Then someone Has alot of explaining to do lol....

My case in point (a continuation of my previous rant): I just responded to the "your favorite book" thread in the "Books" forum, and said that my favorite horror story of all time is Shakespeare's MacBeth. I actually carry a copy of this with me most places I go. Shakespeare tried to explore the entire gamut of human existence and what it meant to be a human being, and he did it with such poetry and genius. Naturally, he HAD to explore the frightening and horrific at some point. You can't escape it! It's part of human life! AND (and here's a cool tidbit I like to teach) Shakespeare was like the Stephen King of his day. People came to his plays not only for the stories he told, but also for the BLOOD. They LOVED it! Actors would fill thin sacks with the blood and guts of pigs and hide these under their costumes. During a sword fight, if a character happened to get stabbed or sliced, the actor would bust this sack with his arm, letting the blood and guts spill out all over the stage from under his shirt. And would anybody call Shakespeare sick? MacBeth is a prime example that horror can be Art, and worth experiencing not just for the fun of it.

Just checking to see if my quote works now...

William Shakespear.. Was it MacBeth or Hamlet that was poor yourich for I knew him well????

That was Hamlet. The awesome quotes: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" and "Murder most foul" both come from that play as well.

Hubble Bubble Toil and trouble... MacBeth Right

Actually, it's "Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble." But, yes, that's Macbeth.

"Alas, poor Yorick, i knew him, Horatio."


People always mess that one up :)

Not offend, I like Shakespear, But I prefer Poe.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this, and nothing more."

I had to shorten it...

I like me:D
http://scaredyet.net/gloom/

One of my favs

THE COW

The friendly cow, all red and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart.

She wanders lowing here and there,
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light of day;

And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.

Thats cute... Where'd You get it?

I googled childrens poems.

Its actually from Robert Louis Stevenson

Yeah, Poe is great. Some truly fucked up stuff with him. The problem with him is, though, is that a LOT of his stuff his not so good. I quote a critic whose name eludes me for the moment: "Poe: 20% genius, 80% pure shit." However, he's still read today thanks for some random gems of his. He influenced more artists in France than in America when he was at the height of his career. But when it comes to pure artistic creepiness, you can't go wrong with "Masque of the Red Death", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Fall of the House of Usher", and "The Pit and the Pendulum". :D I make my students read "The Raven" every Halloween.

Ahhh! Stingy! You evil bastard....


Just kidding, i always looked foward to reading Poe in school. I wish Lovecraft was more widespread in the education system. I think we read a very short story by him once in my 12th grade class...

Of course, we also read "A Rose for Emily"... Talk about messed up...

Actually, I'm glad you brought up Lovecraft (again! Yay! :D ) Your twelfth grade teacher must have been awesome to have let you experience him. I agree that Lovecraft should be taken more seriously by academians. In fact, it was not until quite recently (as early as 1999) that Lovecraft's writings were printed in a Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics edition ... and categorized as "Literature"! You can thank the scholarship of S.T. Joshi for this. When I go for my doctorate degree, I may do my thesis on Lovecraft to give him a boost (I was going to do it on Joyce) ... so far, I think Joshi is the only Lovecraft scholar out there that is taken seriously, so I'll definitely be able to tap into an hugely unexplored field ... as far as professional criticism and study goes.

A couple of other "Artful" horror tales (sans Poe and Shakespeare):


Frankenstein: Mary Shelly
Dracula: Bram Stoker
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Robert Louis Stevenson
The Legend of Sleepy Hallow: Washington Irving
"Christabel" and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner": Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Book of Evidence: John Banville
The Yellow Wallpaper: Kate Chopin

and...

Pick up Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, edited by Phyllis Cerf Wagner and Herbert Wise and published by The Modern Library

I should really get off this subject ... this goes in the "Books" forum.

Actually, I'm sliding this thread back to the top. I want Vod to post an opinion on the Lovecraft thing. :D

If you do a thesis on lovecraft, you must publish it :)
He is one of my favorite authors, and i have had the honor of having my story Gloom compared to his works. I would definately love for him to get more recognition from the world at large.

I would locve to see a REAl and good lovecraft movie get made, not just cult-classics like reanimator, or the usual crapfests like "Dagon".

Stingy, you show me time and again that you are a good person :)

Well...Before he does...I just wanted to jump in here and say that I LOVE "The Yellow Wallpaper"...It has an amazingly eerie, creepy feel to it...Really cool:)








EDIT:...lol...You beat me:D

I agree!! "The Yellow Wallpaper" has one of the creepiest endings I have ever read in a work of fiction. Man, Bloodrayne, you're awesome!

Thanks Vod on the "good people" thing. And I totally agree with your opinion on the Lovecraft films. I'm tired of his stuff getting raped by hacks. That's probably one of the main reasons he's still ignored.

Hey, Dean R Koontz has had some good books, and look what they made out of them.....

Watchers and Phantoms come to mind... Both great books, both OBSCENELY awful movies.

And bloodrayne, i believe John tuturro said it best:
"I am very very sneaky, sir" (or ma'am.)

LOL...Mr. Deeds was cool...

Vodstock...Did you notice that Watchers and Watchers II did NOT have a sequential storyline? It seemed more like the first Watchers was SO far from the book (except that it had a creature in it, and a man...Even though the man was totally different and of a completely different age:rolleyes: ), that the second one was just the same story, only with an attempt to get closer to the actual story in the book?...That's the way it felt to me

Stingy Jack...Thanks...You rock pretty hard yourself:cool: :)

I never saw watchers 2... Never wanted to after seeing the first.

Yea well, It was all the directors fault for those imitation of Koontz book's, They even did a t.v. movie for Face of Fear, My personal favorite Koontz Book.... It sucked (the Movie, Not the Book):D

you know it's bad when your friend asks you in all seriousness... "you wouldn't REALLY kill anyone .. would you?"

this has happened to me... and of course i wouldn't.. i'm a really nice person.. i just really love the horror element in life.. it seems to be the largest part

i couldn't believe this was asked of me in seriousness