Haunted New England: The Spider Gates Cemetery!

Posted on by

img_1381

There are definitely pros and cons with living in New England. The cons are actually the lack of cons! That’s right, we get very little in the way of horror conventions in our neck of the woods. The pros though are many and include a wide variety of history, much of it supernatural. Rhode Island, the smallest state in the union, boasts more incidents of vampirism than all other states combined and it is believed that Bram Stoker based his best-selling novel on what was going on right in my back yard.

Continue reading →

Vacation Meltdown: “Chernobyl Diaries!”

Posted on by

Not long ago, I watched an interesting documentary on public television called “Radioactive Wolves” which dealt with Chernobyl – site of the infamous Russian nuclear reactor meltdown that occurred over 25 years ago. Contrary to what you may think, its apparently become something of a paradise, as nature has reclaimed the territory; seeing the return of wolves, bears, bison, and even wild horse. Thanks to the help of a team of eager beavers, much of man’s irrigation has been undone and large portions of the territory have become lush swampland (which they’d been prior to human tampering) once more. Before you start booking your next eco-tourist vacation, however, I should mention that there’s a slight catch…its still radioactive.

Continue reading →

WOMAN IN BLACK…and Harry Potter ain’t coming back!

Posted on by

woman_in_black

Last weekend I suffered through a DVD viewing of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 and realized how badly I was a craving a good old fashioned tale of the supernatural. Little did I know that a new ghost story was looming just around the corner and to be released this weekend ala’ THE WOMAN IN BLACK.  NOTE: As pointed out to me on Facebook by Ryan Clark, this is a Hammer remake and not “new” as in fresh idea. Thanks Ryan). So yesterday I eagerly headed over to the local theater for a mid-day matinee – entering an auditorium with only about seven other patrons. This wasn’t too surprising as most of the world was, no doubt, busy picking up last minute snacks and beer for the big Superbowl game today.

Continue reading →

A Supernatural ’80s Party with “Witchboard!”

Posted on by

witchboard-e1308947414697

There is no shortage of guilty pleasures so far as 1980’s horror movies are concerned. Whether its one of the multitude of slasher films that helped define the decade or one of those goofy GREMLINS inspired rip-offs (CRITTERS, TROLL, GHOULIES, etc) you had plenty of “fun with fright” movies to choose from.

Today I’m going to call to your attention one of my favorite lesser known 80’s films, WITCHBOARD (1986). As soon as it came out on VHS (after a limited release in a paltry 15 theaters), I rented it from my local (and now all but obsolete) “mom and pop” video store. I didn’t have high hopes but, within the first few minutes of snappy dialogue involving a debate between party-goers regarding the existence of God and ghosts, this 16 year old horror fan was hooked!

Continue reading →

New England “Vampire” Mercy Brown a Real American Horror Story

Posted on by

nosferatu111

In a short while I’ll be hopping a plane out to Rhode Island to reunite with the other Dave. We’ll be doing some sight-seeing, covering the Rock & Shock convention, as well as visiting Salem, Massachusetts. Salem, of course, is famous for its witches and the infamous trials that took place there in 1692. However, witches weren’t the only thing troubling the minds of New Englanders back in our country’s earlier days. Two hundred years later, it would become the locale for another supposed creature – the vampire!

Continue reading →