Femnista Halloween 2014 by Charity Bishop

Halloween 2014

Monsters & Madness

LIVE BY THE CODE Teen Wolf

THE SECRET HOUSE The Darkness In Our Souls

GROWING UP WITH… The Monster Squad

A HISTORICAL APOCALYPSE Sleepy Hollow

BEAUTY TAMED THE BEAST King Kong

THIS ISN’T SOME FAIRY TALE Angel & Buffy

A RELATABLE VILLAIN Loki

CREATING OUR OWN MONSTERS Frankenstein

CHOOSING DARKNESS Rumpelstiltskin

CHILD OF DARKNESS Morgana Pendragon

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? The „Burbs

LOVE NEVER DIES Dracula

THE BEAST WITHIN The Wolfman

Produced by Charity‟s Place. No copyright infringement intended. All written content is original and nothing may be reproduced without written consent. Disclaimer: the opinions and endorsements of the individual writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Charity‟s Place or the Femnista editorial staff, and the films, books, etc., mentioned herein are not always appropriate for all ages.

Recently, I eagerly delved into a collection of Victorian vampire stories (in book form, under the title Dracula‟s Guest). From the mystical to the mysterious, poetic and somber, in that sordid little collection of ghostly tales, vampires walked abroad, seduced the living, and spun haunting tales. Many were by English writers but some were translated from foreign languages, and revealed the vampire lore within those societies… such as one culture‟s belief that vampires only came back to prey on their family members, rather than guests. Dracula is widely regarded as the best known vampire story but others predate Stoker by generations, including Carmilla, by a French author. The origins of the vampire myth go further back, into ancient folklore revolving around the goddess Lamia, who was believed to have drunk the blood of her own children. Modern society has seen a resurgence of interest in these macabre monsters, eternally separated from light, (often) and from religious relics. Many are painted as tortured souls in search of redemption, while the more recent Dracula Untold turns Dracula into a hero who takes on a mantle of darkness to protect his family. Why so many centuries of interest?

Vampires are not the only morbid fascination modern society holds; legends of werewolves still thrive and make up the topic of popular films and television shows. Throw in the recent surge in interest in zombies, ghosts, and other undead but no-longerhuman creatures, and we have a modern society obsessed with… death. Nearly as obsessed with it as earlier civilizations, who put candles in windows, stakes through the heart of dead relatives in their coffins, and feared that Grandma might come back for a ghostly visit. The truth is, humans like to be scared and there is nothing scarier than the idea that death is not binding; that it is not permanent, and that we are not safe from evil even when it dies. Because we fear what we can‟t understand, we give names and lore to supernatural events, and then invent heroes to combat the forces of darkness. For every evil child-eating witch, there is a Hansel & Gretel to kick butt and save the day. Sam and Dean Winchester dispatch demons, vampires, werewolves,

and all other manner of evil on Supernatural. Vampires such as Elijah, Angel, Louis, and Edward seek redemption from their own darkness, turning their immortal bloodlust into a metaphor for alcoholism and addiction. What it all boils down to is our deeper belief that there is life after death, and a subconscious knowledge that our soul is eternal. Maybe we even hope that if we can‟t find salvation in this life, we may be able to earn it in the next. Folly, perhaps, but it says a lot about the condition of the human spirit… for both good and ill. —Charity

t the moment, Teen Wolf is one of MTVs hottest television programs. As the name implies, itâ&#x20AC;&#x;s a show about werewolves, werewolf hunters, and strange hybrids all trying to live and let live or the reverse, kill or be killed. While itâ&#x20AC;&#x;s one of the most entertaining supernatural/fantasy programs on TV right now, it is possible to dig below the surface to deeper meanings and truths the show either deliberately or unwittingly reveals.

For example, everyone lives by a moral code. For some people, this means having no absolutes, living by their own definition of right or wrong; for others, a moral code implies following a set of guidelines or rules. In Teen Wolf, a family of werewolf hunters, the Argents, are a supreme example of both views. The hunter families are organized under a different hierarchy than the traditional one. While the men are the obvious decision-makers, the last word is always had by the oldest female of the household, something to remember when considering how moral codes play out in the series.

Werewolf hunter and male head of his household, Chris Argent lives his life by a strict moral code known as the Hunter‟s Code. He fights werewolves because he views them as rabid dogs. Once they‟ve killed someone, there is no hope for them. They‟re dangerous and must be put down. However, the code of conduct for the Argent family restricts killing where a still innocent werewolf is concerned and they never kill people. There are, in fact, werewolves who haven‟t killed a person, someone like Scott McCall, the teenage hero of our story. Chris knows that Scott, who happens to be dating his daughter Allison, while is strictly speaking a werewolf, has not harmed a living, breathing human being. Chris, according to the laws that govern his conduct, cannot in good conscience kill him, even though Scott is a werewolf and killing werewolves is what Chris does for a living. He is, in fact, known as a reluctant killer. He prefers to ask

questions first and shoot later if at all possible. On the flipside of Chris‟s behavior is his wife Victoria, father Gerard, and sister Kate. When Kate starts threatening innocent lives, including Scott, it‟s obvious that not all hunters adhere to their code of conduct. Gerard only has vengeance in mind when he comes on the scene, and Victoria, well, she is impossible to like for anyone who admires the hunter‟s code and Chris. It‟s hard to like someone who tortures the mostly innocent hero with wolfsbane, a deadly poison to werewolves. Kate is a cruel, emotionless psychopath, and she will do anything to achieve her goal, no matter how many innocents get in the way or how many end up as collateral damage. That is the biggest difference between those with a moral code of absolutes and those who go along making up their own rules. Unfortunately, because of the Argent family hierarchy, Chris

is often overruled by his controlling ice queen of a wife. Victoria‟s views align strongly with those of her husband‟s sister and those of her father-in -law, leaving Chris to either get in line with them or get out, which he would never do since family means everything to him. Every few episodes Chris is forced to witness something he cannot condone and he reminds his family that they live by a moral hunter‟s code but no one listens. Everyone is too caught up in fulfilling their own desires, following their own destiny, creating their own truth, that they don‟t have time for the hunter‟s code that has served them for centuries. Chris is left to pick up the chaotic pieces of bad decisions when none of it needed to happen if the family would just follow the code. Sound familiar? It should because that is the message being dished out to modern American society today. Make your own truth. If it feels good do it. Do what‟s right for you. All this literally means that if a family is half werewolf and half human, you can burn the entire family alive in a house without caring whether there are innocents in among the guilty. Collateral damage no longer matters when you block out the absolutes that say something is definitely right or definitely wrong because a higher power has deemed it so. To some, Chris Argent seems old-fashioned. He‟s a rule-

follower, a traditionalist who believes in absolutes, a real stick-in-the-mud, but the world needs people who will stand tall and say the traditional ways are the best because they‟re based on a foundation of law and order, not merely on emotion. Chris Argent doesn‟t follow an “I rule” mentality. Imagine a football player who suddenly threw away the playbook and did whatever he wanted on the field. Nope, “I rule” ideology doesn‟t get you very far. It is the Chris Argents of the world that acknowledge they don‟t know everything, that there is a higher power, and that there are laws that must be followed. If society truly believed absolutes are in the eye of the beholder, why do we get upset over crime? Why do we seethe with rage whenever a

child is kidnapped, violated, and murdered? After all, the kidnapper was only doing what was right in his own eyes, and what makes him feel good. Why should we impose rules on him if we don‟t want anyone else‟s rules imposed on us? Society loves the idea of individual truth, but never thinks beyond its own personal truth to the truths of psychopaths, rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists. We have no right to judge anyone else if truth is indeed relative. There has to be a code of conduct, a moral center, in order for people to live with any sort of dignity at all. Half of the Argent family did what was right in their own eyes, leaving chaos, death, and destruction in their wake. They thought they knew better than the rules that had governed

them for so long, and it turns out that they were wrong. As object lessons go, it‟s shocking to find such a profound one in such a snarky program as Teen Wolf, but there it is, large as life, clear as crystal, for those willing to take a good, long look. ☠ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Carissa Horton sews, knits, and writes. She works for Compassion International, which finds sponsors for third world children, and dreams of being an agent at a publishing house. She blogs about life, faith, relationships, and fandom in her free time. Cautionary Warning: Teen Wolf contains scenes of heightened sexuality without nudity, violence, and occasional homosexual innuendo/content.

here's a house on the corner. It is familiar but untouched for a long time. Most people wouldn't know if someone did venture there. One always thinks they know their neighbors, but how little they actually do know of what they feel, what they can choose to do on any given day, well… that at times turns out to be a revelation. This evening, though, you go up the worn walk. It's just a normal, cool, autumn night. All is quiet in the world. Leaves pile up at the curb. Although you can't remember all that has happened to bring you to this point, it feels natural that you find yourself in front of the house… natural to step into the unknown, and test new boundaries.

see something, a shape waiting in a room further in. You pause as the first glimmerings of recognition strike you, as even the closet doors and the corners of mysterious halls look familiar—like you know what you will see on the other side. Turning away from the main room, you open the first door and see a black and white image

personality license to own his jealousies, his actions. With a shudder, you shut the door as he sinks her car in mire. This isn't too bad, to be honest. You can deal with it. The closet on the opposite wall opens like a window into a past time. You see a quaint foreign man with a black mustache revealing that a quiet young woman was the mastermind behind numerous murders and thefts, a soul drunk on bloodshed and the power of her own mind. The tortured evidence of her victims lies before her and she smiles. There is no remorse. There is actually something of gaiety.

Now you turn to the kitchen, a place normally filled with warmth and of a woman fraught with comfort. It should be safe. A The steps to the porch are old paranoia fleeing because of the place for baking cookies and and plain, nothing special as four hundred dollars she stole — dinner preparation. You slide they creak under your weight, and then her dying terribly, the door back, opening into a but you're surprised when the strangely, at the hands of a bright, clean kitchen with a old door gives in to your push psychotic killer who seemed to batter bowl still on the counter with little resistance. The silent, be the nicest person in the waiting to be finished with. The welcoming hall is still but is not world. Little did she know what oven spreads cozy warmth. But empty. The small pictures on the lay at the end of her road, that the batter spoon is on the floor, wall seem somewhat familiar, the sweet man had a switch in bits of yellow mixture flung but you pass on by because you his brain that gave another across the tiles of the floor and

on the wooden cabinet. In a flash, you see the woman who stood there, setting down the bowl, turning—and being seized and dragged through the porch door, screaming through her attacker's hands. You have a vision of her end, hung up like a mannequin in a freezer in a long line of victims as her hooded murderer walks away from his collection, free as a lark.

gloried satisfaction—and broken desolation. Glancing side to side as you flee, you see people running in the dark of night to hide from their own paranoia and delusions, their hands red with the effect of their own fears —you see children torturing those smaller or dumber than themselves, jeering and egging on; it‟s all the most frightful because it comes from the mouths of the young, those supposed to be innocent. And Now, the fear is like ice driving amid the chaos, you see the through your body. You flee figures of your neighbors, the through a hallway where you calm steady elderly, the young hear myriad voices clamoring and fearful, the faithful and and hollering in agony, in dedicated—yes, you see them

there, with the evidence of their secret crimes on their hands. You never truly knew them. All around the voices of fury, jealousy, and fear rage in whirling cadences. The screams of the gruesome conquerors; the wild and broken; the failing breath of those robbed of their greatest gift… and the despair of the theft of objects/substances on which the livelihood of one's loved ones depended. The existence of this reality swirls in your consciousness like ghosts. The passion of the primal madness is tangible, like the taste of static electricity on your 9

tongue before a coming storm. And you realize, all passions, all madness, comes from the same spring within all people. Their core is capable of all things. Your wandering feet lead you back to the main room, where once again, you encounter the familiar shape on the floor. The thing so familiar but so alien, as if something forgotten is being dredged up from the depths of your frightened remembrance. You step closer; the moonlight offers brief illumination. Yes, this is your handiwork. The thing you forgot because you could not bear the truth. And there it is, in your hands, the fatal tool. You lived in a delusion, in a fantasy where you were so much better than all the stories of true depravity. Your story is only one of the many in the house of madness. You are one of them. And there is no escape now. We have many names for the things we fear: Frankenstein, the Beast, our Inner Demon. Inexplicably, we are drawn to stories that show us another half, a half almost more human than we are ourselves, in our conscious, so-called civilized world. Movies that give us a 10

terrifying glimpse into ourselves. I wonder at the madness within us. Madness takes many forms. It can even be a good thing—a delicious mad joy, chaotic and wild. A unbound faith that others perceive as unfounded.

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. Eccles. 9:3

Then there's the madness of the blacker strain, that has a needling voice of its own in answer to any given temptation, that whispers “Do it.” And, perhaps the most devious, even “It is justified.” It's a voice with a mask, because it has the sound of a friend, comforting. A neighborly tone that conveys support, reasoning. We watch the perpetrators, knowing their reasons, their passions, and often what drove them to this end. And yet we may be looking at our own reflection, for next time, it might be ourselves there—it might be ourselves, holding the knife. ☠

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Elora Carmen Shore has been writing for almost fifteen years, has published a short story titled Eloise and her first collection of poetry titled A Road to Count the Days By, available on Amazon Kindle. It should also be available in print later this year. Her poems have appeared in several magazines, such as Moon Drenched Fables, Moon Washed Kisses, and Vox Poetica. She is currently working on a romcom and a fantasy trilogy. She likes to keep things diverse. Elora can be found at her blogs, Pendragon and Out My Front Door.

veryone has those films they somehow came across as a kid, and they instantly became part of your pop culture identity. The specific titles are different for each individual; the reasons why someone‟s childhood imagination is sparked by a certain film can vary, but this fact is quite universal.

Squad. Now that I‟m older and more knowledgeable about cinema, I am glad to appreciate what still impresses about it. Aside from plenty of thrills and humor, The Monster Squad has a tone that doesn‟t patronize to the kids who serve as its lead characters and its core audience, which makes it entertaining for everyone.

For me, one of the films was a wonderful choice for Halloween viewing, called The Monster

My personal connection with it began in the late 1980‟s when the film aired on pay cable

channels. My cousins had grandparents through marriage who recorded everything off of one of those channels and when I would spend the night with my cousins, we would all go get movies to watch. I don‟t recall what made us pick it the first time, but every time we debated movies to watch after that, my choice was The Monster Squad. I was four years younger than the main characters at the time and the film became a lifelong favorite of mine.

The film was directed by Fred Dekker from a script by Dekker and Shane Black, and was released in 1987 to low box office results. It stars a group of talented child actors from the time, as well as many vaguely recognizable character actors. The basic plot unfolds over a few days in suburban America and is as follows: on the 100th anniversary of Abraham van Helsingâ&#x20AC;&#x;s defeat of Dracula, a group of 12-year-olds stumble onto his diary, which details the power of an amulet (nearby) to hold the forces of evil at bay. Destroying the amulet will let Dracula and other dark beings 12

rule the world, so Dracula gathers legendary monsters to stop the children from performing the ritual that will keep the balance of power on the side of good. The kids form The Monster Squad to fight them. The writing is the central aspect of this film that makes it truly entertaining. As the title and plot imply, there are plenty of scares to be had. (Though I am also glad to say, nothing too gory takes place on screenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; another plus in a movie geared toward young adolescents.) These moments are more than

just the expected brief shocks of scares; there is also a true sense of peril in the confrontations between the kids and the monsters, especially during the final battle sequence. This is a vital element, as people who are the age of the characters love to be scared and it is helpful to their emotional development to work through fear in harmless ways, such as through film. The humor is also unforgettable. The kids frequently say things in a way that make the viewer laugh, while there are also a lot of light moments throughout. If you are seeing it for the first time, be aware: a couple of lines

will make you laugh hard. (I won‟t spoil them here, though!) By far, the most remarkable feature of the writing is the tone it takes toward its pre-teen protagonists—and therefore the audience. The film shows evidence of treating people of this age as if they have intelligence and maturity right from the beginning and this stays true to the end. When you‟re a kid yourself, this is something you can‟t really put your finger on but you love it. As an adult, you can recognize this fact and appreciate how rare it actually is. The members of the Squad don‟t act like little adults exactly (though a few curse words do show up, and one example of this is particularly memorable)—but the script lets them be relatable people who are active on their own terms. The Monster Squad is perfect for Halloween viewing because it brings together all the classic monsters of old horror films. Dracula, Frankenstein‟s Creature, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Gill Man—they all make an appearance. This film was the first exposure I got to the monster mythology everyone knows now. Vampires and garlic, werewolves and

silver bullets, and the fact that Frankenstein‟s Monster wasn‟t really evil are examples of the lore it touches on. What better time to enjoy a story like that than on the holiday that celebrates things that go bump in the night? The successful jolts and laughs found herein are enough to make it very entertaining, but even better is the nonpatronizing tone it takes toward kids, both in its story and in its audience. Though it wasn‟t a commercial success upon its release, home video slowly allowed The Monster Squad to find a following of dedicated fans. It received a 20th anniversary DVD edition and a reunion panel at Comic Con. Any fan of the film like me will find this no surprise, and more recognition of this kind is

welcome and well deserved. This Halloween could be the start of a new generation of viewers being thrilled by The Monster Squad. ☠ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rachel Sexton is from Ohio and has a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Arts. She loves her parents and her dog Lily. But what you really need to know is that she has to have acting, film, reading, and dance in her life and her favorite fandoms are Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jane Austen, and Once Upon a Time. Plus, she is most described as quiet and her biggest vice is cupcakes. Oh, and her main hobby is editing fan videos.

magine stirring from a long sleep, though for you no time has passed at all, and realizing you are in another time period. The world has changed since the Revolution, although not for Ichabod Crane. He struggles to modernize his outdated philosophies while reconciling himself to the fact that he is one of two Witnesses that stand between humanity and the Apocalypse. It sounds like an insane premise and in many ways it is, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x;s also engaging speculative fiction. This is a relatively new concept: the idea of revitalizing historical events with fantastical or supernatural themes. This series is a true blend of everything an audience can imagine; costume drama infused with paganism, magic, and Christianity. It deals with medieval witches, the Headless Horseman (who is one of the Riders of the Apocalypse), the concept of Purgatory, characters and creatures that step through time, and family dynamics, both in Ichabodâ&#x20AC;&#x;s relationship with his wife and son and in his fellow Witness, Abby Millâ&#x20AC;&#x;s relationship with her sister.

It is, frankly, historical fiction on crack… and I love it. I tune in each week for the latest monster, the latest shocker, the latest plot twist. I watch it for Ichabod‟s old world charm and frequent complaints over modern society. “We must make haste!” he says, shortly before proclaiming the sorry state of the modern era, and the Italians, in charging an exorbitant amount of money for a very small cup of coffee, topped with cream whipped within an inch of his life. He is similarly disinclined to change his “attire,” and thus runs about stealing heads, defeating and raising monsters to fight the Horseman, musing endlessly on his relationships with Jefferson (a genius), Franklin (too full of himself), and other founding fathers, in a full 18th century outfit, topped with a sword and boots. Half the fun is his encounter with modern conveniences, such as credit cards (he loudly lectures the banker on the perils of reckless spending and a life of extravagance), cell phones (modern nuisances), television (full of perversion), and “horseless carriages” (he is utterly fascinated by the ability to roll up and down a window. 16

The other half of the fun is his musings on the past, ranging from romantic sentiments for his wife, who soon enters the story but is trapped in another dimension, to scoffing at the modern interpretation of historic events. The show sets out to cheekily rewrite history,

which might ruffle more serious features. (Poor Benedict Arnold, after all, could not help betraying the cause… for he set his hands upon the thirty cursed pieces of silver Judas was paid for betraying Christ.) Granted, I do not like all of it.

Its depiction of Franklin is not flattering (though admittedly, subjective… seen through the eyes of Ichabod, who preferred Jefferson), and on occasion overt political jabs turn up in the script. Christians might also balk at its pagan elements, which range from Katrina‟s magical skills, to mixing Christian mythology (the Book of Revelation) with all kinds of creatures, myths, and even fairy tales (such as the Pied Piper). It is nothing if not clever, and often tongue in cheek, but also has deeper emotional significance. Each plot thread delicately entwines as it explores themes of family, sacrifice, and honor. If Ichabod is the cynical, old-fashioned dashing hero, then Abbie Mills is his modern-day practical counterpoint. Unlike Ichabod, who saw supernatural events during the Revolution, she is a skeptic of such things. Her childhood was tragic; she and her sister were “taken” into the wood. She denied what she saw there… an ancient demon known as “Moloch,” from the 17th century poem, Paradise Lost. Moloch becomes a major antagonist in the first season, as he tries to bring forth the beginnings of the Apocalypse.

It‟s fun and frightening, chilling and touching, shocking and amusing. It explores the theme of good and evil, offering new viewpoints on those involved and proposing changes to the history we take for granted. It is not deep theologically, instead combining different legends, faiths, and ideas, but its hero is (so far, and hopefully, will stay) virtuous… something not often found in modern television. It tends toward predictability in the sense that it deals with a “monster of the week” format, but it entertains nonetheless.

History majors (and even casual history buffs) will have fun noticing all the historical references and seeing some old legends come to life; including discovering what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke. Some will be scandalized at this highly interpretative version of Biblical (in the loosest sense of the word) events; if the thought of melding religious theology into pagan legend troubles you, it‟s best to stay away… but for the rest of us, Sleepy Hollow is just plain fun. ☠

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Charity Bishop dabbles in writing speculative fiction herself, and in “messing about” (though politely) with historical figures. She had Nikola Tesla in her novel Thornewicke, Thomas Andrews, Margaret Brown, and other Titanic figures in The Secret in Belfast, and recently threw Dr. Joseph Bell into an encounter with Jack the Ripper in The Giftsnatcher. She very much enjoys Sleepy Hollow, but a tiny piece of herself wishes she had thought of it first.

s long as there have been stories, there have been scary stories. As long as there have been scary stories, there have been monsters. And as long as there have been monsters, there have been two kinds of monsters: perceived monster and actual monster. What makes a monster? Appearance? Size? Intent? Action? The dictionary defines “monster” in two ways, as “an imaginary creature that is large, ugly and frightening,” and/or as “an inhumanely cruel or wicked person.” By the first definition, the infamous character of King Kong is indeed a monster. He is

very large, ugly (if you don‟t like the look of gorillas) and indeed frightening. Though not driven by evil motivations that would brand him a complete monster by definition, his innate animalistic instincts and behaviors seem almost cruel at times, at least in the beginning. The character of King Kong has been around since the early

1930‟s. Merian C. Cooper created the gigantic ape for the 1933 film starring Fay Wray as Ann Darrow, Bruce Cabot as Jack Driscoll and Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham (using stop motion puppetry and models for the lord of the monkeys). It is cheesy but visually and technically groundbreaking, well accepted by audiences then and now considered a classic. The popularity of the character coined as “the eighth wonder of the world” resulted in many sequels over the years, remakes and adaptations. Japanese filmmakers even paired Kong with Godzilla for an epic 1962 movie monster showdown in which King Kong was the conquering hero. Audiences all over the world have come to embrace the giant “Megaprimatus kong,” perhaps because of all movie monsters out there, King Kong is one of a kind. There are dozens of lizards, dinosaurs, overgrown

mutated animals and insects, creepy crawlies and crazies, but only one King Kong. Although each director of a Kong movie differs on exactly how large the primate king is (his height ranges from 18 feet to 80), he is still one large angry monkey. On his home of Skull Island, Kong is the undisputed king of the large animals, worshipped by the natives and defeater of many a dinosaur. He is very loud, extremely strong and can be incredibly dangerous. The female protagonist of the Kong centric films, Ann Darrow, first meets Kong as a human sacrifice from the superstitious and violent island natives. The natives have come to know and fear Kong‟s might and penchant for violence when disturbed and leave Ann to die by Kong‟s hand. She is undoubtedly and with good reason terrified of

the great beast that snatches her and takes her deep into the frightening landscapes of Skull Island. While King Kong is a monster by definition, he is much more than a one-dimensional villain. Indeed, he is not a villain at all, as the long suffering Ann comes to realize. Her journey with Kong on and off the island leads her to a much greater understanding of who the great monkey king really is. To quote character Carl Denham, he is “neither beast nor man.” Kong is extremely intelligent, capable of feeling and expression with almost human like tendencies at times, although those tendencies are tempered with his animal nature and innate aggression. Ann is the conduit through which the audience comes to understand and sympathize with the eighth

wonder of the world. Peter Jackson represents well the strange but sweet relationship that forms between Kong and Ann in the 2005 film adaption. Jackson‟s portrayal of Kong as a old, grizzled, world weary, battle scarred giant gorilla whose ancient heart is tempered by an intelligent but timid woman is a captivating character journey, despite it‟s great length (over 3 hours). From their first frightening meeting to the moment where Ann wins over Kong with her juggling skills, to their fateful final journey in New York, the budding relationship between woman and beast is the sweet and compelling center of the entire story. The best scene, which is also my favorite, occurs shortly before Kong‟s tragic end. The sweet ice skating scene between Ann and

Kong in Central Park is a truly eye opening moment when so much emotion and capacity for joy is revealed in Kong‟s expressions. The monster is gone, replaced by the creature Ann has grown to care for, a being of courage, affection and protectiveness. It makes the finale atop the Empire State building so much more heartbreaking because the audience can experience the sadness Ann feels when Kong is brought down by gunfire and falls to his death on the New York streets below. There are other real monsters in the story, such as dinosaurs, giant insects and superstitious natives. I would also argue that the antihero of Carl Denham quite possibly stretches into the realm of villain with his pride, disregard for other‟s feelings

and safety, his run from the law, his carelessness and his shameless pursuit of fame and fortune. Bruce Baxter is also a significant antihero, contrasted against the writer Jack Driscoll who turns out to be the story‟s most courageous and selfsacrificing heroic figure. Nature is a significant antagonist, propelling the plot forward and causing more than its fair share of pitfalls and problems for the story‟s main characters. But when it comes right down to it, King Kong is such an attention grabbing personality that all else pales in comparison… the heroes, villains, and the forces that try to get in his way. Kong even leaves life on his own terms, atop a famous tall structure, silhouetted by a gorgeous sunset, secure in the knowledge that he has successfully rescued the lady he

let into his giant gorilla heart. I don‟t know about you, but I see much more hero than monster in that kind of ending. ☠ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I thrive on creativity and love to be inspired by the creativity of others. My passion is storytelling in all its forms of expression. Some of those loves are American Sign Language, theater, film, audio drama and the varied mediums of art (painting, drawing, etc.). I want to be involved in film production someday, as I am already involved in theater production and would like to be able to turn my hobbies into a full time occupation.

hen people find out one of my favorite fictional characters is a vampire, they tend to give me funny looks. And I don't blame them. Fifteen years ago, if you'd told me I was going to become a devoted fan of two shows involving vampires, slayers, and other seemingly scary stuff, I‟d have given you the same funny look. After all, shows that feature vampires, demons, and magic… those kinds of shows don‟t interest a Christian. Or so I thought. My sophomore year of college, all three of my roommates loved a show I'd vaguely heard of: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They tried to explain it to me. I wasn't interested. More than that, I was a bit suspicious. Like I said, the show sure didn't sound like something a Christian would watch. Why would they go near it? Then I caught a cold a couple weeks into our fall semester. I had to skip my Tuesday evening self-defense class. I was too miserable to do homework. And my roommates gathered in front of the TV to watch the

season premiere of that dreadful-sounding vampire show, followed by the series premiere of its new spinoff, Angel. Sick and sleepy, I gave in and watched it with them. They spent every ad break explaining things to me so I wouldn't be so confused. By the end of the two hours, I still wasn‟t interested, but the guy playing Angel (David Boreanaz) was tall, dark, and oh-sohandsome. And the shows weren't as scary or weird as I'd thought. I agreed not to get upset if they watched more episodes in my presence. The next week, they taped both shows and re-watched them around me later on. I admitted the acting and writing were above-par. And then episode 3 of Angel arrived. It was funnier than the previous installments, so I paid a bit more attention than I had the week before. In it, two other vampires captured Angel and tortured him for information. My heart still pounds when I remember the first time I watched that scene. One bad guy wanted Angel to tell him what he truly wanted more than anything else in this world. He asked over and over,

inflicting more pain with each repetition, and after a bunch of flippant answers, Angel finally admitted that what he desired more than anything was… forgiveness. I forgot to breathe. With one word, Angel had my full and complete attention. By the end of that episode, I was beyond hooked. I needed to know what kind of monster would desire forgiveness. The more I delved into the shows, the more Angel‟s character arc fascinated me. An idle wastrel in the 1750s, he succumbed to a woman's temptations and, instead of a few moments of carnal delight, gained a monstrous immortality. She turned him into a bloodsucking fiend who spent a hundred years terrorizing whoever crossed his path. Then some gypsies cursed him by returning the soul he lost between his death and rising. In the show, the soul contains the conscience, and with that restored, Angel was wracked with guilt over the innumerable atrocities he'd committed. His journey from there astounded me: his search for

redemption, his backsliding, his struggle to change his very being and overcome his desires for blood and destruction. They made Angel a compelling picture of the war within each of us for mastery of our own souls. Sadly for Angel and the other characters on both shows, Christianity in their fictional world is reduced to symbols, stripped of Christ and his saving sacrifice. They can only hope they pile up enough good deeds to appease The Powers That Be. Still, at least both shows talk about souls, about hell and heaven being literal places. They declare that evil is a real thing and put a stake in moral relativity. They even state that no human is good, which is so refreshing in today‟s humanistic society that prattles on about people‟s inner goodness. Yes, most of the theology in both shows is off. Angel himself has a major works-righteousness theme going on, with him trying to save enough “innocent” people to make up for all the people he killed, tortured, and tormented when he was evil. There's a lot of magic in both shows, used for good and evil; I am definitely uncomfortable with that. I also don't agree with lifestyle choices some characters make, but I appreciate the fact that, more than any other shows I've seen in recent history, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel demonstrate over and over again that actions have consequences, that doing the wrong thing will lead you down a dark path, and that doing the right thing might

not be easy, but you need to do it ABOUT THE AUTHOR: anyway. Fifteen years ago, the idea of vampires filled me with disgust. Now the memory of that disgust causes me to shake my head. I'm not saying everyone should run out and watch these shows, as they contain adult themes and have other content issues, but I'm glad I gave them a chance, because they've taken me on a beautiful journey, one that has helped me appreciate my own faith and Christian freedom all the more. They gave me Angel, a complex, fascinating character I‟ll never tire of studying. ☠

When she's not writing, Rachel Kovaciny passes the time by reading, baking, watching movies, crocheting, blogging, and homeschooling her three children. Her least favorite activities are house-cleaning and wearing shoes, and she's been known to go to great lengths to avoid both. She blogs about books, and also has a personal blog that talks about movies and other important things.

oki. A villain who needs no introduction in the Marvel fandom. Played by Tom Hiddleston, the character we first met in Thor (2011) has risen to fame and is beloved by many. This begs the question: how did a villain become a favorite character? Was it the adorable actor behind the character? Or was it the tormented soul of Loki that won the hearts of so many? Before we take a look at Loki‟s role in the blockbuster film The Avengers (2012) let‟s go to the beginning, where it all started for Loki. Something very important happened in Thor that shattered Loki‟s world as he knew it. He found out he was the abandoned child of the Frost Giant leader Laufey. Shortly after this revelation, Loki chose to believe a lie, a lie that would from that point onward influence his decisions. What lie you ask? He believed that he was unwanted, even unloved by his father. He believed he was a charity case. His brother having been banished and his adopted father now in Odinsleep, Loki set out to prove himself. He put a plan into motion that hinged on his brother never returning. A plan that would make Loki feel wanted—even needed. His actions were then misinterpreted and Loki came out looking

like a villain. His final words in Thor reveal his bleeding heart. Villains, or antagonists, in stories are just characters who possess conflicting goals with the main character. We can see this with Loki. He simply wants to prove himself, something he feels he can‟t do with his elder brother, Thor, in the way. Thus there‟s conflict. What makes Loki an admirable villain is his motivation, the person behind the façade. The simple lie Loki chose to believe is the primary reason we even have an Avengers movie. Without a driving factor or a burning desire, you still have a villain who has a motivation, but it‟s hidden deep within them to the point that they might not even know why they act the way they do. Loki becomes the very thing he feared becoming in Thor: a monster… a monster with no apparent desire to change. A monster that refuses to believe his actions are worse than others. That being said, there is a floating conspiracy among “his army” (or fanatic fangirls) that for the duration of Avengers, Loki is under the hypnotic control of the Chituari. Whether such insanity and ruthlessness can be so easily explained away, I don‟t know. The writers did set Loki up for vengeance with such rooted lies. I‟m afraid some things will never have clear cut answers. So why is Loki popular?

This, I believe, can be answered by another common antagonist trait: Loki is relatable. Who hasn‟t felt unwanted or unloved at some point in their life? Who hasn‟t sought attention by enlisting the help of an alien race? Okay, so maybe you haven‟t enlisted the help of an alien race, but maybe you have sought attention. Maybe it was by acting out or behaving poorly. When we look at Loki, when we see him at his most vulnerable, we understand him, at least a little. Sometimes it isn‟t quite so important that the villain has motivation, but that we see a glimmer of humanity, a broken heart, a bleeding soul, that we can relate to. Villains then are the broken people who, when faced with a decision, make the wrong one. People who make mistakes and do horrible things. People who choose the dark over the light. People who choose hatred or revenge over love and forgiveness. To me, villains like Loki represent the person I could have become; these darker emotions that they cling to obscure a deeper hurt. I wish I could say that villains are only in the story world, but they exist in reality too. There are far too many people out there who battle with the same lies Loki does; you might even be one of them. The thing we have to keep in mind is that though we may or may not come from poor circumstances, we are responsible for the decisions that lead us to where

we are today. If you‟ve made poor decisions, the best you can do is hit the restart button and try to move on. Loki is a remarkable villain. Though he is technically Asgardian, we can catch his humanity showing every now and then. Is he redeemable? Absolutely. In fact, we see Loki begin to change in Thor: The Dark World. I believe everyone is redeemable. But to become redeemable means you have to make the decision to change, to turn around and start over. No one is ever too far gone if there‟s a part of them still longing for healing. So here‟s to the people we care about, fictional or real. Here‟s to redemption and second chances. And here‟s to beating back the lies we hear in our hearts. ☠ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rosie Wilson is a college senior with a passion for the written word. In the last few years she has rediscovered her childhood love for reading, and now she blogs at Writings of Rosie. It is her greatest pleasure to endorse Godly fiction as she loves to interact with fellow bloggers as well as with published authors on a daily basis. She desires to one day inspire other hearts to come to Christ through her stories. Next to reading, Rosie loves to write, spend time with her friends and family, and play guitar with her cousins.

rankenstein is one of the most enduring classics of the 19th Century for good reason. Not only is it a highly entertaining sci-fi horror novel that was far ahead of its time, it also examines a number of themes extremely relevant to modern times. These include the relationship between creature and creator, the influence of nature and nurture on human behavior, and the consequences of playing God with science. The latter is particularly interesting in light of recent scientific advancements that Mary Shelley could only have dreamed of nearly two hundred years ago when she wrote Frankenstein. Cloning, stem cell therapy, and most recently the discovery that epidural stimulation may be effective in treating debilitating spinal cord injuries previously thought to be incurable are all major steps towards Dr. Frankenstein‟s ideal— functional immortality.

The novel‟s subtitle is The Modern Prometheus. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was a Titan (half God, half man) who stole fire from Olympus so that he could give it to mankind. In doing so, he defied Zeus and was sentenced to eternal punishment. Similarly, Dr. Frankenstein wished to

that wipes out ninety perfect of the world‟s population. It may seem a bit far-fetched and to an extent it is. I highly doubt that Dolly 2.0 is gathering an army of woolly warriors to be harbingers of the apocalypse; but the risk of science backfiring in other no less catastrophic ways is quite real. All one has to do is read the recent reports of antibiotic resistant superbugs and unregulated dumping of environmental toxins to realize that even seemingly good technological advancements such as life-saving antibiotics and yield-increasing pesticides often have unforeseen consequences in the long run.

counteract death for the benefit of mankind, but his plan backfired and he was tormented by his miserable creation until his death.

This begs the question: how far is too far in our quest for human advancement? Is there, as Shelley proposed in her novel, such a thing as unholy knowledge? Have we created our own monsters? There are no easy answers to these questions. The scientific and medical achievements of the

The creature‟s revenge on its creator is a common trope in science fiction, from the AI uprising to the synthetic virus

last century have radically changed human civilization and the environment in both positive and negative ways, and even Christians can‟t agree on the morals of science. Frankenstein offers a parabolic portrait of a man who stepped over the line of reason and morality and paid the ultimate price. It‟s not, as some might see it, a condemnation of scientific progress, but a cautionary tale warning us to exercise foresight and prudence when toying with the powers of nature. However much people may disagree about individual issues of morality, our philosophy of science should always be rooted in the timeproven fact that no matter how much we think we understand there is always more that we do not understand. We are only human after all. ☠ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate Scott is a born and bred Bostonian living in the greater Richmond area. She blogs about all things bookish at her blog, Parchment Girl, and is a regular contributor to Book Riot and Novel Crossing. You can follow her on Twitter @parchmentgirl37.

“Evil isn‟t born, dearie, it‟s made.” —Rumpelstiltskin, on “Once Upon a Time.”

o one is born inherently evil. Somewhere along the way a conscious decision is made and we are led astray. Sometimes due to the choices we make, we must pay a price for those actions. Rumpelstiltskin started out as a man looking to redeem himself from his father‟s bad name. He wanted more than anything to prove himself by going to war. Upon learning he was to be father, he made a choice that earned him a reputation as a coward. It alienated him from his wife and the village he lived in. None of that mattered; he had his son Baelfire and for him that was enough… for a while. When his son‟s life was threatened, Rumpelstiltskin turned to evil for an answer. It became too much; he assumed the powers of the Dark One. Magic became a crutch he couldn‟t walk without. Not only did it change him inwards; his outer appearance altered too. His skin became reptilian, his eyes dilated and feral, and his voice had an unbalanced giggle quality to it. The wonderful relationship he had with his son soon crumbled and when faced with a chance to escape the darkness, he chose it over his child. For centuries, Baelfire was lost to him, living in a world without magic. In that time, Rumpelstiltskin did whatever possible to find him, going as far as harming some and manipulating others. Once again, in his mind, the only avenue to finding his son was to

use magic. Through a series of events, he was able to manipulate his protégée Regina and she evolved into the infamous Evil Queen (Snow White‟s stepmother). His master plan was in order; a curse would eventually be cast, taking him to the world without magic. He would be reunited with his son, the only person he genuinely cared about. I‟m not looking for love. Or so Rumpelstiltskin said when he struck a deal with Belle to save her people from war. Despite her family‟s pleadings, she went with him to work as his maid. Often enough, we‟re not looking for love but it finds us anyway. Disregarding how he acted and what he believed himself to be, Belle soon saw through the façade to the man he originally was. It wasn‟t long before they were in love, but again, he chose magic and power over his heart. When the Evil Queen‟s curse took hold, it carried everyone to the world without magic (ours), including Rumpelstiltskin. Like everyone else from fairy tale land, he was given a new persona and new memories: he was now a pawnbroker/lawyer named Mr. Gold, the most powerful man in town. Once more he was a man, resembling how he once looked before he became the Dark One. Only when he heard the name “Emma,” the name of the savior who would break the curse did he awaken to the truth. Still he had to bide his time, until the curse was broken before he could continue his search for Baelfire.

Before the others were set free of their false identities, he received a visitor at his pawnshop. Belle had returned to him and when she regained her memory, he opened his heart enough to make a future with her. Rumpelstiltskin was able to find and retrieve his son, but it never could be what it once was. Even with Belle and Baelfire in his life to guide him to goodness, it wasn‟t enough. Dark magic had become an addiction, one he would always succumbed to. When given the opportunity to lay his life down for the ones he loved, he made the right choice. But when given a second chance at life, rather than choose the light, he sought revenge and chose the darkness. Rumpelstiltskin‟s journey from light to darkness and constant battle with his addictions reminds me of a Christian who has wandered from Christ. As believers we know what we must do to redeem ourselves, to walk the path of righteousness, but for one reason or another we just don‟t do it. Thankfully God is a God of second chances. ☠ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Veronica Leigh is an aspiring novelist, who lives in Indiana with her family and six furbabies. Her obsessions range from Jane Austen to the Holocaust to the TV show Once Upon a Time. She has published two short autobiographical pieces and hopes to see more in print. She also lurks on her blog. 31

f you‟ve seen BBC‟s Merlin, you know Morgana started off as an innocent girl. She had a power she didn‟t understand, but she trusted the king‟s doctor, Gaius, to help her. She befriended the young Merlin. She loved Prince Arthur like a brother. She befriended her maid, Guinevere. Morgana was kind and good. As she grew older, though, the power within her grew until she began to suspect she had magic. King Uther had forbidden magic on pain of death. Unknown to Morgana, Merlin was a wizard and used his power secretly to help Arthur as well as keep the kingdom safe. The main difference between Merlin and Morgana was where their hearts were. Merlin, knowing magic was punishable by death, accepted the law, using his powers for good, but making sure to keep them a secret. Morgana chafed against the law and eventually threw the weight of the law from her. Though she had the love of Uther, Gaius, Guinevere, Merlin, and many others, that love wasn‟t good enough. She wanted magic to be accepted, acknowledged, even welcomed. It‟s true that Morgana could have done a lot of good had she

been allowed to use her magic. Merlin certainly did, saving the prince‟s life on more than one occasion and even keeping the kingdom safe. But it was difficult for him; he had to be sly while using it and lie to Uther and Arthur‟s faces about magic. In the end, he assumed the guise of an old man to work his magic in a more accepted way, but even that backfired when the king died. In the end, though, it was Morgana‟s own attitude that did her in. Merlin understood how she chafed against the laws of Camelot and tried to make her see that she could work within those laws. She wanted to do things her own way, though, and caused heartache for herself and the entire kingdom. Morgana and Merlin are to me a picture of man with and without Christ. The same laws apply to both: don‟t kill, don‟t steal, don‟t lie, be kind to others. But the unsaved person chafes against these laws. He thinks of himself first. He wants his own desires filled, often at the cost of other people‟s happiness or wellbeing. He justifies his choices to himself, finding reasons to do what he wants. The saved person, though, follows these laws with joy. Merlin only told Arthur at the

end that he had magic. Though he would have liked for magic to be accepted, he knew the laws and obeyed them as much as he could. The Christian will still sin, but he will want to tell the truth, to put others first, to do what God asks of him. There are times he will be asked to sacrifice what he wants, and he will make that sacrifice gladly. In the end, it was Morgana who lost. She lost out on having a loving father, a devoted brother, and a kingdom who accepted her as queen. She lost Merlin‟s friendship. And in the end she lost everything. Merlin, in losing his life, wins. And in the end, it is the Christian who, giving his life, wins. He will be rewarded with eternal life with Christ. ☠ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Carol Starkley lives in the beautiful state of Connecticut. She has a husband, three daughters and live-in mother-in-law, three cats, five fish, and a hamster. She works part-time while working and going to school. She loves to write, read, and take pictures of life around her. Her blog is updated infrequently, but she hopes to change that after she graduates. She‟s a Christian, and hopes that ultimately her life will point to him. She also blogs.

ave you ever contemplated the worst neighbors you‟ve ever had before? Perhaps they didn‟t mow their lawn enough, weed it, or water it and it looked like the wild savannah. Or maybe they didn‟t trim their bushes or trees and now the yard was overgrown to the point where you expected to see Tarzan swinging by on a vine. And then there‟s the paint job… peeling, cracking, fading, doing all those things that old colors do on a sun-burnt house. And the time their dog came over and acted like a doormat so you tripped when you stepped out the front door. Or the episode where their trashcan tipped over (via invisible ghost) and all the litter was spread up and down the street, the tire collection in the front yard grew large enough where it could be used to make a castle, and remember that Halloween where they didn‟t have to put up fake cobwebs around the porch lights, the real ones were THAT good? Okay, so maybe that is an exaggeration. Maybe you‟ve known one person / household that has done one of those things listed above. But you have to know they are out there, somewhere, lurking nearby, seeming normal when

they move in or you move in, yet doing odd things at odd times that make a body scratch their head and go “Wha—?” There was once a man who actually suffered some of the sad tale of neighborly woe, not ironically in a movie called The „Burbs, for after all, the oddest things happen in the suburbs. It was the quiet little street of Mayberry until the three Klopeks bought a creaking, paint-peeling, haunted yardfeeling house from the elderly Knaps. Or perhaps the house only became that way after they had been there for a month; the story never lets you know. But what you do know is that something in their basement is causing huge bursts of light and steam, waking the neighbors at all hours, who wonder what the new people on the block are up to. One of these neighbors is Ray Peterson, a generally pleasant man trying to enjoy his vacation with his wife, Carol, and his son, Dave. Yet every time he thinks about heading for a cottage by the lake, the Klopeks seem to foil his plans by acting suspicious and raising the curiosity of both he and his friends from the same street, Lt. Mark Rumsfield and Art

Weingartner. The men truly believe the Klopeks are behind the disappearance of elderly homeowner Walter Seznick, who vanished without a trace other than leaving his toupee on the kitchen stove, and will stop at nothing to find the old man‟s bones. Teenage observee Ricky Butler, charged with painting his parent's house in their absence, finds the antics of the three older men hilarious and even brings his friends in on the action, setting up an impromptu “neighborhood watch” house party. But just what is suspicious about an old house in need of a paint job, a twisty tree in need of a chain-saw haircut, a brown and prickly lawn, and three men from the “old country”, young Hans and Werner and Rueben? Why suspect them of killing an old man who has the best lawn on the street and permits his little poodle Queenie to tinkle wherever she likes? Sure, that‟s annoying, but worth killing over? Well, it‟s not so much the where or the who, it‟s the why that matters to Ray, Mark, and Art. Why would Hans drive the car out of the garage at 11 o‟clock at night with no headlights on, stop at the curb, carry a squishy 35

sounding bag of trash to their metal trashcans, and shove it, more like beat it, in with a hoe? Why would the three Klopeks be out in their backyard in the middle of the night in pouring rain, digging huge holes large enough for a body to fit into? Why do the house numbers 669, once the door was knocked and a loose number falls over, read 666? Why does anyone need an enormous furnace that heats hundreds of degrees with additional metal conduits running up through the living room? Why did Ray‟s dog dig up a femur at their shared fence line? And why would you serve anyone visiting for a friendly chat, rancid sardines and pretzels as a snack? Are the Klopeks really murderers, or are Ray and his friends just very paranoid? And of course you don‟t know someone who beats their trash bags, digs trenches in the wee 36

hours in rain, or feed people weird food on their first neighborhood visit. Which is good, because you don‟t want to live in these „burbs, because if the Klopeks aren‟t odd enough, the other group more than makes up for it. Ray, Mark, and Art, with the occasional encouragement from Ricky, clip electrical wires on city owned poles, trespass on private property, set things on fire (not always, but it does happen), dig holes in other peoples yards, and consider that the Klopeks may have sacrificed Walter in some satanic ritual. Blink, blink, goes Ray‟s wife, Carol. Blink, blink, goes Mark‟s wife, Bonnie. And if Art‟s wife had been there, she probably would have hit him on the back of the head and dragged him home in a pincer grip. Ahem… well, that‟s what this writer would have done.

So the next time you find yourself griping about that neighbor that didn‟t rake the leaves, didn‟t pull every last dandelion, and didn‟t remember to get the newspaper in the morning, remember where you could live and who could be your neighbors. Mayberry is not the quiet little street it used to be. It is not just the suburbs, it is The „Burbs. ☠ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Caitlin Horton is a 20something reader, seamstress, and history buff. She lives a life blessed in the knowledge that she is God's child, and her life has a purpose within the scope of His plan. She encourages her readers to remember, every day can be like Bilbo's "adventure" if you‟re willing to take the "ordinary" and add some "extra" in front of it! She also blogs about her crafts!

rom Murnau's Nosferatu in 1922 to Dracula Untold in 2014 the immortal Count has been captured on the big screen more than any other fictional character. Dracula is a unique horror masterpiece and the most famous of all vampire tales. The author of the novel was Irish novelist and short story writer Bram Stoker, who created one of the immortal fictional monsters. Cruel and noble, evilly and fatally desirable to women, Dracula possesses a terrifying lust for power and remains one of the most powerful creations of terror ever conceived. The novel reads as a series of diary entries, newspaper clippings, ship‟s logs and letters. Stoker chose the name Dracula after reading up on Romanian history; Dracul means dragon, devil or monster in many Eastern European countries; Dracula literally means Son of the Dragon in Romanian mythology. Count Dracula is connected to the real life bloodthirsty Prince of Wallachia (a region of Romania) Vlad III (1431-1476) nicknamed Vlad the Impaler because he liked to impale his victims on wooden

stakes. Vlad was a cruel, vicious ruler who is thought to have killed 100,000 people mostly by impalement. His father was Vlad II Dracul, a member of the Order of the Dragon. Dracula was first published in 1897. It wasn't a bestseller at the time but its reputation grew as years went by; more than a

century later, the novel has never been out of print. Although not the first novel written about vampires, it was the first widely read and mainstream book about vampire lore. The Dracula legend has since been the subject of many films. Nosferatu was directed in 1922 by the legendary F.W. Murnau. The first truly great vampire movie, it was an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula with the

adaptation of Dracula with the names changed. Dracula was called Count Orlok, Jonathan Harker is Thomas Hutter, Renfield is Knock, and Van Helsing is Professor Bulwer. Stoker's widow successfully sued the German studio and all German prints of the film were destroyed but thankfully Nosferatu returned from the dead in prints found in other countries. Unlike the charming aristocrat in Stoker's novel, Count Orlok is a hideous ratfaced creature, a memorably creepy performance by Max Schreck. The film was remade by Werner Herzog in 1979 starring Klaus Kinski. The second film Dracula (1931) made Bela Lugosi (1882-1956) a household name and a horror legend. The first of a Universal Studios series of horror classics of the 30's and 40's, Lugosi first perfected the role on Broadway in “Dracula,” which opened in 1927 and ran for 261 performances. Lon Chaney was rumored to be director Tod Brownings first choice to play the Count in the film version, but he died in August 1930 before production of the film began.

After the success of The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) starring Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the Monster, Hammer Studios decided to concentrate on horror. Dracula (1958) would be one of their greatest and most highly rated films. For the first time since Tod Browning‟s 1931 film, the storyline is loosely based on Stoker's novel, though Renfield is missing from this adaptation. Christopher Lee's excellent portrayal of the Count meant that he would be playing the Prince of Darkness at least seven more times in movies. Nosferatu the Vampyre was directed by Werner Herzog in 1979. It was a remake of F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922). Bram Stoker's Dracula had entered the public domain and Herzog could now use the actual names from the book, something Murnau couldn't do in his version. Klaus Kinksi's vampire was an homage to Max Schreck's white-faced, bald headed, ratlike creature.

The most successful adaptation of Stoker‟s novel on screen was Bram Stoker‟s Dracula directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1992. Coppola actually considered titling this film „D‟ to distinguish it from previous adaptations. Bram Stoker‟s Dracula is a magnificent adaptation of the classic gothic novel by Bram Stoker. This film from Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter James Victor Hart offers a fullblooded portrait of the immortal

Transylvanian vampire. The major departure from Stoker is one of motivation, as Count Dracula (Gary Oldman) is fueled more by romance than by bloodlust. He punctures necks as a means of avenging the death of his wife in the 15th century, and when he comes to London, it is specifically to meet the heroine, Mina Harker (Winona Ryder), the living image of his late wife (Ryder plays a dual role). Anthony Hopkins is the obsessed vampire hunter Van Helsing, while Keanu Reeves takes on Jonathan Harker, and Tom Waits plays bug-eating Renfield. This movie should be respected for at least the fine psychological acting of Gary Oldman, who opened all his powerful dramatic talent. A medieval knight, a grim old man, a Romanian aristocrat, a terrifying monster, a suffering lover… in any of these images, Oldman isn‟t just organic, he is frighteningly authentic. In Coppola‟s version, Dracula is a tragic and tortured soul. His

actions are never guided by revenge as they were for Hammer‟s Dracula or by the taste for blood as in other versions; here he does it all for love, though his character is in no way just romantic. This film shows Dracula as wolf and a hideous-looking bat/human creature. What is different from the earlier films is we see him midway through transformations like a scene with Lucy, when he is half wolf/beast and half human. The result is really scary. Bram Stoker‟s Dracula works on many levels. It tries to take a serious look at Bram Stoker‟s novel but also present a new depiction of the legend. In the early 90s, Coppola was able to fill his film with deep philosophical content. In the first meeting between Dracula and Mina in the cinema, where Lumiere film is shown, the multilayer composition of the earlier film

creates an illusion of a likelihood of cinematic space … the reality and sleep at the same time. The play of colors are stylistically interesting: “cold,” “sad,” “lifeless” blue (Dracula‟s light) and “hot,” “vicious,” “live” red (Mina‟s aura). Although different from the novel in its overt romanticism and themes of reincarnation, it captures the moody darkness of Stoker‟s writing, the horror of the Brides of Dracula, and the surreal Gothic tone while following a similar sequence of events. The sheer artistic quality involved will not be repeated in another film, nor forgotten. Its message lives on, in a story that reinforces the belief that love never dies… ☠

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: My name is Marianna Kaplun. I was born in Moscow. I am philologist specializing in Ancient Russian drama and theatre. I research tsar‟s performance in the period of Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Ivan The Terrible) and Aleksey Mikhailovich (Alexis of Russia). Also I am film and TV critic by calling and librarian by profession. You can find my essays on my Facebook page and on the site of Lumiere . I also blog in English and Russian.

ost of us don‟t wear our evil on our faces. We put on a smile, and hide our sins from the world, but what if one day, we woke to discover the evil in our nature bleeding onto our face? What would we do to hide it? Would we give in, or resist it?

find most entrancing about The Wolfman is the subtleties at work under the surface, and its total abandonment of a typical “happy ending” for a much more realistic, bittersweet conclusion. It explores the concept that we must all pay for our sins but that it is love that sets us free.

invite sin into my life. I was born with a tendency toward it, and much like Lawrence, as I get older, I continually try to restrain it, take responsibility for my actions, and seek the forgiveness of those I wrong through my selfish, sinful behavior. The more I let the beast (selfishness and sin) take over, the This concept was explored in The further I am from recognizing the Wolfman, an early “classic” from Lawrence is an innocent man who things that are important and Hammer Horror. A young man is can‟t atone for his crimes; he can‟t godly in my life. If left unchecked, bitten by a werewolf and begins control his brutality or prevent it in time my selfishness would be so his slow but dark transformation from destroying all he holds dear. complete as to render me into a beast that awakens each day He can but try to warn others, incapable of seeing grace even covered in blood, much to his mourn when they don‟t heed him, when it stands before me. horror, with few memories of his and face the consequences. Unlike sins. The character went through the original Wolfman who bit Like Lawrence, I can‟t save myself many incarnations over the years, Lawrence, embraces the curse, but must turn to a being who loves but was revived in a stunning big- uses it to his evil advantage, and me enough to save me. In a sense, screen gore-fest that paid homage takes joy in “embracing the beast,” by recognizing true love for what in every way possible to the Lawrence tries to restrain his it is and in turning my life over to original while also exploring its crimes and prevent himself from God, I “die” to self, for it begins themes of hidden evil. harming others. Sadly, in the end, my transformation… not into a he cannot free himself from this hideous beast, but into the being I The Talbot household has a secret curse. Gwen must do it for him by am meant to be, who will indeed hidden away from the world. The loving him enough to put a silver find peace in the afterlife, because shadow of a former suicide hangs bullet into his heart. In the few I will no longer bear the scars of over it, his mother‟s death leaving seconds before his death, he turns the beast within. ☠ many scars on Lawrence‟s mind. human again… long enough to He escapes the ghosts of his past thank her and fulfill the gypsy‟s ABOUT THE AUTHOR: by pursuing a career on the stage, prediction that, having been slain but is brought home again when by someone who loves him, he will Charity Bishop would dearly his brother‟s fiancée, Gwen, begs find peace in the afterlife. love to spend all her free time mulling over, theorizing, and him to help her discover what philosophizing on the vast truly happened to his brother, Unlike the famous monsters in who has disappeared. So, back Victorian literature, Lawrence spiritual / moral lessons of cinema Lawrence goes to a house full of doesn‟t set out to misbehave, nor and Victorian literature, but alas, she must make a living, so her days shadows… to a sinister, cruel, invite evil to take him over; it emotionally restrained father… to creeps into his blood through a are spent doing editorial work. She corridors full of spider webs and savage bite, which then begins to devotes her free time to babysitting her bipolar cat, writing books, dried leaves… to a moor hidden in subtly alter his behavior. Over mist and full of gypsy caravans… time, he becomes the beast and blogging, and searching for spiritual truth in all aspects of life… to unearth a tragic tale that will while in his state of savagery, he change his life forever. can‟t recognize friend from foe. when she isn‟t editing Femnista! Even though the violence is over the top and frankly, diminishes the underlining messages, what I

Even though I watch the film for fun, I also like to ponder what this means for my own life. I did not 41

December 1st.

“A Family Affair”

Promised Articles: Hansel & Gretel, The Jones‟ (Indiana Jones), The Baratheons (Game of Thrones), The March Sisters (Little Women), Anne & Margot Frank, The Bennets (Pride & Prejudice), Chuck & Ellie, While You Were Sleeping, The Woodhouses (Emma), The Holmes (Sherlock), the Crawleys (Downton Abbey), The Originals. Suggested Topics: The Ponds (Doctor Who), the Lannisters (Game of Thrones), The Borgias, The Corleones (The Godfather), The Pendragons (Merlin), Mary & Elizabeth & Edward (The Tudor Monarchs), The Winchesters (Supernatural), The Foresytes (The Foresyte Saga).

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