Clive Barker's Fantastic Worlds

So, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about an author that I absolutely love. That, of course, is Clive Barker. I'm kind of new to his work, but he is steadily becoming one of my favorites. He has the amazing ability to create far-out worlds that no other man could ever dream of. I've only read a couple things by him: The Thief of Always, The Hellbound Heart, and Mister B. Gone, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed (Especially The Thief of Always, which is absolutely fantastic). I know it's a short list, but with those few items I've realized that Barker is a genius. I've recently started reading Imajica, which is another example of Barker's ability to create fantastical and amazing worlds beyond our own.

I've only read seventy or so pages, and with somewhere around 800 still to go, I'm barely even into the story yet. At this point, I'm still in the dark. I'm not entirely sure what's going on yet. I know there are other dimensions (or dominions, as they call them) that are separated from Earth (which is the fifth), and that there are magical creatures intent on reconciling the fifth dominion with the other four. The main character, Charles Estabrook, has something to do with this, but I'm not sure what exactly. He's already getting himself involved with murderous creatures and assassins, and it looks like he's about to be in a world of trouble. Even though I'm kind of confused at the moment, I'm not worried. I've still got a long way to go, and 800 pages is more than enough for everything to be explained. So far, though, the seventy or so pages I've read are wonderful. He's drawn me in, made me curious about these other worlds and creatures, and made me feel for the few human characters present. I'm excited to discover just what the Imajica really is.

Another of Barker's books that I'm really looking forward to reading is The Books of Blood, which is a vast collection of short stories. One of those is The Forbidden, which is the story that Candyman was based on. It all seems extremely interesting, and I know it will be beautiful once I finally get my hands on it. 

So, if you've yet to delve into the fantastic worlds of Clive Barker, you should definitely give it a go. He's an amazingly talented writer with the gift of extreme creativity. 

Vincent Price Explains Why We Love Horror

I just got finished watching Madhouse, a slasher movie from the '70s starring Vincent Price. Price plays an old horror actor who becomes surrounded by murders he's not sure if he's committing. I've already reviewed it on my other blog, so I'll stop there so I don't end up reviewing it again. Anyways, there's a part in the movie toward the end, when Price's character gives an interview on a television talk show. The interviewer asked him why people enjoyed his movies so much, and his answer was absolutely incredible. I know I've always said that I don't care what makes me love horror, but I can't deny that I've at least been a little curious. I just didn't care enough to really do any research to find out. But now I know. Mr. Price has made everything crystal clear to me, so that now, when people ask me why I love horror movies, I can give them a real answer other than "because they're fucking awesome, that's why!"

I'm going to paraphrase here, because there's no way I can remember that entire speech. But it was something along the lines of this. Everyone has hidden desires and impulses, some quite terrible -- murder, violence, bloodlust, and other things. They're there, in the backs of our minds, but we don't let them out. We keep them caged inside. But sometimes they whisper to us, they beg to be let out of their cages, and we still don't let them out. The reason that we love horror movies is because they do let them out.

So, there you have it. It's the simplest answer I've ever heard, but it's the one that makes the most sense to me. Horror is how we see our darkest desires come to life, and let's face it, we all have them. We all have those moments at a restaurant, store, or at work where someone pisses us off and we feel like strangling them or stabbing them with a fork. Instead of doing that, though, we come home and watch horror movies. At least, that's what I do. So people may think we're weird because of our passion for blood and guts, but they should really be thankful. This is the way we get our jollies; this is the way we let off steam. Some radical thinkers believe that horror movies make people crazy; that if you watch too many, you'll go out and shoot a bunch of people or go on a killing spree. But in reality, horror movies keep us from poking a fork into the eyes of those idiots at work, or those people in Wal-Mart who like to stand in the middle of the fucking aisle and never move. So for all those naysayers out there, and those believers in horror creating monsters...You should be thanking Vincent, Boris, Bela and the like. Horror movies keep us sane.

The King and I Believe in Monsters

Recently, I started reading “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” by Stephen King. I watched Quicksilver Highway without knowing that one of the stories was based on one featured in the book. I didn't like the movie all that much, so I figured that I should read the book to see how the story was meant to be told. I haven't even gotten halfway through it, and I haven't yet reached the story that was told in the movie, but I already love it. Stephen King has a way with words that can make absolutely anything interesting, and that's why he's the only author whose introductions I actually read. Even though he's only talking about his life and things that drove him to write the stories in the book, it still feels like a story in itself. Mainly what he talks about in this particular introduction is imagination, and the things that he believed in when he was a child. He says that believing leads to imagination, and that imagination is an absolute necessity in life. It is also what lets him create the most amazing stories ever told. As an aspiring writer myself, the things he wrote about were inspiring to me. It made me realize that you can't tell a story without believing. You have to believe in the story you're telling if you want your readers to believe it as well. So I'm here to tell you that I believe in monsters.

Things do go bump in the night; there are things that we cannot see that lurk in the shadows, waiting to pounce when we're at our most vulnerable. Vampires lure us in and then drain our lives, our souls. Werewolves are those who hide behind a false skin; during the day, when they know we're watching, they appear to be normal. But at night, when there's no one around to hear you scream, they turn into animals. Ghosts are those left behind by some unfinished business. They're the ones we're not even aware of until it's too late. Zombies are mindless creatures. They hide behind nothing; they play no games. They're out to get us, and they don't care if we know it. 

You see, monsters are all around us. Whether they're undead creatures brought forth by nature, or an evil curse; whether they're the people in our lives that we allow to control, manipulate, and drain us of everything we have. It doesn't matter how you look at it, monsters are real. They're everywhere, and they're waiting. 

The King and I believe in monsters. Do you?