Autumn of Terror: Who Was Jack the Ripper?

By @hmsbeefnuts

Last time I blogged about Jack the Ripper, we looked at his reign of terror, during the Autumn of 1888. Now his crimes were appalling, but the mystery of who he was still draws in people to this day. It’s time then to look into some of the likely, ridiculous and interesting suspects, that have been suggested over the years by various police officers, ripperologists, and so-called experts. Nothing excites those interested in Jack the Ripper like a new suspect and theory, so over the years, there have been many brought forward, and many rejected, so without further ado, lets name some suspects shall we?

Francis Tumblety

Tumblety was a homosexual quack doctor, who was said to have a deep hatred for women, and a collection of uteri, that he delighted in showing people. He was in Whitechapel at the time of the murders, although he was an American. He led a very interesting life, being arrested for his complicity with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, although he was released with no charge. I at one time spent a summer with a friend trying to write a TV show about Jack the Ripper, and Tumblety was our choice for the Ripper. He may not have been the murderer, but he was mentioned by police at the time, and he certainly is a fascinating character.

Sir William Gull

Part of the Masonic/Royal conspiracy theory that was popular for a time with certain people, and the killer in the Johnny Depp movie From Hell, Gull was the Doctor of Queen Victoria. There is not a lot of evidence that he was involved, but people love a conspiracy, and a conspiracy involving Royalty is even better.

H. H. Holmes

Another American, and a confirmed serial killer. In 1893 at the Chicago Worlds Fair, Holmes opened a hotel, one specifically designed to feed his lust for murdering women. It is claimed he may have killed more than 200 victims, although he only confessed to 27, and only 4 of those were confirmed. He is a Jack the Ripper suspect based on a hand writing experts opinion that letter Holmes wrote whilst in prison, are identical to those supposedly written by Jack the Ripper.

James Maybrick

More than a few years ago now, a diary was said to have been found that was supposedly written by Jack the Ripper himself. The diary was that of James Maybrick. I have read the published diary, and it is a good read, if you like that sort of thing, but it has been proven that the original diary is a forgery.

The Duke of Clarence

Supposedly driven mad by syphilis, mad enough to walk the streets of Whitechapel murdering prostitutes, Prince Albert Victor is the most important suspect ever named as the Ripper. Of course, it is certain that he didn’t do it, but he is also linked to the Royal Conspiracy theory with William Gull. Some people just want to blame the great and good, or not so good, depending on your point of view.

Others

Of course, there have been hundreds of suspects brought forward throughout the years. Even famous names, such as Lewis Carrol, artist Walter Sickett, and popular Victorian actor Richard Mansfield, who was thought a suspect because of his terrifying portrayal of Jekyll and Hyde, which was a popular stage show at the time. Also Dr Bernado, the famous benefactor of children’s homes was also thought to be a suspect, but there is no evidence to suggest that any of these men were responsible, and in some cases, it would have been impossible. It seems if you were a famous name who frequented London at the time of the Ripper killings, then you can become a suspect, well it will certainly sell books. Could the Ripper have been a woman? Jill the Ripper has been suggested over the years, from a crazed midwife, to a woman driven mad by the fact she could not have children, she took it out on the lowest orders of society.

Who really knows? Well we will never know for certain, unless some faultless evidence comes to light, but really, it is the mystery that keeps people interested in the Jack the Ripper case, no one really wants to know for sure, suggesting suspects is far too interesting.

Autumn of Terror: Jack the Ripper

By @hmsbeefnuts

So right at the beginning of the month, as we started this Autumn of Terror, I mentioned that I would like to write some sort of blog all about the events that were first termed the Autumn of Terror. Well, here it is. Better late than never. From the 31st August 1888 (perhaps before this date) and 9th November 1888 (perhaps even after this date) the London district of Whitechapel was stalked by the most famous serial killer of all time, Jack the Ripper. Now I have always found this type of thing fascinating, and the fact that to this day, no one knows who the murderer was, is even more intriguing. Now in this blog, I would like to just outline the basic information surrounding the case, and for next time, a run down of the weird assortment of suspects that have been suggested over the years. So without further ado, lets take a trip to Whitechapel circa Autumn 1888.

Jack the Ripper may have killed as many as 11 women during his reign of terror, but ripperologists usually only count 5 true victims, known as the canonical five. The murders grew in severity as time went on, with the last canonical victim being greatly disfigured and chopped up, not a very nice sight at all. Pictures were taken of the last victim Mary Kelly, but I will not post them here, a quick google search will give you all you need if you so wish. The murders started on Friday 31st August, when Mary Ann Nichols was murdered in Bucks Row Whitechapel. She had various ghastly injuries, including much trauma to her abdomen, and two cuts to her throat. The next victim, Annie Chapman, was found murdered on September 8th 1888, in the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street. Once again, her throat was heavily cut twice, her lower body was mutilated, and her uterus had been removed. Things were getting worse by the week in the extremely poor area of Whitechapel, and they were only going to get worse.

Sunday 30th September 1888, was a sad day for the people of Whitechapel. In what would later become known as the double event, two women were brutally murdered. Elizabeth Stride was found around 1 am, near Berner Street. Her throat had been cut, but no other mutilations had been caused. It is suggested that the murderer had been interrupted by a man and his horse drawn cart, and so he hadn’t had time to finish his ‘work’. He would soon strike again however. At 1.45 am, Catherine Eddowes body was found in Mitre Square, which fell within the district of the City of London Police, a different force from the other murders. The now usual throat and abdomen injuries were apparent, but also half of her kidney and uterus was missing from the body. Another very strange thing was said to have occurred on this night. In Ghoulston Street, not far from Mitre Square, a bloody piece of Eddowes apron was found, and on the wall near by, a chalked piece of graffiti was found. Seemingly blaming the murders on the Jewish community, although the graffiti might have been a weird coincidence, as there was no lack of anti-Semitism in London at the time. The graffiti was washed off the wall before being photographed as Sir Charles Warren, the Police Commissioner, feared anti-semitic riots. The graffiti is an interesting little aside to the murders, and experts argue over whether or not the Ripper actually chalked the message himself, or simply dropped his bloody apron near a piece of already written graffiti.

The last canonical murder victim was Mary Jane Kelly, on Friday 9th November 1888. Kelly was found in her living quarters, at 13 Miller’s Court, lying on her bed, with ghastly mutilations. Her throat was cut so deeply, her head was almost severed. Her body was eviserated, emptied of organs, and her heart was missing, and her face was hacked away. The canonical victims came to an end with Mary Kelly, which was also the most savage murder of the series.

The press had a field day with the Whitechapel Murders. They ran with the story and stirred up the populace of London. Letters were sent from the Ripper to the press, and other high ranking members of the community. There are some famous letters that are supposedly from the murderer himself. The ‘From Hell’, ‘Dear Boss’ and ‘Saucy Jack’ letters/postard are the most famous. There is great debate whether or not they are actualy from the murderer, or were in fact written by members of the press, or public who sought to further inflame the story. The Dear Boss Letter is below.

Dear Boss,

I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha ha The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn’t you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife’s so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck. Yours truly Jack the Ripper

Dont mind me giving the trade name

PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck yet. They say I’m a doctor now. ha ha.

The ‘From Hell’ Letter is below…

From hell

Mr Lusk Sor I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer.

signed Catch me when you Can Mishter Lusk

Thats it for this blog. Next time, I will look at some of the suspects that have been suggested over the years.

Autumn Of Terror: Classic Horror Novels

By @hmsbeefnuts

Autumn of Terror keeps on trucking like that big truck from Duel,down the highway of October. Only stopping once a day to deposit a blog and then ever onwards to November. Todays blog takes us back before there was electronic entertainment, before movies, before video games, when people had to read books in order to be transported to different worlds, that, or visit the local Opium Den. Anyway, this intro has become mired in awkward metaphor and strange references. Today, I hope you will enjoy my list of Classic Horror novels that have thrilled and inspired readers for hundreds of years, so lets get our book on shall we?

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I guess this would be the big one, the one most people will know, but it was not the first, and for my money, not the best on this list. Dracula is however, a fantastic read. I have read this book a few times and it always draws me in. If you have never read it, but have seen the numerous movies etc. I would definitely recommend reading the original, as it might be quite different to what you are expecting. Written as a series of journal entries and letters, from different perspectives, the story of the Transylvanian Vampire, who seeks a new home in Britain, and runs afoul of his greatest nemesis Professor Van Helsing, is a stone cold classic gothic horror novel. Sexy, scary, exciting, this book runs at a breakneck pace, particularly at the end. I highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it, and why not read it again, if you already have, it’s almost Halloween after all.

Frankenstein; Or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

Written during a ghost story contest whilst on holiday with her husband and Lord Byron, Mary Shelley clearly beat both men hands down when it came to hugely successful gothic horror behemoths. The tale of a scientist who wants to create life in his own unique style, Frankenstein is a classic of the horror genre. I will be honest and say that I didn’t initially like this book on the first read, but I gave it another chance, and it clicked for me. I think what I found off-putting at first was it was quite a bit different to what I had imagined it would be from all the films based on the book, I had watched. In the novel, Adam, or the monster, is not a shuffling moaning monster, as in the Universal films, but a scheming and intelligent threat to his creator. The novel may be seen as quite tame now, but must have been very controversial at the time. There are few novels more gothic-y than Frankenstein, and as such, it should be enjoyed on a cold, dark autumn night, whilst the wind blows and the rain pours, next to a roaring fire, in a grand drawing-room.

(The) Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

This was the first novel on this list that I read, when I was around 9 I think. It scared me, especially the cover of my copy which I could not find, but the painting of a simian looking man, in top hat and cane spotlighted in moonlight. The book itself is the tale of a good scientist who wants to release mans potential, but ends up unleashing mans animalistic murderous side. I suppose the scariest aspect of this novel is the suggestion that everyone has the potential to unleash the scary brutish nature that normally we keep to ourselves, just look at Dr Bruce Banner.

The Hound of The Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

My personal favourite book on this list, The Hound of the Baskervilles has been read and re-read by me countless times. There is just something about this story that I can’t get enough of. The story concerns the recent death of a Devonshire Lord, seemingly at the hands of a spectral hound, when the new Lord of the manor arrives to take up residence in Baskerville Hall, Sherlock Holmes is called in to offer advice and protection from the hell hound, or other evil forces. I do love detective fiction, and Holmes is the top guy in the field. When Conan Doyle added his love of the paranormal to his most beloved character, it was quite simply dynamite. Nothing would be scarier than being on a moor in the middle of the night and hearing that long mournful howl.

The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes

This book was influenced by the Jack the Ripper murders and concerns a similar serial killer dubbed The Avenger. A strange man moves into a lodging house, who’s owners are down on their luck. He pays his way and suddenly their fortunes turn around, but he keeps odd hours, and acts very strangely. Meanwhile, a series of ghastly murders takes place, who could be responsible for said crimes? Well, obvious really isn’t it? But that does not detract from the greatness of this novel, which is gripping to the last. As I am fascinated by the whole Jack the Ripper mystery, I loved this novel, but I think even if you knew nothing about the Ripper murders, this book is still well worth checking out.

Autumn of Terror: My Favourite Monsters Part 2

By @hmsbeefnuts

Yesterday I brought you part one of a two part blog about my favourite versions of all the classic monsters. Well guess what? Here is part two, so you know the deal, here comes some more monsters that I love, and some more honourable mentions that I love almost, but not quite, as much. Part One can be found here. Part Two starts…. Now.

ZOMBIES

Zombies really don’t have that much in the name of variety. You have your standard undead, raised by magic, meteorites or simply if Hell is full with souls, and your voodoo type slave zombies. I happen to like the undead type, and what better, more horrible zombies than the Nazi variety. Call of Duty is a great game and the zombie mode is always fun. The scary thing about zombies is that on there own, they can be quite manageable, it is only when there are a crowd that things become a problem. When that crowd comes running screaming towards you, dressed like nazis, shit has really hit the fan, all one can hope is the magic box grants you a ray gun…

HONOURABLE MENTION

Little girl rage zombies, well that is just scary as shit right?

WITCHES

Responsible for more children’s nightmares than any other monster on this list, The Wicked Witch of the West is the perfect embodiment of evilness. Green skin, perfect witchy outfit, broom stick, hatred of children and general goodness, and if that’s not enough, she has flying blue monkey soldiers, and it doesnt get more evil than that.

HONOURABLE MENTION

The head witch is very scary. That moment when she takes her face off, absolutely terrifying, and she looks grotesque. Imagine waking up to that? No thanks.

MUMMIES

I like my Mummies wrapped in bandages and the Hammer mummy looks creepiest to me. Boris Karloff may be one of my favourite horror actors, but then so is Christopher Lee, and his eyes are way creepier than the Universal Mummy.

HONOURABLE MENTION

If Karloff had stayed in the bandages all the way through the film, he would have been my ultimate choice, however, he doesn’t and is quickly portrayed as a Dracula type figure. Love that black and white picture though.

MR. HYDE

I have always loved this look for Mr. Hyde. Very simian looking, very primal, and a brilliant transformation scene. It has to be this version of Hyde, it is the greatest.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Forget the film, the comic version of this Mr  Hyde is king. The way he deals with the invisable man alone proves this.

HUNCHBACK

Lon Chaney Snr. old school make up job, say no more.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Bela Lugosi played an evil hunchback assisstant in Son of Frankenstein, almost the best.

Autumn of Terror: My Favourite Monsters Part 1

By @hmsbeefnuts

You may have noticed that around All Geek To Me, we like our monsters, we like them quite a bit in fact. As this month is our celebration of all things that go bump in the night, I thought that I couldn’t really let it pass without a look at my favourite monsters, so I wrote something about that very thing. I have picked my favourite iteration of each of these monsters, and as they have been put on screen many times, I hope this adds variety, as I could just choose the Universal or Hammer film versions, but I will try my very best not too. These choices are based on the look alone, film quality does not enter into my choices here, just this is my prefered version of the different monsters mentioned. So with that out the way, lets get on with some monsters.

WEREWOLF

I know the remake of The Wolf Man was not well received, but I liked it, I liked it a whole lot. Now yes, there is some dodgy cgi, but the main Wolf Man suit is quite simply spectacular. I loved it. It takes the look of the Lon Chaney Jnr. version and ups it to new super fearsome and crazy levels. This for me, is the finest example of The Wolf Man, all claws, jaws and ripped clothing. I will always have a soft spot for the 1941 original, but I don’t think you can argue that this design is far more awesome.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Van Helsing is another movie that everyone thought sucked. Well for all the cheese and bad acting, I still liked it. The Wolfman from Van Helsing is supersized, really huge and powerful, but once again, I really dug the design, I would definitely not like to meet this beast on a dark night.

VAMPIRES

For me Bela Lugosi owned the voice, but Christopher Lee owned the physical manifestation of Dracula, and so, as the Lord of all Vampires, he has to be my top pick for best Vampire. Hammer vampires were much scarier than Universal ones, all blood shot eyes and dripping fangs. Christopher Lee was just such a badass as Dracula, the embodiment of evil, however, Hammer did also show a talent for other types of vampires too, as we shall see below…

HONOURABLE MENTION

Hammer ruled the roost in terms of Horror sexiness, and thus any female vampire, bride or victim of Dracula, instantly becomes very appealing, especially Ingrid Pitt. I know it’s shallow and a bit sexist, but fuck it, vampire chicks are hot, and lesbian Hammer vampires are the hottest.

THE MONSTER

The Monster, not Frankenstein, has never been bettered since 1931 and Boris Karloff’s portrayal. The make up is stunning, the acting is amazing, the Universal Monster is the greatest that has ever been, and ever will be. Can’t really say any more than that.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Yes it’s Van Helsing again, but I thought this design of the Monster was unique, I liked the steam punk legs and the glowing brain. He may be a bit theatrical, but then wouldn’t you be if you had been cobbled together from a few dozen other guys?

GHOSTS

Ghost? Demon? Well it’s responsible for Paranormal Activity anyway, so I think it counts. I absolutely loved Paranormal Activity 3, and especially the bit from the picture above. I love how usually the invisible force is scary enough, but I couldn’t resist this sight gag, amazing. Paranormal Activity is so scary because it happens in normal houses to normal people. Those are my favourite kinds of spooky stories, the other being the classic Victorian ghost story.

HONOURABLE MENTION

The Woman in Black was a great return to form for the bleak and depressing Victorian Ghost Story, and is a great example of such a ghost. Vengeful, scary, and a bit of a dick.

SWAMP CREATURE

Universal’s Creature From The Black Lagoon, or Gill Man, if you prefer, is the classic beastie from the depths. It’s a great look for a sea monster, webbed feet and claws, and slimy skin. Enough to make you think twice about swimming in that lake or river.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Maybe not a typical Gill Man, however, the Fluke Man is disgustingly scary. One of the most memorable monsters from the X – Files, Fluke Man was horrendous. Just look at him. That shit is fucked up.

Autumn of Terror: How I Failed To Make A Documentary About Ghosts And Legends

By @hmsbeefnuts

You may know from recent blogs that I’m quite fond of documentaries, well one summer, about 5 years ago, or maybe more now, the exact date is lost in memory, a few close friends and I decided to film our own documentary. We are all from Barry, a large town near Welsh Capital Cardiff, in South Wales, an area that seemed to be rich in folklore, ghosts, legends, and even a few cryptids here and there. Now we had never filmed more than a few Jackass style stunts before, we were inexperienced, totally unprepared, but were enthusiastic and ready to bullshit our way around The Vale of Glamorgan, in search of myths, monsters and spooky stories. The team was set up like this, me, my Brother Ollie (camera man), our friend Matty (presenter) and another friend Clare (team complainer ‘It’s cold. It’s rainy. I’m hungry!!’. Sorry Clare, we still love you!). My role was basically handling director duties and trying to get everyone’s arse into gear.

Why would anyone attempt this type of thing for no money, in ones spare time? Well it was Summer, at the time none of us had full time jobs, we were young and bored, and it sounded like a good idea at the time. I still think it sounds like a good idea, and it was definitely fun, if I ever had a chance again, I would totally try and do something again, but life gets in the way. Anyway. I’m getting ahead of myself, things are better started at the beginning, and so, we shall start there…

A rushed ‘production meeting’ allowed us to talk about what things we wanted to cover in this exciting (for us at least) project. The local area turned out to be quite the hotbed of mysterious goings on, from winged snakes, hitch-hiking ghosts, white ladies, black dogs and big cats. We had a lot of ground to cover if we wanted to see it all. Instead, we decided to concentrate on a few of the more likely and believable stories. So winged snakes were out, they hadn’t been seen for 200 years or so, and were most likely the invention of a drunken mind. Ghosts were decided on as being the most interesting and probably the most likely too, and so, our documentary crew went off to their computers and tried to look up any information they could about ghosts in our local area.

A local pub called The Captains Wife, (after the spirit of the wife of a Sea Captain who never returned home from a voyage, the wife so distraught that she hurled herself into the sea, to join her beloved), was thought to be our first port of call, and so, with no script, very little research and a whole lot of youthful endeavor, we loaded up my car and drove to the pub. As we were very early, there were few customers, and so we quickly found the manager, and camera in hand, asked permission to film and interview a few of the staff about their experiences of a ghostly nature. We came up with a genius excuse for doing all of this. Clearly we thought that just saying we were a bit bored and fancied filming something fun for a few weeks wasn’t going to cut the mustard. Instead we invented a whole back story for our group, we had met at university, where we were all doing film studies, and that we had chosen this documentary as our final project. Clever right? Well whether they believed us or not, and they must have thought we were very disorganised film students if they did, they allowed us to film and interview the staff. We were actually doing it.

We interviewed 4 members of staff, who each had tales of ghostly happenings that they had experienced, from chairs that moved on their own, to turning around in an empty bar and coming face to face with the Captain’s Wife herself. Spooky indeed. We filmed the interviews in front of the impressive fire-place, it all looked brilliant and atmospheric, our cover story was holding up, and our first location shoot was a massive success… until we got home to edit the footage. Of course our camera wasn’t a HD expensive piece of kit, so the image wasn’t excellent, but it was passable, in any case, we had already clocked that our film wasn’t going to look as a Louis Theroux or Michael Moore, the problem was the sound. Umm, we had forgotten that microphones are a good idea, and tend to pick up sounds that people say. So excited were we to start our amazing new project, we had forgotten the one of the two most important things about a film. A whole day wasted, and worse, we now had to invest in some sort of microphone if we were going to continue. Also, could we go back to The Captain’s Wife and reinterview everyone? It would be embarrassing, and to be honest, although the stories were very good, we decided the shame of  admitting we were inept was too great. It was a dark day for our nameless production, one we never really recovered from.

We decided we would try one more trip, this time to a local country park, reputedly haunted by a White Lady, a legend that has a few stories based around it, but one that people saw every few years. The usual story went as follows; a group of teenagers go camping in the Park, near the large viaduct. During the night, they are awoken by wailing and a ghostly white figure of a woman is seen approaching the tents. The kids leave sharpish, and never camp there again. We had our interest piqued by a girl I used to work with who swore this had happened to her, the investigation was on… But there was another place we wanted to try too. Somewhere that didn’t really have a haunted reputation, but looked spooky as hell. An old abandoned mill on the outskirts of Barry, now in ruins, looked like a perfect place for ghostly goings on. We decided to investigate both. We found nothing, unless you believe that orbs are the spirits of the dead, and not like dust or insects. We spent half a night down Porthkerry Country Park, and an afternoon at the mill. Nothing happened, we went home cold and tired, and a little disappointed, but we were not bored.

Our project had ended pretty much as soon as it had started. We were unprepared and disorganised, we didn’t think it through properly and we had no chance of doing anything of any worth. However, for a few weeks during a long, boring summer, we were entertained and we did some cool research. I would love to do something like that again, giving it a much better go, if I won the lottery, I would be all over it again. Documentaries are hard work, and although ours was a blatantly pathetic attempt it did show us a little of what it takes to make one, and if nothing else, we got to hear some really awesome spooky stories, and wasn’t that worthwhile enough?

 

Autumn of Terror: Halloween Movie Marathon

By @hmsbeefnuts

I love Halloween, I’m not quite sure why, but I love it. When I was a kid, we obviously went trick or treating, and it was fun, but it also made me incredibly sad. Why you ask? Well you see, where I lived, Halloween was never that big a deal. My parents tried their best and they always made it fun, but what I wanted to experience was that Halloween amazingness that every American child has every year. I was majorly jealous. There is something heart-warming about the entire community coming together, dressing up as monsters and ghouls in order to eat sweets and more importantly, ward off the dead for another year. It seems strange that the Americans take All Hallows Eve far more seriously than us Brits, because originally, it’s our bloody festival!! But anyway, good luck to them, I’m just a bitter, jealous man who can no longer dress up as a werewolf, or vampire and go knocking on doors for sweets, people thought I was weird last year for some reason…

 

I have then, been forced to find different outlets in order to have fun this Halloween. I have considered Ghost Walks, and Ghost Tours, but I imagine that the worst day to attend one of these is on Halloween, far too busy, I’ll go the day after. There are costume parties of course, but to be honest, I don’t drink, and the thought of being trapped in a house with fifty odd pissed up monsters, beloved characters and slutty vampires (wait, maybe I will have a party), is a bit of a nightmare. I couldn’t get anyone to attend a Black Mass at the local grave yard, and it’s hard to find the local Witches Coven in the Yellow pages, and the Google search I did, whilst visually stimulating wasn’t really what I was after. Time to rummage through the DVD shelves, invite a select few friends, slutty vampire costumes optional, but preferred, make some themed food and drinks, and sit back and get our scare on in a Halloween Movie Marathon.

I’ve tried to get a good varied selection together for today’s Marathon, so we don’t get bored, or feel the need to do something productive, as enthusiasm is at its peak, I have gone for Nosferatu. Yes it’s a silent movie, and black and white, but the eerie feeling that the film exudes is a good Omen (see what I did there?) for the films to come, we are all drawn into the nightmare unfolding on screen, and it is a great way to kick off this night. Oh by the way, I won’t be reviewing these films, but this will be more about the atmosphere and general mood of the evening. The film holds us in a sort of rapture, halfway through, the snacks stop being snacked and we are drawn into the silent horror. Once the film is over we snap out of the trance, and everyone says how surprised they are that they liked it and how creepy it was, score one for me I think.

A change of pace perhaps, and our first vote of the night. Well our contenders are Paranormal Activity, The Last Exorcism and An American Werewolf in London. We vote American Werewolf 5 – 3, and so off to the moors of England we go, beware the moon. We have all seen this before, and so a different atmosphere descends, not the eerie silence of Nosferatu, but a jovial talkative atmosphere, joking about when we first saw it, our favourite bit and Jenny Agutter in the shower. The energy levels in the room are at a peak, and everyone is having a great time with John Landis’ masterpiece. The film seems to fly by, considerably more crisps are eaten and drinks are drunk, and before we know it Jenny Agutter is crying and the werewolf isn’t a wolf any more, this doesn’t dampen our spirits though, onwards to….

The losers of the vote demand Paranormal Activity, and so we slip it in to the DVD player and off we go. Once more discussions range from, ‘Is the girl attractive?‘ we decide yes of course she is, and ‘how much of a dick is her boyfriend?‘ The men decide that they would be better boyfriend material then the dick in the film as the girls tut, and the first half of the film passes in this manner. The second half is a different matter, watching Paranormal Activity at home, is a different thing all together than in a cinema, this movie was made for DVD. Once the shit really hits the fan we are all jumping and going along with the action on screen, one member of the group, who has not seen it before is quite scared, this is defiantly the way to watch this movie. During one of the security camera montages, the door bell rings and some of the more unstable members jump, but it wasn’t a Demon, merely the Pizza Guy.

A short break is the order of the day as the sun goes down outside and the night begins proper. The X-Box gets turned on and a few games of Nazi Zombies later, and a few toilet breaks, we are ready to continue. I decide that I should choose the next film, and go for the little known Trick ‘r Treat. No one has seen this before, I had heard good things online, and so this is the first film tonight no one has seen. Wow, it is great. A myriad of stories all take place in a town on Halloween, and nasty things happen. This film has a bit of everything in it and it once more energises the room. Hot girls, nasty surprises, and spooky pumpkin headed kids all add to the fun, it is a worthy addition to the marathon, and will be a Halloween staple from now on.

 

Its dark now, and we have the sweets out ready for any Trick or Treaters, we have all eaten rather a lot, so the food is relegated to the kitchen for the time being, and we decide that a change of genre is needed. A classic we can all agree on and love is the order of the day, and vote number 2. Scream, Scream 4, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Alien. An eclectic mix. The winner? A draw between the two Screams, a further round knocks out the latest one, so we put on the original and best. Boisterous may be the best word to describe how this film went down. We all try an approximation of the Scream Voice and ask each other what’s your favourite scary movie? And do you want to die Sydney? All part of the fun. What a great film Scream is a classic. However, after five films, fatigue is starting to seep in, it’s time to end the fun for one October night.

Autumn of Terror: There’s Something in The Woods…

By @hmsbeefnuts

Here at All Geek To Me, we love our horror, almost as much as we love Superheroes, and Batman, but not quite. However, in line with our previous month long special events, Avenging April and Summer Knights, we have decided that October, the spookiest month of the year, shall be dubbed The Autumn of Terror here at AGTM.

Why Autumn of Terror? Well it’s a reference to the late Summer and Autumn of 1888, which in London became known as The Autumn of Terror due to Jack the Ripper. I personally find the mystery of who Jack the Ripper was fascinating, and as it was now 124 years ago, we felt that using the name Autumn of Terror was perfectly fine. There will (hopefully) be an article all about Jack the Ripper up-coming, as soon as I write it, as well as a month full of horror movies, books, monsters, ghosts, and things that go bump in the night. It is only 30 days now until All Hallows Eve, when the restless spirits of the dead search the Earth for… ummm, pumpkins, or something I guess? They are definitely after something, so let’s get prepared as we dip into our first serving of the Autumn of Terror, I hope you enjoy this month…

I thought I would kick off AOT with a look at ‘real’ life monsters, things that go bump in the night, and the creatures that are said to inhabit the darkest and most remote places on Earth. Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals, and there are genuine people who search for these creatures, known as cryptozoologists. Now I know that it is very unlikely that any of these creatures exist, yet people have seen them for hundreds of years, and in some cases, hundreds of times in one year. Who is to say that these creatures can not be real? People are seeing something, and the next time you find yourself in the woods, or on a lake, it may be worth being a little bit more cautious. You wouldn’t want to end up as a Sasquatch’s lunch…

LAKE MONSTERS

Nessie, or the Loch Ness Monster is the daddy of the lake monster class of monsters. First seen in the 6th Century AD by St. Columba, the monster didn’t really hit it’s stride until the 1930’s When a new road opened the Loch up to passing motorists. Every year tourists flock to the Loch in search of the monster, and there are sightings every year. Numerous searches have proved fruitless, but there are said to be caves under the Loch that link it to the sea, so maybe Nessie goes back and forth? Whatever the truth, I don’t think I’d like to swim across the Loch, and not just because it friggin’ massive either.

Lake Champlain also has a monster, this one dubbed Champie. First seen in 1883, there have been over 300 reported sightings of this Plesiosaur like animal, with no reported injuries to humans, but the important part of that phrase is ‘reported’.

BIG HAIRY MONSTERS

My personal favourite cryptid is Bigfoot. The picture above is taken from the Patterson/Gimlin film from 1966 the most famous piece of footage for any cryptid. Bigfoot, or Sasquatch has been seen for hundreds of years and is the best shout on this list for actually being real, along with his cousin the Yeti. Reports have stated that Bigfoots have kidnapped people, attacked people and are generally not a good a creature one should piss off. Around 8ft tall and hugely muscled, strong and fast, the Bigfoot isn’t a monster to be messed with.

The Yeti is a Bigfoot type creature found in the snows of Tibet as well as the temperate valleys. Also known as the Abominable Snowman, foot prints have been found in the snows since the 1920’s, but perhaps the best evidence comes from below the snow level, where the Yeti are said to spend most of their time in the forests and jungles. Makes sense really, I bet it damn cold up there, even if you have those big furry coats.

OTHER MONSTERS OF NOTE

In Britain we have our fair share of cryptids. There are said to be Bigfoot creatures seen on Scottish mountains, lake monsters and sea serpents aplenty, but perhaps the most common cryptid is the ABC (Alien Big Cat). Now it is quite reasonable to suggest that a population of big cats, perhaps puma or even panther do survive and prosper throughout the UK. Certainly many farmers have seen the damage that these beasts have done to their livestock. The Beast of Bodmin Moor, The Surrey Puma, and even the Essex Lion have all made headlines in recent years. Think twice before taking a walk alone in the countryside…

Many hundreds of people have also reportedly seen werewolves, yes, werewolves. Now this stretches credibility a bit far, but many rational people around America have seen a large wolf-like creature that walks on two legs. I should know, I read a book on it. Theories range from an adapted form of wolf, to a spirit animal, and everything in between, however, one man was reportedly attacked by one, so you know, maybe it was a bear or something, but maybe, just maybe it was a werewolf?

Mokele Mbembee is a surviving dinosaur said to live in the Congo jungles. A creature feared by locals, it is said to upturn boats, drowning those inside. Usually described as a long necked type dinosaur, like an Apatosaurus, which was a herbivore, perhaps the Mokele Mbembee has adapted to feast on the flesh of drowning locals?

The Jersey Devil is said to haunt the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, and woe betide any traveler who meets this horrific creature on their journey.

The Thunderbird is from Native American legend, and is a beast who is said to bring thunder and storms. Even though this creature is firmly set in myth, people do report seeing gigantic birds in the skies of remote parts of America, and there have also been reports of such birds attacking people.

People also from time to time report seeing much larger versions of regular animals. One such example are wolves. From time to time people are reporting seeing wolves of gigantic size, wolves that bear a striking resemblance to Dire Wolves, a now extinct, (or is it?) species of wolf that hunted the American forests thousands of years ago. The Dire Wolf is strong, quick and fierce and is much bigger than any known wolf today, not the kind of creature you want to meet on your way to Grandmothers house…

Autumn of Terror: Shocking Movies That Got Banned

By Geeky Gem

Here at All Geek To Me we have been known for running themed months, so far we have Avenged April and had fun with Summer Knights. That brings us to October or as we like to call it Autumn of Terror. Yes that’s right folks All Geek To Me is going for all out shock this month, I thought I would kick things off with a list of a few films that for one reason or another got banned here in the UK.

Here in the UK , as in ever part of the world, movies have be viewed by some people who then decide what age rating it shall have, every once in a while they come across a movie that is just to shocking they ban it. Now the ban doesn’t always last very long but during the ban more people tend to go out and try to see it. I know this because I have done that, as I said here is a small list of banned movies.

Battleship Potemkin

This movie was banned between 1925–1954, it was banned due to it’s “inflammatory subtitles and Bolshevist Propaganda”. It didn’t become unbanned untill after the death of Joseph Stalin.

Freaks

Freaks was banned between 1932 – 1963, it was rejected not just banned by British censors. Who then banned it due to disturbing content. It was again rejected for a cinema rating certificate in 1952, it only became available from 1963 but was then passed with an X rating.

The Wild One

The Wild One was banned between 1954–1967, well it was more than banned it too was rejected. The film was rejected for a UK cinema certificate in 1954 and 1955 by the BBFC and was finally granted an X rating in November 1967 after a 13 year ban.

The Last House on the Left

This movie was banned between 1972–2002, which if you ask me is a long ban. It was banned  by the BBFC until 2002 and not passed uncut until 2008. Released on home video in 2002, when the market was unregulated, but banned following the Video Recordings Act 1984.

A Clockwork Orange

Now this one is an interesting one, band between 1973–2000, well banned isn’t the right word really. Withdrawn is the real word I guess, it was withdrawn two years after its release by its own director, Stanley Kubrick. This was not because of the copycat violence allegedly inspired by the film, as commonly believed. Kubrick received death threats against his family, and arranged to withdraw the film from UK cinemas. It was not allowed to be shown again in the United Kingdom until after his death. Throughout the decades the film acquired a mythical status in the country, until Kubrick died in 1999 and the ban was finally lifted.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

This one was banned between 1974–1999, this was because the movie was rejected by the British film censors in 1975, but it did get a limited cinema release in the London. It was banned again in 1977, when the censors’ attempts to cut it were unsuccessful, (for the purposes of a wider release), then it was banned again in 1984, due to the growing controversy involving ‘video nasties’. In 1999, after the censors finally changed their policy, they took the plunge, and passed it uncut, for the cinema and video, after 25 years, since they first banned it.

The Exorcist

The Exorcist, now with this movie I wasnt allowed to see this. My parents had told me not too even after the ban was lifted, however me being me at the time when they told me not too I did. At the time I didn’t get why they were so scared by it, and I watched it and thought it was no big deal. They didn’t see it that why when I told them I had seen it. Anyway this movie was banned between 1986–1999, The theatrical version was passed, uncut, by the BBFC in 1974 and has always been legal. The home video of the film was released in 1979. The home video was not banned per se, but Warner decided not to submit the film for classification for a few years following the video nasty crisis (as they didn’t want to take any chances due to high probability of an official ban) and the implementation of the Video Recordings Act 1984 in 1986. It was not until 1999 that the video was finally submitted and passed, uncut, with an 18 rating.

Reservoir Dogs

This move was banned between 1992-1995, which isn’t that long when you look at some of the others on this list. This movie was submitted to the BBFC for a video release certificate in 1992 (it had previously been submitted for theatrical distribution, was passed uncut and shown widely in cinemas). Though the film was never formally refused a video certificate, one was not actually granted until 1995. Because of the BBFC’s statutory powers under the Video Recordings Act 1984, the delay amounted to a de facto ban during this period, during which a second theatrical release took place in 1994. It has been alleged that the delay was due to political pressure applied to the BBFC’s controversial director, James Ferman, resulting at least in part from the controversy over so-called video nasties that was precipitated by the murder of James Bulger in 1993.

There we have it just some of the movies that have been banned in the UK, I’ve seen nearly all of them and enjoyed them. If you havent maybe you should give them a try.