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Awix (3310 KP) rated Haggopian and Other Stories in Books
Jun 14, 2019
Two-dozen short stories connected (in varying degrees) to Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, highlighting Lumley's personal take on this particular milieu - he's an enthusiastic pasticheur, but much better at replicating Lovecraft's style than his substance. (He also has a go at being Robert E Howard in a couple of these stories.)
A really mixed bag, all told: there are a handful of very good stories, like the one the book is named for, and a few others contain promising imagery or moments (an oil rig drills down into something it shouldn't; Lovecraft scholars should be able to guess what), but many others become repetitive and slightly tedious. If nothing else the stories here illustrate that, bereft of the philosophy underpinning Lovecraft's own work, the Mythos trappings just become a selection of campy props and costumes that aren't particularly scary.
A really mixed bag, all told: there are a handful of very good stories, like the one the book is named for, and a few others contain promising imagery or moments (an oil rig drills down into something it shouldn't; Lovecraft scholars should be able to guess what), but many others become repetitive and slightly tedious. If nothing else the stories here illustrate that, bereft of the philosophy underpinning Lovecraft's own work, the Mythos trappings just become a selection of campy props and costumes that aren't particularly scary.
Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle
8.5
Rate It
Book
How do a band of rebels distract themselves when sneaking into the creepiest place in the galaxy?...
starwarsluvr (236 KP) rated Cat O' Nine Tales in Books
Jan 30, 2018
I found myself surprised so many times in this book. I enjoyed the characters so much.. and they were amusing and funny. These are a collection of short horror stories but honestly they amused me so much I didn't feel as if it was scary but then something would happen and I'd think.. oh.. theres the horror lol. it was awesome and im glad i got to review it
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Open Window and Other Short Stories in Books
Mar 15, 2018
<b><i>Romance at short notice was her specialty.</i></b>
This was not what I was expecting. This appears on a list called "50 of the scariest short stories of all time" and this isn't' scary, it's a comedy. My rating is probably swayed because I was expecting something completely different to what I got.
Never mind, it was only 6 pages to read and it was still enjoyable.
This was not what I was expecting. This appears on a list called "50 of the scariest short stories of all time" and this isn't' scary, it's a comedy. My rating is probably swayed because I was expecting something completely different to what I got.
Never mind, it was only 6 pages to read and it was still enjoyable.
Dean (6921 KP) rated Prom Night (2008) in Movies
Aug 30, 2018 (Updated Aug 31, 2018)
Firstly no way is this a remake of the original 1980 slasher. They are both called Prom Night and that is it, the stories are totally different! The other problem is this is classed as a horror but only a PG-13?! Pretty straight forward slasher stuff, not scary or gory but done on a big budget. Watch the 80's one it was only just slightly better!
Coleman Balogh (20 KP) rated Snap Judgment Presents: Spooked in Podcasts
Dec 17, 2018
Terrific format of mixed bag "true" stories
I really do enjoy this podcast. I find the length of each story perfect and I enjoy that they are told from the people who experienced it (which lends an aire of legitimacy). I have a sneaking suspicion that some are more true than others. Also some are not nearly as scary or entertaining but that's ok because the story lenghts are manageable.
Mr. Nightmare
YouTube Channel
Here you will find straight to the point videos which mostly consist of scary stories & dark themed...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) in Movies
Sep 3, 2019
Dark Scary Stories
This movie was very good, i jumped couple of times. I thought this movie was rated R, because of some of the death sences, cut to the first one. But it turns out its PG-13 and man oh man that first death sence was terrorfying and horrorfying. Guilmoro Del Toro only produces this film, but i wish he also directed. He knows how to make monsters scary and make monsters look terrorfying. I didnt read the short horror series of books. So i went in not knowing anything. I do want to read then know, because of this movie.
I would highly reccordmend going to see this film because it is very good.
I would highly reccordmend going to see this film because it is very good.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) in Movies
Aug 21, 2019
Obviously I'm not familiar with the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books that this movie is based on - a series of three books containing short horror stories for children and drawing heavily on urban legend and folklore for it's subject matter, first published in 1981. Apparently, the series is listed by the American Library Association as being the most challenged series of books from the 1990s, with complaints relating to the violence and disturbing subject matter portrayed within them not being suitable for the children it was aimed at. The illustrations within the book also drew criticism, vividly portraying the nightmare creatures and scenes contained within the stories. Perfect material for a movie version!
That movie version comes from Troll Hunter director André Øvredal and producer/co-writer Guillermo del Toro and attempts a Goosebumps style movie, taking some of the better known stories from the 80+ contained within the books and weaving them into a larger narrative, set in Mill Valley Pennsylvania during the fall of 1968.
It's Halloween and a group of teens are preparing to go out for an evening of trick or treating - applying makeup, getting into their costumes, fishing in the toilet for turds in preparation for a Halloween trick. They head out on their bikes but it's not long before they run into some idiot jocks from their local school, and that turd trick suddenly comes in handy! We've already been introduced to the jocks earlier in the movie, out in a cornfield where they were hitting a creepy looking scarecrow about the head with a baseball bat. Yep, they're certainly going to regret that a little bit later on!
The teens manage to escape the jocks, working their way into a drive through movie that's showing "Night of the Living Dead" and into the car of another teen called Ramón. The group strike up a bond with Ramón after he helps them out and they all decide to go and break into an abandoned local house which is reportedly haunted. They find their way into the basement where legend has it that Sarah Bellows, the daughter of a prominent local family, was locked away in the late 1800s. Horror nerd Stella comes across a book containing short scary stories that were written in blood by Sarah, and she decides to take it with them. As Stella opens the book’s pages, she sees that Sarah’s stories are literally beginning to write themselves - stories that put her friends in some pretty unpleasant situations, stories which immediately become reality the moment they're written. As Stella later puts it, "You don't read the book, the book reads you".
The setup and the scenarios within each story are enjoyable enough and are certainly creepy, however the execution doesn't always work so well and the payoffs aren't quite as scary as I would have liked. The movie also suffers from some slightly dodgy CGI at times too, which doesn't help. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the final story, and the return to the house in order to try and stop Sarah Bellows worked really well for me. It all ends with a definite opportunity for a sequel and with plenty more scary stories to choose from within the source material, I'm sure we'll be seeing another one soon. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark taps nicely into the "It" and "Stranger Thing" vibe, with it's group of teens rising up together against evil, and despite it's faults I did have a lot of fun with it. I'm definitely interested in seeing more.
That movie version comes from Troll Hunter director André Øvredal and producer/co-writer Guillermo del Toro and attempts a Goosebumps style movie, taking some of the better known stories from the 80+ contained within the books and weaving them into a larger narrative, set in Mill Valley Pennsylvania during the fall of 1968.
It's Halloween and a group of teens are preparing to go out for an evening of trick or treating - applying makeup, getting into their costumes, fishing in the toilet for turds in preparation for a Halloween trick. They head out on their bikes but it's not long before they run into some idiot jocks from their local school, and that turd trick suddenly comes in handy! We've already been introduced to the jocks earlier in the movie, out in a cornfield where they were hitting a creepy looking scarecrow about the head with a baseball bat. Yep, they're certainly going to regret that a little bit later on!
The teens manage to escape the jocks, working their way into a drive through movie that's showing "Night of the Living Dead" and into the car of another teen called Ramón. The group strike up a bond with Ramón after he helps them out and they all decide to go and break into an abandoned local house which is reportedly haunted. They find their way into the basement where legend has it that Sarah Bellows, the daughter of a prominent local family, was locked away in the late 1800s. Horror nerd Stella comes across a book containing short scary stories that were written in blood by Sarah, and she decides to take it with them. As Stella opens the book’s pages, she sees that Sarah’s stories are literally beginning to write themselves - stories that put her friends in some pretty unpleasant situations, stories which immediately become reality the moment they're written. As Stella later puts it, "You don't read the book, the book reads you".
The setup and the scenarios within each story are enjoyable enough and are certainly creepy, however the execution doesn't always work so well and the payoffs aren't quite as scary as I would have liked. The movie also suffers from some slightly dodgy CGI at times too, which doesn't help. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the final story, and the return to the house in order to try and stop Sarah Bellows worked really well for me. It all ends with a definite opportunity for a sequel and with plenty more scary stories to choose from within the source material, I'm sure we'll be seeing another one soon. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark taps nicely into the "It" and "Stranger Thing" vibe, with it's group of teens rising up together against evil, and despite it's faults I did have a lot of fun with it. I'm definitely interested in seeing more.