Kraven Manor

I have another horror game to talk about with you guys! In my spare time, I've been trying to get my hands on some good ones (that live up to my expectations, having played Outlast...I told you guys, I'm slightly obsessed, and I don't really know if anything is ever going to compare to the love that I have for this one...) and this one popped up. I said "hey why not!"

My newest conquest (if you couldn't tell from the title and the picture): Kraven Manor.
This one's about a haunted house...that's about all you know, unless you're paying close attention, which I clearly didn't. Normally I'm all about storylines in horror games, this one's story develops way later, but it all starts to come together at the very end. I was kind of disappointed about it in the beginning, but once I got to the end, it satisfied my craving for some kind of answer about what the hell was going on (but it did not satisfy my craving for tiramisu, which is still happening.)

Essentially, the premise of the game is that you're in this house alone with nothing but a flashlight, and you can't fight the entity trying to attack you. That antagonist you have chasing you around is a bronze mannequin. Yeah, Maniac style. See below for explanation.

I didn't love the game, as it didn't have a story at the beginning so you're kind of just wandering, like I said about Among the Sleep, but I definitely enjoyed it. The story is explained throughout the game in notes and books, but it's kind of hard to keep up with because you have the potential to read them all out of order. I understand, though, that this was a teeny indie horror game created by graduate students at a college, so I'll cut 'em some slack. Good job, guys. So with that in mind, the game gets credit to me as: not the best game I've ever played, but definitely terrifying. If you're looking for a game that may potentially make you pee your pants, this is probably a good one.

I also like the fact that as the game goes on you pick up pieces that look a little bit like chess boards, and those all connect on a table in the entryway to Kraven Manor. These boards are actually scaled-down models of the rooms in the house...which you can move around and rebuild as you play to connect different rooms. What that means is every time you move the models around, the rooms in the house move to match it. It was a really cool concept, and towards the end it became crucial to move the rooms into the right spot to finish the game.

On to those mannequins I was telling you about:

I wish that I could link to a youtube video of their awful grunting and creaking that they do when they move up behind you, but you should honestly just play for yourself and listen to it. Ick. You're playing the game with a demon mannequin breathing down your neck. Their noises are horrific. They're Maniac-style creepy mannequins. (If you've never seen Maniac, you should probably do that.) Oh, and let me also mention that they can only move when you turn your back to them (think Dr. Who's weeping angels), which makes them even worse. They also kind of teleport really, really close to you...it's awful.

All in all, I'm happy with this game, though. I should have put a camera on myself during playtime because I was screaming and jumping all over the place. There were curse words said. There was eye-covering. Therefore, it's good in my book.

Let me know if you guys decide to play this one, I'd love to know what you think!

Also, I might have a giveaway coming up in the near future, let me know how you guys feel about that. 

American Horror Story: Freakshow

Man, there are so many things I can say about this season of American Horror Story. Let me start by saying this: Murder House is absolutely still my favorite season. But where does Freakshow fall? Let's have a chat about this.

There were a few reasons that this season of AHS was awesome.

Reason 1: The characters.

This guy. Twisty the Clown. He had the ability to terrify people, then make them cry with intense amounts of sympathy in the matter of one episode. His back-story was amazing. His mannerisms were totally awesome. His reasoning behind what he did, fabulous.

I loved him so much that I actually decided to dress up as him for Halloween.

I had way too much fun with this.

Dandy Mott; have you ever met someone so horrifyingly perfect on the outside, but disgustingly twisted on the inside? If you have, I applaud you for surviving, and I also want to give you a hug while you weep into my shoulder. What a messed up person. Watching his character develop and become more and more maniacal and awful was probably the most entertaining part of the show. 

Many of the other characters, ie. Elsa Mars, Jimmy Darling, and Desiree Dupree were definitely note-worthy. The performances of their respective actors were incredible. Elsa was developed beautifully. Strongman (Dell Toledo) was one of my favorite characters, and so fun to watch. He was a mess. It was great.

But there were plenty of things in the show that needed improvement.

Reason 2: The circus concept.

It sounded like it was going to be such an incredible idea. I mean, after a haunted house, an asylum, and a bunch of witches, what's the next scariest thing you can think of? (Take Coven out of there because it definitely was not scary by any means) I think of clowns and a circus. Now, I'm not afraid of clowns. Pennywise is my man. Art the Clown is a big favorite. Twisty made the list of my top 3 favorite clowns of all time (hell, I even had a doll, Christmas ornament and figure made of him to put in my collection) but the way this was done was pretty cool.

Based loosely on the 1932 film Freaks, you saw Pinheads, two-headed twins, "Lobster Boy", and more. The correlation was great. The original film is classic, so if you have never seen it, I suggest that you do. The full thing is on Youtube. It's pretty creepy.

But there were a few things that ruined it for me:

The season dragged. I only really enjoyed 4 or 5 episodes, most of which involved Twisty. For those of you that watched this season, you know why I say it like that. If you're planning on watching Freakshow, either stop reading, or expect subtle spoilers. I'll try to be good. I truly believe that the downfall of the season were those awful musical numbers. Jessica Lange is incredible, by all means, I bow down to her, but I think that the awkward songs (that were strangely out of the time period) threw off entire episodes. They were just...bleh.

What really ruined it for me was the season finale. While most of the season was just mediocre, saved only by really screwed up characters, the finale was so half-assed. I'm sorry, I don't know how else to say it. It seems like the writers didn't know how to wrap it up, so they just killed everyone, and left the rest to what we all already knew would happen.

Murder House left me guessing the whole time.

I haven't seen Asylum so I can't judge it, but I hear it's pretty great.

Coven didn't really fit into the series so much, but it was entertaining and the characters were wonderful.

This one...honestly? Honestly.

I don't mean to be totally down on it, but I don't really have much good to say. I mean, they put NPH in and got rid of him without wrapping up his character. All the other ones got an awful sendoff. 

I feel like this post isn't even completely cohesive. I'm just so disappointed that it's all of my thoughts smooshed into a post. 

Let me know what you thought about this, guys. I'm so sad, I expected it to be awesome because it started off strong, but I learned about 3 episodes in that I was going to be disappointed. -sigh-

...I still love Twisty though.

My Top 4 Horror Books

Books have held a very special place in my heart since I was super, super young. They were always my outlet when I was having a rough day, or when I used to get in trouble and my parents took my television remote away so I couldn't watch anymore...they thought I didn't like reading so it was always awesome getting some peace and quiet where I could just go through my book collection.
My horror obsession started with a Goosebumps book that I read when I was in kindergarten.

It was this one, you guys! I'm so excited! I couldn't remember the name of it, and it's all coming back to me now! It had all of the alternate endings, so that's why it was called one of the Give Yourself Goosebumps books. Ah, my childhood.

Anyway, as I grew up, my taste in horror changed, and Goosebumps wasn't so scary anymore. I needed something to give me my fix of terror, but I desperately needed it in book form. There's just something about turning pages that's so satisfying.

I went through tons of books, none of which every stuck out to me. It took me a long time to really discover what I loved where horror was concerned, and I found some wonderful books in that time. 

Here are the favorites I found:

4) The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Not necessarily a book, it's actually a short story, but it's wonderful and so classic. This one gave me such anxiety as a kid when I read it. I used to carry around what looked like a textbook with Poe's complete works in it, and this one was the one that I read over and over, followed by the Cask of Amontillado.

A synopsis:

The narrator of the story commits a murder, and essentially has to convince himself he isn't going completely insane as he hears what he believes to be his victim's heart still beating under the floorboards. (He hacks up the body, for those of you that like gore.) 

I was always terrified of the fact that I truly believed that maybe the body was alive under the floorboards, and always somehow found myself hoping that the narrator wouldn't ruin it for himself. If you haven't read this one, I highly suggest it, along with all of Poe's work. He's classic.

3) The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

I only read this one recently, but it shot up my list to my top 4. I couldn't put this one down, I finished it in 48 hours and I was at work when I read it. I got really lucky, actually, because I went to a comic book store close to me that had a bargain bin full of old, used books. I got this one for $2, it's beat up and falling apart, and that makes me love it even more.
This one was one of my favorite films before it was one of my favorite books, as you guys know. I talk about it all the time. But there's something so terrifying about reading it because you picture it in your own way, and I like to create the scariest scenarios possible. I won't even give a synopsis, because I hope most of you have seen the film (or at least know of it). But I highly recommend reading the book. It's amazing. Good job, WPB.

2) The Dead Zone by Stephen King

This is another one I got from that bin at the comic book store! $3! What a steal! I had no idea what the deal was with this book, I saw Stephen King on the cover, and I knew I loved his work (no one is going to be surprised when they see my number 1) so I went for it, and as it turns out, I absolutely loved it.
There's a film adaptation with Christopher Walken in it, I still haven't seen that one though.
A synopsis:
Johnny Smith is injured in a car accident and wakes up from a coma 5 years later with the ability to see things in other people's lives by touching them, like their family history, and future things they're wondering about.
This thriller is incredibly entertaining; I wasn't sure how I was going to like it until I got a chapter in and really got addicted to the story. There was something about Johnny Smith's character and the turmoil he goes through that is so captivating, plus there's a second story that is going on during all of that that's even more disturbing and strange.
Basically, what I have to say about this story, is it's gripping to the point where it's near impossible to put the book down until you know exactly what happens at the end...I should reread this one.

1) No one is going to be surprised...it's Stephen King's IT. Duh.

Alright, I'll be honest. When I read this one the first time, I totally hated it. I was about 200 pages in and I completely stopped and told myself I'd never pick it up again. I remember where I was at that exact moment. I was waiting for my sister to have her hair cut, and I shut my Kindle off and stared into space, shook my head, and said "nope".
But, something that summer told me to try it again. I was working, but not enough. I had a decent amount of time on my hands. So why wouldn't I try reading something so classic?

And so it began. I sat, I sighed, and I powered my Kindle on. I clicked the title. I sighed again. I read two sentences. Then I sighed again. There was a lot of huffing and puffing in the beginning...but I've come to learn that sometimes, Stephen King likes to start things off slow. That explained so much! And so I dove in headfirst.
About a week later, I was finished, and I was obsessed. In love. Infatuated. Pennywise was always a favorite of mine but that secured him (or her, for those of you that know the real deal that they never explain in the film...you have to read it if you're a fan of the movie. It'll change everything.) as my number two favorite villain.
I feel like this one doesn't require a synopsis because the story is so well-known, but what I DO have to tell you, is if you've seen the film and you've enjoyed it, read the book. If you saw the film and hate it, read the book. If you saw the film and you're indifferent, read the book. The film is long, but it leaves out incredible and insanely important details that change everything. Read it. Seriously. Then report back and let me know how much you love it.

I'm thinking next on the list are some works by Clive Barker. You guys know me and my Hellraiser...Hellbound Heart is probably next.

I also just recently finished some works by my good friend Zach Bohannon called Dark Reveries. It was a collection of 4 short stories were completely wonderful. I won it in a giveaway, and it turns out I loved it so much that I emailed him in a panic about needing more of his work. Check him out, he's awesome.

I'm always very open to book suggestions, let me know in the comments if there are any I've been missing and/or overlooking all this time!
Thanks for reading, my ghouls, see you next time!

Among the Sleep

Every once in a  while I like to switch it up and play through a horror game or two. I've played Outlast, which was absolutely beautiful and terrifying and awesome. Actually, to be more accurate: I was so scared playing Outlast that I made my boyfriend play through most of it for me, and I was giving directions as I saw fit. I mean, hello, Dr. Trager.
I just finished Among the Sleep today, and I have to say, I'm not impressed. You play the game as a toddler trying to find his mom in what appears to be a "haunted house" after something knocks his crib over in the middle of the night. Sounds like it could be good, right?
Some of the details are sweet, like the fact that because you're playing as a toddler, you can't read signs or anything. Everything looks like scribbles and squiggles, which is a nice touch. It makes it more accurate.

You also are told little bits and pieces of the story of what's going on in the child's life by drawings that he's drawn around the house. They're thrown around and they seem like they aren't really a part of anything related to the game, until you're about halfway through and you can say to yourself "oh hey, I just realized that's completely relevant."
Also, the only villain in the game is pretty creepy. They don't show themselves until three quarters of the way through, but once you see it, you don't want to be near it.

Now, I'm no video game expert, and coming from me, I feel like a not-so-good review takes a lot. But I felt like it took 3/4ths of the game for it to even begin to get remotely exciting. There's no threat, you're literally crawling around for most of the game with a bear who's pretty annoying. It's all very monotonous. You crawl around your "house" about 9 million times with no endangerment, so essentially, you're not doing anything. It requires zero skill (which for someone like me, is a good thing, because I button-mash until I figure out what everything does), but this one, you don't even run or anything. I had to hide twice.

I know, this is a really short post, but I figured I would let you guys know not to spend your money on this one. If you do decide not to take my advice and you play through it, let me know what you think!
But if you decide to skip this one...instead, spend it on the new Pinhead Funko POP that's being released some time this year...but don't endanger my chances of getting one ;)

Nightbreed (1990) Review: WTF Why Didn't I Watch This Sooner?!

Excuse me, why didn't any of you guys tell me about Nightbreed? It's okay, I forgive you.
I'd heard of it in passing, but in my true fashion, I was the last to watch it. I'm sure this movie is huge, because it's directed by the beautiful Mr. Clive Barker (he also wrote the book that inspired the film), and I somehow just never watched it. It's on Netflix, Taylor. WHAT have you been doing?

As a Hellraiser fan, you would think that I would go ahead and try to find all of the works by Mr. Barker, but I don't necessarily work that way. I probably should, considering it seems like his works are all very similar, it just depends on the date. Take Midnight Meat Train for example. I adored it, and found out it was Clive after the fact. (If you haven't seen it, the story is wonderful, Bradley Cooper is wonderful (and not bad to look at), the antagonist is thrilling. But I'll save my love for that one for another time.)
This one reminds me a lot of Hellraiser in the sense that there are a group of crazy-looking fools running around wanting to kill humans, that kind of look like they would be Cenobites, but they are in fact Nightbreeds. What does this mean, you ask? Here's a synopsis:

***SPOILER ALERT, IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO RUIN IT STOP READING...I'll still love you.***

Aaron Boone is slightly mentally unstable, seeing a psychotherapist to help with his crazy dreams he's been having about a place called Midian. He's never been there, but he sees it vividly when he's dreaming, so he knows exactly what it looks like and who the creatures are that live there. His therapist is a huge jerk, and convinces him he's a serial killer. He gives him what Aaron believes is Lithium to calm him down, but it turns out his (SUPER HUGE JERK) of a therapist gave him a hallucinogen. He ends up in the hospital, meets a patient who also knows of Midian, and he gives Boone directions to get there. He then promptly rips the skin off of his face (hooray!).
Since he was in the hospital (after jumping in front of a truck while tripping out of his mind), he escapes when the doctors come to help his roommate. This sets off a police chase to go find him, but he's at Midian (because why wouldn't you go to a crazy-looking graveyard while you're high?!). He meets a few of the Nightbreeds there, tries to join them, and they tell him no, but not without trying to attack and eat him. He does get bitten, though, and that's when all the fun starts.

I don't want to give away too much, although the synopsis in itself is probably pretty confusing. I guess you'll just have to watch. But here's my review:
The film itself is really entertaining. I'm normally very picky, I like to find things wrong with films, but this one was great. They brought two (or three if you also want to count the love story smooshed in between a serial killer and a "mental patient"-turned-Nightbreed. Honestly, it's a great story about tolerance between social groups, if you want to get really deep.
I loved the makeup, I loved the personalities of the characters, and I loved that half of the Hellraiser cast was in it. Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vince, and Simon Bamford were all prevalent in this film. The only Cenobite missing was Miss Barbie Wilde.
The music was also a big factor in my love for this film. It was so, so awesome to listen to. That's something I don't typically look too closely at, but this time it stood out to me as a really important part of the story. It pulled everything together.
If this film was out of 5 stars, I would give it a 4.5, taking away that .5 only because I was never really scared, but it was graphic enough to cover that up.
If you haven't seen this one already, I absolutely recommend it! Leave me a comment to tell me if you love it as much as I do. Until next time!

My Favorite Horror Films

Well, this is going to be a fun post! I really have 3 films that have changed my view on horror forever. These films have shaped my love for the genre, and have taught me that loving horror isn't weird, because other people love them too! Instead of only giving you guys 3 films that I love, I'm going to do a list of my top 5, accompanied by mini-stories about why I love them so much.
Let's start with number 5...

5) The Exorcist

If this film didn't scare you at least a little when you first saw it, please reconsider your life choices. It's one of the scariest films of all time for a reason. Yes, I understand that the effects are slightly outdated. But is it still terrifying? Absolutely.
I got into this one because when I was in 5th grade we had library time, and I found a book that was literally just called Horror Movies. I checked it out of the school library and brought it home with me to read. I flipped through it, coming across classics like Dracula and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, then I flipped the page and found a picture of Regan's face. It was just her face, completely transformed. It was terrifying and disturbing, but I couldn't look away. So I begged and begged my mom to let me watch it and she told me no, because I was "too young". Thank you, mom, for not exposing me to this horror when I was so little. I watched it at my friend's house at a slumber party, and I didn't sleep that night. Come to think of it, I thought my sleeping bag was vibrating. I also thought the devil was going to possess me and I was going to curse at my parents and get in trouble. This one's always had a special place in my heart.

4) Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge

Don't get me wrong, I am completely aware that this entire series is so, so cheesy. However, there is something about those creepy puppets that I found so enticing. I would have put the original on the list, but I truly enjoyed the story of Toulon's Revenge much more than all the others. It's the only one that I found completely cohesive and understandable. Also, I didn't get bored halfway through like I did with the others.
How did I get into this one, you ask? Well, it started when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I had rented one of my weekly movies from Blockbuster, and there was a coming attraction for toys from the Puppet Master films. (You bet your ass I have all of them now) I wanted little Blade SO badly. I thought he was the sweetest little thing in the whole world. The movie was old, so the odds of finding the toys was slim to none, but my dad (who passed away when I was 16) saw how in love with Blade I was, and drove me to the closest collectibles store to see if maybe, just maybe, they had him. They didn't, but they did have Leech Woman! She wasn't my favorite, but out of sheer appreciation, I accepted the gift from my dad, and I had little Leech Woman for about 5 years before she went missing. I'm sure my mom threw her out because she thought she was creepy. Fast forward a few years, my other half and I watched through the entire series, and I loved this one. It reminded me of my childhood, and it made me realize I have a seriously weird love for creepy-looking dolls. We've collected the whole set of the action figures, and I even met Charles Band (the creator) and he signed my Blade for me!

That's me and Charles Band. My other half is on the right, but I feel like he wouldn't appreciate me throwing him on my blog. Also, this was before I had my nose fixed, so pardon the inaccuracy. This was about 2 years ago. :)

3) Trick 'r Treat

This film is just plain fun. I can't say enough good things about this one. This is the film I recommend to everyone that isn't sure what kind of horror they like. The only thing I dislike is really the werewolf story, and even that one is good. Sam is the cutest, and the story is wonderful. It's essentially "believe in Halloween or, you know, this adorable little pumpkinhead in a onesie is gonna come kill you."
I only saw this one recently, but I catch myself saying "wrong way" like the kid on the bus all of the time when I drive in the wrong direction. I always check my candy. I also don't take home strangers, but I've never done that anyway. And since I've seen it, I've probably watched it about 10 times. It's so well-done, and so classic.

2) IT

This is another cheesy one, but it's so classic. First of all, what's better than Tim Curry as a crazy clown killer who ISN'T actually a clown?! Second, nothing is more terrifying than the idea of something playing on exactly what you're afraid of to break you down?
I've always had a love for killer clowns. I don't know what it is, something about the fact that they're supposed to be so friendly and sweet, but it turns out they're actually awful and evil and maniacal and they'll eat your soul.
(But Pennywise's eyebrows are on point, see photo above.)
But I love Pennywise's voice, his mannerisms, his dry humor laced with evil threats, just everything about him. I find myself rooting for him to catch them more than the kids (and adults) getting away. While this one is brutally long, it's the perfect amount of frightening, entertaining, and funny to keep you fixed on the screen for the full 3 hours. Yes, 3 hours. It's worth it, I promise.
"You want a balloon, Georgie?"

1) This is it. My holy grail. The film that made its way on to my body permanently. I have a decal of this guy on my car. I have a life-sized bust of him in my room.
You guessed it.......

My man Pinhead in Hellraiser! I've tried to think long and hard about why I adore this one so much. Could it be because it's gory? Probably. Could it be because there's a group of badasses walking around looking like a death metal band? Also probably. But most likely: I feel like I can relate to so many of the characters from this one. Mostly the cenobites. Crazy, right?
There's something about their show-no-mercy attitude that reminds me of myself. I'm the type of person that won't take anyone's BS. These guys don't either. I also think that there's really something so appealing in having a horror villain you can plead to and have them sort of listen. I don't really think Jason or Michael really feel bad when they're bludgeoning you to death. Pinhead at least gives you the time of day to say your peace, looks like he's contemplating letting you go, then says "hey, you know what? Not good enough for me. Let's chain you up and rip your face off."
It also helps that the costumes and makeup are incredible. I wish I was talented enough to put all that on someone.
But I love the story of this one so much that it's become the staple of my room. I have an entire shelf dedicated to my love for this one. I've also met all 4 cenobites, and they're all sweet as hell...no pun intended. I actually shared coffee with Butterball (Simon Bamford) and got his view on what it was like being a cenobite, he told me he hated it because he and Chatterer (Nicholas Vince) had no eye or ear holes, so most takes while filming were them walking into each other or the walls.
Here, have a picture of me with them.

Simon Bamford (Butterball) on the far left, Barbie Wilde (Female) middle left, Doug Bradley (Pinhead) middle right, and Nicholas Vince (Chatterer) far right. Far, far right is my other half. He couldn't escape this one. :)

I would love to know all of your favorite films, my horror lovers! Please let me know in the comments what your favorites are!

Ghost Adventures: My Guilty Pleasure

For those of you that have never watched Ghost Adventures, I plead you to do so. It started out as a joke between a group of my friends, and somehow turned into something that I watch daily. It is so, so hard to admit that.
It's on Netflix, so if you can't catch it on the Travel Channel (the station it originated on), you can catch a handful of the "best of" episodes there. There are 10 seasons, but for some reason Netflix only has about 20 episodes online...that's about how many episodes are in each season. Step up your game, Netflix. You're slackin'. (But I do have to admit, the episodes they have posted are the best ones. Check out Black Moon Manor if you really want to get into it.)
I'm probably the last person to jump on this bandwagon...as soon as I started posting about it, people were telling me "you do know this show is in its 10th season, right?" Um, no, I didn't...so I apologize if you guys have been watching this show forever and are laughing at my lack of ability to keep up with things that have become mainstream. I'm usually the last to hear about things.
While the show showcases Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin and Nick Groff (who is no longer with the Ghost Adventures Crew, or GAC, respectively) and their crazy personalities getting themselves into some real shit with some mean ghosts, the best part for me are the EVPs they catch on their recorders.
Let me just tell you that the intro to the show says "I never believed in ghosts until I came face to face with one." Alright. Translation: "I never believed in ghosts...until I did." That kills me every single time.
ANYWAY, the personalities of these goons is really a big highlight of the show. I do my share of paranormal investigation (which I'll post about later, once I get a good recorder so I can share some of my EVPs I've caught), and never have I once taken my shirt off to provoke a handful of dead nuns with my tattoos. I probably wouldn't even if you asked me to. That's the kind of show this is. Zak loves himself more than the ghosts, Aaron is constantly making the best scared faces, and Nick is the rational one who usually stays pretty quiet.
Their investigations take them to some wild places, Black Moon Manor being my personal favorite. It was home to a smallpox hospital, and it is said that 200 people have died in that house. That's a lot of angry spirits. They caught some crazy EVPs, some of which are so clear that you have to think it's fake, but considering I've gone out in the field before and caught things equally as clear, you start to wonder...as insane as these guys are, could there really be a life after this one? They catch things that are so tailored to what they say, such as when Zak asks what color his EMF reader is turning, the ghost says "it's green"...what.
Needless to say, this is the show that inspired my love for paranormal investigation. Do I ever want to be a Zak Bagans? No, not exactly. I do think it's cool to find a niche like these guys did though, their personalities are addicting to watch because they're just so crazy. So, I'd like to be the ghost hunter that snuggles the ghosts. That's just who I am. I feel weird amounts of empathy.
Because of this show, I was given a P-SB7 as a gift (for those of you that don't know, that's what's called a Spirit Box, a radio sweeper that can catch RVPs between radio frequencies) and that's where it all started. I go out just about every chance I get to try and catch some weird stuff.

So, Ghost Adventures, while you're absolutely one of the dumbest shows I've ever watched...you're crazy addicting and you made me hunt ghosts. Good job, guys.

This is a fan video I found on YouTube...it's a remix of the best parts of Black Moon Manor. I quote it hourly. You will too. Enjoy.

My Prized Horror Possessions

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you've seen what I call my "horror shelf", which started out like this:

On the Hellraiser side, I had a few Hellraiser comic books, and a puzzle box, a picture of Elliot Spencer (Pinhead before he's Pinhead) and what looks like a bookmark with a film cell from the film, which I had received as a gift.
On the "everything else" side, I had plushie Blade, 12" scale Blade, a Blade bobblehead signed by Charles Band from when I met him at ComicCon, a DVD of Puppet Master 1-9, and a few miscellaneous figures from the movie. It looks like I had Blade, Jester, Leech Woman, and Mephisto.
That was the beginning of the end...the horror shelf now looks like this:

I would say the collection has gotten completely out-of-hand. I'm going to have to break up my full collection over the span of a few posts, but that'll come later. For now, I'll just let you in on a few of my favorites.

First of all, let's just talk about that Pinhead bust on the far left. He's one-of-a-few, made from a mold of Doug Bradley's head. For those of you who don't know Doug Bradley, he's the guy that plays Pinhead, but he's also a total sweetheart. Yes, I've met him. I'll explain that in a later post as well...I've met all 4 Cenobites, and even shared coffee with one of them!
Anyway, my Pinhead bust: he's hand-painted, hand-constructed. He was a birthday gift. I don't know where he came from, I don't know how much he costed. All I know is I have someone amazing in my life who found him for me.

Next, we have my Cenobite lair box-set...that's that big box that you can see to the left of my puzzle box, and it looks a little like this now:

Yes, it is signed by all 4 of them. My next plan is to track down Mr. Clive Barker himself and have him sign this bad boy. It's my pride and joy, and I love it so, so, SO much. This one came from a comic book shop not too far from me.
My puzzle box under that glass dome is also signed by all 4 of them, plus Ashley Lawrence, who plays Kirsty Cotton. What can I say...it was an awesome weekend.

Next on the list: my collection of horror plushies! I've had Blade since ComicCon of 2013, his tag is signed by the creator of Puppet Master, Mr. Charles Band.
But then...I have these babies:

I call them the Three Amigos, but they're also my three favorite villains (although for those of you that watch Freakshow, you know the deal with Twisty). Far left: Pinhead (duh), middle is Twisty the Clown from American Horror Story: Freakshow (see previous post about how much I love creepy clowns) and far right: Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's IT. Because you all know how much I love IT. No, they don't all float.
...No, I don't want a balloon.
Now, these little loves- I can tell you where they came from! I encourage all of you to go check out the AMAZING Etsy shop Moodyvoodies. They are so sweet and incredible and helpful, and they made all 3 of these for me! They're handmade, and you get to be involved in the process of being made. I got to pick who was sitting and who was standing, and I got little updates like "hey, Taylor, do you like him like this? Or should I change -insert revision here-?" I love working with them. My entire paycheck goes into buying more of these. Hi, my name is Taylor, and I am a MoodyVoodies addict.

Like I said, I will absolutely show all of you the entire collection of babies I have up there. Yes, I call them "the babies", and it really freaks people out.
But for now, this is your little glimpse into the explosion that is my horror collection. These are the ones that are most special to me (but don't tell the others I said that, because I have to sleep in the same room as them, and I don't want anyone getting angry or jealous). I have everything from action figures to lunchboxes to Christmas ornaments, so it's going to span a week, probably.
Leave a comment and let me know if you'd like to see that as the topic of next week's posts, or if you want me to do some more reviews and/or chats before getting into that!

Next up: a talk about my current guilty pleasure...Ghost Adventures.

The Babadook (2014): A Review for the New Year

First, let me start by saying: this is my first post of the new year! Happy 2015, my lovely readers! I hope that your New Year's Eves were full of booze (Jack Daniels especially, that's my favorite), good friends, junk food, and some awesome horror. Maybe even a ghost-spotting or two. My friends and I have a tradition of watching awfully-rated horror movies on New Year's Eve. This was not one of them. So let's get on with the review...

Am I the only person who thought that the drawing of The Babadook in the pop-up book was so sweet-looking?! I mean, look at this face! I would snuggle him. D'awwww.

But I digress, this was the only sweet-looking thing about the film.  The rest was creepy. I would love a copy of that book, though. My only request is that no animals are harmed when Mr. Babadook switches up those drawings. I'll knock a planter over or something?

BE WARNED NOW, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. STOP READING RIGHT NOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO GET MAD AT ME FOR RUINING SOMETHING. Carry on. :)

Alright, I have to admit, I have very, very mixed feelings about this film. Initially, I adored it. I spent most of the film with my hands cupping my face, gasping and yelling "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE". I feel like it gripped you from the beginning and never let go...until the awkwardly rushed ending. Samuel reminded me so much of little Danny Torrance from The Shining that I thought perhaps they used the same actor's son. As far as I know, it's not, considering Danny Lloyd isn't Australian. But like I said, the feelings are mixed.

Pros:
The story was amazing. The concept was awesome- a mother grieves the loss of her husband while trying to care for her son with "behavioral issues", which actually turns out to be a valid fear of a terrifying force that's made its way into her home. She medicates her son to stop his "hallucinations" (there's quite a bit of him screaming at the air, which really creeped me out), but she begins truly seeing what he's afraid of, and that's when it gets good. There's not a copious amount of gore, which to be honest was nice because they focused on real terror rather than cliche jump-scares and cringe-worthy gory scenes. I haven't seen a recent film like that in a while.
It was also pretty bad for me because I have a serious fear of the dark. I know, I know, girl running a blog about horror has a fear of the dark. Funny how that works.
Now,  Mr. Babadook, he's not very nice. He really doesn't care much if you don't want him around or not, because he'll tell you himself, "the more you deny me, the stronger I get" or something along those lines. He'll even wreck your pop-up book and piece it back together in a morbid fashion, and then he isn't so cute anymore. To be honest, the idea of him is terrifying. His voice is creepy as hell. I wouldn't want him anywhere near me.
Cons:
I truly feel like this film created what could have been a beautifully horrifying antagonist...but you never see his face. You see him briefly, he looks like the drawing, and he reminds me of the Penguin from Batman. He has what look like straight-razors for fingers, but nothing is really clarified because he's constantly in the dark. They build it up over and over about how eventually you'll see what he looks like under his "funny disguise"...and then you don't. You don't even see him in the climax of the film, when Amelia is screaming at him into the darkness. Typically the villains are my favorite part of any film, so I was really disappointed when I never got to see what he looks like when he isn't all "dressed up". All you see are what look like horns or wings come out of the darkness. Also, when you DO see him at their neighbor's house in the darkness, he looks just like Penguin.
Another disappointment that I had: the ending felt so rushed. The entire film, I was hanging on to my blanket for dear life, gasping, panting, and then poof, the credits rolled? Huh? Wait, what happened? He was just on the ceiling. Shrieking. He was just inside of her. Why are they feeding him in the basement now? They made friends with him? Oh. -sigh-

So, to wrap it up, I thought the concept was great. I thought the idea of what the Babadook could have been was awesome. I just don't think that they executed it very well.
Was I terrified? Yes. The dude is scary. And he knocks before he comes into your room and screams in your face.
Did I feel a connection to the characters? Yes. The story was actually really well-developed, and the character development was a total pleasure to watch.
Do I feel like I would watch it again? After a lot of consideration about how it ended, probably not. Once it was over, the feeling of "wow, that was horrifying" completely dissipated. That's my biggest source of disappointment...the ending left me saying "I don't know how I feel about that".

Let me know what you thought of this one in a comment under this post, I'd love to hear what you guys thought of it! It's been a big hit!