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THE WEREWOLF (1896) HALLOWEEN STORY OF A FEMALE LYCANTHROPE

WerewolfTHE WERE-WOLF (1896) – By Clemence Annie Housman. Halloween month continues at Balladeer’s Blog! This neglected story features a female author writing about a FEMALE WEREWOLF so that makes it a bit special right there.

The Were-Wolf is set in 1890s Denmark. Amidst a white-furred werewolf’s attacks plaguing the countryside a Danish family finds itself being charmed by a sultry, seductive woman who calls herself White Fell.

The woman travels alone by night so is obviously the werewolf at large. Unfortunately, her potent beauty allays suspicion and even pits brothers Sweyn and Christian against each other.   Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS: OCTOBER 12th

HEADLINES

TOPPLING NUMBER FOUR – In NCAA Division 2, the number 15 CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY WILDCATS visited the 4th ranked UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT THE PERMIAN BASIN FALCONS. The Falcons were on top 7-3 come Halftime and 14-10 to end the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th, the Wildcats came from behind for a 27-14 Upset victory.

NUMBER EIGHT TAKES A FALL – Staying in D2 for a moment, the NORTHERN STATE WOLVES played host to the country’s number 8 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AT DULUTH BULLDOGS. A 10-7 1st Quarter edge for the Wolves became 20-10 by the midpoint. After the break, the Bulldogs rallied but fell short as Northern State held on tight in a 34-31 triumph.

ANOTHER NUMBER EIGHT FOLLOWS – Over in the NAIA, the 14th ranked CARROLL COLLEGE FIGHTING SAINTS traveled to face the number 8 team in the nation – the UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA-WESTERN BULLDOGS. At the Half, the Fighting Saints put UMW on Upset Alert with their 28-14 advantage. From there CC held on to win the game 42-34. Continue reading

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HACK/SLASH: THE EARLY STORIES OF THIS HALLOWEEN HEROINE

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at Cassie Hack, the horror superheroine who battles a long line of slashers as stylishly as Buffy fought vampires.

In Hack/ Slash stories, slashers are their own breed of monsters just like werewolves, vampires, etc. Tim Seeley created the series, which has been published by various indie outfits over the years.  

HACK/ SLASH Vol 1 #1 (Apr 2004)

Title: Euthanized

Villain: Bobby Brunswick

Synopsis: This very first appearance of Cassie Hack starts off with a few-page synopsis of her origin story. In school, Cassie was often bullied by the other students. This caused her mother to snap and become a slasher called the Lunch Lady, who took to carving up the teens who had bullied Cassie and mixing their remains in with food at the school cafeteria. Our heroine was forced to take action, saving her mother’s last victim. The Lunch Lady killed herself but rose again as a slasher. This time Cassie had to destroy her personally.

Readers are now dropped into the main story, set years later when Cassie Hack has established herself as a roving heroine who battles living and undead slashers alongside her African American sidekick – the hulking, gasmask-wearing Vlad. He views Cassie like a daughter and wields meat cleavers and butcher’s knives in battle.

In this adventure, Cassie and Vlad clashed with Bobby Brunswick, a veterinary assistant killed by the boyfriend of the female vet he worked for. Bobby came back from the dead for revenge and also preyed on the city with the army of dead animals that he controlled. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS: OCT 10th

NCAA DIVISION TWO

NUMBER TWO ROLLS – The 2nd ranked team in NCAA Division 2 football – the HARDING UNIVERSITY BISON – traveled to face the SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE SAVAGE STORM. A 14-0 1st Quarter lead for the Bison became 21-7 by Halftime. Harding U. shut out the Savage Storm from there as they won the game by a final score of 35-7.

NJCAA

KNOCKING OFF NUMBER NINE – Last night the JONES COLLEGE BOBCATS played host to the nation’s 9th ranked HINDS COLLEGE EAGLES. A 7-7 tie in the opening Quarter morphed into a 24-14 Bobcats advantage at the Half. After the break, the two teams wound up exchanging Touchdowns in a 31-21 Upset victory for Jones College. Continue reading

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HALLOWEEN OPERA: TALES OF HOFFMANN (1881)

Halloween month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog! And elsewhere, too, I guess. 

Tales of Hoffmann

Tales of Hoffmann

TALES OF HOFFMANN (1881) – Yes, as if I wasn’t boring enough already, I’m also into opera! Now, I know traditionally “the” Halloween Opera has always been Don Giovanni, but I’ve never bought into that notion since there’s really only one scene in the whole opera that qualifies as spooky and supernatural.

At this time of year I prefer Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann. Not only is it full of appropriately eerie and menacing elements, but it’s also the perfect opera for you to share with someone who’s seeing their very first opera.

One of the reasons for that is that it’s in short segments, surrounded by a wraparound opening and finale. Offenbach adapts short stories written by E.T.A. Hoffmann, who in real life was a pre-Edgar Alan Poe author of eerie short stories in his native Austria during the 1800s. At any rate since this opera’s in short segments novices to the artform won’t have time to get bored.

Another reason is that, though the climax of these tales no doubt seemed shocking to the people of Hoffmann’s (or for that matter, Offenbach’s) time period, modern audiences are so used to anthology series’ like The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt, etc. that today’s viewers will spot the “twist” endings coming from a mile away. This combats another common complaint of opera novices: that they have trouble following the story. Continue reading

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POSSESSION (1981) HORROR FILM REVIEW

POSSESSION (1981) – Halloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog with a review of the thoroughly bizarre cult film Possession, from Polish director Andrzej Zulawksi. Because I review everything from mild horror films to extreme works, I’m offering my usual COURTESY WARNING for readers who prefer less transgressive movies. 

Possession deals with very ugly adult situations and violence plus extremely dark topics. As much as I enjoy the works of David Lynch, Zulawski goes far beyond the weirdest and most unappetizing aspects of Lynch’s films. Eraserhead comes closest to capturing the disturbing and haunting air of an Andrzej Zulawski production.

I’m far from alone in praising Possession to the Heavens, so my take on it may seem like a mere rehashing for those who are already passionate fans. However, in my opinion only the full 2 hour and 4-minute version is worth watching, not the trimmed-down versions.   

Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani play a romantic couple whose disintegrating relationship erodes their sanity and finds them trapped within horrors they never would have dreamed could be real. Continue reading

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THE RED SPECTRE (1907) SILENT HORROR FILM FOR HALLOWEEN

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

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THE RUSTIC (c 6th Century BC onward) ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY

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.

Epicharmus lived from approximately the 530s B.C. to the 440s B.C. He was born in one of the Greek colonies, with Megara-Hyblaea, Syracuse or the island of Cos/ Kos being the three most widely accepted possibilities. This figure wrote 35-52 comedies then became a philosopher. 

Epicharmus is often credited with adding plots to the comedies, but this is sometimes disputed by those touting Susarion instead. Other innovations possibly pioneered by Epicharmus were stock characters like spongers and naïve rustics plus comedic back-and-forth duels of insults or of competing arguments.

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. 

THE RUSTIC (No year known) – The Eudemian Ethics refers to the use of rustic figures early on in stage comedies. As we’ve seen in other ancient Greek comedies these rustics were used in two different ways – 1) As the butts of jokes for their supposed inability to appreciate the sophisticated pleasures of city life and/or for their supposed lack of intelligence.

Or 2) As naïve yet endowed with a common-sense form of wisdom that lets them outmaneuver ill-intentioned city folks who try taking advantage of them or humiliating them. (Think No Time for Sergeants or Beverly Hillbillies B.C.)  Continue reading

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HALLOWEEN AT YULETIDE: A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS (1971-1978)

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. 

A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS – I’m only covering the original 1971-1978 run of these horror stories. The series was revived decades later but – especially for American viewers – the original run of (at the longest) 50-minute installments truly counts as Forgotten Television.

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. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM OCT 4th

HEADLINES

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. Continue reading

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