Vincent by Tim Burton

Tim Burton's 1982 darkly sardonical Vincent, the beautiful short animated film you can see above, is both visually stunning and a rather unique stop-motion film that also is a poem. What's more, and apart from the excellent Vincent Price narration, you can even spot an early Jack Skellington in there. Well, can you?

A good Starting Point

I was getting ready for a short trip to some mysterious destination for a little R n' R. I was almost done packing when I realized I hadn't packed any books. Big mistake! So, I went to my bookshelf running my fingers through the titles when my hand stopped at a book I didn't remember I had.

A great gift by great friends (isn't it wonderful when friends know exactly what to get you?).

A beautiful collage of Gothic tales with an excellent introduction covering questions such as “what is gothic?”, The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales makes for an excellent holiday companion. Authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Hardy, Jorge Luis Borges, Angela Carter and others cover almost every era of the genre.

Since we all have personal favorites I'm sure that you will not all agree with the stories chosen representing every one of these authors. Nevertheless, this collection of horror – ghost stories is a smart way to initiate beginners to the beautiful dark and romantic world of goth.

Eerie settings, cursed souls, brave and honorable heroes who come to their untimely demise or prevail against all odds. Scary and passionate, dark and profoundly disturbing, each story speaks of the ill minds of their writers and the agony of their existence.

If you are seeking for something nice and relaxing to read during your vacation, this is not recommended, but if you, by any chance, are as addicted to decay as some of us, then rest assured that this book will get you there...

P.S: Have a gloomy and frightful summer children!

Supernatural Horror in Literature

H.P. Lovecraft was much more than a brilliant and innovative writer and way much more than an unstoppable letter-writing machine. He was an insightful literary critic too, a talent helped by the breadth of his knowledge and his deeply misanthropic outlook. Don't be mistaken though; criticism is something far more important than simply deriding or suggesting a text. When it's done well, it aims to shape a medium or a movement, and that is the reason why HPL's Supernatural Horror in Literature is an excellent and definitive piece on horror.

What's more, you can read said essay online by following this link (courtesy of The Lovecraft Archive). It's one of the most insightful and wise things you'll read on the internet today.

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. These facts few psychologists will dispute, and their admitted truth must establish for all time the genuineness and dignity of the weirdly horrible tale as a literary form. Against it are discharged all the shafts of a materialistic sophistication which clings to frequently felt emotions and external events, and of a naively insipid idealism which deprecates the aesthetic motive and calls for a didactic literature to uplift the reader toward a suitable degree of smirking optimism. But in spite of all this opposition the weird tale has survived, developed, and attained remarkable heights of perfection; founded as it is on a profound and elementary principle whose appeal, if not always universal, must necessarily be poignant and permanent to minds of the requisite sensitiveness.

W(H)EREWOLF . . .

Remember when parodies of horror films were simple and funny, without being obscene or tragic? Remember when just a face or a performance made something seriously funny? When clever lines and dialogues made a difference and there was no need for putting 300 films together to get material for just one dignified parody?

So, this is a tribute to my all time favorite horror film parody “Young Frankenstein”...

Maybe it was the excellent performance by Gene Wilder or the colossal talent of Marty Feldman or even the pure genius of Mel Brooks which makes this film one of the best. Whatever it was, it's one of the few this writer can watch repeatedly, time and time again laughing as hard as the first one and waiting with the same -if not greater- anticipation for the favorite line...

Word games, witty comebacks, smart tricks and just the face of Marty Feldman make this unique.

Black and white to add the the thrill of the story, the classic tale of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley meets the mind of Mel Brooks and as a result a classic film is created.

It's not that I don't enjoy what the film industry has to offer these days, it's just that when I 'm home wanting to relax and have a good laugh, this is one of the first movies that come to mind...

To make a long story short, if you already have this DVD in your collection you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, I seriously urge you to run to your nearest shop and buy a copy!

P.S: There wolf, there castle...

The beauty of Deitrix Artworks

The dark, surreal, beautiful and at times slightly disturbing art of Deitrix can be found over at the newly renovated Deitrix Artworks digital mansion. It is, unsurprisingly, a fantastic site filled to the brim with the kind of art the Chamber has posted for your viewing pleasure in this very post.

Supernatural ?

Still on the subject of TV series...

What can one say about the hit series Supernatural?

The first season unveiled a promising world of ghosts and unearthly creatures backed up by a starting point, which slowly made sense throughout the season introducing us to the drama of the Winchester family.

Second season and the all absent father makes his appearance, as the story of a cursed family is now fully on display (or so we thought).

Third season and the mythology changes as demons take over almost every episode, but still the story unravels with more focus on the the family itself and the importance of the little brother's destiny.

Fourth season and here is when it starts going south... People came back from hell, angels appear fighting with demons fighting with mortals fighting with each other whilst the viewer tries to make sense of a family story now made more complex .

And the plot thickens, people die, come back, die again and come back vigilant. This back and forth along with a lot more comic elements than in the previews seasons (not so comic if I may say) and a long hard search for God, makes for an even souther 5th season.

Series finale? But the boys save the world of course by stopping the Apocalypse without delivering the happy ending everyone was expecting, but with a hint of God's presence and help along the way. And while this season was announced to be the last of the series, there has been rumor of a 6th one since a small window was left open at the very last scene.

Would it be wise to feed viewer's expectations for yet another season? Hard to tell. One thing's for sure though, save for the last two seasons it was a force to be reckoned with.

PS: Just please leave God and the commuting to hell and back aside!

Quoth the Raven

Face the Horror: The Asylum

Horror lovers that play games, especially adventure games, will be delighted to find out that Agustin Cordes, the creator of the classic Scratches, has just announced his forthcoming game: Asylum. Find out more at its official site and here.

The Whisperer in Darkness

Wouldn't it be great if more movies were shot in a more classic manner? Of course it would; it would make little Cthulhu happy. For now just follow this link and watch the trailer above one last time.

Answer the Call of Cthulhu

Based on H.P. Lovecraft's classic short story of the same name, Call of Cthulhu is a classic table-top role playing game by Chaosium, that manages to capture the maddening, dark, terrifying and hopeless atmosphere of the original. It also is a rare RPG with truly simple rules, that urges you to play as a fragile professor or a decadent dilettante rather than a hairy barbarian with a huge sword. And if you don't know what an RPG is, well, have a look here, but trust me when I say that Call of Cthulhu is both an excellent game and a truly great read, and that I've yet to meet someone who appreciates horror that hasn't enjoyed his or her encounter with this sort of game.

Anyway. Follow this link and download the free 20-page introductory PDF to Call of Cthulhu. The booklet contains everything you need to start playing (besides friends and dice, that is), as it provides all the basic rules, character generation guidelines, a brief overview of the Cthulhu universe and an introductory adventure.