The Red Spectre with the bottled souls of his victims.
THE RED SPECTRE (1907) – A 9-10 minute Pathe production which features beautifully rendered red tinting. The central figure is a demon in the depths of Hell clad in a red cape plus skull makeup and skeletal central costume.
The Red Spectre toys with the captive souls of various women until an angel shows up to end his evil deeds and do battle with him. The angel is played by a woman with very short hair so it may have been meant to be a little boy angel. Continue reading
Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at an ancient Greek comedy. Most of my previous examinations of these verse plays dealt with Attic Old Comedy or on what little is known about Susarion, a revered pioneer of stage comedy.
The chorus, so important to Attic Old Comedy, was not yet present on stage in Epicharmus’ time, but musical accompaniment was. Like so many other ancient Greek comedies, the plays of Epicharmus have survived only in very fragmentary form. 
Halloween Month rolls along with this look at a very old British series of telefilms that presented some classic horror tales during Christmas Season. The tales themselves were NOT set around Christmas, so they make for nice Halloween Season viewing, too. 
THE STALLS OF BARCHESTER (Dec 24th, 1971) – Dr. Black (Clive Swift), a scholar cataloguing the book collection at Barchester Cathedral, comes across the diary of a former Archdeacon who murdered his predecessor so he could rise to the position. The killer was then haunted by ghostly figures in the form of the carvings on the cathedral’s choir stalls. Also starring Robert Hardy, Thelma Barlow and Will Leighton. 
NUMBER FOUR TAKES A FALL – In NCAA Division 3, the number 12 BETHEL (MN) ROYALS welcomed the nation’s 4th ranked ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY JOHNNIES in this game. A 3-0 Royals edge to end the 1st Quarter became a 10-10 tie at the midpoint. After a scoreless 3rd Quarter, the 4th saw Bethel University dispatch the Johnnies 17-10. 
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER SIX – NCAA Division 2’s 7th ranked UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT THE PERMIAN BASIN FALCONS were on the road against the number 6 team in the nation – the ANGELO STATE RAMS. By Halftime the Falcons were on top 21-7 before Angelo State cut that to 21-14 in the 3rd Quarter. UT-Permian Basin consummated the mild Upset 28-14 in the 4th. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER TEN – In the NAIA, the FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY LIONS paid a visit to the 10th ranked team in the country – the SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY FIRE. A 10-0 1st Quarter lead for the Fire was cut to a mere 17-14 edge over their opponents by the Half. The 3rd Quarter ended with the Lions up 21-20 and the 4th in a 28-23 FMU win. 
MAN-SIZE IN MARBLE (1887) – One of the iconic Edith Nesbit’s short horror stories. This was first published in the December of 1887 issue of the magazine Home Chimes. Nesbit later included it in her collection of short stories titled Grim Tales (1893). For modern readers – and possibly Victorian Age readers, too – it’s always clear where the story is headed but it’s still worth checking out. 
MYSTIC COMICS Vol 1 #1 (Mar 1940) 
B. Dynamic Man – Scientist Dr. Simon Goettler creates 
CEMETERY OF TERROR (1985) – HALLOWEEN MONTH CONTINUES! Released in Mexico as Cementerio del terror, this overlooked movie makes for some nice Halloween season viewing and is even set on October 31st. Cemetery of Terror is not as campy as Mexican Wrestling Horror flicks or notorious works like 
Once again, Balladeer’s Blog looks at the fragmentary remains of one of the lesser-known ancient Greek comedy playwrights, in this case Philyllius. This comic poet’s career seems to have spanned approximately from the 410s BC to 390 BC. One of his comedies won 1st prize at a Lenaea festival in the 390s and he won 1st prize at an unknown Dionysia. His fellow comedian Strattis credited him with being the first Attic Old Comic to use real torches on stage.
October 1st kicks off Balladeer’s Blog’s usual mixing of horror items in with my usual topics. I review horror films from the silent movie era onward as well as obscure stories from the 1800s and earlier, like they’re Halloween counterparts to my Ancient Science Fiction reviews. 
THE MONSTER-MAKER (1897) – Set in San Francisco, this W.C. Morrow tale was praised by the one and only Ambrose Bierce. A truly unique monster gets cobbled together by a mad scientist but instead of a castle in Europe the action takes place in Frisco. Experimenting on a suicidal young man, our insane Dr. X turns the lad’s body into a globe-headed, lobster-limbed abomination. The scientist’s courageous wife and a police detective work to bring down the madman. 
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