Saturday, October 8, 2016

Here and there, monsters everywhere!

It's that time of year where the forces of all things spooky are magnified more than any other time of the year! So the Pop Culture League offers this simple challenge:

Here there be Monsters. 'Tis the Halloween season!

Click the link and find out what I like that goes bump in the night.




I like scary stuff, most notably scary stories. Especially if they appear on film. Ever since I was knee high to Kowl's eye I have been a fan of chilling movies that seek to make my skin crawl with the monsters I just can't help but love. I am a lover of all things scary and horrific all year long, but there is something about October and Halloween that just magnifies the spook factor.

Growing up my favorite monsters were the big three: Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers. I used to pretend that they were buried in my backyard. I'd go to visit their grave sites where my failed garden once was, and I'd talk to them. I think it helped me to be less scared or maybe those conversations gave me permission to accept that these titans of horror were only meant to scare me but they couldn't truly hurt me. Believe me, there are real life monsters that can dish out the hurt and pain all on their own.


I had a steady diet of Nightmare on Elm Street movies filled with iconic images of Freddy Krueger and all his antics. Each death scene was a cinematic event in my world. If I felt like going back to nature I'd travel over to Crystal Lake and enjoy the camp factor of Friday the 13th. Jason freaked me out so much because he could run. And he had mommy issues. Trust me, you have to be weary of men with mommy issues.

One of my favorite Friday the 13th covers
Then there was Halloween. I felt a connection to that series. Mostly because they seemed like the most plausible. A simple white mask was also an invitation for something terrifying to occur. Throughout my life I have had instances where I've imagined that a tall figure would emerge from the darkness of night with that stark white face.

I like to go walking at night and my neighborhood is lit decently for the most part, but there are times where the shadows seem bigger. In those moments I have these visions of seeing a tall monster of a man quietly walk out into the street. He just stands there silently, looking at me. This monster blends in so well with the night except for that white face. It gives me chills, and I kinda like that.


Make no mistake, I don't want to truly come face to face with a monster. I have had my dances with a few monsters and it's not pleasant. I've had a knife held up to my throat. I've also had the fear of someone approaching me in a parking lot knowing full well they were up to trouble. There is a difference though between horror in my mind or on a screen versus the real world around me. I try to make sense of both.


My love for the big three expanded though as I got older. The maniacal chaos of Texas Chainsaw Massacre captured my interest. The imagery of that first movie pays rent and will hang out in your brain for life.

Sleepaway Camp was a nice break away from my usual camping grounds. I'm still trying to get it on Blu-Ray, it's an important one for me to own. The image above is still chilling in that film.


I even still love the renaissance of slasher films from the 90's. Some don't hold up as well today like they did back then, but I am fond of them. There are so many monsters that have touched my life. All of that fear and scariness culminates around Halloween. There's something in the air, and I'm not referring to all the candy. Halloween is a fun time of year.

Of course I feel like the biggest monster in my life right now is time. I know, I know, that sounds so predictable coming from an old broad, but it is true. I am missing out on so much because there just isn't enough time. I am hoping to have a costume to wear for Halloween, but I don't know how or when that will happen. There's toy stories galore involving Jaws 5 I have completely gotten behind on because there is so much going on with work. I have a list of horror movies I want to watch not to mention more writing I have in store.

That blasted time monster is slashing its way through my plans. I'm not trying to complain, I'm happy to be busy with work. What I am trying to say though is don't be a victim at the hands of a knife wielding monster known as time. Enjoy the holiday season. Eat tons of Halloween candy. Paint your face. Scare people (within proper legal parameters.) Embrace all the monsters that go bump in the night. Just have fun.

Check out what other people have going on for all things spooky fun!

Alexis has a great body of work for Halloween.
McDonald's is serving some fresh spooky fun at the Nerd Nook.
Fong Sam delivers quite the monster mash.

Looking for more information on the Pop Culture League? Head on over to Cool and Collected for more. See you guys and dolls around!

6 comments:

  1. good article miss m and scary and hope the monster that used a knife on you is rotting some where. for after all halloween would not be halloween with out the scares including monsters both fake like freddy and the ones that it is said we all are from time to time. in our own way .

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    1. Well I don't know that the two men who were a part of that experience are exactly rotting somewhere, but I do hope they feel bad about it from time to time. I doubt that they ever do, but it is a comforting thought. I also agree, Halloween is just not Halloween without all the scares. I hope you are doing well. It's nice to hear from you. I am hoping I get to write some more. I have been a bit behind with my personal life which has taken away from the writing. Either way I hope you are doing well. Talk to ya soon!

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  2. I can only HOPE I am one of the MONSTERS who HAUNT YOUR DREAMS!! MWAHAHAHAHAH!!
    OK ..I hope that sounded ominous enough!! I have MISSED YOU my lovely Miss M!! I REALLY need to play catch up with your blog!! Sorry, I have been away for a while! But I wanna talk about stuff, so we shall chat soon! We need to talk about a BUNCHA shit!! Supergirl is joining the CW (Good!) Ghostbusters tanked! ( also GOOD FOR ME !! But I think you wanted it to work!) This is the last season of Vampire Diaries!! Super 7 taking over MOTU!! SOO much to catch up on!! I MISS and ADORE YOU!! As always-Nick
    And -though I love all these films, I think you should watch some SUPER old ones this year, see if they STILL can creep you out!! Like the 50's and 60's William Castle films! -On VHS of course! But make SURE you have the ghost goggles when viewing 13 Ghosts! AND have the skeleton hanging over your head while watching House on Haunted Hill-AND make sure you have a device installed in your chair to SHOCK you in the butt while watching the TINGLER!! -Or, I could just come over and DO THAT if you don't wanna pay to have it installed!! HAHA!! Miss ya!! Talk soon!!

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    1. You are more than welcome to haunt my dreams at any time. lol I've missed you too. We do have a lot to catch up on. There is so much going on in the world of pop culture! How can one even handle it all.

      I still need to catch up on what you have been doing. I have been so behind. My personal life has just been all over the place. It's been hard to catch up on all the fun things I like in life.

      I do love those old school horror movies that you mentioned though. I own House on Haunted Hill and it is so much fun. I also freaking adore the Bat, which you didn't mention but it involves Vincent Price. 13 Ghosts is fun and I believe I have seen the Tingler. That is a great era for horror movies. I could write a whole other article on that with the memories I have of those movies. I owe my mom and aunt for introducing them all to me. Anyways I hope you are doing well! Hope to also talk to you more soon.

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  3. Between having your friends tell you they weren't going to rescue you, thinking Vicki on Small Wonder was an actual robot and visiting slasher graves your childhood continues to have some amazing memories that if anyone else told me I'd think they were making it up.

    I didn't discover the classic slashers until I was in my twenties. But when I was13 I couldn't get enough of the classic Universal monsters like Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I remember trying to draw a comic book that teamed up all the monsters but kept getting hung up on how they wouldn't get along.

    Why am I not talking about these monsters on my own blog? I think it's because of that time monster you mentioned. Halloween is always a holiday that sneaks up on me. Which is a shame because it seems like the most visual holiday out there. Such thanks to Hallmark every holiday has plenty of pageantry but Halloween is overflowing with possibilities because it invites so much creativity that appeals to our nature as geeks and outsiders. Plus it's macabre nature playfully dips into themes that might otherwise be taboo like death, sensuality and sugar, but maintains a childlike sense of fun.

    Time is also a factor in that it seems my fellow creative types celebrate Halloween all month long with drawing-a-day posts like Inktober or daily movie reviews like Cinemassacre's Monster Madness. That quantity of quality takes a lot of pre-October preparation. You'd think after two years of working at a Halloween theme park that I'd be inspired and ready but I continue to be caught off guard with my contributions.

    At least posts like allow me to get in touch with that seasonal spirit and my own two cents in with the penny candy.

    Happy Halloween everybody!

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  4. GOTTA SAY- I DO miss getting Miss M updates FROM YOU my Adorkable-adorbness!! I'll make you a pledge! You make more posts on Dorkette and I will make more posts on the Moose Comics site! ( I'm SO close to being ready to post Melting Cowboy part one of issue one, it isn't even funny! SOON!)

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