Getting Creeped-Out For Halloween

[abcrystcats]

I think children make the most terrifying ghosts. Right now, it's thundering ominously here in Colorado and I just finished watching a very scary movie I didn't know existed.

"Girl In A Swing" was originally a great novel by Richard Adams (of "Watership Down" fame). When I casually picked up the book off of a free shelf of used novels at work, I had no idea that I'd be glued to its pages until 4:00 AM the following morning, or that I'd read the book five times before I was done.

I credit this book with inspiring me to begin collecting crystal. Objects have always held a certain fascination for me, and this book is redolent with exquisite descriptions of of real 17th and 18th century porcelain. Collecting is a way of identifying myself with art without being an artist myself. I also identify closely with the underpaid craftsmen who produced these pieces. But I digress.

I had no idea that one of my favorite novels had been made into a movie with Meg Tilly, but it has, and I just watched it. Meg Tilly is excellent, but her German accent is unbelievably AWFUL. That is my only caveat for this film. The acting is good, the spirit of the book has been preserved and the suspense and terror are successfully drawn out and understated. You get magnificent shots of the English countryside as a bonus. This film is definitely worth seeing, especially if you want to get creeped-out on Halloween WITHOUT the gratuitous gore and hackings. This is sophisticated, subtle British-style horror at its best. It is purely terrifying!

Along those same lines, let me recommend a VERY old flick, starring George C. Scott and Trish VanDevere, called "The Changeling". It is not one of George C's most memorable roles, but the movie was certainly worth his time and effort. I saw this originally in the theater. Unfortunately, we were in the front seats, and I think my boyfriend of that time probably still remembers my practically crawling over him to get away from the sheer fright of the action. I still remember the seance and the medium asking, "Are you the child, Cora, killed by the coal cart?" God! If you want to get goosepimples just REMEMBERING a movie over 20 years later, this is the ONE for you! Help me.

I just checked out G. Scott on a website. He died a few miles away from me (Westlake Village, CA) in 1999. What a great actor, and I never knew that he was as close to me as the nearest supermarket! I wish I could have been the one fan NOT to compliment him on "Patton" but on "The Changeling" instead! It was a minor role, but his contribution as a tough, but sensitive man confronting occult occurrences was EXCELLENT.

I highly recommend "Girl In A Swing" and "The Changeling" for a really creepy Halloween!

[Dave The Dov]

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens

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