It Came From The Man Cave is one of many participants in this year's Countdown to Halloween! Check them out by clicking their name, or click the badge below to be whisked off to the hub where you can check out links to all the participants!
I've only gone and found four more Vincent Price videos to give us our regular fix of our favourite freaky thespian! First up is his recording session with Michael Jackson for Thriller, which has surprised me with an extra verse of his poem from the song that I never knew existed! Sounds like he really enjoyed doing this too, by the sounds of the end of the vid!
Next up is a tale from Edgar Allen Poe, which tells us that perception is everything!
And now for a freaky tale of a boy who discovers an inhabitant of an island who has a good excuse for failing to quit his habit, even after it was way too late for him!
And last but not least, a recipe for Vincent Price's Lifesaver Curry. He was after all, a gourmet cook as well as an actor!
How about visiting AEIOU...and Sometimes Why to see what they've cooked up for today's Countdown? And then go and check out the other bloggers over at the hub by clicking below....
Today's offering from the Digital Comic Museum comes with a warning of violence and gore....it's definitely a bit more gruesome at the start than the usual stuff I post! And freaky too...as stone statues suddenly start wandering around on a midnight massacre!
It's another tale from Web Of Mystery Issue 19, 1953...and so thanks go again to tilliban over at the museum, for uploading the scans for us to enjoy!
I was devastated when Xbox Live Indie Games ended, and all those games of varying levels of greatness were lost to the mists of time. Where would I go to get my fix of cheaply made indie games that potentially hold the key to the next big gaming revolution, or even better, are so crap as to be amazing works of art and somehow defy all logic and manage to be fun!
And then I got an Xbox One and stumbled upon the Creators Collection section of the store, which is similarly hidden away from plain sight as the indie game section on 360 was. But will it prove to be the same type of experience, or does it hold false hope...let's have a quick look at some of their tiny selection of horror games and see!
Grinded Meat (Xbox One) :
First up, we have a game that I thought I would never see the like of again after Xbox Live Indie Games bit the dust! It's another one of those live-action, Quick Time Event games...and even better, it's directed by the very same Claudio Battiato who directed Bloody Death and Hell's House, previously covered on this very blog!
As you can see from the video above, it's very much a case of business as usual, with you essentially watching a movie and pressing button-prompts every now and again to avoid death, as a slasher attempts to thwart our Sheriff hero from solving a missing person case.
This one feels a lot shorter than even the previous games though, but for 79p/99c I suppose we shouldn't expect much more. Worth a go, if only to give Claudio some money so he can save up to make a proper movie one day!
The Unknown City - Horror Begins Now...Part 1 (Xbox One) :
It's probably better telling you to watch the video below to see how terrible this game is rather than try to describe it in text. The text-to-speech dialogue, the sloooowww intro, the animation, the text-to-speech (oh wait, I already mentioned that...oh well, it's worth mentioning twice)....
And yet I almost found myself liking it because of how bad it was! I was going to recommend it just so you could experience for yourselves the hilarity of the rubbishness of it all! And then it got me trapped in a menu that I couldnt get out of, just as I finished recording the footage. I had to quit to the dashboard to leave the game. Dunno why this happened....maybe it was due to bad weather....
This game would normally cost you £9 (or $9), but its currently on sale for £1...don't even spend that on it. If you've watched the video here you've experienced about all the entertainment available from this game. A shame really, as it's rubbishness was almost endearing.....
Okay, I've saved the best for last! This one costs absolutely nothing! It's totally free, and out of the trio of games here it has by far the best gameplay! You take on the role of the great old one, Cthulhu, as he decides to unleash his fury on the foolish mortals of earth by smooshing them into the ground with his fists!
You control our cosmic chum's arms independently with the left being controlled with the left joystick and vice versa, and likewise the two triggers smash the left or right fists into the puny humans trying to attack the elder god!
And attack they do with guns, helicopters and tanks, which makes the game feel a bit like a Lovecraftian version of old classic Rampage, only with less buildings and movement. Its all a huge load of fun for about five minutes, but it is a game that you feel you could come back to and play quite a bit when you're bored and just want to kill some time. And as mentioned before, it's totally free! Go download it now before the deep ones crawl ashore and try to mate with you......
Hmmm, so one game that's alright but woefully short, one that's utter crap and one that's actually quite groovy and playable and shiny looking! It would seem that the spirit of XBLIG lives on! I'll need to keep an eye on this Creators Collection section and see what wonders appear in future...
While we wait for that though, you may as well go see what everybody else is up to in the Countdown To Halloween by clicking the badge below and being whisked off through some sort of space-octopus dimension portal to the countdown hub!
Sorry for being awol the last few days...still got this bloomin' cough and am generally feeling rather run down...
But Hallowe'en creeps ever nearer and the countdown must continue, so lets take another trip to the Digital Comic Museum and see what we can find hiding in the cobwebbed corners!
Some furious French felines apparently, in this tale from Ace ComicsWeb Of Mystery Issue 19, dated July 1953!
Yet again we have regular horror comic uploader, tilliban, to thank for this strip being added to the archive!
Be sure to keep checking out the other bloggers cool countdown content, by clicking the badge below which will take you to the hub!
Irish Rector's Story Of Apparition in a Monastery.
OTHERS SAW AND KNEW HIM
Ghostly Visitant Recognized by Several of the Monks, One of Whom Was Reminded by the Dead that He Had Not Carried Out a Promise Made in the Flesh - Two More Apparitions
Dublin, Jan. 2. - Ghostly visitations of the dead are regarded as possible everyday occurrences by the Rev. Father Hubert, rector of the Passionist Monastery, of Ardoyne, Belfast, whose latest ghost story has created a sensation in the Irish industrial city.
Father Hubert says that soon after taking up residence as rector of the Ardoyne Monastery, one night after he had retired to rest he heard a knock at his bedroom door. A similar knock was heard by another Passionist father, who occupied the next bedroom. Both opened their doors, and both saw the figure of a Passionist father parading the corridor and finally disappearing. The knocking was repeated on other occasions, and at last Father Hubert accosted the apparition in the prescence of other Passionust fathers. The apparition spoke and said that the rector had not fulfilled a promise made to him when in the flesh to pray for him a certain number of times on a certain occasions.
Father Hubert, relating the incident in the course of a sermon, told his astonished congregation that he did make such a promise to a Passionist father, since deceased, and that the apparition was recognized by himself and two others of the fathers as that of the dead priest. He had forgotten to carry out the promise, but after this extraordinary reminder from the other world he had the prayers said for the repose of the soul of the priest, and that the ghost had not appeared again in the monastery, to the great peace, comfort, and happiness of the community there.
Recognized by Others
Great sensation was caused by this sermon, and preaching again later the reverend gentleman said that he had ascertained that the story had been noised about in the city, and that it was regarded by some persons as of such a startling and sensational character that it would have been better left untold, more especially as gossip was busy and idle tongues were at work as to the personality of the deceased Passionist,
Father Hubert proceeded to inform his hearers that it was not for the purpose of telling ghost stories that he had decided to continue his discourse on the subject, but rather to arouse and awaken his congregation to the actuality of purgatory, where, according to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, some souls suffer for a time before they go to heaven, but can be released by means of prayer.
The reason he did not mention the name of the deceased was that the feelings of his friends might be hurt, but three out of the five Passionist Fathers now stationed in Ardoyne, who had seen the apparition, recognized him, and knew him personally when he was in the flesh. The fact that a holy priest should have to suffer purgatorial punishment - one whom many of their own congregation of Ardoyne knew - should cause the people to have a greater thought and regard for their own deceased friends and relatives, who might also be in need of their intercession and prayers.
So far from the apparition being "startling" or "sensational," it was not the first, second, or even third visitant from the other world that had been seen in the monastery at Ardoyne. "in fact," said the rector, "there is not a religious order such as the Passionists community that has not records of numbers of instances where ghosts or apparitions have appeared under somewhat similar circumstances.
Two More Apparitions
"The reason that more apparitions of the departed do not appear to their friends is on account of the fear and dread and nervosuness of the living." He had made a careful study of the subject, and in no instance was there a record of these apparitions wishing to do any harm or injury. On the contrary, they invariably appeared to seek aid or sympathy. "The spirits," continued the clergyman, "frequently wish to be familiar with us, but we will not let them."
Father Hubert caused a thrill to pass through the vast congregation when he solemnly declared, "I myself have seen, met, and interviewed at least two apparitions at other times, and these were not the ghosts of clergymen." He tehn narrated the story of the "apparition" of a monk which appeared in a Benendictine monastery in North America, the authenticity of which was vouched for under the seal of the abbot of the monastery. Another ghost had for its scene a house connected with a Passionist monastery in England.
In conclusion, the preacher said that large numbers of persons had called upon him and asked for prayers to be offered for departed friends. He wished it to be distinctly understood that in referring to the apparition he did so with the object of explaining and expounding the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church on purgatory, and of impressing the congregation with its reality. His references were not in any way to be associated with the methods of spiritualism of the present day, which was condemned by the Catholic Church.
Heya stuffers, been a bit poorly the last couple of days due to a stupid cough, hence no post yesterday and this rather rushed Cinema of Stuff post today! Will hopefully get to the Gruesome Games by the weekend and some more Spook sightings too...
But yes, in the meantime, here's some obscure Halloween vids from the '70s that I randomly stumbled upon on Youtube!
(Remember to check out the other Countdown To Halloween bloggers by clicking the badge below!)
Today's tale that I dragged up from the dark, dusty horror-comic corners of the Digital Comic Museum should probably serve as a warning that I'd better watch what I'm doing when I transcribe those Spook Stories of Yester Year from all those old newspapers!
As always, click the panels to go big...
(Today's strip first appeared in The Hand of Fate, Issue 21, December 1953 by Ace Magazines)
(Thanks again to tilliban for uploading the scans to the museum)
And remember to keep checking the Countdown hub by clicking the badge below to find out what everyone else is up to!
