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Sarah (126 KP) rated The Seventh Ward (The Haunting #2) in Books
Feb 16, 2019
Disappointing Direction for the Series
The series title, 'The Haunting' led me to believe that the series would be centred on a haunting - or even hauntings (multiple) - but it really isn't.
The writing feels rushed, it's poorly edited with inconsistencies, and seems to 'borrow' a lot from other writers and stories.
I wasn't sure whether to continue with the series, given how disappointed I was with this book, but given that the whole series was included in the Kindle Unlimited subscription, I decided to give the writer the benefit of the doubt.
The writing feels rushed, it's poorly edited with inconsistencies, and seems to 'borrow' a lot from other writers and stories.
I wasn't sure whether to continue with the series, given how disappointed I was with this book, but given that the whole series was included in the Kindle Unlimited subscription, I decided to give the writer the benefit of the doubt.
Rebecca 'Bekka' McFall (1 KP) rated And That's Why We Drink in Podcasts
Feb 3, 2018
Exciting stories (1 more)
Humorous
Paranormal activity and a good true crime
And That's Why We Drink is a podcast hosted by Kristina, Em, and Geio the Dog. Em gives a paranormal (usually hauntings) story, while Kristina recounts a true crime story. Together they make the beginning of each week a little less dreadful. On the first of each month there is a "Listener's Stories" episode, which as the name implies, includes the stories that listener send in, whether paranormal, murder, or both. Each week has new and interesting stories for fans of both genres.
Lindsay (1693 KP) rated The Proctor Hall Horror (The Bayou Hauntings #7) in Books
Oct 21, 2020
Are you looking for a good Halloween horror book to read? The Proctor Hall Horror put you there in an action-packed run. This one got it all from ghosts to paranormal activities. It had me thrilled that I could not put it down.
Did Noah slay his whole family or did someone else? You will be guessing and trying to figure it all out until the last page. This book does have quite a horror to it. I do not read many Horror genre books. This one has me wanting more from this author and this series.
I am into paranormal shows and ghosts. This one does have quite a few deaths with a bit of chilling to it. Not a lot that it could be creepy. Though what happens in Proctor Hall seems quite scary terrifying, though I am not scared much. This one had me more.
This has it all, murder, mystery, ghosts, and hauntings. There is even a bit more. What will happen to Noah and others? What secrets does Proctor Hall hold? Good for those that are looking for a Halloween book for themselves. This book is set with it all for those that are looking for ghosts, hauntings, mystery and so much more.
Did Noah slay his whole family or did someone else? You will be guessing and trying to figure it all out until the last page. This book does have quite a horror to it. I do not read many Horror genre books. This one has me wanting more from this author and this series.
I am into paranormal shows and ghosts. This one does have quite a few deaths with a bit of chilling to it. Not a lot that it could be creepy. Though what happens in Proctor Hall seems quite scary terrifying, though I am not scared much. This one had me more.
This has it all, murder, mystery, ghosts, and hauntings. There is even a bit more. What will happen to Noah and others? What secrets does Proctor Hall hold? Good for those that are looking for a Halloween book for themselves. This book is set with it all for those that are looking for ghosts, hauntings, mystery and so much more.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Poltergeist (1982) in Movies
Nov 26, 2019
Verdict: Classic Horror
Story: Poltergeist starts as the Freeling family Steve (Nelson), Diane (Williams), Dana (Dunne), Robbie (Robins) and Carol (O’Rourke) who have moved into a new build, that Steve’s company has built. Robbie is struggling to deal with the strange shapes around the house at night, and Carol has started her sleepwalking again, talking to the static on the television.
The family soon find out they have a poltergeist that Diane sees as something friendly only for the events to become must more sinister, targeting the youngest members of the house, the family must figure out how to save their family, where they only learn more troublesome truths about the house, turning to Dr Lesh (Straight) to study what is going on.
Thoughts on Poltergeist
Characters – Steve is the real estate agent that has been selling the house on the new land, he moved his own family into one to show just how confident he is in the neighbourhood and does what ever concerned father would do once the haunting start. Diane is the wife and mother, she plays with the ghosts first thinking it is a harmless haunting, but when things get serious, she won’t leave the house until she gets her daughter back. Dr Lesh is the one that is hired to study the hauntings, she sets up the tests to figure out what is happening and prepares the family for the test they will be facing. Dana is the oldest daughter in the family, she is dealing with being a teenager with ease and must look after Robbie while the rest of the family deal with the hauntings.
Performances – Craig T Nelson and JoBeth Williams as the parents are both great through, they show the concern and worries they might not find their daughter. Beatrice Straight does bring the confident figure to life, while also showing the fear she sees in the house. The child stars are strong too through the film.
Story – The story here follows a family that’s new dream home turns into a nightmare when it turns out it is haunted by vengeful spirits forcing them to confront the spirits before losing their family. This is the original haunted house to a new level story, it spins what was designed before with an old house with history being haunted, to a brand-new house being the events of the hauntings, one that wouldn’t be filled with murder or history. This does help the events of the story seem scarier and gives it an original side too because it shows that anybody could be the ones getting haunted.
Horror – The horror in the film is hauntings, we start with friendly ones which seem harmless and soon become deadly as the children are being targeted, the final act will bring the most horror to the whole film.
Settings – The film uses the brand-new house build for the main setting, this helps because it changes everything we should know about haunting houses.
Special Effects – The effects are great considering this came out in 1982, they don’t look terribly like certain horror films since this.
Scene of the Movie – The last night in the house.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The builder’s mentality to a teenage schoolgirl.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror film that has stood the test of time and will be remembered as one of the best of the 80’s.
Overall: Brilliant Horror
Story: Poltergeist starts as the Freeling family Steve (Nelson), Diane (Williams), Dana (Dunne), Robbie (Robins) and Carol (O’Rourke) who have moved into a new build, that Steve’s company has built. Robbie is struggling to deal with the strange shapes around the house at night, and Carol has started her sleepwalking again, talking to the static on the television.
The family soon find out they have a poltergeist that Diane sees as something friendly only for the events to become must more sinister, targeting the youngest members of the house, the family must figure out how to save their family, where they only learn more troublesome truths about the house, turning to Dr Lesh (Straight) to study what is going on.
Thoughts on Poltergeist
Characters – Steve is the real estate agent that has been selling the house on the new land, he moved his own family into one to show just how confident he is in the neighbourhood and does what ever concerned father would do once the haunting start. Diane is the wife and mother, she plays with the ghosts first thinking it is a harmless haunting, but when things get serious, she won’t leave the house until she gets her daughter back. Dr Lesh is the one that is hired to study the hauntings, she sets up the tests to figure out what is happening and prepares the family for the test they will be facing. Dana is the oldest daughter in the family, she is dealing with being a teenager with ease and must look after Robbie while the rest of the family deal with the hauntings.
Performances – Craig T Nelson and JoBeth Williams as the parents are both great through, they show the concern and worries they might not find their daughter. Beatrice Straight does bring the confident figure to life, while also showing the fear she sees in the house. The child stars are strong too through the film.
Story – The story here follows a family that’s new dream home turns into a nightmare when it turns out it is haunted by vengeful spirits forcing them to confront the spirits before losing their family. This is the original haunted house to a new level story, it spins what was designed before with an old house with history being haunted, to a brand-new house being the events of the hauntings, one that wouldn’t be filled with murder or history. This does help the events of the story seem scarier and gives it an original side too because it shows that anybody could be the ones getting haunted.
Horror – The horror in the film is hauntings, we start with friendly ones which seem harmless and soon become deadly as the children are being targeted, the final act will bring the most horror to the whole film.
Settings – The film uses the brand-new house build for the main setting, this helps because it changes everything we should know about haunting houses.
Special Effects – The effects are great considering this came out in 1982, they don’t look terribly like certain horror films since this.
Scene of the Movie – The last night in the house.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The builder’s mentality to a teenage schoolgirl.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror film that has stood the test of time and will be remembered as one of the best of the 80’s.
Overall: Brilliant Horror
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Poltergeist (1982) in Movies
Aug 1, 2019 (Updated Aug 2, 2019)
They're Here
Contains spoilers, click to show
Poltergeist- is one of my favorite movies of all time and is one of my favorite horror movies of all time.
By the way this movie was PG, yes this movie was PG and it came from the director of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Its also produced by Steven Spielberg.
The sink sence, is so disturbing and gross and not sure why this movie wasnt rating R.
Also the clown sence is also a very scary moment.
Is some great memorable lines like:
"They're Here"
"You can't choose between life and death when we're dealing with what is in between."
"Poltergeist are usually associated with an individual. Hauntings seem to be connected with an area, a house usually."
Poltergeist is scary, terrorfying, frighting, horrorfying, memorable and overall a excellent supernatural horror film.
One that horror fans should watch.
By the way this movie was PG, yes this movie was PG and it came from the director of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Its also produced by Steven Spielberg.
The sink sence, is so disturbing and gross and not sure why this movie wasnt rating R.
Also the clown sence is also a very scary moment.
Is some great memorable lines like:
"They're Here"
"You can't choose between life and death when we're dealing with what is in between."
"Poltergeist are usually associated with an individual. Hauntings seem to be connected with an area, a house usually."
Poltergeist is scary, terrorfying, frighting, horrorfying, memorable and overall a excellent supernatural horror film.
One that horror fans should watch.
Darren Fisher (2447 KP) rated No One Gets Out Alive in Books
Nov 10, 2021 (Updated Nov 10, 2021)
The reviews sounded promising and I do enjoy a good haunted house yarn. What starts as a ghost story veers towards the running of an illegal brothel by two sick low-lifes. When a cash-strapped girl moves in she finds that, not only is there strange things that go bump in the night, but these two landlords are extremely dangerous. Could the hauntings and these men be linked?
A compelling read at times but certainly not scary. Or at least to me. Well written with a couple of amusing surreal moments but it was difficult to feel much for our leading lady. She really does make some questionable decisions. Also, it is a book of two halves. The second half (3 Years Later) is enjoyable enough but possibly unnecessary/unneeded?
Overall a very good read but not one I would feel the urge to read again.
A compelling read at times but certainly not scary. Or at least to me. Well written with a couple of amusing surreal moments but it was difficult to feel much for our leading lady. She really does make some questionable decisions. Also, it is a book of two halves. The second half (3 Years Later) is enjoyable enough but possibly unnecessary/unneeded?
Overall a very good read but not one I would feel the urge to read again.
Gareth von Kallenbach (968 KP) rated The Conjuring (2013) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
It’s quite easy to think you have a ghost haunting your home. The creeks and cracks of settling foundation, leaky pipes, drafty windows or appliances can sound aerie. Why is it that our imaginations jump to that conclusion and not simply the truth. In some cases this causes people to essentially “cry wolf”, making it hard for us to believe in the true hauntings that have plagued families for generations. The Perron family was one of the many that had been terrorized by a malevolent spirit in their recently purchased farmhouse.
The story follows Ed and Lorraine Warren who’s lives have spent dealing with hundreds of cases of hauntings all around the US. From small hauntings to haunted items and more importantly exorcisms. The film begins with one of their possession cases that involves two young woman who were under the impression that they were being haunted by a little girl who took a likening to their Annabelle doll. They invited the girl to live inside of the doll not knowing that the entity was a daemon. (I do want to interject that the real Annabelle doll was a raggedy Anne doll but for the films sake they made the doll look like it was related to Chucky).
Annabelle is just an introduction to the audience of what Ed and Lorraine Warren do. One of their bigger cases is that of the Perron family. Roger (Ron Livingston), his wife Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and their five daughters move to an old farmhouse in a remote area not knowing the past of the land or the home itself. Ed and Lorraine agree to help the family exorcise their home, not realizing that the case was more dangerous than they had originally thought.
This film is by far the best true ghost story film that I have seen to date. Granted it has somewhat of a slow beginning, once the scares start happening it gets better and better. The acting was not the best nor the dialogue, however if you pay close attention to the story, those weaknesses of the film are easily forgotten. It is extremely refreshing to not see any CGI in a film like this and knowing that it can be as equally scary if not more with simple camera angles and excellent concepts. I also like the absence of blood and gore that has seen to be quite overdone with most horror films lately. The way that practical makeup was used to create such scary characters is only a small part of how much thought was put into this.
This film is scary and when I say that I really mean it. When I screened this, I was sitting in the middle of two big burley men who also jumped at every surprise. If you have been waiting for a film to scare you, this my friends will do it. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.
The story follows Ed and Lorraine Warren who’s lives have spent dealing with hundreds of cases of hauntings all around the US. From small hauntings to haunted items and more importantly exorcisms. The film begins with one of their possession cases that involves two young woman who were under the impression that they were being haunted by a little girl who took a likening to their Annabelle doll. They invited the girl to live inside of the doll not knowing that the entity was a daemon. (I do want to interject that the real Annabelle doll was a raggedy Anne doll but for the films sake they made the doll look like it was related to Chucky).
Annabelle is just an introduction to the audience of what Ed and Lorraine Warren do. One of their bigger cases is that of the Perron family. Roger (Ron Livingston), his wife Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and their five daughters move to an old farmhouse in a remote area not knowing the past of the land or the home itself. Ed and Lorraine agree to help the family exorcise their home, not realizing that the case was more dangerous than they had originally thought.
This film is by far the best true ghost story film that I have seen to date. Granted it has somewhat of a slow beginning, once the scares start happening it gets better and better. The acting was not the best nor the dialogue, however if you pay close attention to the story, those weaknesses of the film are easily forgotten. It is extremely refreshing to not see any CGI in a film like this and knowing that it can be as equally scary if not more with simple camera angles and excellent concepts. I also like the absence of blood and gore that has seen to be quite overdone with most horror films lately. The way that practical makeup was used to create such scary characters is only a small part of how much thought was put into this.
This film is scary and when I say that I really mean it. When I screened this, I was sitting in the middle of two big burley men who also jumped at every surprise. If you have been waiting for a film to scare you, this my friends will do it. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Stone Tape in TV
Feb 22, 2020
Acclaimed ghost story for TV looks slightly dated now but is still likely to put the wind up the unwary. Scientists investigating a haunted house jump to one conclusion too many. Ghostwatch's only serious rival for the title of spookiest thing ever made on videotape, The Stone Tape is notable for the way in which it manages to combine a genuine science-fiction approach with proper supernatural horror: the characters think they've managed to come up with a testable rationale for residual hauntings, but their inability to fully work out how the 'stone tape' operates leads to a climax quite unlike anything else in TV horror. Interesting subtext about gender politics in the workplace, too.
It is nearly fifty years old, made using quite primitive TV technology, quite talky, etc, etc, all of which probably counts against it for modern audiences. But it is interesting to look back to a time when British TV networks made horror for the brain.
It is nearly fifty years old, made using quite primitive TV technology, quite talky, etc, etc, all of which probably counts against it for modern audiences. But it is interesting to look back to a time when British TV networks made horror for the brain.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Quatermass and the Pit (1967) in Movies
Feb 13, 2018
The best of the Quatermass films keeps all the unsettling ideas of Nigel Kneale's original TV scripts and adds Hammer's talent for coming up with smart casting and polished production values. Weird projectile turns up buried under London; the authorities initially assume it's an unexploded bomb from the Second World War, but the presence of fossil ape skeletons in and around the object indicates otherwise, as does a history of hauntings in the area going back hundreds of years. Professor Quatermass begins to suspect that this is a relic of a highly unusual alien invasion that happened before man had even evolved...
Pretty much a perfect fusion of horror and science fiction, giving a convincing extraterrestrial rationale for various paranormal and demonic phenomena; thoughtful and disturbing rather than actually scary. Andrew Keir rocks the joint as Professor Q but is well-supported by everyone else. The sequence in which London is transformed in the final reel is also very well done. Sets the standard for intelligent British SF movies; rather influential in its own way, too.
Pretty much a perfect fusion of horror and science fiction, giving a convincing extraterrestrial rationale for various paranormal and demonic phenomena; thoughtful and disturbing rather than actually scary. Andrew Keir rocks the joint as Professor Q but is well-supported by everyone else. The sequence in which London is transformed in the final reel is also very well done. Sets the standard for intelligent British SF movies; rather influential in its own way, too.
Dean Jaggs (29 KP) rated The Shining (1980) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
Didn't shine enough
Contains spoilers, click to show
Before writing this I did read some other reviews to gauge a different view from my own and clearly this film didn't sit as well with me as it did for others.
The scenes are good and the music score plays its part in letting you know that it's meant to be as sinister as possible but seriously was there actually a plot to it? Except of course for the one Nicholsons character starts losing progressively as the movie goes on, there are various parts that do their part in creeping you out but for me there wasn't much rhyme or reason to Nicholsons character eventually losing his marbles and then having an uncontrollable urge to kill people, particularly his wife and child, we know the various images/visions/hauntings/whatever that caused this mental breakdown but there wasn't enough of a story behind that, but that's my opinion, as horror movies/thrillers go, I don't dislike it but never going to love it either.
The scenes are good and the music score plays its part in letting you know that it's meant to be as sinister as possible but seriously was there actually a plot to it? Except of course for the one Nicholsons character starts losing progressively as the movie goes on, there are various parts that do their part in creeping you out but for me there wasn't much rhyme or reason to Nicholsons character eventually losing his marbles and then having an uncontrollable urge to kill people, particularly his wife and child, we know the various images/visions/hauntings/whatever that caused this mental breakdown but there wasn't enough of a story behind that, but that's my opinion, as horror movies/thrillers go, I don't dislike it but never going to love it either.