the words and worlds of John Robinson
A series of murders befalls a London public park after dark which sends the city on high alert. Scotland Yard is most interested, determined to find the culprit as the victims are mauled in a rather beastly, grisly fashion. Soon, there’s talk of werewolves, but the seasoned Inspector Pierce doesn’t believe in such sensationalist talk. …
Even a man who is pure in heart,And says his prayers by nightMay become a Wolf when the Wolfsbane bloomsAnd the autumn Moon is bright. Everything we know about popular werewolf traditions, tropes and lore was pretty much created, singlehandedly, by writer Curt Siodmak for 1941’s The Wolf Man. He was to lycanthropes what George …
“Ah-hooo, werewolves of LondonAh-hooo”- Warren Zevon For a long time I thought 1941’s The Wolf Man was the only werewolf movie (other than the rally films) Universal had produced back in the Classic Monster period. I was an early-twenty-something year old young man when I learned that Universal took a stab at a werewolf movie …
Phantom of the Opera is one more of the Universal Classics I’ve never seen. I’ve seen plenty of versions of the Gaston Leroux’s novel; some are better than others. I’ve never read the book, so I can’t tell you how faithful any of them are, but I can tell you I like most of them…not …
The last we saw Gill-man (in Revenge of the Creature), he was heading into the ocean on his way to freedom, otherwise known as the Florida Everglades. Such a monster cannot be left to roam free, though. It must be captured in the name of public safety. Science kinda needs him, too. Doctor William Barton …
To stand in the 21st Century and look back in time, the 1950s seem like they were a strange time. For everything to seem so pristine perfect, there was a high level of paranoia with the Cold War, the Red Scare and flying saucers. Robots, aliens and various other monsters dominated the horror and science …
Early admission: I had never seen any of the Creature features until this year. I know, I know— how dare I call myself a Classic Universal Monsters fan without having at least seen the first one? It could be easy to justify as the Gill-man movies didn’t arrive until the fifties, well after many consider …
Happy October First, everyone. I hope all of you have good things planned for the month and that you enjoy this most wonderful season of seasons and the best holiday of all holidays. Prepare the bonfires, carve the pumpkins, celebrate your ancestors...the witching hour draws nigh. For this year's 31 Days of Halloween, I'm going …
I wholeheartedly agree that The Exorcist is one of the scariest movies ever made. The book ain't too shabby either. But, for my money, and in my opinion (not that you asked), William Peter Blatty's 1983 novel, Legion, a loose sequel, is a better book (the movie adaptation, The Exorcist III, which Blatty wrote and directed himself, …
If I've quoted Ray Bradbury once, I've quoted this line from Something Wicked This Way Comes a thousand or more times: First of all, it was October, a rare month for boys. And it's not just rare for boys or girls or creatures of the night. A friend of mine said recently that Halloween is …
Curio Macabre 