Halloween Countdown, Day 8

[eldritchhobbit]

To kick off my post, I'd like to share a fan video entitled Scary Mary. Should Mary Poppins be considered a work of horror? Watch this recut of the Disney classic made by Chris Rule and Nick Eckert and reconsider the nanny you thought you knew.

Watch on YouTube

LINKS OF THE DAY: Today I have several links to help prepare you for Halloween.

* BadMovies.org wants to certain you know what to do in case of a zombie apocalypse.
"Do You Have a Zombie Plan? Part 1"
"Do You Have a Zombie Plan? Part 2" (Thanks to sittingduck1313 for the recommendation.)

* i09 suggests "10 Halloween Costumes That Rule."



LITERATURE OF THE DAY: Happy birthday to the late, great Frank Herbert (1920-1986), science fiction author and father of the incomparable Dune series. In his honor, one of his more Halloween-friendly poems from Songs of Muad'dib: The Poetry of Frank Herbert:

"Zensunni Theme" by Frank Herbert

Nature's beauteous form
Contains a lovely essence
Called by some--decay.
By this lovely presence
New life finds its way.
Tears shed silently
Are but water of the soul:
They bring new life
To the pain of being--
A separation from that seeing
Which death makes whole.


And just in case Herbert hasn't thoroughly scratched your Halloween itch, here is a limerick by the late, great Edward Gorey (1925-2000):

Each night Father fills me with dread
When he sits on the foot of my bed;
I'd not mind that he speaks
In gibbers and squeaks,
But for seventeen years he's been dead.

Comments

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

I love "Hide your children." I've seen this before on YouTube and it's just brilliant.

Horror, like goodness, is in the eye of the beholder.

But hey! Sleeping Beauty is out again on DVD which features my fav Disney gal (and it's not Aurora)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Isn't it fantastic? I'd never really understood how much lighting played into Mary Poppins until I saw this. Truly spooky.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

Awesome video! Scary Mary, indeed. And that's one of my favorite Gorey bits. :)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked the video, too! And the limerick. Be watching for more Gorey soon. ;)

[estellye.livejournal.com]

Wow, first Mary Poppins ends up with a social disease on Saturday Night Live last week, and now she's run across zombie producing alien brain leaches from the neighbor's well. Where did I put that hammer?

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Poor Mary Poppins! She definitely needs some good PR people to help out her image. ;)

[lbilover.livejournal.com]

OMG, Scary Mary is great, and so are the Zombie plans. *still laughing*

And I love Edward Gorey, so thank you for including him! :)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you enjoyed them! I've been having great fun putting these posts together.

There's more Gorey to come! :)

[rhi]

Oh, wow, between Scary Mary and that limerick, I had goose bumps. (And bless you, I need to write a horror fic in, er, the next *three days*? EEP. Thanks for the inspiration!)

And now I'm giggling my way through the zombie planning... definitely thank you!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad these were helpful to you in getting into the spine-chilling mood. :) I've been having great fun putting these posts together. Best wishes on writing your horror!

[sailingwest.livejournal.com]

I saw Scary Mary a while back and I find it hysterical. I need to repost this somewhere.

Loved the poem. Very lovely.

Also got a kick out of the Halloween Costume Reccomendations. Devo is really quite old school, which I found interesting. But the Steampunk one I definatly want to try.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked the post! It's been great fun putting these together. You would look fabulous in the Steampunk costume.

[sithdragn.livejournal.com]

Wow, the Scary Mary video is fantastic. The limerick, also, is great.

I own an M60 tank. - God bless America and her military surplus auctions.

LOL!

I adore this entire post!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked the post! :) The zombie lists thoroughly cracked me up. Thanks for helping spread the word about my Halloween posts, too! I really appreciate it.

[vyrdolak.livejournal.com]

There is a great Ray Bradbury story called "The Christmas Wish" about a man who wishes he could see his father again. It is more sweet and sad than horrific, although it certainly brings the grue.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Perfect reading for this time of year! Thanks so much for the recommendation. I need to go dig through my Bradbury.

[vyrdolak.livejournal.com]

Make sure you're well-hydrated and have a box of kleenex handy, because there will be tears. Niagara Falls, Dr. Amy.

[vyrdolak.livejournal.com]

Oops, it's titled "The Wish", collected in "Long After Midnight".

[vyrdolak.livejournal.com]

Another sweet, sad, and seasonal horror tale is Russell Kirk's "There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding". I've reread that one many times though, it's one of my favorites. I could never bring myself to reread "The Wish" after the first time, almost thirty years ago, and a few months after my dog had died. My own father was alive then but it still affected me greatly.

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

I am LOVING your posts. ♥

I am also letting the creepy side down. *self-flagellates*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you're enjoying the posts! I had great fun putting them together.

No self-flagellation! The creepy side needs you to stay strong so you can fight the zombies and vampires and werewolves and such. They're coming for you, you know...

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

That's some spooky clip! But considering how many fairy tales are really quite gruesome in their original form, it's not as big a stretch as one might think.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Excellent point!