Balladeer’s Blog continues enjoying the way in which America’s cesspool of corruption that masquerades as a government is FINALLY getting exposed and fought on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, on the other hand, Left-Wing Archie Bunkers continue warring on freedom of expression on college campuses.
AND MORE … Continue reading
Halloween is celebrated for all 31 days of October here at Balladeer’s Blog. Here’s another neglected gem. As Johnny Carson would have said “That izh some weird, wild shtuff.”
WILD AND WEIRD (1889) – By Gilbert Edward Campbell. This compilation of three of Campbell’s short story collections presents some of the author’s best works. He often based his tales of terror on pre-existing folklore from around Russia, England and Italy but made them come alive in more polished form.
Here are some of the stories:
THE MIDNIGHT SKATER – This tale gets extra points from me for presenting a reasonably unique monster: a female were-bear. That’s not really a spoiler since this is one of those stories in which modern readers will guess the twist just a few pages in. Olga, a beautiful gypsy girl, is wooed by plenty of men but most of them end up getting killed by a bear-like creature. It turns out Olga herself is the were-bear, who preys on her suitors when she gets them alone in the woods.
WHAT WAS IT? – I’m often surprised at how many horror stories from the 1800s and earlier were edgy enough to kill off children. This is another one of them. Playful, mischievous children are repeatedly warned not to enter a room called “the Infernal Room.” Kids being kids, they eventually enter it anyway and face death in the form of a child-hating ghost.
THE GREEN STAIRCASE – An eerie green staircase – think David Lynch meets Arthur Machen – leads to a portrait gallery. (But no, this strange room is NOT above a convenience store.) The art is hypnotically beautiful but if you stay too long or visit too many times the figures in the pictures come to life and reveal their malevolent nature. Continue reading
Filed under Halloween Season
Since it’s Saturday morning lets go with a Halloween-themed song that is something Balladeer’s Blog usually is NOT … Kid Friendly. It’s the Higgleoos with The Monsters Ball, but not the Butcher Babies song of the same title.
Filed under Halloween Season, opinion
FRIDAY THE 13th: THE ORPHAN (1977) – H.H. Munro must have turned over in his grave at this adaptation of one of his short stories. This quasi-horror film was re-released in 1979 as just The Orphan and despite the original title it has no connection to the Friday the 13th series of slasher flicks. At least, no REAL connection. I’m surprised some unscrupulous distributor never tried sneaking this into theaters in the 1980’s as a “prequel” to the slasher movies by presenting the insane young boy in the movie as the grandfather of Jason Voorhees.
Even so the title makes it hard not to think of our wealthy young protagonist “David” (Mark Owens) as an ancestor of the hockey- masked slice and dice man from Crystal Lake. In the 1920’s David’s mother accidentally shoots his African Big Game Hunter father Kevin to death during an argument about his frequent overseas trips. David not only witnesses this but sees his mother put the gun in her mouth and kill herself immediately afterward.
Next David gets VERY disturbed when a presumed family member (an uncredited Christopher Lloyd in a “blink-and-you’ll- miss- him” appearance) forces him to kiss his dead father as he lies in his coffin. Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, Halloween Season
THE BLACK REAPER (1899) – By Bernard Capes. Balladeer’s Blog’s month-long celebration of Halloween continues with this neglected horror tale. The story takes place in 1665 in a secluded British farming town called Anathoth.
The Black Reaper of the title is an interesting humanoid monster. Religious superstition and human evil mingle in this tale, just like in so many other great horror stories. And it seems Stephen King must have been, uh … “inspired” by The Black Reaper.
The citizens of Anathoth are described in the narrative as the kind of religious people who merely pay lip service to their beliefs but don’t live by them. They even treated their previous Vicar like a joke.
Now the plague is once more at large in the land and a new fire-and- brimstone preacher has replaced the disrespected man in Anathoth. The new “holy” man frequently rails at the citizens, telling them that they are all horrible sinners and that God will one day mow them down like ripe corn.
All of them, that is, except the children. Continue reading
Filed under Halloween Season
New paradigms replace the old. It’s the way of life. The previous paradigm featured narrow-minded, reactionary parents clashing with open-minded educators who were trying to update the state of American education after decades of stagnation.
The new paradigm features narrow-minded, reactionary “teachers” (LMAO) clashing with open-minded parents who are trying to update the state of American education after decades of stagnation.
Enjoy another roundup of the pathetic state that American Education is in thanks to narrow-minded Left-Wing Archie Bunkers who can’t stop living in the past and who refuse to embrace anything new. And who abuse their position as teachers to browbeat their students into agreeing with their political prejudices.
A. THE INSANE NOTION THAT OFFENDING THE EMOTIONAL CRIPPLES WHO PRETEND TO BE COLLEGE STUDENTS IN AMERICA IS A FORM OF GENOCIDE: For a look at the Democrats pushing this absurd concept click HERE
B. THE WAY DEMOCRATS ENABLE MUSLIM MISOGYNY AND HOMOPHOBIA IN SCHOOL SYSTEMS AT ALL LEVELS. For a look at cowardly hypocrites crawling on their bellies but ONLY for Muslims who hate the West click HERE Continue reading
Halloween Month moved another notch today, leaving us with just 20 days left. Balladeer’s Blog continues its month-long celebration with a look at another neglected gem of horror fiction.
LA VILLE-VAMPIRE (City of Vampires) 1867 – Written by the accomplished and prolific Paul Feval, it’s Village of Vampires, or City of Vampires or, if you prefer, Vampire City (Wham, bam, thank you ma’am! Va- va- va- Vampire CIT-EEE! … Had to be said.)
Paul Feval’s heroine in this story is the young Ann Ward, who went on to be Ann Radcliffe, pioneer of Gothic Horror through such works as The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian. Ann’s friends Cornelia de Witt and Ned Barton depart for the continent with their new acquaintance Otto Goetzi.
Goetzi turns out to be a vampire who lures Cornelia and Ned deeper and deeper into a trap. Back in England, Ann Ward deduces all this from odd letters that she receives from her friends and from horrific premonitions which come to her in nightmares.
Ann and a much older family servant called Grey Jack cross the English Channel to come to the rescue of Ann’s friends. Soon the trail leads to Belgrade and then to a dismal city called Selene by outsiders but known as the Sepulchre to its inhabitants, all of whom are vampires. Continue reading
Filed under Halloween Season
*** NJCAA ***
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER TWO – The NAVARRO COLLEGE BULLDOGS took it on the road against the undefeated 2nd ranked team in the nation – the TYLER COLLEGE APACHES. Navarro trailed the Apaches 14-0 in the 1st Quarter and 26-13 at Halftime. After the break the Bulldogs made their move, shutting out Tyler College the rest of the way while notching 7 points in the 3rd Quarter and 17 in the 4th. Navarro College pulled off the mammoth upset by a final count of 37-26.
AND ANOTHER UPSET IN THE TOP TEN – The storied ASA COLLEGE AVENGERS welcomed the number 10 LACKAWANNA COLLEGE FALCONS. After a scoreless 1st Quarter the Avengers and the Falcons were tied up at 7-7 by the Half. An action-packed 3rd Quarter saw ASA College go on top 19-14 and a Safety in the 4th cemented a 21-14 win for the Avengers. Continue reading
Filed under college football
ROCKTOBER BLOOD (1984) -This example of the Heavy Metal Horror films of the 1980s was produced, directed and written by Beverly and Ferd Sebastian, a well-known pair to all of us Bad Movie Geeks. The premise of this hilariously bad movie is that Heavy Metal star Billy Eye programs something sinister into his latest album by way of backward-masking. (Like “I buried Paul” and others)
After listening to those hidden messages to make sure they “took,” Billy Eye molests his just-dumped girlfriend Lynn Starling (Donna Scoggin) then uses a knife to injure her. He’s just getting started, though, and from there he proceeds to slaughter most of his band members, a security guard and nearly 20 other innocent people!
Billy is tried, convicted and executed for the killing spree. One year after his execution his former flame Lynn Starling has formed her own Heavy Metal group called Headmistress. The band is starting its first nationwide tour, called the Rocktober Blood Tour, unaware of the tedium horror about to envelope them. Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, Halloween Season
HILLARY: THERE’S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT HARVEY THAT REMINDS ME OF MY HUSBAND!
DEMOCRATS BOAST: HARVEY WEINSTEIN HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF RAPING AND ASSAULTING ENOUGH WOMEN TO QUALIFY AS OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN 2020
HATEMONGER JEMELE HILL DEMANDS NFL STOP PLAYING GAMES IN LONDON UNTIL THERE IS A BLACK KING OR QUEEN OF ENGLAND
THE TOP HOLLYWOOD “FEMINISTS” WHO “TOOK A KNEE” (OR TWO) FOR HARVEY WEINSTEIN SO THEY COULD GET FILM ROLES
REPUBLICAN BOB CORKER STUNNED TO LEARN HOW DESPISED HE IS
HILLARY CLINTON RANKS THE TOP TEN RAPISTS AND SEXUAL ASSAILANTS WHO WERE PART OF HER PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
A CRAZED AND INCOHERENT JEMELE HILL INSISTS WHITE SUPREMACISTS WON’T LET VIDEO GAME MANUFACTURERS PROGRAM GAMES SO THAT PLAYERS CAN TAKE A KNEE DURING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
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