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October 30, 2012
Interesting Edgar Allan Poe Related Videos
The Tell-Tale Heart Short
A cartoon animated short, just under 8 minutes long, telling the story of The Tell-Tale Heart. Very humorous in places.
Edgar Allan Poe's Lenore
Accompanied by black-and-white images from Disney's Sleeping Beauty, if I'm not mistaken? The voiceover artist is a bit annoying, sorry to say.
Wings of Nevermore
A really cool animated 3 minute short based on The Raven.
I never knew that Stevie Nicks had an Annabel Lee song! I thought it was cool she performed it in Boston, the city of Poe's birth. But you might enjoy the clearer sound recording of the below video more:
Lenore's Song, by Yunyu
Absolutely incredible vocalist and amazing stop-motion video made from 16,000 still photographs. If you only click on one of these videos, make it this one.
I may go back and edit this post tomorrow or in the following days as I find more intriguing Poe-themed videos, so bookmark it and check back soon!
--Carrie Carolin
New Goth, Dark and Halloween Links for October 30, 2012
DARK COMICS:
Frankenstein Superstar
John Hazard's PG-13 web comic about Frankenstein and his Jewish bride (Elsa Goldberg), who dwell in New York City. Their adopted 7 year old daughter is named Virginia Lovecraft-Poe (heh). The comic updates monthly. I think you'll enjoy checking it out!
http://frankensteinsuperstar.com/
Frankenstein Superstar on Facebook
Frankenstein Superstar on Twitter
DARK SHOPS:
Bloody Rare Books and Posters
This eBay store specializes in first editions of sci-fi, horror and mystery books; plus original vintage movie posters and screenplays. There's an entire Arkham House category, with lovely Clark Ashton Smith and August Derleth titles calling out to me to own them. The horror section has a lot of expensive first edition Stephen King and Clive Barker books. The movie posters are mostly post-1970 titles. (Check out the incredible art on this Polish "Rosemary's Baby" poster).
http://stores.ebay.com/Bloody-Rare-Books-and-Posters
Designs by Dayzi
"Unique items with a spooky twist." This Etsy seller offers Nightmare Before Christmas and Zombie Brain embroidered patches; gorgeous delicate white lace embroidered skull ornaments; and zombie brain cameo necklaces. You never know what you'll see here next - that's the fun of it!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/designsbydayzi
Wicked Elements
I wasn't sure about adding this furniture store. The furniture here isn't what we'd refer to as "gothic." It's just that everything here is so cool and unusual. There are flame chairs; lots of black, hot pink, purple or red upholestery; unusual shapes to the sofas; and cool names for the furniture pieces, such as this red Lucifer chair. I don't really like any of the bedding though, it looks tacky. Anyway, I thought some of the stuff here might make you smile for a second (such as this whimsical Cleopatra Lounge), so here it is.
http://www.wickedelements.com/
Zombie Trading Company
This shop sells zombie T-shirts and other clothing (hats, sweatpants); zombie baking and entertaining supplies (molds and edible gummy brains); zombie toys; zombie books and games. My favorite thing here is the zombie foot dog toy. I think I'll pick one up for Edgar and Victor.
http://www.zombietradingcompany.com/
GOTH RESOURCES:
The Macabre and Beautifully Grotesque
The curator(s) of this Facebook page are extremely talented at finding beautiful, mournful, dark, grim imagery. Join 350,000 other people on Facebook to await their fascinating daily findings and art images. (I love that whenever possible, unlike on most of Tumblr, these curators attempt to list the original creator/artist of the images they post).
http://www.facebook.com/grotesqMB
New Goth City
New York area Halloween and goth events. Concerts and club events, art showings, theatrical openings, and other goth nightlife info. The curator is Sir William Welles. If I lived in NYC I would totally want to go to the every-last-Friday steampunk/Victorian absinthe social gathering event Chronologie. That sounds like a lot of fun!
HALLOWEEN:
Halloween Attractions
This site is a directory for American pumpkin patches, corn mazes, haunted events, and Halloween attractions. This is really well organized, seems up to date, offers lots of info on the attractions, and lets visitors rate the pumpkin patches and haunted attractions. It's refreshingly heavy on the pumpkin patches, farms and events and not crammed full of Halloween haunt advertisements.
http://www.halloweenattractions.com/
Junk Pumpkin
Oh what a wickedly delightful blog this is! "Sharing the fun of Halloweentown all year round." Currently featuring Pride, Prejudice and Zombies illustrations; a brief history of The Monster Mash; sharing a drippy red nails Halloween manicure tutorial; passing along some Halloween decorating ideas; and discussing essential Halloween films. Lots of fun things to see and ideas to ponder over here.
http://junkpumpkin.wordpress.com/
HORROR GENRE:
The Black Box Club
This is mostly a photo blog of obscure and intriguing images from old horror films, mostly Hammer films. Currently celebrating Halloween with Peter Cushing; sharing a gallery of images from Rasputin starring Christopher Lee; posting a 1970s horror magazine cover featuring Peter Cushing; and excited about the Hammer film The Mummy's Shroud coming out on Blu-Ray soon. I'm really enjoying looking at the photographs and scans here.
http://theblackboxclub.blogspot.com/
--Copyright 2012 Carrie Carolin
Edgar Allan Poe Month: Movies Based on Poe or His Works
The Black Cat (1934)
Based on the 1845 Poe story "The Black Cat." Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring two masters of horror, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.
The Black Cat, on AMC Filmsite
The Black Cat, at Jaxon Film Fest
The Black Cat, at Turner Classic Movies
Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee (2009)
"Edgar Allan Poe's 'Annabel Lee' tells the story of Jack Blythe, an artist who rents a summer house in a quiet beach town to find creative inspiration. He gets more than he bargained for when he meets a beautiful but hauntingly mysterious woman who offers to be his subject for a painting. When Jack discovers that his seductive stranger resembles a woman presumed dead for 18 years, he becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth." An indie film written by the director.
Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee, on IMDB
http://www.edgarallanpoesannabellee.com/
An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (1972)
This isn't a "film" per se but features Vincent Price reading aloud four of Poe's stories. He performed "The Cask of Amontillado, "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Sphinx," and "The Tell-Tale Heart."
An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe, on IMDB
An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe, on Wikipedia
House of Usher (1960)
Roger Corman directed Vincent Price in this film based on the Poe short story.
Fall of the House of Usher 1960, at IMDB
The Fall of the House of Usher, on Tumblr
House of Usher 1960, at Wikipedia
The Key to Annabel Lee
A mystery short by author Staci Layne Wilson and Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre.
The Key to Annabel Lee, on IMDB
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Another Roger Corman/Vincent Price film, based on the Poe story.
Masque of the Red Death 1964, on IMDB
Masque of the Red Death on Tumblr
Masque of the Red Death on Wikipedia
The Masque of the Red Death, on Netflix
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
This early film starred Bela Lugosi.
Murders in the Rue Morgue 1932, on IMDB
Murders in the Rue Morgue, on Tumblr
Murders in the Rue Morgue 1932, on Wikipedia
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Another Roger Corman/Vincent Price flick.
The Pit and the Pendulum 1961, on IMDB
The Pit and the Pendulum on Tumblr
The Pit and the Pendulum 1961 on Wikipedia
Rent "The Pit and the Pendulum" from Amazon or Watch Free with Amazon Prime Instant Video
The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
This starred Lance Henriksen, who I think is adorable.
The Pit and the Pendulum 1991 at IMDB
Rent The Pit and the Pendulum 1991 from Amazon or Watch Free on Amazon Instant Prime
The Premature Burial (1962)
This Roger Corman film was the only one of his Poe-themed movies that didn't star Vincent Price. Instead, Ray Milland starred.
The Premature Burial, on Wikipedia
The Raven (1935)
This film starred the two powerhouse horror leading men of the time, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
The Raven (1963)
Roger Corman directed three greats: Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff in this adaptation of Poe's poem.
Watch The Raven 1963 on Amazon Prime Instant Video
The Raven (2012)
Unfortunately this detective drama fictionalizing Edgar Allan Poe's life wasn't well received by critics or audiences. It starred one of my favorite actors, John Cusack.
The Raven Official Facebook Page
The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe (1974)
This adaptation starred Cesar Romero. It doesn't have much of a presence on the Net, it's not being released on Blu-Ray or DVD, and nobody is uploading trailers or clips from it to YouTube, so I infer it wasn't very good?
The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe, on IMDB
The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe, at Sinful Celluloid
Tales of Terror (1962)
Another Roger Corman film, starring Vincent Price and Peter Lorre. The three shorts here are "Morella," "The Black Cat," and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar."
Tales of Terror (1962) on IMDB
Tales of Terror (1962) on Wikipedia
The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)
Roger Corman, Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd.
The Tomb of Ligeia (1964) on IMDB
The Tomb of Ligeia (1964) on Wikipedia
The Tomb (2009)
This movie starred the ultra-sexy Wes Bentley. It was originally titled "Ligeia."
RELATED LINKS:
Roger Corman's Best Poe Movies (Chiller TV)
--Copyright 2012 Carrie Carolin
October 25, 2012
Edgar Allan Poe Month: Poe's Writings Online
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
Here's the best resource for finding the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe online. Besides his stories, poems and writing, the site includes manuscripts, letters, and documents. A very valuable archive, and well maintained. Look here first.
Poe Stories.com
Poe Stories doesn't quite have a complete collection of short stories by Poe, but they do a really good job of presenting the ones they have. They've selected the most important poems by him, too. Some of the "bigger" more difficult words are hyperlinked here to definitions, which could be helpful for a lot of people.
The site also offers a discussion forum (though it's not been posted in for 3 years) and a really useful photo gallery. The Poe timeline is very helpful for research, too.
Edgar Allan Poe at Online-Literature.com
This site offers his short stories, as well as a play (Politian), and non-fiction work (The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym). I run into pop-up ads here often, so it's not my favorite site to use for etexts.
http://www.online-literature.com/poe/
About.com Classic Literature
The About.com Classic Literature site offers a good amount of Poe's short stories and writings, in alphabetical order. As you'd expect from sites at About.com, everything is well organized, clean and neat and easy to navigate.
Edgar Allan Poe complete, at Classic Lit/About.com
Edgar Allan Poe Texts on Project Gutenberg
And of course, you can rely on Project Gutenberg to provide you with Edgar Allan Poe's works. They offer it in HTML, plain text, and Kindle versions.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2148
Also see: Archive.org's Poe collection
Poetry Lover's Page's Complete Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
--Copyright 2012 Carrie Carolin
Shadow of the Raven: Nox Arcana's Edgar Allan Poe-Themed Album
How cool is it that darkwave band Nox Arcana love Edgar Allan Poe so much, they put out an entire album themed around his works?
Shadow of the Raven features twenty-one tracks, several of which you can listen to on YouTube. ( Nevermore, for example).
Tracks include:
1. Darkest Hour
2. Melancholia
3. Descent Into Madness
4. The House of Usher
5. Madeline's Lament
6. Haunted Memories
7. Annabel Lee
8. Legacy of Sorrow
9. The Black Cat
10. The Cask of Amontillado
11. Mysteries of the Night
12. Midnight Dreary
13. The Raven
14. Morbid Reminiscence
15. Lenore
16. A Dream Within A Dream
17. The Tell-Tale Heart
18. Murders in the Rue Morgue
19. The Pit and the Pendulum
20. Masque of the Red Death
21. Nevermore
RELATED LINKS:
October 24, 2012
Edgar Allan Poe-Themed Webcomics
Nevermore
"Poe's last days." Three illustrators contributed to the three stories here:
The Telltale Cough, The Bit and the Bedlam, The Facts in the Case of J. Snodgrass. This is really fun to look through.
http://www.nevermorecomic.com/
Tripp
A comic about a man stuck on an LSD trip who befriends the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe.
Masque of the Red Death
This is an absolutely astonishingly deep, well developed, beautiful web comic. You have to see it to understand. Watch each chapter of the colorful comic as it tells the story of "The Masque of the Red Death." The artist is Wendy Pini.. If I were still doing "Best of the Dark Side" type posts, this would be a Best Bet pick for sure.
http://www.masque-of-the-red-death.com/
Also see:
--Copyright 2012 Carrie Carolin
New Paranormal Links
Damned Connecticut
A very well designed website featuring everything strange that's going on in the state of Connecticut. Currently featuring Halloween 2012 events in Connecticut, offering an updated feed of weird news, covering the history of the Connecticut witchcraft trials, and sharing their list of the Top 10 Haunted Places in Connecticut. Great resources here, I am so impressed.
Damned Connecticut on Facebook
Ghost Hunting Theories
This blog covers Bigfoot, paranormal theories, horror, ghost hunting, and urban exploration. The bloggest, Autumnforest, is an author of horror fiction and paranormal non-fiction books.
http://www.ghosthuntingtheories.com/
Ghost Stories and Haunted Places
Jessica's blog on ghost stories, horror, Halloween, and haunted places. I particularly enjoyed her recent post on Five Historic Halloween Traditions to Bring Back. I also got a kick out of her post on Getting in Trouble Looking for Ghosts.
http://ghoststoriesandhauntedplaces.blogspot.com/
Ghost Mysteries
True ghost stories, submitted by readers; plus news, ghost pictures, orb pictures, and some ghost video footage.
http://www.ghost-mysteries.com/
GhostPlace
This site offers over 6500 ghost stories. There is also a busy, active set of paranormal forums/message boards.
Haunted Society
A Ning social network for paranormal enthusiasts, started in July 2012. There are discussion forums, photos, videos, a directory of haunted places, and groups for various regional ghost hunter clubs and organizations.
http://www.hauntedsociety.com/
Your Ghost Stories
Over 11,000 user-submitted ghost stories. There are also a few articles on ghosts and on famous haunting, plus ghost pictures and videos. Two directories on the site present listings of ghost hunters and paranormal investigators as well as ghost tours and haunted hotels.
http://www.yourghoststories.com/
Live Paranormal
A social network for the paranormal, horror, sci-fi, and the unexplained. It doesn't look like all that dark of a site, but that's ok. There's a lot of emphasis on live chat and radio shows offered here. There's a lot to explore here - blogs, news, book recommendations, and a links directory.
Terrorhaute
"Ghostly legends from the Wabash valley." Indiana hauntings, ghosts and paranormal tales and rumors.
--Copyright 2012 Carrie Carolin
October 23, 2012
Edgar Allan Poe Month: Poe-Themed Desserts
The Raven and The Black Cat Cupcakes
The Lone Baker, an Australian blogger, shares step-by-step photos of her Black Cat mini cupcakes and Raven cupcake. Also check out her Weep Now or Never More cupcake.
The Raven and the Black Cat Cupcakes
Red Velvet Raven: Edgar Allan Poe Cookies
Ashleigh painstakingly sketched out her cookies ahead of time, then cut, baked and painted them. Each of the twelve beautiful cookies here is based on a Poe short story. I wish there was more info here on how she made these, and more step-by-step photos.
Edible Poe Festival
The NHTI library recently had a Poe-themed dessert competition. There are a few really cool pics of the winning entries here.
Tell-Tale Heart Cupcakes
Jen's chocolate cupcakes slice open to reveal raspberry tell-tale hearts.
Tell Tale Heart Cupcakes, at Eat Swim Shop
Edgar Allan Poe Burial Place Cake
Miss Cupcake was asked to commission an Edgar Allan Poe themed cake, and here's what she came up with.
Tell Tale Heart Cake version, from The Miss Cupcake
Raven Cupcake
The Raven book themed cupcakes from Evelin November-Dusk.
The Raven Cupcake, on Deviantart
Also see:
Nevermore, at The Secret Catacombs of Cake and Tea
Whipped Bakeshop's Raven-themed Cake
--Copyright 2012 Carrie Carolin