Category: History of Horror
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ERAS IN HORROR
Hello again. Since my last post here in the Threads I’ve taken to watching horror movies again. After the newest Evil Dead films, I moved over to see what else is out there. Not just the latest in fright fests, but the horrors of yesteryear. Did you know the French have put out two really…
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The Old School
Do you like the Universal Monsters? The old black and white film versions of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wolfman, Invisible Man, etc.? If so, then you probably love classic horror. So do I. I grew up watching those flicks in syndicated TV and later on the glory that is TCM. Monsters who literally moved at…
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The Origins of Vampire Fiction
Happy October! I hope everyone has fun plans for Halloween. In keeping with the season, I thought I’d spend a little time exploring the origins of one of the season’s classic monsters, the vampire. Now, vampires have their origins in folklore and legends from around the world. Sometimes it’s hard to separate an oral legend…
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Crossover Characters
Ever since I was a kid, my friends and I would play games where we asked what would happen if characters from different fictional universes met. What would happen if Batman met The Green Hornet? What if Captain Kirk and the Doctor from Doctor Who shared an adventure? Who would win if the Predator and…
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Going Back to Horror’s Roots
A good case can be made that science fiction and horror were born together during a retreat in May 1816 and two of Britain’s great poets were there for the occasion. The poets were Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Lord Byron’s doctor, John William Polidori, and Mary Godwin, who later married Percy Shelley, accompanied…
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Subterranean Terror And Adventure
I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for a story or novel set somewhere beneath the earth’s surface. I suppose I can lay this odd predilection of mine squarely on Jules Verne’s doorstep. After all, what kid, especially a young boy, hasn’t read A Journey To The Center Of The Earth? My first exposure was a…
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Why Are Vampires Scary?
As a writer of vampire horror, I find it useful to take a look at what makes them an effective source of horror. This is not necessarily intended to be a definitive or exhaustive list. Also, just because I cite a book under one category doesn’t mean it won’t fit under other categories as well.…
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Cosmic, or Lovecraftian, Horror
Cosmic horror is largely, if not solely, the creation of HP Lovecraft. Of whom Stephen King said he “has yet to be surpassed as the Twentieth Century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale.” There are certain themes that differentiate Lovecraft’s brand of horror from other horror subgenres. Let’s take a look at some of…
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Poetry & Horror
POETRY & HORROR or Poe & Lovecraft My name is Dr. Thomas Davison, and I love poetry. Have you ever noticed that in our western culture, we tend to identify ourselves with our careers? When meeting or introducing someone, we usually include that person’s job in the introduction. For example, “This is Tom; he is…
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A Woman’s Place…
Allow me to update an old proverb for the twenty-first century: A woman’s place is in a horror story. And I suppose it always has been. Back in the beginning, in the days of writers like Poe, Stoker, and their contemporaries, her function was either to die to demonstrate the awful nature of the beast,…
Threads that Bind 