Tag Archives: monsters

A Few Vampires Never Hurt

Once again, I eschew writing about Mohawk Valley adventures for a Monstrous Monday post.  Full disclosure:  It has not been a particularly monstrous day.  For one reason I took off work for a couple of VA appointments.  I will not elaborate on that, because, you know, HIPAA (if I have that acronym right).

The Shadow of the Vampire?

Why not start right out with my favorite, Nosferatu (1922), that silent horror masterpiece.  I love the use of shadows.

For many the quintessential vampire.

Here is a busier illustration, the 1931 Tod Browning produced film.  My late, dearly missed husband,  Steve, was not especially enamored of this movie, but he occasionally consented to watch it with me.

Another favorite of many.

One might argue that Christopher Lee revitalized the role in the Hammer Films Dracula movies. I am not sure which film this picture is from, but I enjoy watching all of them.  Christopher Lee did not confine himself to Dracula, of course.  He memorably portrayed Frankenstein’s monster and other horror parts, both villainous and heroic.

Very atmospheric. I loved it.

To include one more vampire and get to at least 200 words, I share the poster of Dracula’s Daughter, a worthy addition to the pantheon.  Is pantheon the word I want?  Perhaps I should look it up.

Random vampire picture while I grab my dictionary.

Hmmm… doesn’t seem quite right by the definition, but it is used this way in the example.  On that note of grammar, I see I am over 200 words, so I sign off.  I hope you enjoyed another vampire post.  I will try not to let Tired Tuesday get the best of me.

 

Late Monsters, Love Coffee

A late post is better than no post at all.  This week I am either back to late posts or no posts and I choose late posts.  Hello and welcome to a Monstrous Monday post made early Tuesday morning.

Random monster to denote passage of time while I go get coffee.

Everything is less monstrous with coffee.  Coffee drinkers will agree; non-coffee drinkers may substitute the beverage, comfort, or wake-up aid of their choice.  I am feeling a bit monstrous this morning for no particular reason.  At least, there may be reasons, but it would be dull to get into them.  Could I be getting old?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!

At least I am not toothless. Yet.

Yesterday I heard music wafting up from Meyers Park, where the Herkimer Downtown Chowdown was taking place, just to give a shout-out to a local attraction.  The Chowdown is the food truck event that runs Mondays in Meyers Park in Herkimer, NY.  They have some great musical entertainment.  I did not walk down yesterday, though.  I may stay home all week.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

He is watching you.

However, I do plan to go for walks this week.  I went for one yesterday morning.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, because I am feeling tired and lazy), it is raining this morning.  I hope it will not be too hot or raining this afternoon when I get home from work. If I do walk, there is a good chance I will walk by my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners.  One of the corners is the 1834 Jail, seen in the picture above.  I feel free to include it in Monstrous Monday because of the cut-out of Chester Gillette, a real life monster.  He only committed one murder in his short life, but if he had gotten away with it, I’m thinking he would have done away with other inconveniently pregnant girlfriends.

Ooh, look, I am over 300 words.  Score!  Let’s see if I can do my Tired Tuesday post later on ON Tuesday.  I am pretty sure I will be tired, but thank you for tuning in.

 

Monsters I Have Known

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.

 

Maybe I Should Have Remade the Blog Post

I am just about up to a Monstrous Monday post.  It has not been a particularly monstrous day, but I am just not feeling like myself.  I think I need some monster to re-center me.  It couldn’t hurt.

Yeah, I feel like this, and I kind of look that way, too.

Here is a depiction of me, only I cause much less havoc and destruction.  Steve McQueen would find no reason to fight me.  I hope.

In case anybody was wondering what movie that was from.

I haven’t seen The Blob in a while.  It is a fun flick.  I never saw the remake.  Remakes are often disappointing, although not always.

He is smoking hot!

For example, Blacula as an update of Dracula is quite entertaining.  I understand the sequel, Scream, Blacula, Scream, is at least equally as good.  I must check it out sometime.  I hear Pam Grier is in it.  Love Pam Grier!

Quite the mash-up, no?

I don’t believe I have ever seen Dracula vs. Frankenstein, another sort of sequel or remake, but this picture was in my Media Library.  I suppose I just grabbed it because it looked cool.

I’m afraid that is exactly what they think, but of course I do not know for sure.

And here is one they never remade.  Wait a minute, I did once, a long time ago, see a movie called They Saved Hitler’s Brain.  His head was in a kind of a glass case, like you might put a cake in.  That might have been a sort of a re-boot, or this one was a re-boot of that one.  I wonder why Hitler’s Brain never made it into one of my DVD collections of movies.  Something to hope for in the future.

In the meantime, I am approaching 300 words.  Score!  Time to see if a good night’s sleep can save my brain.

 

At Least I Made It On Monday

Hello and welcome to yet another Monstrous Monday post.  I have been staring at the blank screen, hopping over to Facebook as a delaying tactic, and indulging in the type-it-in-back-space-it-out disease (can you indulge in a disease?  I am really groping for words today).   I prefer to make my blog posts on time, not prior to five in the morning the next day.  For one reason, I have to do other things I put off till morning, like make my lunch (make lunch, not war!).

It isn’t only Monday, truth be told.

I was actually looking for the Brain from Planet Arous, my usual illustration for my brain-dead condition, but I thought “No Like Monday!” would also apply.  I don’t know why I get so set on having a Monday through Friday work schedule if it is only going to make me hate Monday so much.  Do I really want to feel miserable for five days and happy for two?  That’s silly!  Anyways, it isn’t true.  I manage to find some happiness in every day, or at least a good laugh  Life is not bad when you can have a good laugh once in a while.

Relaxing with a cup of tea is nice, too.

I thought I would show the Monster in a more relaxed mode as well.  Right now I am relaxing with a glass of wine.

A gift from my late, dearly missed husband.

I was over 200 words but wanted one more picture.  I thought this one was appropriate, because I mentioned earlier that I preferred not to be making my blog posts early in the morning.  In fact, I do not mind making the post with or before my coffee.  It is the pressure of making a late post that bothers me.  Maybe I will try making my Tired Tuesday post tomorrow morning.  But will I make my lunch tonight?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my Monday.

 

In the Mood for Monsters?

In the Mood for Monsters?

Hello and welcome to another Monstrous Monday post.  I can’t say my Monday has been thoroughly monstrous, but I am feeling… well, never mind how I am feeling.  It is tiresome to always listen to someone whine about their feelings.  Anyways, I may very well feel differently after I encounter a few of my favorite monsters.

An evocative shot, yes?

Here is one from my favorite Nosferatu, the 1922 silent film.  They made more use of shadows in the older movies.  I think it is scary.  I like it.

Which is the bad guy?

In the interests of using a picture I haven’t used many times already (yes, I am still going to my Media Library for Monstrous Monday; haven’t learned how to get new pictures on the Chromebook yet), I show this one, which I do not remember using before and have no idea what movie it is from.  It looks like an alien and a fish monster.  Do any of you recognize it? If so, please comment and tell me.

A more homegrown monster.

Tired of looking for more movie monsters, I offer this show of my own Bonita, wearing a doggy devil mask I picked up at a rummage sale.  It is hard to see, but she is holding the bouquet of black tulips my friend Jerry made for a murder mystery.  He presented them to me after the performance, and they have been part of my Halloween decor ever since.

And that brings me over 200 words.  Score!  I thank my monsters, and I thank my readers for tuning in once again.

 

Are You Shocked I’m Having a Monstrous Monday?

I have a few Mohawk Valley Adventures to blog about, yet I fear I will do another Monstrous Monday Post today.  It has not been too monstrous of a Monday as Mondays go.  I think my worst moment was waking up almost 20 minutes later than I usually get out of bed.  Yes, I have an alarm clock.  At least, I set the alarm on my watch.  But I set it for a later time than I usually get up, for a worst case scenario.  I hate being woken up.

Where was I?  Ah yes, Monstrous Monday.  Let us make with the monsters.

What is he looking at?

I am not sure which Wolfman movie this shot is from, but doesn’t he look shocked?  What does it take to shock a werewolf?  Points to ponder.

We know what she is screaming about.

OK, this is not a monster, but a victim in a scary movie (do I have to tell anybody it’s Psycho?).  I think one could argue that Norman Bates (or his mother) is a monster.  I’m not saying I want to get into such an argument, though.  I usually lose arguments.

Witches are monsters, right?

This is the mug I drank my coffee out of this morning.  I’m still a witch (spelled with a b), although I am no longer anybody’s wife.

Gotta love the title.

To end on a cheerier note, here is a poster from a cheesy horror movie.  Who could be uncheered by cheese?  I think I have seen this, but I do not remember anything about it.  I must check if it is in one of my DVD collections.  I could do a blog post on it.  I haven’t done a movie write-up in a long time.  I never get a lot of blogger love for them (in the form of Likes), but I do enjoy writing them.

Ooh, look, I am over 300 words.  Score!  Time to start getting ready for Tired Tuesday.  As always, thank you for tuning in.

 

I Manage to Find Some Monsters

I think I can just about manage a Monstrous Monday Post.  Never mind what my problem is; my problems are in general way less than many others and I feel I must stop being so self-dramatizing about them.  Then again, I do always say, go with your strengths.  Never mind that, let me make with the monsters.

Just hanging out with the guys.

Here is a shot from Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, taken back in 2016.  I love Pumpkin Junction!

Regular readers know what this picture means.

I have just been searching my Media Library for more pictures of skeletons (or skellingtons, as I like to call them) (and have been doing so LONG before Nightmare Before Christmas, so don’t think that’s where I stole it from!).  I could not find any, oddly enough.  It is, I believe, time to start finding new monster pictures for this feature.  However, tonight I am feeling rather brain dead and was delighted to see The Brain From the Planet Arous,  which often eludes me when I want to use it.  Note to self:  index Media Library.

My favorite guy!

When in doubt, go with Nosferatu.  I heard they were doing another remake.  I have only seen the 1922 silent version, oh and Shadow of the Vampire, which I enjoyed and would like to catch again.

As usual on Monstrous Monday, I seem to be saying nothing of substance. However, I am over 200 words, so I will hit Publish and hope for the best.  Maybe one more monster picture…

Took me a minute to find a good one.

Late Post with Lugosi

I think we’re all agreed that a late blog post is better than no blog post at all (oh, I suppose YOU don’t agree) (you know who you are).  Therefore, I sit here Tuesday morning (lounged on my couch, ten-finger typing into my Chromebook, just to give you the picture) and indulging in a Monstrous Monday post.  Full disclosure:  My Monday was not all that monstrous. Until the end of the day, when I got hit with a massive case of “I CAN’T!”  I knew it wasn’t true and proved it by doing just a couple of things.  But making a blog post, alas, was not one of them.

He looks a little malevolent to me.

I was going to caption this, “I bid you velcome,” which he says at some point, but then I thought, that is not a welcoming face.  It is, I add for the sadly uninitiated, the late great Bela Lugosi in the role that made him famous, Count Dracula.

Apes had a bad rep in Hollywood at the time.

Here’s Lugosi later in his career, in The Ape Man.  That was a pretty good one if I recall.  I have it on my DVD Collection of 50 Horror Classics (some of which are more classic than others, as you may imagine).  Perhaps I will watch it again in the near future.

Is that a smile you can trust?

Since this seems to be turning into a Bela Lugosi Post, I add one more picture of the master.  Would you follow that face up a long staircase by the light of just one candle?  Points to ponder.

In the meantime, I have gotten over 250 words, and I believe they weren’t too whiny (except when I shared my bout of “I Can’t,” but you’ll have that, especially in this blog).  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

Monday? Tuesday? Anyways, Here Are Some Monsters

Since I feel I am making a late post for the day before when I make a blog post early in the morning, I will feel free to make a Monstrous Monday Post on Tuesday (today).  I am on my Chromebook, enjoying the ten-finger typing but concerned about my difficulties navigating my Media Library and (so far) inability to download pictures from elsewhere on the internet.  I know, first world problems.  Then again, any blogging problems are bound to be of the first world variety.  Let me stop complaining and get on with the post.

This is one of my all time favorite memes.

Now I am a little non-sequitur-ish or is it time-warpy?  I am pretending it is still Monday yet had to share a Tuesday meme.  I loves me some Bela and Boris.  That is Lugosi and Karloff, for the sadly uninitiated (at least, I am sad for you if you do not know them; it may cause you little or no distress).

I don’t know him, but he looks fun.

I have no idea where I got this delightful picture, but I wish my front lawn looked as good.  Maybe I can work on that.

“Just a little off the top. And put some product on it, would you?”

I appreciate a well turned out wolfman, don’t you?  I recently got a haircut at the Hot Spot Salon and Spa in Herkimer, NY, but I did not start out that hairy.  I was shaggy enough that I wanted a cut, though, and I was very happy with the results.  So I have now given a brief shout-out to a local business.  I guess I can multi-task in a blog post.

That puts me over 250 words, so I say Score!  As I am unable to multi-task outside the blog post, I will stop blogging and fix my breakfast and lunch.  Once again, I thank you for tuning in.