Skeleton under the Town Green

Trees have fallen throughout the northeast due to hurricane Sandy. In New Haven, Connecticut a large oak tree fell on the town green and intertwined it its uprooted roots was a human skeleton! Oooh Creepy thing to find on Halloween. The green had once been used as a cemetery and there could be up to 5,000 more skeletons buried under the lawn. The skeleton unearthed today has been sent to the medical examiner's office. It is thought that the skeleton dates from Colonial New England when it was common to bury the dead in the town green.

Bury Sherman

Poor Sherman Hemsley! Not only is he dead but he hasn't been buried. His remains are still above ground while his family argues where he should be buried. He died in Texas and it seems he wanted to be buried there but certain members of his family feel he should be interred in Pennsylvania.

When he died he had no will. His estate was left to his "good friend" and "business partner" as he had no heirs. From out of no where a man claiming to be be brother appears and wants his body. A legal battle has ensued. Please Bury George Jefferson!! Maybe next to Wezzie?

Cursed or Crazed

"Keep Building!" That was the mantra for 38 years in San Jose, California's Winchester House. The house owned by Sarah Winchester has roughly 160 rooms, 47 fireplaces, 2 ballrooms, 10,000 windows and 13 bathrooms.
Mrs Sarah Winchester was born Sarah Lockwood Pardee in 1839 in New Haven, Connecticut. She married William Winchester the only son and heir of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. They had one child a daughter named Annie. The Winchester's daughter died as an infant and shortly thereafter William Winchester died of tuberculosis. This set Mrs. Winchester into a downward spiral of depression. She came to believe she was cursed, seeking the help of a Boston medium thought to be a psychic. The psychic told her she was cursed by the ghosts of the people killed by Winchester rifles. The only way she could lead a normal life was to move west and build a house for her and the spirits.

Mrs. Winchester bought an eight room farm house on 161 acres of land from a man named John Hamm in what would become San Jose in 1866. Then the building commenced and continued 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the next 38 years until the day of her death. Mrs. Winchester did not hire an architect only builders and would create the plans on her own by entering her seance room and consulting the spirits. This created a chaotic and extremely eccentric floor plan with staircases and doors that lead to nowhere and windows looking onto walls and interior rooms.

After the 1906 Mrs. Winchester was trapped for several hours in her bedroom and took this as a sign that she had spent too much time in decorating the house and not enough in construction. She had the carpenters board up the front of the house without repairing the damage. It was after this the true eccentricity of the construction began. Staircases to ceilings and doors that opened to brick walls were installed it is thought to confuse bad spirits.

When Mrs. Winchester finally died in 1922 all construction stopped. In her will she left the house and its contents to a niece who took what she wanted from the house and then sold off the rest of the contents. It took eight truck loads a day for six weeks to empty the house. It was then sold off to the highest bidder who opened it as a tourist attraction five months after Mrs. Winchester's death.

Unnerving Vocal Terror

Mental illness, despair and AIDS are just a few of the topics Diamanda Galas takes on in her work. With her three and a half octave vocal range Galas can turn a shriek into an aria. Galas is classically trained and has studied a wide range of musical styles which has created a sound that is distinctly her own. Her themes are dark and difficult but there is the slightest ray of hope in much of her work.
Upon her brothers death from AIDS Galas focused on the disease. She has worked closely with ACT UP and was arrested in a protest in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. Her operatic trilogy "Masque of Red Death", dedicated to her brother who died before its completion.
She has also performed the blues. Her recording "The Singer" includes her unique cover versions of songs by Willie Dixon and Screaming Jay Hawkins. The power of her keening voice and piano is chilling. Her recordings "Judgement Day" and "Vena Cava" further explore the depths of despair and madness.
In 1994 Galas teamed up with Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones to record "The Sporting Life" her most accessible recording. Her themes on this recording are mainly mental illness and murder.  The song "Baby's Insane" is terrifying sing along.

Galas has also worked extensively with the film industry contributing to many film soundtracks. Several of the songs from "The Sporting Life"are included in the soundtrack of Oliver Stone's film "Natural Born Killers". She was also one of the voices of the vampires in Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula".

Her live performances are always thrilling and terrifying at the same time. They are dark moody performances featuring her piano and often she will be drenched in blood. Her work is not for everyone but it has a sense of drama that can overwhelm and enthrall the audiences.

Could Trick or Treat be Cancelled?

This could be a real natural disaster! Halloween and Trick or Treating may have to be cancelled because of some stupid hurricane! One city in Massachusetts has already and several in Rhode Island are seriously debating it. What about New York and New Jersey? Nothing could be worse than no trick or treating. Postponing it won't be the same could this be the year when Halloween doesn't come?

Carolyn Jones aka Morticia

One of the sixty's television favorite characters was Morticia Addams. Morticia was performed by Carolyn Jones for a mere two seasons but will live on forever in re-runs. Carolyn Jones took on the role the year she divorced her second husband Aaron Spelling. The role of Morticia got her a Golden Globe nomination and immortality. Voted one of television's top one hundred mothers Morticia was hardly Mrs Cleaver.
Sheathed in her Gothic hobble skirt that perfectly matched her raven hair Morticia slunk seductively through her carnivorous garden and family's eerie mansion. Morticia was raised in Salem, Massachusetts and was orignally a Frump.

An expert musician and keeper of the Addams values Morticia seduced her husband Gomez with her mastery of romance languages. Carolyn Jones was and always will be Morticia.

"If it Weren't For You Meddeling Kids!"

"Scooby Doo Where Are You" made its Saturday morning premiere 43 years ago last month. This was when gang of Mystery Inc. driving along in the Mystery Machine started stumbling into mysteries and haunted mansions. The formula was almost always the same Alan, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and their gifted dog Scooby Doo would be driving home late one night and the Mystery Machine would break down and almost always outside of an almost abandoned mansion or hotel. The gang would then go in search of help and stumble upon a monster or ghost wreaking havoc on the last and lonely occupants of said dwelling. Upon listening to the story the good natured hardy gang would volunteer to get to the bottom of mystery. The only dissenters to the offer would be Shaggy and Scooby Doo. The gang would then split up and start their investigation. Alan and Velma would find clues, Daphne would come into danger and Shaggy and Scooby would find a snack of some sort. Upon saving Daphne they would come up with a plan and concoct a trap to capture the villain. This plan and or trap most always failed and a chase of sort form would ensue. Finally the villain would be unmasked and be proved to not be a ghost, monster or unnatural fiend but someone known to the owners of the property and the police would be called in. After that all that was needed was a thank you and some Scooby Snacks.
As the series went on the gang sometimes ran into celebrities like Sonny & Cher, The Addams Family or Phyllis Diller, hijincks always ensued.

Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon

It is getting near Halloween. Halloween and The Cramps went together hand in hand. It is this time of year when I start to miss Lux Interior and The Cramps. My heat goes out to the widow Ivy. Lux and Poison Ivy were a Rock-a-billy Halloween show all year round for decades.

"The Creature From the Black Leather Lagoon" is my all time favorite Cramps song. It is Halloween for the new millennium.
Better ask my momma how to make a monster...
I'm the creature from the black leather lagoon,
I'm a beautiful monster from outer space,
Too, learned how to shake my hips in the inner sanctum, satan gave me tips and then i thanked him,
I'm the creature from the black leather lagoon
Black black, black black leather, smash smash,
Black black leather, kill kill, black black leather, crash crash, black black leather,
I'm the creature from the black leather lagoon i'm a chicken-fried fire-eatin' son of a gun,
Concieved by my devil daddy on a chicken run,like a fireball flyin' down thunder road,
Daddy made mama but she shoulda said no,
I'm the raw hyde monster they named number 1 i'm the creature from the black leather lagoon,
I'm a genuine juvenille delinquent from the moon,
I'm like a hundred billion hydrogen bombs,
Mama wanted a goat, but i got mom's,
I'm the creature from the black leather lagoon

Grandpa

To millions of fans Sam Dracula is know just as Grandpa but he is really actor Al Lewis. The character of Grandpa was one of the favorite of the "Munsters" family. He was a Transylvanian Count born in 1367 but not unlike Al Lewis the actor who played him his age was fluid. He was a magician, an inventor,a successful mad scientist and a vampire. Sam Dracula married 167 but all of his wives are dead although he did claim to keep in constant contact with them. His youngest daughter is Lily (nee Dracula) Munster and is his favorite. He lives with Lily and her husband Herman whom he thinks is a dolt but does get along with. In the house with him are two of his grandchildren Eddy and Marilyn the child of another daughter who lives in the old country.
Sam's character has been portrayed by other actors but it will always be Al Lewis who is Grandpa. He went on to be Grandpa for the rest of his life saying "Hey Grandpa pays the bills!"

The Sardonic Master Vincent Price

The Yale educated son of a wealthy St. Louis family Vincent Price will always be remembered for being creepy. In real life the man was charming, funny and rather elegant but he knew how to make your skin crawl on film. Price played a wide variety of characters in his multitude of films but it is his role in the horror genre where he stands out. His first real horror film was 1939's "Tower of London" followed by the title role in "The Invisible Man Returns". He was cast as villains in noir films through out the 1940's and 1950's. By the mid to late 50's Mr. Price was the king of horror films. His films included "House of Wax", "The Fly", and "The House on Haunted Hill" He worked with the famed horror-thriller director William Castle known as much for his gimmicks as he was for his films.
Price was also very funny and many of his roles were comic as well as creepy. He was cast in the mid-60's as Egghead on TV's camp classic "Batman" as well as a series of silly films including "Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine" and "Dr Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs". He became a true household name when he was part of the cast of "Hollywood Squares" where he was able to display his quick wit and sardonic humor.

Both Alice Cooper and Michael Jackson used Price's voice in their music classics "Welcome to My Nightmare" and "Thriller". It was during this time he was recording classic Poe stories and doing a BBC Radio's horror series "The Price of Fear". He turned to the stage in the 70's performing as Oscar Wilde in the play "Diversions and Delights". It is considered one of the best performances of his life. He continued working through out the 70's and 80's making guest appearances on television and acting as host for 8 years on PBS's series "Mystery".
Vincent Price was also an art collector and gourmet cook. His art collection was enormous and is now housed in The Vincent Price Museum in East Los Angeles.
The last significant film Price made was Tim Burton's "Edward Scissorhands". He was ill during the shooting of the film and his schedule had to be curtailed due to his health issues. During this time he was working with Burton on a documentary to be titled "Conversations With Vincent" that has never been released.
Vincent Price died on October 25, 1993. He was 82 years old.

Our Rose

 

She will always be remembered as "Our Rose" the youngest sister of Hyacinth Bucket on the BBC's "Keeping Up Appearances" but Mary Millar was more than a tart. She was an actress who became famous for playing a tart. Born in Sheffield to actor parents Millar didn't plan to be an actress; she wanted to become a stable hand because of her love of animals. Mary couldn't keep away from the stage and made her professional appearance in a in a Pantomime in 1952. Her first television appearance was in a 1950's program called "Those Were The Days". Millar appeared in many stage shows throughout the 1960's as well as television. She was the understudy for Julie Andrews in the 1960 production of Camelot. Her biggest Westend success was in Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera" as Madame Giry. Her voice is recorded on the original Westend soundtrack.

Millar was in her mid-fifties when she was given the chance to audition for the character of Rose on "Keeping Up Appearances". The character of Rose was orignally played by Shirley Stelfox. Millar rode the tubeto her auditon in a mini-skirt she specifally bought for "Rose".
While performing as Rose she also appeared in the Westend production on "Beauty and the Beast" as Mrs. Potts. She recorded the soundtrack shortly be fore her death. Mary Millar died in 1998 from ovarian cancer at the age of 62. The week after her death the last episode of "Keeping Up Appearances" was aired dedicated to Millar.

Rose, the tart that men loved and loved men will be how she will ultimately remembered. Always ready for love's next adventure Rose lived in the council flat with her older sister Daisy and Daisy's husband Onslow and demented father. She may not have lived the kind of life that her eldest sister prefered but Rose was loved as was Mary Millar.

Off the Chart

Do you ever worry you will become that crazy person dying in a house full of a equally crazy collection? If you haven’t, you might want to think about it; but if you have the story of John Feathers and his map collection may interest you.

John Feathers was born in Massachusetts into a military family. He worked for many years in a local hospital as a dietitian. Mr. Feathers lived in a house in an area of Los Angeles called Mount Washington.  The house was a 90 year old cottage built in the rural feeling hills of a forgotten part of Los Angeles. Mr. Feathers had been the home owner Walter Keller’s long time companion. When Keller died he was granted residency of the house. He lived there for nearly 20 years alone.  Feathers died recently leaving no heirs. The house is owned by Mr. Keller’s heirs.  Sadly the house is what is known in LA as a tear down. The land is not just too valuable for a 90 year old cottage in questionable shape to have any value.  Real estate agent Matthew Greenberg was given the task of taking care of the house and preparing it for demolition so the lot could be subdivided.  This is when he Mr. Greenberg made the discovery of Mr. Feathers map collection. In the small cottage there were in the vicinity of one million maps.  Greenberg could have just called for a dumpster and had all the maps thrown out but he knew it wouldn’t be the right thing to do. He did the smart thing and called the Los Angeles Public Library. Greenberg invited its map librarian, Glen Creason, to Mount Washington to look at the trove. . "I think there are at least a million maps here," he said. "This dwarfs our collection — and we've been collecting for 100 years." Creason expects that cataloging and organizing the maps will take as long as a year. "We may have to apply for a grant to sort through the fold-out maps and ask for help from the Library of Congress. The collection will take up about 600 feet of shelving," he said.

Barry Ruderman an antiquarian from La Jolla was called in but could not put a monetary figure on the collection yet. He did root around an discovered a circa 1592 map of Europe.

Mr. Feathers didn’t only collect maps he also had hotel soaps, matchbooks and every National Geographic from 1915 to the current day.

 

Is this collecting or is it hoarding? It is hard to say.

Who Wants To Die For Art?

Sixty-seven years ago today Harris Glenn Milstead was born in Baltimore Maryland. He was raised in the home of well to do conservative parents in the suburb of Lutherville. In the mid 60's he became friends with John Waters who gave him the name he would become know for, Divine.
Divine was a spoiled only child who's parents paid for his elaborate lifestyle. After high school Divine went to beauty school where he excelled creating "beehive" style up-do's. In 1964 his was at one time considered the chief suspect in the murder of a friend but was cleared when a serial killers was apprehended.
After high school Divine and John Waters would hang out in a Baltimore "beatnik" bar. It was during this time Divine started dressing in drag. He liked to dress as Elizabeth Taylor.  Waters started making films and Divine became his star. Divine's first film was "Roman Candles" in this film he played a smoking nun. Waters' films used a group of actors called the "Dreamlanders" made up of Divine, Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce along with several others.
Divine along with the Dreamlanders performed on Sunday's in Waters' films Divine normally in drag played characters like Jackie Kennedy (Eat Your Make-up), Diane Linkletter (The Diane Linkletter Story) and Divine (Mondo Trasho).
Divine moved from Baltimore to Provencetown, MA in 1970 and opened a vintage clothing store. He didn't actually get a permit so he was shut down. When he shut down he sold off all of the stock as well as the furniture from his rented furnished apartment causing the land lady to obtain a warrant for his arrest. Divine escaped arrest by fleeing to San Francisco.

While he lived in San Francisco Divine starred in Waters' next film "Multiple Maniacs". This was the first of their films to get any significant recognition. This film was followed by "Pink Flamingos". Divine once again is the star playing Babs Johnson "The Filthiest Person Alive". "Pink Flamingos" found success in the underground late night film circuit. The final scene of the film depicts Divine eating dog feces. The scene made Divine famous but proved to be a torture to him for the rest of his life.
After filming of "Pink Flamingos" wrapped Divine and Mink Stole moved to San Francisco where they became involved with the legendary "Cockettes". Divine starred in several shows including "Divine Save the World" ad "The Heartbreak of Psoriasis". Divine returned to Baltimore in 1974 to star in "Female Trouble" as Dawn Davenport. This film gave Divine a chance to play two roles. He plays a character not in drag who picks up a hitch hiking Dawn Davenport and impregnates her. Divine literally fucks himself in this film. "Female Trouble" would always be Divine's favorite movie.
Divine was unable to star in the next John Waters film as he was the star of the play "Women Behind Bars" and was performing in New York and eventually in London. While in London Divine appeared in the film "Alternative Miss World" which went on to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival.  Divine's success in "Women Behind Bars" led to another starring stage role this time it was playing Flash Storm, a Baltimore strip club owner in "The Neon Woman". The play was a success in both San Francisco and New York. Divine settled down in New York for a while where he was a frequently seen at Studio 54.
In the late 70's Divine started performing a nightclub act in gay clubs that involved singing and getting into fist fights on stage with other drag queens. He released a single "Born to be Cheap". After performing the club circuit Divine went back to film work with the role of Francine Fishpaw in "Polyester". Her love interest in this film was Tab Hunter and there was tabloid gossip that the two were an actual couple. Both denied the allegations. Divine and Hunter were reunited in the film "Lust in the Dust". This was Divine's first real film not directed by John Waters. Divine followed this a role in "Trouble in Mind" playing Hilly Blue a male character.
John Waters then cast Divine in "Hairspray". Divine again played two characters one male and one female,  Arvin Hodgepile and Edna Turnblad. This would utimately be Divine's most successful and last film with John Waters. Divine's last film role was a cameo in a low budget horror/comedy "Out of the Dark". "Hairspray" is considered her last major role.
Three weeks after the release of "Hairspray" Divine was in Los Angeles working on an episode of "Married With Children" when he was discovered dead in his hotel room on March 7, 1988. He was 42 years old.
"I think I've always been respectable. What I do onstage is not what I do in my private life… It's an act… It's how I make my living. People laugh, and it's not hurting anyone." -Divine

My Top Ten stupid and scary

Top ten Halloween-y movies!

I unabashedly Love Halloween. It isn't just scary it is scary and fun. Boo to you!
I try to spend all of October prepping for the final day. Hear is what I am watching . You should get  in the Halloween-y frame of mind and watch at least 9 of these movies!

Burnt Offerings

A creepy old mansion in the middle of now where with an evil power of renewal and a cast of Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, Burgess Meredith and Karen Black who could ask for more?

Dracula

Bela Lugosi is Dracula even if you haven’t seen this version you know Lugosi’s Dracula. He may not be Romanian but he is Hungarian and that will do in a pinch.

Carrie

Everyone in high school hates you and tortures you and then suddenly you have telekinetic powers. Isn’t that your fantasy? If you said no you are either a liar or a torturer.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

Who knew Don Knotts and horror could go together?  Don Knotts, Mr. Chicken, has to stay a night in a haunted house!

Frankenstein

Shelly would be proud of the original film version. James Whale and Boris Karloff!

Young Frankenstein

Fraahenkeschtein and Eyegor!

Rebecca

Mrs. Danvers is England’s most evil housekeeper. Don’t turn your turn your back on Mrs. Danvers. Jump Jump!

The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

“I got a rock.” Charlie Brown at his Charlie Browniest! The Great Pumpkin is just in search of the most sincere pumpkin patch.

The Devils

 

Oliver Reed once again as he is the creepiest man ever and Vanessa Redgrave as a nun, does it get more uncomfortable?  If you aren't  appalled by this film, you have no morals!

Female Trouble

 

If you can’t find a Halloween costume based from this film you are an idiot.  Dawn Davenport, Conchita and Chicklette,  Gater or the Dashers it hard to pick just one!

James Whale

You have seen James Whale's movies. They are some of the Hollywood's horror masterpieces. He directed Frankenstein, The Invisible Man and The Bride of Frankenstein among lots of other films.
Born in England James Whales came from a working class family in a working class town. He joined the army at the out break of World War II and was sent to Flanders. Whales was captured by the German's and lived the war in a prison camp. It was in the camp that Whales got involved with the theater. At the end of the war and his release Whales returned to England and started working as a cartoonist. The theater still attracted him and eventually acting and directing became his focus. During this time Whales was living openly as a homosexual but at the same time had a fiancee. Whale and Doris Zinkeisen, a scenic and costume designer were engaged for almost a year. In the late 20's Whale became involved with the war play "Journey's End" in London which eventually brought him to Broadway. "Journey's End" ran for two years.
When the "talkies" came to Hollywood stage directors were imported in droves to help the screen actors talk. Whale was one of them. He first went to Paramount and when his contract expired Whale signed with Howard Hughes. After Hughes Whale moved to Universal where he made a his first film Waterloo Bridge. It was a success and Carl Leammle gave Whale his choice of Universal's properties for his next film. He chose "Frankenstein".

Whale was at this time openly living with film producer David Lewis. They lived together until almost the end of Whale's life. "Frankenstein" was the movie to make Whale's name in Hollywood. He cast the then unknown Boris Karloff as the monster making both of their careers take flight. This was only the first horror movie that Whale was involved in. Horror became a moneymaker and a millstone for him. Films including "The Invisible Man" and "The Bride of Frankenstein" followed. He was offered the film "Dracula's Daughter" but was able to get out of it and finally break free of the Horror director enigma. Whale later directed 1935's "Showboat" considered the best version of the Broadway show ever filmed.
It was after "Showboat" that his career started to peter out. David Lewis, Whale's partner was during this time coming to his own as a producer and worked all the time. Whale was given some paint and canvas and started a new career as a painter. He worked as a painter until the end of his life. Sporadically Whale would direct plays. He worked with Pasadena Playhouse and travelling shows.
Whale went to visit a friend in Paris where he met a bartender who was described as a hustler. He returned to Los Angeles where he informed Lewis he was bringing the bartender Pierre over to work as his chauffeur. Lewis was appalled and moved out. There were a lot of problems in the relationship and Pierre everntually moved out and was put in charge of a gas station that Whale owned. It was during this time Whale suffered a slight stroke. Lewis arranged for a full time male nurse to take care of Whale. This didn't sit well with Pierre who fired the live in male nurse and hired a female day nurse. Whale had for many years suffered with depression.
James Whale was found drowned in his pool on May 29, 1957. There was a suicide not that Lewis held onto for 20 years. He wanted Whale's death to be considered an accident. The Note read:
"To ALL I LOVE,
Do not grieve for me. My nerves are all shot and for the last year I have been in agony day and night—except when I sleep with sleeping pills—and any peace I have by day is when I am drugged by pills.
I have had a wonderful life but it is over and my nerves get worse and I am afraid they will have to take me away. So please forgive me, all those I love and may God forgive me too, but I cannot bear the agony and it [is] best for everyone this way.
The future is just old age and illness and pain. Goodbye and thank you for all your love. I must have peace and this is the only way.
Jimmy"

The film "Gods and Monsters" is the story of the end of Whales life.

M & M's

The little chocolate candies called M & M's have been a favorite since 1941. Invented my Forrest Mars after he had seen soldiers eating chocolates with a hard shell during the Spanish Civil War. Mars got a patent in march of 1941 and started making them in his plant in New Jersey at the end of that summer. The two M's relate to Mars himself and Bruce Murrie the son of Hershey Chocolate's president. Hershey owned 20% of the company as it was war and chocolate was rationed. During World War II the candies were sold exclusively to the military. It was after the war that the sales really took off. The original colors were brown, yellow, green, red and violet. In 1950 a lower case M was printed on the hard outer shell and in 1954 the M was changed to the white letter we know today. The red M & M's were discontinued in 1976 because of the dye used to make the red color was found to be a carcinogen. Peanut M & M's were introduced in 1954 along with the slogan "melts in your mouth not in your hand". In 1986 red candies were reintroduced with a new dye that was deemed safe. In 1995 after a ad campaign that included voting blue M & M's were introduced to the market. It was discovered in 2009 that the blue dye used in the M & M 's has aided paralyzed rats in walking.

Over the years Mars Candy has created other products and other versions of the M & M but the original has always proved to be the favorite!

Hackers Are Evil

I have just spent hours upon hours trying to regain control of my on-line accounts. My facebook, twitter, and blog passwords were changed somehow. I had also change my email settings and password as well. Why someone did this is beyond me. I seriously debated deleting all of my accounts I have deleted some of them. I feel very bad.

This Blog May Disappear

Someone has gotten into my Blog! Someone has also gotten into my Google account! I may have to close this down. If I do I thank all of my readers for reading my little Blog and my silly thoughts. Thank you again fo paying attention to what I have had to say. To whom ever has gotten into my account may you have a horrible time for the rest of your days! It was very rude.
Damn You!

Bela Lugosi's Dead

Nine minutes of goth rock titled "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by the band Bauhaus was released in August of 1979. The song is considered by many to be the first "Goth" song to be released. Bauhaus the four member band from Northampton, England consisted of Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins. They went into the studio in January of 1979 and recorded the song live in a single take. The lyric section does not start until several minutes into the recording. The song did not chart on its original release and it took a re-release in 1988 for it to become a major hit for the band, five years after their break up.
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" went onto become the bands biggest hit after being featured in several film soundtracks. The band and the song are featured in Tony Scott's "The Hunger". This use propelled the song to become a hit.
Original vinyl copies are very collectable the most of all being the glow in dark picture disc in the clear palstic sleeve.

White on white translucent black capes
Back on the rack
Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
The virginal brides file past his tomb
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room
The count
Bela Logosi's dead
Undead undead undead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKRJfIPiJGY

Will-O'-The-Wisp

When you are out late at night and in the moors you may see a will-o'-the-wisp. In Latin they are known as Ignis Fatuus which translates to foolish fire. They are according to legend to be lights in the bogs that attract travelers into the bogs. In Wales and England lore says that they are Will a wicked blacksmith who lead such a bad life he has been forced to wander the bogs at night with only a single coal for light and warmth.
Science says that the lights are igniting marsh gases but that is no fun. Science always ruins a perfectly good scary story.
On the British Isles there are ways to scare off a will-o'-the-wisp. One of the ways is a jack-o-lantern. In England and Scotland turnips and rutabagas were hollowed, carved with faces and lit form within by a candle. When the tradition came to the US pumpkins were used as they are larger and easier to carve and we all know American's are lazy and want things bigger .
In Ireland there is a tale of Drunk Jack or Stingy Jack who offers his soul to the devil in lieu of paying his pub tab. Through a bit of trickery Jack thinks he has out witted the devil but finds that no he has not and must travel the earth at night with a carved turnip with a coal inside.
All of these tales are much more fun than burning marsh gas!

The House of Basarab

Many years ago I met a very nice woman, last name was Basarab. She and her older sister were the last members of the House of Basarab. The Basarabs are a Transylvanian family that traces it's roots back a thousand of years. The name was originally Basarabi and they were Hungarian. Basarabi I founded a kingdom independent of the Kingdom of Hungary in the Carpathian in Transylvania. A branch of the family was the House of the Draculesti. My friend was a descendant of Vlad the Impaler aka Dracula. My friend was more or less Dracula's great great great granddaughter. She told me that when she was a teenager she found out the family connection. Her grandfather was an elderly man and his older brother had just died. They went ot the funeral and it was there she found out the family history. Her grandfather and his late brother were the last two Basarabs in the old country. When the communists came into Romainia after the war the old noble families were hunted down to be executed. The Basarabs had long ago lost any power or money, they were just a beloved old family with a big old house in a small village in Transylvania. When the communists came for them the peasants had smuggled them out of the area and eventually to the United States. The grandfather and his brother lived out their lives in the US. My friend's grandfather had one son and his brother no children. My friend's dad was the last male Basarab and she and her sister were the end of the House of Basarab.

Vlad the Impaler was a bloody ruler and warrior. He was known for impaling his foe and leaving them in fields. Vlad made a name for himself in battles with the Ottoman Empire when it was being expelled from Hungary. Vlad was also known for impaling the peasants. His second wife was Ilona and was fabled to have bathed in a mixture of milk and virgins blood as a beauty treatment. This was not your usual family.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Providence, Rhode Island is a creepy city and has fathered some very creepy people but the creepiest of them all was H P Lovecraft. He was the 20th centuries Edgar Allen Poe who was oddly enough another creepy guy who once lived in Providence. Lovecraft wrote what is now called science fiction and in the horror genre. His writing is part of a sub-genre of fiction called "weird Fiction". The stories are weird and creepy and unearthly. As was the man himself.
Lovecraft's father died at an early age after being committed to Butler Hospital, a mental hospital. Butler Hospital is a Gothic pile of a building in the creepiest built in a 19th century mental hospital vernacular. The hospital's grounds on Swan Point abut a cemetery also named Swan Point. This is where Lovecraft's father died of syphilis in 1898 when little Howard was eight. Lovecraft was raised by his maternal grandfather, mother and two maiden aunts in his grandfather's home. His grandfather, Whipple Van Buren Phillips, was of an old New England family tracing themselves back to the Mayflower. When he was a child Lovecraft's grandfather would tell him Gothic horror tales. He died in the family home when Lovecraft was 14. Because of a mismanagement of his grandfather's estate the family was left rather poor. They were forced to sell the family home and move to smaller less grand quarters. Lovecraft had always been a sickly child and suffered from night terrors. He was a delicate young man when he attended public high school. He suffered what is now considered a nervous breakdown and never obtained his diploma.
Starting as a child Lovecraft wrote. His earliest works were poetry.One of his earliest poems was"Night Gaunts" a poem about his night terrors and filled with devil-like faceless creatures.  He was always interested in chemistry and astronomy and other early works had those themes as their subjects. Between 1908 and 1913 Lovecraft lived like a hermit. His only real contact was with his mother with whom he lived. At this time Lovecraft started writing for various pulp magazines. It was around then his mother suffered from hysteria and was also confined to Butler hospital for a time.
Lovecraft was a voracious letter writer and correspondent.
In 1921 Lovecraft's mother died. A short time after her death he travelled to Boston to attend a conference and he met a woman. Her name was Sonia Greene and she lived in New York. they married and moved to New York. Lovecraft initially loved New York. His aunts did not approve of the marriage and his wife as she was a "tradeswoman" and owned a hat shop. Lovecraft couldn't secure any work and tensions mounted in their marriage. Greene moved away to Ohio and Lovecraft eventually returned to providence to live with his two aunts in a large Victorian home. This is where he wrote most of his best known works.

In 1936 Lovecraft was diagnosed with cancer of the small intestine. He lived his last days with his aunt and in tremendous pain and malnutrition. He kept a diary of his sickness until almost his last day. He died in March of 1937. Lovecraft is buried in the family plot in Swan Point Cemetery next to butler hospital.