The Blood is the Life

Coppola and Eiko on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, part 1. This movie introduced me to the work of Eiko Ishioka, costume designer extraordinaire. Coppola’s Dracula has problems, mostly stemming from the stilted acting of Reeves and Ryder (I still remember the horror of realizing that Ryder had limited range. Up till then, she was my favorite…

arthur rackham’s poe~ living maelstroms and undead loves

beautiful rainy day in socal so it’s time for some E. A. Poe illustrated by the endlessly talented Arthur Rackham. These are from 1935. Rachkham shows that his use of line is more beautiful than most other artist’s command of color, as well as his mastery of large areas of black and a skillful employment…

kwaidan illustrated

if you love japanese ghost stories, you cannot live without Kwaidan {kaidan}.from the beautiful Yuki-onna, spirit of snow, to the bewitched Hoichi singing for a ghostly emperor and his court, these tales enchant as much today as they did over a century ago.the volume features stunningly dark  ukiyo-e set in gilded backgrounds these storeies inspired…

more tales to tremble by~ illustrated by gordon laite

published in 1968, “more tales to tremble by,” illustrated by gordan laite, is full of surprising creeps. although a children’s book, the selection of stories are anything but childike.  boasting stories such as, “the red lodge,” by h. russell wakefield and “the extra passenger,” by weird luminary august derluth, the stories are sure to frighten children and…

shirley jackson’s "the lottery: or the adventures of james harris."

the short stories comprising “the lottery” concern evil. not grandiose evil or glamorous evil, but mundane, petty evil- a distinctly human evil despite the ivy trails of the supernatural twisting through her writing. taking the ballad, “the daemon lover” for her inspiration, she explores marriage, fidelity, domesticity, hypocrisy, and the nuances of small town living and…