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Monday, May 28, 2012

Be Back Soon!

Haunted Greetings everyone!

Just a note to let you know that we will be taking a break here at the blog, group, and Facebook page.  My husband and I are going on vacation for two weeks!  We leave on Thursday and get back the middle of June.  We are going back to England, but this time for a much happier occasion...a wedding and the rest of the time is our vacation!!  We will be going to London for a couple of days and see the things we missed the last time we were there in '08 (when we got engaged).  I can't wait to tour the Tower of London...maybe even go on one of the ghost tours!  ;)

I will still be accepting movie and book reviews, I'll have access to my email, just won't be posting anything until we get back home!

We hope everyone has a great week--stay spooky!

Happy Hauntings!


Friday, May 25, 2012

Fright Night Friday Movie Review: Dark Shadows

Hello everyone!

We have another movie review for you!  This one is courtesy of my friend Melissa, over at Gothic Charms!  She reviewed the new Dark Shadows movie that's in theaters at the moment, be sure you don't miss it!



 Dark Shadows (2012)

First off, it's not as slap-stick funny as some of the trailers make it look like - thankfully! It does have several laugh out loud parts though! :)

I saw many pictures of the movie before it was released that made me wonder if I was going to like it, it looked REALLY "out there" - even for J. Depp and T. Burton! However, I like how they pulled it together - blending the 70's era with the dark comedy.

Lacking is the stereo-typical Dark Shadows entrance music - sorry folks! Instead it opens playing Moody Blues - AWESOME! If you love 70's music then you will really enjoy yourself - including a cameo from Alice Cooper singing several songs! I left the theater singing "No More Mr. Nice Guy".


There were a few changes that I think worked well, like the combination of the characters Victoria Winters and Maggie Evans - and combined in such a way that you really didn't expect it. The "sex" scene with
Johnny Depp and Eva Green - HILARIOUS! What happens between Barnabus and the Doctor is simply scandalous (but funny!)

I don't want to give too much away, but you have to go see this film if you love dark humor, Johnny Depp,
Tim Burton, Michelle Pfeiffer or Helena Bonham Carter. However, one has to wonder why Tim Burton is constantly killing off his wife in his movies...

I give this movie 5 skulls.

Thanks for the great review, Melissa!  This makes me all the more anxious to see it!!  I'm glad you enjoyed the movie, and I hope the rest of you do as well!  Remember, if you have a movie review you'd like to share, please email me!  Movie reviews are posted on Friday nights!  

Have a great weekend!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

The First Halloween!

Hi everyone!

I love being connected to so many people in the Halloween "world".  I have discovered so many "spooktacular" ideas and projects!  One that I am really excited about right now is called "The First Halloween".

The First Halloween was created by Tim Rowberry and Kurt Hale...two really cool dudes with an equally cool idea: a Halloween nativity!!  Their favorite holidays are Halloween and Christmas and they came up with the idea to COMBINE both holidays into one awesomely cool display!


 http://youtu.be/ygl3FQnKK8o

They needed a way to bring their project to the masses: that's where we, Halloween fans, and Kickstarter come into play!  If you've never heard of Kickstarter, it's a website where people can post their projects/ideas and get funding from people all over the world to help make their dream a reality.  You pledge a certain amount of money to the project and each pledge level has a little incentive attached!  If the project raises the amount of money needed by the end of the pledge drive, you are charged the amount you pledge and you receive the incentive item described.  If the project fails to raise the money needed, you are not charged anything!

I LOVE this idea and would love to be able to display The First Halloween nativity in my home for the holidays!  I decided to make a $25 pledge, which includes a FULL box set PLUS 8 x 10 glossy print signed by Kurt and Tim PLUS PDF ‘Thank you’ letter and a bestowal of Christmas Cheer and the Spirit of Halloween for 1 year.  Definitely worth it!  I just wish I could contribute more!

If you're interested in helping to fund this project and bring The First Halloween to the masses, you can visit the official website HERE  and the Kickstarter page HERE.  They also have a Facebook page!

If you have any questions about the project or how to help fund it, they are more than willing to answer and explain...just visit one of their websites I posted above!

Thanks Tim and Kurt for such a great idea and good luck!

Happy Hauntings!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Dark and Stormy Night

Ghoulish Greetings everyone!

I hope all of you are doing well and looking forward to Halloween!  I received yet another Halloween joke in my email from a relative and thought I would share.  It's just one simple way of keeping the Halloween spirit alive all year long!  :)


It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Bob Hill and his new wife, Betty were vacationing in Europe.....as it happens, near Transylvania. They were driving in a rental car along a rather deserted highway.
It was late and raining very hard. Bob could barely see the road in front of the car.  Suddenly, the car skids out of control! Bob attempts to control the car, but to no avail!  The car swerves and smashes into a tree.

 Moments later, Bob shakes his head to clear the fog.  Dazed, he looks over at the passenger seat and sees his wife unconscious, with her head bleeding!  Despite the rain and unfamiliar countryside, Bob knows he has to get her medical assistance.  Bob carefully picks his wife up and begins trudging down the road.  After a short while, he sees a light. He heads towards the light, which is coming from a large, old house.  He approaches the door and knocks.

A minute passes. A small, hunch-backed man opens the door.  Bob immediately blurts, "Hello, my name is Bob Hill, and this is my wife Betty.  We've been in a terrible accident, and my wife has been seriously hurt. Can I please use your phone?"

"I'm sorry," replied the hunchback, "but we don't have a phone. My master is a doctor; come in, and I will get him!"

Bob brings his wife in.

An older man comes down the stairs.  "I'm afraid my assistant may have misled you.  I am not a  medical doctor; I am a scientist. However, it is many miles to the nearest clinic, and I have had basic medical training. I will see what I can do.  Igor, bring them down to the laboratory."

With that, Igor picks up Betty and carries her downstairs, with Bob following closely. Igor places Betty on a table in the lab. Bob collapses from exhaustion and his own injuries, so Igor places Bob on an adjoining table.

After a brief examination, Igor's master looks worried.  "Things are serious, Igor.  Prepare a  transfusion."  Igor and his master work feverishly, but to no avail.  Bob and Betty Hill are no more.

The Hills' deaths upset Igor's master greatly. Wearily, he climbs the steps to his conservatory, which houses his grand piano. For it is here that he has always found solace.  He begins to play, and a stirring, almost haunting melody fills the house.

Meanwhile, Igor is still in the lab tidying up.  His eyes catch movement, and he notices the fingers on Betty's hand twitch, keeping time to the haunting piano music.  Stunned, he watches as Bob's arm begins to rise, marking the beat!  He is further amazed as Betty and Bob both sit up straight!

Unable to contain himself, he dashes up the stairs to the conservatory.  He bursts in and shouts to his master: "Master, Master!.....The Hills are alive with the sound of music!"

hahahaha!!  I know, I know, it's a groaner, but it cracked me up!  Hope this adds a little dark happiness to your day!!

Happy Hauntings!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Book Review: Deadly Night


Hello my fellow spooksters!

Last year I posted about the Halloween Night Book Club.  The idea was to collect book reviews from all of you and post them every Saturday night.  The books that were reviewed would be part of the Halloween Night Book Club.  Well, here is our first book review!  One of our readers, Bookbug, sent this to me last fall and with the holidays I never got it posted.  So, after a long wait, here is Bookbug's review of "Deadly Night" (and I apologize to Bookbug for taking so long to post it, thank you again for submitting it)!

Deadly Night
by: Heather Graham


****SPOILER ALERT****




This book is about three brothers who inherit a haunted plantation house from an aunt in the Louisiana bayou.  With ghost tales and a hungry serial killer milling about, there are plenty of things to keep the Flynn brothers busy. This is book 1 of 3.

I really enjoyed this haunting Halloween book. At first, it was hard for me to get into, but once I did, I ran with it. I was first disappointed there was a romantic aspect between the two main characters. Only because it's October, I wanted a good horror novel, but the romance was only the back story, so it didn't really bother me. The romance worked.  Heck, everything in this book works.

I'd recommend this book anytime of the year, but especially October. :)

I'm excited to read the rest of the Flynn brothers trilogy, and read more of Heather Graham's writing. :)


Thank you so much for the review, Bookbug!  This books sounds really interesting, I love old plantation houses...especially haunted ones!  Hope to read more reviews from you soon!

If anyone else has read this book, or will be reading it please let us know your thoughts!  If you have a book you'd like to review for our book club, please be sure to email it to me!

Happy Hauntings!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Fright Night Friday Movie Review: The Raven

Hello everyone!

I hope all of you had a great week and are ready for the weekend!  I definitely am!  I will be reviewing this week's Fright Night Friday movie...one that I had been looking forward to seeing for over a year!  Here is my review of The Raven.




The Raven (2012)

I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since I first heard about it last year!  I am a huge John Cusack fan, have been for several years, so I knew the movie wouldn't disappoint!  I am also a huge Edgar Allan Poe fan.  I don't know when I first discovered him, but after seeing a live performance of The Tell-Tale Heart when I was in 7th grade, I became hooked!  Being such a huge fan of Poe, I knew I wanted to see this movie.  Here is a short synopsis from IMDb:

When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality. 

This concept that a madman takes Poe's stories and turns them into reality was interesting enough, but the fact that Poe himself is asked to help find the murderer was very intriguing to me.  Poe is asked to help because of his knowledge of what happens in the stories.  What started as one murder scenario escalates into a game of logic and basically a scavenger hunt...clues are left at the murder scenes which describe what will happen next.  I loved the way Poe's stories actually came to life in this movie and how the clues were pieced together from one scene to the next!  John Cusack, I felt, did a great job portraying Poe...I could actually imagine Poe having the personality and passion that John Cusack put forth into the character.

The costume work was great, I loved the period clothing and of course the cloaks that Poe wore in the movie.  The scenery in the movie was brilliant and really added to the "spookiness" of the movie.  One thing that I was wondering about was the fact that John Cusack wore a goatee instead of just a mustache in the film.  It was a great look for John, but I'm not sure if Poe ever wore a goatee?  It doesn't really matter to me, I'm not picking on the film, it just made me wonder!  I searched online and didn't find any pictures of Poe with a goatee.  Any thoughts on this?

This is not a movie for those of you who have weak stomachs!!!  There are a few gory scenes in the movie complete with lots of blood, so be warned!  Please note this is an "R" rated movie due to the gory scenes, some language, and "intense" or "scary" scenes.  Not something you would want to take your 5 year old to!!

My husband and I both enjoyed the movie and we are looking forward to it coming out on DVD already!  I'm giving "The Raven" 5 skulls!

If you have a movie you would like to review, please let me know!  We need more submissions!  Have a great weekend!