Cat Thursday--Happy Meowoween!

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! 

Horror Movie Challenge: Favorite Horror Movie of All-time!

I have a lot that I love but there's one I kept returning to as I thought about it!

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Tagline: Do you belong in this neighborhood?

Synopsis:

A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.

This movie is perfection. It's scary and creepy. It has twists and turns. It has layers and it has something to say about American society. I love it. I don't know if it's my all-time favorite since I don't think I have one, but it's one of my favorites and I return to it a lot. Jordan Peele knows how to make the chiller feels.

Check the trailer here.

*Part of the 30-day Horror Movie Challenge hosted by Leah at Unleash the Flying Monkeys

Book Review: Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

Published: October 4th, 2016 by Viking

Genre: History, Nonfiction

Format: Kindle, 320 pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

An intellectual feast for fans of offbeat history, Ghostland takes readers on a road trip through some of the country's most infamously haunted places--and deep into the dark side of our history.

Colin Dickey is on the trail of America's ghosts. Crammed into old houses and hotels, abandoned prisons and empty hospitals, the spirits that linger continue to capture our collective imagination, but why? His own fascination piqued by a house hunt in Los Angeles that revealed derelict foreclosures and "zombie homes," Dickey embarks on a journey across the continental United States to decode and unpack the American history repressed in our most famous haunted places. Some have established reputations as "the most haunted mansion in America," or "the most haunted prison"; others, like the haunted Indian burial grounds in West Virginia, evoke memories from the past our collective nation tries to forget. 
    
With boundless curiosity, Dickey conjures the dead by focusing on questions of the living--how do we, the living, deal with stories about ghosts, and how do we inhabit and move through spaces that have been deemed, for whatever reason, haunted? Paying attention not only to the true facts behind a ghost story, but also to the ways in which changes to those facts are made--and why those changes are made--Dickey paints a version of American history left out of the textbooks, one of things left undone, crimes left unsolved. Spellbinding, scary, and wickedly insightful, Ghostland discovers the past we're most afraid to speak of aloud in the bright light of day is the same past that tends to linger in the ghost stories we whis

I really enjoyed Dickey's thoughts on why places are "haunted." He makes no claim about the reality of ghosts, one way or another. He only takes us through various places that are considered haunted in America. He talks to local historians. He rummages through old stories and newspaper clippings to get the real scoop on the stories behind the hauntings. He stays in places that are supposedly haunted to get a feel for the place.

He also asks why so many places that are considered haunted have only "white" ghosts? Why in Richmond, Virginia where you'll find the Devil's Acre (where slaves were kept and tortured and sold) are there only stories of haunted saloons and bars? Dickey writes: "We typically think of ghost stories in terms of the remnants of a terrible tragedy, a past we cannot escape, or a justice unavenged. Why, then, in a place that should be so haunted but the legacy of such a terrible injustice, the scene of the countless deaths, should there be nothing but white ghosts?"

Ghost stories are a way to reconcile with the past, to face our fears. But what happens when the storytellers whitewash the past and don't tell the stories that are apart of who we are and how this nation was built? He says: "Does an absence of these ghost stories suggest that there is still, over a century later, a lacuna in the culture's memory, a taboo about its past, a refusal to discuss certain things?" Definitely.

His final thoughts sum up the book perfectly: "Ghost stories are about how we face, or fail to face, the past--how we process information, how we narrate our past, and how we make sense of the gaps in that history."

My only complaint is that he probably took on too much for such a short book. It's a great start to diving into the psychology of haunted places and ghosts and why and how we as humans continue to see or don't see certain types of ghosts. There's a lot more here that could take on volumes. But I loved the start and I loved his approach.

*Part of the R.I.P. XIV and FrightFall Horror Challenge

Horror Movie Challenge: Least Favorite Horror Movie

I don't know if it's the least but it's definitely up there. It's a cult classic but one I just can't get behind...

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Tagline: They got up on the wrong side of the grave...

Synopsis:

Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.

While I know how classic this film is, I couldn't do it. The tree violation scene, the over the top horror. It's the scariest movie out of the whole series. All the sequels end up being comedy-horror after this one. But I could not get into the mood of this one. Though, I can appreciate Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and the cabin in the woods that started the eponymous movie horror trope.

Your favorite horror film no one's heard of

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Tagline: It's not in her mind anymore.

Synopsis:

Sarah and Josh are married suburbanites. After a car accident, Sarah suffers blackouts. As her life spirals she hides a camera in her home and unlocks a horrific secret with far-reaching consequences.

This is a twisted and get-in-your head horror movie. I had no idea where this was going until the reveal and what a reveal. I don't know if anyone's heard of it but I haven't seen it around and it is one of those rare finds on Amazon and you just have to share it with everyone you know. So disturbing and so good!

*Part of the 30-day Horror Movie Challenge hosted by Leah at Unleash the Flying Monkeys

Horror Movie Challenge: Your Favorite Horror Movie to Watch as a Child

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Tagline: Don't whisper your dreams, someone may be listening.

Synopsis: 

In a small American town, a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor prey on the townsfolk.

I still love this creepy little movie from Ray Bradbury's book. There are so many layers here from the coming-of-age of boys to loyalty and friendship to grief and regret. Jonathon Pryce is so good in this as well.

I am honestly surprised my parents introduced this to me and my siblings. It's freaky and creepy and that little boy with the red hair.... yikes.

I hear that a remake is in development. I hope it's as good as this classic!

Check out the trailer here.

Your Favorite Sci-fi Horror Movie

Tagline: In space no one can hear you scream.

Synopsis: 

After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.

Not only is this the best horror/sci-fi movie but it's one of the best horror movies ever! I came very late to the Alien franchise and actually only watched this for the first time a couple of years ago. What a shame on me! Sigourney Weaver is amazeballs and let's not forget the cat. Also the star of the show. Just sayin...

Check out the trailer here.

*Part of the 30-day Horror Movie Challenge hosted by Leah at Unleash the Flying Monkeys.

Cat Halloween Thursday!

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! 

Horror Movie Challenge: Your Favorite Made-for-TV Horror Movie

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Tagline: The end of the world is just beginning

Synopsis: 

When a government-run lab accidentally lets loose a deadly virus, most of the population of the world is wiped out. Survivors begin having dreams about two figures: a mystical old woman, or a foreboding, scary man. As the story tracks various people, we begin to realize that the two figures exemplify basic forces of good and evil, and the stage is set for a final confrontation between the representatives of each.

It's one of those movies and stories that just leaves an impression. Once again I saw this one as a teenager and waited painstakingly each and every week for the next episode. They did such an amazing job bringing the right parts of the story onscreen. Gary Sinise made the whole movie, in my opinion. Coming off awards season or right before his portrayal of Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, he nailed it.

I tried to wade through King's book after the movie and even tried as an adult to do so but I must admit I'm not a big King fan. His books are just too meandering. But I loved the themes of good and evil and love and redemption.

A lot of the Vegas shots were in the Salt Flats in Utah and some of the extras were locals so there was a lot of news coverage about it as well. So it's fun seeing some of that too.

Check out the trailer here.

Your Favorite Psychological Horror Movie

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Tagline: Some games you play, some you survive

Synopsis: 

When a harmless game between a married couple in a remote retreat suddenly becomes a harrowing fight for survival, wife Jessie must confront long-buried demons within her own mind - and possibly lurking in the shadows of her seemingly empty house.

The best psychological horror! I loved this one. Carla Gugino is flawless. She had to be to carry this whole movie. One of King's best story-lines too. The mind games and terror are freaking scary. I rewatch this one every Halloween!

Check out the trailer here.

*Part of the 30-day Horror Movie Challenge hosted by Leah at Unleash the Flying Monkeys.

Horror Movie Challenge: Your Favorite Medical Horror

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Tagline: Her curse lives deep within.

Synopsis: 

Cox and Hirsch play father and son coroners who receive a mysterious homicide victim with no apparent cause of death. As they attempt to identify the beautiful young "Jane Doe," they discover increasingly bizarre clues that hold the key to her terrifying secrets.

This autopsy is not one I'd like to be there for. This little movie was a surprise for me. I didn't think it would be that scary but was I ever wrong. I had a hard time sleeping that night. It's a great little Indie horror. It also has some feminist themes that are great. Love me a layered horror story.

Check out the trailer here.

Favorite horror-themed TV show

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Tagline: The truth is out there

Synopsis:

Two FBI agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully work in an unassigned detail of the bureau called the X-Files investigating cases dealing with unexplained paranormal phenomena. Mulder, a true believer, and Scully, a skeptic, perceive their cases from standpoints of science and the paranormal.

Classic TV. I started watching when I was a budding teenager and have been hooked ever since. Sure not all seasons were top-notch but overall still an outstanding series and creepy to boot. There are still a couple of episodes I can't bring myself to watch cause they're so terrifying! Plus it's a great conglomeration of all our fears as a society back in the 90s. Great television.

Check out more info and videos on IMDB.

*Part of the 30-day Horror Movie Challenge hosted by Leah at Unleash the Flying Monkeys.
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