HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG! This year for my October 31st horror post I’m looking at my favorite stories from H.P. Lovecraft’s earliest works by year of publication.
I chose 1916 to 1921 because using 1921 as the cutoff year means we can avoid over-reviewed Lovecraft material like Herbert West – Reanimator and most of the Cthulhu Mythos. SPOILERS AHEAD!
1916
THE ALCHEMIST – Count Antoine de C- is the last of his family line. Hundreds of years earlier one of his ancestors caused the death of the sorcerer Michel Mauvais. Michel’s sorcerer son Charles cursed the Count’s family so that all male descendants would die shortly after turning 32 years of age.
All of Antoine’s male ancestors did indeed die in their 32nd year and Antoine himself has devoted all his adult life to studying Black Magick in hopes of coming across a cure for the family curse. Our main character is all alone in his crumbling ancestral castle, with his last remaining servant having passed away recently.
Antoine’s 32nd birthday is approaching, so his desperation is increasing. He begins exploring the decrepit portions of the castle hoping to find eldritch tomes that might provide salvation. Continue reading
FIRST, FOR OVERSEAS READERS – Trump supporters are basing that support on THE FOUR YEARS HE ALREADY HAD IN OFFICE, not on “promises”, like anti-Trump fanatics pretend. 
REMEMBER THAT EVEN IF TRUMP DOES NOT GET BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE, YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO GET AWAY FROM HIS NAME BEING IN THE NEWS. Democrats have seen how well they can work their conformist sheep into a frenzy using Trump’s name. They will go on using his name in political campaigns against every male and female candidate who could remotely be construed as ever having agreed with President Trump on any issue. 
AND NO MATTER WHO THE NEXT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IS FOR THE OPPOSITION PARTY … be ready for the usual endless screeching and propagandistic comparisons of that candidate to Hitler, Mussolini and others. IT WILL CONTINUE. The Democrats have been doing that at increasingly shrill levels for the past few decades. 
Unrelated: With both the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post refusing to endorse Kamala Harris, one might wonder – in this year that has already seen assassination attempts and more against Trump – will the Democrats force Joe Biden to step down completely and thus make Kamala Harris the new president JUST as a last-minute boost to her campaign? 
A BLACK MASS (1966) – This short horror/ mythological play was written by LeRoi Jones aka Amiri Baraka and has nothing to do with Satanism. The writer played on words, meaning “black” as in his skin color, not as in the Satanic masses enacted by larping geeks trying to be edgy. (Longtime readers may remember my contempt for the fools who call themselves Satanists.)
Earlier this month was the annual celebration over the death of one of the world’s worst hatemongers – Che Guevara. Guevara was a murderous, homophobic, racist would-be dictator propagandistically depicted as a symbol of youthful rebellion thanks to the spiteful cluelessness of Left-Wing Archie Bunkers. 
Here are some actual quotes from hatemonger Che:
“We don’t need proof to execute a man. We only need proof that it’s necessary to execute him. A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate.” (Note from Balladeer: Gee, I thought the poseurs and buffoons of the Left said they’re AGAINST “hate.”)
As Halloween Month continues, here’s a look at my favorite Jean Rollin vampire films. Note that these are not my all-time favorite movies about vampires, just my favorites by Rollin. 
Toss in his eerie, haunting and beautiful movie 
THE SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES (1970) – In my view this is the first real example of a Rollin vampire film. His Rape of the Vampire definitely showed how inexperienced he was at horror, while The Nude Vampire had those undertones of sci-fi that I mentioned above. 
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