Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE
PART 60 – As always, this installment of The Fool-Killer included sentiments that would tick off people from both the left and the right. Some of the Fool Killer’s targets in the October of 1912 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s publication:
*** MILLIONAIRES, because after all the expense and trouble it takes to clothe, feed and educate a millionaire “as a rule he isn’t worth a damn to the country after it gets him.”
*** POLITICIANS who spend more time talking about property instead of human beings.
*** WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, incumbent U.S. President. Pearson and his Fool Killer had preferred Theodore Roosevelt and thought Taft was a weak successor. (For my take on the election of 1912 click HERE.) Continue reading
THE HOOKED GENERATION (1968) – Directed and co-written by the one and only William Grefe. William is known to me and my fellow fans of bad movies for Florida-filmed cult turkeys like Sting of Death, Death Curse of Tartu, The Wild Rebels and Impulse, with William Shatner. 
THREE OVER TWO – In the NAIA the number 3 team in the nation – the MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS – traveled to face the 2nd ranked NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS. The Mustangs led 14-10 in the 1st Quarter but the Red Raiders went up 26-24 by Halftime. Morningside College went back on top 34-33 to end the 3rd Quarter before cementing the Upset in the 4th with a 55-49 win. 
NUMBER FIVE TAKES A FALL – Staying in the NAIA for a moment, the CENTRAL METHODIST UNIVERSITY EAGLES welcomed America’s 5th ranked BAKER UNIVERSITY WILDCATS. The Eagles put the Wildcats on Upset Alert at the break with a 7-6 edge, then led 14-12 in the 3rd Quarter and won out in the end 21-19. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER SIX – Over in NCAA Division Two the SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE SAVAGE STORM visited the country’s number 6 team – the OUACHITA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY TIGERS. The Savage Storm parlayed a 7-0 opening Quarter lead into a 28-7 advantage at the Half. After the break SOSU held off the Tigers to win the game 35-21. 
EIGHTY-FOUR – Down in NCAA Division Three the LAKE FOREST COLLEGE FORESTERS played host to the BELOIT COLLEGE BUCCANEERS yesterday. By the midpoint of the game the Foresters held an amazing 56-3 lead. They never looked back from there, ultimately triumphing by a final score of EIGHTY-FOUR to THREE. 
SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #138 (November 1974) 
The following morning, Peter gathers what few belongings he was able to salvage from the destruction and stops by the adjoining building’s rooftop to retrieve the spare Spider-Man costume, web fluid cartridges and web shooters that he tossed there days ago to prevent them being found in his apartment after the bomb went off. 
IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (1994) – Directed by John Carpenter and written by Michael De Luca, this movie was an unabashed valentine to H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King’s imitations of Lovecraft, and The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers. The King in Yellow, of course, is the 1895 book 
Soon, Trent is visited in his padded cell, where he has used a black crayon to cover his body and the padded walls with crucifixes for protection. His visitor is Dr Wrenn, played by David Warner, the panicked, crucifix-surrounded man from The Omen, now talking to the panicked, crucifix-surrounded Sam Neill in this film. (I admit that’s a sly touch in keeping with the style of the movie. It even has echoes of the victim in Equinox fixating on his protective crucifix.) 
THE AUTOMATIC BRIDGET (1889) – Written by Howard Fielding (pen name of Charles Witherle Hooke). This was an early short story about a robot run amok. 
THE NIGHT AMERICA TREMBLED (1957) – This is a reasonably enjoyable television movie sponsored by Westinghouse. The Night America Trembled presents what may be the very first dramatic production of the supposed panic caused by the 1938 Mercury Theater radio production of War of the Worlds. I’m always fascinated with accounts of this possibly overblown event, but the actual event – not so much. 
GENERALS CONQUER DIVISION TWO – NCAA Division Three’s WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY GENERALS took it on the road to face NCAA Division Two’s EMORY & HENRY COLLEGE WASPS. (This is like when an FCS team upsets an FBS team) A 7-7 1st Quarter tie became a 21-14 edge for the Wasps at Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with the Generals up 24-21 before winning the game 30-28. 
TUSSLE IN THE TOP FOUR – Up in NCAA Division Two the number 2 team in the nation – the VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS – welcomed the 4th ranked UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA WOLVES. The Blazers held a 27-13 lead by the Half. The Wolves pulled to within 33-27 in the 3rd Quarter, with their rally falling just short in the 4th as Valdosta State held on for a 36-34 victory. 
EASY AS ONE, TWO, THREE – Over in the NAIA the (1) LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS won 41-30 at the (22) BETHEL (TN) WILDCATS ### The (2) NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS obliterated the visiting (20) DORDT UNIVERSITY DEFENDERS 63-28 ### And the (3) MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS utterly annihilated the UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN JIMMIES 70-7. 
THE GHOST PIRATES (1909) – HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Balladeer’s Blog wraps up another Halloween Month with a look at this novella written by William Hope Hodgson. Just a few years ago my review of Hodgson’s 1908 
That sole member of the original crew, Williams, tells Jessop and other new crew members about the ship being haunted and worse, but Jessop, like the other replacement hires, dismisses such claims. Williams seems a bit unnerved and maybe even unhinged by whatever happened on the original journey to San Francisco. He is bitterly obsessed with completing the round trip and collecting his pay despite horrific incidents that he is obviously hiding. 
THE CRIMSON STAIN MYSTERY (1916) – This was a 16 chapter silent serial that contained multiple horrific elements. The fact that it is so little remembered these days makes it perfect for this list, given Balladeer’s Blog’s overall theme. A mad scientist calling himself the Crimson Stain experiments on human guinea pigs in an attempt to create an intellectually superior race. His experiments all fail, producing hideous, mutated monsters. The Crimson Stain organizes his misbegotten menagerie into a villainous organization and wages a campaign of terror on the world at large. A heroic detective leads the opposition against them and tries to learn the identity of the Crimson Stain. Chapters in this serial boasted wonderfully campy titles like The Brand of Satan, The Devil’s Symphony, Despoiling Brutes and The Human Tiger. 
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