The Eldritch and the Macabre

“The most memorable horror stories force us to confront our own inhumanity and thereby make us grateful for our humanity.” This is the gothic/horror/monster blog of Darrell Z. Grizzle, whose primary Tumblr blog is @dzgrizzle

[eldritch-macabre]

I saw Carnival of Souls (1962) at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta a few years ago. Some guy took the stage and gave a live introduction to the movie, then the lights went down — and stayed down for about 5 minutes of darkness before the movie started. During that time of darkness, someone in the audience said out loud, “And the REAL carnival of souls… was inside us all along.” I started laughing and couldn’t stop, like I was possessed or something, which I possibly was, since the Plaza is known to be haunted by the ghost of a former projectionist. Thankfully I was able to calm down before the movie started. But since that day, I have always carried Carnival of Souls in my heart, especially the scene with the busload of dead ghouls.

[charnel-grounds]

Gustave Doré (1832–1883), “The Corpse Candles”

illustration from “The Days of Chivalry; Or, The Legend of Croquemitaine” by Ernest L’Épine (as Quatrelles), 1866

engraved by Heliodore Joseph Pisan (1822–1890)

source

[theunfairfolk]

in elementary school i figured out how to customize the classroom desktop's autocorrect to make Word change whole sentences. this made it appear almost like the computer was responding to you. you could, for example, type in "where did i put my keys", hit enter, and watch it switch to "you put them under the couch". this was before chatbots, and we were all 9 so i considered it closer to a magic trick than a tech one.

i immediately scripted out a dialogue exchange between me and a girl who had died by the swings (classic). i invited another student over and told them i had found a ghost, then proceeded to type out the pre-scripted exchange. i was immediately pulled into the counselors office. the kicker was that none of the adults could figure out how i did it. i had to show them the menu and everything.

[theunfairfolk]

important detail i forgot to add: the swing ghost wanted blood sacrifices from the students. in my defense it was "only a few drops".

[goth-queen]

[eldritch-macabre]

[charnel-grounds]

“David Bowie, New York City, 1996”

ph. Albert Watson — source

[gothichorror]

Catherine reading Udolpho, from the 1833 Bentley edition of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbaye, artist unknown (?)

[eldritch-macabre]

I got to see Escalation, the short film by Christian Kang Bachini, at the 2023 Renegade Film Festival at the Strand Theatre in Marietta GA, and it blew me away! I'm glad the film is available now on YouTube. Definitely not for the weak of heart, this is an intensely gory celebration of the slasher genre and an exploration of the blurred lines between nightmare and waking reality. Things get meta with a surprise twist at the very end! This is my favorite modern-day Giallo film.

[ducissatenebrarum]

Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), The Twa Corbies, Illustration for ‘Some British ballads’, Dodd Mead & Co, c. 1919

[eldritch-macabre]

The final solo novel by my late friend Jim Moore, published today. Just downloaded the ebook on Kobo. Also available on Bookshop, Amazon, and other book markets.

[dzgrizzle]

[notpulpcovers]

Sea Kings Of Mars

Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1949

[eldritch-macabre]

Illustration by Lawrence Sterne Stevens for “Sea Kings of Mars” by Leigh Brackett, Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1949; later published as the Ace novel The Sword of Rhiannon, 1953

[bebelestrange]

[derangedrhythms]

Anne Carson, Short Talks; ‘Short Talk On Walking Backwards’

[eldritch-macabre]

Darrell K. Sweet’s cover art for “Time for the Stars” by Robert A. Heinlein

[denbo66]

M. R. James (1862-1936) Montague Rhodes James.

Scholar, Academic Author of Ghost Stories.

Issued 23rd February 2012.

[eldritch-macabre]

Christopher Lee at his home with some of his books, 1974