Tag Archives: Carnival of Souls

Yes, It Is Monday

Posted on December 31, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here I was wondering what I could offer for a blog post when I realized today was Monday.  Monstrous Monday!  Many of us are confused by what day it is between Christmas and New Year’s.  Others are only too well aware. I cannot worry who knows what.  I can only make what blog post I can.  Full disclosure:  I have had a couple of glasses of Chardonnay before posting.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

Is this how I look to myself?

Since I confessed to indulging before blogging, I thought  this blurry mirror image was appropriate.  In fact, I am not seeing double, in the mirror or as I look in the distance.  However, this is a good monstrous image from Carnival of Souls,  a delightful low-budget scary movie.

Nice side eye!

OK, this does not have a lot to do with the previous picture, but it is a favorite of mine from The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, an excellent cheesy horror movie.

Why are you looking at me?

For a third picture, I show Nosferatu  of the eponymous 1922 silent movie, looking startled that we are zeroing in on him.  Regular readers know I love Nosferatu.

I guess this is not much of a post, which you will have on occasion.  I will try for something better tomorrow. In the meantime, I hope your Monday is just as Monstrous.

 

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Slacker to Cinema Plus Shout-Out

Posted on October 6, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had rather a Slacker Saturday today, but at least I am making my blog post on Saturday. I really did not do much after I made my Friday blog post, so I don’t have much to write about now (as Truman Capote once said, that’s not writing, that’s typing). One thing I should have done was work on my lines for Curtains for Frangelica, the murder mystery we are presenting to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society, one week from today. Yikes!

My computer or my WordPress is still messed up. Instead of seeing the picture I inserted, it is just a bunch of typing. And I can’t edit it to add a caption. Well, I can’t worry about these things now. Right now I want to make a blog post.

As I am typing, I am kind of watching The Tingler on DVD. It is a William Castle produced horror movie starring Vincent Price. It is a bit on the cheesy side, but so entertaining.

Earlier I watched Carnival of Souls. Full disclosure: I only mention it because I saw a picture from it in my Media Library when I was looking for the picture from The Tingler.

So I guess I can bill this as a Cinema Saturday, with a shout-out to my upcoming murder mystery. Just to make it a real plug, here is the flier:

I don’t think they are sold out yet, if any local readers are interested.

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Monsters I Have Known

Posted on June 25, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

The late posts continue as I sit here Tuesday morning hoping to at least do a Monstrous Monday post.  I am sipping re-heated coffee from yesterday (waste not, want not), which is never as good but will surely do (there I go again, calling myself Shirley).  I almost felt like putting on a sweatshirt this morning, as we got a break from the excessive (to me) heat but said to myself, “Don’t worry; as soon as you start drinking the coffee you will get a hot flash.”  Sure enough…

Never mind all that, on with the monsters!

He looks like a friendly fellow.

I open with an unknown monster I found somewhere on the internet back in 2017.  It is a pretty cool scene.  I wonder if it is somebody’s house or an attraction one can visit.  I may never know but enjoy speculating.

He is scary, yes!

I move on to a better known monster, my favorite guy Nosferatu, from the eponymous 1922 silent movie, arguably the scariest movie ever (although I do not argue it myself, because I almost always lose arguments).

Here’s a creepy one!

Perhaps a lesser known monster, here is the unnamed menace from Carnival of Souls.  Is he death?  Is he the devil? I got the picture from the Carnival of Souls Facebook page.

Another low-budget delight.

They may look human, but they are witches, thousands of years old in Haunted Hotel, also known as City of the Damned,  although both are misnomers, as I believe I have pointed out before, because it involves an inn in a village.  Speaking of known and unknown, the guy in the middle is a young Christopher Lee.  I did not recognize him the first time I saw this movie (I have it in one of my DVD horror collections), but it was before I became acquainted with Hammer Horror films.

I see I have rattled on for over 300 words.  Additionally, my coffee has gotten tepid.  I do enjoy making a Monstrous Monday post and hope my readers do as well.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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From Creepy to Cute

Posted on February 6, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to yet another late Monstrous Monday post. I offer no tiresome explanations but intend to get on with the post, which, alas, will offer no new monsters, until I figure out a few more things on this Chromebook (oh dear, was that a tiresome explanation?  If so, sorry).

Not a monster, but a creepy image, no?

This looks like I am veering into Wayback Wednesday or Throwback Thursday, but really I just liked the outline of the dead body.

“This is a good boy!”

Here was the first real monster I came to.  You just can’t go wrong with Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.  I must watch that flick again soon.

Those eyes!

I guess I’m just being random today, but this is a pretty good flick, with Bela Lugosi at his creepiest.

No, this guy is the creepiest!

And here is a shot from one of my favorites, Carnival of Souls.  I often tout this as an example of what you can do with a low budget and very few effects.  What atmosphere!  So unsettling.  It is definitely not a feel-good movies, but then I never went in for the feel-good ones.

“I don’t know why she wanted me to be in this post.”

I go from creepy to cute to round out the post.  I guess this one has been rather thin of substance (as if I am ever a particularly substantial blogger), but I shared some nice pics and over 200 words.  It is the best I can do at 4:39 on a Tuesday morning while pretending it is still Monday.  Have a lovely day, whatever day it is.

 

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Carnival of Tired Tuesday?

Posted on May 24, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Tired Tuesday follows Monstrous Monday once again.  I meant to take a walk and do a Pedestrian Post,  but I just feel too tired.  Oh dear.  I did a few things earlier:  a little yard work, a little house cleaning, ran a couple errands, grocery shopped.  And somewhere in all that I took a nap.  You would think that would have helped, but not so much.

It’s a classic. Or a cult favorite. I get them mixed up.

I am looking at Carnival of Souls, a low budget but very effective horror movie.  I have it on two different DVD collections.  Right now I am watching the one from 50 Horror Classics.  I thought I would watch my way through all 50.  I still have not solved my television problem so am only watching DVDs these days.

I kind of feel like she looks.

I plan to do more than sit around and watch DVDs, of course.  I plan to run more, clean my house, and fix up my yard and garden.  Then I can write blog posts about doing those things.  If I’m not too tired.

Eeeeeerie!

In the meantime, I continue to watch Candace Hillligoss struggle with the strange things that keep happening to her.

Eeeee! Who is that man?

I’m afraid this is a very dull blog post.  I always say a bad blog post is better than no blog post at all, but I have to wonder.  As usual, I intend to hit Publish and hope for the best.  Also as usual, I shall go for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

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Not Late, Just Lame

Posted on March 11, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I’d try something different: making my Lame Post Friday post ON Friday.  Of course here I sit with not much to say, but when has that ever stopped me?

Tangentially related illustration.

I wanted to throw in a picture to, you know, pep things up.  I just spent a ridiculous amount of time searching my Media Library for pictures I was sure I used at some point relating to this evening’s cheesy viewing.  Alas, they were not to be found.  So I share the above, because it is a movie in the same DVD collection as the one I am currently watching, The Atomic Brain.

Previously I watched The Vampire Bat.  I am SO in the mood for old, low budget horror these days.  Bring on the cheese!  Incidentally,  the Brain one just ended, and I put in Carnival of Souls.  This one is low budget but not really cheesy.  It is almost a masterpiece of atmosphere, creepy and weird.

Found the right picture!

I cannot remember what I shared about my television trials and tribulations.  I know I talked about getting rid of cable, but did I mention that I could not even watch DVDs?  Well I couldn’t, but now I can.  Unfortunately,  it is not the ideal DVD situation.  All I can do is put the DVD in and hit Play.  So I can’t arrow over when, for example, there are two movies on the same DVD. No pause or rewind either.  I KNOW!  First world problems!

Ah, here is a bit of half-baked philosophy,  in which I like to indulge on Lame Post Friday:  why are all my problems either of the first world variety or operator error?   Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

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Once Again, I Make with the Monsters

Posted on November 29, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess it’s time to make my Monstrous Monday Post.  Past time, actually.  I read where you should not be on your device too soon before bedtime or you’ll have trouble sleeping.  I would actually like to go to sleep right now.  However, I also want to make a blog post, and I most likely will not be able to sleep anyways.  So let’s make with the monsters, shall we?

It’s a shadow of a doubt, I mean a shadow of a count!

Here is a particularly evocative shot from my beloved Nosferatu, the silent masterpiece from 1922.  Regular readers know he is my favorite guy.  They made great use of shadows in older horror movies.  Unfortunately,  I was just looking and could not find any more.  Isn’t that annoying?  I could have had a whole theme going on here.

Eerie, yes?

Since I could not find shadows, how about a reflection?  This is from Carnival of Souls, a creepy low budget delight from 1962.  When I say low budget, I do not mean a schlock-fest (although I love some of those, too).  I mean they created a deliciously unsettling movie using very little in the area of special effects.  Atmosphere for days!

I think something bad is about to happen.

I searched my Media Library for another shadow or reflection or anything I could relate to the previous two pictures and found nothing.  So I close with a mysterious bull’s eye.  I have no idea what this picture is from.  I don’t even know if I knew when I first downloaded it, and I am far too lazy to research the matter.

On the brighter side,  I am over 250 words.  Score!  I wonder if I will be able to sleep.

 

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Souls, Swoon, Snapped, It’s Sunday

Posted on October 17, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

There I was, so proud of myself for making my Friday post on Friday, then I did not post at all on Saturday and here I am on Sunday, no blog post and very little brain to come up with one.  How dreadfully irresponsible of me.  I guess it is a Wrist to Forehead Sunday,  because I do feel rather inclined to swoon, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, onto a handy chaise lounge.  Why do I not have a chaise lounge?

An evocative poster, no?

My husband, Steve, and I did watch a couple of movies, one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday.  I wanted to see Carnival of Souls.  It is so unsettling with very few special effects, a testimony to what can be accomplished on a small budget.

A haunting image.

I throw in another image for good measure.  When this moment happened in the movie, I drew Steve’s attention to it.  I knew I had seen a still of it.  I got these images, by the way, from a Carnival of Souls Facebbok fan page.

We are now looking at an episode of Snapped.  Sunday’s are for Snapped, according to the Oxygen Facebook page, but I don’t mind catching an episode or two any day of the week.

Luckily I have not reached mine yet.

I see I am over 200 words.  Score!  I guess I don’t have to swoon after all.

 

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Just a Few Mid-Week Monsters

Posted on September 29, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

Once again I wussed out on Wednesday.  Once again I have no good excuse so will not attempt to offer one.  However, since I did not make a Monstrous Monday post, I will indulge in some Mid-Week Monsters.  I do like monsters.

“You’re late with your blog post? I’ll get you for that!”

Here is the creepy guy from Carnival of Souls, one of my favorites.  So unsettling with a minimum of special effects, so scary with no blood and gore.  I know, most horror fans love the blood and gore.  I confess to being squeamish.

If it’s blood and gore you want…

 

Some bloody, gory movies I enjoy were made by Hammer Films in the 1960’s and ’70’s.  I just loves me some Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

Not monsters, but monstrously talented.

I was looking for a picture of Peter Cushing and found this one, including Vincent Price.  Price was not in any of the Hammer horrors, but he gave delightful performances in several produced by William Castle and Roger Corman, two more of my favorites.

Ah, there’s Cushing in action.

There! I found one with Lee and Cushing!  I guess I can use a picture of a mummy to wrap things up (couldn’t resist a pun; I rarely can).

 

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Depression is Monstrous

Posted on September 13, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

I started a blog post last night but did not finish it (obviously).  I tried to finish it this morning but got bogged down in a morass of words about being depressed.  It felt whiny and pointless, so I stopped (although I did save it for possible future use).  I want to publish something, so I am going to throw in a few monster pictures and call this a Monstrous Blogger’s Sick Day (depression is an illness, although I feel somewhat fraudulent using it as an excuse) (never mind that, on with the post).

“You cannot escape!”

This is from Carnival of Souls, an excellent example of how a movie can be quite unsettling on a low budget and minimum of special effects (you know, it is much easier to italicize words with a mouse than on a Tablet) (just to throw in a little computer chatter).

My depression looming over me? Only I do not look that good in a bathing suit.

A little Creature from the Black Lagoon never hurt anybody.  Some people find it helpful to picture their depression as an animal that follows them around.  I wonder if a mind trick like that would help me.  I could picture it as a monster and make friends with it.

“Hi, Depression. Nice suit. Green suits you.”

Maybe not.

Invasion of the Happiness Snatchers?

Or I could fight my depression with a pitchfork, and a little help from my friends.  The pitchfork only provided temporary relief in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but it certainly made for a dramatic moment.  Regular readers know I love drama.  I wonder if the pod people could be worked up to a full metaphor for depression.  That might be something to play with sometime.

And now I see I am approaching 300 words, with very little effort and only a minimum of whining.  I will make a greater effort toward even less whining, and as always try for a better blog post next time.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

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