Let US Embrace The Coming Darkness!
Putting the D-A-R-K In The Dark Days Ahead!
lonIt is now early October. During this time, the days and nights are in equal balance of each other. This equal balance of days and nights are only temporary. Soon the days will become increasingly shorter while the nights become increasing..........longer and longer. In essence, the night will prevail in all its dark preternaturally majestic magnificence!
Since there will be L-O-N-G nights, many of us mere mortals will naturally retreat into our abodes. Now what should we do to bide our time during these long sombre nights? Of course, there are some of us who will yearn longingly for those luminously sunny and summery days! Many loved those long, sunny days of summer but do not fret so much! The upcoming nights have sooo much promise and intrigue!
There are so many fiendishly delightful and wonderful things to do during the dark days ahead. Why not get your horror persona on? This the time of year to really and deliciously explore our dark and forbidden side! Why not invite some friends and/or relatives over and prepare a feast fit for a Count and/or Countess of Darkness topped with some merlot wine. One can invent some horror themed games with an even more infernal penalty for the loser of the game.
Better yet, treat such friends and relatives to some excellent horror fare. Warm some apple cider and add some cinnamon spice or make some hot Black Russians(hot chocolate with a dash of vodka). Top off these drinks with some jasmine rice pllaf and hot/spicy lamb kebabs. Hell, there is even a better suggestion as to how to get your horror freak on- relax and take out some horror dvds.
Some excellent dark themed movies include BRAD STOCKER'S DRACULA. This is by far the best Dracula movie around. In addition to the extremely macabre theme of the movie, its underlying premise is the ultimate redemption of the dark and/or lost soul. THE SENTINEL is another great horror movie. No, not the one with Michael Douglas but the 1977 movie with Christina Raines and the late Burgess Meredith. The late Mr. Meredith was a complete hoot in this movie to say the least. The premise of this movie is a young career woman moving into an extremely cheap deluxe apartment in Brooklyn Heights with some very unusual "tenants" so to speak. Also this "apartment" is not what it seems- actually it is QUITE MORE than it seems to be! One of the amenities of the apartment is its totally "interesting accommodations"!
More delectable horror movies include NIGHTMARE CASTLE with the quintessential Queen of Horror, the great Barbara Steele. The movie is about a husband's quite....well, hellish revenge instored for his wife and her lover. I will not divulge the details here-you will have to see the movie! Another horror gem is, of course, BLACK SUNDAY, the 1960, not 1977 movie of the same title which a woman puts a curse on her descendants for being punished as a witch in 17th century Moldavia. This movie is one of the best, if not the very best horror movies of all time.
One movie which adds the scare on dark, eerie nights is ROSEMARY'S BABY. Nothing is more devilishly sumptuous on dark nights than to see a sophisticated couple move into a deluxe luxury apartment complex located on the Upper West Side and to befriend some "very interesting" neighbors to say the least. The ending of the movie is well.........very climactic so to speak!
To those who want a more simplistic theme to their horror movies, DEVIL is such a movie. The premise of this movie is based upon South American mythology regarding the devil's meeting. This meeting is that those who are evil and damned are "tested" by the Infernal One before being taken to their "ultimate reward." This movie is simultaneously harrowing and exciting and the Ultimate Evil One is a person whom you would least expect it to be!
For those who want a purely religious devilish theme to their horror entertainment, there are such staples as THE EXORCIST; CARRIE; OMENs I, II, and III; the updated version of THE OMEN; and THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. THE EXORCIST was one of the most realistically horror movie of all time. When I first saw THE EXORCIST almost four decades ago, I had to sleep with the lights on for at least two weeks- it was THAT SCARILY HORRIFIC!
Of course, this fall has a myriad of television shows with a horror theme. One of the best horror shows is 666 PARK AVENUE. This show has a sort of a ROSEMARY'S BABY quality to it! A couple moves into an upscale apartment complex on the Upper East Side; however, in order to be accepted into the complex, one has to make a "deal" with the owners, the Durans. Other shows with a dark theme include AMERICAN HORROR STORY, BEDLAM, and THE WALKING DEAD.
Besides such shows, there are older, now defunct television series such as TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, ANGEL, and FRIDAY THE 13TH. The last series was one of the best horror series on television. The premise of the show was that Louis Vendredi, an antique owner made an infernal pact to make quite a profit selling antiques. Well, Mr. Vendredi decided to renege on the deal with quite dire consequences I might add! His relatives inherited the cursed antique store and things become quite "spirited" to put it mildly.
ANGEL is a series about a lost soul. It was one of the best supernatural theories on television as was TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE! The second show had the merits of comeuppance as its theme!
For those who totally disdain movie and television fare and prefer more cerebral activities, there are a variegation of horror themed books to read and/or mentally savor! Such devilishly delectable books include THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER and THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HALLOW by Washington Irving; FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, THE RAVEN, and THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM by Edgar Allen Poe; INFERNO by Dante Alighieri ; DRACULA by Bram Stocker, and THE VIY by Nikolai Gogol. The last book is a novel which the movie BLACK SUNDAY is loosely based upon!
Those who want more modern themed horror books should read NEEDFUL THINGS and SALEM'S LOT by Stephen King. If one wants a more hauntingly velvety feel to their horror reading, Anne Rice is the author to go to. Her horror themed books are perennial best sellers; such books include THE WITCHES OF MAYFAIR, THE WITCHING HOUR, LASHER, TALTOS, and THE VAMPIRE LESTAT.
To the musically inclined, there is horror themed music. If one desires to add a phantasmagorically darker atmosphere to end their work days or better yet,work week, there are a myriad of dark themed music which to heighten one's quite tenebrous side! Groups such as Nox Arcana and Midnight Syndicate have beautifully classic music which adds such zest to an especially icily dark evening and night. Their titles include THE DARK TOWER, DARKLORE MANOR, TRANSYLVANIA, THE 13TH HOUR, and BORN OF THE NIGHT. A great perennial dark theme music is NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN by Modest Mussorgsky. Such music is the piece de resistance to either a Halloween or a fall party with a spooky theme!
In summation, the dark times of the year is the time to really show your wickedly fun side and to be unabashedly daring. Do not be so vanilla and let go of your day to day chains. The dark times of the year is the moment to totally unleash your inner dark god and/or goddess. Have unbridled fun, this is the time to be totally wickedly wild and exhibit the impish and hidden side to your personality!
To paraphrase the opening statement of TALES OF THE DARKSIDE, there are things in this world that are not so brightly lit, welcome to the dark side. Or better yet, as the immortal Count Dracula stated, listen to the children of the night, what sweeeet music they make! The darker days are coming, don't be afraid of the dark. Let us fully have fun embracing THE COMING DARK DAYS!
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© 2012 Grace Marguerite Williams