tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43921758011752703352024-03-18T02:37:21.927-05:00 The Drunken Severed HeadA Blogger Blog of Note. Winner of the Rondo Award.Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.comBlogger1080125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-89489769411419271242022-06-30T21:19:00.006-05:002022-06-30T21:41:29.949-05:00Trans-sylvanians Talk<p> THE DRUNKEN SEVERED HEAD has always celebrated the un-usual; the motto here has always been "Weirdness is where you find it." And as Yours Gruely isn't straight, and as LGBTQ Pride Month draws to a close, I'm sharing an interview I did with three young trans/genderqueer people I'm proud to call my friends. I wanted to give a voice to them so straight/cisgender people of my generation, who often don't know young queer and trans people, might understand how they see things and what life is like for them, and hopefully lose some of the hostility queer/trans people encounter. </p><p> The following discussion has very frank and honest talk. </p><p> Robert is a FtM 19 y.o. trans man who lives in a small town in Ohio; Freddy is 21 y.o. transmasculine person who was AFAB (assigned female at birth); and Tyler is a 24 y.o. genderqueer person who is AMAB but doesn't fit any gender stereotype. All three love horror movies, like me - hence the punning title of this post. And now, my well-intentioned questions. (I specialize in good intentions, as I'm looking for the road to Hell, where all the interesting people are.)</p><p>TDSH: I'd like to hear how hospitable or inhospitable your city has been to trans and genderqueer people.</p><p>ROBERT: I live in the downtown area of Springfield, Ohio, and people have been pretty accepting. When I came out to friends around the neighborhood, I got nothing but support. My friends have also been very understanding about it. I expected the worst, so I was pleasantly surprised with everyone's positive reactions.</p><p>FREDDY: Well, most anti-trans laws currently being passed around the country are specifically targeted towards trans people younger than 18. Ohio is no exception when it comes to proposing anti-trans legislation, although to my knowledge none of it has been signed into law yet. A lot of us speculate that this is just getting the ball rolling towards a larger trans genocide that will affect people of all ages. If anti-trans laws that target children are able to get passed we've kind of opened the floodgates towards the rest of us, and obviously BIPOC are going to be the first to be affected. So, yeah, genocide isn't particularly hospitable.</p><p>When it comes to personal experience, it mostly has to do with microagressions from my family which stem from ignorance and misinformation they've received. I want to say it isn't their fault, but they do choose not to do the work to become better educated, so that's kind of on them. Aside from being misgendered (whether it's accidental or deliberate is impossible to tell), I haven't received much if any public harrassment in my town. I will often receive stares, or contrarily people will avoid eye contact with me as someone who's visibly gender non-conforming. I think that's to be expected in a community of people who don't understand the framework of gender as a system. It's not something that deeply affects me. </p><p>There are also some privileges that I hold as a White, fat, transmasculine person. Being White automatically provides a sort of protection, as I'm much less likely to be confronted directly. Being both fat and transmasc provides a sort of invisibility cloak I believe in public spaces that helps me to kind of fly under the radar.</p><p>TYLER: My experience has varied over the course of my life, depending on where I lived and how I presented at the time. As such, it's difficult to really sum up how others have reacted to me, overall. I would say, however, that a frankly unacceptable, if not threatening, proportion of people are hostile to some extent. A lot of the time, that looks like people not taking me seriously because I don't present as cis. Sometimes, it crosses into more aggressive territory. People calling me slurs, threatening me, staring or glaring like they either want to fuck or kill me.</p><p>TDSH: Are there other people around your age where you live or visit who are also NB or trans?</p><p>ROBERT: I have many friends at my school who are trans or NB. I was encouraged most to come out publicly after a friend who is MTF came out and was accepted fully.</p><p>FREDDY: Actually yes! The thing about my town is it seems to have a very high neurodivergent population, and it's a pretty tightly-knit community where many of us know each other through groups. And there's that correlation between autism and queerness, so I know a few people through the [NAME REDACTED] Club (a group for young adults with developmental disabilities to get together) who are genderqueer, although they're all closeted to everyone except each other for safety reasons (mainly family). There's three others besides me in that group, one of them being my cousin. And those are just the ones I'm aware of. </p><p>The thing is that in a town like this there are some social risks to being outwardly genderqueer. As someone who's living here temporarily, I'm willing to take those risks. But a lot of people who have lived here their whole lives and plan to stay here for a while can't, so they stay in the closet.</p><p>TYLER: Yeah, tons. That's why I don't wanna move out of the city. </p><p>TDSH: When did you know, and how did you know, you were trans?</p><p>ROBERT: I always knew that I wanted to be a boy. I didn't know the word transgender until I saw a YouTube video about a man in the UK and his transition. I'd known I could do something medically about how I felt since I was young and had seen the movie ED WOOD and Bunny Breckenridge's discussion of getting hormone injections. I was grateful when I learned more about it that I wouldn't have to go all the way to Sweden for it!</p><p>FREDDY: Well there have been signs since I was extremely young. Then I got my first experiences with gender dysphoria around the time I hit puberty, although I wasn't aware that that's what it was at the time. I think I would have realized I was trans much sooner if I wasn't struggling so much with MDD and being on high doses of mind-numbing antidepressants. </p><p>It wasn't until the pandemic started and I moved out of my parents' house that it really hit me. I was isolated in an apartment with no roommates, taking classes online, with nothing to do but pace around my apartment and think and think and think. This was also the same time I had quit my meds cold-turkey, so I felt like I'd suddenly awakened from a 5-year coma and I had my whole life to reexamine. </p><p>It started with me reexamining my sexuality. I was more interested in MLM [Men loving men] porn and romance than straight, and was feeling really guilty about the idea that I was fetishizing gay men. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that my attraction to men felt very gay, not straight. So that led me down a path of reexamining my gender, considering all the different possibilities, interacting with trans people online. I even had a therapist who specialized in LGBT issues who recommended a couple books by Kate Bornstein to read. (She's a great author for people who are in the process of discovering themselves.) I really had to change my perception of gender as a concept and as a system to realize that I do belong in the trans community. It took about four or five months of contemplation until I was 100% certain of my identity as trans and genderqueer.</p><p>TYLER: I first started exploring the notion of being genderqueer when I was about 14. An older friend of mine I had got to know online started realizing he was trans, and this kinda thing is contagious, you know? I'd never been like "the other boys." Even as a little kid, I was strange, a little effeminate. I always felt out of place, uncomfortable in my own skin, and that feeling got worse with puberty. Hence my egg cracked.</p><p>TDSH: Were you ever forced as a child to present yourself as your assigned gender at birth in ways you knew you didnt want? If so, how long did that last?</p><p>ROBERT: Not really, no. My mom was very good about letting me dress like I wanted. Hell, she let me wear a tux for my first grade school picture! I did have to wear dresses for relatives out of respect, but nothing more than that.</p><p>FREDDY: Not really, actually. My parents didn't really care too much about that stuff. There was a time in middle school when I tried to feminize myself as an attempt to fit in with the social environment, but being autistic and not quite understanding the social norms really ruined that attempt. Luckily my friends were so supportive I never really felt alienated in middle school. I was just figuring stuff out. It felt very uncomfortable the whole time, and I transitioned to sweatshirts and flannel in high school. But I have never really been forced to be feminine by anyone as a kid. Pressured, yes. By society and my peers and the church. But never forced.</p><p>TYLER: Well, in a sense, yes: like all presumed little boys, I was styled and treated like a boy. But even as a little kid, I still looked different from other boys. Lots of baggy black jeans, lots of kinda edgy t-shirts, etc. As close to goth as you can be when you don't know what goth is and can't really get too creative with your fashion. Looking back, I think it was a way to armor myself in something other then the presumed masculinity that was thrust on me. Better to dress like a weirdo than a normal boy.</p><p>That said, I don't have any memory of my parents forcing me to cut my hair or whatever.</p><p>TDSH: So someone who is very traditional and conservative might ask, "Why do you have to say you're not the gender a doctor said you were when you were born? Can't you accept being what a doctor said you are?"</p><p>ROBERT: When I dream of myself, I see me as a cis man with a beard and muscles and everything I want to be. When I wake up, I momentarily forget that I am not like that, and it hits me a bit later. I want to do everything I can to see myself the way I dream of myself. I have anxiety and depression, and had to go to a mental facility for some time. One of the best things that helped me was that the facility was accepted and treated me as Robert. Overall, I am happier living as I am than living as someone I'm not. I'd ask a person asking that if I should be a miserable girl or a happy guy.</p><p>FREDDY: The only answer I can give is "I just know." It's not really my job to convince anyone. I don't need anybody to validate my identity for it to be valid. "People want to be taller or shorter or skinnier or younger - why do I have to treat you like a guy? Can't you just accept what you are?"</p><p>Here's the thing. When somebody is able to identify something about themselves that they believe is worth changing, they will change it. </p><p>There are some things that we have no control of - our age, height, disability, and sexual orientation are some examples. But there are other aspects of ourselves that we can control. Cisgender people who can afford it get gender-affirming treatment all the time. People get liposuction, breast enhancements, facial reconstruction surgeries, etc in order to gain for themselves the body that they feel most comfortable in. Cis/intersex people will sometimes take or be put on HRT. There are also aspects of our lives that we have limited control over, such as our health. A person who's been diagnosed with depression, for example, can seek treatment for such a condition. They don't have to just accept that they'll be miserable for the rest of their lives - they can make positive changes so life is more bearable.</p><p>Whether you want to believe it or not, like many aspects of our identities (including but not limited to sexual orientation), gender is not something we have any control over. We can control how we express our gender, but gender is something that we discover, not choose. And that is something that some people in this world can choose to "just accept". I did not choose to be trans, but I chose to transition. When a trans person accepts treatment for gender dysphoria or socially transitions, it's like taking antidepressants. It's taking dominion over the aspect of your life that you do have control over, if you have the privilege to do so. It's a form of mental health care, and just as important as receiving treatment for a disorder.</p><p>TYLER: Because I'm not, and being shoved into that box is painful. I literally can't convincingly pretend to be a man. Even making an effort damages my mental health. And that remains the case even if I try and just be a feminine man. The meaning of social category of "man" changes throughout history, anyway. Sure, at all times, in all places, there were people who had dicks, facial hair, no breasts, and so on. But across history, the cultural values associated with manhood vary wildly between, and sometimes within, cultures. I mention that because it demonstrates an important point: gender is a social construct. It's a set of ideas and norms our society dictates for us. </p><p>The gender I was assigned at birth was a function of my visible sex organs. It was an estimate of my biological sex, not whether I fit best into the socially constructed pink box or the socially constructed blue box. My saying I'm not a man isn't a referendum on the doctor's judgement call. It's a statement about how I relate to those social categories.</p><p>I do accept what I am. I'm *not* a guy. Not in the way most people use the word "guy," which is in reference to how someone presents. I have masculine traits, feminine traits, and traits that don't have a gendered valence at all. Everybody does. But I generally don't present like a cisgender guy. </p><p>TDSH: Any opinions on the debate over transgender athlete participation?</p><p>ROBERT: I understand the points being made by both sides, but as someone who has no athletic ability whatsoever I don't think I should speak on it. Lots of people like to put in their thoughts on issues they have no business in.</p><p>FREDDY: I think it's dumb. Anybody who's against trans people in sports is either a victim of misinformation or just plain old transphobic. Here's the gist of it: any trans person who's on HRT for a certain amount of time will be on a relatively level playing field with any of their cis competition. Their hormone levels can be tested to make sure they're within fair range. It's extremely simple. Any leftover advantage that someone may have due to height, weight, etc. isn't going to be significant enough to completely throw the odds in their favor. Some people have more physical advantages than others - that's just part of sports. Michael Phelps is allowed to compete despite his superhuman genetic advantages. Sports isn't totally fair. I think this whole debate is just an excuse to villify trans people and alienate trans children.</p><p>TYLER: The "debate," as so many of today's polemics are, is largely founded on misinformation. A tiny minority of athletes are trans. I should note, this is usually about trans women, who conservatives see as men, even when their internal endocrinological environment is consistent with that of a cis woman's. The notion is that trans women, because they're secretly just men in wigs or whatever, are inherently more muscular, faster, and more athletic than their cis competitors. But at the end of the day, that's not true.</p><p>A trans woman on estrogen and testosterone blockers is going to find that her capacity for athletic development is roughly in line with cis women's. And there are massive differences within genders of natural ability at different sports, anyway. Male athletes in many sports tend to be on the tall side. That's not something a short man can remedy by lifting more weights. It's incidental. And, apart from wrestling weight classes, that kind of physical difference isn't generally seen as something that needs to be addressed by sports leagues.</p><p>If an athlete transitions late in life, and holds onto muscle she gained pre-transition, there's no particular reason that needs to be held as a problem. She wasn't deliberately doping, she was just previously better at developing muscle than most women are. Just like how some pro basketball players are taller than all of their opponents. </p><p>TDSH: How has not being cisgender/straight affected your family, school, work or social life?</p><p>ROBERT: My mom has had her concerns, naturally, in terms of not rushing into anything and making sure I know what I'm doing with it, but she is overall supportive about it. She's the only family in my life. As for school, my teachers and friends were all very nice about using my new name and making sure I was comfortable.</p><p>FREDDY: It really didn't for me, very much. I definitely have fewer options when it comes to people I can be friendly with. It's definitely made me more irritable around people, and I tend to be a bit more defensive. </p><p>My family doesn't really understand and aren't willing to put the work in to learn, but they still love me unconditionally, and they say that they're trying. They know and use my new name. They want me to be happy. I don't go to school and I left the church when I was a preteen, but work is where I tend to have the most problems. </p><p>I haven't had any bad experiences with telling people my identity right away when I get a new job, but there's still always going to be lots of microagressions and misgendering and being alienated from my coworkers because of it. Aside from that, I haven't felt physically unsafe before, but since this is a new thing for me that doesn't mean I never will. I'm lucky to be in a safe and comfortable work environment right now.</p><p>TYLER: I've certainly been denied jobs and treated worse than I would've been, otherwise. People tend to take me less seriously because I don't look like they think I should. Bigots often think people like me are somehow dangerous, like we're all Norman Bates-style crossdressers, like we're going to sexually assault them or their women. And people who look like me and are attracted to men tend to be less desirable to our partners of choice. After all, it's pretty much exclusively gay men who are attracted to people like me, but most gay men prefer masculine men. You see the issue, given that I'm neither of those things.</p><p>I have family members who take me less seriously than they would if I were "normal." My grandfather barely knows how to interact with me, since I came out. </p><p>TDSH: Are you optimistic for a supportive future for most trans and gender queer people in the years to come?</p><p>ROBERT: In terms of my state of Ohio, I am glad to say this is the typical case, at least for my area and northwards. Nationally, I doubt it's that positive. I hope the future will be brighter, but with states adopting more and more conservative and anti-LGBTQ, anti women laws I honestly don't know what to expect at this point.</p><p>FREDDY: I'm not really sure, to be honest. It's not looking good right now. With the rise of fascism in this country becoming increasingly apparent, the trans genocide is becoming more and more deadly. There are going to be many, many deaths in the next ten, twenty years. </p><p>I am hopeful seeing queerness of all types becoming more normalized with the newer generations, and people feeling safer being visible at least online. The community is growing, and that's something to be hopeful about. But I think the only hope that trans people - especially children - have is riding on the coattails of the collapse of capitalism, as well as the support of our community.</p><p>TYLER: In the West, Maybe. But the majority of queer people live in countries that are even more inhospitable than the U.S., France, and Germany. For them, I don't know. Eastern Europe? China? Japan? Those are all conservative places. They don't like people who are different. And our rights are far from secure even in those progressive countries. There are anti-trans bills on the table all over the U.S. and the UK.</p><p>TDSH: Do you plan on having surgeries, and are you dating? These are very personal, so feel free to decline to answer.</p><p>ROBERT: I intend to get top surgery. I've never been on a date, although I asked someone out, but it didn't work out. Taking a minority of trans experience as the whole thing is similar to saying all Muslims are terrorists because of 9/11. Generalizations don't work and are more harmful than anything.</p><p>FREDDY: My dating life is complicated, and gender plays a part in that. I currently have a partner who loves and accepts me the way I am, and I'm extremely grateful to have that. As for surgeries, I'm planning to talk to my clinician about top surgery sometime soon, but I don't plan to go beyond that. </p><p>TYLER: Maybe partial facial feminization surgery. Yes, I have a boyfriend. </p><p>TDSH: Anti-trans forces will point to a few people who de-transition, and argue that's proof no juvenile should be allowed to transition. Please comment.</p><p>ROBERT: For any unsupportive person, I would say let people live their lives the way they want. As long as it's not hurting anyone else, it's their business and theirs alone.</p><p>FREDDY: De-transitioners make up an extremely small percentage of the trans experience, and I believe the majority of them de-transition due to safety concerns. The risks of being openly trans are too high for a lot of those people. Their experiences are worth listening to, and when people point to de-transitioners they more often than not will speak over them, using them as props to push their anti-trans narratives and misrepresenting their experiences. </p><p> As for whether or not the chance of de-transitioning should be a deciding factor in wether or not children should be allowed to transition: humans make mistakes. Finding one's identity is a process that takes a lifetime. De-transitioning is a completely valid step in the process of self-identity. It shouldn't be seen as a horrible thing to be avoided or used to invalidate anybody's experience with gender, whatever that experience is. People shouldn't be afraid of the possibility of de-transitioning. It's all part of the process. </p><p>That said, when we say we advocate for the right for children to transition, we are almost always talking about non-permanent changes. Nobody wants to put an 8-year-old on estrogen or testosterone, or give a 14-year-old bottom surgery. These are all talking point scenarios that are completely fabricated by transphobes. The right for youth to transition refers to social transition for all ages, puberty blockers for those going through puberty (which are 100% impermanent and can be reversed at any time), and maybe hormone therapy for older teens who have gone through lengthy & expensive processes of therapy and counseling. This type of treatment is life-saving for trans youth, and I think that's exactly the reason why transphobes are so against it.</p><p>TYLER: Again, a polemic based on ignorance and bigotry. Clinically speaking, outcomes for trans youth are better across the board when they're allowed to use puberty blockers as they wish to. My life would be materially better if I'd had access to them. As is, because I didn't, my body developed in ways I hate. I'm extremely hairy, and that's always seriously contributed to my gender dysphoria. My shoulders are too broad. My limbs are too long. I don't let it ruin my life. But deep down . . . I hate it.</p><p>Moving on, there's also no meaningful drawback to delaying puberty until a child decides whether they want to transition. Nobody's going to putyour baby boy with estrogen and snip his dick off. That's not the kind of treatment that's generally on the table for trans youth. The standard procedure is to use puberty blockers to give the kid time to decide whether they want to transition. Then, it's just hormonal manipulation, which is generally reversible. I've been on HRT for years, but if I stopped, I'd still go bald the way men do, because my body would begin producing more testosterone, which leads to male-pattern baldness. Trans healthcare isn't an irreversible procedure. There's no good argument for denying kids care they need to thrive, and in some cases, to make it to adulthood.</p><p>TDSH: Finally, what's a question I didn't ask that I should have, or you wished I had? And anything you want to say to cis people who aren't supportive? Or to concerned or unsupportive parents of trans youth?</p><p>ROBERT: For any unsupportive person, I would say let people live their lives the way they want. As long as it's not hurting anyone else, it's their business and theirs alone.</p><p>FREDDY: I guess I'd like to add one more question that could be asked - "Why should cis people have to support trans rights?"</p><p>Here's my answer to that: you don't. Nobody is forcing you to. Nobody will convict you of a crime for being transphobic. If that's your perogative, there's nothing anybody can do about it, whether we want to or not. However, there are social consequences for taking a stance against human rights, and they aren't always pretty. It's your responsibility to accept those consequences, and you can whine about it all you want. Nobody will stop you. </p><p>If you have a friend or family member who comes out to you as trans, it is always going to be your choice whether to accept or reject them for that. But you must be aware of the consequences. A person who is consistently rejected for their gender identity will suffer emotionally and mentally, leading to major health risks and possibly even suicide. If you choose to reject a loved one for being trans, you risk losing that person forever. Whether it's because they've walked away from you or from their life altogether. And when that happens, it's on you to feel the guilt and the shame and the emotional burden of losing that loved one. If you allow this to happen, you probably don't love the person as much as you think you did. That's on you. That's your burden to carry. And there may come a day when you will be held accountable for that choice.</p><p>TYLER: You didn't ask what I am, exactly. But I think we covered that anyway. I can't really think of anything. For unsupportive cis people--let's call them what they are, transphobes--I guess I'd just tell them that their outlook isn't reflective of reality. And frankly, their feelings about me and people like me aren't my problem. </p><p>To the parents of trans kids: don't buy into conservative propaganda. Don't assume cis people on cable news and the internet are talking in good faith. Get your information from sources that are reputable.</p><p> Everything I said above is independently verifiable, and the choice of whether to support their child should be obvious.</p><p>TDSH: My thanks to all of you for sharing your lives and opinions here. </p><p><br /></p>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-72995661336895523372022-03-14T13:30:00.002-05:002022-03-14T13:36:20.793-05:00Return of the Drunken Severed Head!<p> Has it really been more than nine years since my last post? My mind (such as it is), says "Nein!" It seems like yesterday. (Cue the Paul McCartney vocals.) But it has been nearly twelve.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghvrB6FNEglZ5izMy9JXKMov_VcD8N0vhws3ThTFI7Dw6JCOMq_4J3DzsSJbiUe4bYUvBXCVthKycTmuD3U3M_Ruvdfd4RAo7lsv-DL0kIajY_WPWz6V4bVd3kWQikyCx9YYPLPFIN1RwVFxwesSzmdNaOHD8ezQdAaqtm2FE1G4DSgcG4dDRrNtId=s1683" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1683" data-original-width="1394" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghvrB6FNEglZ5izMy9JXKMov_VcD8N0vhws3ThTFI7Dw6JCOMq_4J3DzsSJbiUe4bYUvBXCVthKycTmuD3U3M_Ruvdfd4RAo7lsv-DL0kIajY_WPWz6V4bVd3kWQikyCx9YYPLPFIN1RwVFxwesSzmdNaOHD8ezQdAaqtm2FE1G4DSgcG4dDRrNtId=s320" width="265" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Blogs seem to some to belong to the past. As I do now, to some! But things stay preserved by alcohol and formaldehyde...</p><p>More later, kiddies.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-27905487828191265292011-12-25T14:38:00.000-05:002011-12-25T14:38:22.922-05:00Last year's Christmas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY3iHN9yXZb3t6Q7FIvlrnNWRTAdaUUOM__gIf-UleSsd0W0Mllvt_Td8wWfAq5pt-rs2xH4baiFhNkDjTrRzPyQSyzVXIptbmjtPDGSN-Fl-q3vbZ-a4hh3up5MbcCi_QGya1KhLdCiR/s1600/vlcsnap-2010-12-25-05h13m33s31.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557871408975351250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY3iHN9yXZb3t6Q7FIvlrnNWRTAdaUUOM__gIf-UleSsd0W0Mllvt_Td8wWfAq5pt-rs2xH4baiFhNkDjTrRzPyQSyzVXIptbmjtPDGSN-Fl-q3vbZ-a4hh3up5MbcCi_QGya1KhLdCiR/s400/vlcsnap-2010-12-25-05h13m33s31.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Above: Jane asks Zombie Santa about returning a severed head</span></span>, <span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">while watching</span> <span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">out for the grabby hands of Hermie the Horny Undead Elf.</span></span><br />
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I have a few last photos and stories to share about Christmas for the Voodoo Queen and I.<br />
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You may wonder if we have any traditions we faithfully observe in our home during the season, other than the usual tree-trimming and gift exchange. Well, one new tradition (an oxymoron, yeah, but I just started this tradition) is the Christmas Melting of Objects. Jane and I worked on a craft project that involved melting bits of colored plastic to make a sun-catcher.<br />
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My family has always been "crafty. I still have the ceramic dessert plates my 2nd-cousin-once-removed-from-society Edie Gein made from the ashes of her grandfather-- I use them to serve ladyfingers. But I digress. Jane and I had fun trying to liquidate old Halloween candy.<br />
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See, I had this plate of leftover circus peanuts and candy corn stuck up on a bookshelf and forgotten:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiYedLg_UEqTCQY2F5zTE3TfqplONsmyP9j2V13yVBHaQNAZTagbDbzpJclf-Z85Ry1Qnrxd4uMcHEZfDBlzYb2kMVvtUM__2eZaMPjLg8OVLREvNHIb6DBjdAjr5RFRUVV0M53QZRkGI/s1600/Pictures+203.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557466372671620674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiYedLg_UEqTCQY2F5zTE3TfqplONsmyP9j2V13yVBHaQNAZTagbDbzpJclf-Z85Ry1Qnrxd4uMcHEZfDBlzYb2kMVvtUM__2eZaMPjLg8OVLREvNHIb6DBjdAjr5RFRUVV0M53QZRkGI/s400/Pictures+203.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>No, I don't eat that crap--it was around at Halloween time just because it's the scariest candy I know of and added to the "spooky" atmosphere. (Hey, it's a gas to have a bowl of this out when trick-or-treaters come just to see their reactions when they think that's what they are getting--but we were kind and gave out Snickers.) Anyway, having once discovered that nuking marshmallow Peeps was a blast, I decided to do it to these crappy confections. So transferring it all to a plain paper plate, I blasted it with radiation:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFODgX2sspLD1ymVpVqpD6Mtqr1rbaU5kJG0Wl0LxgKhSrXvUTaAP0zW-h0uMg-rI9WcaQKdDXfU6Cz2z0zmgethKL0lz6MwFkA_wmfMMXFgM1tI7pO-eWKKLoH_d7phxy78RKV8FrIO9/s1600/Pictures+030a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557466370047855218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFODgX2sspLD1ymVpVqpD6Mtqr1rbaU5kJG0Wl0LxgKhSrXvUTaAP0zW-h0uMg-rI9WcaQKdDXfU6Cz2z0zmgethKL0lz6MwFkA_wmfMMXFgM1tI7pO-eWKKLoH_d7phxy78RKV8FrIO9/s400/Pictures+030a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 310px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>And it came out looking like a "Harvest moon" with giant orange volcanic ridges on its surface. (Man, you can't easily destroy circus peanuts!) The candy became so hard I tried using it as a hammer:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiYedLg_UEqTCQY2F5zTE3TfqplONsmyP9j2V13yVBHaQNAZTagbDbzpJclf-Z85Ry1Qnrxd4uMcHEZfDBlzYb2kMVvtUM__2eZaMPjLg8OVLREvNHIb6DBjdAjr5RFRUVV0M53QZRkGI/s1600/Pictures+203.jpg"></a><br />
<br />
After that, gifts were exchanged as part of our Christmas morning, before we went out to visit friends.<br />
<br />
What is more appropriate for a severed head than a severed leg lamp?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnaXHVEscfWp9YnrcNk4qgvBHncrAal5uV1akmSRh1li8am9jlaGq79X4OJFMJMeHbRhTnIZ8iA7HQhPcDlGJ9NWclhQuQCQM9Dp1_lBDfIPaqMacrFfEwxCylYc-gtfVl2UIdXjrh-SP/s1600/leglamp.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557457020692015954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnaXHVEscfWp9YnrcNk4qgvBHncrAal5uV1akmSRh1li8am9jlaGq79X4OJFMJMeHbRhTnIZ8iA7HQhPcDlGJ9NWclhQuQCQM9Dp1_lBDfIPaqMacrFfEwxCylYc-gtfVl2UIdXjrh-SP/s400/leglamp.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 220px;" /></a>It's fra-gee-lay!<br />
<br />
And what more could Jane want than a crocheted conjoined rat?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4JHTAUtr8LWhbG85L3_5loCQ5MNqXO3tu-COu8cJhxqdIGR51qWUDsBdvPd74PBoxbcS_kGoRp-hIBuJLwlTaL6XgGKWU2ifkpQJIjADxcn5h2zexllGUOerFywPm4ucSb1Plul0dPPP/s1600/twoheadedrat.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557103032081963426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4JHTAUtr8LWhbG85L3_5loCQ5MNqXO3tu-COu8cJhxqdIGR51qWUDsBdvPd74PBoxbcS_kGoRp-hIBuJLwlTaL6XgGKWU2ifkpQJIjADxcn5h2zexllGUOerFywPm4ucSb1Plul0dPPP/s400/twoheadedrat.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>One early gift I gave <span style="font-style: italic;">myself</span> was a "ghost camera," which guaranteed that spirits would be revealed on each film frame every time I took a photo with it. (I don't think specters and shades can be revealed on digital cameras-- too modern for the tastes of the old-fashioned dead.) So for the week of Christmas I took pictures at several places, hoping to capture shots of the invisible citizens of Eternity.<br />
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Except for my cropping and resizing some of them, the following images came back from the film lab <span style="font-style: italic;">just as you see them</span>.<br />
<br />
Here's outside my home:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOwrCXoAnHDFED4RebWATPDpk6JtK_AY3nGYxidbUqaMeutWxQYqRUpen26_rTZLpxwSjIMmG_ynwVQy2Napy0TBmUuDKduh5fkNNkWvC61BZR8VgbGZVlAtG3k4yM7mHtn2dkQ75xzlV/s1600/R1-08335-0041a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557013532184600418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOwrCXoAnHDFED4RebWATPDpk6JtK_AY3nGYxidbUqaMeutWxQYqRUpen26_rTZLpxwSjIMmG_ynwVQy2Napy0TBmUuDKduh5fkNNkWvC61BZR8VgbGZVlAtG3k4yM7mHtn2dkQ75xzlV/s400/R1-08335-0041a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Inside famous Allegheny Cemetery:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXw13MUDleZnLEPHfpMtnrWIv3h3pmYXME_5lvZthosped-i2NXgL1AK19c-9efbPDLFVj8GKv-mCAF6h1gLWJZlD3-g8GtOeR6VyiGd6zSM6uB1nL0EOYcrI2-7EA-yKGUqnfmcBmgFiY/s1600/R1-08335-0039a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557013533499196370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXw13MUDleZnLEPHfpMtnrWIv3h3pmYXME_5lvZthosped-i2NXgL1AK19c-9efbPDLFVj8GKv-mCAF6h1gLWJZlD3-g8GtOeR6VyiGd6zSM6uB1nL0EOYcrI2-7EA-yKGUqnfmcBmgFiY/s400/R1-08335-0039a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 270px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnRLWVyndKOJdZzZUtHddmYoDVw3uL1Yyl3q2_n-Mp7Xe4u6PthlMNuIIN2YlK_dqWVzU6GaZDEW4nzvo2tplU_fARcOOBH43jA6jNOmVeiaKAfn0wtwEhP30699IRI9BNauDx52QIWbn/s1600/R1-08335-0038a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557013529879764978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnRLWVyndKOJdZzZUtHddmYoDVw3uL1Yyl3q2_n-Mp7Xe4u6PthlMNuIIN2YlK_dqWVzU6GaZDEW4nzvo2tplU_fARcOOBH43jA6jNOmVeiaKAfn0wtwEhP30699IRI9BNauDx52QIWbn/s400/R1-08335-0038a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 270px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3OhR4i8PdUZBkvTKhu1mCSTX7Il5TjbQ6XC8S9fDogxBnOzHl-7uZXnuP3WY81MmM6ip4rrAQph3n3BCr2uiZUlF-91U59e-LZ_23e90PWpwfZRojRD_sr_GxPv_8ab80dim5doEg0fZ/s1600/R1-08335-0037a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557013523829768162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3OhR4i8PdUZBkvTKhu1mCSTX7Il5TjbQ6XC8S9fDogxBnOzHl-7uZXnuP3WY81MmM6ip4rrAQph3n3BCr2uiZUlF-91U59e-LZ_23e90PWpwfZRojRD_sr_GxPv_8ab80dim5doEg0fZ/s400/R1-08335-0037a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 362px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
At St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcMMt4rIbczRMCJKgIpKqgJaQuAnAvDsK_UuzoyeWmWZZcoYV3nhWhIQkFxCIdyw1o8Sza-ffFVpzhnRRDTnb6HarvOVnh_iBHE2237r9mNBvrP5ijgbI1stO-3Bo5zi6_tnJTdubIB6L/s1600/R1-08335-0060a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557015194325463586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcMMt4rIbczRMCJKgIpKqgJaQuAnAvDsK_UuzoyeWmWZZcoYV3nhWhIQkFxCIdyw1o8Sza-ffFVpzhnRRDTnb6HarvOVnh_iBHE2237r9mNBvrP5ijgbI1stO-3Bo5zi6_tnJTdubIB6L/s400/R1-08335-0060a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 283px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTPJxW0vcIkHP7ELQuDyNm4s1cEL7_FJaUf-WMgFn3qYL3IjYj5PfoXrH2Db-0oGQDfFwxQsxlmhPW5jge1FJaIyeq70zx-lCVpHqVQ_VwPhVnMHIkupn5gOBOnWMuUflSIn1Jg1zFryk/s1600/R1-08335-0059a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557015186452434306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTPJxW0vcIkHP7ELQuDyNm4s1cEL7_FJaUf-WMgFn3qYL3IjYj5PfoXrH2Db-0oGQDfFwxQsxlmhPW5jge1FJaIyeq70zx-lCVpHqVQ_VwPhVnMHIkupn5gOBOnWMuUflSIn1Jg1zFryk/s400/R1-08335-0059a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 313px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>At Union Dale Cemetery a ghostly piper played for a flying girl...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxliEavEHU_-vP_psWpNLrIgHw6VymRJ3XLY_v8MbZ36z-nu4XTaWtsyGspV4UwTiscTmmPerxRLRJa1RghZmqp118CuiJv9pjrer2Gu-_RVBtWItqInXykCuUUkV2Zyh0SOB8ZBRT6I-n/s1600/R1-08335-0056a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557015182542422114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxliEavEHU_-vP_psWpNLrIgHw6VymRJ3XLY_v8MbZ36z-nu4XTaWtsyGspV4UwTiscTmmPerxRLRJa1RghZmqp118CuiJv9pjrer2Gu-_RVBtWItqInXykCuUUkV2Zyh0SOB8ZBRT6I-n/s400/R1-08335-0056a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 270px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXzqfeKVV4dIqK9DzGDV6Y-J5MOaT_1LlgQ2kHLMGFuEsBw9SQqkBdyxhAKsOPssN920x2W-TQI4FygS5jHPkd8Df_eduHK27Ptql2QA2ehuHs1K5T6LGR_x9qatL0zUQ7XtRxN8fcwcz/s1600/R1-08335-0057a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557887282921061106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXzqfeKVV4dIqK9DzGDV6Y-J5MOaT_1LlgQ2kHLMGFuEsBw9SQqkBdyxhAKsOPssN920x2W-TQI4FygS5jHPkd8Df_eduHK27Ptql2QA2ehuHs1K5T6LGR_x9qatL0zUQ7XtRxN8fcwcz/s400/R1-08335-0057a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 250px;" /></a>More from other parts of Union Dale:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttCtDWGxzPoeTS1l8izfqmAJDrugzl_0LNvU7Bkb95DxiiAtuK-LVSI4SYw_273JD1V0nDlejjGBukLmV5rV_oHL-vQs1iFFZvn-GTc6wto5WZv6xTlIbo4HOS2RcfyZOOiQC6f2VWsn2/s1600/R1-08335-0054a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557015181455259890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttCtDWGxzPoeTS1l8izfqmAJDrugzl_0LNvU7Bkb95DxiiAtuK-LVSI4SYw_273JD1V0nDlejjGBukLmV5rV_oHL-vQs1iFFZvn-GTc6wto5WZv6xTlIbo4HOS2RcfyZOOiQC6f2VWsn2/s400/R1-08335-0054a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bCViS4Tj_9jHTGtI3RuM5yxiAUyVEQG0RwgndjYQ7cNhx1DemdiAD79G2rUf3V9EyvLAyzrP4w5sAb1T1gdaycJXJjjQCOKp2FBTxasSFyH7ahuTO2IJAyJJpymMu9PqgdN72_8J2Pv2/s1600/R1-08335-0049a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557014422581066290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bCViS4Tj_9jHTGtI3RuM5yxiAUyVEQG0RwgndjYQ7cNhx1DemdiAD79G2rUf3V9EyvLAyzrP4w5sAb1T1gdaycJXJjjQCOKp2FBTxasSFyH7ahuTO2IJAyJJpymMu9PqgdN72_8J2Pv2/s400/R1-08335-0049a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 269px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh2X0A_WHqKCv4rN9LN0RyxwjnwOk_vUxEMFSeBQgSpuxxBnQbNsCnlXxQUP0ID4TUEdKLIJRaIfEtyJoGB02MNkTCMov3-spi-fK6n24NBMGPVnR6lSWCMjfWVNRsc2a3EYLsks3rhOfX/s1600/R1-08335-0048a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557014421447606242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh2X0A_WHqKCv4rN9LN0RyxwjnwOk_vUxEMFSeBQgSpuxxBnQbNsCnlXxQUP0ID4TUEdKLIJRaIfEtyJoGB02MNkTCMov3-spi-fK6n24NBMGPVnR6lSWCMjfWVNRsc2a3EYLsks3rhOfX/s400/R1-08335-0048a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 315px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenzfiXDGTdElJP4R-W_5LTGObyypcp5IVqbJKdJKCBrccCcp41lbnRFBXI9sPaWgFnmICkUmdtSZwvEAgu47DW7JR9A81fQU29a_PDyROXwuN_7Yji-5pjv7cCHgJ8pzdcTYwL7AwMaGm/s1600/R1-08335-0047a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557014415725968274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenzfiXDGTdElJP4R-W_5LTGObyypcp5IVqbJKdJKCBrccCcp41lbnRFBXI9sPaWgFnmICkUmdtSZwvEAgu47DW7JR9A81fQU29a_PDyROXwuN_7Yji-5pjv7cCHgJ8pzdcTYwL7AwMaGm/s400/R1-08335-0047a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 254px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
And on Christmas Day I used my ghost camera inside the home of friends Bill and Ariann. (I blogged about our horrorday celebrations with them <a href="http://drunkenseveredhead.blogspot.com/2010/12/our-christmas-in-2010-part-1.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">here</span></a> and <a href="http://drunkenseveredhead.blogspot.com/2010/12/our-christmas-in-2010-part-2.html" style="font-style: italic;">here</a>.)<br />
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Midget dancers once lived in their house, apparently--<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGZu4NMhw5FuNqcDnYnND2H9P9FsAMCuPLzh0-F2d-p3Ri8Bqc_XB2lq1r1M2ucrsYRPm7NTObNYlIMegIul_z93NRQ_TqaamGe0o8-JWP3CQG0NeF6_evm3V4uyJ7hgvoguRymKjc62O/s1600/R1-08335-0046a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557014410614942642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGZu4NMhw5FuNqcDnYnND2H9P9FsAMCuPLzh0-F2d-p3Ri8Bqc_XB2lq1r1M2ucrsYRPm7NTObNYlIMegIul_z93NRQ_TqaamGe0o8-JWP3CQG0NeF6_evm3V4uyJ7hgvoguRymKjc62O/s400/R1-08335-0046a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 270px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>And it seems there was an awful apparition in the dining room:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PghgiKQqjX4a2lJR1twJArL069HhZD11y-JJ20-z4yX0aDkywgec22avLVDDVDsFWbS6-wv6VvwGio7tsFUmM9HKKos6BeNnVaa6aPk8PJNbBc3JyMzdNr7GlI8ZfoWLTnBrqshkrMT8/s1600/R1-08335-0045b.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557014412722731554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PghgiKQqjX4a2lJR1twJArL069HhZD11y-JJ20-z4yX0aDkywgec22avLVDDVDsFWbS6-wv6VvwGio7tsFUmM9HKKos6BeNnVaa6aPk8PJNbBc3JyMzdNr7GlI8ZfoWLTnBrqshkrMT8/s400/R1-08335-0045b.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 245px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>A phantom was trying to interfere with Bill's carving the ham:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6k8ctaRRl4LNTCsdhzrIgx_cQJW1T7aWXoAj4hv4VkIfqnqrUB2yJuKO15CR4odpL9iums2WCCQvXdPfXj12y-368E3UIbSntrKBSzxjzHMwTdMJjv_jjRgSd0XpsixiO4Lmq6p0B-KY/s1600/R1-08335-0043a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557013538926717970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6k8ctaRRl4LNTCsdhzrIgx_cQJW1T7aWXoAj4hv4VkIfqnqrUB2yJuKO15CR4odpL9iums2WCCQvXdPfXj12y-368E3UIbSntrKBSzxjzHMwTdMJjv_jjRgSd0XpsixiO4Lmq6p0B-KY/s400/R1-08335-0043a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 276px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>And to think we were all oblivious to the these ethereal, ectoplasmic holiday guests.<br />
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Here's to a haunted-yet-fun 2011!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOwrCXoAnHDFED4RebWATPDpk6JtK_AY3nGYxidbUqaMeutWxQYqRUpen26_rTZLpxwSjIMmG_ynwVQy2Napy0TBmUuDKduh5fkNNkWvC61BZR8VgbGZVlAtG3k4yM7mHtn2dkQ75xzlV/s1600/R1-08335-0041a.jpg"></a><br />
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</div></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-54153001702142210482011-12-25T14:23:00.001-05:002011-12-25T14:23:32.275-05:00Weird Xmas pics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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Going with the low humor I'm celebrated for in cities around the globe (yeah, right!), here are a few photos to put you in the Christmas mood.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesr6JAlEqGvGKJa4sGC_p80IZ1oIt05-bkFMEoVwE2RI9ay0ki6DqZPI_dT3e3rfnjRAMMG-1OZ1nsYsfJy6fqZb8LTmXGXoNPFaPBEKRrIek1dgMDIal5r_cNGeioNGRryPsQ58jFu4/s1600-h/outhousegingerbreadNY2003.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283372676536877010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesr6JAlEqGvGKJa4sGC_p80IZ1oIt05-bkFMEoVwE2RI9ay0ki6DqZPI_dT3e3rfnjRAMMG-1OZ1nsYsfJy6fqZb8LTmXGXoNPFaPBEKRrIek1dgMDIal5r_cNGeioNGRryPsQ58jFu4/s400/outhousegingerbreadNY2003.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNHhf2yJXayzwM6ifs_CKLsOzz335Kzi94ln3zc2Rq_wtAPdg46dRz9psoHKNKZI72dktjxAq_DmhxmIDEDQIns-Qareu-6DGA4G8fVfYVfM5RrrozKqtL7p36FizLvK-W5O407J8oS8/s1600-h/bad+xmas+outlet.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283372676741642674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNHhf2yJXayzwM6ifs_CKLsOzz335Kzi94ln3zc2Rq_wtAPdg46dRz9psoHKNKZI72dktjxAq_DmhxmIDEDQIns-Qareu-6DGA4G8fVfYVfM5RrrozKqtL7p36FizLvK-W5O407J8oS8/s400/bad+xmas+outlet.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 283px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nDdZwevktcEFzXffpxYgXu2uHURiFG_mkvtzNO2igb3pMJPQDr47VJj8JlTxlAYtBPXq4smouQZqAHVqpFHku7Pc2ydawPbQalkCGHn-po0JQmabxJ9ZmwsCHqCj9D4esdTgrCj7AB0/s1600-h/bad+cocoa+server.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283372669907090834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nDdZwevktcEFzXffpxYgXu2uHURiFG_mkvtzNO2igb3pMJPQDr47VJj8JlTxlAYtBPXq4smouQZqAHVqpFHku7Pc2ydawPbQalkCGHn-po0JQmabxJ9ZmwsCHqCj9D4esdTgrCj7AB0/s400/bad+cocoa+server.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 239px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 283px;" /></a><br />
</div></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-39996205905429905812011-12-25T14:21:00.002-05:002011-12-25T14:21:00.665-05:00The Witch's Christmas!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KwTW_s6D2Pn9p6fRID2NAegOpMsQe-e3G9IUQcETCqdVxRoGTo0p10d6-HxGvjAqqD6d7e1ko_ahXLPSTWyaYCOW_CtNobAbYHiYhJW0cHrsctA19_QaG1OWgNbqlKRXUG56IJCPPlI/s1600-h/Image0011.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419087206863486034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KwTW_s6D2Pn9p6fRID2NAegOpMsQe-e3G9IUQcETCqdVxRoGTo0p10d6-HxGvjAqqD6d7e1ko_ahXLPSTWyaYCOW_CtNobAbYHiYhJW0cHrsctA19_QaG1OWgNbqlKRXUG56IJCPPlI/s400/Image0011.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 290px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
Two of the most popular and linked-to entries of this blog are <a href="http://drunkenseveredhead.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-care-for-your-monster.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">How to Care for Your Monster, </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Part 1</span></a> and <a href="http://drunkenseveredhead.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-care-for-your-monster-pt-2.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Part 2</span></a> about the beloved 1970 Norman Bridwell kid's book from Scholastic.<br />
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So as a Christmas gift to TDSH readers I thought I'd share some select scans from another Bridwell book, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Witch's Christmas. </span><br />
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In this charming book from the same year, a young girl and her little brother are friends with a witch, whose magic makes winter and Christmas activities more fun for them. Later, when Santa's sleigh hits a Apollo space capsule (hey, it IS 1970!) and becomes entangled with it, the witch comes to the rescue. Creating magic brooms for Santa, the reindeer, and the astronauts, she leads them all to safety and a party with the brother and sister.<br />
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A very sweet story by Bridwell, the artist and writer of the popular<span style="font-style: italic;"> Clifford, the Big Red Dog</span> books.<br />
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Enjoy the scans--click on any of the photos below to enlarge them.<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0CJTVFUJyS9tXdocOsmDoEWHAOAacLjmRGJ41oPAWpQVFJ0vQCx-uZmpYuA6RQmMIsFCn_0-ciXA72x4s6PQJd1FfwALDqgGcevaD74mkaBJ-usZjYuUiDrR9WyhPrrK_ktvFvHv5caw/s1600-h/Image0012.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419087550696432642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0CJTVFUJyS9tXdocOsmDoEWHAOAacLjmRGJ41oPAWpQVFJ0vQCx-uZmpYuA6RQmMIsFCn_0-ciXA72x4s6PQJd1FfwALDqgGcevaD74mkaBJ-usZjYuUiDrR9WyhPrrK_ktvFvHv5caw/s400/Image0012.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 313px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXwTAaynzZxR1Gymy5GHzWOjkSSZQcwVPmvtz-0nBxGQENwT3h1MuYjwDsTFZFh2QWgcWdieDY0qi1kkcCX0kDk2GecWouQkzjSOVubZXJwDXim2ejw3VSCKgkNYUNlmatdKkzEz_dJ4/s1600-h/Image0013.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419087550232400962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXwTAaynzZxR1Gymy5GHzWOjkSSZQcwVPmvtz-0nBxGQENwT3h1MuYjwDsTFZFh2QWgcWdieDY0qi1kkcCX0kDk2GecWouQkzjSOVubZXJwDXim2ejw3VSCKgkNYUNlmatdKkzEz_dJ4/s400/Image0013.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 295px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzMQCpjgiWegGJyAdDGAFVE-o1lRrFnJ2ShGLG6uDvC6govAzfZlR2E7P2misQhxP4P-AD8F2CCLjLv0NGhtBZRcL7zfFcZbCk7nEiI21cJERxyqmDiLhNp7M-C4ytqiLv4NtdAh3gGE/s1600-h/Image0014.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419087553871919426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzMQCpjgiWegGJyAdDGAFVE-o1lRrFnJ2ShGLG6uDvC6govAzfZlR2E7P2misQhxP4P-AD8F2CCLjLv0NGhtBZRcL7zfFcZbCk7nEiI21cJERxyqmDiLhNp7M-C4ytqiLv4NtdAh3gGE/s400/Image0014.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 298px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJwDx22QJBHbCZvj1hC2qjc71L3NZsrjQB1X-hmkBsnYy3lbA-yKhqmH7MfhhRlYFuDdd8yzKCfqJjrQScZO65N7aN2fjdnGkiXZ-H10T5eiNEMjQMSZ_rJXFYkahe2KAA8MYDh2C7Ek/s1600-h/Image0015.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419087558323889282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJwDx22QJBHbCZvj1hC2qjc71L3NZsrjQB1X-hmkBsnYy3lbA-yKhqmH7MfhhRlYFuDdd8yzKCfqJjrQScZO65N7aN2fjdnGkiXZ-H10T5eiNEMjQMSZ_rJXFYkahe2KAA8MYDh2C7Ek/s400/Image0015.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 297px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FE_Q2iDOM7OaedF-wvuGWasmmx8k5DBl3DIfNNOdvB5HL-skFz2-xl-Ipgq-Hr1p_ep67Lek6CH5N5BEuG4LUiHEt8JmtS_VkugP2-Tk605WOxEF1rstXlTUmQnosOYFQNkrE-KQwOw/s1600-h/Image0016.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419087565496965778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FE_Q2iDOM7OaedF-wvuGWasmmx8k5DBl3DIfNNOdvB5HL-skFz2-xl-Ipgq-Hr1p_ep67Lek6CH5N5BEuG4LUiHEt8JmtS_VkugP2-Tk605WOxEF1rstXlTUmQnosOYFQNkrE-KQwOw/s400/Image0016.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 293px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs2iWYdaS4H9hwMISlSSnHxKc7vAhl-39SJ58NgaW32AT1RmzzpmbJiFAAYUYtnLnT2P-eP0ql_nD5cBDKeWgrUUzAY4DDt25j50LTWTVSBa0G9sJ76Utc93yi69LFm7fWCRckbOcdQo/s1600-h/Image0017a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419088510064815234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs2iWYdaS4H9hwMISlSSnHxKc7vAhl-39SJ58NgaW32AT1RmzzpmbJiFAAYUYtnLnT2P-eP0ql_nD5cBDKeWgrUUzAY4DDt25j50LTWTVSBa0G9sJ76Utc93yi69LFm7fWCRckbOcdQo/s400/Image0017a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 293px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8o0U4_OstrXtVwl0Z0ozzLSMS6Rd78ivclZH98OGniNK6Ej9ruTBSGqD5MEeOVJCup4tPA3pEWK9zI9gAkxp_ZSNcSenoHRkIJlWnvoQYZFOhqd_hMDuHLbsnzJMywWjGXKUwbX7Zc6c/s1600-h/Image0018.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419088903250400146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8o0U4_OstrXtVwl0Z0ozzLSMS6Rd78ivclZH98OGniNK6Ej9ruTBSGqD5MEeOVJCup4tPA3pEWK9zI9gAkxp_ZSNcSenoHRkIJlWnvoQYZFOhqd_hMDuHLbsnzJMywWjGXKUwbX7Zc6c/s400/Image0018.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 296px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNkw1SRm6cTaF8zy7LE4PZUQ4L5q_m-mouGPd8SNohZROXCMZAhAZPjqit8fWnNiLcUiRNL3-q7XoaWAvT2UBtiyGsZqDr4uSsL6u_p7qtqycqYIM107pLQM7udjPcpYUVkLBL2MWZeY/s1600-h/Image0019.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419088905177204498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNkw1SRm6cTaF8zy7LE4PZUQ4L5q_m-mouGPd8SNohZROXCMZAhAZPjqit8fWnNiLcUiRNL3-q7XoaWAvT2UBtiyGsZqDr4uSsL6u_p7qtqycqYIM107pLQM7udjPcpYUVkLBL2MWZeY/s400/Image0019.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 347px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhOV_NsLH9JEPYIArC9PfzmV2ELX8f_pPtCT2ucoDLljnAXvDTbz124t3ZzbUbiQZhWmI0SgT_S2QEL3_TlfKcxVf7ezIPeOIVRW5VblzabT7wOSkQMLrfFIZjOGcVStXfrETrOl689I/s1600-h/Image0023.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419093725524632514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhOV_NsLH9JEPYIArC9PfzmV2ELX8f_pPtCT2ucoDLljnAXvDTbz124t3ZzbUbiQZhWmI0SgT_S2QEL3_TlfKcxVf7ezIPeOIVRW5VblzabT7wOSkQMLrfFIZjOGcVStXfrETrOl689I/s400/Image0023.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 297px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBg5VuvQlUHKX3Lr3wulIJW6urmZHYGigsZ-_bsmfKmu9wp8VmBXBSOL-cc9x41lVQ5x1oqn6QEttR58cxGlEoIDA4ZSva76-TR6h5ejOY_IjMB9MqD85T4dfL-8YBG1i1cRAa5Ub0rs/s1600-h/Image0020.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419088909707110082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBg5VuvQlUHKX3Lr3wulIJW6urmZHYGigsZ-_bsmfKmu9wp8VmBXBSOL-cc9x41lVQ5x1oqn6QEttR58cxGlEoIDA4ZSva76-TR6h5ejOY_IjMB9MqD85T4dfL-8YBG1i1cRAa5Ub0rs/s400/Image0020.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 299px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lOS1m8QYIOLLgw8mt96Fjsv2eg9TxparxFl-X3B4LTplHw38TJm5LikSfg2LN9xY1UmLPLV9yq2eqp2Z5goILLxLeJqG53NNJM7EwPRM-szgA6LrhcYgwiBkHuwZoP5AosD44whU7iI/s1600-h/Image0022.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419093722011305762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lOS1m8QYIOLLgw8mt96Fjsv2eg9TxparxFl-X3B4LTplHw38TJm5LikSfg2LN9xY1UmLPLV9yq2eqp2Z5goILLxLeJqG53NNJM7EwPRM-szgA6LrhcYgwiBkHuwZoP5AosD44whU7iI/s400/Image0022.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 284px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JXqxQKm4tN7x01Jxcl6zHxz_KQJqgftWrqbySvSUwzBgJsQb-AnnhWzzrcSWdlTFawqvd4xQST7U2o6jAh_S7tx0GMkAH_Lv1PGhlk__Af22Gb0u6ZLslDiibZ6G_8F3CclxCmpeUlU/s1600-h/Image0021.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419088911614761778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JXqxQKm4tN7x01Jxcl6zHxz_KQJqgftWrqbySvSUwzBgJsQb-AnnhWzzrcSWdlTFawqvd4xQST7U2o6jAh_S7tx0GMkAH_Lv1PGhlk__Af22Gb0u6ZLslDiibZ6G_8F3CclxCmpeUlU/s400/Image0021.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 349px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> <span style="color: #33cc00; font-size: 130%; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 180%;">Merry Christmas</span>, <span style="color: #ffcc66;"></span></span></span><br />
from The Drunken Severed Head!</div><br />
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</div></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-73232718947089296062011-12-25T14:19:00.002-05:002011-12-25T14:19:24.959-05:00Merry Christmas!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifyk0oGJKop7FIfEl-zPK788Zd2h_aBrK8So10iQwC1zrQMuKs0GOWED3kVMcS87uTSalIxRIGGKN4nAPG9i1shIPN_M8qksJuqpyHKVtlOUZAuhDvAuFUfL6iP8Lhl3YtAfYshTMtrQP/s1600/Image0048.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554624560504900146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifyk0oGJKop7FIfEl-zPK788Zd2h_aBrK8So10iQwC1zrQMuKs0GOWED3kVMcS87uTSalIxRIGGKN4nAPG9i1shIPN_M8qksJuqpyHKVtlOUZAuhDvAuFUfL6iP8Lhl3YtAfYshTMtrQP/s400/Image0048.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 305px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Classic horror stars play Santa in this interior image from a card I got in 2007 from artist and dear friend Richard Olson, whose art graces several posts in this blog.<br />
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There's Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine and Vincent Price. All as spine-tingling Kringles!<br />
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Merry Christmas to all my friends--past, present, and future, real and virtual!</div><br />
</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-14569639568210844972011-12-24T09:11:00.000-05:002011-12-25T14:22:31.211-05:00TDSH classic post: Hairy, Scary, Bavari-an Christmas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0RJ-WhN0S58xcvsjuAUsksPbzx80Dssi6OR_aCry1p9TcqB1UQ6ednGtmQUpCDVQAhm4UPv98P2R5cS_wXdkhADN5FTaoP6Ckbf-fIP6nygGvJi8X19Rl6mY22husAcrUlrcrbTaYDZY/s1600-h/KrampusGlobalPost.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418697304025717826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0RJ-WhN0S58xcvsjuAUsksPbzx80Dssi6OR_aCry1p9TcqB1UQ6ednGtmQUpCDVQAhm4UPv98P2R5cS_wXdkhADN5FTaoP6Ckbf-fIP6nygGvJi8X19Rl6mY22husAcrUlrcrbTaYDZY/s400/KrampusGlobalPost.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Above is a picture from <span style="font-style: italic;">Global Post</span> on the monstrous German Christmas character, Krampus. From <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/america-and-the-world/091222/holiday-traditions-christmas-stories">their web article "8 wacky holiday traditions."</a></span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
Last year, I posted some photos similar to the one above, taken by a German-American friend while she was visiting the state of Bavaria. She was generous to share them with TDSH. Below is that post.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">____________________________</div>Below are scans of pics lent by friend Steffi Staley of a Christmas parade in the German state of Bavaria, where Santa's evil sidekick Krampus, his demon friends, and witches all appear, the better to scare kids into being good. (A tradition <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> think is great for children-- <a href="http://staff.washington.edu/wrighttm/hsteu205/pages/just_for_fun.html">although some disagree</a>.)<br />
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This is a tradition that I wish would flourish here-- hey, we got the Christmas tree and Santa Claus from the Old World, why not Krampus and his kind? I live in a section of Pittsburgh that was home for the German immigrant community in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the "Pennsylvania Dutch" Christmas monster known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belsnickel">Belsnickel</a> seems to have disappeared completely from Christmas celebrations here. What a shame!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBA0g8cE3WffCeXfbrdqDvvtM0PU_WkQ0JplK_1oRuEUuaslplNl7f-5k5nyIt11o1SkUUg90zm2IHs7T42oigTNK45yu_TmbdretggxylrmAoAUMXRvLPMFn6UXzsszYOR-0XTr2_dGA/s1600-h/GermanXmas6a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283987435375531346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBA0g8cE3WffCeXfbrdqDvvtM0PU_WkQ0JplK_1oRuEUuaslplNl7f-5k5nyIt11o1SkUUg90zm2IHs7T42oigTNK45yu_TmbdretggxylrmAoAUMXRvLPMFn6UXzsszYOR-0XTr2_dGA/s400/GermanXmas6a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 264px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJVC1TnLEgJns-pxdhAwZFkWqff8unD9N_KbYTXayQB7kZe6UHg4cUfDN8VvtaF05EZqODvjo-fxRSzLp8SwKL_ZCMP67iJxEin5mVtFjaqmrDdxf1qfarSCJIdrCRdzeR9w-wkkNeeA/s1600-h/GermanXmas0003a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283986346630253778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJVC1TnLEgJns-pxdhAwZFkWqff8unD9N_KbYTXayQB7kZe6UHg4cUfDN8VvtaF05EZqODvjo-fxRSzLp8SwKL_ZCMP67iJxEin5mVtFjaqmrDdxf1qfarSCJIdrCRdzeR9w-wkkNeeA/s400/GermanXmas0003a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 259px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifP1HjntoJVos65CCwlGjSmVu4dBGbq4xmaWzbGF0OAIsNHmZVgr7NQ3NgiznCWrastcqIuTvuFIIPBHx7mkVXVu1RzixCzriqaQ0j2AWaZ6FZWFyqUYyhmGvXeZc6nuj0cVVC9B_3B7U/s1600-h/GermanXmas0002c.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283986345150945554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifP1HjntoJVos65CCwlGjSmVu4dBGbq4xmaWzbGF0OAIsNHmZVgr7NQ3NgiznCWrastcqIuTvuFIIPBHx7mkVXVu1RzixCzriqaQ0j2AWaZ6FZWFyqUYyhmGvXeZc6nuj0cVVC9B_3B7U/s400/GermanXmas0002c.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 264px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBPclZuzYVZqDyL0nq9jJAJFQxqqmiWeuUG4N8KNEHDvSS4gwLRkgLWFZ0QRJl1sVUVq6WMSUUEFF_3ELAEgdjBjXqib7Zb8zozpaxL4hDtZhgFDtvyATS2xKzNgOnEP4ahyphenhyphengFo_XAhA/s1600-h/GermanXmas0002a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283985952797226322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBPclZuzYVZqDyL0nq9jJAJFQxqqmiWeuUG4N8KNEHDvSS4gwLRkgLWFZ0QRJl1sVUVq6WMSUUEFF_3ELAEgdjBjXqib7Zb8zozpaxL4hDtZhgFDtvyATS2xKzNgOnEP4ahyphenhyphengFo_XAhA/s400/GermanXmas0002a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 266px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxDqdweI7pyS7vm_pBYDjPwSb0WRCgWJp9YPK2gET9TO93kMbgS3_12auVQGgUwXDmEqcr-6g_bPA3F1aEecug5Q7zBm94kcrNQPDU6ls1AoMuW632p6qpzdyVrLZ0ynbyLy-mzgd4Ns/s1600-h/GermanXmas0002b.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283990750177297490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxDqdweI7pyS7vm_pBYDjPwSb0WRCgWJp9YPK2gET9TO93kMbgS3_12auVQGgUwXDmEqcr-6g_bPA3F1aEecug5Q7zBm94kcrNQPDU6ls1AoMuW632p6qpzdyVrLZ0ynbyLy-mzgd4Ns/s400/GermanXmas0002b.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 273px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZJR-Dh2rKMO3wp-aUjQpz0S5zr3xPvfrEzko-DV1LrDAnsyE_FOgAG8zYIBeYM2RTbBRBlL7GjoCBWkQTQrfEPZDxOEMsU7cUeBP7zBde4uuOlmZLuaOKRZJJb9qLH3qGfF4kmrZjFo/s1600-h/GermanXmas0001b.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283992012549383906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZJR-Dh2rKMO3wp-aUjQpz0S5zr3xPvfrEzko-DV1LrDAnsyE_FOgAG8zYIBeYM2RTbBRBlL7GjoCBWkQTQrfEPZDxOEMsU7cUeBP7zBde4uuOlmZLuaOKRZJJb9qLH3qGfF4kmrZjFo/s400/GermanXmas0001b.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 264px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
Merry Christmas!</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-54099172687539637222011-11-24T18:15:00.001-05:002011-11-24T18:15:47.438-05:00Encore post: "The Executioner"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
From Marvel's WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #26, cover date January 1974. Originally appeared in UNCANNY TALES #9, cover date June 1953. Art by <a href="http://www.badmags.com/bmmyronfass.html">Myron Fass</a>.<br />
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Click on each image to see the larger version.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJoz8JBV9PBrevoSKraQLHlN3xSk0_VKkf6r7RcX6rUPUyBO7p9XUiL8rLgfJYbq5OaeMZzj4Uns91pThn2RjBlQNdYHZ-wiZh5CD_uzjrtp8I3dRmI3T6vGQWfoiKphC2kUejfIi7qIy/s1600/Where_Monsters_Dwell_026-32.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543592439178202322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJoz8JBV9PBrevoSKraQLHlN3xSk0_VKkf6r7RcX6rUPUyBO7p9XUiL8rLgfJYbq5OaeMZzj4Uns91pThn2RjBlQNdYHZ-wiZh5CD_uzjrtp8I3dRmI3T6vGQWfoiKphC2kUejfIi7qIy/s640/Where_Monsters_Dwell_026-32.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="432" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyM4S6Do0yddqGagC_NNS29WjHvlKzGwP6oq04Am5aD_FfDtRWJ0R88rvdQXd2ybLZO7DoGe0RhuM4k23tbn1P7Wuu3NGYFii8MqiSQIHX-6IdvQpbMX1VOzlQaBq1giBXCerJMNTI22vJ/s1600/Where_Monsters_Dwell_026-33.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543592392099276898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyM4S6Do0yddqGagC_NNS29WjHvlKzGwP6oq04Am5aD_FfDtRWJ0R88rvdQXd2ybLZO7DoGe0RhuM4k23tbn1P7Wuu3NGYFii8MqiSQIHX-6IdvQpbMX1VOzlQaBq1giBXCerJMNTI22vJ/s640/Where_Monsters_Dwell_026-33.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="436" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZUpEzaDn7FSU-wY1MQwbWJ5XFj2M4Iyw_wAXrxwoOu6Om2Pyf8TDyu2adjb56X5a28Sj781g17HZQo7op8biDaoUDvQSJhiceoTQHGniwOcMuJNIBz35b3gq4NPqpJ8ZZWk0fn7Dm2cg/s1600/Where_Monsters_Dwell_026-34.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543594936263343170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZUpEzaDn7FSU-wY1MQwbWJ5XFj2M4Iyw_wAXrxwoOu6Om2Pyf8TDyu2adjb56X5a28Sj781g17HZQo7op8biDaoUDvQSJhiceoTQHGniwOcMuJNIBz35b3gq4NPqpJ8ZZWk0fn7Dm2cg/s640/Where_Monsters_Dwell_026-34.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="436" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtT9cWF6N9KpVt4YgaUUUdetP00gBzox8q16CV4NlIr_OdpEPgBscMmD2FsvEX3Avv3UfpWZRvQXOSiTfUgvniAFkl9giIrrTr_KBiKtIJn10Ic3miY7Rhi6vQ0p5m3OQU8mz2cls4gS1f/s1600/Where_Monsters_Dwell_026-34.jpg"><br />
</a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TDSH</span> READERS!</div></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-90822405409243352772011-11-24T18:08:00.002-05:002011-11-24T18:08:48.646-05:00Happy Thanksgiving 2011!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Nothing says "Thanksgiving" like an astronaut puppet made from household junk:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDajqUWRA_Ln7MbyD9eCgEqpQp8q1qp3tsC4QiWNjth5XUicIsv8KtWtrVB2crxDR6H5xHI0wEvPy5ftgYEyKGEFkxvL7KQw1Dqf2waw3o1JVfrpyfxWyizVW7JsVrTliaATbVnW2bAnu/s1600-h/PackOFun-01a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135784386710994162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDajqUWRA_Ln7MbyD9eCgEqpQp8q1qp3tsC4QiWNjth5XUicIsv8KtWtrVB2crxDR6H5xHI0wEvPy5ftgYEyKGEFkxvL7KQw1Dqf2waw3o1JVfrpyfxWyizVW7JsVrTliaATbVnW2bAnu/s640/PackOFun-01a.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="425" /></a><br />
My Thanksgiving wish for all of you: "Get stuffed!"<br />
</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-66100493483066868562011-11-22T19:10:00.002-05:002011-11-23T01:29:24.229-05:00Recommended: "The Presence of Price"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Maybe I'm a turkey for promoting/applauding something I had a hand in (but it's Thanksgiving, so eat me.) But I'm really, truly pleased to share a heart-warming article today that celebrates this Vincent Price birthday centennial year.<br />
<br />
Journalist Raymond Castile and I have co-authored an article sharing the thoughts and experiences of a number of Price's fans (including the ever-thoughtful Tim Lucas of <i>Video Watchdog</i> and the never-thoughtful me) and those of Price co-stars David Hedison, Brett Halsey, Charles Herbert & Terry Moore. Raymond and I attended the impressive St. Louis Vincentennial, and <b>he</b> did some great interviews there. I attended the Monster Bash Octoberfest later, and <b>I</b> did some interviews about Vincent Price there.<br />
<br />
http://famousmonstersoffilmland.com/2011/11/22/the-presence-of-price/<br />
<br />
If that's not enough,<i> Famous Monsters of Filmland</i> issue #254 celebrates the Vincent Price centennial and can be ordered <u><a href="http://www.captainco.com/magazines-prints-books/fm-254-vincent-price.html" target="_blank">here</a></u>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuNltJh7c8hiRZzrPw_OJMDp1WfI_x6X8YE0JMT51Sf_13bwmFBcNfyYwlonc-A5Pi44EoN3gUV8b0f9dKLsf3XB71nyULcUGbtjYQ5VczT77gewXjbDwVSzZyz7Cns981XsePMdhdUM/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuNltJh7c8hiRZzrPw_OJMDp1WfI_x6X8YE0JMT51Sf_13bwmFBcNfyYwlonc-A5Pi44EoN3gUV8b0f9dKLsf3XB71nyULcUGbtjYQ5VczT77gewXjbDwVSzZyz7Cns981XsePMdhdUM/s640/010.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art by R.J. Shay for the Vincentennial at the Star Clipper gallery in St. Louis.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
More of Raymond’s acclaimed reportage and photography is found in the fine first issue of Monsterpalooza magazine, which has very nice work by a number of writers and artists. Order it <u><a href="http://www.monsterpaloozamag.com/store.html" target="_blank">here</a></u>.<br />
<br />
And I should add that the impressive second issue of <i>Undying Monsters </i>commemorates well 100 years of Vincent Price. Find it <u><a href="http://www.undyingmonsters.com/contact-us.html" target="_blank">here</a></u>.<br />
<br />
I love what Vincentennial organizer Tom Stockman accomplished. I loved Ron Adam's Monster Bash (where Price's co-stars appeared.) And my Rondo-winning friend Raymond is a talented, perceptive reporter and writer. I'm grateful to all of them!<br />
<br />
And of course, any spotlight on Vincent Price is welcome to my eyes. Yours too, I'm guessing. Happy Thanksgiving!</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-40948463555289362852011-11-18T19:53:00.001-05:002011-11-18T19:56:05.996-05:008 Horror Movies and the Real Crimes that Copied Them<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Below is an article sent to me for use here under the title</span> </i>8 Horror Movies That Inspired Real-Life Crimes. <i>Since the degree that movies can "inspire" criminal behavior is a debatable topic, I changed the title for its appearance here. It was compiled and </i></b><b><i>authored</i></b><b><i> by Jay Smith for the website</i> <a href="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/features/8-horror-movies-that-inspired-real-life-crimes.html" target="_blank">Criminal Justice Degrees Guide</a>. <i>(I wonder if Jay knew I used to work in plainclothes security for the Loss Prevention department of a large retail chain?) Here for your vicarious titillation (I love that word!) is the article.</i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>*******</i></b></div><div class="intro-text" style="background-color: #fcf7ed; border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 207, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 30px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;">Horror movies are meant to entertain and excite audiences, but by no means are they intended to be taken off the screen and acted out in real life. In some rare cases, horror movies give mentally ill people creative, yet twisted ideas that they feel compelled to repeat. Here are eight horror movies that inspired real-life crimes:</div><ol id="yui_3_2_0_16_132159644894465" style="background-color: #fcf7ed; color: #666666; counter-reset: li 0; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 207, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; color: #282224; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 17px !important; position: relative; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><h3 style="color: #194f72; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-decoration: none !important;"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=108371&page=1" id="yui_3_2_0_16_132159644894468" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: -2px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><b id="yui_3_2_0_16_132159644894471"><i id="yui_3_2_0_16_132159644894474">Natural Born Killers</i></b></a></h3><div style="line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110632/" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" class="left" src="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/movie-crimes/natural-born-killers.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" /></a><i>Natural Born Killers</i> has inspired some of the most gruesome copycat killings in history. The film has been associated with several serial killers, including the homicidal couple Sarah Edmonson and Benjamin Darras. In 1995, the murderous duo dropped LSD and watched <i>Natural Born Killers</i> repeatedly before going on a drug-fueled crime spree of robbing and shooting a convenience store clerk that left her a quadriplegic. During the crime spree, Darras shot and killed a Mississippi businessman. Edmonson was sentenced to 35 years in prison and Darras is doing life.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 207, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; color: #282224; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 17px !important; position: relative; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><h3 style="color: #194f72; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-decoration: none !important;"><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/07/01/national/main52735.shtml" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: -2px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><b><i>Scream</i></b></a></h3><div style="line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1190508544/tt0117571" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" class="left" src="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/movie-crimes/scream.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" /></a>Wes Craven’s slasher movie series <i>Scream</i> was the inspiration behind the murder of Gina Castillo by her 16-year-old son and his 15-year-old cousin, Samuel Ramirez. The two teenagers confessed to the gruesome murder of Castillo and admitted that they did it because they needed money to fund a murder spree that would reenact the story line of the first two Hollywood <i>Scream</i> movies. In order to follow the <i>Scream</i> story line, the teenage boys planned to buy the ghost-face mask and electronic voice boxes that are seen in the movie.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 207, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; color: #282224; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 17px !important; position: relative; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><h3 style="color: #194f72; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-decoration: none !important;"><a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article538751.ece" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: -2px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><b><i>A Clockwork Orange</i></b></a></h3><div style="line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066921/" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" class="left" src="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/movie-crimes/a-clockwork-orange.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" /></a>Stanley Kubrick’s <i>A Clockwork Orange</i> has been the inspiration for many twisted real-life crimes, specifically throughout Britain. The crimes have exhibited similarities with the film, but one of the most bizarre cases involved a man named John Ricketts who was dressed up as a droog from <i>A Clockwork Orange</i> and assaulted a woman dressed as <i>Little Britain</i>‘s Vicky Pollard at an office party. The violent movie was banned from UK cinemas because of the increase in violent crimes following its release.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 207, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; color: #282224; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 17px !important; position: relative; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><h3 style="color: #194f72; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-decoration: none !important;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3168520.stm" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: -2px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><b><i>Queen of the Damned</i></b></a></h3><div style="line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238546/" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" class="left" src="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/movie-crimes/queen-of-the-damned.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" /></a>In 2002, Allan Menzies murdered his longtime friend, Thomas McKendrick, because he claimed a character in the vampire movie, <i>Queen of the Damned</i>, told him to do it and promised to make him a vampire in the next life. After watching the film about 100 times and receiving a visit from the female vampire Akasha in the middle of the night, he decided to murder people. Menzies also believed that McKendrick and another friend were plotting to kill him, but he turned on McKendrick first. Menzies stabbed his friend to death, drank his blood, and ate part of his head before burying him in a shallow grave. The "vampire killer" was later found dead in his prison cell from an apparent suicide.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 207, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; color: #282224; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 17px !important; position: relative; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><h3 style="color: #194f72; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-decoration: none !important;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/feb/06/bulger.ukcrime" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: -2px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><b><i>Child’s Play 3</i></b></a></h3><div style="line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103956/" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" class="left" src="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/movie-crimes/childs-play.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" /></a>Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were 10 years old when they kidnapped and brutally murdered two-year-old James Bulger in Liverpool. In 1993, Thompson and Venables snatched the toddler from a shopping mall and took him to a railway line where they beat and sexually assaulted the young boy. They left Bulger’s mutilated body on the railway tracks to die. Thompson and Venables were supposedly inspired by the horror film <i>Child’s Play 3</i>. The killer doll movies caused a great deal of controversy in the United Kingdom, as well as a public outcry for tightening "video nasties."</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 207, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; color: #282224; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 17px !important; position: relative; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><h3 style="color: #194f72; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-decoration: none !important;"><a href="http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/14_year_old_florida_killer_copied_movie_actors_expert_says/" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: -2px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><b><i>American Psycho</i></b></a></h3><div style="line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144084/" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" class="left" src="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/movie-crimes/american-psycho.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" /></a>In 2004, Michael Hernandez, 14, stabbed his middle school classmate to death and admitted to modeling his behavior after the serial killers in <i>American Psycho</i> and <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i>. The South Florida teen said he identified with the horror movie murderers and wanted to act out their roles in his real-life plan to become a serial killer. Hernandez believed God gave him special powers and agreed with his decision to kill his classmate. The teen boy was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2008.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 207, 198); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; color: #282224; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 17px !important; position: relative; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><h3 style="color: #194f72; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-decoration: none !important;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1158908/Schizophrenic-serial-killer-murdered-people-attack-inspired-horror-film-failed-NHS.html" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: -2px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><b><i>Nightmare on Elm Street</i></b></a></h3><div style="line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" class="left" src="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/movie-crimes/nightmare-on-elm-street.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" /></a>The famous ’80s horror film, <i>Nightmare on Elm Street</i>, was the inspiration for Daniel Gonzalez’s killing spree. In 2004, the paranoid schizophrenic went on a drug-fueled rampage and murdered four random people, including a doctor and his wife. Gonzalez armed himself with several knives and acted out a Freddy Krueger-like spree. Official reports claimed that Gonzalez did not receive proper treatment for his mental condition. He was given six life sentences for the four murders, as well as two attempted murders throughout England. In 2007, Gonzalez committed suicide in his cell.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; color: #282224; font-family: rooney-web, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 17px !important; position: relative; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px;"><h3 style="color: #194f72; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-decoration: none !important;"><a href="http://www.waff.com/story/6277367/prank-call-sends-one-woman-to-the-hospital?redirected=true" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: -2px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><b><i>Saw</i></b></a></h3><div id="yui_3_2_0_16_132159644894487" style="line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387564/" style="color: #00719d; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" class="left" src="http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/movie-crimes/saw.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" /></a>The <i>Saw</i> horror movie series was the inspiration behind a cruel prank that turned into a serious matter for two teenage girls in Winchester, Tenn. The teenagers used the<i>Saw</i> plot of making victims play games to stay alive by leaving a gruesome message on 52-year-old Beverly Dickson’s phone. They told Dickson that one of her friends was hidden in her house and it would be filled with toxic gas shortly. They asked if she wanted to live or die. Dickson got the message while attending a funeral and suffered a stroke from the frightening incident. The two 13-year-old</div></li>
</ol></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-5227625760223029472011-10-31T22:41:00.000-05:002011-10-31T22:41:54.162-05:00The 9 Weirdest Horror Movies Ever Made!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>That is, according to a guest blogger, Katina Solomon. She is a writer for hire writing for a college information website called </i><a href="http://www.zencollegelife.com/the-9-weirdest-horror-movies-ever-made/">Zen College Life</a>, <i>and she thought her article on weird horror movies would fit well here. I agree, and I think she made some great choices. Watch these weirdies and your jaw may be dropped permanently!</i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>_______________</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="headline_area" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 3px; color: #08456b; line-height: 48px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The 9 Weirdest Horror Movies Ever Made</span></h1></div><div class="format_text entry-content" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.667em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div class="intro-text" style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 1.667em;"><img align="right" class="right" height="225" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/horror.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 1.667em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /></span></span>All horror movies are weird, when you think about it. How often do you really find yourself fighting a psycho in a hockey mask when you go camping? Or worrying about whether your local hospital will suddenly start spitting out zombies? Not that often. Even so, some horror movies look like documentaries compared with some of the genre's weirder entries. You want a possessed bed? Evil snow? Sentient human waste? Then you're in luck. Here are 10 of the weirdest horror movies ever made, for anyone feeling brave or bored enough to give them a try. Don't say we didn't warn you, though.</div><div class="intro-text" style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385639/" style="color: #2361a1; font-family: helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Death Bed: The Bed That Eats</span></i></a></div><ol style="counter-reset: li 0; font-family: helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 1.667em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/01_deathbed.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span>Immortalized in a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01l1WIC9mBo" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Patton Oswalt routine</a>, <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Death Bed: The Bed That Eats</i> offers everything its title promises. There's a bed, and it eats people who sleep on it. Period. Released in 1977 by writer/director/producer George Barry — who is apparently a one-man operation for gems like this one — the film tells the story of a bed possessed by a demon that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL4LMGzKmf8" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">kills and eats anyone</a> who tries to sleep or make love on it. The production values are, to put it kindly, not very good, but the final product is just crazy enough to be watchable. Just sit on a couch when you do.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><h3 style="color: #111111; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.875em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080040/" style="color: #2361a1; font-size: 28px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Tourist Trap</i></a></h3><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/02_touristtrap.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span>The 1970s and 1980s were kind of a golden era for weird American horror. The genre was still considered an illegitimate offshoot of "real" filmmaking, and it took game-changers like <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Texas Chain Saw Massacre</i> and <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Halloween</i> to start convincing people that horror was more than just goofy shocks. That was a tough fight, too, because movies like <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Tourist Trap</i> were nothing but goofy shocks for 90 minutes at a time. And make no mistake: This is a weird movie. It's all about a group of friends who stumble upon an old man who owns a run-down museum full of mannequins and wax figures that he — wait for it — controls telepathically. He picks the kids off and turns them into plastic monsters to fill up his collection. Creepy, darkly humorous, and definitely worth your time.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><h3 style="color: #111111; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.875em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780622/" style="color: #2361a1; font-size: 28px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Teeth</i></a></h3><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/03_teeth.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span>Mitchell Lichtenstein's slightly campy, definitely uncomfortable horror movie deals with a teenage girl cursed with vagina dentata. It is every bit as awkward and weird as it sounds — it's not uncommon for the horror to happen just out of frame, only for a severed organ to fall with a thump to the ground — and its unevenness keeps it from working as a thriller or a comedy. It's not straight enough to be scary, and it's not nearly funny or smart enough to play as a satire. It's just off-putting.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><h3 style="color: #111111; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.875em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115819/" style="color: #2361a1; font-size: 28px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Cannibal! The Musical</i></a></h3><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/04_cannibal.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span>Before they got going with <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">South Park</i>, Trey Parker and Matt Stone did what all college students do: They made a musical about cannibalism in the days of gold prospecting. Originally titled <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Alferd Packer: The Musical</i> and retitled <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Cannibal! The Musical</i> when it was picked up for distribution, the horror-comedy tells the tale of Alferd Packer, a prospector involved in a cannibalism incident in the winter of 1873 on a journey from Utah to Colorado. The movie is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvjbv7wq34" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">hilarious</a> and <a href="http://youtu.be/JQ1ZOFNBL68" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">bizarre</a> in equal measure, veering from upbeat songs to moments of absurd gore with a glee that Parker and Stone would later bring to their landmark animated series. Watch it for the experience, but don't be surprised if you start humming the songs. (Photo above courtesy of Troma.)</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><h3 style="color: #111111; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.875em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069754/" style="color: #2361a1; font-size: 28px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Baby</i></a></h3><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/05_thebaby.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span>Now <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">this</i> is one for the books. Released in 1973, the film revolves around a social worker who starts working for a family whose patriarch is a mentally impaired man in his 20s who still crawls around and acts like a baby. The man is also regularly abused and sexually assaulted by his mother and sisters (and a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_65kbueb3I" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">babysitter</a>). It's a psychological thriller with a bizarre execution, and it's the kind of insane flick that fell through the cracks of the world and drifted through grindhouses and cable stations in the years after its debut. The ending is the perfect capper to a twisted story. It's a horror movie, yes, but more than anything it's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAb3J7WONhE" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">just crazy</a>.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><h3 style="color: #111111; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.875em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364527/" style="color: #2361a1; font-size: 28px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Monsturd</i></a></h3><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/06_monsturd.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Monsturd</i> is a haunting examination of man's own inhumanity in a postmodern age. Kidding! It's about a killer made of poop. It's a real movie, too. You can buy it and everything. Released in 2003 to an unsuspecting world, <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Monsturd</i> is about a serial killer who escapes his pursuers by hiding in a sewer, only to fall into a pool of chemicals that turns him into a monster that's half-man, half-feces. Understandably unhappy about his new form, the Monsturd throws himself into a rage-fueled killing spree. Does Monsturd come up through toilets to get people? Watch and find out! Or don't. Actually, just don't. It's boring, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ld3bmo2J9Q" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">badly acted</a>, and impossible to watch without being dangerously drunk. Just enjoy the premise and move on.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><h3 style="color: #111111; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.875em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069005/" style="color: #2361a1; font-size: 28px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Night of the Lepus</i></a></h3><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/07_nightofthelepus.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span>If you know your Latin, you know that "lepus" means "hare." That's right: This is a horror movie about giant killer rabbits. Based on the comedy-horror novel <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Year of the Angry Rabbit</i>, the film loses any hint of satire or social commentary and goes right for awful scares and laughable effects. The mutant rabbits that do the killing are played by real rabbits set against miniature sets or by humans in rabbit costumes, which makes the film about as scary as an episode of <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Yo Gabba Gabba!</i> and twice as surreal. All silly, no scary, and weird as can be.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><h3 style="color: #111111; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.875em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076162/" style="color: #2361a1; font-size: 28px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">House</i></a></h3><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/08_house.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span>This Japanese horror flick from 1977 has a considerable cult following and even earned a recent remastering as part of the Criterion Collection. But don't be fooled: It's deeply, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN0HVJ5tkIM" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">bravely weird</a>. It will <a href="http://youtu.be/xOBCMoDGGZU" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">break your brain</a>. The plot very loosely deals with a young girl who travels with a few of her classmates to her aunt's home, only to find herself doing supernatural battle with a sentient house that wants to kill them. That description actually sounds somewhat normal (ish) until you see the actual movie. It's a masterpiece of WTFery that can never be topped.</div></li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; font-size: 15px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px !important; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 5px !important; padding-top: 21px !important; position: relative;"><h3 style="color: #111111; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.875em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097942/" style="color: #2361a1; font-size: 28px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Mystics in Bali</i></a></h3><div style="font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif !important; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-right: 1.667em;"><img align="left" class="left" src="http://www.zencollegelife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/horrormovies/09_mysticsinbali.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-left-style: solid !important; border-left-width: 1px !important; border-right-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; border-top-color: rgb(209, 209, 209) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094) 0px 1px 3px !important; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.667em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.667em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span></span>Cheap, Indonesian, and not at all worried about making sense,<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Mystics of Bali</i> is in the running for weirdest of the weird. The story follows a woman who heads to Bali to investigate the locals and their history of witchcraft; yada yada yada, she befriends a demon queen and transforms into a variety of animals before eventually terrorizing the village as a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CofhQRjmsc" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">severed head on a stump of organs</a>. You know, as one does when one goes to Bali. The film's straightforward presentation of twisted images and gore make it a surrealist's dream come true, and it relies more on sheer bizarre ideas than typical shocks and scares. Not for the faint, but a must for the curious.</div></li>
</ol></div></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-6137952159719824632011-10-31T03:50:00.000-05:002011-10-31T03:50:23.549-05:00Mary Shelley's ghosts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In 1824, the mother of Frankenstein wrote an essay entitled, "On Ghosts", for issue 9 of <i>London Magazine</i>. Besides including a personal nightmare about a haunted house, Mary Shelley relates an account of a suicide, a headless corpse, and a bloody ghost.<br />
<br />
I am posting an excerpted form of the article here for your Halloween enjoyment. (The full text can be read <u><a href="http://www.litgothic.com/Texts/on_ghosts.html">here</a></u>.) It ends as she ended it, with a folk tale about a bizarre cat funeral seen at night in a remote German forest; this folk tale is often retold and anthologized, and you may find yourself recognizing it. Her account was told to her by Matthew G. Lewis, an early writer in the Gothic tradition, and whose novel <i>The Monk </i>scandalized English society. He related ghost stories to Mary and Percy Shelley during the same summer that Mary's novel Frankenstein was conceived.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAc91kMK6BUr62GtNkIStid_3RLySU6_d7J5MwhBse4AFdzM5t0mg4nSUkyU5lQtEz1YpV0HbJmtQb8irm-INlg3id99NRZlRkac9QxjQ1IQiZ0oawzoNSQ037mPNZSZvsaGCo4G3A-gI/s1600/Image0074_cropa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAc91kMK6BUr62GtNkIStid_3RLySU6_d7J5MwhBse4AFdzM5t0mg4nSUkyU5lQtEz1YpV0HbJmtQb8irm-INlg3id99NRZlRkac9QxjQ1IQiZ0oawzoNSQ037mPNZSZvsaGCo4G3A-gI/s400/Image0074_cropa.jpg" width="377" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Art by Mia Tavonatti from the 1994 Watermill paperback "Great Ghost Stories."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Happy Halloween!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">_______________________</div><br />
<br />
<br />
What has become of enchantresses with their palaces of crystal and dungeons of palpable darkness? What of fairies and their wands? What of witches and their familiars? and, last, what of ghosts, with beckoning hands and fleeting shapes, which quelled the soldier's brave heart, and made the murderer disclose to the astonished noon the veiled work of midnight? These which were realities to our fore-fathers, in our wiser age— <br />
<br />
— Characterless are grated/ To dusty nothing.<br />
<br />
[Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, Act III, scene 2.]<br />
<br />
Yet is it true that we do not believe in ghosts?<br />
<br />
For my own part, I never saw a ghost except once in a dream. I feared it in my sleep; I awoke trembling, and lights and the speech of others could hardly dissipate my fear. Some years ago I lost a friend, and a few months afterwards visited the house where I had last seen him. It was deserted, and though in the midst of a city, its vast halls and spacious apartments occasioned the same sense of loneliness as if it had been situated on an uninhabited heath. I walked through the vacant chambers by twilight, and none save I awakened the echoes of their pavement. The far mountains (visible from the upper windows) had lost their tinge of sunset; the tranquil atmosphere grew leaden coloured as the golden stars appeared in the firmament; no wind ruffled the shrunk-up river which crawled lazily through the deepest channel of its wide and empty bed; the chimes of the Ave Maria had ceased, and the bell hung moveless in the open belfry. I walked through the rooms filled with sensations of the most poignant grief. He had been there; his living frame had been caged by those walls, his breath had mingled with that atmosphere, his step had been on those stones, I thought: — the earth is a tomb, the gaudy sky a vault, we but walking corpses. The wind rising in the east rushed through the open casements, making them shake; —methought, I heard, I felt— I know not what —but I trembled, awe-struck and fearful. Wherefore? There is something beyond us of which we are ignorant.<br />
<br />
I have known two persons who at broad daylight have owned that they believed in ghosts, for that they had seen one. One of these was an Englishman, and the other an Italian. The former had lost a friend he dearly loved, who for awhile appeared to him nightly, gently stroking his cheek and spreading a serene calm over his mind. He did not fear the appearance, although he was somewhat awe-stricken as each night it glided into his chamber, and placed itself on the left side of the bed. <br />
<br />
This visitation continued for several weeks, when by some accident he altered his residence, and then he saw it no more. Such a tale may easily be explained away;—but several years had passed, and he, a man of strong and virile intellect, said that "he had seen a ghost."<br />
<br />
The Italian was a noble, a soldier, and by no means addicted to superstition: he had served in Napoleon's armies from early youth, and had been to Russia, had fought and bled, and been rewarded, and he unhesitatingly, and with deep relief, recounted his story.<br />
<br />
This Chevalier, a young, and (somewhat a miraculous incident) a gallant Italian, was engaged in a duel with a brother officer, and wounded him in the arm. The subject of the duel was frivolous; and distressed therefore at its consequences he attended on his youthful adversary during his consequent illness, so that when the latter recovered they became firm and dear friends. They were quartered together at Milan, where the youth fell desperately in love with the wife of a musician, who disdained his passion, so that it preyed on his spirits and his health; he absented himself from all amusements, avoided all his brother officers, and his only consolation was to pour his love-sick plaints into the ear of the Chevalier, who strove in vain to inspire him either with indifference towards the fair disdainer, or to inculcate lessons of fortitude and heroism. As a last resource he urged him to ask leave of absence; and to seek, either in change of scene, or the amusement of hunting, some diversion to his passion. One evening the youth came to the Chevalier, and said, "Well, I have asked leave of absence, and am to have it early tomorrow morning, so lend me your fowling-piece and cartridges, for I shall go to hunt for a fortnight." The Chevalier gave him what he asked; among the shot there were a few bullets. "I will take these also," said the youth, "to secure myself against the attack of any wolf, for I mean to bury myself in the woods."<br />
<br />
Although he had obtained that for which he came, the youth still lingered. He talked of the cruelty of his lady, lamented that she would not even permit him a hopeless attendance, but that she inexorably banished him from her sight, "so that," said he, "I have no hope but in oblivion." At length lie rose to depart. He took the Chevalier's hand and said, "You will see her to-morrow, you will speak to her, and hear her speak; tell her, I entreat you, that our conversation tonight has been concerning her, and that her name was the last that I spoke." "Yes, yes," cried the Chevalier, "I will say any thing you please; but you must not talk of her any more, you must forget her." The youth embraced his friend with warmth, but the latter saw nothing more in it than the effects of his affection, combined with his melancholy at absenting himself from his mistress, whose name, joined to a tender farewell, was the last sound that he uttered.<br />
<br />
When the Chevalier was on guard that night, he heard the report of a gun. He was at first troubled and agitated by it, but afterwards thought no more of it, and when relieved from guard went to bed, although he passed a restless, sleepless night. Early in the morning some one knocked at his door. It was a soldier, who said that he had got the young officer's leave of absence, and had taken it to his house; a servant had admitted him, and he had gone up stairs, but the room door of the officer was locked, and no one answered to his knocking, but something oozed through from under the door that looked like blood. The Chevalier, agitated and frightened at this account, hurried to his friend's house, burst open the door, and found him stretched on the ground— he had blown out his brains, and the body lay a headless trunk, cold, and stiff.<br />
<br />
The shock and grief which the Chevalier experienced in consequence of this catastrophe produced a fever which lasted for some days. When he got well, he obtained leave of absence, and went into the country to try to divert his mind. One evening at moonlight, he was returning home from a walk, and passed through a lane with a hedge on both sides, so high that he could not see over them. The night was balmy; the bushes gleamed with fireflies, brighter than the stars which the moon had veiled with her silver light. Suddenly he heard a rustling near him, and the figure of his friend issued from the hedge and stood before him, mutilated as he had seen him after his death. This figure he saw several times, always in the same place. It was impalpable to the touch, motionless, except in its advance, and made no sign when it was addressed. Once the Chevalier took a friend with him to the spot. The same rustling was heard, the same shadow slept forth, his companion fled in horror, but the Chevalier staid, vainly endeavouring to discover what called his friend from his quiet tomb, and if any act of his might give repose to the restless shade.<br />
<br />
Such are my two stories, and I record them the more willingly, since they occurred to men, and to individuals distinguished the one for courage and the other for sagacity. I will conclude my "modern instances," with a story told by M. G. Lewis, not probably so authentic as these, but perhaps more amusing. I relate it as nearly as possible in his own words.<br />
<br />
"A gentleman journeying towards the house of a friend, who lived on the skirts of an extensive forest, in the east of Germany, lost his way. He wandered for some time among the trees, when he saw a light at a distance. On approaching it he was surprised to observe that it proceeded from the interior of a ruined monastery. Before he knocked at the gate he thought it proper to look through the window. He saw a number of cats assembled round a small grave, four of whom were at that moment letting down a coffin with a crown upon it. The gentleman startled at this unusual sight, and, imagining that he had arrived at the retreats of fiends or witches, mounted his horse and rode away with the utmost precipitation. He arrived at his friend's house at a late hour, who sat up waiting for him. On his arrival his friend questioned him as to the cause of the traces of agitation visible in his face. He began to recount his adventures after much hesitation, knowing that it was scarcely possible that his friend should give faith to his relation. No sooner had he mentioned the coffin with the crown upon it, than his friend's cat, who seemed to have been lying asleep before the fire, leaped up, crying out, 'Then I am king of the cats;' and then scrambled up the chimney, and was never seen more."<br />
</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-37362991901712597262011-10-27T01:13:00.003-05:002011-10-27T01:14:29.654-05:00A Horrible Horrorwitz Hellish Halloween Hoo-Hah!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">My friend Brian "Horrible" Horrorwitz over at the mondo-weird <em><a href="http://www.trashpalace.com/">Trash Palace</a> </em>store has mixed his annual Halloween playlist and offers it for streaming or download!<br />
<br />
<span class="">He says, "80 minutes of wiiiiild Halloween rock-n-roll plus some excellent horror movie radio ads and a few surprises!It fits nicely onto a CD-R disc!!"<br />
<br />
<span class="">I recommend it! You can download it with 1 click or listen to it online at his blog here:</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://officialtrashpalace.blogspot.com/2011/10/horrorwitzs-hellish-halloween-hoo-hah.html">http://officialtrashpalace.blogspot.com/2011/10/horrorwitzs-hellish-halloween-hoo-hah.html</a><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy_VaDVY8vpQNai2-jCHXd5dD7iZZoiw_vCAfOiMfEhwtOqNv7amriTcu5WWhJBeuhEnvGIDzjOOUgyerSYulVeK9xMkduEqbpB8fYDwwmQJFc17UPm2lUhGfVrjaBpMVSbBwy_fACO4/s1600/HorrorwitzHellishHalloween_2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy_VaDVY8vpQNai2-jCHXd5dD7iZZoiw_vCAfOiMfEhwtOqNv7amriTcu5WWhJBeuhEnvGIDzjOOUgyerSYulVeK9xMkduEqbpB8fYDwwmQJFc17UPm2lUhGfVrjaBpMVSbBwy_fACO4/s1600/HorrorwitzHellishHalloween_2011.jpg" /></a></span></div><span class=""><br />
</span></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-65062503011116387812011-10-25T12:46:00.001-05:002011-10-26T10:34:29.776-05:00Answer in the form of a question!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Here's Alex Trebek with Halloween <i>Jeopardy!</i><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sKf6lnDi6-3Ntgt7QVLGfogXAr3YbstjeMjXV0E45QZk1bXMGB1kISYGtV9zsyR58hxvLlUaUeyf5lXtTITTSVc5KTnvRYiVYIGQck5IZbDM562FBaCBCfu_sAuwtvXNlpliKK6UkYE/s1600-h/AlexTrebekA.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395300571046561282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sKf6lnDi6-3Ntgt7QVLGfogXAr3YbstjeMjXV0E45QZk1bXMGB1kISYGtV9zsyR58hxvLlUaUeyf5lXtTITTSVc5KTnvRYiVYIGQck5IZbDM562FBaCBCfu_sAuwtvXNlpliKK6UkYE/s320/AlexTrebekA.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 307px;" /></a><br />
<u>Cat-e-gory</u>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rated 'R' </span><br />
(Each answer contains clues for TWO words; the first word becomes a second, Halloween-related word when an 'r' is <span style="font-weight: bold;">added</span> to it or <span style="font-weight: bold;">taken</span> from it!)<br />
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1. The answer is: A very small bloodsucker--THEN--Not a treat<br />
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2. The answer is: A bad child--THEN--A winged mammal<br />
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3. Opposite of "took'--THEN--A resting place<br />
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4. The answer is: Something suckled--THEN--Not a trick<br />
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5. A rude, obnoxious person--THEN--A specter's cry<br />
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6. A loud noise--THEN--A sorceress' mode of transportation<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">__________________________</div><br />
<u>Cat-e-gory</u>: <strong>Homophones</strong> (words that sound like other words with other spellings)<br />
<br />
<div>This enchanting Halloween icon is also an adjective used when asking about "a particular one."</div><br />
</div>Which one of you will respond correctly?</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-73705887120828892332011-10-25T12:36:00.002-05:002011-10-25T12:36:53.435-05:00Mark Statler and His Creepy Classic Chiller Band<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Recommended for Halloween rockin':<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwJvDTsbOsta22jJQYMvju8gPmRUX0bd806d1J2gR6EQH6DelT3ucJWhkHMwHjgRWrYzD0It_HH9qxs_MYk3hP0zzptA6Qs-E7Kodfq6sSyLTS_RDNlgP8T4BHDwG7as9_TJ7z5CuL6c/s1600-h/statler.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397223377069727234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwJvDTsbOsta22jJQYMvju8gPmRUX0bd806d1J2gR6EQH6DelT3ucJWhkHMwHjgRWrYzD0It_HH9qxs_MYk3hP0zzptA6Qs-E7Kodfq6sSyLTS_RDNlgP8T4BHDwG7as9_TJ7z5CuL6c/s400/statler.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>This CD is perfect for Monster Kids of Boomer and Gen X age. Not exactly a Halloween CD, it is still an excellent choice for perking up one's Halloween spirit. An online description of the CD describes it as "Bluesy 50's-60's light rock and roll tribute to classic horror films of the 30's thru 50's." If you like <span style="font-style: italic;">The Moon Rays</span>, you'll like Mark and his band.<br />
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Both nicely-performed covers and original songs are here, including Statler-penned tributes to the makeup men of Hollywood and a tribute song to the annual <span style="font-style: italic;">Monster Bash</span> classic horror film convention. Best of the covers, IMHO, are these tunes: a kick-ass version of Al Caiola's arrangement of Mancini's <span style="font-style: italic;">Experiment in Terror</span>, an energetic <span style="font-style: italic;">Haunted House</span>, and a romantic crooning of <span style="font-style: italic;">Moonglow</span>, which opens with a wolf (or maybe werewolf) howl in the background. (The song is nice contrast to the horror novelty selections.)<br />
<br />
You can listen to excerpts from the CD, and buy a copy, at <a href="http://www.indierhythm.com/product.php?cdId=5772">Indie Rhythm</a> .<br />
<br />
You can also <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/markstatler">purchase or download it from CD Baby</a>.<br />
<br />
OR you can help support the Monster Bash, a great convention, by buying it at <a href="http://www.creepyclassics.com/product.sc;jsessionid=31840EBC058428B3DFB7196504B534F3.qscstrfrnt04?productId=3686&categoryId=64">this Creepy Classics page</a>.</div><br />
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</div></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-77643317766090300882011-10-21T02:50:00.000-05:002011-10-21T02:50:24.311-05:00A Comic-al Halloween<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">As Halloween approaches, you're thinking of the HALLOWEEN FUN you'll have October 31st.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB05m_FnChB8wRRac84gJ3Fgo-MDUEA8ou0ULmz4peGQtBMrYb48qzrnbpGv5J8BvWJexrJ7fCtO9tr3ATaIonx1RXEUgb0EMyCcE9cIRQjcV7buJY8DGibu7Q3-FY2j4ivZ9jjPJxLTc/s1600-h/HalloweenFun.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390439476197238850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB05m_FnChB8wRRac84gJ3Fgo-MDUEA8ou0ULmz4peGQtBMrYb48qzrnbpGv5J8BvWJexrJ7fCtO9tr3ATaIonx1RXEUgb0EMyCcE9cIRQjcV7buJY8DGibu7Q3-FY2j4ivZ9jjPJxLTc/s400/HalloweenFun.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 287px;" /></a>But when Halloween arrives, my friends, be careful if you go out at night. You must BEWARE of midnight, THE WITCHING HOUR!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-z3xPfnhXxICf0_vyVvvALMQZsF8-2B2nIS68ty1vzlM8WLvIlliHXlqkH9NUnpVmJx96LOaBTacB4ZSs6lGCtvY_11eiNk8YN_X2l0kz6tloba47vpsSL2PgXVh5_HbNDVWh8074j-0/s1600-h/comic36a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390405164051180562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-z3xPfnhXxICf0_vyVvvALMQZsF8-2B2nIS68ty1vzlM8WLvIlliHXlqkH9NUnpVmJx96LOaBTacB4ZSs6lGCtvY_11eiNk8YN_X2l0kz6tloba47vpsSL2PgXVh5_HbNDVWh8074j-0/s400/comic36a.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="260" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUm5kSLclYM7v7wGswg-rddWDb42Lui_KM5CSM0xHvu3ZKERbKALO0uPLLzvIuIAY1xAdjsI9fJVGxf-W0kwWyRZ5t2unw5NAnn_y710hDGRHqzqOgYjmdkz3IDoALvZapgufTgjfdvQs/s1600-h/comicdc705a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390442577128434450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUm5kSLclYM7v7wGswg-rddWDb42Lui_KM5CSM0xHvu3ZKERbKALO0uPLLzvIuIAY1xAdjsI9fJVGxf-W0kwWyRZ5t2unw5NAnn_y710hDGRHqzqOgYjmdkz3IDoALvZapgufTgjfdvQs/s400/comicdc705a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 269px;" /></a>For if you should lose your way, you might take a JOURNEY INTO FEAR! Even UNKNOWN WORLDS--of FEAR!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpRA6dkwI2jUbE50DpQT1gJd84NaLwRR5HEDqQG8_8QSvw6QSEXJjQ4pubBEATfAzPW-Odn0aLTqFOVBk0rGXaVNrfISjUXOlZ-k8HZL_aKnx_jrBlw5Tj2cKIZnycVpwR2MNrPtwh6A/s1600-h/comic42a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390378378081389618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpRA6dkwI2jUbE50DpQT1gJd84NaLwRR5HEDqQG8_8QSvw6QSEXJjQ4pubBEATfAzPW-Odn0aLTqFOVBk0rGXaVNrfISjUXOlZ-k8HZL_aKnx_jrBlw5Tj2cKIZnycVpwR2MNrPtwh6A/s400/comic42a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 282px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUpNc5uXO1d1BLA3dhf8rFQONK9GGDO4rUKwU7XR15jkFCeAtajNnOK5Z7woDOUerynZ9DP5RfeqnxAWWSvTVesYwNJPkfK9sLFEbqdsqUbssMtx3udQAS-SNal1AOsSiVK9niZvQ3Chw/s1600-h/comic32a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390381075343381746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUpNc5uXO1d1BLA3dhf8rFQONK9GGDO4rUKwU7XR15jkFCeAtajNnOK5Z7woDOUerynZ9DP5RfeqnxAWWSvTVesYwNJPkfK9sLFEbqdsqUbssMtx3udQAS-SNal1AOsSiVK9niZvQ3Chw/s400/comic32a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 272px;" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEWPVLwiR2LwPzOFplaJZOcT-eLB8BMohya-ijZVetUlqVKYcLqrTIyanas_FCs1vqh-wDogpdA23SfcOfYpdsct7DJSA3PWGv3gTexPi3_xbeHpSwLRy-X1U37LQwb4n7p9gZthqMao/s1600-h/comic12a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390439464249095442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEWPVLwiR2LwPzOFplaJZOcT-eLB8BMohya-ijZVetUlqVKYcLqrTIyanas_FCs1vqh-wDogpdA23SfcOfYpdsct7DJSA3PWGv3gTexPi3_xbeHpSwLRy-X1U37LQwb4n7p9gZthqMao/s400/comic12a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 269px;" /></a>In these places between the natural world and the supernatural one, you could be confronted by THE UNEXPECTED and the ASTONISHING---<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fsxqneZvZTfbSdfKklFauXTthL1bZdmNeB5GYvN_a4IBn4VkBw66CNAtmb4eraxn7n0RTROp-B77bEwsrl0hhoqWmvmnZ8MsZ9XZunZ3ZC8MBj4lzce-CSYMOHjcGz5Tfo6j_2r4FPw/s1600-h/comicunexp113a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390421124928590466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fsxqneZvZTfbSdfKklFauXTthL1bZdmNeB5GYvN_a4IBn4VkBw66CNAtmb4eraxn7n0RTROp-B77bEwsrl0hhoqWmvmnZ8MsZ9XZunZ3ZC8MBj4lzce-CSYMOHjcGz5Tfo6j_2r4FPw/s400/comicunexp113a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 269px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuV_SmxzPKNyXShMIs65_KrPzoKmq8Lc7bjK2MJfa4S2lTmHspDvKDlRiCpnqGV21lsJw7Gs4eVJIe6dyMHY-G5AYzlTt2HxVUHaRV3fXZw-Tw-49G65-6Wuy25Uclninjj0Fni57mfs/s1600-h/comic31a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390367472415193010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuV_SmxzPKNyXShMIs65_KrPzoKmq8Lc7bjK2MJfa4S2lTmHspDvKDlRiCpnqGV21lsJw7Gs4eVJIe6dyMHY-G5AYzlTt2HxVUHaRV3fXZw-Tw-49G65-6Wuy25Uclninjj0Fni57mfs/s400/comic31a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 272px;" /></a>You could come face to face with a GHOST-- a stalking specter from THE BEYOND!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcAQk2S52lqZp22AJLmbTvx6AF3GkGWmU9p_GK4LsictmrN2ePK0jcHvXM4EKtwT3t9HVAV0Jk7mU065EM45t0r1k8_f5qQHtJgsmLwl0NIf-ZKOLhkluz12k1n9epbJWMkIyJVohCow/s1600-h/comic30a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390367464395500354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcAQk2S52lqZp22AJLmbTvx6AF3GkGWmU9p_GK4LsictmrN2ePK0jcHvXM4EKtwT3t9HVAV0Jk7mU065EM45t0r1k8_f5qQHtJgsmLwl0NIf-ZKOLhkluz12k1n9epbJWMkIyJVohCow/s400/comic30a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 260px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xmMm3tfI5bApBpDefwJAq3LJptr4N_GUgyHB92-ut1vJ1zDHK0BhChTE4wtaGUt7taAVZ_BpYyojSLkPdoYXmxs96IzBAULFdqP8U5Gyu_lP7m8rdVBRnsqqNLgFAxwY-8yda-HL8po/s1600-h/BEYOND30a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390367458704263858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xmMm3tfI5bApBpDefwJAq3LJptr4N_GUgyHB92-ut1vJ1zDHK0BhChTE4wtaGUt7taAVZ_BpYyojSLkPdoYXmxs96IzBAULFdqP8U5Gyu_lP7m8rdVBRnsqqNLgFAxwY-8yda-HL8po/s400/BEYOND30a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 275px;" /></a>Or even THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN--<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9Hm7aN6U4wnwosbKCp_ep4Gej5Tnh52UPeNQWxwupqYhX_BAQIcLGuJIYtrCPpFMngenjYHjNYxtJJVUb_b6pOiKG45I8k78nOEl1652sjg0JpT7v-dFR6lnkjijwLMHCBH0xKH6x4s/s1600-h/MOFcomic2-73a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390430675836820882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9Hm7aN6U4wnwosbKCp_ep4Gej5Tnh52UPeNQWxwupqYhX_BAQIcLGuJIYtrCPpFMngenjYHjNYxtJJVUb_b6pOiKG45I8k78nOEl1652sjg0JpT7v-dFR6lnkjijwLMHCBH0xKH6x4s/s400/MOFcomic2-73a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 269px;" /></a>Worse still--you might become victim to the nameless beast known only as THE THING!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgXynIPKDsN76qkzuktdjwp3kQEo9j9AqSkkMGdCVHA50be9C5_MGcCql1_Vgjo6qUxrH9ib5aGlC0IyQv6ngyc0p6do6CZj8kPFyuLdLhtsS7sj9qTBSYHp76-5PuTdO2aopZ_DhHQA/s1600-h/comic10a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390435304193388274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgXynIPKDsN76qkzuktdjwp3kQEo9j9AqSkkMGdCVHA50be9C5_MGcCql1_Vgjo6qUxrH9ib5aGlC0IyQv6ngyc0p6do6CZj8kPFyuLdLhtsS7sj9qTBSYHp76-5PuTdO2aopZ_DhHQA/s400/comic10a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 272px;" /></a>Oh, heed me! Do not tempt THE HAND OF FATE--<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEqMiQAFb3ooyRtuW2xP0WG61eJpOOx6NFhGwp8HPV-QknXBR10JCrbf9k6h3FqwX8qQZouf5n_Gy0FDGGTET3tpoJGlyP0pWY2A4PPcgi817qRjf7dT8zWa9ZutfTLrvVET__jb-_uM/s1600-h/comic9a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390395845907776354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEqMiQAFb3ooyRtuW2xP0WG61eJpOOx6NFhGwp8HPV-QknXBR10JCrbf9k6h3FqwX8qQZouf5n_Gy0FDGGTET3tpoJGlyP0pWY2A4PPcgi817qRjf7dT8zWa9ZutfTLrvVET__jb-_uM/s400/comic9a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 267px;" /></a>or you may wind up caught in a WEB OF MYSTERY--a WEB OF EVIL!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwG2MlY_8pv0uAaMpSpp-UgIAb-eUkPQqyvHM8FAVFkXU3_7XHFanTcSlOmHMx2oB6oVnvJVxTmilQisAmG-Ojw3Rw1T1jf5THbxndTpEdWDnNP3dBArYBT3gmHOmKGPaJlzEsMOsSdAA/s1600-h/comic33a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390402699424611138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwG2MlY_8pv0uAaMpSpp-UgIAb-eUkPQqyvHM8FAVFkXU3_7XHFanTcSlOmHMx2oB6oVnvJVxTmilQisAmG-Ojw3Rw1T1jf5THbxndTpEdWDnNP3dBArYBT3gmHOmKGPaJlzEsMOsSdAA/s400/comic33a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 262px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG3x8P2-4Yrr8BzD8JRVFJ43HTo5c7skJdgq3z6-ghuAn3YNWpljO2et9Ud7PIjPJ7HBbob_NOX8kZj8PrnzlFZx73C8M88AK7XA2HM3rjUu1cDHfH9hVfK2AxleqyNrAd-oGFhFm1nA/s1600-h/comic35a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390404069657685730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG3x8P2-4Yrr8BzD8JRVFJ43HTo5c7skJdgq3z6-ghuAn3YNWpljO2et9Ud7PIjPJ7HBbob_NOX8kZj8PrnzlFZx73C8M88AK7XA2HM3rjUu1cDHfH9hVfK2AxleqyNrAd-oGFhFm1nA/s400/comic35a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 262px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75wXppflkgbpdBKt_7P53HHFwtlOeSaUCpw_WsJlKi-2qDrM1efUq27hGUOxfbZs1W0aPiz38SIpYqES9urZC4o9o9s0cGxKCnCGlwBRQLOyrgMT_pvBlJQ2yvdCgp0WPGZ3ed34fDOw/s1600-h/comic45a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390428784040863970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75wXppflkgbpdBKt_7P53HHFwtlOeSaUCpw_WsJlKi-2qDrM1efUq27hGUOxfbZs1W0aPiz38SIpYqES9urZC4o9o9s0cGxKCnCGlwBRQLOyrgMT_pvBlJQ2yvdCgp0WPGZ3ed34fDOw/s400/comic45a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 273px;" /></a><br />
<br />
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled mirth without worry.</div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>This post originally published October 2009.</i></span></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-50431639492187195012011-10-17T01:38:00.001-05:002011-10-21T02:52:14.768-05:00Guaranteed Completely Safe!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<h3 data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-size: 1.17em; text-align: center;"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff9900;" style="color: #ff9900;">HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS</span></h3><h4 data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff9900;" style="color: #ff9900;">for</span></h4><h3 data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-size: 1.17em; text-align: center;"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff9900;" style="color: #ff9900;">DANGER-FREE </span></h3><h3 data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-size: 1.17em; text-align: center;"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff9900;" style="color: #ff9900;">Trick-or-Treating!</span></h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"></span><br />
<div style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">__________</span></div><div style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• If someone not immediately recognizable approaches you, walk (don't run) to your house and call the police. </span></div><div style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Do not wear a mask. It may obstruct your vision, and you could be mistaken for a robber or criminal of some type.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Never go out after dark.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Keep your distance from stray dogs, wild beasts or escaped zoo animals.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Don't approach the property of persons not known to you personally for at least ten years.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Avoid unusual costumes that could identify you as a trick-or-treater to lurking pedophiles.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Carry pepper spray, chemical mace, or a handheld tasers. Don't carry guns or knives without the recommendation of an adult known personally to you for a minimum of ten years.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Never accept candy or foodstuffs of any kind.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Don't go out if you are under 18 years of age.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;">• Stay in your own home or yard.</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><b>HAPPY HALLOWEEN! ENJOY IT SAFELY!</b></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"> These tips come from those safety-minded brothers Mark and Max Cheney.</span></div><div style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">After writing a draft of this post, I found the following video at the great blog Magic Carpet Burn. I'm going to share it too!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dE79Wwu5FnI?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;"><br />
<div style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div></span></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-75877011075278325772011-10-14T15:05:00.001-05:002011-10-15T11:48:41.879-05:00Candy Corny<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Boo!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq14FfL6W0UQYXWQ7wqsyL7I9FQ0_LbGmnZwuTuYiaSISTHLRGntGKxm7cmPQ789_PONXtBgGmM-bvMTDBE4WY7HssF3MwhytJNw8JAIutZON6sIASSLK185IxeiErhQPb1hkpuI5nzMA/s1600/HalloweenLindaMiller_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq14FfL6W0UQYXWQ7wqsyL7I9FQ0_LbGmnZwuTuYiaSISTHLRGntGKxm7cmPQ789_PONXtBgGmM-bvMTDBE4WY7HssF3MwhytJNw8JAIutZON6sIASSLK185IxeiErhQPb1hkpuI5nzMA/s400/HalloweenLindaMiller_crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watercolor art by Linda Miller.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Here's all the old, silly, just-for-kids Halloween jokes you could want in one blog post. Tell 'em to trick-or-treaters and you'll SLAY them!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">______________</div><br />
What is Dracula's favorite place for climbing?<br />
Mt. Kill-a-man-jaro.<br />
<br />
What is Freddy Krueger's favorite food?<br />
Cold cuts.<br />
<br />
What sounds do two vampires make when they kiss?<br />
Ouch!<br />
<br />
What do you call a zombie that presses your doorbell?<br />
A dead ringer!<br />
<br />
How does a werewolf sign his letters?<br />
Beast vicious!<br />
<br />
How do you get to the monster's house?<br />
Walk down the street, then turn fright at the dead end.<br />
<br />
Baby Monster: Momma, can I eat my potatoes with my fingers?<br />
Momma Monster: No, eat them separately!<br />
<br />
How can you make a witch scratch?<br />
Take away the 'w'!<br />
<br />
What do mad doctors eat after dinner?<br />
Experi-mints!<br />
<br />
How do mummies disguise themselves?<br />
They wear masking tape.<br />
<br />
What did the ghost buy for his haunted house?<br />
Home-moaner's insurance!<br />
<br />
Monster #1: Am I late for dinner?<br />
Monster #2: Yes, everyone's eaten.<br />
<br />
Why did the giant monster bring a root beer to Pittsburgh?<br />
To have something to wash it down with!<br />
<br />
Where do werewolves go shopping?<br />
The maul.<br />
<br />
(From <i>991/2 Spooky Jokes, Riddles & Nonsense, written by Holly Kowitt. Scholastic, Inc</i>.)<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://universalmonsterarmy.com/blog/?attachment_id=622" rel="attachment wp-att-622"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-622" height="384" src="http://universalmonsterarmy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HalloweenCatCandle.jpg" title="HalloweenCatCandle" width="512" /></a></h4><h4><i><br />
</i></h4><u>Found on the monster's bookshelf:</u><br />
<br />
<b>Dare You to Touch It</b>, by <i>Harry I. Ball</i><br />
<br />
<b>My Life As A Private Eye</b>, by <i>Sy Klopps</i><br />
<br />
<b>What Happened To The Cannibal's Friend?</b> by <i>I. A. Timm</i><br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">* * * * * *</h4><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://universalmonsterarmy.com/blog/?attachment_id=623" rel="attachment wp-att-623"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-623" height="720" src="http://universalmonsterarmy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HalloweenCard7-655x1024.jpg" title="HalloweenCard7" width="461" /></a></div><h4><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></h4>Pierre: Do monsters eat popcorn with their fingers?<br />
<br />
Max: No, they eat the fingers separately.<br />
<br />
Karswell: How do you keep a monster from biting his nails?<br />
<br />
Trixie: Give him screws.<br />
<br />
Kitty: What is the difference between a drunken severed head and a candy bar?<br />
<br />
Zombos: People like candy bars!<br />
<br />
Rozum: What kind of monster has the best hearing ?<br />
<br />
Erick: The eeriest one!<br />
<br />
Rattolle (a monster kid ): Mommy, can I leave the table?<br />
<br />
Absinthe (a monster mom): Yes, I'll save it for you for later.<br />
<br />
Zombos: Why don't skeletons play church music?<br />
<br />
Lancifer: Because they don't have any organs!<br />
<br />
Zombie Elvis: What's a mummy's favorite music?<br />
<br />
Zombie Joplin: Ragtime.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://universalmonsterarmy.com/blog/?attachment_id=624" rel="attachment wp-att-624"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-624" height="700" src="http://universalmonsterarmy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Halloween_mc-674x1024.jpg" title="Halloween_mc" width="461" /></a></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Joke sources for this blog: The Silly Little Book of Monster Jokes, and the site <em><a href="http://www.trueghosttales.com/jokes/monster-jokes.php">Monster Jokes</a></em>. <i>Last three photos sent to me by Craig Wichman. Thanks, Craig!</i></span></h4></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-61606677140657773472011-10-11T04:50:00.001-05:002011-10-11T22:33:41.968-05:00Vintage Halloween photos and graphics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hello, Halloween-loving kids-at-heart! It's nostalgia time!<br />
<br />
From a past eBay auction comes this image of a page from a 1963 issue of <span style="font-style: italic;">Jack and Jill</span> magazine for children. Apparently the original page is much lighter in color, but the flash from the camera has made the image brighter in the middle and darker elsewhere, making the art even spookier.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0pjvdJC1Nie5wsaYFtsYawBcaRASO8DKFaHELxO33bdSTzjFKKLiA_uhBAScobZkkKFJR3Mqh7CfxFpfqY3vOS7N7flXyZrYJ42tklFN3mSTMbAnwIbjWEXEORZi3fNVWojR2cHKRQ4/s1600-h/JJ1963.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396786518457039234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0pjvdJC1Nie5wsaYFtsYawBcaRASO8DKFaHELxO33bdSTzjFKKLiA_uhBAScobZkkKFJR3Mqh7CfxFpfqY3vOS7N7flXyZrYJ42tklFN3mSTMbAnwIbjWEXEORZi3fNVWojR2cHKRQ4/s320/JJ1963.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 249px;" width="199" /></a><br />
Below are photos I took of black-and-white images I found in an old cookbook that I found at a thrift store. They didn't have the best contrast and were kinda blah looking. So I tweaked 'em and played with the color:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfND11BTF2bX5GcyrL3EfSRTuXv0DXyEpH1KVLjoborrs7GWgCKE5hg9QjW2el45fodiELTpujFwyo34XcDwzHRWgGY56CCCgIMiTKbdDND29u_hmd9RvBbCge40zmOTy6vs3DzSbmqIU/s1600-h/Picture+530abc.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396791055831689346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfND11BTF2bX5GcyrL3EfSRTuXv0DXyEpH1KVLjoborrs7GWgCKE5hg9QjW2el45fodiELTpujFwyo34XcDwzHRWgGY56CCCgIMiTKbdDND29u_hmd9RvBbCge40zmOTy6vs3DzSbmqIU/s400/Picture+530abc.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 297px;" width="297" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic-vOHQbqTGFmFP0LxKfpi3_tcMRrRqGmclKCpVNaVabN0LP3V4bJ-h9ZSry7pWltFMnDLmI4CM28MajeGbyrIFgHIxH7oKD-RQCJe2kXRJot4UYKoQtQ4DruBfCmbzIvXud7gI5MzJ0/s1600-h/Picture+525ab.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396798399496786626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic-vOHQbqTGFmFP0LxKfpi3_tcMRrRqGmclKCpVNaVabN0LP3V4bJ-h9ZSry7pWltFMnDLmI4CM28MajeGbyrIFgHIxH7oKD-RQCJe2kXRJot4UYKoQtQ4DruBfCmbzIvXud7gI5MzJ0/s400/Picture+525ab.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 285px;" width="285" /></a>This post is making me hungry! Hmm, I could eat some Old Crow, or maybe Wild Turkey...<br />
<br />
Here are some vintage spooky graphics for kids I found online. Posted in backwards-descending chronological order.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHR1HABTclg7PJfAYgMYTxhteyMr5Wab-Ptq7wUxe7P3pP4ChPQr1TaJfmDQEm-i6xURSpb0jSrydI4HOXS9cOaT0vMKazj8qG_fVhM7BJgJzsjDQkf62CGpwqTMlK3l-iYKgvYMO7h0/s1600-h/Clipboard01a2b.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="297" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394597339198701746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHR1HABTclg7PJfAYgMYTxhteyMr5Wab-Ptq7wUxe7P3pP4ChPQr1TaJfmDQEm-i6xURSpb0jSrydI4HOXS9cOaT0vMKazj8qG_fVhM7BJgJzsjDQkf62CGpwqTMlK3l-iYKgvYMO7h0/s400/Clipboard01a2b.jpg" style="display: block; height: 297px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlMJ7NcaZLoj6_bJHAD6WDMDaT6PLB1fZXjS6JV4BqilkFvFcsrzArF8eIcmsqTtM_JlNjcdCoAIjSHmWIo-oflVjXtEH9pE4btLlcrMOopxk4E7tgIE2kAsio247je9s3S-vBxXYsg8/s1600-h/Gibsoninvite.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394584784860772882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlMJ7NcaZLoj6_bJHAD6WDMDaT6PLB1fZXjS6JV4BqilkFvFcsrzArF8eIcmsqTtM_JlNjcdCoAIjSHmWIo-oflVjXtEH9pE4btLlcrMOopxk4E7tgIE2kAsio247je9s3S-vBxXYsg8/s400/Gibsoninvite.jpg" style="display: block; height: 399px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 227px;" width="227" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dnHO3kZWaX8cKWR_osgFqxy0JjHUaSqFsJNaPRcH3mw0gpkauy1XlAA1g1njSVsGyQNjTXIOKU8kDSC-15cs_k3A9nivRtd1Ud-KGLLn4K8MQWio8KLn6Wz4F4axC1iZUTnd4QkU8Ms/s1600-h/50sHalloweenPaperPlatea.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394739876581764290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dnHO3kZWaX8cKWR_osgFqxy0JjHUaSqFsJNaPRcH3mw0gpkauy1XlAA1g1njSVsGyQNjTXIOKU8kDSC-15cs_k3A9nivRtd1Ud-KGLLn4K8MQWio8KLn6Wz4F4axC1iZUTnd4QkU8Ms/s400/50sHalloweenPaperPlatea.jpg" style="display: block; height: 374px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 311px;" width="332" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETfEpYgEe_7IDQmgMRT3F5vw7GcfGKz8-lfIkn6FPjJcOI-0mW0Y445hWHm2CdAnXL4Mu40FMlv1C0xIbCm59LoTjdZ01mJbHSaw4bMSknTtxg7xTsPArAAcYHGuqOkp8fKbHhaUNSq8/s1600-h/bag2a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394744425618680706" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETfEpYgEe_7IDQmgMRT3F5vw7GcfGKz8-lfIkn6FPjJcOI-0mW0Y445hWHm2CdAnXL4Mu40FMlv1C0xIbCm59LoTjdZ01mJbHSaw4bMSknTtxg7xTsPArAAcYHGuqOkp8fKbHhaUNSq8/s400/bag2a.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 381px;" width="381" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEr4_L1bUWvbEWgAhaItQDb3ZybQbzLIkbS3vgvIEfxITe_1PixI0BIP1-YcZptWRKTPDQkZtoMsK6ne8hyphenhyphenILvZjnqI0oPN8Kc4klZbicziqFzIZ3vU46HljcLiVXpaD4OjUcVYMUBOk/s1600-h/EOHT1928bA.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394594031933074802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEr4_L1bUWvbEWgAhaItQDb3ZybQbzLIkbS3vgvIEfxITe_1PixI0BIP1-YcZptWRKTPDQkZtoMsK6ne8hyphenhyphenILvZjnqI0oPN8Kc4klZbicziqFzIZ3vU46HljcLiVXpaD4OjUcVYMUBOk/s400/EOHT1928bA.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 280px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CtwOTsJvLOdKAlvLCFq_1ycljbg8PugDjgF0fLfx9MxR2WOE6vGyzd_kvFatm1iy_dgRIEBdyt5dTmtHgEil9QHEf-2Q32KUz_Idvnj2_N8bNxkwL1ydfo7ZEWQfeYaziG4SYN3vyw0/s1600-h/EOHT1928eA.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394594040183865890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CtwOTsJvLOdKAlvLCFq_1ycljbg8PugDjgF0fLfx9MxR2WOE6vGyzd_kvFatm1iy_dgRIEBdyt5dTmtHgEil9QHEf-2Q32KUz_Idvnj2_N8bNxkwL1ydfo7ZEWQfeYaziG4SYN3vyw0/s400/EOHT1928eA.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 238px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 358px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPG8wTHbXRQ3Dr1wadTBVCFUhfaqRiEPimwg-sVz1WTcb7zahp-hoc4PqZ1jQ1N2rfQsrMQQnB7BARev6OUIU53AqAhyjUIELvMUKGlQNJQ_fLe-4CxQniyQjuE6KMCGebKXhm11VntA/s1600-h/TucksHalloweenCard1908.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394584000860201778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPG8wTHbXRQ3Dr1wadTBVCFUhfaqRiEPimwg-sVz1WTcb7zahp-hoc4PqZ1jQ1N2rfQsrMQQnB7BARev6OUIU53AqAhyjUIELvMUKGlQNJQ_fLe-4CxQniyQjuE6KMCGebKXhm11VntA/s400/TucksHalloweenCard1908.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 253px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpw4sK7sOGDaHA8uK83H8ixtH-LQlDGz7kfIYYF-wp8xoKV2CSMZ6limlA8Sx0afb73YjMkK8qHQsIlTScR7ceM-Wx8KHYXTJOrQbPJMR6GDYFe2VlViUuDJmVAKvxKpI1EVQX3o0KWJM/s1600-h/Clipboard01aaA.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381964541859586146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpw4sK7sOGDaHA8uK83H8ixtH-LQlDGz7kfIYYF-wp8xoKV2CSMZ6limlA8Sx0afb73YjMkK8qHQsIlTScR7ceM-Wx8KHYXTJOrQbPJMR6GDYFe2VlViUuDJmVAKvxKpI1EVQX3o0KWJM/s400/Clipboard01aaA.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 254px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwOopViWDJvRFB_TYiWZWnUSs6ys9uPrbyQfMQD9PeGWFja7jP5eCUKsJyQI0T2JVyHFFflwrmsV0Qkjp6qdsWWscQXx_EkC6PBxDSJin5XGanDUVNfATH4xgQX2X3EUH_tCmJLlQTaM/s1600-h/Clipboard04.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394738392626018098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwOopViWDJvRFB_TYiWZWnUSs6ys9uPrbyQfMQD9PeGWFja7jP5eCUKsJyQI0T2JVyHFFflwrmsV0Qkjp6qdsWWscQXx_EkC6PBxDSJin5XGanDUVNfATH4xgQX2X3EUH_tCmJLlQTaM/s400/Clipboard04.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 248px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWk-KGMNKFaBQ9ay1kwPvGy8do8AfHSrp38-hM1zgkDVGQl5SUdz4jn4eZ3bfKqFi6jy7wVs7YKbdAjA6QHtJxmubDVxPhsi2DrSxm6SvF63NkoI3V65-uhLoM3LtloS-mWe0q08pv1Jc/s1600-h/Clipboard03.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394738383234809634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWk-KGMNKFaBQ9ay1kwPvGy8do8AfHSrp38-hM1zgkDVGQl5SUdz4jn4eZ3bfKqFi6jy7wVs7YKbdAjA6QHtJxmubDVxPhsi2DrSxm6SvF63NkoI3V65-uhLoM3LtloS-mWe0q08pv1Jc/s400/Clipboard03.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 258px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDohIHKJG3iT3qiJpcwyR8by86GHTqaMeIYXo_hgtkkLg5cRIwQpMFTe6J1kG8przNvlb52cAz7X8YbIu5QmtBuQdZR3E5j8kk6sHd-9bTfnJWFhgbbYklAj0gMED7tV8mkJWR8AWDM-A/s1600-h/Clipboard02.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394738382405235394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDohIHKJG3iT3qiJpcwyR8by86GHTqaMeIYXo_hgtkkLg5cRIwQpMFTe6J1kG8przNvlb52cAz7X8YbIu5QmtBuQdZR3E5j8kk6sHd-9bTfnJWFhgbbYklAj0gMED7tV8mkJWR8AWDM-A/s400/Clipboard02.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 256px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXF9XF7dPaFYVhTE0TtsTdPWcEUlgsxxYsLI4S_gsVEot7IHBhAsuwpVA44lPRXKAyCJ1tm81iZ5ZSty31QNshMXpVS3WlsX2BVh6QYDe8BZN4SuTAbRcMCCAeL7UrFRhznvO9S03ItJs/s1600-h/Clipboard06.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394741221535774450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXF9XF7dPaFYVhTE0TtsTdPWcEUlgsxxYsLI4S_gsVEot7IHBhAsuwpVA44lPRXKAyCJ1tm81iZ5ZSty31QNshMXpVS3WlsX2BVh6QYDe8BZN4SuTAbRcMCCAeL7UrFRhznvO9S03ItJs/s400/Clipboard06.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 218px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tLj_SvxkRuBCxF8LQLb8ultIfhhpeSUQqKxDt7hgORqR08sVPQzb1pyJmJxqE7Wa5K5NUahQwZnpp8qh7WlbjTVNQrPqdqBVCYvwdZt-YzYQ5Tyw_tL1SEOOCvlzW2w-Fmm1HLDJOR0/s1600-h/Clipboard05.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394741214112063730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tLj_SvxkRuBCxF8LQLb8ultIfhhpeSUQqKxDt7hgORqR08sVPQzb1pyJmJxqE7Wa5K5NUahQwZnpp8qh7WlbjTVNQrPqdqBVCYvwdZt-YzYQ5Tyw_tL1SEOOCvlzW2w-Fmm1HLDJOR0/s400/Clipboard05.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 250px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7v8yiPqbBAyMjTHZ5RILaxZysQOue6FPBwG58YNiz4x5ZVfv-KhlF3eXhE-_0myieRydM0ezD_r4c1D9ZzFAOdcG26ZU_k0wYHLeRWSI7pioAx6aEw-9I15-j9AbLPWMRKMDdyE_Mp0E/s1600-h/Clipboard08.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394741206795965362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7v8yiPqbBAyMjTHZ5RILaxZysQOue6FPBwG58YNiz4x5ZVfv-KhlF3eXhE-_0myieRydM0ezD_r4c1D9ZzFAOdcG26ZU_k0wYHLeRWSI7pioAx6aEw-9I15-j9AbLPWMRKMDdyE_Mp0E/s400/Clipboard08.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 257px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwdRmR0TixskkkBNihwX-__UzcuZqq6SfStrarYKe4oE12jBB1GBBBxBzgVOkaWxS4X-7Ex3ZGBbNo0mn8HjrKWK4PxBwmd6YuFsIMsOHwShDN4XpOHN_bukmNWLhxiCipqpwK5Svdnc/s1600-h/Clipboard07.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394741201165656706" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwdRmR0TixskkkBNihwX-__UzcuZqq6SfStrarYKe4oE12jBB1GBBBxBzgVOkaWxS4X-7Ex3ZGBbNo0mn8HjrKWK4PxBwmd6YuFsIMsOHwShDN4XpOHN_bukmNWLhxiCipqpwK5Svdnc/s400/Clipboard07.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 249px;" /></a><br />
Here's proof that Shirley Temple was once a <span style="font-style: italic;">Satan-worshipping sorceress</span>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZHQ31I_drCVKaavJ2aJg_q-IMSj09LnIsO-XuKfrTpvTIeuEoVYKVgQ7P6mSrG-JP8CMFc6ibPsXJ46V-f6qU1Q2kJ5JatmgQp-RE3BL6lxsenYLmXh1jJcKcUSUG9lIYuTDojp1-2o/s1600-h/Clipboard01.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396793102562332114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZHQ31I_drCVKaavJ2aJg_q-IMSj09LnIsO-XuKfrTpvTIeuEoVYKVgQ7P6mSrG-JP8CMFc6ibPsXJ46V-f6qU1Q2kJ5JatmgQp-RE3BL6lxsenYLmXh1jJcKcUSUG9lIYuTDojp1-2o/s400/Clipboard01.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 251px;" /></a></div>Last, here's an unintentionally funny scan from the October 1963 issue of the now-defunct craft magazine <i>Pack-O-Fun</i>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQc4OR2VM9312BGwT24EBzaZorB9HMuCVCFuAqwLgAJjoHH3IYN-IzlbUXQgbElvqRkIqb1IRhlyf5qxY9nqNj5P4KbMuD3V1N1cf09FYD_QLITfdx-AaOZ799w8HTZgyLafItfxrnp3-/s1600-h/POF15.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254824274254593490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQc4OR2VM9312BGwT24EBzaZorB9HMuCVCFuAqwLgAJjoHH3IYN-IzlbUXQgbElvqRkIqb1IRhlyf5qxY9nqNj5P4KbMuD3V1N1cf09FYD_QLITfdx-AaOZ799w8HTZgyLafItfxrnp3-/s640/POF15.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="419" /></a>Here's a Halloween party as envisioned by the<span style="font-style: italic;"> Pack-O-Fun</span> editors. Let's see-- a gypsy girl is ignoring the attention of a Klansman, the Headless Horseman has had his head handed to him by Peter Pan and Hopalong Cassidy's sidekick, while a Native American wanna-be prepares to whiz on the floor. (Can't handle his firewater!) At bottom (no pun intended) a cruel bony dom and a devilish dominatrix force two male slaves to eat like animals.</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-87155540119770203422011-10-03T03:20:00.002-05:002011-10-06T23:49:04.023-05:00Halloween Cheesecake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssESXGXpLWwShrHgttiyXPnXT8UIN_Y60glBDcB0NtUi6BCkerYA_fpQfWde9wUWgFo1cCcy4YF1JBUUWKtxf0Wvmp7lDWlt166NOiGS46iNkiiP-FO3rV6YPpc5EMnKeo6R6pC73d-o/s1600/Image0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssESXGXpLWwShrHgttiyXPnXT8UIN_Y60glBDcB0NtUi6BCkerYA_fpQfWde9wUWgFo1cCcy4YF1JBUUWKtxf0Wvmp7lDWlt166NOiGS46iNkiiP-FO3rV6YPpc5EMnKeo6R6pC73d-o/s640/Image0073.JPG" width="438" /></a></div><br />
Saw this card at a store--I forget which one--and had to have it. A really cheesy cheesecake photo on the front of a Halloween card? Oh yeah, that's for me.<br />
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It's a <a href="http://www.hallmark.com/online/">Hallmark card</a>, so is likely found at any major retailer that sells cards.<br />
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If you like gore*, Hallmark has a "splatter" e-card for Halloween! It's available for sending when you subscribe to their online card service for one year, which costs $12. But you can watch and preview the card without subscribing <a href="http://www.hallmark.com/ECardDisplay/ECardDisplay/npz6539_DK">here</a>.<br />
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*<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">of a vegetarian sort</span><br />
<span id="goog_1595649568"></span></div></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-88914805542911807422011-10-02T15:07:00.015-05:002011-10-02T17:53:43.980-05:00Celebrate Halloween with Franken-fromage!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've seen some pretty cheesy Frankenstein items in my time.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And there is concern by some environmentalists <a href="http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2000/03/34667">about the creation and sale of "Franken-foods."</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> is the cheesiest Franken-food I've ever seen!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLAmwmE-1UkTxk_j0Ude6fWG_HYFxMB-YY8HKRvEOexjfHbsdvObtAwLfPNUhVePR5e5zyNamPmvWljCH1n6HhuvRKdTp58HQxBg4WE7RGKyAa8rXLPIyXuYo6AjRlcvywS1RkaN0jgZl/s1600-h/frankenfromageA.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262462936958777314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLAmwmE-1UkTxk_j0Ude6fWG_HYFxMB-YY8HKRvEOexjfHbsdvObtAwLfPNUhVePR5e5zyNamPmvWljCH1n6HhuvRKdTp58HQxBg4WE7RGKyAa8rXLPIyXuYo6AjRlcvywS1RkaN0jgZl/s400/frankenfromageA.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 370px;" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From a past issue of <span style="font-style: italic;">Taste of Home </span>magazine comes this picture of a Frankenstein-shaped cheeseball. Perfect for guests who come over to watch <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Frankenstein_Meets_the_Space_Monster/70048836?mqso=80020215&partid=Frankenstein_Meets_the_Space_Monster"><span style="font-style: italic;">Frankenstein M</span>ee<span style="font-style: italic;">ts</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">The Space Monster</span></a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Below, you can read the recipe for this creepy cheesy comestible by clicking on the photo to enlarge it.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9S-baLbVp57SPyZ0oiU2GfKA_16HU1A8dENPx0xVGdI1DwXVqPzXxUKjyCVBmvmLTBxN9AscDKNGxiskIH8fCaa-qffCIaH3GduC7zEAZPI7GG-nJCrxOmGMg086GGsKOEUOeTbKYvE3n/s1600-h/frankenfromage.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262461796386213266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9S-baLbVp57SPyZ0oiU2GfKA_16HU1A8dENPx0xVGdI1DwXVqPzXxUKjyCVBmvmLTBxN9AscDKNGxiskIH8fCaa-qffCIaH3GduC7zEAZPI7GG-nJCrxOmGMg086GGsKOEUOeTbKYvE3n/s400/frankenfromage.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 110px;" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the <span style="font-style: italic;">Taste of Home </span>website, you can also see their online Halloween articles <a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Holidays---Celebrations/Halloween"><span style="font-style: italic;">here</span></a>, and read <span id="ctl00_MainContent_RecipeRightColumn1_lblRomanceCopy">Christy Hinrichs'</span> recipe for making "Dracula cookies" <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Dracula-Cookies">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Bone appetit!</span></span></div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-9676677204616931752011-10-01T02:12:00.008-05:002011-10-02T02:49:46.576-05:00The Demonic Digital Device<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I was a kid, the magazines CREEPY and EERIE kept the spirit of Hallowe'en burning in me all year 'round. In one of them, I was introduced to the legendary device of dark magic, the<span style="font-style: italic;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_of_Glory" style="font-weight: bold;">hand o' glory</a>.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The hand o' glory was a murderer's severed hand used as a candle, and was alleged to be used by thieves and killers, as it had the power to keep asleep any one inside a home that the user trespassed into. In the magazine story I read as a yoot, a criminal using a hand o' glory intends to steal from a family who have moved into a desolate mansion. But he finds to his surprise that they aren't kept asleep, because they do not <span style="font-style: italic;">live</span>-- they're all vampires, and the criminal becomes their victim!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Never forgot that story.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My Halloween bride Jane the Voodoo Queen owns a 1961 book titled<span style="font-style: italic;"> A Treasury Of Witchcraft. </span>In its entry for "Hand of Glory"<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>is this bit of verse<span style="font-style: italic;">:<br />
<br />
<b> Wherever that terrible light shall burn,<br />
Vainly the sleeper may toss and turn;<br />
His leaden eyes shall he ne'er unclose<br />
So long as that magical taper glows;<br />
Life and treasure shall he command<br />
Who knoweth the charm of the glorious Hand!<br />
<br />
--Ingolsby Legends </b></span><b>(Thomas Ingolsby, 1788-1845)</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So you can imagine my happiness in seeing see hands o' glory at my local Walgreen's drug store! Of COURSE I bought them!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTq8BIlCdscKWCVvyXLvKyiiIH2gBtK9xxZeAKCgql3bawXVoepDMq_jo-496_xumKaq_CU1aiHVDnceChtyZ8dEnLeSsDCCIrwcFXKbG381q3Lz73-oK8Ar96jLHclFt7hcrhDDcMM7c/s1600-h/130_3022_r1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122039616918105298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTq8BIlCdscKWCVvyXLvKyiiIH2gBtK9xxZeAKCgql3bawXVoepDMq_jo-496_xumKaq_CU1aiHVDnceChtyZ8dEnLeSsDCCIrwcFXKbG381q3Lz73-oK8Ar96jLHclFt7hcrhDDcMM7c/s640/130_3022_r1.jpg" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;" width="472" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7QfOVQxhB9k8TnbozbZakIMVzkVPRucTK7yVvWnakMWlGGXX7YhISlI2XFwtOws0hS42E8pAdecMo1Bz5-ZtG4qArhFbW0vQl3cLml8oyqG3ARmmK0wo2DGfiUBc73gujQBReHmilak/s1600-h/130_3020_r1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122088102803909938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7QfOVQxhB9k8TnbozbZakIMVzkVPRucTK7yVvWnakMWlGGXX7YhISlI2XFwtOws0hS42E8pAdecMo1Bz5-ZtG4qArhFbW0vQl3cLml8oyqG3ARmmK0wo2DGfiUBc73gujQBReHmilak/s640/130_3020_r1.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="419" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When burning, these candles drip blood-red wax. What a cool touch.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's another Walgreen's Hand O'Glory candle-- this one is even nicer, being the color of mummified flesh.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_-mBL_unngshKTw9wULlgXWX4aIuuZJ1B9BWxnaogFhQgY3N0A7-bWNshpJkZMgFVMjDkRzTBxpFuA8nk18HB_I6OuZGrZr-pEz79YPvxY96vaCOBhqkYVYVqDx6P5TQpvb_Ei30lcc/s1600-h/131_3101.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122514086250261858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_-mBL_unngshKTw9wULlgXWX4aIuuZJ1B9BWxnaogFhQgY3N0A7-bWNshpJkZMgFVMjDkRzTBxpFuA8nk18HB_I6OuZGrZr-pEz79YPvxY96vaCOBhqkYVYVqDx6P5TQpvb_Ei30lcc/s400/131_3101.JPG" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="362" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5dbbv9rvjKnxOrWe_U9S1pUPvIlKs5XHRH3scKG8otjJfIxnYVvmxfnQLJA7zu_gavuuPA_2bSLxsxO9QsG5EGn70kg8dzBoUiwVoozFTJ_0KeJuLCdEc4SHz_JGweodxQkWX1TmLJA/s1600-h/130_3100_r1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122514069070392658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5dbbv9rvjKnxOrWe_U9S1pUPvIlKs5XHRH3scKG8otjJfIxnYVvmxfnQLJA7zu_gavuuPA_2bSLxsxO9QsG5EGn70kg8dzBoUiwVoozFTJ_0KeJuLCdEc4SHz_JGweodxQkWX1TmLJA/s640/130_3100_r1.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="531" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQil74dY3E7aKYDkpraEwmEZEAMel73SNmBQoaeCc1WBBv3al6sWfAqizwg6g4k-bkabUYwNK_w6bVEJf4Op6ChVlmT7Hf5q1Rq13lfV3MG2MauSD0J_yEcXy7ECeyB8exwtjDyrlArw/s1600-h/131_3109.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122514107725098370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQil74dY3E7aKYDkpraEwmEZEAMel73SNmBQoaeCc1WBBv3al6sWfAqizwg6g4k-bkabUYwNK_w6bVEJf4Op6ChVlmT7Hf5q1Rq13lfV3MG2MauSD0J_yEcXy7ECeyB8exwtjDyrlArw/s640/131_3109.JPG" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="442" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipY9l-T6bO43Aw2RIOATYzVLxTRq0DoOQslfFBILWc_jduTVC_wKTSoFgZZQigvu-Q_uwftgYCWGQBFradOCSyOSvlZ_w9ayU7UqmYtHGzwNq7HedynaPO6RcMXWe1TXjyeH0d-4wZC0U/s1600-h/131_3105.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122514090545229170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipY9l-T6bO43Aw2RIOATYzVLxTRq0DoOQslfFBILWc_jduTVC_wKTSoFgZZQigvu-Q_uwftgYCWGQBFradOCSyOSvlZ_w9ayU7UqmYtHGzwNq7HedynaPO6RcMXWe1TXjyeH0d-4wZC0U/s640/131_3105.JPG" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="449" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Y8xWOvSzilVP8S-fqMlExziwLQVD4Ngaj2OEGWuJPTKWAWHPqBXjSr8O1KSSUE-xHhgsX74p3la1aHHmqurn-WPZxT1jfCOLj5rZJl4r5m3mJYWfbqfyR1X8ykFgzL-DOn7QeHEq4Ng/s1600-h/131_3110.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="358" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122514116315032978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Y8xWOvSzilVP8S-fqMlExziwLQVD4Ngaj2OEGWuJPTKWAWHPqBXjSr8O1KSSUE-xHhgsX74p3la1aHHmqurn-WPZxT1jfCOLj5rZJl4r5m3mJYWfbqfyR1X8ykFgzL-DOn7QeHEq4Ng/s400/131_3110.JPG" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Above I shared some lines of poetry about a hand o' glory that were written by a Thomas Ingolsby. Seems that the name is variantly spelled Thomas <span style="font-style: italic;">Ingoldsby </span>(both being pen names for a Rev. Richard H. Barham, who lived 1788--1845.) Under the<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>Ingoldsby name I found another whole, long poem by him involving a hand o' glory, and it can be read <a href="http://www.exclassics.com/ingold/ing6.htm"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">here</span></a>. I recommend it, but it's not easy to just skim and enjoy, as it isn't short and it isn't contemporary. But I like it, and especially during in the Hallowe'en season, I am perfectly happy to meet the past and all its traditions on its own terms.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Burglars using a hand o' glory were said to recite a poem when igniting it:</span><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Let those who rest more deeply sleep;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let those awake their vigils keep.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">O, Hand o' Glory shed thy light,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Direct us to our spoils tonight.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Flash out thy light, O skeleton hand,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And guide the feet of our trusty band."</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hate poetry? Want prose? Well, three short English folk narratives about the use of a hand o' glory can be read <a href="http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/hand.html#england"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">here</span></span></a>, followed by two more gruesome German narratives of similar objects known as <b>Thieves' Lights</b>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you read all the links I've set up for you, you might acquire a taste for more morbid-looking hands of glory. Where can I find them, you ask. If you wish to buy this one,</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRZ3SuYRZslfMye7-6fUZ2BRQFzCqcIBXW6U1hl1bZPgQ402K5oOV4eCzTlDd1sCKgBwZSwYlr1HlqB6NK2BPgzeavjSDEiwNh7tezRsAZSOBmsvRvX42luOJyHUG2ALoNDDIrR9vlrM/s1600-h/handgloryMiskatonic.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122527288979729826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRZ3SuYRZslfMye7-6fUZ2BRQFzCqcIBXW6U1hl1bZPgQ402K5oOV4eCzTlDd1sCKgBwZSwYlr1HlqB6NK2BPgzeavjSDEiwNh7tezRsAZSOBmsvRvX42luOJyHUG2ALoNDDIrR9vlrM/s400/handgloryMiskatonic.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(and of course you<span style="font-style: italic;"> do, </span>as it's a gorgeous piece of craftsmanship), then go to <a href="http://www.miskatonicriverart.com/html/portrait.htm"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">this page</span></a> of the <a href="http://www.miskatonicriverart.com/index.html"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Miskatonic River Art Studio</span></a> website, and you'll see it among the other hand-made items offered, or <a href="http://www.miskatonicriverart.com/html/form.htm"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">here</span></a> to find ordering info.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What? You say you're saving all your dough for trick-or-treat candy? Just want to windowshop and see some interesting hands o' glory? Go look up Scotsman Gordon Rutter; the one below is in his collection:</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ymYcM_3znPoa0ZeZBIMDAHBcS53cpt_UINLg1aW2MeO5qFSYRhItYZmrp3GEMk-3KHMPBS7Kv2FL7QQz6dgfEl1FmbJdU-BvH_R4cyrmYkbU39mxqubW3WzyrmE6JZ3-A18JA1ItbRg/s1600-h/handofgloryScotsman.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122537850304310722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ymYcM_3znPoa0ZeZBIMDAHBcS53cpt_UINLg1aW2MeO5qFSYRhItYZmrp3GEMk-3KHMPBS7Kv2FL7QQz6dgfEl1FmbJdU-BvH_R4cyrmYkbU39mxqubW3WzyrmE6JZ3-A18JA1ItbRg/s640/handofgloryScotsman.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" width="411" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And this one---</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1t7Syp3GfLTsfnwAV1BksXpGJg8RpY4aS5Ln3FY75e1bhMbJ0PjmchUR9dIBC9MctTC3cgPwbWIdxc0Sbj7DDsLLDxmKse-76V5YphU0gKvLYKa3CWbhpl-xGeFZKO6E8JzezZNOkjn0/s1600-h/whitbyHandOGlory.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122544129546497490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1t7Syp3GfLTsfnwAV1BksXpGJg8RpY4aS5Ln3FY75e1bhMbJ0PjmchUR9dIBC9MctTC3cgPwbWIdxc0Sbj7DDsLLDxmKse-76V5YphU0gKvLYKa3CWbhpl-xGeFZKO6E8JzezZNOkjn0/s400/whitbyHandOGlory.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">is on display at the <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Whitby Museum</span> in Whitby, England.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Read more about the hellish "hand-le" (<span style="font-style: italic;">hand candle</span>, natch)<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/h/hand_of_glory.html">here</a></span>.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">____________________________________________</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>This post was originally published in two parts and in slightly different form in 2007.</b></i></span></div><br />
</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-25485536971593844852011-09-20T04:00:00.001-05:002011-09-20T04:04:10.939-05:00What the Drunken Severed Head Drinks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I, the Drunken Severed Head, drinks whatever <i>you're </i>having. Friends at this past week's Horror Realm con kept offering me vodka. Lots of vodkas. This blasted-looking zombie, raised from the dead by spfx makeup legend Tom Savini, told me to try <b>Clique Vodka</b>. (It's Tom's favorite.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGAeXJ2pmZ6Pd2R1QgY6-TKm0TUy3qyWSAWr3G_uW_9rw30oryGcoGRm-j9tQSTOw4TrvgutdTo82MhL5HPbKjUnqFnLxM06ogPdl-kts0fE16exXxfqSnC5fBV44B5-Coru9NYAbMk0I/s1600/2011_Horror_Realm+010a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGAeXJ2pmZ6Pd2R1QgY6-TKm0TUy3qyWSAWr3G_uW_9rw30oryGcoGRm-j9tQSTOw4TrvgutdTo82MhL5HPbKjUnqFnLxM06ogPdl-kts0fE16exXxfqSnC5fBV44B5-Coru9NYAbMk0I/s640/2011_Horror_Realm+010a.jpg" width="484" /></a></div><br />
Other friends offered me these: <b>Burnett's Orange Cream Vodka </b>and <b>Crystal Head Vodka,</b> the spirit sold in the best-looking bottle on the market.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3GL4UzSsJ2E-38wa59fWJYsXl1k86iThr-j5qepYcWVtUO005VWqvlTVIfyy0TdMmSS60qYkJH9J7zZB8cK2zdvwVn7G2jYJVgy7Poe-cgUqOXO_u27dKbO1bao4I9foDqbM5kTT6y8/s1600/2011_Horror_Realm+095a_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3GL4UzSsJ2E-38wa59fWJYsXl1k86iThr-j5qepYcWVtUO005VWqvlTVIfyy0TdMmSS60qYkJH9J7zZB8cK2zdvwVn7G2jYJVgy7Poe-cgUqOXO_u27dKbO1bao4I9foDqbM5kTT6y8/s400/2011_Horror_Realm+095a_crop.jpg" width="355" /></a></div><br />
<b>Vodka</b>: Potatoes completely perfected! And a far better choice for putting in Jello than canned fruit cocktail.<br />
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And it's the main ingredient in the favorite <a href="http://cocktails.about.com/od/cocktailrecipes/r/bldymry.htm">drink</a> of the legendary <a href="http://www.mybigfatbloodymary.com/Bloody-Mary-Legend.html">Bloody Mary</a>! You know, the murderous spirit who can be summoned by chanting her name while looking into a mirror in a darkened room? Here's a video showing what she REALLY does when you call her:<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZjXLPW6geL0" width="420"></iframe> </div></div><br />
And a funny cartoon about the fatigue of the folkloric ghost can be found <u><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtwilcox/2072427395/sizes/m/in/photostream/">here</a></u>.<br />
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Bottoms up!</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4392175801175270335.post-8336565080227561442011-09-06T18:03:00.000-05:002011-09-06T18:03:35.176-05:00Improvement!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I found this cartoon by Irving Roir in the 1952 book <i>The Complete Bartender's Joke Book</i>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvqhh_5fIV8Dvfvqz8m5N-Nyg3NSkSaEKhy2JuMNv-ccy-b7jxMtdRvrsjbSVJJBtDassFxVKSFVn8gWxIZ8_l1AGmq21Oi89pBbWvIUJIt7u5Z3eNk27-M43PY9kQFkVPHmyGMW2IkA/s1600/Image0070ab.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvqhh_5fIV8Dvfvqz8m5N-Nyg3NSkSaEKhy2JuMNv-ccy-b7jxMtdRvrsjbSVJJBtDassFxVKSFVn8gWxIZ8_l1AGmq21Oi89pBbWvIUJIt7u5Z3eNk27-M43PY9kQFkVPHmyGMW2IkA/s640/Image0070ab.bmp" width="472" /></a></div><br />
I liked it, but a way to improve it occurred to me. Here's the cartoon as I think it ought to be:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJ4Os9zOKeEoapyhL65BzfwvX1pkz_kOxskL8atTLubzALtFY89FCHT84HWsSfBcB38bHEOnY-r7UroBmLlq4gR4SaC7aYJb2Ea2doVwepbkQFjwSURriwRH9h-xexsbpFNx2tK9nqfQ/s1600/Image0070a.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJ4Os9zOKeEoapyhL65BzfwvX1pkz_kOxskL8atTLubzALtFY89FCHT84HWsSfBcB38bHEOnY-r7UroBmLlq4gR4SaC7aYJb2Ea2doVwepbkQFjwSURriwRH9h-xexsbpFNx2tK9nqfQ/s640/Image0070a.bmp" width="472" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The hostess of the cocktail party is no longer looking in surprise at a prone drunken guest, but at a headless murder victim pointing his left arm in accusation. Is that really a body? Or is he a ghost appearing suddenly on the floor to confront his killers? Or perhaps the shared hallucination of the hostess and the man she is serving? Their faces betray their feverish consciences; no doubt she is the dead man's wife and the guest is her lover.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yeah, that's gotta be it.</div><br />
</div>Max the drunken severed headhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.com1