espinosa (Mandra) and I´m illustrator from Barcelona, Spain.

My addiction to horror and my obsession with the myth of Count Dracula is when being small I read Bram Stoker's Dracula and my love was automatic. Then fell into my hands some Relatos Salvajes of the 70s, published in Spain by Vértice and best known in America for "Monsters of the Movies", where I enjoy among other things, a fantastic adaptation of The Invisible Man (Val Mayerik and Dan Adkins), and the adaptation of The Day of The Triffids, better known in Spain for La Semilla del Espacio.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Hayes Hudson's House of Horrors

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Hayes of Hayes Hudson's House of Horrors tells us how PG-13 saved his horror life.

My passion for horror began back in 1988. I was at my local video store. I was 12 years old. The household rule was when I went to get a movie, I could only get a PG or PG-13 rated movie, no R. I would always go straight to the Horror section to see all the great box art and dream of a day when I could view all these movies.

Then I saw it.....most all the stickers on the plastic slip cases were red with an R on them...but this one stuck out. It was an orange sticker with a PG-13 on it! Could this be? The film was EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN and had obviously been put in the wrong slip case. Probably by some teenager working at the video store who didn't watch what he was doing.....or just didn't care!

I had never heard of or saw, of course, the first EVIL DEAD film, but that didn't matter. I showed my mom the sequel had a PG-13 sticker on it so it was fair game. She rented the film for me and I was never the same. It was unlike any film I had ever seen and remains my favorite Horror film to this day. From then on I was hooked on Horror and remain a loyal fan of the genre.

Earlier in the year, I was watching more and more horror films, but didn't have anyone to share the joys of these films with. My wife HATES horror movies, and most of my friends really aren't into them (except a select few), so I decided creating my own horror blog would be a great way to discuss news items and movies I watched...even if it was just to a small group of people. It has been fun to watch the blog steadily grow and I hope it continues to grow and become one of the best horror blogs on the net! I try to update it daily, so there is always a reason to check it often!

I hope you all enjoy it!

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Scared Silly

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Paul Castiglia from Scared Silly: Classic Hollywood Horror-Comedies tells us why he finds so much humor in all that horror.

The process of me becoming a “monster kid” turned out to be a lifelong affair. There were several factors that led to my love of horror movies in general and horror-comedies in particular, and by the time those influences merged together I became that “monster kid.”

Well, to be more precise, that “monster man-boy.” I’ve never completely grown up, and I don’t plan to, either. I have no middle name, but if I did, it might as well be Pan. That’s not the only caveat. When I say “factors” I really mean TV. And when I say TV, I mean movies, TV shows and cartoons in particular.

I was a child in the 1970s, when movies and TV shows from past decades were routinely rerun, especially in the New York tri-state area. I grew up watching the classic comedians on TV, particularly Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello; and I grew up watching a lot of cartoons.

Initially, I was deathly afraid of the monsters. The intro’s to Chiller Theater, Fright Night, and other monster movie broadcasts were avoided like the plague, and if I did happen to see part of one, or a commercial for a first-run horror movie, that was enough to inspire nightmares through the night for me.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Dollar Bin Horror

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Rhonny from Dollar Bin Horror tells us how her dad's cable sports package brought the horror along with it, and the treasure found in the dollar bin.

The first time I watched anything horror was when I was four. My dad got cable for the sports package, but it also came with HBO. I would be up late watching Tales From the Crypt. No one stopped me, so I kept watching. Since then I always liked scary movies, but it didn't become an addiction until I was 14. My dad said he got a new movie and wanted me to watch it with him. At first I thought it was another Denzel Washington movie, but thankfully it wasn’t. It was the first Saw film. After googling some information about it, I was enthralled by the fact that two young film students made it. It changed my whole perspective on horror films and my new life goal was to make them myself.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Planet of Terror

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Cortez the Killer and Complaint Dept. from Planet of Terror tag team all the horror and the personal stats for us.

Cortez the Killer Speaks

I was born in 1978 in San Diego, CA. Aside from a horror geek, I’m a corporate desk jockey, a rabid fan of heavy metal music, love to cook, and I’m not afraid to admit that my first concert ever was Billy Ray Cyrus. In my defense, I had no say in the matter.

Complaint Dept. and I met while working at the same company and became friends after learning of our mutual love of horror films, heavy metal, and over-the-top soft rock songsters (he, Michael McDonald, and I, Phil ‘The Man’ Collins).

My initial exposure to the world of horror started at a young age when my parents would stay up late until after I had gone to bed and turned on the VCR and popped in a flick. My dad has always loved horror and my mom would go along sparingly with his film selections. The memory of them watching Aliens 2 is still ingrained in my mind. After I was put to bed one night, I went out into the hallway and peered out from the corner, catching a side glimpse of the TV in the living room. The opening scene where Ripley wakes up after dreaming about an alien popping out of her belly immediately elicited a scream from me. My parents lead me back to my room and scolded me as this was something clearly not meant for the eyes of children. This feeling of something ‘for my parents eyes only,’ coupled with that initial scare and burst of fright, is what kept me coming back for more. I liked the element of danger and I kind of liked pissing off my parents.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Zombies Are Magic

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Jennifer from Zombies Are Magic tells us how how a zombie helped her escape hearing Tevye sing in Fiddler On the Roof, leading to a life-long passion for sleeping with the lights on.

My first “horror” memory is rather embarrassing, but pretty accurately sums up my love/hate relationship with the genre. I was 4, and my Mother had dragged me to the movies to see the re-release of Fiddler on the Roof. While standing in the lobby waiting for her to get popcorn I became captivated by the poster for Dawn of the Dead. It was the classic poster, with the head emerging from the earth and the tagline “When there’s no more room in HELL the dead will walk the EARTH.” The image thrilled and terrified me. As my mother dragged me into the theater tears started streaming down my face; not because I had to watch Fiddler, but because I knew the bad monster from poster was going to come and get me. I remember staring at the floor of the theater, just waiting for that head to pop out. The fit I threw was so epic we were asked to leave before Tevye got to singing “If I were a rich man.” As my poor Mother apologized to the Manager I remember thinking: I want to go back. I want to go see that monster. This was the start of a life-long fascination with Zombies and a good ten years of sleeping with the lights on.