Wicked Words Wednesday

Alison and I apologize for the lack of posts lately. We are prepping our office for our annual Halloween competition that happens at work. But be sure to stay tuned as our blog will soon be filled with tons of photos of our costumes and Halloween adventures!

Before Sookie and Bill, before Edward and Bella, there were many other great novels incorporating your now very friendly"Veggie" fanged friends. If you are tired of sappy vampire romance try some of these books.

I am Legend is actually one of the best novels I have ever read. It is a quick read and NOTHING like the awful Will Smith movie, which I refuse to go see. I actually always envisioned this story being made into a one-man play with Johnny Depp.

The Last Vampire. I was obsessed with Christopher Pike as a kid. OBSESSED! His Last Vampire series was one of the best and has a female vampire as the main character. If you haven't noticed, most of our wordly vamps are men. It is a young adult series but the story is still pretty good. Definitely worth checking out.

Let The Right One In. I haven't finished this book but I have to say that there is a lot more going on so far in the book than in the movie. I didn't enjoy the film. Not sure why.

Kitschy Books

When you love Halloween as much I as I do, you often swoon over any ghoulish/Halloween theme books you may come across. Here are a few of my favorites. Also, be sure to check out Lisa Morton's Halloween Encyclopedia blog HERE for an amazing bibliography of all sorts of Halloween inspired books!
Enjoy.

This book is great to have whether you are a cat lover or Halloween fanatic. It has some great memorabilia in it. A few excerpts from the book are listed belowWhat great advertisement for hosiery!

I love these vintage Halloween decorations


I love this book and luckily it is apart of my collection. Full of great designs and funny antedotes.

What a great wolfman!
This is what I am like on a bad day. Watch out.

I can't wait to get my hands on this book.

Another great Taschen book from the Icons series. Contains a very diverse collection of devilish graphics.
This one is great too!

Wicked Words Wednesday: A tribute to Edgar Allen Poe

Poor Mr. Poe. As most of us know, the master of macabre's life was not one of fortune, recognition, or happiness. In some cases, we should be grateful for his misery since without it Poe may have easily written poems about puppies, and Virginia's beautiful fall foliage instead of dead beating hearts and tortured souls. Luckily the city of Baltimore knows how to respect their dead and recently had a funeral procession for Edgar Allen Poe a couple of weeks ago. I would have loved to join the 200+ mass of people who followed his hearse to the cemetery. Read more about the event HERE and watch a news clip about it Here.

For the Geek in all of us . . . . .

Everyone enjoys a good comic book every now and then. There is quite a variety of spooky, gothic comics out there for your reading pleasure. Here are a few that I have either read or heard about:

I came across Gloom Cookie years ago. There is nothing particularly horrific about this comic book, but it has a cute gothic romance and suspenseful story. My favorite artist, Ted Naifeh, was the first illustrator for this comic.

After Ted Naifeh left Gloom Cookie he went on to make Courtney Crumrin. I love how Courtney, the main character, doesn't have a nose. One of the comic's installments was actually nominated for the Eisner award.
Ted Naifeh has also contributed to the wonderful comic,The Nocturnals, by Dan Brereton. More of an actiony gothic comic.
My fave character is Gunwitch. A mix of ghoul, skull, sheriff badass.

I Luv Halloween is a manga about a group of misfits who gather on Halloween to cause some ruckus. Haven't read it yet, but it is on my list.

Death JR. first came out as a PSP video game. Then the super cute comic book was made. Death Jr. is about Death's (as in the grimreaper) son, Death Jr. and his freakish little friends. Surprise, Surprise, Ted Naifeh is also involved with this dreary delight as well.

Now for some darker, more disturbing gothic comics.

Lenore created by Roman Dirge is a classic. Who knew such a disturbing little dead girl could be so cute? You have to have a morbid sense of humor to really enjoy this one.
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is probably one of the must recognized macabre horror comics out there. Jhonen Vasquez brings a twist of humor to this dark comic about a somewhat eccentric killer.

Jhonen Vasquez also was the genius behind Invader Zim, the wacky children's cartoon that was on Nickelodeon.
Squee is another spinoff comic by Vasquez. Johnny the Homicidal Maniac just happens to be this little kids neighbor. Poor Guy.
Sandman by Neil Gaiman , of course.

I guarantee you that the Hellboy comic is much better than the movie. I love the dark illustrations in this series.

I have only read the first installment of 30 Days of Night, but I loved it. It is a great vampire tale that is more realistic than fantastical. Great graphics! The movie isn't too bad either. No vampire romance bullshit in this film.
Vampirella. She'll eat your heart out. Love it.

A Witch Hunting We Go!

Click HERE for some traditional German tales of how to spot cunning witches that may be hiding under the guise of your friend or family member.

Wicked Words Wednesday: The Classics

I think reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz when I was a kid might have had something to do with my morbid nature. That and watching The Shining when I was eleven. This series (there are three total) is a classic that people tend to forget about. Yes, it may be for a more younger crowd but who doesn't love reading these haunting legends about the lady with the mysterious black ribbon around her neck over and over again. Each book contains a variety of tall tales accompanied by the most disturbing illustrations ever. I'm pretty sure the illustrations by Stephen Gammell freaked me out more than the stories themselves (specifically the dead bride in the trunk!)

Wicked Words about Wicked Witches

My favorite witch of all time is Baba Yaga, an old witch-woman from traditional Russian folklore. She is wonderfully horrible, flying around on not the usual broomstick, but perched in a giant mortar. Her house walks about on giant chicken feet, so that no one knows where she is. Check out all her amazing attributes HERE