#I remember the grave danger job and the carnival job

[shiniestcrow]

I need to rewatch Leverage

<- has not finished watching Leverage

[the-offical-raishas-circus]

Epilogue of a story I’m writing!!!

please don’t judge.

EPILOGUE 

The field were the circus came was dark and desolate. Normally. But when the Circus came it was filled with bright lights and laughter, magic and marvels… Normally. The Circus came once a month, for two weeks. If you didn’t get in, you would have to wait until next month, and even then you normally didn’t get in. The first week was when everyone came, every night, every day. Neon lights and carnival music was everywhere. But the second week… you didn’t want to stay the second week. The elderly of the town say that when you walked the path to the Circus, the trees would watch you go. The trees were alive. The trees had eyes.

And if you did get to the clearing, then the flickering neon lights and the creepy carnival music would send you running for home. Most who get this far often come back scarred and refuse to speak of it ever again. They refuse to go to the shows, say the shadows have eyes. And they’re right. 

One man is famed for going as far as the clearing, and STAYING. Old Jeremy Smith. He was normally found in a pub at the edge of town, easy to find, dodgy place. Got a reputation for spinning tall tales, the old bludger. I remember him clearly. Dead now, of course, but he used to sit in the corner there, out the front on the porch, and make fun of his adventures. We never used to take him seriously, back then. Wish we had. But to us, back then, he was just a crazy old man. 

Trees, shadows, everything had eyes, he used to say, everywhere was dangerous. Skulls, black and white and gold and red, everywhere ya looked. Run run run far away, he used to tell us, run away from this crazy town and this crazy world. Go live in a big city where nothing and no one come after you, he used to say. We couldn’t, of course, we had friends and families and there was no way Daddy was leaving his job and Mama’s grave. 

Yeah, my Mama died when I was 3. She was amazing, beautiful, wonderful. Told the most Amazing stories. Fairies, trolls, mermaids… none of those are real, of course. She left out the real nightmares, so that we could sleep at night. Poor mama. She’d probably have a heart attack if she was here now, had known what I have done. Such a blessing to sleep under the earth with no pain or fear or worries. 

But anyway. 

Back to the story. 

We should have left then, when I was 3. We should have ran, as old smith said, and ran far away. But we didn’t. We should have. 

We should have.

But Daddy got a new job and a new life, and me and my brother were pulled into it with him. So sad. Little me, I am so sorry. But even I cannot turn back time. 

Hello. I am Colette. Or I was. But that will be explained later. We are now writing this for you, me and my friends, so someone shall know our story. We will take different parts of the story, tell it from different perspectives. I will tell both mine and my brother’s parts for him, as he told it to me before he left. Stella will tell her part, as will Andres and Dante and the Twins. My friends. Please do not blame them (or me for that matter) when you read their parts. We have taken full responsibility for our actions, and have atoned for our actions. We are truly sorry. 

This is our story. I shall start at the start (obviously) and finish at the end. 

It’s finally time to take our final bow!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy our show! 

ENCORE!!!

Thanks for reading! I’d love feedback!!

[drakorn]

Tanz der Vampire St. Gallen - Act 2 Spoiler Review

I am back with Act 2 of the St. Gallen production! Oh wow, to be honest, I never actually expected the previous one to be THAT long. But oh well, let us see how this one works out. Act 1 actually has even more changes than Act 2 and I actually happen to like quite a lot of them. But then there are some, where I just have to facepalm and think to myself: WHY? But what am I saying? Let’s get into details. As in the previous post, this review is full of spoilers, so for everyone who would like to see the St. Gallen production totally without any knowledge, you can turn away right here! Everybody else...let’s go :D

Totale Finsternis: The second act starts in the most neogothic, Twilighty way possible. Remember that dark overview of the castle in the original production? Well, get ready for shaky cameras in a forest, crosses, lightning strikes, RED EYES, UUUUUHUUUUUU! Another unintentionally funny moment for me XD Then we FINALLY get rid of the screen and make way for the stage. And boy, IS THIS A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. And I don’t mean this in a bad way. I actually found that a lot of this Totale Finsternis posed some interesting creative decisions, some of which I actually support. So, first thing, the stage: There are two areas: A gallery-esque thing with one big painting that sings the “Sei bereit...” chorus. This is where Sarah is. Krolock on the other hand is high above her in a second area. This area has a gazillion load of candles. Krolock sits at a piano and actually plays the tune of Totale Finsternis while singing to Sarah. Thomas Borchert really gets to show off his piano skills in this scene XD The entire first part of Totale Finsternis comes from him playing it in-character. He is also dressed in a red coat that looks similar to Krolock’s movie costume. And Krolock looking older in this version really does remind a bit of Ferdy Mayne in this scene. There is also a small staircase through which Sarah gets to Krolock. He rises up from his piano and is about to bite her. This is a place where I would really have welcomed a script change again. Because in this version, Krolock sounds like he almost doesn’t want to bite her, but then he talks about all of the lust and how he needs to be patient and all. So yeah, Totale Finsternis was actually really not that bad :D

Carpe Noctem: This is where the leather costumes actually make more sense because the vampires do actually seem more dangerous like that. It actually starts with the bed being somewhere in the background, with the first Nightmare Solo crawling out of the floor. The bed later gets moved and dragged around the entire stage. What I DO like about this version is that Alfred is much more the focus here. He is always there, trying to save Sarah, who at some point I think even goes away from the stage for a few moments. This Carpe Noctem genuinely feels like a nightmare of modern day vampires. Unfortunately, this is the case for the Nightmare Solos. While the first one sounds fantastic, the second one...I really don’t like that singing style. But overall, it was a good Carpe Noctem rendition.

Ein perfekter Tag: Nothing really changed that much here, at least nothing that’s worth mentioning. It’s the same scene just with modern clothes and a younger professor.

Für Sarah: Due to the show’s direction with Sarah, this song kinda has a bittersweet feel to it. In this version, it is REALLY obvious that Sarah is not interested in Alfred at all, but Alfred doesn’t see this. Therefore, he is basically singing for a lost cause. He clearly loves her. She is annoyed with him.

Die Gruft: Alright, people, brace yourselves, for here comes the biggest change that this version brought with it! First of all, Abronsius gets HEADLAMPS, making him and Alfred look like cave explorers. For a brief period, this is also the only source of light on stage. Then they finally find the crypt, which looks a bit underwhelming here, to be honest. The gigantic stone sarcophaguses are replaced with smaller coffins. However, this is nothing compared what happens next. First of all, Abronsius gets stuck in such a position that he ACTUALLY CAN’T SEE the coffins this time. Wonderfully solved here. But then comes the thing: Alfred advances to the coffins, prepares to open them...except Krolock and Herbert are not in them. How do we know this? Because father, son, and Koukol are standing on the other side of the stage, watching how Alfred makes a fool of himself. Krolock was prepared for this situation. But then the question arises...what IS inside the coffins? Because Alfred clearly sees something in them! OR COULD IT BE....that Alfred was lying to the professor in this version? He could have wanted to impress Abronsius first by stating that the empty coffins are actually full. But when Abronsius ordered him to impale them, he obviously couldn’t do it and therefore lied about not being able to do it. Or DID he mean “I can’t do it because they’re not here” and Abronsius misunderstood this as cowardice? Or I don’t know, maybe Krolock put some puppets in there or dressed up some corpses and Alfred was too dull to realise that. Then comes another change: Chagal and Magda crawl out of a trapdoor on the stage, they are not actually in a coffin this time around. I find that a bit odd, but ok, if they want to go with it, sure...

Bücher: This is some interesting staging here. The library and the bathroom are located on the stage at the same time. The library is on the upper level while the bathroom is on the lower level. They are connected by a staircase. The library is a big projection this time around with only a few books physically being there, which I think is a bit of a shame. Then Alfred advances downstairs to talk to Sarah, who is sitting in a bathtub with a pink towel on her head. She is clearly completely in the Count’s grasp here, as she barely acknowledges Alfred being there. The red dress is standing behind some sort of glass vitrine.

Noch mehr Bücher: Alfred heads back up the stairs to find Abronsius, who has been reading and walking around with books this whole time. As I said, I really like the staging of library and bathroom being on at the same time as it makes for some interesting discoveries, as we see in the next bit.

Wenn Liebe in dir ist: This is where some more great changes happen XD First of all, if one looks closely, it can be seen how Herbert advances to the bath while Sarah is still in theres, she quickly gets out and exits, he gets in and he is also wearing the same pink towel on his head XD Then he starts singing, and Alfred advances down, after singing his little part. Herbert rises up from the bathtub and he is actually naked here, as the audience can clearly see his backside. Alfred is so incredibly embarrassed that he turns away, looks for a bathrobe and hands it over to Herbert so that he can dress. Now imagine this: Herbert wearing a bathrobe and a pink towel on his head dancing with Alfred. The mirror was thankfully also incorporated here. The little break in the chase scene doesn’t happen: Herbert bites the book, Alfred attempts to run, Herbert grabs him and PUSHES HIM INTO THE BATHTUB. Then he quickly jumps on Alfred, so both of them are in the bathtub now. It can’t get any more ridiculous than that XD Abronsius appears and beats Herbert away. Alfred, feeling extremely exposed and attacked, quickly gets out and they swiftly escape. I think this was a great way of changing the scene, I fully approve of this.

Sie irren, Professor: This one is also quite interesting. Alfred and Abronsius stand on a small balcony stage right and overlook and empty stage. Then Krolock appears on another balcony stage left and starts to taunt them. Except...this time he doesn’t disappear. He stays there for the second part and visibly taunts Alfred. It’s interesting to note that while he says “Alfred’s soul is already mine” he imitates Alfred’s failed attempt of impaling him in the crypt before. Then he walks away, leaving Alfred and Abronsius alone.

Ewigkeit: Alright...this is it...this is where the bad things start to happen. First of all, there are no graves, the stage is empty. The vampires just casually walk up on it and start singing their number. Ok, positives first: Herbert and Magda are both in this scene, singing along with the other vampires. Then we have Alfred and Abronsius actually watching this scene from their position. And ok, given that the vampires are much more active in this show, it makes sense that they are not crawling out of graves here. But here comes the big negative. @kahorifutunaka , you were a witness to this and I understand how you must have felt as a History student. Basically, a part of the advertisement for this show was the following: Act 1 would have the vampires dress up as modern people. Act 2 would have them dress up according to the time period they were bitten in. That’s all fine and dandy EXCEPT THE COSTUMES ARE NOT HISTORICAL AT ALL. Ok, 2 or 3 were, but THAT’S IT. NONE of the other costumes made any sense! It looked like they came straight from a carnival store! Surely the vampires must know how their time period looked like? Come on, guys! Get it right! You had ONE JOB. It’s not THAT hard to look up historically correct costumes, but you totally missed that here! Also...this song loses a big part of his meaning due to the modern setting. In the original version, they were hiding in the dark, lurking in the shadows, waiting to take over the world. Kunze’s intention was to show at the end that the vampires HAVE taken over the world in modern times and even wanted to portray them as tax collectors, politicians and corrupt businessmen, the real bloodsuckers of today. But this song indicates that they still haven’t got there. This is where script changes would have been more than welcome again. They could have sung about how humans were falling for them all the time and how they ARE the rulers of this world. But nope, instead, we got a carnival trope running around an empty stage. Also, they don’t exit through the audience here but through the orchestra pit.

Die unstillbare Gier: I have mentioned the atrocious ball costumes, yeah? Well, here comes Krolock. Oh boy...what have they done to him here? XD He is wearing a long red cape with a ridiculously gigantic collar. Then he still wears all read and huge brown boots. This costume looks like it has been smashed together from many different time periods. It looks like “Dracula meets the three musketeers” in the worst way possible! Jesus Christ, whoever designed that costume, please, I would really want an explanation for this. But then...even though it was an empty stage and Krolock looked like he just escaped a circus, this was one of the best acted Giers I have ever seen. Krolock is not as stoic as in the original production. Here he is howling and screaming in despair. But at the end, it gets ruined a bit because again, unchanged lyrics: The original version is set before the year 2000. It made sense for Krolock to speak his dark prophecy about the next millenium. Here however it makes it look like he is talking about the year 3000. I mean, how hard can it be to change a few words. In fact, here: “Prophezeit war’s euch schon lange, doch wiederhol’ ich’s heut und hier: Nun, da endlich das neue Jahrtausend beginnt, ist der einzige Gott, dem jeder dient, die unstillbare Gier!” I’m not claiming this to be a perfect rewrite, but it makes more sense than what they did. There is also another thing I would like to add: Alfred and Abronsius watch this scene as well, which I really think is a smart decision. That way they can see all of the vampiric sides.

Tanzsaal: This is also quite an interesting one. First of all, Alfred’s “They have feelings, just like us!” and Abronsius’ “Feelings? Nonsense. Duty calls!” exchange is picked up in this one again, THANK THE LORD FOR THAT. Finally, someone uses this part again! Bravo, St. Gallen! Then another thing happens: Koukol seems to openly invite Alfred and Abronsius to join the ball. He even gives them their costumes so they don’t knock out anyone here. Herbert even advances to them to sheepishly greet Alfred with a cat-like “raawwr” gesture. Then Krolock comes in through the doors (no staircase this time), and the vampires start dancing something that looks like a rendition of Thriller in front of him. Also, Magda is in the ballroom scene in this version, so that’s a plus too :D Sarah appears on an upper level of the stage and Krolock goes up to greet her. He bites her under the moonlight, but there is something else that I found quite interesting: They actually incorporated some classic vampire lore here. I know, it was picked up by the modern vampire shows but who cares? It was a classic vampire thing: After Krolock bites Sarah, he scratches his arm and lets Sarah drink his own blood. According to lore, this is what turns someone into a vampire. So props for that! Then we have the menuett, which I think has the same choreography as the original version, so nice to see that something from there made its way here. Then we get another surprise: Remember the human dwellers of the castle? Well, Krolock has them all lined up for dinner here. Jesus, they really should have changed the script because he still talks about “two mortals” being there for them. But nevertheless, when Krolock says “Suck them dry!” here, the vampires actually advance on and suck out all of the humans, except Alfred and Abronsius of course. Alfred doesn’t have a candelabra here. No, he takes a giant board off the wall and prepares to ram it into Krolock’s head. At this moment he looked like he wanted to say “DIE MOTHERF****!!!” Anyway, he and Abronsius use the diversion that is caused by the vampires sucking out the other humans, by forming not one, but TWO crosses, by placing two boards on two of the pillars of the ballroom, actively making the castle itself a crucifix. Now, THIS is where the Stage version, where the castle crumbles down like the One Ring had just been destroyed there, would have made more sense. And again, SCRIPT CHANGE PLEASE: Krolock still shouts “Koukol! Get rid of that thing!” even though there’s two things here now. Alfred, Abronsius and Sarah make their escape.

Draußen ist Freiheit Reprise: Alfred and Sarah sit on a staircase, while Abronsius goes to the completely opposite side of the stage to make his notes, where he actually can’t see them. I find this a bit more likely. What happens is pretty much unchanged: Sarah bites Alfred while Abronsius takes notes. But then, Sarah let’s Alfred take her blood, effectively turning him into a vampire! That was great!

Der Tanz der Vampire: And this is another scene that just loses a bit of its meaning in this version. Abronsius still sings about how he will protect the world and get the Nobel Prize, which still makes sense. But then Alfred and Sarah run away and the final song starts. Now...it doesn’t feel right here. In the original production, this was a massive time skip that indicated how vampires have triumphed over the last century and taken over the world. Here they still gloat about it but it just doesn’t have the same effect. And given that this version is already in the modern world, this feels like an afterparty after a slight inconvenience in the ballroom. And again, please, consider script changes, for the vampires should have conquered the world by now and not just be about to do it. A nice little extra was that at the end, Abronsius, Alfred and Sarah, and Krolock also appear on the upper level of the stage: Abronsius alone on a balcony, Alfred and Sarah together on the other one, and Krolock in the middle in front of the door he walked in before singing the Gier. All in all, pretty enjoyable.

So yeah, here we are. This was my spoiler talk for the St. Gallen production. Now...what can I say? It had GREAT moments like Wenn Liebe in dir ist and Totale Finsternis, it had pretty enjoyable moments like Der Tanz der Vampire and Draußen ist Freiheit, and it had downright terrible moments like all of the script mess-ups that the new version brought to the table and the ballroom costumes. It feels like wasted potential to me. A modern take on Tanz could have been SO MUCH better. Why have it in an asylum? You could have had it in a castle that was surrounded by a modern city where Krolock was running the city and the vampires were collecting “blood money” from the people. This would have been a reflection of the true bloodsuckers and would also be accurate to Kunze’s vision of today’s world ruled by bloodsuckers.

Is it good? Yeah, it’s ok, definitely an interesting take. Does everything work? OH BY FAR NOT. Would I recommend it? Actually...yes, I would. Because think about it: I might not have liked it so much but the statistics speak for a huge success of this version. Think about the possibilities: This could mean that we get to see other directors attempt their own takes on Tanz der Vampire, more non-replica productions and perhaps everyone will have their own preferred version by then, and wouldn’t that be amazing? So, the St. Gallen version, along with the Finnish and the Czech versions have started something that could evolve into so much more! And I hope we get to see more Tanz productions in the coming years. Ulrich Wiggers had a risky task, and I think he did pretty well as a director!

I will do another post where I talk about the cast in more detail, but until then...thank you for sticking around :D I had great fun writing this and I hope you had enjoyment in reading this :)

[glitter-lisp]

eliot spencer for the ask game?

one character: Eliot Spencertwo colors: Red, bronzethree emotions: Amusement, annoyance, shamefour relationships: Parker, Shelly, Quinn, his dadfive episodes: The Tap Out Job, The French Connection Job, The Rundown Job (fuck me), The Last Dam Job (FUCK ME), The Rashomon Job (fuck everything)six traits: Caring, aggressive, closet nerd, gets angry about the wrong thing, always trying to do better, does his best to help others learn from his mistakesseven scenes: Him talking to Molly over the comms in The Carnival Job, “don’t ask me that, Parker” from THAT ONE SCENE THAT HURTS SO GOOD, his hand on the back of Hardison’s neck in The Grave Danger Job, haha I’m crying remember that time he almost shot a guy so Nate wouldn’t have to, also remember that time he sincerely offered to kill someone for Parker even though he didn’t do that anymore, singing “Thinking of You,” pretending to viciously murder Parker in a bathtubeight quotes:

“It makes us... us. Now you can take it as a gift, or you can take it as a curse. But that’s up to you.”

“Bad choices are still bad choices. Doesn’t matter why you made ‘em.”

“That guy... kid, he had God in his heart and he had a flag on his shoulder. Clean hands. And I ain’t seen him in the mirror in over ten years. And believe me... I get up every morning looking for him.”

“I see art. When I’m in the kitchen, I’m, I’m creating something out of nothing, you know what I mean? And sometimes I crush it, sometimes it’s crap, but either way, it makes me feel something.”

“I learned a long time ago you can’t control the violence. I can take the punishment. It’s what I do. What I need to control is not out there. It’s here. Always.”

“I’m gonna punch you so hard your ancestors hurt!”

“Thanks, man, I squeezed like, fresh lemon juice on it.”

“TILL MY DYING DAY.”

[im-funnysometimes]

Story idea

For my sanity I’m giving them predetermined genders but feel free to change anything. Also I looked up all the flower meanings online so if anything is wrong feel free to correct it.

Character 1(ch1) works at a flower shop, when character 2(ch2) walks in. Ch2 is your stereotypical bad boy. Ch2 walks around for a bit before they chose a single flower and walk up to ch1 at the cash register. Ch2 ask how much for a single amaryllis(splendid beauty). After they pay ch2 hands you the flower and a piece of paper with their number and says “for you”. Ch1 blushes because not only did a hot guy give them a flower and their number but that was the notorious bad boy of your school/rival school/town. Ch1 blushes even more when they remember the meaning of the flower. Ch1 quickly runs to the back to tell the owner what happened (I imagine the owner as an elderly woman(ch1 and the owner are very close)). After her shift she immediately texts him and they schedule a date the following day(either a Saturday or Sunday). On the day of the date ch1 heads to a flower shop and buys a cornflower(be gentle with me) a little while after she leaves ch2 walks in and buys a lavender rose (enchantment, love at first sight) they give the flowers to each other and leave.

Ch1 gave ch2 the flower because her last love ended in heartbreak(it was really bad)

Ch2 gave ch1 the flower because he was in love at first sight and enchanted by her)

They go out and exchange more flowers some of the flowers they give each other(and where)during this time are:

Red tulip- I love you: ch1 gives this to ch2 but they run away

Ambrosia- your love is returned: ch1 gave this to ch2 the following day as an answer to him saying he loves her

White lily- pure love

Jasmine-faithfulness

Gardenia- secret love (they’re dating in secret)

At some point ch2 declares that ch1 is they’re girlfriend during lunch or something. After this ch2 is driving ch1 home when ch2 asks where they learned the meanings behind flowers. Ch1 explains that they’re ex was really into and that they learned it for them before they died. Ch2 explains that his mom was also really into knowing the meaning behind flowers and that she taught it to him before she entered the hospital(growing up his mom has been in and out of the hospital for years before now but it’s a lot worse this time round) ch2 then explains how he has to take care of his sibling/s because his dad is working to pay for the hospital bills during the day and at night is when he goes to earn money(for the sake of this story he does some illegal things to earn money). Things go smoothly for awhile they meet each other’s parents go on more cute dates(picnics, amusement parks, fairs, carnivals, etc etc)when BAM shit takes a turn for the worst.

Ch2 mom dies. They have a funeral and leave lilies for her. After this ch2 is upset, and going through depression. They end up doing dangerous things which leads to ch2 and ch1 fighting because ch2 is finally releasing his pent up emotions. At the end of the argument he tells ch1 to leave(they try to stay but ch2 won’t let them) on ch1 way home they get kidnapped by a dangerous person ch2 did a job for and didn’t complete. Ch1 is full of regret for arguing with them and does a full fbi investigation and searches for ch1. He finds them but before going to get them outside the building is a bunch of begonias(warning, future misfortunes). They rush inside and find ch1 they go to help her when ch1 gets shot (I’m making ch2 suffer for now) they rush her to the hospital while there she gets put in a coma. Ch2 leaves hyacinth(sorrow, regret) and verbascum(protection, health)

This now splits into two different ending ideas I have

End 1

Ch1 wakes up to find ch1 sitting next to them with dark bags under his eyes. Ch2 sensing movement wakes up and pulls them into a soft kiss after making sure they weren’t dreaming. They apologize for not being there sooner and starts sobbing and ch1 tells them it’s ok and is reassuring them. Ch1 is released from the hospital and everything is good and happy for a while. Eventually one of them proposes and they get married and have kids(or they can’t have kids which makes them really sad for a while before adopting) they grow old together and they die almost at the same time. On their graves is orange blossom(eternal love).

End 2 (tw:suicide)

Ch1 is in the hospital and looks as if they’re getting better but eventually die. This absolutely shatters ch2. They hold a funeral for ch1. Ch2 has a speech and at the end places a forget-me-not on their casket and whispering “see you soon”. Ch2 then tries to kill themselves(you decide if they succeed or not) and succeeds they get buried next to ch1 and on their graves is a light purple lilac(young love). After that he’s blinded by a white light and sees ch1 standing there and ch1 says “you didn’t have to join me” ch2 responds with “a life without you is a life not worth living” they grab hands and walk into the light together. If ch2 doesn’t succeed then they eventually heal and fall in love again. When they die there’s a white light and they see ch1 standing there looking just as before when ch1 says “about time slowpoke” and they grab hands and walk into the light together.

Extra notes

Flowers and their symbolism is a big part in this book

You could also make it so that at the end of the book it’s revealed that they were telling the story to someone and then they say a bunch of sappy words and die or something

Ch2 doesn’t have to be a bad boy and do dangerous things but it sets it up for when ch1 gets kidnapped if you go with

- If you want ch1 could get kidnapped by a stalker instead

[aurriii]

30 Most Haunting Books You’ll Ever Read

There’s finally a fall chill in the October air, now let’s send that chill to our spines and get all Halloween creepy and moody.

The Color Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft

H.P. Lovecraft’s classic short story about a terrible alien presence that descends upon a rural area, with dire consequences for surrounding life.

Misery by Steven King

The #1 national bestseller about a famous novelist held hostage by his “number one fan” and suffering a frightening case of writer’s block—that could prove fatal. One of “Stephen King’s best…genuinely scary” (USA TODAY).

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

The Descent by Jeff Long

We are not alone…In a cave in the Himalayas, a guide discovers a self-mutilated body with the warning–Satan exists. In the Kalahari Desert, a nun unearths evidence of a proto-human species and a deity called Older-than-Old. In Bosnia, something has been feeding upon the dead in a mass grave. So begins mankind’s most shocking realization: that the underworld is a vast geological labyrinth populated by another race of beings.

The Lurking Fear by H.P. Lovecraft

Twelve soul-chilling stories by the master of horror will leave you shivering in your boots and afraid to go out in the night. Only H.P. Lovecraft can send your heart racing faster than it’s ever gone before. And here are the stories to prove it.

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

The bestselling landmark account of the first emergence of the Ebola virus. A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic “hot” virus.

Requiem For A Dream Hubert Selby Jr.

In this searing novel, two young hoods, Harry and Tyrone, and a girlfriend fantasize about scoring a pound of uncut heroin and getting rich. But their habit gets the better of them, consumes them and destroys their dreams.

Something Wicked This Way Comes By Ray Bradbury

For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. Two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes…and the stuff of nightmares.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

Haunted is a novel made up of twenty-three horrifying, hilarious, and stomach-churning stories. They’re told by people who have answered an ad for a writer’s retreat and unwittingly joined a “Survivor”-like scenario where the host withholds heat, power, and food. As the storytellers grow more desperate, their tales become more extreme, and they ruthlessly plot to make themselves the hero of the reality show that will surely be made from their plight. This is one of the most disturbing and outrageous books you’ll ever read, one that could only come from the mind of Chuck Palahniuk.

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Feed your fears with this terrifying classic that introduced cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter.

FBI agent Will Graham once risked his sanity to capture Hannibal Lecter, an ingenious killer like no other. Now, he’s following the bloodstained pattern of the Tooth Fairy, a madman who’s already wiped out two families.

To find him, Graham has to understand him. To understand him, Graham has only one place left to go: the mind of Dr. Lecter.

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Lionel Shriver’s resonant story of a mother’s unsettling quest to understand her teenage son’s deadly violence, her own ambivalence toward motherhood, and the explosive link between them reverberates with the haunting power of high hopes shattered by dark realities.

The Whisperer In Darkness by H.P Lovecraft

The Whisperer in Darkness brings together the original Cthulhu Mythos stories of the legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Included in this volume are several early tales, along with the classics The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror and At the Mountains of Madness.

The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

The Lottery, one of the most terrifying stories written in this century, created a sensation when it was first published in TheNew Yorker. “Power and haunting,” and “nights of unrest” were typical reader responses. This collection, the only one to appear during Shirley Jackson’s lifetime, unites “The Lottery:” with twenty-four equally unusual stories. Together they demonstrate Jack son’s remarkable range–from the hilarious to the truly horrible–and power as a storyteller.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

Pet Semetary by Stephen King

When Dr. Louis Creed takes a new job and moves his family to the idyllic and rural town of Ludlow, Maine, this new beginning seems too good to be true. Yet despite Ludlow’s tranquility, there’s an undercurrent of danger that exists here. Those trucks on the road outside the Creed’s beautiful old home travel by just a little too quickly, for one thing…as is evidenced by the makeshift pet cemetery out back in the nearby woods. Then there are the warnings to Louis both real and from the depths of his nightmares that he should not venture beyond the borders of this little graveyard. A blood-chilling truth is hidden there—one more terrifying than death itself, and hideously more powerful. An ominous fate befalls anyone who dares tamper with this forbidden place, as Louis is about to discover for himself…

The Shining by Stephen King

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

The Beach by Alex Garland

Richard sets off with a young French couple to an island hidden away in an archipelago forbidden to tourists. They discover the Beach, and it is as beautiful and idyllic as it is reputed to be. Yet over time it becomes clear that Beach culture, as Richard calls it, has troubling, even deadly, undercurrents.

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

In American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis imaginatively explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

Meet Frank Cauldhame. Just sixteen, and unconventional to say the least:

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I’d disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim.

That’s my score to date. Three. I haven’t killed anybody for years, and don’t intend to ever again.

It was just a stage I was going through.

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry

In the summer of 1969, in Los Angeles, a series of brutal, seemingly random murders captured headlines across America. A famous actress (and her unborn child), an heiress to a coffee fortune, a supermarket owner and his wife were among the seven victims. A thin trail of circumstances eventually tied the Tate-LeBianca murders to Charles Manson, a would-be pop singer of small talent living in the desert with his “family” of devoted young women and men. What was his hold over them? And what was the motivation behind such savagery?

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

It is autumn 1981 when inconceivable horror comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenager is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last—revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.

But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door—a girl who has never seen a Rubik’s Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd.

IT by Stephen King

Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real.

They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Inspired by a true story of a child’s demonic possession in the 1940s, William Peter Blatty created an iconic novel that focuses on Regan, the eleven-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C. A small group of overwhelmed yet determined individuals must rescue Regan from her unspeakable fate, and the drama that ensues is gripping and unfailingly terrifying.

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband Guy move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and mostly elderly residents. Neighbors Roman and Minnie Castavet soon come nosing around to welcome the Woodhouses to the building, and despite Rosemary’s reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises that she keeps hearing, her husband takes a shine to them.

Shortly after Guy lands a plum Broadway role, Rosemary becomes pregnant―and the Castavets start taking a special interest in her welfare. As the sickened Rosemary becomes increasingly isolated, she begins to suspect that the Castavets’ circle is not what it seems…

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

This was no ordinary war. This was a war to make the world safe for democracy. And if democracy was made safe, then nothing else mattered—not the millions of dead bodies, nor the thousands of ruined lives…This is no ordinary novel. This is a novel that never takes the easy way out: it is shocking, violent, terrifying, horrible, uncompromising, brutal, remorseless and gruesome…but so is war.

Night by Elie Wiesel

Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps.

1984 by George Orwell

Winston Smith toes the Party line, rewriting history to satisfy the demands of the Ministry of Truth. With each lie he writes, Winston grows to hate the Party that seeks power for its own sake and persecutes those who dare to commit thoughtcrimes. But as he starts to think for himself, Winston can’t escape the fact that Big Brother is always watching…

A startling and haunting vision of the world, 1984 is so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the influence of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

THE PAST… Caught behind the lines of Hitler’s Final Solution, Saul Laski is one of the multitudes destined to die in the notorious Chelmno extermination camp. Until he rises to meet his fate and finds himself face to face with an evil far older, and far greater, than the Nazi’s themselves…

THE PRESENT… Compelled by the encounter to survive at all costs, so begins a journey that for Saul will span decades and cross continents, plunging into the darkest corners of 20th century history to reveal a secret society of beings who may often exist behind the world’s most horrible and violent events. Killing from a distance, and by darkly manipulative proxy, they are people with the psychic ability to ‘use’ humans: read their minds, subjugate them to their wills, experience through their senses, feed off their emotions, force them to acts of unspeakable aggression. Each year, three of the most powerful of this hidden order meet to discuss their ongoing campaign of induced bloodshed and deliberate destruction. But this reunion, something will go terribly wrong. Saul’s quest is about to reach its elusive object, drawing hunter and hunted alike into a struggle that will plumb the depths of mankind’s attraction to violence, and determine the future of the world itself…

The Tell-tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

Written in 1843, “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a dark and eerie tale of a man’s unhealthy obsession that leads him to commit murder. Will his paranoia get him caught? This is one of Poe’s finest and most memorable short stories.

Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

The classic and terrifying story of one of the most famous supernatural events–the infamous possessed house on Long Island from which the Lutz family fled in 1975.

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[pwylldavydd]

All the Realms

The Gods

I was fortunate to be present for the reunion. Or reconciliation, as it was intended. While a recent arrival in Toronto – and only twenty-three years old – I’d ingratiated myself in its society of booksellers, writers, and scholars; although the events I experienced, or persons I met, often found me out of my depth. Not unlike my first exposure to Buddy Ebsen, as Jed Clampett in The Beverly Hillbillies. I was only twelve years old then and didn’t know he’d been a song-and-dance man in the movies and vaudeville. (He was going to be Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz no less, but he couldn’t tolerate the makeup.) Barker Fairley, one of the two desired to be reconciled, was himself less famous than his depth might recommend. A poet and painter, he’d written a landmark study of Goethe, and was friends with members of the Group of Seven and other distinguished persons in the Arts and Letters Club circle. He’d painted A.Y. Jackson in 1939, and Fred Varley had painted him in 1922, when he was thirty-five. By the time the launch for his book of poems was being refashioned for rectification in 1977 he was ninety. Everyone thought the two had better patch things up, because they weren’t going to live forever and people ought not go to the grave with things unresolved. In fact, he didn’t die until 1986, at the advanced age of ninety-nine. Thoreau MacDonald, the one from whom Barker was estranged, also had many years still to live, passing away in 1989 at the age of eighty-eight. He was and is among Canada’s most distinguished artists. His preferred medium was woodcut illustration, and he’d decorated and lettered poems of Barker Fairley’s in the 1920s. But they’d had a falling out and hadn’t spoken for forty years. It was Thoreau who got up from his chair that evening at the party. He walked over to where Barker was sitting and leaned forward slightly on his walking stick. “Hello, Barker,” he said. “Hello, Thoreau,” Barker replied. Then Thoreau turned and walked back to his seat.

Demigods

You could spot the men and women who travelled with the company, as opposed to the local hires. They were deeply tanned. Seasoned. Vaguely dangerous. They had their own train! Which you could see parked on a railway siding beside the fairground while the show was on. At its peak Royal American Shows was the largest carnival company in North America, which after the War included a number of city fairs in western Canada where I lived. You’d often read in the newspaper back then how people wanted the midway cleaned up, or modernized. Little was changed or updated over the years, and by the late 60s the Royal American train was a rolling anachronism, loaded with the artefacts of an already-bygone era. Today, exhibition midways are mostly amusement rides and games of chance offering plush toys for their hapless winners. In that earlier era, carnival operators had those things, but they also had sideshows, announced by hand-painted banners, hung in rows like huge lettered sails. There was Leon Miller’s Club Lido, a burlesque tent that travelled with Royal American. Blaze Fury! The Human Heat Wave the banner announced, famous for twirling flaming tassels. The company was also renown for its girl-to-gorilla illusion, a must-see, portrayed on one of these colourful flags. Next to that, a banner for Serpentina, the Reptile Queen! in the Museum of Mystery. At bottom, it was this everyone wanted “cleaned up.” The freak show. The circus tradition of parading shocking medical anomalies and persons of peculiar talents (such as contortionists and sword swallowers) in a sideshow tent came to trouble public conscience. Not so for the Wall of Death, though, where daring motorcyclists rode stunts on the inside wall of a carnival motordrome, like a giant wooden barrel 16 feet high and 30 feet across. We watched from the spectator platform around the top edge above as they entered the arena floor below, waving up at us as they started their stripped-down Indians and Harley-Davidsons, the roar of the engines engulfing our applause.

Humankind

1930 was not a good year to be born in Tibet. In your late twenties, as you reached your prime, your home and culture and country would be smashed by foreign military forces. You would likely be imprisoned and tortured, and your mother and father would be brutally murdered in front of your eyes. On the other hand, 1930 was the best year ever to be born in the west, especially in Canada or the United States. Too young to serve in World War II, you enjoyed the buoyancy of its patriotic mood in safety as a child; then had many veterans’ benefits available to you when it was over. A time of terrific waste and excess, you suddenly and relentlessly mowed down vast forests, raped the great oceans, and burned huge quantities of petroleum. With these assets, you enjoyed stunning economic and technological prosperity, never before imaginable. And jazz. You had jazz music. Especially swing. Swing was a big band sound for dancing, full of primal rhythms. The best of swing were the bands of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. For me, their finest moment was Sing Sing Sing, written by Louis Prima and made famous by Benny Goodman. Born in 1954, I was too late for the original passage of all this, although enjoyed the tidewater of its prosperity later. But as a teenager I scorned the jazz singers, like Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, and Ella. And scorned my dad for loving them. Which, when I got to my forties, suddenly flipped to a powerful lesson of just how wrong you can be. My dad was gone so I couldn’t tell him I’d come to this realization. Although opera was my first love then, not jazz, and I woke up to CJRT radio at 6 am for the classical program. One day in a mood of mischief, the announcer played Sing Sing Sing at 6 am for his still-sleepy classical listeners. While I lay there in bed listening to the huge chorus of brass, and Gene Krupa pounding his drums, this seemed to me the very essence of the entire possibility of living.

Animal Kingdom

My supervisor explained that people noticed I was always staring at the shapely young women who came in the shop. I replied I wasn’t looking at all of them; and besides, I wasn’t staring, I was just trying to comprehend them. Besides that, he wasn’t really my supervisor. I was supposed to be working in the back, doing cutting and collating and other bindery jobs for the document printing and copying the others did out front. But I always seemed to drift out to the retail counter, where the supervisor was, where the men and women were, and where I thought I could be more useful. Although, there was the guy who came in one day and grabbed my shirt, saying he’d have killed me if I’d been there in the meeting when he handed out the misfed photocopies I’d done for him the day before. I explained it was really up to him to inspect the work, that the machines weren’t completely reliable. What machine could be! The accounting girl wasn’t my supervisor either, but she caused some trouble when she shooed me out to breakfast one day. There was a restaurant next door where I often had an omelette in the morning, but I was kinda late that day and my boss said “no,” that working hours had started; but a little later the accounting girl said “go ahead,” and I did. But my boss came into the restaurant for his coffee and saw me there and took me back to the shop by the throat, which I thought was excessive. When the new shop expansion opened there was no counter to stand behind, but my boss was still never happy with me, although I was there working even when he wasn’t. It was not unlike how one day a customer came in with a short story to copy. Behind the counter we stood about nine inches higher than the customers down in front, which gave me a sense of superiority to them, but not to this man. I was reading his story and it was moving to me. Like my boss, the character in the story was not happy. He’d become traumatized after he’d seen a bumper sticker that said Jesus loves you, but everyone else thinks you’re an asshole.

Hungry Ghosts

The soles of my shoes were squeaky on the mat my office chair rode over at work, which kept its wheels from grinding the carpet. She said they must be sticky with muck from the raisins I’d mashed. Well, I ate lots of raisins, but I hadn’t mashed any on the plastic mat. But then, only about ten minutes later, what do you think? I mashed a raisin on the mat! Under my shoe. I hadn’t said anything, but I think she knew I couldn’t imagine myself mashing a raisin under my shoe, but then I’d just gone and done it! As though some part of my subconscious brain just had to go and prove I might indeed do the raisin squashing. I remembered how once when I was working at University of Toronto Library I noticed I’d never goofed up my lunch break, going at 12.00 instead of 1.00, say, if I’d been scheduled at 1.00 that day. (When later I first started at the record company my boss said he wanted me to start at 1.30, but he meant $130 dollars a week, not 1.30 in the afternoon, which confusion was awkwardly resolved.) Anyway, the very next day I went for the wrong lunch! Nobody was mad at me because I was usually so reliable and they knew it was just a mistake. But it was as though my mind sought the experience I believed I’d never have, even though when I missed the lunch I’d already forgotten the thought I had the day before. But when I realized my mind would do this, I started thinking, Oh, I’d never see that girl naked! when I went by a beautiful woman on the street, or Wow! An Austin Healey 3000! I could never, ever own a car like that! Everywhere I went I was thinking about the things I’d be so unlikely to have happen. There was no lottery then, or I’d surely have considered that the most unlikely thing of all. But, hey, if I rescued the son of an oil sheik in front of the Ritz Hotel in London, he’d certainly reward me, although it was so improbable I’d be on the spot right at the crucial moment, and would be modest even though I’d have been injured.

The Hells

The air changes when it falls below -40 degrees. Too cold to hold moisture, it becomes dry and still. The air was cold and dry and still every winter in Alberta before the 1970s, when the warming began. A young child then, I didn’t realize there were places elsewhere in the world where winters were mild. I’d seen photographs of tropical islands in Life magazine, abundant with hibiscus flowers and pretty young girls, but I didn’t know they had mild winters, or no winters at all. That they’d never seen sun dogs, or knew the air could be as cold as that. That they didn’t know the sun only shone six or seven hours in a midwinter day, and had never once seen the northern lights. I took our winters in graceful stride, knowing no other life. I knew how to protect myself outside, and how to warm up coming in. How to avoid swollen hands and ears and cracked lips. I don’t know how we could possibly have had jackets and gloves and hats and boots warm enough, but I do remember being upset with my dad for bringing home a new jacket for me, a faux-furry jacket, which I thought was effeminate and I was embarrassed to wear. My friend Grant Hagen didn’t have to wear a girls’ jacket. Grant and I were school patrols on December 15 1964, in Grade 6 at Crestwood Elementary School, the day it was colder than it’d ever been before. The radio announcer didn’t say ‘Crestwood’ reading his list of school closures, so we went on our way, fulfilling our charge at the 96th Avenue crosswalk along the way, unaware that thousands of beef cattle were that moment freezing solid in their shelters. The blizzard raged with heavy snow, high winds, and bitter cold. I saw on the front page of the Edmonton Journal that evening, delivered by another boy indifferent to the crisis, a chart showing the windchill temperature of -92 degrees F. Back then the transit bench by the crosswalk on 96th Avenue was painted with the slogan Rest and Read the Journal, but there was no one relaxing there with the newspaper that day.