Halloween Month moved another notch today. 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
THAT WAS NUMBER FIIIIVE – In the NAIA the 16th ranked EVANGEL UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS welcomed the number 5 team in the nation – the BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS. After a slow start the Crusaders made their move, overtaking the Ravens and Upsetting them by a final tally of 35-21. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER SIX – Over in NCAA Division Two the UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT KEARNEY LOPERS took the field against the visiting 6th ranked NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS. A 14-0 1st Quarter lead for the Lopers was unchanged at Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with UNK on top 21-14 and the 4th with a 24-17 triumph for the Lopers. 
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER SEVEN – Meanwhile, down in NCAA Division Three the BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN COLLEGE PANTHERS played host to the country’s number 7 team – the BERRY UNIVERSITY VIKINGS. The Panthers put the Vikings on Upset Alert with a 21-6 lead at the Half, then coasted to a 28-15 victory. 
THE COFFIN (2000) – Written by Phil Hester and drawn by Mike Huddleston, The Coffin was originally a four-part serial before being collected into graphic novel format. I’ll provide details below but right up front let me point out that the horrific but intriguing premise is that the Coffin is a dead scientist whose soul is trapped within a polymer techno-suit of his own creation. 
And so Heller Technologies recruited Dr Ahmad to devise strong, lightweight polymers for medical purposes. To that end Ashar has developed polymers that can be used to form an artificial membrane that is perfectly impermeable and incredibly durable. 
NUMBER FOURTEEN ROLLS – The number 14 team in the nation – the DICKINSON STATE BLUE HAWKS – took it on the road against the DAKOTA STATE TROJANS. The 1st Half ended with the Blue Hawks on top by a mere 14-9 but after the break Dickinson State made their move. In the end the Blue Hawks won out 31-14.
BOBCAT STADIUM BLOWOUT – Last night the FROSTBURG STATE BOBCATS welcomed the UNIVERSITY OF CHARLESTON GOLDEN EAGLES. The Bobcats were less than gracious hosts, leading the Golden Eagles 28-0 by Halftime on their way to a 42-7 demolition of their opponents. 
ROAD WARRIORS – The POINT UNIVERSITY SKYHAWKS won a 35-10 affair at the CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY EAGLES ### Meanwhile the VALLEY CITY STATE VIKINGS smacked around their hosts the PRESENTATION COLLEGE SAINTS 35-7 ### And the WALDORF COLLEGE WARRIORS utterly annihilated the MAYVILLE STATE COMETS to the tune of SIXTY-THREE to NOTHING. 
THE GHOST GARDEN (1918) – Written by female author Amelie Rives. This story starts out in Colonial Virginia. Melany Horsemanden was almost legendary for her beauty but also for her mean-spirited nature and casual cruelty. 
MAD MAX (1979) – Balladeer’s Blog’s “Weirdness at the End of the World” takes a look at one of the best movies in the best franchise in the crowded Post-Apocalypse sub-genre. 
Though in real life this sense of no larger government having control may have been a function of the film’s low budget, I find it adds nicely to the uncertain atmosphere. In just a few years the American telefilm The Day After would come close to presenting that same air of confusion about the new state of affairs following a catastrophic war. 
THE CENTENARIAN (1822) – Written by THE Honore de Balzac. Thirty-one days of Halloween continue here at Balladeer’s Blog! The Centenarian or The Two Beringhelds was one of the “quickie” novels that Balzac wrote in his early career, this one under the pseudonym Horace de Saint-Aubin. 
The Centenarian leeches out the vitality of his victims but NOT by sucking out blood like a vampire. He drains their life force via alchemical means with his “medical” equipment. By the time of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Count Maxime has grown a bit weary of his eternal life in typical Gothic style. 