Halloween Overkill

Obligatory Post Super Bowl Update

2012-02-06T12:21:00.002-05:00

With all the water cooler talk today about either Wes Welker's dropped pass (still one of the most reliable receivers in the league, I'd take him on my team any day!) or everyone's favorite commercials, I figured I'd add myself to the list of the 10 million other blogs posting about last night's events. Here are my top 3 favorite commercials from the big game last night! (Not sure why, but you have to hit stop on each commercial after it ends of it will endlessly play a loop of the commercials from last night's game, blame HULU for that one!)

3. MetLife: Everyone

This might not have been the funniest or the most eye catching commercial to most, but for those of us who grew up in the 80's it was a delightful trip down memory lane with some of our favorite cartoon characters. Seeing He-Man come roaring in on Battle-Cat was pretty ridiculous but nostalgic all the same, but the icing on the cake was Voltron. Yes F*N VOLTRON was in a super bowl commercial!

2. Audi: Vampire Party

Hilarious riff on the current obsession with "trendy" vampires. I like how the guy hiding behind the log gets it in the end as well also. Loved the usage of "The Killing Moon" from Echo and the Bunneymen!

1. Kia: Optima - A Dream Car. For Real Life.

The best commercial of the Super Bowl by a longshot. A nice mix of zexyness and hilarity as our husband and wife roam through their respective dream-worlds. Favorite part, besides the obvious, is Chuck Liddell kicking the head off of his competitor a-la Mortal Kombat! Another shout out for one of my favorite 80's bands as well with the appearance of Motley Crue!

I would also like to give an Honorable Mention to the Chrysler: Halftime in America commercial. Not only was it pretty moving, what with all of the unfortunate job loss in America, but also for it's ability to hit home with me. I am proudly from Detroit and have had both my father-in-law and my own father lose jobs because of the state of the automotive industry and economy there, and keeping in the tone with the commercial neither of these men blamed anybody, nor did they whine, complain and give up, they pressed ever onward and continued to do what they had to do to support themselves and their families until things started shaping up. I know this may sound cheesy but for those from Detroit or those affected in any way from the loss of a job know this stuff hits home. I could have done without the cheesy Super Bowl reference at the end of the commercial but none the less I'd like to say bravo to Chrysler (also the company both of my Grandfathers worked for!) for airing such a passionate and moving commercial.

OK, let's move on to some lighter fare now, as we discuss the worst of the worst. In my eyes the biggest bust of all of the Super Bowl commercials was probably Danica Patrick's in the GoDaddy Commercial, I kid, I kid! (see what I did there?) Seriously though, the worst of the bunch other than the pathetic GoDaddy commercials (isn't time they gave up on their marketing tactics of old, it's just getting awkward now) was the Matthew Broderick commercial.

Yes I understand that it wasn't supposed to be Matthew playing a day in the life of Ferris Bueller but Matthew playing a day in the life of Matthew, however it just wasn't funny. I love Ferris Bueller's Day Off just as much as the next 80's kid but did anyone actually enjoy this commercial? I just thought it felt really forced and could have been done differently I suppose, but I guess that's why I'm a student and not writing commercials for the Super Bowl that cost 1.3 billion dollars per microsecond. Although the more I think about it, I suppose it wasn't the worst commercial but the biggest let down of a commercial. I guess I just wanted to be taken back to that amazing time in the 80's when Ferris was still relevant, but it just didn't do it for me. And last but not least I'd like to present to you my favorite movie trailer of the Super Bowl and no it's not for "The Hunger Games"! (I'm trying to stay as far away from that trailer as possible so as to not go into movie theaters with the jaded mindset of seeing a much too amazing trailer and then being let down by the film itself, and yes I loved the book)

Favorite Movie Trailer of the Super Bowl

Anybody disagree with my faves or just want to share their opinion on any of the commercials up above, get the discussion going in the comments!

New Design?

2012-01-31T14:14:00.002-05:00

Anyone out there an expert on Blogger templates or designs? I have a few major burning questions that I'd like to ask so that I can cosmetically change a few things on my blog. If so email me or leave me a comment here so that I can contact you. I'm usually pretty good at this stuff but just can't figure out these few things I want to change.

Is this thing still on?

2012-01-30T11:49:00.000-05:00

WOW! After some crazy life events of 2011 I just couldn't keep up with the blog anymore. However things seem to have stabilized, at least for now (the baby is due in 3 months!) and I am just itching to return the fabulous blog world that I used to contribute to. I really miss all my blog friends and reading your comments (my favorite part!) and hearing your opinions on my thoughts. I also miss regularly reading YOUR blogs and vow to return to regular commenting on them starting today! So if anyone out there still has any love left in their bloody hearts for HalloweenOverkill let me know in the comments, or if you're new and just want to cheer me on, that always helps as well!

20 Days until Halloween!

2011-10-11T17:37:00.000-04:00

Right about this time of year is when all of the television shows start airing their Halloween specials. One of the shows that happens to give a-lot of love to Halloween each year is Saturday Night Live. And while the show isn't always as good as it was in the late 80's, early 90's, I do support the fact that the show has come back from a series of totally unfunny episodes about 6 or 7 years ago, and one of the reasons the show has become infinitely more funny than it was back in the early 00's is the presence of Kristen Wiig. I've been a huge fan of her going way back to the Joe Schmo Show which aired on Spike TV way back in 2003. Not only is she super sexy in my opinion (my wife totally disagrees, anyone got my back on this one?) but she is also one of the funniest females in the history of the show. In what has easily become one of my favorite Halloween skits of all time, this short entittled Shanna: Halloween Party aired this past Saturday (October 8th, 2011) and deserves to be seen by all of you ghouls who may have missed it live.

Zexy!!!

24 Days until Halloween!

2011-10-07T13:06:00.002-04:00

Let's kick the Halloween season celebration into high gear with a giveaway shall we? For our first giveaway of this year's Halloween Countdown we have a prize from the infamous PopCap games! Up for grabs is a download code for the full version of Plants vs. Zombies for the mac! (Sorry P.C. users) Here are the rules for the giveaway:
1. In the comments below tell me what your favorite plant and your favorite zombie are. (any zombie will do, cinema zombie, literary zombie, etc.)
2. Leave your email in the comments
3. It wouldn't hurt to go check out PopCaps website, and even "like" the Plants vs. Zombies page on facebook. If you do happen to go over there and "like" them, let me know in the comments for a bonus entry!
(Number 1 & 2 count as one entry and 3 will count as a bonus entry)
All entries will be entered in random.org and a winner will be chosen. The contest ends Sunday, October 9th at 11:59 P.M.!

Keep coming back to read HalloweenOverkill's 2nd Annual Halloween Countdown for more great giveaways this Halloween season!

25 Days until Halloween!

2011-10-06T16:49:00.001-04:00

Wow, I'm falling behind already, but I'm back now and I come bearing treats. Guess who else is back? That's right, it's Tiny!!! If you ghouls remember I featured Tiny last year in my Halloween Countdown in the form of a short video entitled "Tiny's Halloween" from Scared Stiff TV. If you don't remember it, or didn't get the chance to check it out today is your lucky day as I will post it again. After you watch the first video, go ahead and watch the second video which is entitled "Tiny's Halloween 2" and continues the creepy adventures of the bizarre trick or treater! These shorts are just too good to leave unnoticed during this year's Halloween Countdown!

Tiny's Halloween

Tiny's Halloween 2

Awesome weren't they? Now ahead and visit Scared Stiff TV to watch more of their amazing video shorts. I'd also like to let everyone know to check back tomorrow as we will be having our first giveaway of this year's countdown! I'd like to ask you all, who would win a battle between an army of plants and an army of zombies? Not sure? Then come back tomorrow and enter for your chance to find out in the form of a Plants Vs. Zombies download code! (Mac users only this time, sorry pc pals!)

29 Days until Halloween!

2011-10-03T22:32:00.001-04:00

For some reason this post didn't auto-post as it was supposed to last night, so we're going to be a day behind until tomorrow when I can write the catch up post. Anyways, leave it to Greg Nicotero to bring us something so unbelievably awesome that words cannot describe it. I know it's a year late but maybe some of you ghouls have never seen the short "United Monster Talent Agency" which is a spoof of the Universal Monsters of yesteryear. AMC aired this short last year during their Halloween marathon and I think it's just way too delicious not to share with you ghouls. Grab your popcorn, dim the lights, and get ready for "United Monster Talent Agency" Oh yeah and keep your eyes peeled for cameos from Eli Roth and Jeffrey Combs!

THE UNITED MONSTER TALENT AGENCY - Greg Nicotero
Thanks to Dailymotion for the embed!

30 Days until Halloween!

2011-10-01T23:34:00.002-04:00

Kicking off this year's Halloween Countdown is a review of Midnight Syndicate's new cd, "Carnival Arcane"!

Midnight Syndicate's new cd, "Carnival Arcane" is so infectious that I simply cannot stop listening to it! From the moment I popped it in the cd player on the ride to school I simply knew that the Midnight Syndicate had struck gold! Carnival even left my wife sitting in the car saying, "What is this, it is totally creepy?".
Starting with the first track, "Mesonoxian Visitors", the cd actually feels like it is guiding you through this dark and twisted carnival that has just come to your town. I love the use of the track "Midway" as an actual introduction by way of a carnival barker to the macabre realm we have just entered. Midnight Syndicate's use of sound effects mixed with their trademark orchestral sound is cranked up to maximum effect here, as I actually felt as if I was experiencing all the thrills and chills of a creepy carnival. The tracks range from downright spooky to over the top carny style thrills such as, "Under the Big Top". Some highlights I'd like to point out from the cd are the tracks, "Carousel Ride", "Kiddieland" (I guarantee this track will send chills down your spine), "Krellsig's Kastle of Fun" (in which I actually felt like I was on one of those decrepit old haunted carnival dark rides), and "Lights Out". My favorite track of "Carnival Arcane" was "Welcome to the Carnival" with its thumping background beat and it's haunting melody! One of the most amazing things about "Carnival Arcane" is the apparent use of "Binaural Recording" I'm not sure if Midnight Syndicate actually recorded some of the parts this way or if it was just my brain, but I swore on some parts of the cd I felt as though I was actually walking right down the midway or sitting in on one of the shows in the carnival. (For those that don't know what binaural recording is, it is the use of two microphones to record sounds so that a stereo 3d surround effect is achieved)
Since this is an official review I am going to score it with the old "Jolly Jack-O-Lantern" rating scale, which I haven't used in quite a while. I officially give "Carnival Arcane" from the Midnight Syndicate 5 out of 5 "Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns" and can officially say it is tied for first as my favorite Midnight Syndicate cd!

Yes, 5 "Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns" is a must own for those don't know the rating scale, so please do yourself favor and click the Midnight Syndicate logo at the end of the post and purchase the cd from them. We really need to support artists such as this who go out of their way to make sure that our Halloween (and every other day for that matter) are as creepy and macabre as we all love them to be!

Don't forget to check out all of the other amazing cds and other treats that are in the Midnight Syndicate store as well!

Halloween Countdown 2011

2011-10-01T22:15:00.001-04:00

Keeping with the pumpkin theme from last year, I finally finished this year's Countdown logo and wanted to unveil it tonight! This is not an official countdown post as I will be posting today's official 30 days to go post. Think of this as an invitation if you will to join me as we count down the final 30 days until Halloween. Unlike last year's countdown we will be posting every single day until Halloween. So make sure you check HalloweenOverkill every day in October for this year's HalloweenOverkill Halloween Countdown which will include, book reviews, movie reviews, guest posts, interviews, giveaways, and some tricks and treats! If you ever miss a day you can click the Halloween Countdown logo in the sidebar to be taken to all of this years posts. Another think I'd like to mention is that if you want to see all of the blogs that have a Halloween Countdown this year, click the Cryptkeeper logo in the sidebar and that will take you to the official Halloween Countdown blog where you can see all the participants!

Zombie Blogger Walk Post II

2011-09-30T15:30:00.000-04:00

I didn't want to just leave all the visitors today with a tiny little 3 line haiku, so I dug up another zombie related post for today. Epic Meal Time will be providing us a video for said post. I'm sure each and every one of you have watched at least one Epic Meal Time episode, but I guarantee you have never seen an episode like this. Yes, EMT has an entire episode wherein they are zombies! Check out the hilarity that ensues as they cook their zombie themed menu. WUDDUP BACON! (I'd like to point out that the production values in this video are fucking incredible. The zombie makeup these guys use is better than 90% of most zombie films I've seen, KUDOS to Epic Meal Time for their dedication to a proper horror cooking themed episode!)

Click the Epic Meal Time logo to be brought to Official Epic Meal Time Youtube Channel!

I'd also like to let anybody who is visiting for the first time today that I did have another post earlier in the day for the Zombie Walk as well that included my foray into poetry, that's right I wrote a zombie haiku, check it out below this post. (Let me know in the comments if this is your very first time visiting HalloweenOverkill and what you think!) I'd also like to let everyone know that the 2nd Annual HalloweenOverkill Halloween Countdown will be starting tomorrow, where I'll also be unveiling this year's new logo! Make sure to visit HalloweenOverkill each and every day in October for some awesome Halloween posts! Check out the other participants in the Blogger Zombie Walk below!

The 2011 Blogger Zombie Walk Official Link List

Above the Norm: Bizarre Arizona

Zombies Everywhere

Holly's Horrorland

Little Gothic Horrors

Anything Horror

Katy Bennett Horror Writer and Poet

Pixie's Horror Galore

Strange State

The Misadventures of HalloweeNut

Halloween Blues

Kweeny Todd

The California Blogging Massacre

Horror Shock Lolipop

Vanessa Morgan

Improbable Frontiers

No Really, You Can Eat It

Art By Living Dead Girl Nicole

Two Gory Chicks

A Dust Bunny in the Wind

A Ghoul's Best Friend

Zombies Are Magic

Cherry Neko Saves the World

Tall Tales

At the Mansion of Madness

Creepy Glow Keyhole Gallery

Paranormal Researchers Group

Whispering Pines History

Lovely Miss Megs

Sean Thomas Fisher's Blogwash

Rise and Fight

Stump Town Horror

LoliClown's Little Blog of Horror

When there is no more room left in Hell, the bloggers shall walk the web

2011-09-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

That's right ghouls today is the annual "Blogger Zombie Walk"! After reading my entry for this great event, you can check out the entire lineup of blogs participating by clicking on any of the links at the bottom of the post. Once you hit the next site in line you can keep on going down the list to keep visiting the blogs in order. (The lists should be the same order on each site) And now I present to you my first (yes, there will be another post later in the day, so come back tonight for some more zombie action!) post in the 2011 Blogger Zombie Walk. It's a small post, but I like it. It was a zombie haiku I wrote last year for some reason and never ended up posting it. Hope ya dig!

Zombie Cuisine

Brains are quite tasty

Skin is also delicious

Toenails. not so much

The 2011 Blogger Zombie Walk Official Link List

Above the Norm: Bizarre Arizona

Zombies Everywhere

Holly's Horrorland

Little Gothic Horrors

Anything Horror

Katy Bennett Horror Writer and Poet

Pixie's Horror Galore

Strange State

The Misadventures of HalloweeNut

Halloween Blues

Kweeny Todd

The California Blogging Massacre

Horror Shock Lolipop

Vanessa Morgan

Improbable Frontiers

No Really, You Can Eat It

Art By Living Dead Girl Nicole

Two Gory Chicks

A Dust Bunny in the Wind

A Ghoul's Best Friend

Zombies Are Magic

Cherry Neko Saves the World

Tall Tales

At the Mansion of Madness

Creepy Glow Keyhole Gallery

Paranormal Researchers Group

Whispering Pines History

Lovely Miss Megs

Sean Thomas Fisher's Blogwash

Rise and Fight

Stump Town Horror

LoliClown's Little Blog of Horror

The Dark Meadow

2011-09-29T17:28:00.000-04:00

Remember that iOS game coming out that I told you ghouls about? Well if you didn't read that post, the game I'm referring to is "The Dark Meadow" and it's coming to the Apple app store on October 6th, just in time for the Halloween season. Check out the launch trailer below, and then click the graphic to be taken to the official site for more info!

This Horror Short Packs a Punch!!!

2011-09-07T12:38:00.001-04:00

This short goes to show that scares can be packed into even a very short film. I honestly believe after watching this that there was more tension in 15 seconds of a certain scene than in most full length feature horror films of recent times. You'll know what I mean after you watch below. I literally left finger imprints on my legs while watching this horror short. I'm pretty sure this short was made to be showcased in the Halloween Horror Nights short film showcase as well. Aside from the short that is shown, the folks over at Fewdio have made several quality horror shorts worth watching. If you visit their website by clicking here you can even purchase a DVD of their quality horror shorts! I'd like to give Fewdio a huge shout out for their quality short horror features, keep on making them please!

Pretty fucked up wasn't it? Go back and watch it again paying close attention to the ghoul's eyes as it lays there. Gives me the heebie jeebies! I'll never lay comfortably next to my wife in bed again!

More Random News

2011-09-04T21:56:00.001-04:00

It appears as though The Official Halloween Countdown blog has posted the buttons for this year, and I think I've picked the one I want to use.

On another note, I just finished setting up the HalloweenOverkill tumblr account. The HalloweenOverkill tumblr is located at www.halloweenoverkill.tumblr.com and I do want to note that the tumblr site is not replacing this blog! I will be using the tumblr for various things such as quick posts, rants, and cool photos and such. Be sure to bookmark it and check it every once in a while. I will be adding the link to the other tumblr site which WILL be an official blog for everything not related to Halloween or Horror, just various other shit that I find cool and interesting!

A Call to Arms!

2011-09-03T23:48:00.000-04:00

Fellow bloggers, I need your help. Have you ever thought of something, or had a memory and you just couldn't recall all of the details? You know that feeling of emptiness within the memory where you know the basics but just can't pin down the details. Well, I had one of those moments about an hour ago. I tried "googling" my memory in every way, shape, and form and just couldn't get anything to come up. The item in question is a scratch card type game that featured a mad scientist as the logo. These scratch cards weren't just generic scratch cards though, they featured other cool gimmicks. One of these other cool gimmicks involved getting one of those red little filter things you could hold over certain parts of the card to reveal hidden words, kind of like the thing that came with "Outburst" Anyways I know those are kind of vague clues but if anyone can remember what these scratch off cards were called please comment below. Even if you don't know what they were called but at least know what I'm talking about then I'd love for you to comment as well. Maybe one of you internet detectives, or those with photographic memories (which I usually have, I have no idea why this one is escaping me!) can help me figure out what this was that I am trying to remember! Oh and one other clue just hit me as well, I'm pretty sure these were a little pricey back in the day and the only place I ever recall being able to buy them at were the local hobby shops.

Blogger Zombie Walk 2011

2011-09-03T21:12:00.001-04:00

On September 30th, HalloweenOverkill will be participating in what I believe is the first ever virtual zombie walk! Created by our friend Autumn over at Ghost Hunting Theories. The idea for the zombie walk is for every participant to post anything zombie related that day, and then after reading a particular post on a blog you can just hop on over to the next participating blog by way of a link list every participant will have posted. This should run very similar to a blog hop (or a "bar hop" if you will). I myself may be posting more than one thing that day so make sure you come on by the day, maybe even more than once if you're bored. I'd also like to mention that if anyone has any suggestions of things they might want posted let me know. On another note, I have decided to start one or two tumblr blogs, and not these are not replacing this blog. HalloweenOverkill will always remain as my "home" blog and my main attraction. I just love trying new things and thought that tumblr would let me blog about some other topics that I don't really want cluttering up my Halloween/Horror themed blog. I will be posting the links to the new tumblr blogs later tonight after I have them set up! I'm also still looking for a co-conspirator for this year's Halloween Countdown logo, or at least some ideas or inspiration. The theme I'm thinking about using for the logo this year would have a vintage Halloween decoration feel to it such as the pic below, if anyone wants to throw ideas at me let me know! Another helpful contribution from any of you ghouls would be if you had any vintage clip-art or vintage pictures to incorporate into the logo.

Random News Update

2011-09-01T16:21:00.001-04:00

Well yet again I have fallen off the wagon as far as updates go, but this full time student thing is killing me! Anyhow, with this random news update I'd just like to take some time to throw some random news out to everyone and to also make a few shout-outs along the way. First up I'd like to remind everyone that "Dead Island" is hitting store shelves in North America on September 6th, that's only 5 days away! For those across the pond, the game should be released on September 9th. Does anyone remember my post that showcased the amazing announcement trailer for the game? If not click here and relive the glory of one of the greatest video game trailers of all time! So any ghouls out there gonna pick this one up? It is definitely a release day purchase for me. Click the Dead Island logo below to be taken to the official "Dead Island" website and watch the new trailer.

Next up on the list are two huge shout-outs! First off, I'd like to thank "The Myers House" website/blog for linking to HalloweenOverkill in their Affiliates/Related Links section. Thank you! Click the banner below to be taken to this amazing website which documents and shows off a full recreation of the Myers' House from the classic Halloween. The time and dedication that went into this project is just astounding and I'm here to tell you that I have honestly spent hours on this site checking out all that went into this huge project. Also check out their events section for listings on their huge Halloween party, other events such as Halloween night trick or treating at the house, and many other events. Below is a picture of the poster being used to promote this year's Halloween event. Click it to be brought to the events section of the site.

One last thing I'd like to mention is their indie film section. One of the features in the film section is "Judith" in which writer Kenny Caperton (owner of the Myers' House, N.C.) actually uses this film as a vehicle to explore the story of Judith Myers and dives a little deeper into the Michael Myers mythology. On the site you can actually check out movie posters and even watch the film itself. Again I'd like to thank The Myers' House website/blog for helping to promote HalloweenOverkill!

Another blog that I'd like to throw some love at is Cherry Neko's "The Little Blog of Blogs" This huge undertaking is Cherry's way of organizing and cataloging all the blogs on the web that she either reads, or just blogs that contact her to be listed on the site as well. HalloweenOverkill is listed under the Dark, Horror, Halloween, Weird section (a perfect little home for the blog!) One other blog listed under the Halloween part of that section is the world's second biggest fan of "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" (haha) a.k.a. Justine of Justine's Halloween, who also gets a huge shout-out as well. If you haven't checked her blog out yet, go and check it out right now! (click her name!) "The Little Blog of Blogs" is going to be a great resource for all of us bloggers who are too lazy to hunt down each and every blog that deserves to be read out there, as we can now just use this centralized location as a one stop shop for all of our daily readings! Cherry also has her own personal blog over at Cherry Neko Saves the World, which you all need to go check out right now as well! Click the link above to visit Cherry's personal blog, and click the banner below to visit "The Little Blog of Blogs"

Here are a few other things that I will be posting about in the coming days. No Justine, I did not forget about the "Are You Afraid of the Blog?" feature and I will still be serving up full episode recaps of every single "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" episode and even some bonus stuff from the show as well in the coming days. I am also participating in what I believe is the first annual virtual blogger zombie walk (created by Autumn over at Ghost Hunting Theories)

I'm also still looking for someone to possibly help me co-create this years logo for the 2nd Annual Halloween Countdown here on HalloweenOverkill, a.k.a. HalloweenOverkill's Halloween Countdown 2011. I'd really like to incorporate a vintage Halloween like vibe to it, if that helps get anyone's creative juices flowing. I will also be posting a review of the new Midnight Syndicate album, Carnival Arcane in the coming days. So keep your eye's peeled, set your monitor to HalloweenOverkill and get ready for some new updates in the coming weeks.

Halloween Countdown 2011

2011-08-23T14:32:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay in posts here on the blog, but I just started my career as a full time student for the first time in about 7 years so I've been really busy. Hopefully from today on you will see regularly posted articles again! I do have one big question for every reader of this blog though. What would you like to see in this years Halloween Countdown? Blog posts about movies, reviews, video games, history of Halloween, random Halloween topics, candy, costumes, etc, etc,? I beg of you to please comment and let me know what you want to see this year or if you have any suggestions or want to be a part of my countdown let me know. Also I would love to know if anyone out there wants to help design the graphic for this year's countdown. I designed last year's from scratch and it came out better than I had hoped but I would love to change it each year so.......... anyways please comment if you read this and let me know!

The Dark Meadow coming soon

2011-08-05T19:51:00.000-04:00

As you all know I love to do stories related to games on the iOS. Games have come a long way on the iPhone and iPad and I think they are starting to really shine as fullblown video games. It doesn't hurt that I own an iPad as well, so it's quite easy to become engaged in this new video game platform. One of these upcoming games for iOS devices is entitled "The Dark Meadow" which will utilize the Unreal 3 graphics engine to bolster it's graphical intentsity. Once you check out the screenshots and trailer below I think you'll agree it appears to be one hell of a creepy game! I'd also like to mention that I think it's totally unfair to compare some games to others, especially ones that haven't even come out yet, but I can't help but notice the similarities between "The Dark Meadow" and some of the other horror games I've played in the past. However let me be the first to say that, that is in no way, shape, or form a bad thing, this game looks amazing! Here is the description straight from the official website.

"The Dark Meadow"

"You wake in the bed of a hospital long ago fallen to stunning ruin, not knowing or understanding why you are here. You are greeted by the only normal looking person in this world, who sends you on a quest to gather what you need to track down and defeat the evil presence that has you trapped in this never-ending parallel world. The decaying hallways and rooms are haunted by creatures relentlessly hounding your every move. As you explore, you learn more and more about the mystery from the world and what you find in it, evidence to be gleaned from the environment, snippets of the past of this forsaken place, words and writings from others who have been trapped here, and you look for clues of how to get out."

Sounds pretty good to me! Check out the trailer and some screenshots below to really whet your appetite for "The Dark Meadow" which is supposed to hit the Apple app store sometime in August.

Here are some screenshots

click the title at the very top or below to be taken to the official site!

First Halloween Costume Find!!!

2011-08-02T22:57:00.000-04:00

Check out this amazingly detailed hobbit costume f/x foot I found today.

And you'll never guess where I found it................

Grandin Road Halloween Preview

2011-08-01T23:09:00.001-04:00

I honestly cannot believe that up until this year I had not heard of Grandin Road. Grandin Road is an online store of sorts that sells home furnishings of the Martha Stewart ilk. BUT......... they also sell absolutely amazing Halloween decorations as well. Check out their preview for this year's Halloween collection that will debut on August 1st (yeah that's today, I meant to post this last night, whoops) The preview is really high quality stuff and actually showcases some of their more awesome wares. Check out Grandin Road (click the blue link above the video below) and see if they have anything that might up the spook factor in your home this Halloween.

Grandin Road Halloween Haven

CrazyDog T-shirts Deal of the Day!

2011-07-29T12:07:00.001-04:00

Check out CrazyDog T-Shirts for their deal of the day today! You can pick your Zombie Outbreak Response Team T for only $6.99 (plus s&h) Click the shirt to get yourself one!

A Pleasant Surprise!

2011-07-29T00:26:00.002-04:00

I was enjoying a delicious homemade banana-nut muffin today that my wife had baked and what were my little eyes staring at once this treat had been finished but this............

It's the little things in life!

New Midnight Syndicate CD on August 2nd!!!!!

2011-07-28T00:20:00.000-04:00

Mark your calendars ghouls because on August 2nd Midnight Syndicate will be releasing another audio journey into the unknown! This Gothic nightmare will be known as "Carnival Arcane".

"Carnival Arcane" is the 14th release from the masters of Halloween music, the Midnight Syndicate. To get a little taste of what this release is all about, here is a preview from the CD insert: "The train smoke drifting through the pale moon light signals the arrival of the Lancaster-Rigby Carnival. In a forest clearing, these mesonoxian visitors await your arrival. Stroll along the midway and behold wonders both fantastic and macabre from every corner of the globe. And be sure to ride their one of a kind carousel for an experience you'll never, ever forget."
Sounds pretty f'n sweet doesn't it? If that preview doesn't give you goosebumps then maybe this little audio clip from the cd will! The track featured in the preview below is titled Freakshow.

Click here to be taken to the CD pre-order page, where for only $12.00 you can experience the "Carnival Arcane" in the discomfort of your own crypt. (The $12.00 includes shipping & handling!) Also if you head over to the Midnight Syndicate shop you can purchase the official "Carnival Arcane" t-shirt! Please do yourself a favor and pick this CD up, I kid you not I have used several Midnight Syndicate CD's at my home haunt for about the last 8 years and every year several people ask me what soundtrack I am using. These guys really know how to bring that extra atmosphere to Halloween or any other rainy, dark, thunderstorm filled night for that matter!

Bath & Bodyworks Halloween

2011-07-26T00:21:00.000-04:00

Earlier it was Spirit Halloween, now I bring you the Bath & BodyWorks Halloween collection. Well, some of it anyway. Now you may be asking yourself, "What is a hardcore ghoul like him doing checking out Bath & BodyWorks?" Well if you must know, it is a place that is one of the "must visit" stores during mall trips with my wife, and in doing so I have actually come to enjoy some of the scents of their products. If said products also come packaged in Halloween themed dispensers then count me in! Oh, and if I need to justify myself anymore B&B does actually sell several products for men. Anyways, I'm sure there are several other Halloween fans out there, male and female, that don't mind picking up some of Bath & BodyWorks seasonal wares. If you're looking for any recommendations, here are the few that I think are the best of their "stuff" this year, but this is by no means the entire collection. To see the entire collection, click the link at the bottom of the post.

"Sour Drop" hand stuff, and yes the bottle glows in the dark.

I'm obsessed with glow in the dark "stuff" in case you are a new reader.

"Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" hand soap.

Not the scariest packaging ever, but it's still pretty cool looking.

"Spiced Cider" room spray.

I think every ghoul on the planet loves spiced cider scented stuff, especially when you can make your whole room smell like it, and the bottle is pretty neat as well.

"Sinful Vanilla" body lotion.

Not one dude on Earth will be buying anything labeled "Sinful Vanilla"

but I still think the bottle and vintage text are cool anyways, haha.

Haunted House Wallflower

Now this thing is a must own! Couple this with a "Pumpkin" or "Spiced Cider" scent

and you have yourself one hell of a Halloween decoration. Oh yeah and it glows in the dark!

"Sour Drop" Hand Sanitizer

Again not much use for myself, but you can't complain about the

awesome Halloween theme packaging.

"Gum Ball" Hand Sanitizer

Really curious what this will actually smell like once my wife buys it,

which is inevitable once these hit the stores. (She's a total Halloween nut as well!)

"Chocolate Chew" Hand Sanitizer

All 3 of these are cool packages, however they really don't compare

to last year's bottles. Oh, and by the way, why the hell did they decide to forgo the Marshmallow

scent from last year, I'm pretty sure that was everyone's favorite? (Maybe I'll post some pics of last year's bottles in a Halloween Countdown 2011 post?)

WOW! Never in a million years did I think that I would dedicate a post to Bath & BodyWorks! Oh, well I guess it never hurts to get in touch with your feminine side right ghouls? Seriously though, for my gal ghouls out there, this stuff should have you pretty excited. And for the ghoul dudes out there, maybe I just made it that much easier for you to pick out some Halloween gifts for your honey. Hope you really enjoyed this post because you'll probably never see hand lotion, hand sanitizer, or anything titled "Sinful Vanilla" on this blog ever again. HAHA

Bath & BodyWorks Halloween Collection

Spirit Halloween Hits a Homerun!

2011-07-25T19:58:00.001-04:00

I was glossing over some posts at my favorite online haunt, that's Halloween Forum for those that don't know. Anyways, someone there posted that the Spirit Halloween website had been updated with some pretty wicked new Halloween stuff for this year. After deciding to go check it out the thing that amazed me the most were these little items!

Pretty bad-ass aren't they? You can order them for $2.99 plus shipping from Spirit's website (plus S&H, which I think is like 5 or 6 bucks OUCH) but hopefully they will have them in the stores once they open as well. So which one is your favorite, and will you keep it on your car all year long or just for the season?

Mortal Kombat + Freddy Krueger = Absolute Insanity

2011-07-22T14:57:00.000-04:00

Who would have ever thought in a million years we'd finally be seeing one of our favorite horror icons show up in a fighting game? I know we had the tech demo called "TerrorDrome" a year or two back but I'm talking officially licensed horror madness in a mainstream video game! There were rumors a while back about Freddy and/or Jason making their way into Mortal Kombat but at the time they were just that, rumors. Now we have official word that Freddy Krueger, albeit the new Freddy (with two claws, and the not really scary but nasty face). As you can see in the shots below they did a pretty good job of recreating the new Freddy for the game, also check out his bad-ass kombos in the trailer as well! My big question is, when they say he is the final downloadable character, do they mean for this current 4 pack, or for the game entirely? I'm beginning to wonder if he does well as a piece of dlc and makes them some more bank then could we maybe see future horror icons show up in this game? Or, could we even see a future game featuring these characters with their very own licensed storyline?

Evil Dead HD & Army of Darkness HD FREE!!!!!!!!

2011-07-07T23:13:00.000-04:00

If you own an iPad then you better run your ass to the app store and download the Evil Dead HD game and the Army of Darkness HD game both for free!!! I cannot confirm how long they will be free, but I can confirm that as of 11:00 p.m. eastern standard that I just downloaded them for free. Go now and get them, go go go!!!

Download them from iTunes by clicking on their buttons above!

Visit their official webpages by clicking the links below

Evil Dead HD App

Army of Darkness Defense HD App

Halloween II & Scream 4 coming to Blu-ray!

2011-07-04T23:50:00.000-04:00

Saw some exciting news today on the webs and thought I'd pass it on to you ghouls who haven't read about it yet. Coming to blu-ray on September 13th, (just in time for our favorite holiday) is the seasonal classic Halloween II, 30th Anniversary Edition!

The cover art above has not been confirmed

The Blu-ray will feature a 5.1 DTS audio track, an alternate ending, and the long lost documentary, "Terror in the Aisles"! I personally have not seen the alternate ending, so I am looking forward to that part of the blu-ray. There are other features that have been rumored but since none of them seem to be consistant with the websites reporting this news I don't want to list them. There have also been rumors abound about Halloween III: Season of the Witch coming out on blu-ray this season as well! I can't confirm or deny that rumor as well. (I'm really hoping it does come soon though, as this is my second favorite entry in the series! Please don't hate me!)

The next big blu-ray announcement that was made this week was Scre4m coming to DVD and Blu-ray on October 4th. There have been no announcements concerning the extras that will be featured on the Blu-ray, however it does appear as though it will be a combo pack containing the DVD and a digital copy. The only real confirmation of this so far is the promotional still you can check out below.

That is one insane MRSP for the Blu-ray, however I'm sure by the time it hits shelves we should be looking at a sale price of about $19.99 hopefullly! So, you ghouls excited for both of these, or maybe just one, or neither? Lets build up some hype in the comments below!

Are You Afraid of the Dark? Episode 5

2011-07-04T00:21:00.000-04:00

I'll be honest, this is easily one of my least favorite episodes. I'm not a huge fan of the ghost possession type stories, they usually lack good narrative and most often are very boring with little to no monster style effects. However, through my dislike of the episode the show must go on. I call this story......................................

Original Air Date: 9/12/1992

Episode Synopsis: In this episode, two cousins rifle around a family attic and find a trunk belonging to their dead aunt. We learn that the aunt died but cannot rest in piece because of her hungy hunting hounds. After rummaging through the trunk, one cousin decides to try on the dead aunt's riding clothes. The clothing seems to transform her, and leads her and her cousin into the past to solve the mystery of their aunt's death.

Storyteller: Kristen

Featured Fiend: A possessed teen, a zombie stable keeper, and some hungry ass puppies!

Freakiest Moments: Before the cousins open the dead aunt's trunk, they try on wedding items in the attic. The bride covers her face and we hear thunder as she appears. Another scare comes when a rat jumps out of the dead aunt's trunk, and when the zombie stable-keeper appears in the barn toward the end.

Totally Radical '90s Moment, Dude: Watch for Amy's awesome plastic sunglasses, and lots of jelly bracelets. Since most of this episode takes place in another time period, '90s references were few and far between.

Gratuitous Screenshots: I must say again that I don't have much love for this episode which translates into not many screenshots to present to you.

The "haunted" clothing chest belonged to the long dead Dora Please.

The infamous "red pail" that is used to douse the fire at the end of each tale.

Bonus Trivia:

-The only bonus trivia that I can even come up with for this episode is that it stared Mia Kirshner of "The L Word" & "The Black Dahlia" fame! Mia went from total "zeeb" as they say in the Are You Afraid of the Dark? universe to quite a looker, check out what I mean in the "where are they now?" picture below -

"Heyohhhhh"

Halloween mood setting in.......

2011-06-28T11:12:00.001-04:00

Not sure why, but I'm totally getting in the mood for Halloween - BIG TIME! I'm not sure if it's the cloudy, cool weather the last few days, or the influx of Halloween related research I've been doing on the web. Whatever the reason, expect a huge increase in Halloween themed related posts from here on out!

Assassin's Creed getting a little dose of horror?

2011-06-27T08:05:00.000-04:00

As you may have heard Assassin's Creed Revelations is coming out just in time for the holidays on November 15th, 2011. What you may not have heard is who may be referenced in the game, and let's just say he's somebody we're all probably a little familiar with! During the course of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood you hunted for an item which was referred to as the "coins of Vlad". This may have been a reference of things to come for as you may have read in the title it appears as though Vlad the Impaler will be making a return in Revelations. The picture below shows some of the items that you will receive should you purchase the Some sharp eyed gamers have noticed in the picture below how Vlad may be referenced in the game. If you pre-order the Assassin's Creed: Revelations Animus Edition from Gamestop you will receive, among plenty of other goodies, a mission which is described as such; -Explore the prison of legendary Vlad the Impaler, the scourge of Constantinople who inspired the myth of Dracula. Seek out the hanging cell of the infamous leader to retrieve his personal blade, a deadly close quarters dagger capable of dispatching any foe. Sounds pretty awesome that yet again they are using our favorite inspiration for Dracula to tie into a video game doesn't it? Go and pre-order yours now to ensure you get a little of that horror flavor in your version of Assassin's Creed: Revelations this November!

I purposefully made this picture gigantic so you could see the little square that mentions the Vlad the Impaler mission. Below is a picture which shows all the pre-order goodness!

Are You Afraid of the Dark? Episode 4

2011-06-25T00:28:00.001-04:00

Tonight we have ourselves the series' first Halloween special, which is also based off of a classic horror tale as you will find out in the "Bonus Trivia" section. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story..........................

Original Air Date: 10/31/1991 & then 9/5/1992 (yes, it was shown on Halloween long before the show proper actually aired, see Bonus Trivia)

Episode Synopsis: The story starts with Kevin peer-pressuring his good-natured pal Doug into pulling a prank on the neighborhood elderly woman who is rumored to be a witch (every good neighborhood has one of these types, no?). The two knock on her door on "prank night" just before Halloween while dousing the place in shaving cream. Unfortunately, the "witch" happens to open her door mid-shaving-cream-stream and gets it in the face. The boys run away, but the witch stands there cackling and is quite obviously planning her revenge. It's no surprise that when the boys knock on the door again the next night on Halloween, that the "witch" is ready with a treat (or trick?) of her own. She offers the boys a piece of wood that resembles a claw (hence the episode title, "The Tale of the Twisted Claw") and tells them it will grant their wishes -- with a creepy caution to be careful what they wish for. The boys quickly learn of the claw's wish-granting power and why the "witch's" disclaimer was necessary. But can they figure out how to get rid of it?

Storyteller: David

Featured Fiend: An old bag, who is probably a witch, and a magical piece of wood shaped like a claw.

Freakiest Moments: After our main characters prank the old lady/witch, they run away as the old lady bursts into a fit of maniacal cackling. Another freaky moment is when Kevin unintentionally spends one of his wishes commenting on the existence of Doug's parents. Immediately following said wish, the phone rings and a sorrowful voice informs the boys of some terrible news involving Doug's parents. Our final freaky moment is when Doug wishes his grandfather was still around to help. Guess whose classic car quickly comes rolling down the street shrouded in an ethereal mist?

Totally Radical 90's Moment, Dude: Observant viewers will count at least three mullets, paying careful attention to scenes in Doug and Kevin's school hallways.

Gratuitous Screenshots: Little slices of "The Tale of the Twisted Claw"

Reminding us that this was an "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" Halloween special

They should have known she was a witch what with the creepy puritan witch family pic hanging on the wall

Another creepy part in this episode is when a gang of rascals tries to steal Kevin and Dougie's Halloween loot!

The claw apparently gives off radioactive pollution after granting a wish, or Cinar just thought this was a really cool "wishing" effect

A last minute message from our creepy hag/witch to the boys who had pranked her

Bonus Trivia:

- The Tale of the Twisted Claw is lossely based off of the

classic "The Monkeys Paw" by W.W. Jacobs -

- This episode could actually be considered the show's pilot! It was originally aired on Halloween in 1991 before the show was picked up by Nickelodeon and then shown as the fourth episode of season 1 on September 5th 1992 -

- Yet another episode to start mid-tale instead of at the fire with the Midnight Society. The tale originally being told was never actually finished. After the show gets around to the traditional Midnight Society segment the show then transitions into The Tale of the Twisted Claw. (below are two screenshots from the first tale being told) -

- Another episode to end without the proper dousing of the fire -

- The creepy old hag, a.k.a. the witch, a.k.a. Miss Clove was played by Ann Page. Any guess as to who Ann Page is married to? Well if you guessed Aron Tager you'd be correct! Yes Ann Page is married to Dr. Vink (and Zeebo if we're keeping track)

It's coming..... First in store evidence of Halloween

2011-06-21T22:39:00.000-04:00

After spending ample time in my local Half Price Books, my wife decided it was time for her to have a change of scenery. While I continued to browse for some cheap literary treasures, she took herself to the Michaels which is located right next door the the HPB. After making my final selections which included the autobiography of one of our favorite horror icons (this will be shared in the form of a review next week!) I headed over to Michaels to find my wife. Once in the store, my wife said to me, "You'll never believe what they have out!" I instantly knew what she was speaking of but was reluctant to believe her, I honestly thought she was joking. She wasn't, and here's the evidence........

Just some crafting pumpkins and other seasonal decor', but Halloween decor no less!

Halloween ribbon is not of much use to me, but the fact that it exists in the month of June is what excites me.

So does it bother you that some stores are starting to roll out their Halloween products before Summer even officially starts, or is it never too early for Halloween products to be for sale?

Are You Afraid of the Blog? Episode 3!

2011-06-20T20:14:00.001-04:00

Moving on to episode 3, for your blog reading pleasure! Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story...............

Original Air Date: 8/22/1992

Episode Synopsis: The neighborhood kids are out for an evening of "junk food" and escaping their parents at the local theme park, "Funland," when they encounter the ride "Laughing in the Dark." The ride, a dark house or funhouse, is rumored to be haunted by a clown. When two of the kids (Weegee and Kathy, brother and sister -- chew on the wtf fact that the same parents who named one kid "Weegee" also named a kid "Kathy") refuse to go into said funhouse, their friend Josh (notably, the ginger of the group -- ginger children are nearly always trouble, especially in "Are You Afraid of the Dark? No offense ginger ghouls haha) vows to go inside and to steal a piece of clown paraphernalia as proof of his conquest. Upon stealing said paraphernalia, Josh taunts his less-brave friends and makes it seem like the funhouse is all smoke and mirrors--until Josh is visited by the original owner of the stolen clown effects.

Storyteller: Betty Ann

Featured Fiend: A clown, who is probably also a ghost & a creepy carney who may or may not be Zeebo himself.

Freakiest Moments: This is a clown episode and, as such, there are quite a few moments that should be referenced here. One is the fact that in the funhouse, one of the attractions (a dragon) excretes REAL FIRE. That's right: real fire shoots out at Josh as he makes his way through an enclosed fun-house, which is surely as highly flammable as Josh and his baggy '90s clothing. A second moment comes when the owner of the pilfered clown paraphernalia appears in Josh's house and calls him on the phone. As all horror fans know, when you get a creepy phone call and you're home alone, there's a good chance that the caller is A. probably a raging psychopath and B. is also probably already in your house, so you might as well bend over and kiss your butt good-bye. A final creepy moment happens when the home invader chases Josh to his bedroom and slips a message for him under the door WRITTEN ON A BALLOON. That's right: he slips a balloon under his door and inflates it and, written on the balloon's surface is a chilling message for Josh.

Totally Radical '90s Moment, Dude: A tie here between the superfluous usage of the word "twerp" (as both a noun and an adjective, in the form of "twerpy"), and the get-up worn by Weegee throughout the episode. What was he wearing, you ask? An over-sized T-shirt tucked into baggy yet short khaki shorts. Oh yeah, and lets not forget the brief shot of Reebok Pumps!

Gratuitous Screenshots: Little reminders of what a great episode this was.......

Zeebo, circa 1924

HAHA That wily Zeebo left Josh a bowl of cigars instead of spaghetti, silly prankster!

Call C.S.I. Canada I think we have evidence Zeebo was a creepin'

What kind of teenage male calls his friend to apologize for being a baby, all while laying in bed like a chick? This kid really is a "twerp"

Seriously, where the F&$K did this kid get a box of cigars. WTF Nickelodeon, maybe Canada has no age limit on tobacco paraphernalia purchases?

"Pick the right door and you'll go free. Pick the wrong door and there he'll be."

As spoken by the creepy possible pedophile carnival barker, "It's the most fun in the park, when you're laughing in the dark!"

Bonus Trivia:

- Kristen of the Midnight Society lets it be known that she does not F#$K with clowns at the beginning of this episode. This fear is known as Coulrophobia. -

- "Laughing in the Dark" was actually the second episode according to air dates, but according to the order I have them on DVD it's the third, thus the continuity error in my blog posts. -

- This is yet another episode that starts not with the Midnight Society but with the actual story already being told. So far that's two episodes that have started this way during Season 1! (Even though the last time this was done the story changed and we never find out what that original tale was) This episode has some other differences that are rare in the series such as breaks in the story to show the Midnight Society and Gary closing the meeting with "Meeting adjourned" and not "I declare this meeting of the Midnight Society Closed" -

- This was also the second episode this season where the Midnight Society closes their meeting out by dousing the fire with the red bucket of water. -

- Does the creepy carny look familiar to you? It should, it's Aron Tager, a.k.a. the good Dr. Vink from the first episode (and more to come!) Isn't theatrical makeup just magical? (I had no idea this was Dr. Vink until my recent studies of Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes. -

There it is, a whole metric ton of valuable Are You Afraid of the Dark? The Tale of Laughing in the Dark trivia for you. Anything new to you? If so, thank me in the comments. (j/k, but seriously leave some comments haha)

The Return of Sam!!!

2011-06-16T00:03:00.003-04:00

Something one of my ghouls pointed out a few posts back was a short vid on Fearnet that showcased the return of every-bodies favorite sack headed Halloween mascot. You guessed it! Sam returned to deliver us all a happy Easter. (and remind us that we were half-way to Halloween!) In case you missed it, check out the short vid below.

Words cannot describe how happy I was to see the return of Sam, but the fun didn't stop with Easter. It seems as though Mr. Mike Dougherty isn't content with just wishing us a happy Easter, because as you can see below Fearnet posted another Sam Short wishing all the fathers out there a happy father's day!

Only 5 months till Halloween!!! Are you kidding me, someone is finally going to give Trick 'r Treat some lovin and give the film it's own marathon! Count me in! I hope the hype doesn't end with father's day and continues right on until Halloween with more of these awesome Sam shorts, and hopefully during this marketing blitz we'll get some sort of confirmation about the oft rumored Trick 'r Treat 2! Actually now that I'm thinking about it, they should run the trailer for Trick 'r Treat 2 (if there will be one) at midnight on Halloween at the very end of the marathon as a awesome treat for those who stayed until the very end, almost like they used to do with the old school Halloween marathons during days of old. My idea kind of has that Halloween 3: Season of the Witch vibe going, with the whole viral video commercial vibe to it. (except hopefully the TOT 2 trailer won't make bugs spill out of your eye sockets) By the way Fearnet or Mr. Dougherty, if you steal my idea, a job with your marketing team would be great! Or I suppose I'll settle for a link to my blog hahaha. Which short do you like better, and what are some of your ideas for future holidays?

Are You Afraid of the Blog? Episode 2!!

2011-06-13T23:52:00.000-04:00

Today we bring you Are You Afraid of the Blog? episode 2 and we're stepping it up with some even more totally radical 90's moments than the last episode. We'll also have some more gratuitous screen shots to help quell your internet a.d.d. along with some trivia to hold you over until episode 3 which will hit later this week! Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society I call this blog post............

Original Air Date: 8/29/1992

Episode Synopsis: When Amanda finds out she has to spend the summer at her cousin Beth's house, she is less than thrilled and for a good reason -- cousin Beth is a real bitch. The insane way she lashes out at Amanda, her own mother, and her exceptionally old and decrepit nanny is, well, insane. To put it kindly, the girl needs to take some mood stabilizers. In spite of Beth's horrific behavior, Amanda decides she'd like to hang out with Beth and her posse. In order to be accepted into the clique, Amanda must accept their dare and stay overnight at the house next door, which is rumored to be haunted. The rumors are definitely true, and before the summer's over the ghost who lives there is going to teach Beth a lesson.

Storyteller: David

Featured Fiend: A ghost -- a child ghost, to be specific

Freakiest Moment: The ghost child offers Amanda her locket. The "Help Me's" tagged all over the wall just add the unthinkable creepiness of the scene.

Totally Radical '90s Moment, Dude: It's a tie here between Beth's 3" high teased bangs and her equally awesome recreational roller-blades. The bangs were a '90s art form that required a comb, at least one bottle of hairspray, and a lot of elbow grease. You've got to hand it to Beth: she might be a complete psycho bitch, but she knew how to tease those bangs.

Gratuitous Screen Shots: Don't have access to the show for yourself? Use these screenshots to recreate the moment in your head! HAHA

Children are scary, ghost children are FU#%ING SCARY!

Another great 90's trend, the wood paneling on cars

So in the first episode we had a guest appearance from Hagrid, now we have Professor McGonagall in this episode! Whats with the invasion of Harry Potter characters? (I kid, I kid)

Little bitch got owned!

Bonus Trivia:

- Beth actually drops a "Zeeb" in this episode -

- Sugar is what the Midnight Society throws on the fire to make it flare up -

- According to original air dates this was actually the 3rd episode, whoops, sorry for the mistake ghouls -

Are You Afraid of the Blog? Installment 1!!!

2011-06-11T23:56:00.001-04:00

Here we are! The moment you've all been waiting for. (sorry for all those false promises about starting this feature a year ago) HalloweenOverkill proudly brings you the first installment of the new feature Are You Afraid of the Blog? Before we get into a breakdown of the first episode I'd like to share a little background about the show. Filmed in Canada, Are You Afraid of the Dark was destined to be a hit among the viewing audience at the time due to its light horror fare that every young child craved at the time. I think many people considered this show almost as "Tales from the Crypt" light. The show never really pushed the boundaries of horror per say, however many of the episodes were absolutely terrifying at the time and some even hold up to today's standards of creepy yet fun television. Created by D.J. MacHale, author of such series' as Pendragon and Morpheus Road, the show held its own on SNICK for a respectable 6 years and even returned for a 1999-2000 revamp season. Enough of the background, HalloweenOverkill presents Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode 1 otherwise known as.........................

Original Air Date: 8/15/1992

Episode Synopsis: In this meeting of the Midnight Society, Frank attempts to be initiated by the group by telling a story blindfolded (as only unanimously elected members of the Midnight Society can know the location of the meetings). His tale begins with two brothers lost in the woods. As night falls, the boys are desperate to find their way home--so desperate they listen to the advice of some random guy wandering the woods with a flashlight who, as the younger brother smartly observes, could be "a maniac killer in a hockey mask who's gonna slash us." The stranger, or Flynn as we come to learn is his name, leads them to Dr. Vink's (that's Dr. Vink with a va-va-va-va) cabin in the woods, cautioning them that Dr. Vink can help them but for a great price (observant ghouls and gals will note that Dr. Vink is a recurring character in the series, and this is the first of many appearances). As the boys encounter Dr. Vink (who is, by the way, not a "nutbag"), they begin to realize what the random stranger meant--but it's not until a little later that they understand how the stranger and Dr. Vink are connected.

Storyteller: Frank, who is not officially a member of the Midnight Society when he tells the story.

Featured Fiend: A ghost and a mad scientist (two for one!).

Freakiest Moment: It’s a tie between the agonizingly long minute Dr. Vink spends creepily massaging an animal brain and the moment when, shortly thereafter, he busts out a giant pair of hedge trimmers and threatens to cut the phone cord (okay, it’s a phone cord from a landline – toenail trimmers and, heck, even teeth could cut that bad boy).

Totally Radical '90s Moment, Dude: The denim. In particular, the stonewashed denim. It appears in many varieties, but the best is the sleeveless jean shirt or jacket, which Frank the storyteller sports. One of the lost brothers also pairs his denim shirt with—wait for it—dark denim jeans (paired, of course, with high top sneakers). Coming in as a close second for most "radical" '90s references is the use of the word "lame-wad."

Gratuitous screen shots: Because you probably have Internet induced ADD and were dying for some pictures, and because you just can't get enough Are You Afraid of the Dark...

Our first glimpse of "The Midnight Society"

The good Dr. Vink, or is that Hagrid making a special appearance? Hmmm.................

(SPOILER ALERT!) Flynn the ghost telling the brothers, "I sorta died!!!!" (SPOILER ALERT!)

BONUS TRIVIA: Can you save yourself by ansewing Dr. Vink's riddles?

1. How far can you walk into the woods?

2. What is it that has no weight, can be seen by the naked eye and if you put it in a barrel will make the barrel lighter?

Well what do you think ? Too much, not enough, or just right? Please feel free to use the comments as an open forum to share your love with me for Are You Afraid of the Dark? Also please let me know how you liked the first installment and if you want anything changed.

The wait is over.......for real this time!

2011-06-10T22:55:00.001-04:00

T-minus 1 day ghouls!!!! Finally this is really happening, a real life, honest to goodness regularly scheduled feature on HalloweenOverkill. That's right "Are You Afraid of the Blog?" will be a recurring (seriously, why do I always have the urge to type reOccuring?) feature on the blog, twice a week, every week. This won't just be recaps of the t.v. episodes either. OHHHHH NOOOOOOO, I will be adding some HalloweenOverkill flair to each post with some humor and other trivial knowledge type information. There will also be some special posts that will sneak their way between the regular posts. What kind of special posts you ask? Well keep in mind it wasn't just a show, but a book series, and even a video game! Yes, you read that correctly, the very rare and elusive "Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse" for the p.c. will be featured and reviewed. I really hope everyone embraces this feature and loves it as much as I will love bringing it to you. AYAOTD was something that I looked forward to every single weekend as a child and because of my love for the show it left me with very fond memories of watching it with my younger sister and whoever was babysitting us at the time. I remember waiting for the week to end and literally sitting in my living room counting down the hours until SNICK would begin. I would patiently watch Clarissa Explains it all, Roundhouse, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren and Stimpy Show, and whatever else would be shown until that glorious moment when the creepy AYAOTD theme would pop into the television speakers. Seriously though, I really did and still love this show and have a genuine passion for it, (aren't we all passionate about the awesomeness of our childhood?) and I hope you all enjoy this feature and maybe, just maybe I can rekindle your childhood memories and bring you back to the better days.

E3 X-Box 360 Rundown Part 2!

2011-06-09T21:03:00.000-04:00

You saw how this worked yesterday, so without further adu here we go! Remember you can click the cover art (some of which are pending) to go to the most current official site. And all trailers belong to their respective companies!

"Darksiders II"

Darksiders II follows the exploits of Death, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, in a weaving tale that runs parallel to the events in the original Darksiders game. This epic journey propels Death through various light and dark realms as he tries to redeem his brother War, the horseman who was blamed for prematurely starting the Apocalypse in Darksiders.
Featuring a dramatically larger world, full weapon and armor upgrade systems as well as bigger and more challenging dungeons and vast array of new enemies and bosses, Darksiders II strives to improve on every aspect of the original hit.
Release Date: 12/31/2012

"Silent Hill: Downpour"

Murphy Pendleton has been incarcerated for several years, having had his sentence extended once already. Due to his history at Ryall State Prison, he is being transferred to nearby Wayside Maximum Security Penitentiary-but a freak accident cuts the journey short. Waking up in a forest next to the wrecked bus, Murphy has a clear shot at freedom. He makes his way into the sleepy town of Silent Hill where mysterious locals welcome him into a slowly developing personal hell. Silent Hill Downpour is the latest Silent Hill game offering the familiar Survival Horror gameplay delivered in the most defined visual quality to date. The game also expands on the exploration theme of the franchise both design-wise and through psychological torture, ambient story, horrific enemies and self-evaluative questions of despair.

Release Date: 10/1/2011

"Dead Rising 2: Off the Record"

Dead Rising 2: Off The Record, sees Willamette survivor and hero of Dead Rising, photojournalist Frank West, take center stage as players experience a very different interpretation of events in this, a re-imagining of the Fortune City outbreak.
This alternate storyline means an all new Dead Rising 2 experience; with Frank facing new missions, new enemies, new combo-weapons with which to defeat them plus a brand new Fortune City attraction to explore. Complimenting the new narrative and action of Dead Rising 2: Off The Record are enhancements to elements such as the save system and the co-op experience to deliver more satisfying game-play.
Release Date: 10/31/2011

"NeverDead"

NeverDead is a third-person action game set in a fantasy and horror-influenced universe where supernatural battles between humans and extraordinary creatures blanket　a vast city landscape. Gamers wield a butterfly design-inspired sword and an arsenal of guns to decimate waves of ungodly enemies in the not-too-distant future.
The game begins in the waking hours of peace and calm, when the world is under threat of being consumed by a demonic plague. Centuries have passed since the world succumbed to an unforeseen shadow of evil, and a hero was made an immortal by demons. These demons have risen once again in the present day causing unrelenting mayhem reinforced by destructible environments within the game. Now using his immortalic regenerative powers re-assembling his own body to evade death, the hero carries out the only salvation the world will know, for he is Never Dead.
Release Date: Q3 2011

"Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon"

The bugs are back in Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, and its no picnic for the world's elite soldiers as the most concentrated giant insect invasion ever threatens human civilization unless the Earth Defense Force (EDF) can stop them! New Detroit's giant bug problem is unavoidable, and mankind's last hope lies with the Earth Defense Force to defend the world from the insect swarm, even if it means blowing up the entire city as part of the extermination process.

Insect Armageddon continues to follow the rich history of casual fun and addictive gameplay that made the franchise a cult classic. The game also adds a new aspect to the Earth Defense Force series that was born in Japan, with additional elements for all EDF soldiers to experience. The Campaign mode that lets up to three players team up online to battle the insects and aliens across a completely destroyable city. Every EDF soldier is armed with over 150 weapons and four upgradeable armor sets and engages in nonstop arcade action that is the fastest and deadliest in the series. In addition, the game also features a six-player Survival mode that pits a human squad against a nonstop onslaught of the largest enemies the aliens have to offer.

Release Date: 7/11/2011

E3 X-Box 360 Rundown Part 1!

2011-06-08T22:21:00.002-04:00

So here are all of the horror/sci-fi/games of note that were announced or had information released at this year's E3 event! These are all for the X-Box 360 system. Remember you can click all of the cover art to go to the game's official site! (please note that all trailers belong to their respective companies and also keep in mind some of the cover art you see is still pending.)

"Rise of Nightmares"

Introducing Rise of Nightmares™, a truly mature experience for Microsoft Kinect. Survive one hellish night as you fight hand to hand against undead enemies and mad scientists using the hands-free controls of Microsoft Kinect. Using knives, chainsaws and your bare hands, rip your foes limb from limb while uncovering the location of your kidnapped wife.
Release Date: September 2011

"Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City"

Resident Evil: operation raccoon City delivers a true third person team based shooter experience set within the dark and sinister Resident Evil® universe. Not only does this setting provide a rich backdrop to the action but it fosters a unique and thrilling triple-threat battle scenario for the game modes. Zombies and Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W’s) add to the mix as players compete against their team’s opposing squad but also tackle this third unpredictable element that could only exist in the twisted Resident Evil universe. The result is a brand new style of gameplay that breaks the conventions of traditional third person shooters.
*Rewrite the history of the Raccoon City outbreak. Revisit classic moments from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 and watch events unfold from the perspective of the Umbrella Security Service.
Release Date: 12/31/2011

"Silent Hill: Collection HD"

Experience the horrors of Silent Hill all over again with this collection of Silent Hill 2 and 3, rendered in high-definition for the first time ever.
Release Date: TBA

Metro: Last Light

It is the year 2034. Beneath the ruins of post-apocalyptic Moscow, in the tunnels of the Metro, the remnants of mankind are besieged by deadly threats from outside – and within.

Mutants stalk the catacombs beneath the desolate surface, and hunt amidst the poisoned skies above. But rather than stand united, the station-cities of the Metro are locked in a struggle for the ultimate power, a doomsday device from the military vaults of D6. A civil war is stirring that could wipe humanity from the face of the earth forever. As Artyom, burdened by guilt but driven by hope, you hold the key to our survival – the last light in our darkest hour...
Release Date: TBA 2012

Pretty sick little line up of horror themed games coming soon for the X-Box 360!! Check back soon for part 2 of the X-Box E3 update!

E3 Update: The rumors were true!

2011-06-06T20:36:00.000-04:00

Holy shit! It was real! Halo 4 is coming to the xbox 360. After 4 long years we will finally get to see Master Chief pull up his master grieeves and kick some covenant(?) ass. Where will the story go from here I wonder? Anyways here is the official announcement and teaser trailer straight from Microsoft's E3 session today.

Well what do you think? Excited? Could give a shit? Let me know in the comments, also keep an eye out later tonight for some more horror themed game news!

E3 Update!

2011-06-06T13:01:00.000-04:00

First update is a fu%$ing bombshell, but keep in mind it is still just a rumor. Supposedly this screenshot was taken from microsoft's xbox homepage.

So yeah, apparently yet again they have outed their own plans before they were officially released and what were those plans?
Halo friggin 4!!!!!!!!!
Sorry if you aren't a fan but that is huge news! Hopefully before Microsoft's portion of the show is over we will have some sort of confirmation on this bombshell of a rumor.

Let me be your E3 Gory Gamer Guide

2011-06-06T08:54:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again for us to eagerly anticipate any upcoming video game announcements at the biggest game show of the year -- E3!!! As you have probably gathered from the amount of game related posts here, I am a huge gamer. Well, for any of you fellow gamers out there let me be your one stop on the internet for the next 3 days for all of your E3 news! I will be funneling (stealing, re-posting, whatever you want to call it) any relevant game info into posts here on HalloweenOverkill for you ghouls to conveniently read in quick, short bursts. The show starts in about 10 minutes at 9:00 a.m. so I should have some posts coming up by lunchtime for you to snack on.

Blu-Ray Heaven!

2011-06-04T22:30:00.000-04:00

Finally got around to picking up a blu-ray player this weekend and WOW am I impressed. I championed against blu-ray for far too long and decided it was time to stop fighting the revolution and join it. I'm in awe of the awesome features that are accessible right from the blu-ray player itself including: Napster, Pandora, CinemaNow, and Netflix, but the thing that has me most excited is that I can begin a new library of films on a new digital medium. Hopefully it doesn't go away anytime soon, although downloading and watching digital streams are all the rage. I personally would much rather own the physical media because not only does it give me a feeling of ownership but it's part of the whole "collecting" aspect of movies themselves, plus it's nice to be able to show off your movie collection to visitors. The inaugural honorary horror inductees into my new blu-ray library are:

Dawn of the Dead (2007) UDC

Before you all start hounding me about why I bought the remake before the classic, I'd like to justify my purchase. It was 5 freaking dollars, how could I pass that up? Not bad for a blu-ray, even though they are starting to go to the cheap side. Plus, as much of a classic as the original is, the remake is a pretty damn fine film. Plus before you go screaming TRAITOR TRAITOR let's not forget this little gem that I have in my collection

Plus I visit the Monroeville Mall on a weekly basis so I'm sure I earn back some bonus points from that right?

The Next blu-rays in my collection were given to me as a birthday gift from my sister, and here they are:

Scream (1996)

Scream 2 (1997)

Scream 3 (2000)

Well what do you ghouls think of the beginning of my collection? (I also own about 6 Disney animated films, yes I love Disney! Also the Original Tron rounds out my collection for now!) Good choices or not? Let me know below and please feel free to give me some recommendations on your favorite horror flicks on blu-ray! Also for any movie or distribution companies out there who are reading, YES, I would love to review your movies on my new blu-ray player! HAHA

A Freakish Find!!!

2011-06-02T23:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had the luck, no the HONOR, of finding what may be the greatest book in my personal library. I found the ever elusive "Rogue Leaders" The story of LucasArts!!! This has been one of the items in my ever growing quest of things I must own before I kick the bucket. So here's the short story detailing my discovery of this amazing piece of loot. My wife and I made a quick trip to our favorite book store, (one that you've seen mentioned on this site many o' times) "Half Price Books" just to check their clearance section for any "Goosebumps" books. (We're trying to collect them all for our future zombies) Well I was in luck as they had recently added two new "Goosebumps" books to the clearance section, and ones that I currently didn't have at that! After my wife was done perusing her section of the store we headed to the front, and as I was checking out their amazingly shitty horror DVD section my eyes were magnetically drawn to the bottom of the "rack of shit" placed precariously at the front door. I think the purpose of this specific shelf was for the absolute garbage they were hoping people would pick up as impulse buys on their way out. After focusing on this crazy lenticular cover that caught my eye, it was clear to me that I was staring at not only Darth Vader but the Purple Tentacle on the cover of this large coffee table style book on the bottom row. (If you don't know who Purple Tentacle is please refrain from ever reading this blog again haha) As I picked it up I realized exactly what I had in my hands and I immediately looked over at my wife who actually smiled because of the glow that was emanating off of my face. I proudly walked up to the cashier and placed it on the counter ever so delicately and proceeded to pay for this monumental purchase. (This thing was even still shrink wrapped, that's how nice of condition it was in!)

The book itself encompasses the entire history of the greatest video game company on the planet. From the very first day up until last year, this book talks about not just the history of the company itself but the history of every single one of their games including ones that never actually made it onto store shelves.

Taken from the back of the book:

"For more than 25 years, LucasArts has produced some of the greatest videogames ever. Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts is the epic tale of this company and its passionate visionaries, who created such classics as:

Ballblazer

Rescue on Fractalus!

Star Wars, from Dark Forces to Knights of the Old Republic

Indiana Jones adventure games

Maniac Mansion

Battlehawks 1942

Day of the Tentacle

The Secret of Monkey Island

Sam & Max Hit the Road

Full Throttle

Grim Fandango

And many, many more of your all-time favorites!

Plus exclusive art and previews of:

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels & Jedi Alliance

New Indiana Jones titles

New and previously unpublished interviews reveal LucasArts' key milestones, while more than 300 pieces of concept art-much of it published for the first time-showcase the inspirational artistic talents behind their classics. Concept art from more than 10 unpublished LucasArts games, a script and storyboard excerpt from Star Wars: Rebel Assault II, and the original design document for Rescue on Fractalus!, along with dozens of never-seen-before gems from the Lucasfilm Archives make Rogue Leaders the ultimate collectible for videogame fans around the world.

If you are a fan at all of classic point&click adventure games then you need to pick this up and read about the godfather of all adventure video games. By the way the book does include a vast wealth of knowledge on my favorite video game franchise of all time "Monkey Island" and my second favorite computer game of all time "Grim Fandango". (of which I own both still with the original packaging!) Part of the greatness of this find isn't the rarity of the book but the price at which I got it for. The book lists at $60.00 because of it's style, (the gigantic hardcover coffee table style book) but if you look on amazon you'll find a discount of about fifteen dollars, meaning you'll shell out about $45.00 for the book still. (60 dollars is well worth it by the way!) The awesome part is that I only paid a whopping $6.98!!! HAHA read it and weep suckers!!!

$6.98

Saved the best for last! Yup that last pic features my favorite videogame character of all time, Guybrush Threepwood might pirate!!! Oh and by the way, like I said at the beginning, those aren't four different covers, they are all on the cover. Depending on what angle you hold the cover it changes into all four of the characters featured above. All in all a pretty damned respectable find wouldn't ya say?

"That's the second biggest HalloweenOverkill blog post I've ever seen!" (Monkey Island in-joke)

Quickie Question?

2011-05-28T23:30:00.001-04:00

Quick question for the ghouls out there. What horror/Halloween urban legend scares you the most? Let me know in the comments below!

Another attempt at Lovecraft

2011-05-28T12:32:00.000-04:00

I am a sucker for anything inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, let's just get that out of the way. However, I think that after multiple attempts at filming some of his classic stories the old point has been proven that some of his work is just simply not film-able. One of the few exceptions is "Call of Cthulhu" from the one and only H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. If you haven't seen it yet and have any love at all for Lovecraft or vintage films, you need to check it out. Click here to order it, you won't be sorry. Anyhow, Survivor Films is looking to add their film to the small catalog of quality Lovecraft films as well. Filming has started on "Arkham Sanitarium" and it does sound as though the film could be another very well done recreation of some of Lovecraft's works. Arkham will be an anthology style film, which seem to be so very popular these days, but that's ok, I think most of us love anthology style movies, am I right? The three short stories that will be included are; "The Haunter of the Dark", "The Shunned House", and "The Thing on the Doorstep", all of which will be part of a larger tale outside of the short stories as well. Check out some stills from the film below.

As far as the official film synopsis, here is what is listed on the official site. "Arkham Sanitarium is an anthology of three short stories faithfully adapted from the works of H.P. Lovecraft – each of the three stories is set in 1930’s New England (specifically Providence, Rhode Island and the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts). The stories are connected by an original ‘wraparound’ story. In this story – set in the 1950’s – Alice Crow investigates the strange stories surrounding the infamous Arkham Sanitarium." I won't list each of the tale's individual descriptions, but if you love you some Lovecraft you already know what each tale will be about, and if not go catch up. (What the hell are you thinking not keeping up to date on your Lovecraft mythos?) No date is set for release, or at least not that I have seen, so keep your eyes peeled for that information. I will try to keep all of you "Ghouls" informed on what is going on with production, because hopefully you are all as geeked as I am for this! I know I will personally be counting down the days until I can get my hands on another quality piece of Lovecraft cinema!

This gets me Everytime!

2011-05-26T22:40:00.000-04:00

If you've been following my blog for any given length then you are fully aware of my disdain for anything involving eyeballs. Well IFC's "Kidnapped" is looking to capitalize on my phobia by distributing this photo. (actually I think it was a Bloody-Disgusting.com exclusive!)

OH.......MY.............GOD.............
I need to crawl under the covers now, I am actually shivering. Yes, I hate eyeball horror that much!
Please click over to this Bloody-Disgusting link to read the original article.
(The image above belongs to IFC, but was uploaded via Bloody-Disgusting, as always if anyone sees this and wants it taken down please let me know and I would be happy to do so!)

Rumor Report!!

2011-05-25T22:28:00.001-04:00

Of all the horror themed Xbox 360 games I've played, Alan Wake stands out as one of my favorites. So it very much excites me to report on a rumor that has been floating around the web for the last week or so. It would seem as though Remedy is prepping some sort of Alan Wake sequel, but according to the lead developer, Oskair Hakkinen, the project is neither a sequel or DLC content for the first one.

So this begs the question, what the hell do they have in store for us then? Well apparently according to IGN.com and some other video game websites, the project will be an Alan Wake spin-off entitled, Alan Wake: Night Springs. The game is supposedly being developed as an Xbox Live Arcade title. Interesting eh? For those of you who haven't played Alan Wake, "Night Springs" is a show within Alan's world that is a nod to "The Twilight Zone" (the game also has a huge reference to "Twin Peaks" in that you search for collectible coffee thermos' sic?) The cool thing about the episodes in the game were that you could actually view them as short cut scene videos, and before you ask, yes they were amazing!!! The nice thing about the timing of this rumor is that E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is happening next week. (this thing is like the granddaddy of video game expos) E3 is where all of the companies basically debut all of their new projects for the upcoming year, so hopefully there will be some sort of confirmation as to what is going on with this project. If you want to support Remedy games, please do yourself a favor and pick up Alan Wake as soon as you can, you won't be sorry. Oh and click on this link to visit them - Remedy Games - For any ghouls who still have no idea what Alan Wake is or want to know more you can read my review from last year by clicking right here. One more thing I'd like to share with everyone is the prequel movie to Alan Wake. This movie was part of the promotional campaign to help create hype for the game, and again you'll see the Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks inspiration within the film. Don't worry if the movie doesn't make sense, the game doesn't either! (but that's ok, hopefully the spin-off will help explain things or maybe we'll get some sequels one day!)

Alan Wake: Bright Falls

Dream:scape coming soon for iOS

2011-05-23T23:02:00.000-04:00

For all you iPad owners out there (and even those who don't own one) I thought I'd share news of this upcoming game for the iOS. (this includes iPhone and iPad) Dream:scape was created using Unreal technology and should have graphics similar to that of Infinity Blade. For the ghouls out there who haven't seen this technology running on an actual iPad, check out the screen shots below and behold!!!! Dream:scape is being described as an interactive experience, an immersive exploratory environment, and a haunting journey that will become your world.

Not many details have been spilled about the game other than it having a macabre/creepy/horror theme to it. Another small detail that has been released teases us about the story which involves a coma patient discovering his dark past. The game will sport over ten minutes of recorded dialogue and will flesh out the story using interactive 3D environments and written diary entries.

Some of the other features of the game as noted on the official website from Speedbump Studios are an original score from composer Isaias Garcia and 30 seamless acres of open world exploration, featuring fully realized interior and exterior locations.

No release date has been set yet, probably due to the game being delayed for compatibility issues. As soon as I hear more I will let you ghouls know. Seriously though, this is shaping up to possibly be one of the first big horror themed iPad games we've yet seen. (other than the new Army of Darkness iPad game, look for a review of that game coming soon!)

All images and information belong to Speedbump Studios

Please visit the official website by clicking here

Happy Friday the 13th

2011-05-13T23:30:00.000-04:00

None of the same old reviews that every other blog is doing (just kidding blog friends!) on this sacred holiday of ours. Nope just one simple question, what is your favorite Friday the 13th film? Let me know in the comments.

My all time favorite Friday the 13th Cover art!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 22

2011-05-08T22:55:00.000-04:00

April 24th

V is for Vegetable

Vegetable, fu%$ing vegetable! Just when you thought it couldn't get any crazier during my A-Z Challenge I go for the win with a post on vegetables related to horror! I probably don't even have to mention what movie uses a vegetable as a tool of the horror trade do I? Well for those who can't quite put their finger on it, the movie I'm talking about is "Jack Frost"!

Only in a movie about a killer snowman could there be a scene where a vegetable is used as a killing tool! The scene in question stars the "American Pie" hottie, Shannon Elizabeth.

After a very unsuccessful attempt at adding some sort of eroticism to the movie the bathing beauty notices something float up from the bottom of the tub.

Somehow it seems as though Jack has lost his nose while sneaking into the tub with Shannon, however it isn't long before he materializes in full force freaking the shit out of Shannon Elizabeth!

In a "you must see it to believe it" scene, we see Jack frost humping Shanon to death by way of carrot privates. My only question is how did the carrot just "become" his, you know, part after floating up to the top of the tub?

After the horror hottie is literally "humped" to death we see the villian put his nose back into place, thus ending one of the most bizarre horror, death, rape, scenes in horror movie cinema.

I would like to thank blogger yet again for your amazing ability to center pictures! Seriously w(hy)tf does blogger do this to me every few posts?

Happy Birthday Halloween Overkill!!!!!!!

2011-04-29T23:54:00.000-04:00

The one that started it all!!!!

click above to visit the very first post on HalloweenOverkill, one year ago to the day!

Today is HalloweenOverkill's first birthday!!! To commemorate the occasion I thought I'd take a trip back to the beginning. For anyone that has been following since day 1 you will remember that my very first post was a huge shout out for the Alice Cooper/Rob Zombie Gruesome Twosome tour! I cannot stress to you enough how much I love Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie, easily my two favorite musicians of all time. The fact that they were touring together was something to behold. Unfortunately I didn't get to make any of the shows, however this year I will make amends. If the stars align I will be seeing Alice Cooper in my hometown of Detroit. (Detroit is also Mr. Vincent Furnier's (the Alice Cooper) hometown.) The two aren't touring together currently however they are doing their own thing this summer. So one year later to the date I am yet again updating everyone on the tours from the amazing Alice Cooper and the one and only Rob Zombie. As a side-note and a very large shout out I would like to mention that the original Alice Cooper group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year! To revisit the very first post from HalloweenOverkill one year ago to the day please click the link at the top of the post!

The "No more Mr. nice guy Tour"

click the pic to visit the official Alice Cooper website and get info on tour dates and links to purchase tickets

The "Hell on Earth Tour" also featuring Slayer

click the poster to visit Rob Zombie's official site for tour dates and links to buy tickets

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 21

2011-04-29T23:08:00.000-04:00

April 23rd

U is for Uncle Sam

I know the theme for my Blogging Challenge is "horror tools of the trade" however I just couldn't resist giving this badass his own post in the challenge. Also it was really hard to think of an appropriate tool for the letter u.

Two of the DVD covers

WTF! Looks like a patriotic tranny clown with a cleaver!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 20

2011-04-27T22:53:00.003-04:00

April 22nd

T is for Tenafly Viper

Some of you may be saying what the f#%k is Tenafly Viper. If you don't know what it is then you need to go rent, netflix, stream, buy, or do whatever you can to see "Street Trash". This little gem was released in 1987 and is one of the trashiest, grossest, funniest cult horror films you will ever see.

Tenafly Viper is actually the name of a wine found in the basement of one of the characters in the movie. Said character decides that it is a great idea to let the local hobos drink the old wine after which they become a total heap of melted human flesh. (thus leading to "Street Trash" being included in the "melt" horror genre.)

The awesome thing about "Street Trash" is how absolutely nauseating some of the gore scenes are, yet how absurdly hilarious the movie is at the same time. One of those memorable scenes from "Street Trash" that will have you howling with laughter involves hobos playing catch with a poor victims severed genitals. Yes you just read that correctly. So yet again after you're done catching up on all of my HalloweenOverkill posts you need to get your hands on this DVD right now! Just as a note, the version of the film I own actually came with several "Tenafly Viper" labels that can be used on wine bottles to create an authentic film prop!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 19

2011-04-27T22:29:00.000-04:00

April 21st

S is for Saw

No not that "Saw" but this one.............

The scene where Ce'cile De France weilds this totally fu#&ing badass saw is one of my favorite horror scenes of all time. The absolute carnage that ensues in this scene is unforgettable. You know what is forgettable though? The ending to High Tension (Haute Tension). WTF were they thinking with that one. I still can 't possibly make the ending make sense no matter how hard I try, but again this isn't about the movie but the bad-ass tool that is wielded in said film.

For those out there who haven't seen the film yet go rent it right now. Actually scratch that, go buy it right now so you can witness the absolute mind blowing carnage at the end of this little shocker. (Also watch the neck snap scene in the beginning, that one is a gem as well!)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 18

2011-04-25T21:44:00.000-04:00

April 20th

R is for Revenge

Revenge is one of the key ingredients to any good horror film. It is also one of the most used "tools of the trade" when it comes to horror villains. Without revenge we aren't left with many other motives for the killer/alien/monster to do what they do. Looking back it seems as though a lot of the best revenge films came out of the late 70's and early 80's. Looking at the posters below, I'm not sure there is one bad movie among the bunch. Here are some of those famous revenge films from the late 70's early 80's.

That right there my friends is an amazing collection of revenge films. Now that I think about it, these films need to be viewed in a weekend marathon of deadly grotesque revenge!!!!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 17

2011-04-24T22:30:00.001-04:00

April 19th

Q is for Quill

I am about to provide you with only one instance where a quill is used as a tool of the trade for death, (and it's not even from a horror film) however I will address how I believe the quill is used as a tool of the horror trade without being a weapon of death later. Here is my one instance where a quill is used as a "tool of the horror trade" to actually kill someone.

To the owner of this picture, thank you

Now please let me explain this next instance of the use of a quill. I'm not sure if Edgar Allan Poe actually wrote with a quill, however he has been represented in many instances as using one. As far as this being a tool of the trade, if Poe did use a quill to write some of the macabre stories that we all now consider such classics than could it be said that the quill was his "tool of the horror trade"?

I would also like to apologize yet again for the funky centering of the pictures in the last few posts as yet again Blogger seems to hate me with its formatting.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 16

2011-04-24T22:07:00.001-04:00

April 18th

P is for Puppets

We've already done dolls, tonight we do puppets. Puppets have been used in a variety of ways in the world of horror. From the absurd to the downright creepy, puppets have invaded horror in such a way that has many o' horror viewers looking at what was once a cute representation of childhood imagination now viewing an image of pure terror. Below we have some of the traditional scary uses of the puppet as a tool or the horror trade.

Up next we have some of the more playful uses of puppets (although the characters are still horror themed)

The one and only "The Count"

The charactors from "Transylvania TV" (not for kids!)

Please check them out by clicking here!

I've received alot of flak from my buddy at work for not including Billy in the D is for Dolls post. So, since you couldn't really argue against him being a puppet as opposed to a doll, here he is in all his "puppet" glory.

You're welcome Brandon!

So who wins in the immortal struggle between Dolls & Puppets? After you decide let me know in the comments.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 15

2011-04-24T20:27:00.000-04:00

April 17th

O is for Ocular Ouchies

Anything involving eyeballs makes me want to gag. Any movie involving eyeball trauma makes me want to gag. There isn't much to say for ocular damage other than it being one of the most effective gross outs when I am the viewer. You hear that future film makers? If you want to make me vomit right into your mouth then please include eyeball trauma. Without further ado here are some ocular ouchies that make my stomach quiver.

Here are some bonus 3D images for you Anachrome Red & Cyan 3D fetishists out there. (Everyone else is doing 3D why shouldn't HalloweenOverkill! By the way these really work, try it!)

For this next picture I have to explain myself. Even though ocular trauma is the most disgusting thing on the face of the planet this happens to be one of the most memorable scenes in any horror movie of all time. It also happens to be one of my youngest memories of horror and has stuck with me ever since. I know I am contradicting myself with this, but aside from gagging every time I see this, how can it not make you fall in love with horror?

Yes, that is the famous eyeball scene from Zombi 2!!! (A.K.A. Zombie, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Island of the Flesh-Eaters, Island of the Living Dead, Woodoo, and Zombie 2: The Dead are Among Us, among others)
Here's one more bonus image for the ghouls out there. This is the ocular ouchie I suffered from after allergy season started last fall.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 14

2011-04-24T17:44:00.000-04:00

April 16th

N is for Nightmares

Somehow Freddy just had to sneak his way into this blog challenge didn't he? Of course, what A-Z of horror tools would be complete without some of the classic villains showing their faces? Everybody knows the story so I shouldn't need to explain it, but for the uninitiated Freddy Krueger uses peoples dream-state a.k.a. nightmares as his way of unleashing his brand of terror upon the victims. Below are some of my favorite "Nightmares"

Seeing these pictures makes me want to have a full "Nightmare on Elm Street" series re-watch. Speaking of, when the hell are we going to get a DVD treatment of "Freddy's Nightmares"? I know it was watchable on AOL's video service a few years back but has since vanished. If anybody out there is listening please put this out on DVD! Oh and by the way this was my Freddy costume on Halloween a few years back. I actually made the make up from scratch and applied it myself. (I'm hoping to perfect it one day, but it turned out OK for a first timer)

And here's a bonus pic for the gents (or ladies, I mean hey hot is hot right?)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 13 (NSFW)

2011-04-17T21:45:00.001-04:00

April 15th

M is for Massive Mammaries

NSFW

(I must stress again that this post is not safe for work, there is absolutely no nudity or anything pornographic, that's not the point, but it is definitely not safe for work! I also want to mention that this post is in no way shape or form meant to objectify women but let's face it, nothing wrong with a little eye candy right ladies and gents?)

Do not adjust your monitor what you read above is correct! Mammaries have long been a tool of the horror trade, don't believe me? Pick any horror movie you have off the shelf and see for yourself. It's almost as if the women with the big chest's are working for the villians, because as soon as those puppies are exposed what usually happens? That's right an axe to the head! As I sit here and write this I am realizing more and more that this isn't a post that needs many words, I'm sure the pics will do just fine........

Bobbi Sue Luther from "Night of the Demons (Remake 2009)

Rose McGowan from "Scream" (1996)

Ingrid Pitt from "The House that Dripped Blood" (1971)

Anna Paquin, Moneca Delain, Rochelle Aytes, & Lauren Lee Smith from "Trick R' Treat" (2007)

Salma Hayek from "From Dusk till Dawn" (1996)

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

I would really like to stress again that my hopes are that this post doesn't offend any women out there who read my blog it was just meant to be a little bit of innocent fun! Plus who would have ever thought of me using mammaries for my letter m entry?

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 12

2011-04-17T00:24:00.000-04:00

April 14th

L is for Lollipop

Lollipop? Really? Give me a chance ghouls I think you'll like it. One of our favorite new horror icons wielded a lollipop as his weapon so why not give him some love in the A-Z Blogging Challenge?

Yes, I'm talking about Sam from "Trick R' Treat" Trick R' Treat is another movie that I was so critical of when I finally got to see it. I remember the day it finally came out on DVD I rushed to Walmart (yuck, but the only place that carried it by my house) and the whole time I waited in line I was thinking about the high hopes I had for the film and all the crazy good reviews I had read. But after watching it I was kind of like "that's it?" But.......... after several re-watches and cleansing my mind of what other people had said about it I realize what a masterpiece this film is. It is definately required Halloween season viewing and to be quite honest is a must watch on the actual night along with Halloween I, II, & III. ( want my Halloween season required viewing list?)

If you haven't been to the Trick R' Treat official website you should check it out by clicking here, it is one hell of a website!
I want to remind everyone to come by HalloweenOverkill later today (since it is after midnight, thats Sunday April 17th) at 9:00 P.M. and pick a number (or register your own account) to sign into the live chat on the right side of my blog because I will be having a giveaway for Hysteria Project 2 for the iPad!!! Also I will be catching up on some of the posts I missed this week including the letter M which I'm pretty sure you won't want to miss. Want a clue? It's a body part! Actually it's two body parts! HAHAHA Come back to see it unveiled tomorrow and don't forget 9 o' clock sharp be on the live blog chat on the sidebar for the giveaway. ( we will be doing horror trivia for the codes!)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 11

2011-04-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

April 13th

K is for Knife

I know knife isn't the most creative topic for the letter K but I just couldn't help dedicating a post entirely to "Scream" Yes that's right the 4th Scream movie comes out this week, so what better time to talk about Knives. Obviously knives are used in countless horror films but how many have wielded a knife as brutally as "Ghostface"? Only one other that I can think of, this little bastard right here...............

Now I'm not afraid to admit when Scream first came out I had that immediate hatred for it. It was a horror film for "new age" horror fans, the new blood if you will and I couldn't swallow that. Slasher films were for children of the 80's and were now basically being spoofed and mocked in Scream. Funny thing happened though after I watched it, I actually loved it! To this day the original Scream is my favorite of the series even though for a while I thought it had gotten stale. Funny thing again, I watched it recently and loved it again. Maybe it's just one of those movies that I watched too many times when it was new and that's why I felt it got old. Not much for me to say on the other two movies because I'm not a huge fan, however I am planning a Scream trilogy rewatch soon and maybe they'll grow on me. (Although I do recall jamming out to that Dave Matthews Band song from the second film) I do like the attempt at connecting the mythology of them all in each film but again something about the two sequels just didn't click for me. Now we have the 4th film upon us, will I love it, will I hate it? Not sure, but I do know that I am extremely excited to see it and it has actually garnered some decent reviews. Have you seen it, if so let us know how you liked it below. But NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I absolutely LOVE the poster from Scre4m and cannot wait to get a copy of it to hang in my man cave.(Hint Hint Dimension Films!) My favorite part is the blending of the "ghostface" mask and the knife in the chin portion. Also I'd like to throw in a bonus movie poster from the metamovie in the Scream franchise (the film within a film) Stab!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 10

2011-04-13T21:13:00.001-04:00

April 12th

J is for Jack-O-Lantern

Wow, where do we even begin with this one? Jack-O-Lantern's have long been a tool of the trade for many o' horror characters. Rather than give any lengthy description of each film I'll just post the covers for each film.

Do I even need to desribe this one? The funny thing is the story kind of changes in different iterations of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", so it's hard to describe exactly how the JOL is used. In some of the versions it is actually declared as Brom whom throws the jack-o-lantern as a prank to scare poor Ichabod, and in others it is the horseman who throws the jack-o-lantern at the end of the tale. (Though it has long been debated that in the version of the tale where the horseman throws the JOL it could have been Brom who was dressed up as the horseman to begin with) Here are even more variations of the classic "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" tale, all of which use a "Jack-O-Lantern" as a tool of the trade.

And the list goes on and on...... There have also been several other t.v. shows and cartoon specials that have used "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" as inspiration, all of which include some form of a jack-o-lantern used as a weapon or prank.
Another movie that featured a Jack-O-Lantern was the campy horror classic Jack-O. I haven't seen this movie in about 10 years so forgive me for not being able to provide ample information about the film. I'm also sorry about not being able to give an actual screenshot of the demon because I don't own the film, so the cover will have to do for now.

This is the cover for the 10th Anniversary DVD Edition

This was the cover for the VHS version of the film

So again, the jack-o-lantern wasn't actually used as a weapon but was used as the head of the demon so, does it technically fit the theme? I doubt it, but I guess you could debate it.

The Halloween Tree, an absolute essential for the Halloween season. How you ask, are Jack-O-Lanterns used as "tools of the horror trade" in this classic. Well as you can see above the Jack-O-Lanterns are hung from The Halloween Tree on Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud's property and used as vessels for the souls of the dead. When the pumpkin's glowing light goes out, so does the soul of the mortal attached to it extinguish as well.
Of course this is not an all exhaustive list, and to claim so would just be plain fraud. Soooooo, I'll leave you with these last three movie covers in which a Jack-O-Lantern was used by the villain or villains as a tool of the horror trade.

WTF

2011-04-13T00:20:00.000-04:00

Sorry ghouls I had my day 10 post all ready to go up and the damn thing just would not format correctly. To make up for it I will work on it tomorrow and see if I can't get it fixed and up by tomorrow evening. So what we're looking at is a double header including the letters J & K. Has anyone else had some crazy formatting problems with blogger lately? It seems to be doing this weird centering thing for the last few days. What it was doing was moving the pictures I was trying to center up to the top of the post every time, and when I would try to move them back down they would disappear. I don't know why it was doing that but it was making the entire post look absolutely horrible even after I tried to re-insert the pictures, so I decided to stop for the night and give my patience a rest and just see if I can't fix it tomorrow when I come out of the red haha. Sorry!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 9

2011-04-12T00:42:00.002-04:00

April 11th

I is for Ice Cream

So not only did I break out the Cotton Candy Cocoons for the C entry, but now I really raised the bar. Yes I did it, I actually am using Ice Cream as my entry for I, and keeping with the theme of "Tools of the horror trade" and I don't think this one will disappoint. The first instance of ice cream used as a tool of the trade is from the Clint Howard camp classic "Ice Cream Man". Don't remember that one? Neither do most people but if you were lucky enough to have snagged it up on VHS back in the mid-nineties then you were lucky enough to see one of the campiest slasher style horror films of all time. After revisiting this film a few times back in the early 2000's I'm still not sure whether or not this is supposed to be as funny as it is or if it was supposed to be taken somewhat seriously. The premise has Clint Howard playing the evil insane asylum escapee who only wants to help the local children. Little do they know that what he wants to help them with is becoming the "secret ingredient" for his new ice cream venture. This ice cream man hides more than just candy surprises in his ice cream cones as you will see in my favorite scene from the movie............................

Some of the best parts of this flick are just Clint's creepy presence and his weird manerisms. If you get a chance to pick it up, (it is now available on DVD) please do, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Another usage of ice cream in the horror universe is an entry in the "Masters of Horror" series known as "We all Scream for Ice Cream" starring the legend William Forsythe and directed by Tom Holland of Child's Play & Fright Night fame!

This one follows the exploits of Buster the Clown, a mentally challenged man who sells ice cream for his Cheery Tyme Truck!

"We all Scream for Ice Cream" plays out a little like "IT" in that we see flashbacks of characters when they are children and how the clown came to be the way he is in the present, as he haunts the adult versions of our characters and their children. The clown also changes appearance a little in the present and instead of looking like he did above, he now looks like........

Oh yeah and by the way since this post isn't about clowns but rather ice cream, here is how Buster gets his revenge on the kids who played the awful prank on him.......

That's right he turns them into ice cream!!! Absolutely disgusting, melty, grossy, human ice cream! I'm Sorry Buster but I'll stick with cake batter flavor from Coldstone!
So what do you think, have I raised the bar yet again with another absolutely disgusting bat shit crazy post in the A-Z blogging challenge? No offense to anyone else in the challenge as I fully support everyone involved, but come on, where else can you read about crazed psychopathic killers using Axes, Hatchets, Fog, and cotton fu#*ing candy? Where else can you read about killer dolls, killer gingerbread, boomsticks, and nasty ectoplasm? And where else can you read about humans being turned into ice cream, the answer is: nowhere else, only at HalloweenOverkill. Now I'm not trying to turn the A-Z blogging challenge into a competition or anything, but if it was..........I'm just saying. In all seriousness though please support all those participating by using the tool at the top right of my blog to visit and comment on the other blogs participating!

A big thank you!!!

2011-04-11T22:48:00.000-04:00

I'd like to give a huge thank you to Dierdra over at "A Storybook World" for awarding me the Creative Blog Award. Check out her awesome fantasy based blog by clicking here. I'd also like to mention that she is trying to complete the A-Z Blogging Challenge along with myself, so if you head over there please read some of her fantastic posts and leave her some comments, I'm sure she'll appreciate them!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 8

2011-04-10T23:10:00.003-04:00

April 9th

H is for Hatchet

So today's post is the letter H. Not too much to be said here but I do love the screenshot above. I also have one question for the ghouls out there. Has anyone seen Hatchet 2, and what did you think? Was it over-hyped, or did it live up to the expectations?

You know what else H is for? Hysteria Project 2, and if you are the lucky owner of an I-pad then you'll want to be returning to HalloweenOverkill sometime this week because I will be giving away some codes for Hysteria Project 2. Also look for a review of the FMV game coming soon to a post near you! (By the way if you do not currently own an I-Pad then what the F*$K are you waiting for, they are so amazing I had to get two of them! Actually my wife and I just couldn't share one, so that's the reason for owning two haha.)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 7

2011-04-10T22:51:00.001-04:00

April 8th

G is for Gingerbread

If you're wondering how in the blue hell gingerbread is a tool of the horror trade (the theme for my A-Z blogging challenge) then you obviously haven't heard of a little flick called "The Gingerdead Man" from the amazing Full Moon Features. Oh and by the way Craig (someone who answered the challenge I made on my C is for Cotton Candy Cocoon post) this little post includes your boy Gary Busey as well.

I would really encourage anyone who is a horror fan out there who doesn't mind the cheese factor cranked up to 11 to check out the Gingerdead Man and it's sequels. (Gingerdead Man 2: The Passion of the Crust & Gingerdead Man 3-D: Saturday Night Cleaver, which the amazing Dave Lowe did some of the prop designs for.)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 6

2011-04-10T22:27:00.000-04:00

April 7th

F is for Fog

One of the horror's better entries into the movie world was "The Fog", do you agree? Using the fog to enshroud them as they encroached upon their helpless victims, the undead creatures in this movie caused some serious mayhem upon the little town of Antonio Bay.

Keeping with my theme of "Tools of the horror trade" this movie makes excellent use of fog almost as a weapon of fear itself. Fog has been used in countless movies before this one, but I chose "THE" fog as the example I would use in the photos, because I don't immediately recall fog ever being used in this manor in any other movies. Honestly though it actually seems like cheating to me, I mean come on you're already undead do you really have to hide yourself in fog to be an effective undead killer?

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 5

2011-04-10T22:14:00.000-04:00

April 6th

E is for Ectoplasm

Ectoplasm has to be one of the grossest things I have ever read about in my entire life. If I actually ever encounter anyone spewing this nasty bullshit I will personally spew my own vomitplasm directly into their open mouth. This defintion from Dictionary.com explains in a nutshell just what ectoplasm is for those of you who are unaware;

2. spiritualism the substance supposedly emanating from the body of a medium during trances

Fucking gross! But I have to admit aside from the vomiting I would pay good money to see some ectoplasm in person, wouldn't you?

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 4

2011-04-10T22:01:00.001-04:00

April 5th

D is for Dolls

Dolls have made their presence felt in the last two decades of horror movie madness, as you can see in some of the stills here. First up we have the "Good Guy doll" Chucky, a.k.a. Charles Lee Ray. Using the doll as a vessel to continue his killings, Charles Lee Ray really cranked out the chaos in the Child's Play movies.

Next up we have "Dolls", the insane little feature in which a bunch of creepy little dolls run amok in a mansion run by two toy-makers. I still remember renting this movie during one of the old school weekend horror nights I used to have when I was little. The scene that still stands out in my head is the scene where the doll runs one of the characters face into a wall breaking the person's nose and crushing their face.

This creepy doll was from a more modern movie titled: "Dead Silence" The doll looks creepy as hell and almost resembles the doll from the Goosebumps novel & movie: Night of the Living Dummy

As you can probably tell I messed up the last few days and forgot to post my entries for the A-Z Blogging Challenge so this entry and the next few will be very short. I'm really sorry to cut these short but I have to play catch-up.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 3

2011-04-04T23:37:00.002-04:00

April 4th

C is for Cotton Candy Cocoon!

Wow! Where do I even begin? So you probably never thought I'd be using cotton candy cocoons as my blog entry for the letter c right? Neither did I, until I was thinking about posting on chainsaws today and realized "fuck that!". (I'm really trying to be creative with this so I don't bore you ghouls checking in everyday, let me know how I'm doing) So yes I could have totally gone with chainsaws which is so obvious and boring but if my post today was on chainsaws I wouldn't have the chance to post such a f'n kick ass picture as this......

HAHA! Dead dude in a cotton candy cocoon! I am totally down with giving everybody involved with the A-Z blogging challenge lots of love, but seriously do any of you bloggers involved think you can top a post about Killer Klowns using cotton candy cocoons as a weapon?

So as you can see in the previous pic, after the clowns shoot you with their so called "Cotton Candy Ray Guns", you are left incapacitated in the cotton candy cocoon. Then they basically hang you out to dry while they carry on with their Killer Klown business, which consists of many "zany" pranks that leave you little time to fight back. After said clowns are done terrorizing the town and the rest of your friends they actually drink the blood and/or bodily fluids out of your dried out body to provide them with their daily required value of human vitamins. These Klowns are KRAZY!!!

Well, after only the 3rd day in the A-Z Blogging Challenge with my theme of "tools of the horror trade" I have posted about;
1. Axes
2. Boomsticks! (not BROOMSTICKS hahaha)
3. Cotton Candy Cocoons
This is shaping up to be one hell of a unique blogging challenge!
Oh yeah and don't forget.........................

"In Space, no one can eat ice cream!"

please let me know if there are any misspelled cocoons in the posting, after a while the word just starting blending into itself for whatever reason, or I'm just really f'n tired!

Half Price Horror: Halloween Night

2011-04-03T21:17:00.000-04:00

From the back of the book:

"This party is a killer.

Brenda hates her cousin Halley. And Brenda isn't the only one. Because Halley keeps stealing other people's boyfriends. So Brenda and her friends decide to plan the perfect murder. Something to go along with Brenda's perfect Halloween party. Not that they're really going to kill anybody. It's just a joke. Right? Ha.Ha."

Boy am I a sucker for Halloween themed books. The thing is most of them are terrible. I promise to you all now that when I get the time I will publish my ultimate Halloween tale and I promise it will be worth your while. Well to jump right into things, Mr. Stine really dropped the ball this time. There were so many different ways he could have taken this book, what with the Halloween theme and all, but he chose to only include our favorite night of the year for about 6 pages. Why Mr. Stine, why? Basically the book starts off with us being introduced to Brenda and her cousin Halley's relationship, a rocky one to be blunt about it. See Halley keeps trying to steal Brenda's boyfriend, and Brenda isn't very happy about it. Halley takes this a step further and starts hitting on one of Brenda's best friends boyfriends as well. Eventually we are introduced to Brenda's brother as well, who may or may not be the perpetrator behind the events that are to follow. After Brenda teases one night that her and her friends Dina and Traci should write their school paper on a murder mystery wherein one of them murders Halley, somebody starts playing very sick pranks on Brenda. I won't spoil the pranks because they are actually the best and goriest parts of the book, but let's just say I wouldn't read this book if I was a PETA member. Eventually Halley does enough emotional damage to Brenda, which causes Brenda to suggest to her friends that they should ditch the school paper and murder Halley for real! One of the things that I found terribly unlikeable about the book was how easily Brenda's friends go along with this. I know we wouldn't have much of a book if they didn't, but come on! If someone suggested murdering anyone in the way that Brenda suggests it, I would be on a phone call with said psycho's pshichiatrist and/or the police office immediately. So basically the whole book revolves around Brenda and her two friends planning this crazy complicated switcheroo murder at Brenda's Halloween party. The big twists and answers I was waiting for finally come in the last 10 or so pages, when we finally get to the actual Halloween party. Do the friends go ahead with their plan to kill Halley? Yes, but with a very crazy twist at the end. I have to say I was actually somewhat surprised by the ending but not every part of it. You'll know what I mean if you hunt this one down to read. (Some of it was so obvious it actually caught me off guard, ever had that happen?) You will also find out who the person committing all the pranks on Brenda was. Was it her snotty little brother, Halley the bitchy cousin, one of Brenda's friends just playing some Halloween pranks, or maybe even one of the cheating boyfriends just rubbing it in. I'll give "Halloween Night" 2 Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns out of 5. It's not worth the cover price, but if you are a Halloween freak like me then you might want to pick it up on the cheap just to get your 10 page Halloween fix.

"Halloween Night"

Author: R.L. Stine

Publisher: Scholastic (1993)

Cover Price: $3.50

Half Price Books Price: $1.00 (clearance shelf)

for anybody looking for the lowdown on my Jolly Jack-O-Lantern rating scale please visit this link! But keep in mind this was written for movies but can be interchangeable for books as well. Also the only thing that is going to receive the "Seal of Suck" are things below a 1 JJOL rating.

Oh and by the way all of the covers you see on my Half Price Horror reviews are actual scans of the copies that I own including my first review "The Nightmare Man"

A-Z blogging challenge day 2

2011-04-02T23:16:00.000-04:00

April 2nd

B is for Boomstick!

Keeping with the theme of using "Tools of the horror trade" for the blog challenge I decided today to go with Boomstick. I could have gone with blade, or butcher knife, or even bullet, but how boring is that? I picked what has to be the coolest weapon used in a horror film---that starts with a B. This is my BOOMSTICK posting.

If you're wondering where you can find the boomstick it can be found in your sporting goods department at your local S-Mart. So why the boomstick? Well is there any other "tool" with more stopping power than a shotgun, a.k.a. Boomstick when dealing with a deadite infestation? I don't think so. Also Bruce Campbell and the Evil Dead series were some of the first things I was exposed to in the world of horror home video. The Evil Dead and more specifically Army of Darkness are still some of my favorite horror movies to this day. Bruce Campbell also happens to be one of my favorite actors to watch even though some of his most recent work hasn't been horror related, but still manages to kick ass. If you haven't seen Mr. Campbell in some of his most recent work you should check out "Burn Notice", the show is amazing! (Jeffrey Donovan kicks ass in it as well!)

Allright you primitive screwheads if you wish you had a boomstick to deal with your pesky deadite problem then "come get some" in the comments. A little overboard on the evil dead comments?

Oh yeah by the way....... (spoilers!!!)

Super "almost" secret director's cut ending stillshot

A-Z blogging challenge begins today with the letter A............

2011-04-01T23:04:00.000-04:00

So today marks the momentous occasion of the first day for the A-Z blogging challenge. For each day in April myself and several other (more like 1,000) bloggers will be using each day of the month to post a letter of the alphabet and a blog post of our own theme to go with the letter. If you want to check out all of the other blogs participating, which I highly recommend checking out, you're in luck because I've added a tool on the sidebar that you can use for easily visiting all of the blogs with just the click of a button. Thanks to http://writing.wordit.com/ for the tool! So the theme I picked for my blog is "Tools of the trade for horror charactors" Come back daily for a new entry, (minus Sundays) and don't forget to check out all the other blogs participating! (I will still be posting regular blog entries along the way as well!)

April 1st

A is for Axe

One of my alltime favorite uses of the infamous axe is by Mr. Patrick Bateman, THE American Psycho. The scene in which the axe is used is played out so well by Christian Bale that I'm really not sure if I should be laughing or hiding in fear. My favorite part about the scene other than the actual explosion of blood from Jared Leto's head is the hilarious use of Huey Lewis' "Hip to be Square" as a social commentary and an insight into the band itself, which Patrick points out to his victim. Another great part about the axe scene is the dialogue exchange between the two charactors about whether or not that is an axe, and the question of, "is that a raincoat?" (hilarious) Something I found interesting about the scene is the look of said axe and how squeeky clean and proper it looks before the killing, which fits perfectly with Mr. Bateman's self image. (I hate reading into things, so I'm not sure if this was meant to be taken this way or....) I won't go into any details about the rest of the movie since this is just focused on the "tools of the trade" for the horror charactors themselves, but if you haven't seen it yet go netflix it, or buy it this weekend. You won't be disappointed. So if you're yuppy friend had better business cards than you would the axe be your weapon of choice for offing said yuppy friend? (disclaimer: never use as axe for anything other than it's intended purpose!) haha

Half-Price Horror (New HalloweenOverkill feature)....

2011-03-28T23:21:00.000-04:00

Since I frequent my local Half Price Books about every other day, I figured I'd start sharing the treasures I find in the form of book reviews. The cool thing about these books is that they are a bit older, so you may see something you used to have but was either lost to the depths of the basement, or your parents threw it away. Maybe one of these reviews will spark an interest in hunting down one of these so called "treasures" you used to own. I would also like to point out how amazing horror book covers were in the 70's, 80's, and early 90's. (keep an eye out for some awesome ones coming soon!)
First off in the Half-Price Horror Book Review series is "The Nightmare Man" by, Tessa Krailing. "The Nightmare Man" has the stamp of being a book in the Point Horror Series, which were just randomly released horror books with no on-going continuity or anything, however I don't see it listed on the wikipedia page for Point Horror. (Update: the wikipedia page says the list is incomplete so maybe I should it to the list) Here is the summary from the back of the book: " He's waiting........ Alex has seen that shadowy figure before-in bad dreams. But now that his family has moved into creepy old End House, Alex isn't dreaming any more. Now Alex knows that the dream is coming true. The nightmare man is real. And he wants Alex to share the nightmare......." (I'd like to have my editor check their grammar, haha)
The summary above is in no way shape or form indicative of the book itself. I'm not even sure where to begin with reviewing this thing. The first chapter actually started off with Alex seeing the nightmare man in the middle of woods, which gave me the idea that this book was going to be incredibly creepy. I was wrong. Eventually Alex sees the nightmare man one more, yes, you heard me right, ONE, more time before the climax of the book. After the forest scene which introduces us to Alex and his buddy, Alex gets word that he is moving into a new house. The house that Alex and family move into is a house that actually belonged to one of the criminals that Alex's dad incarcerated (Alex's dad was a cop). The weird thing is, this criminal who was also known as the The Raven, tried to kill Alex's dad. So the question becomes why would this criminal leave the house to the Mackay family (Alex's family)? Eventually a lodger moves into the house with the family which sets off some super creepy child stalker tones within the book. (If I am writing this review as if I have no formal writing experience, it is because I can't actually write coherently about something that was written so incoherently. As disjointed and abrupt as the sentences are in my review, the chapters in this book are ten times worse than that) Is there a connection between the deceased criminal "The Raven", The nightmare man, and the mysterious lodger? You'll have to read to find out, and if you happen to discern whether or not there is a connection let me know because what I'm assuming was supposed to be the big reveal or plot twist at the end was so obvious that it actually confused me a little bit. Was the rest of the book just one big red herring or what? There were some creepy parts in the book, like the first two encounters with "The Nightmare Man" and some of the interactions with the mysterious lodger, however it felt like most of the book was written just to shoehorn this creepy nightmare man vision into the story. In the end the book ended up just being a basic heist story. (this is not spoiling anything trust me, I'm still not even sure if I'm describing this right) I really thought this book had potential after reading the back and seeing the cover, however it flat out failed in my eyes. I never write an author off after just one poor outing so I will definitely pick up at least one more of Tessa Krailing's books just to see if it is any better but for now I'm going to go ahead and give this 1 Jolly Jack-O-Lantern out of 5.

"The Nightmare Man"

Author: Tessa Krailing

Publisher: Scholastic (1988)

Cover price: $2.95

Half Price Books price: $1.00 (clearance shelf)

Also keep your eyes glued to HalloweenOverkill this Friday because the A-Z blogging challenge begins. That's April 1st to April 30th (a post a day with Sundays being a "no post" day) The theme is actually still being decided over, with the two top candidates as "The A-Z of Halloween" or "The A-Z of horror movie murder weapons" If you wanna throw your opinion in let me know in the comments.

Eighteen days what?....

2011-03-20T13:08:00.002-04:00

I cannot believe it's been 18 days since my last post. The reason for this huge gap in posts is that I recently received a ginormous promotion at work and have been working at reaching a level of harmony with that. Now that I finally have a free sunday I do plan on catching up on all of your blogs first, (fair is fair) and actually leaving some comments which I haven't really ever done before. Then tonight I shall update HalloweenOverkill so come on back and check it out!

New Scream 4 concept art/teaser poster......

2011-03-02T17:40:00.000-05:00

Saw this little doodle on the webs today and thought I'd share it with all of you ghouls who haven't seen it yet. The image is courtesy of Empire Magazine by way of Bloody-Disgusting. I don't normally just copy and paste stuff from other blogs/websites, but I just wanted to let everyone see this poster who doesn't visit that site or read that magazine. Oh and most importantly, the artwork was done by Olly Moss. As for me I think it's one of those, "It's so weird I think I like it!" types of things. The Minimalistic approach is great, but as people were stating on the Bloody-disgusting article comments, it doesn't really look like a "Ghostface" knife. Anything is better than the age old floating heads poster design though right? What do you all think?
Thank you again to Empire and Bloody Disgusting. You can read the original article by clicking here.

The Super 8 Debut Albums Blog Hop!!!

2011-02-28T12:40:00.009-05:00

Today is the Super 8 Debut Albums Blog Hop and let me tell you it was not easy to pick my top 8. (please visit all the blogs participating by clicking their links in the blog hop list at the end of the post) What I ended up doing was just picking my personal favorite 8 Debut albums that came out during my lifetime. At the end of my list I will share a few honorable mentions that came out before my day. So here it is, my 8 personal favorite debut albums. (In no particular order)

Number 8

Need I say more?

Number 7

An amazing debut album, and one that I can personally listen to from track 1 until the end. With tracks like Sunday Morning, This Love, Harder to Breathe, and Shiver, Maroon 5 knocked it out of the park with this one. To this day my wife and I still argue over whether this is the best Maroon 5 CD or not, quite a feat for a debut album to be considered your best.

Number 6

The first CD I ever owned! This might be the CD that cemented my love for Heavy Metal. It also introduced me personally to the whole idea of Rap/Rock which is still very popular today although some bash the genre. Personal favorite tracks: Know your Enemy & Freedom.

Number 5

Rap is something I still can't decide whether I love or hate. There are so many great rap albums out there but then again there are 5 shitty ones for every great one. One that sits right up at the top of the list for me though is Doggystyle from the one and only S-N double O-P/D-O double G. Lodi Dodi and Gin and Juice are my favorites off this debut record. Murder was the case wasn't bad either, however I never understood why there were so many versions of the song out at the time.

Number 4

Do I seriously even need to explain this one? I will say though, against popular opinion that Black is my favorite song on the album for the simple fact that it brings me back to my youth, plus it was always fun to try to figure out just what the hell Eddie was saying.

Number 3

Another one that brings me back! Appetite might possibly be the best of all the GnR albums. I know, I know the Spaghetti Incident(?) is better right? Wrong, stop going against the grain just for the sake of being different. You know this album still rocks your world to this day. Sweet Child O' Mine & Mr. Brownstone take the cake with Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City close behind.

Number 2

I absolutely love this CD! After many months of talking shit about this group I finally gave in to my wife and gave them a listen. WOW, was I amazed! I might not necessarily listen to every single song on the CD but the ones that I do are "must have" tracks on any mp3 player that I own. Also this album is another in the great debate as to whether a debut album can be a bands best.

Number 1

This CD is my absolute favorite debut album of all time. Every single track is a monster jam, and at the time of its release I think everyone was saying what do these crazy white dudes from NY think they are doing in the rap game? Well I think it only took one try for them to solidify their status in the world of rap with Licensed to Ill. Once again it's very hard to argue that this isn't the Beastie Boys best album. Favorite tracks: Paul Revere & No Sleep till Brooklyn.

There you have it my 8 personal favorite debut albums from my generation! And while you're still here reading I would like to propose another blog hop to those involved in this one, and Mr. Discconnected since I believe you started this one, if I have permission, I think we should have a "Top 8 Album covers/artwork of all time blog hop" what do you think? ( let me know in the comments)

Now for those honorable mentions. These are also some fantastic debut albums that came out a little before my time! Also, please comment and debate/argue below, the more comments the better!

The Eagles - "Eagles"

Lynyrd Skynyrd - "pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd"

The Doors - "The Doors"

Tom Waits - "Closing Time"

Do not adjust your set.......

2011-02-26T11:49:00.000-05:00

If you're wondering about the delay in posts this week it's because I had my wisdom teeth taken out, and while it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be, I just wasn't feeling up to posting. However tonight after work will be a massive update!!!! Hopefully you will see a review of a movie I have been holding back on, an update on that Scratches game I was telling you about, an update on Deadly Premonition for the XBox 360, an update on the Reading Adventure 2011, my thoughts on the Rondo Hatton Awards this year, and hopefully some other good news. Also by the way, please come by HalloweenOverkill on Monday the 28th as that will be the day I will be participating in the Super 8 Debut Albums Blog Hop. (which I will posting the blogs of others involved as well ) Also I'm still looking for suggestions on what to do for that A-Z blogging challenge that I am participating in during the month of April. One other thing for you ghouls out there, where in the bloody hell can I find one of those cheap dollar store style "killer hockey masks" in the dead of winter? If you have any suggestions for anything mentioned above especially where I can find that mask please comment.

Dead Island Video Game Announcement Trailer (XBOX 360).....

2011-02-16T21:43:00.000-05:00

I don't think there are any words that can describe the pure deliciousness of this trailer. I'm going to go on record and say that this is THE BEST video game trailer I have ever seen. The music in the trailer is amazing and absolutely gives a sense of dread and sadness that is also conveyed through the images of the daughter and what she has become. Seeing the daughter's fate and what led up to it made me feel depressed beyond words and I actually sat through the entire trailer hearing only the somber music and the sound of my own heart beating. I think this is the first video game trailer that actually left me breathless and speechless. Kudos to Deep Silver and Techland the developers of the game. Wow, just wow. Watch it below and tell me if you feel the same way I did.

Taking suggestions.....

2011-02-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

Anybody have any suggestions on what you'd like to see for the A-Z Blogging Challenge? How about the A-Z of Halloween, or A-Z of ways to get offed in a horror film? Let me know of anything you ghouls would like to see. I would also like updates from those participating in the reading adventure so I can post them! Thanks ghouls and start posting those ideas!!!

Do we have a librarian in the house?

2011-01-31T00:26:00.000-05:00

???

For anyone out there who grew up in the 80's and 90's, or anyone who thinks they can help, I have a question I NEED answered. While growing up I read a book in 4th grade concerning a mummy, now I cannot remember what the book was called. I don't want to list all the details as they are way too obscure and I don't want it to take over the blog page. But once I get some people together who think they can help I would love to share the details and see if we can get this figured out. Please please please let me know if you think you can help and we can all put our heads together and figure this mystery out. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

???

Weekend update.....

2011-01-29T23:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry ghouls, had to do some "grown up" stuff this Friday and Saturday. Tomorrow night (a.k.a. Sunday night) I will be reviewing "Frozen". Also I will be updating you with this weekends trip to my favorite local bookstore that I have been haunting as of late. I have also begun playing the original "Scratches" horror adventure game for the p.c. so look for that review soon as well. After I finish "Scratches", I will play the directors cut version and compare the two. I will also be playing the new bonus content and updating you all on that as well. One other thing to look out for soon is an update on the reading adventure, a giveaway, and I will finally kick off the "Are You Afraid of the Blog" feature that I promised way back this summer. So yes, it is going to be a very busy week here at HalloweenOverkill but a very exciting one! I would also like to state that I am not a member of Fright Club.

Frozen....

2011-01-26T15:52:00.001-05:00

Just watched Adam Green's "Frozen", and I must say I was pretty impressed. Favorite horror flick from 2010? Probably not. However there were several cringe inducing moments, which come very far and few between in today's world of horror. There were definitely some things I didn't like about the movie, but there were far more that I did like. I will be fully reviewing this movie later tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime let me know what you thought of the flick.

A little late to the party.........

2011-01-19T23:31:00.000-05:00

Had a few leftover Halloween images that never really made their way onto the blog, so I thought I would share a few of them with you ghouls. So here we go with a little leftover Halloween action........

That my creeps is one terrible thing about the Halloween season, seasonal allergies. And there we have blown out optic nerves due to those wonderful allergies.

This was the beginning of our pumpkin carving odyssey, and yes the kittens decided to show up to party also. As you can see Dracula (one of our kittens for you new ghouls out there) just couldn't hide his excitement for pumpkin carving any longer.

The night "he" came home........

This was really bizarre. If you look really close at the pumpkin it actually looked like it had a spinal cord made out of pumpkin seeds. If you didn't notice it, scroll back up and look, totally freaky!

After gutting the pumpkins I decided to break out the big guns this year, a dremel, yes you heard me right, A f'ing DREMEL!!!!! If that is not HalloweenOverkill, I don't know what is. I originally got the dremel as a Christmas gift from my parents last year to use for different Halloween projects I had in mind. Pumpkin carving was not one of the projects I ever considered using the dremel on, obviously as you can see though, I decided to go professional pumpkin carver with the dremel.

The finished product! Not something I would have even attempted with just a knife or some carving tools. Aside from the dremel, I used a really awesome "Pumpkin Masters" pro carving kit I got as a gift from my buddy and his wife! (still didn't come out as awesome as I thought, but do they ever? Oh well, as they say in Cleveland, "there's always next year".)

This was my wife's finished product, which might I add turned out to look totally awesome. I also would like to add that her pumpkin was carved with nothing but a single carving tool. No knives, no cutters, and no dremel, just "the little seesaw thing" as she refers to it as. HAHA As I am writing this my wife looks over at me and says, "I'm awesome, I went old school on that pumpkin." I don't get into that new fashioned stuff" HAHA Yes my wife is that awesome!

The pumpkins next to each other. We dubbed them "Jason and the survivor girl" (or Alice if you will)

May I state again how awesome my wife is? These creepy cupcakes she made had edible eyeballs!!! Can it get any better? Yes it can, see those severed fingers? EDIBLE ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More awesome Halloween Cupcakes. Worms in dirt cupcakes, and the worms are the awesome sour neon ones that make your brain bounce into your skull walls after just two bites.

For any of you ghouls out there who have followed HalloweenOverkill from the beginning remember when my wife and I got the kittens. Well I thought I'd give you some more recent pictures of the boys. For an updated pic of Dracula just scroll back up to the pic of him hiding in the pumpkins. Below is a recent and absolutely adorable pic of Roxas sleeping in my palm after my crazy crazy black friday hospital trip. (about his name Roxas, yes, I am obsessed with Kingdom Hearts)

And here is one more updated picture of them together!

A treasure trove of horror purchases.......A.K.A. The longest blog post ever!

2011-01-17T23:30:00.003-05:00

With the HalloweenOverkill readathon adventure 2011 currently going I thought it was fitting to show all you ghouls out there the wealth of reading treasures I found at a local discount book store. Some of the stuff may seem like garbage to you all but I think all of these finds are worth a look or two. First off we have........

GOOSEBUMPS!!!! The Headless Ghost to be exact, and yes it is one of the original with the raised goosebumps and all.

Another Goosebumps book. I like to pick up any of the Goosebumps books that aren't from the traditional series, as I believe these are a little harder to find, plus I'm a sucker for anything with a hologram on the cover.

Book 3 from the Demonata series. The Demonata is a series of books by author Darren Shan, yeah, the same guy who writes the Cirque Du Freak series. These are honestly some of the goriest young adult books I have ever read and some really good reads to boot! I would love to see these books turned into a series of films.

Yes, that is exactly what it looks like. The official sequel to Dracula, written by a member of the Stoker family and endorsed by said family as well. I heard it's not such a hot read, but I'll be the judge of that. Any book with the Count himself or any incarnation of him is usually good in my book!

Less than a month ago I didn't even know these suckers existed, but now I officially own two of them. This is the second Twilight Zone graphic novel that I have gotten my paws on, and I cannot wait to dive in.

Do I even need to explain why I bought this? First of all, you all know my obsession with anything "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" related, plus not only am I a sucker for hologram covers, but glow in the dark ones as well.

These little guys are actually magnet bookmarks. Check out the amazing artwork on them (I left them giant size so you could really see the detail, sorry if I cut out some of the HalloweenOverkill stamp on the right sides) and then realize how jealous you are that I have them and you don't haha. They are actually really neat though. You just clip them on the page that you want to save and there is no annoying bookmark sticking out of the top of the book.

The Gates: A Novel, by the wonderful John Connolly. All it took for me to purchase this book was the first few lines in the dust jacket. Any book that takes place on or around Halloween is surely going to be read by this sites curious caretaker. Now if I could just figure out if Nocturnes is actually a horror novel or not!

I was gonna save this sucker for a new feature I had in mind, but oh what the hell, here it is! Scream Play by, Douglas Soesbe, is a book that debunks the old "never judge a book by it's cover" theory. I call bullshit on that old theory for this one. I judged this book by it's cover and deemed it worthy to add to my collection. Now whether or not I was right is yet to be determined. Expect this book to also pop up in a new feature being added to HalloweenOverkill. (Curious to know what that feature is? Let's just say you don't find books with covers as awesome as this one anymore, do ya?)

Now are some of the non genre related items I picked up on the cheap as well.....

Not much to be said here. Some may call shenanigans on Mr. Brown, but I beg to differ, I love his style with the short chapters, and the mystery of his books, whether total bullshit or not, keeps me coming back for more.

Everybody remember this book from Kindergarten and beyond? No? Well I do and it was a doosy!!! As you read through the book there are hidden images to find in each picture and each of those hidden things in the picture all add up as clues that help you solve the book's main mystery. Sound like too much? Well it is and it isn't, you just have to have read it to understand. I picked this one up mainly to revisit my childhood yet again (see a recurring theme here?) and also to pass on to my own little ghouls one day.

This book sounds crazy creepy, but in more of a retro reliving my childhood kind of way (so wait, reliving your childhood is creepy, one might ask? No, but you know what I mean). A young boy looks at himself in a mirror and is transported to a whole other world filled with wraiths, Alice in Wonderland, Nostradamus, and even some elements of advanced physics!!! Can't wait to read this one!

Ahh yes, the old days when "point and click" adventure games were actually awesome. Now that's not to say there haven't been some good ones since, but everybody remembers the good old days of "Monkey Island", "Zork", "Myst", "Gabriel Knight", and of course "The Dig"!!!! I just had to add this to my enormous collection of old school pc adventure games!
So basically everything you just saw was purchased for wayyyyyy south of twenty bucks. Tell me that isn't amazing?
These next few items need a small intro to explain themselves. My wife and I are planning to buy a house sometime in the near future (or decade) and I (not my wife) plan on turning an entire room or hopefully the basement (if there is one) into a giant shrine/theater of all things horror. To help with this task I have been collecting any and everything that I would consider a collectible or something worth showing off in the future horror cave. I plan on plastering the walls with genuine movie posters that I have acquired and any other horror/Halloween ephemera/trinkets/stuff that I have deemed worthy (any one want to donate, let me know! haha) Well something that my wife found at the local Blockbuster going out of business sale were the plastic backers that they use in place of the movie case when it is rented out (they are a little larger than the front of a dvd cover). At first I didn't think these would be useful, but then EUREEKA!!! It hit me, I could use these bad boys as little mini posters to put on the wall of the "Theater of Blood" as it has been deemed (once they are framed you won't be able to see the little annoying bar codes and such that you see below) Here are the pics of the horror ones we chose.

Not all of those little posters represent my favorite horror movies of all time, but each of them at least have very cool and iconic covers, even if they are piece of shit movies. (cough Nightmare, cough Friday, oh what the hell let me just say it, FUCK remakes) Oh and by the way if you were wondering how much I paid for these little wonders, a whopping two dollars, that's right, $2, for the entire set of these!!! (There were also several other non horror ones that we picked out as well, but we'll leave those out for now.)
I'd also like to point out that yes there are probably several grammatical/spelling errors throughout this post, but as it was a very long day and I am very very late to crawling into my coffin for the night, there is no way I am proofreading this monster of a post. Sorry ghouls!!! C ya tomorrow for a late Halloween picture post and I hoped you all loved the treats that I found this weekend!!!

HalloweenOverkill Readathon Adventure 2011

2011-01-12T23:20:00.001-05:00

Where you at ghouls? So far all I have participating in the readathon is myself and Melissa over at http://littlemisszombie.blogspot.com/. I'd really like a few more people to make this a really fun adventure, however if it is just myself and a few others that will be fine as well. I will be creating the Readathon page this weekend so you can keep track of what has been read for what categories. If you wanna see what Melissa has chosen for her books head over to http://littlemisszombie.blogspot.com/ and check out her picks. Below are the picks I have made for the categories.

1. Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.

A book concerning time travel.

My book: Slaughter House Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

2. Is the book better than the movie?

A book that was adapted into a film.

My book: Something Wicked this way comes, by Ray Bradbury

3. This thing is a paperweight!!!

A book that is over 500 pages.

My book: Under the Dome, by Stephen King

4. A tribute to the Prince of Darkness.

A book with Dracula as a character.

My book: The Dracula Dossier, by James Reese

5. Trick or Treat!!!

A book that takes place on or during Halloween.

My book: Dark Harvest, by Norman Partridge

6. Just collecting dust.......

A book you've owned for more than a year that has yet to be read.

My book: Gil's All Fright Diner, by A. Lee Martinez

7. Next year is gonna suck.

A book concerning the apocalypse or the end of the world.

My book: The Island at the end of the World, by Sam Taylor

8. Stranger than fiction.

A non-fiction book concerning horror in some way shape or form.

My book: Sundays with Vlad, by Paul Bibeau

9. Old school master of horror.

A book written by Stephen King.

My book: The Mist, by Stephen King

10. New school master of horror

A book written by Brian Keene

My book: Castaways, by Brian Keene

11. This stuff isn't just for adults.

A young adult or teen horror novel

My book: The Hollow: Horseman, by Christopher Golden & Ford Lytle Gilmore

The cover images I used above obviously belong to the respective copyright owners, but I thought I'd show the actual covers of the versions I would be using in case any body else wanted to read the exact copies I own. Thanks and let me know if you're interested!!!!