At the edge of August, my Halloween alarm rings loud and clear. We're getting into reasonable countdown territory. But who says you have to be reasonable? Start with some karaoke songs to get everyone into the Halloween spirit. Not a singer? These songs will also make a fantastic playlist. Enjoy. Classic Rock “Spooky” by The Classics IV Featured in American Horror Story: Murder House, this is fun for karaoke. “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult The Stand, Halloween, The Frighteners, Supernatural, and Scream all use this song. “Black[...]
Monthly Archives
August 2014
3 I was thinking about high school horror movies after Jennifer BrinkMeyer's recent post. High school's always been my favorite setting for a disturbing story. Kevin Williamson has been responsible for the scripts of a lot of these movies. He wrote Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer and over a hundred episodes of The Vampire Diaries. One of his lesser known screenplays was Teaching Mrs. Tingle, starring Katie Holmes and Helen Mirren. Marisa Coughlan's wacky character Jo Lynn, who desperately wants to be an actress and die in a few horror movies, is probab[...]
Sunday night we said our final good-bye to the cast of True Blood and I can't help but think back to the previous six episodes. Season 1 we saw Sookie and Bill fall in love. It was a sweet beginning in the midst of all hell breaking loose. Season 2 introduces us to Jess, who Bill has turned into a vampire. She has a difficult time dealing with the fact that she's a creature of the night. We also find out Sam is a shape shifter. There's some weirdness with Mary Ann and Jason is hiding out at a church camp. Season 3 Alcide shows up in all[...]
There's no way to beat the Monday Blues than to write through them. Whether you're suffering through writer's block, working on a new book, or you're looking to understand your main character better... we've got a fantastic writing prompt for you. I personally love urban legends. A particular urban legend inspired this one. Monday Writing Prompt Your main character is parked in a car at Lover's Lane and he/she is making out with their love interest. Until they hear a sound... a strange sound. What happens next? ***** We'd love to read your answer in the comments[...]
It’s Bat Fest this weekend in Austin, Texas. Austinites celebrate everything by having a music festival, and last night’s 10th Annual Bat Fest got both the locals and plenty of visitors out for the musical attractions. However, the main event was not the bands, or the costumes, or an excuse to party in the street. The real show happened at sundown-- when the bats came out. Flashback, August, 1980: A new ribbon-cutting ceremony has just reopened the Congress Avenue bridge over Town Lake. For the last six years, the bridge has been closed because of damage. Bu[...]
You may have noticed that in these parts, we're big fans of American Horror Story. I've been smitten with the show since the first time Tate Langdon stalked through the halls of his high school in Murder House with a full face tattoo. I fell in love when he dragged Violet into the bathtub to stop her from overdosing. With season four gearing up for a big release, the Freakshow is coming to town. Rather than rehash everything that's been said about casting, I thought it might be interesting to look at some possible avenues that might be explored this season.[...]
The Midnight Society wanted to help our readers get to know them a little better, so periodically we'll be running "Ask the Midnight Society" where a question is asked and our members answer! Feel free to leave questions in the comments below for us to answer next time. Let's jump right off. This week we asked two different questions. 1. What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you? and 2. What are your writing / editing habits? Here is what we had to say... What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you? [color-box] Amy: One day when[...]
I have a thing for dark comedies, and teen movies, especially from the '80s, so it's no surprise that my head whips around when I hear a Heathers quote. Unless, of course, you haven't seen Heathers--then I bet it's a bit of a surprise. Heathers completely failed at the box office when it came out in 1988, but became a cult phenomenon among people who were comfortable enough saying they'd seen it. Seriously, I have no idea who you recommend this movie to (me?) and yet, somehow, it's now a Broadway musical. I suppose it's because, as JD says: The extreme always s[...]
Welcome to Odd Sundays with JB! I've got some fun features to kick off in September, but for the next couple of Odd Sundays, we're going to have some fun. As a movie-lover, I use movies to psych me up for different events. This week, I go back to teaching, so I made a list of horror movies to help kick off the pre-Halloween season. The Faculty (1998) The Breakfast Club meets The Body Snatchers. What says, "Welcome Back to School," better than a film that perpetuates the eroding trust between students and teachers? Disturbing Behavior (1998) Footloose meets Step[...]