Monthly Archives

July 2016

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I, Empath: Why I Cannot Enjoy Gore

I, Empath: Why I Cannot Enjoy Gore NOTE: I have temporarily shelved my middle grade horror WIP. While that project festers rests, I am preparing a non-fiction book proposal about my short-lived but life-changing experience as a PhD student. So, to jump-start the academic part of my memory, I am writing this post as a proper academic paper in APA formatting, more or less. In the remainder of this Introduction section, I will over-explain what happens in the remainder of this post. DOUBLE NOTE: To any college or graduate students who may be reading this: Stop usi[...]

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A Criterion Collection J-Horror Example

I work part time in a bookstore. One that not only sells books, but if you're a music and movie aficionado there is a huge selection for you. With J-Horror month, I of course asked one of our movie guys if we had any DVDs I could buy and watch to school myself on this type of horror. He looked at me and I heard crickets. The guy who knows just about any book or movie I put in my hand, had no idea what J-Horror was. After I showed him my first post, the lightbulb went on and we went searching. He gave me four titles that we carry in the Criterian Collection. Only[...]

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Japanese Horror in YA: The Girl From the Well

When the rest of the crew suggested to do a month devoted to J-Horror, I was like, what? I hate to admit it, but I did not know what J-Horror meant! Thankfully they explained and I was excited! Who wouldn't want to learn about Japanese horror? It was something I didn't know much about. If you don't either, that's okay! The fabulous Amy wrote a post about it just the other day. You may want to start here. You know much I love young adult novels, so I set out to find a few J-Horror inspired young adult novels and I was NOT disappointed. Check it out. Hello J-Horro[...]

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J-Horror: What You Can Find On Netflix & Amazon Prime

So I am the one to blame for J-Horror July. I used Birthday Month Privileges to talk everyone else here at the Midnight Mansion into letting me have this. So yay~ A Quick Lesson On Why J-Horror is Better than American Horror I love J-Horror. It's my favorite, and I think historically the best. You don't see the Japanese remaking American horror movies (you don't really see anyone remaking American horror movies, tbh) but you do see Americans constantly remaking Japanese horror movies, to name a few: The Grudge, The Ring, Shudder, One Missed Call, Pulse, and so[...]

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No Sleep till Tokyo: Essential J-Horror Films you shouldn’t watch alone

Everyone's got their thing: for some people it's slasher movies, for others it's creepy-looking revenge spirits. I fall into the latter category. Given that it's j-horror month, I'd like to celebrate by re-introducing a few of my favourite horror movies that deal with yurei. Even if you've never heard the word "yurei" before, you'd probably know one if you saw one: the white shoudlike dress, the long, matted black hair, and the penchant for indiscriminately killing anything and everything they come in contact with after a certain amount of time. It's a very parti[...]

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How you can help Alton Sterling and Philando Castile’s families

I've been sitting on my couch for the last half an hour, staring at a blank screen, trying to figure out what on earth I'm supposed to blog about after this hellish week. In case you're literally living under a rock, both Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed by police in both Louisiana and Minnesota. According to Huffington Post, police killed at least 136 black people in 2016, according to a project by the Guardian that tracks police killings in America. Philando Castile became the latest addition to the list Wednesday night after an officer sho[...]

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Writing Bloody- J Horror

I am a complete J-Horror novice, but as a horror writer I'm always researching the craft of writing. Finding out how others write and reading their advice helps to make you a better writer. So when we began talking about J-Horror, the first thing I did was research what the heck that meant. Now? I want to know what the differences and similarities are in writing. There are quite a few posts coming up this month by my friends who know a lot about J-Horror, so stay tuned for more fun! For now, here's my simple take on J-Horror writing vs. Western novels... Tradit[...]

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Greetings From the Hollywood Tower Hotel!

Hey kids, my post this week is a bit different since I've been at Disney World all week with the family. I did manage to squeeze in a bit of horror though, when we visited Disney Hollywood Studios. For it's at that park where there is a monument to my favorite television show of all time, The Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone Tower of terror is a ride centered around a haunted elevator. Unlike a lot of other freefall rides, this one is actually pulled down at a speed of almost 40mph by cables attached to the bottom of the elevators. It also bobs back up, and shu[...]

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Let’s Watch a Horror Movie…Pan’s Labyrinth

Happy July, horror movie watching friends! It's time to announce the movie I will be live-tweeting this month. I hope everyone can join me and add your tweets to the mix. This one is a good one. YES! Guillermo del Toro's dark fantasy! Dark fantasy, Kathy? I thought we were going to watch a horror movie?!!?!?! Don't worry, there is plenty of creepiness in this show to qualify it as a horror flick. First, meet Ofelia. She's special. This is her story of how she must fight to save herself and her mother. Her imagination takes her on a journey of self-discov[...]