Monthly Archives

December 2014

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This Year’s Girl

Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer celebrates the New Year in style--what with hunting and killing demons and all. Mix in a little of crazy Faith out of coma...and bang you have a terror-filled evening. Season 4 episode 15 opens with Buffy and Faith discussing the fresh smell of clean sheets. Because that's exactly what you'd do with Adam on the loose and Riley hidden away by the Initiative. Let me be frank with you. I'm not a complete fan of the Buffy episodes with Riley as her boyfriend. Yeah, I know that her love of Riley made her more human, but Buffy is suppose[...]

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Horror Gifts for the Holidays

This year I bought my own Christmas gifts. Sound strange? Well, I happened to find the perfect Buffy figures at work and didn't want to miss out on owning them. So, I gave the boxes to my kids and asked them to wrap them up for me. There are so many toys out there that we horror fans can own, but this year is a special one. You don't have to look too deeply to find some fun figures to add to your list. Toys R Us Now here's just one example of a figure being sold in stores this year. You can find others like Willow, Buffy, Oz, The Crow, Pinhead, and Freddy Kruege[...]

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Setting Horror in the Winter

When it comes to writing horror, there are certain advantages to setting your story in winter. If you live in the North, it is a season marked by peril. You make decisions simply on whether or not they may cause you to freeze to death, your water pipes to burst, or your cupboard to run out of back-up food. In addition to a mental state of bravery, it is a time marked by warmth, magic, and fresh starts. I made this  infographic on Picktochart to organize my thinking. I focused on clothing, holidays, and causes of death that are a part of winter (or could be). May[...]

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Found! Ten Signs You’re reading a Gothic Novel

I love having friends who know that I'm simultaneously into horror and design. When they find interesting things online, they sometimes send them in my direction. Today was no exception. The "Best of 2014" lists have begun circulating, and the following was passed on to me today in one such collection. The result? An awesome infographic on Gothic Horror from The Guardian. Gothic Horror is a subset of the horror genre that is characterized by a few very special elements, and combines elements of romance and horror. It's thought that the first gothic horror novel w[...]

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Some Beautiful Brevity

I love short stories. Writing them and reading them. During the busy holiday months, short stories are perfect. I love bite sized pieces of beautifully creepy prose or soul jarring scares that fit into those small stolen moments of reading. A few of my favorites, should you be looking for short pieces of horror heaven during the holidays: Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes M. Yardley Really. If you haven't read her, do it now. The Moon Will Look Strange by Lynda E. Rucker In the Tall Grass by Stephen King and Joe Hill Gothic! Ten Original Tales edited by Deborah[...]

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Vampy Goodness – Who Was Your First?

I was nine years old when Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired, and I hid in a guest room, blocked the door, and watched it with the television turned down so low I had to keep my ear a few inches from the set. There was that warning in the beginning of the show, about it being for viewers 14 and up, and damned if I was going to run the risk of missing out on this. All these years later, and I still don't go a month without watching an episode. Honestly, it's pretty weird to go a week. I watch it over breakfast, the perfect start to my day. Buffy and I have been[...]

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Christmas Horror on the Big Screen

If you've tiptoed through The Midnight Society's cemetery, you know a few things about us. Watching horror flick that fit the season is one of them. We are all pretty versed in A Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton. This is a definite favorite here, but there are so many more horrors that surround this December holiday. GREMLINS One of my all-time favorite movies from my childhood is Gremlins. Who knew Christmas could be so crazy?? The Rules: 1. No food after midnight. 2. No water. 3. No bright light. As each of those rules are violated, chaos ensues. T[...]

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Merry Krampus!

I remember when I was young and my mother used to say to me at Christmas time, “If you aren’t good, you’ll be getting a bag of switches and ashes instead of candy.” Of course, I was always good. As time passed and I became older I realized that our Americanized Santa Claus had his roots in a much older St. Nicholas. What I didn’t know at the time was that St. Nicholas had a counterpart, a monstrous creature called Krampus who gave new meaning to the words in a common Christmas song, Santa Claus is coming to Town. Some of the lyrics are:          [...]

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Horror for the Holidays

I've been seeing a few of these "Holiday Buying Guides" floating around, but I have yet to come across something dedicated to horror fans. With twelve days left before Christmas hits, and Hanukkah starting up next week, I figured we Midnighters might very well need a list of our own. I'd like to disclaim this by saying that the number one item on anyone's list ought to be "books" but since you know and I know that you're already asking for "books", I'll spare you the recommendation and jump straight into the cute stuff. For your shopping pleasure, a few holiday[...]

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‘Tis the Season for Imaginary Friends

There's just something about this time of year that makes you feel like a kid again. Am I right? Dreaming of a white Christmas. Seeing Santa at the mall. The Christmas lights. Presents under the tree. Candy canes and Rudolph and Silver Bells and running down the stairs Christmas morning. It's nice. Really.     But today I'm not bringing you stories of holly jolly children who made Santa's "good" list. Nope. I'm here to share some creepy kid stories, because that's what we do here at the Midnight Society. We crush those sugar plums that dance in you[...]