October 12, 2015 · 10:01 pm

THE GRAVEYARD IN SAINT PAUL’S

Balladeer’s Blog presents another neglected American horror legend in honor of Halloween Month.

THE GRAVEYARD IN SAINT PAUL’S

Manhattan in the 1600s

Manhattan in the 1600s

This story dates back to around 1661, when New York was still New Amsterdam and the Dutch still controlled it, not the British.

A Dutchman named Dirck Van Dara would often drink and carouse in the taverns with his friend Jahn Rooney until late at night (for the time period). At eleven o’clock one night a tavern on what is now Wall Street was empty of all customers except Van Dara and Rooney (“Did ya ever notice how this guy always puts Rooney’s name after Van Dara’s?”).  

The two drinking buddies left and set out to find a tavern that might still be open. A cold autumn drizzle was falling and not even Broadway showed lights on in any of its establishments. The chill and the rain were even forcing the scattered guardsmen to seek shelter in doorways.  

Van Dara and Rooney decided to make for their homes on Leonard Street, a route which took them past Old Saint Paul’s. When they were directly across the street from the graveyard adjacent to Saint Paul’s they heard the unmistakable sound of screams issuing forth from among the tombstones.   Continue reading →

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October 12, 2015 · 8:02 pm

RICHARD DAWKINS SPEAKS OUT ABOUT MUSLIM SAVAGERY AND ITS COWARDLY ENABLERS

ISLAM IS SLAVERY

ISLAM IS SLAVERY

The usual spineless suspects were shocked by Dawkins’ remarks but what he said is pretty mild compared to what I write here on a regular basis.

Dawkins is that rarity among my fellow atheists – he isn’t afraid to take on Islam as well as the “safe targets” like Christianity and Judaism.

He also blasted the way the political left around the world gutlessly enables Muslim fanatics while refusing to let Muslims critical of terrorism even speak on college campuses.

A full breakdown can be found here: DAWKINS ON ISLAM

BE SURE TO READ THE COMMENTS FOLLOWING THE ARTICLE. MOST ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE NEED TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT ISLAM, IN DEFIANCE OF THE CENSORS. Continue reading →

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October 11, 2015 · 5:34 am

AUSTRALIAN SUPERHERO PANTHEON

With superhero movies dominating the box office and superhero cosplay starting to dominate Halloween there’s no better time for Balladeer’s Blog to examine Australia’s greatest superheroes.    

Dark NebulaDARK NEBULA

Debut Year: 1982

Secret Identity: Mark Medula, an astronaut in Australia’s fictional space program.

Origin: Returning from a flight to Mars, Colonel Mark Medula docked at the Threshold Space Station, which had just been seized by the alien warlord Cerellus.

Medula tried to stop Cerellus and the resulting chaos killed Medula’s body, but, amid all the cosmic energies being unleashed, that body became inhabited by both Cerellus’ soul and Medula’s soul.

Mark Medula’s body gained incredible superpowers and went on to battle Earthly and interplanetary menaces as the superhero called Dark Nebula. Cerellus often challenged Mark for control of their shared body, further complicating Dark Nebula’s adventures. 

Powers: Dark Nebula has super strength and can fly, both in space and in a planet’s atmosphere. He is invulnerable and wields a combination of potent cosmic energy and dark mystical energy. Those combined scientific/ supernatural forces can be used to fire Darkfire energy beams from his hands and employ force fields. He also has psionic abilities like telepathy and ESP.  

Comment: Dark Nebula’s adventures combine the cosmic head-trips of Jim Starlin’s Adam Warlock/ Magus storyline with some of the surreal mysticism of Dr Strange at his best.

Dark Nebula Southern SquadronArguably the greatest Dark Nebula story arc was the one where he was off in deep space having a “deep” adventure while back on Earth his archenemy the Grandstander (Think of the Joker but with powers on Sinestro’s level at least) was impersonating him to ruin his reputation.

It endangered his marriage, too, since his wife had no idea why the man she thought was her husband never came home anymore after his public escapades. When Dark Nebula at last returned to Earth he had to tangle with the Aussie superteam the Southern Squadron who were out to bring him down for the crimes the Grandstander had framed him for.

When the misunderstanding was finally straightened out the Southern Squadron joined forces with Dark Nebula to tackle the Grandstander. This crossover was as much a milestone in Australia as the Avengers/ Defenders War in the 1970s was in the U.S.   Continue reading →

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October 11, 2015 · 5:29 am

COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM OCTOBER 10th

* HEADLINES *

Oshkosh TitansNUMBER ONE TAKES A FALL – In NCAA Division Three the number 15 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AT OSHKOSH TITANS upset the top ranked defending champions – the dynastic UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AT WHITEWATER WARHAWKS. A 7-7 Halftime tie stayed in effect until the homestanding Titans managed a 4th Quarter Field Goal then blocked a Warhawk Field Goal attempt for a 10-7 win!  

Eastern Oregon helmetDOWN GOES NUMBER FOUR – In the NAIA the EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY MOUNTAINEERS traveled to Helena to face the number 4 team in the nation – the storied CARROLL COLLEGE FIGHTING SAINTS. The Mountaineers surprised the Hellions from Helena by toppling them in a 28-21 Instant Classic!  Continue reading →

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October 10, 2015 · 11:57 pm

ASH VS (THE) EVIL DEAD COUNTDOWN CONTINUES

Army of Darkness monsterOctober 31st is still the date for the debut of the Starz series Ash vs (the) Evil Dead.

Here’s another cover from one of the various Army of Darkness comic book series’ that came and went over the years.

I’ll check in with a few more as we while away the days before Ashley J Williams once again takes on a variety of Deadites.  Continue reading →

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October 10, 2015 · 3:17 pm

MWINDO: EPIC MYTH OF AFRICA PART SIX

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of this epic myth of the Nyanga people.

PART SIX

lightning boltsKasiyembe, acting at the behest of the serpentine river god Mukiti, had tried to kill the semidivine Mwindo but failed. Mwindo had survived all of Kasiyembe’s death traps and so, in anger and frustration Mukiti’s henchman had called on the Nyanga lightning god Nkuba to strike Mwindo dead.

Nkuba, a very ill-tempered deity who was always delighted to oblige when asked to unleash his bolts, began raining down lightning on Mwindo. Our hero began singing another magic spell, composing it in his head as he went along.  Continue reading →

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October 9, 2015 · 7:48 pm

ELEVEN OF THE MOST NEGLECTED BAD MOVIE CLASSICS FOR HALLOWEEN

Laughing at bad movies is one of the greatest pleasures in life. Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are very familiar with my Bad Movie page where I focus on various film flops that I feel deserve larger audiences because of how dementedly enjoyable they are. Since it’s the Halloween Season this list will present eleven of the most neglected bad horror movie classics, many of which deserve Plan 9- sized cult followings. These are short takes. For my full-length reviews of these and other cinematic turkeys see my Bad Movie page. https://glitternight.com/bad-movies/

MORE HALLOWEEN MOVIE TREATS: MEXICAN MONSTERS https://glitternight.com/2011/10/31/a-halloween-mexi-monster-bestiary/

BLAXPLOITATION HORROR: https://glitternight.com/2011/10/26/a-very-blaxploitation-halloween/

11. THE LIFT (1983) – A killer elevator is the unique menace in this joyously absurd horror film from the Netherlands. A heroic elevator repairman tries to stop the bloody reign of terror of a sentient elevator which the movie’s ads described as “the perfect killing machine”. (?) The flick was also advertised with the tag line “For God’s sake, take the stairs” which never fails to make me laugh.

10. ATTACK OF THE BEAST CREATURES (1983) – The surviving passengers and crew of a sunken luxury liner find themselves on an uncharted island full of ponds and streams that dissolve human flesh. The island is home to the title creatures, who are Continue reading →

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October 8, 2015 · 11:21 pm

THE STRANGE ORMONDS (1833): GOTHIC HORROR

THE STRANGE ORMONDS (1833) – By Leitch Ritchie

Ormond HouseHalloween Month continues! The last neglected Gothic Horror tale I examined was Isabella of Egypt back on the first of October. Let’s dive back into them with this 1833 story set in England.  

The reader is informed right off the top that the Ormond family (no, not the same Ormonds who are beloved by all of us bad movie fans) lived in the north of England and were objects of mingled fear, suspicion, derision and horror. The story is narrated in the first person and the author pretends that he is concealing some info to protect the innocent. An unnamed doctor from an unnamed town was called in to attend the oldest living Ormond in his last days.

The doctor took his daughter with him to witness the death of one head of the Ormond family and the accession of another. The huge mansion of the Ormonds was as odd as the family itself. The building seemed to be composed mostly of additions added on during different decades – even centuries – and if not for the obvious wealth of the family would have been deemed ramshackle. Continue reading →

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October 8, 2015 · 8:12 pm

MUSLIMS KILL RAPE VICTIM FOR BEING “UNCLEAN” BECAUSE OF THE RAPE

Rokstan M

Rokstan M

I dislike all religions but only spineless hypocrites try to pretend Islam is not the biggest problem at this particular point in history. That pack of backward social attitudes and savage superstitions is in serious need of reform. There ARE Muslims who try to reform the faith, but the repulsive political left in Western countries always pretend that those Muslims are “right wing” and that the only true voices of the Muslim world are the misogynistic, homophobic and Western-hating fanatics.

And remember, I’m NOT a conservative or a Republican nor am I a Libertarian so don’t bother going there. I despise a lot about the political right as well as the left but the world’s failure to deal with Islam’s constant retardation of the rest of the world’s social progress is overwhelmingly the fault of the political left because of their egotistical need to defend the indefensible.

With my feelings on all that clarified once again I’ll mention this incident in Germany. In addition to the flood of Islam’s Raping Refugees pouring into the country another blatant example of Islam’s status as a philosophy of hatred presented itself.  

Rokstan M is the only  name being revealed. She was gang-raped in Syria, then killed in Germany in one of those detestable “honor killings” Muslims commit. Her own family considered her “unclean” because of the rape and because of their barbaric religion’s irrational attitudes toward women. Continue reading →

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October 7, 2015 · 11:52 pm

THE DEATH SHIP

Balladeer’s Blog presents another neglected American horror legend in honor of Halloween Month.

THE DEATH SHIP

Death ShipEvery October 31st for over two hundred years Harpswell, ME was visited by a supernatural vessel. Sometime after dark a ship made of blood-red wood and with sails of purest white could be seen offshore.

Slowly but surely the ship would make its way into port. No crew members could ever be seen above or below decks. No one stood at the wheel, no one stood lookout in the crow’s nest. The ship would make its way in even against the strongest gales and the most violent seas. Continue reading →

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