Monthly Archives

February 2015

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This Dark Endeavor

It's Wednesday! Time for more Frankenstein! Whether you've read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or not, I'd like to believe that all this talk of the classic tale has put you in the mood for a retelling. And so today I present to you a YA gothic retelling of Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel, This Dark Endeavor. This Dark Endeavor (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #1) by Kenneth Oppel Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein and inseparable until Konrad falls gravely ill. In the forbidden Dark Library, Victor finds an ancient formula, and seeks a[...]

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A Review of Rosemary’s Baby

This week's horror movie review is...Rosemary's Baby (1968). I just happened upon this DVD while looking through the shelves at my local library. It's not like I've never heard of this movie, but I never really was drawn to Rosemary's Baby. Until now. Once upon a time, horror movies would build tension with music and layering the story. Rosemary's Baby does all of these things. I mean, you know in the beginning that something bad is going to happen, but not how. Many horror movies start out with young couple checking out an apartment. Things always begin so n[...]

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M. Night Shyamalama-ding-dong

Confession: I'm a fan of M. Night Shyamalan. Dude gets cast plenty of shade for his cinematic misfires, which are plenty. But when he gets it right, he gets it right. And even when he doesn't get it all the way right, I still sit there and think "Okay, yeah, I see what you were trying to do there..." and I recognize the creative intent and I get how the wheels were turning in his brain even if it didn't all quite come together. I think his biggest problem, for sure, is that he is stuck in the Watch This Twist Ending! cycle from which he can not escape. It's expect[...]

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The Society’s Favorite Classic Monsters

Since I've started posting about that classic monster of Frankenstein's here on Wednesdays, I thought it would be a great opportunity to pry open the minds of the other Midnight Society members and see what their favorite classic monsters are! Make sure to let us know what your favorite is in the comments! What's your favorite classic horror monster? I’m a fangirl of bloodsuckers, personally. I loved tracking the progression of the vampire in literature back to the days of Robert Polidori and Sheridan la Fanu, but especially seeing its evolution as a romantici[...]

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Frankenstein vs. The Mummy

Welcome to my new segment here at The Midnight Society! Each Tuesday you can find me here, posting my review on a specific horror film I've watched. I'll also be Tweeting my major thoughts while I watched the movie, so please join me on Tuesday, noon-2:00pm EST on Twitter. I'll be using #horrormovie and #MidnightSociety. The movie for the week will be based on what I'm in the mood for and will come from a variety of sources: the library, Redbox, Netflix, my own collection. If you have any suggestions, let me know!   Frankenstein vs. The Mummy 2015 R[...]

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Horror Movie Horoscopes

I love astrology. I don't claim to be an expert but I do dabble and love reading my horoscope. I had a thought and searched the web to find several different horoscopes for horror movies, including this fantastic one from Abnormal Astrology (Side Note: Apparently I'm the non-believer) . So I made my own horror movie horoscopes for you. Enjoy!   Find Your Sign & Scan Your Horror Movie Horoscope Aries (The Ram) Mar. 21–Apr. 19 Taurus (The Bull) Apr. 20–May 20 Gemini (The Twins) May 21–June 21 Cancer (The Crab) June 22–July 22 Leo (The Lio[...]

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Reclaim Horror: Supernatural Thrillers

Is there such a thing as supernatural thrillers, or is it just a softer label for horror? International Thriller Writers defines this sprawling category, saying, "This would include (but isn’t limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas." So here it suggests that horror could potentially be a sub-genre of thriller. Speculative fiction, another sprawling genre, also claims horror as part of its own. It seems everyone wants a hunk of horro[...]

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Infographic: Why are we afraid of the dark

Confession time, because I find myself in a horrific situation and it just keeps on going: I HAVE NO INTERNET AT HOME. About a month and a half back I decided to switch providers because I wanted more bandwidth for less money, and the transfer process in in its second week with no respite in sight. Let me tell you something, Midnighters -- where I live its as cold as a witch's ***** and I ain't shuffling off to the library to make use of the free wifi which I need to research my next article (which, by the way, was a fun little exploration of the Bell Witch Haun[...]

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The First Love Stories

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, I have chosen The First Love Stories by Diane Wolkstein. Included in her lovely book are the tales of: 1. Isis and Osiris 2. Inanna and Dumuzi 3. Shiva and Sati 4. The Song of Songs from the Old Testament 5. Psyche and Eros 6. Layla and Majnun 7. Tristan and Iseult Oh, these were not very happy people and some of their tales are pure horror! Yes, If you think these are perfectly happy stories, without any horror, you need to think again. Like most fairy tales, these first love stories are rooted in the primal emotions of hum[...]

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Terrifying Movie Alert: The Lazarus Effect

So, I'm sitting in the theater, innocently waiting to see The Mockingjay (late, because I was too busy when it first came out. But on the plus side, I got to see it in the dollar theater. Anyway, back to the story...) and this trailer comes on: And I'm like, whoa. And trembling a little. And totally trying to act cool about it because my hubs is staring at me to see if this is the one. The horror movie that will actually scare me. Because there are none. I love horror, but to me it's more like suspense. I don't actually get scared. I might jump at bats flying o[...]