31 Nights of Halloween - Night 28 - Beast of Satan

 

This wretched fable of fear erupted in a fountain of ectoplasm from the pages of Ghosts 63, April 1978.

Ghosts is a horror comics anthology series published by DC Comics for 112 issues from September–October 1971 to May 1982. Its tagline was "True Tales of the Weird and Supernatural" (December 1978), changed to "New Tales of the Weird and Supernatural," as of #75 (April 1979), and dropped after #104 (September 1981).

The comic was created by Leo Dorfman, who wrote all of the stories in the first issue. To avoid having it seem that a single writer was monopolizing the comic, editor Murray Boltinoff had Dorfman use the pseudonyms "Geoff Brown" (Dorfman's son was named "Geoff" and his wife's maiden name was "Brown") and "David George".

Ghosts was one of several horror-mystery-suspense DC Comics series launched in 1971, along with The Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love and The Sinister House of Secret Love. According to DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz, Ghosts "wasn’t a fan favourite (then or in retrospect), it was a disproportionately good seller." Nick Cardy was the cover artist for Ghosts for issues #1–6, 8–15, and 17–36.

Each issue of Ghosts carried multiple stories of the supernatural. The stories were prefaced by a short description introducing the premise and ended with a summation of how a mysterious justice was dealt to the evildoers of the tale. The first issue of this series carried the singular title Ghost in its indicia, but everywhere else, including advance promotional house ads and even on its own cover, it was the plural Ghosts, as even the indicia would read from #2 on. Limited Collectors' Edition #C–32 (Dec. 1974–Jan. 1975) reprinted stories from Ghosts #1, 3–6 and featured new material by Leo Dorfman and artists Gerry Talaoc, E. R. Cruz, and Frank Redondo.

Starting with issue #37 (April 1975), a new regular feature was added. At the front of each book a page of single panel depictions of alleged ghost sightings were listed in the fashion of Robert L. Ripley's Believe it or Not! features. These one-page introductory spreads were usually titled "Ghosts and the Supernatural." A Ghosts Special was published in December 1977 as part of the DC Special Series umbrella title. Ghosts #95 (Dec. 1980), introduced the series' first continuing-character feature, "Dr. 13 - The Ghost-Breaker." The character encounted the Spectre in a three-issue storyline. The "Dr. Thirteen" feature last appeared in #102 (July 1981).

For the most part, Ghosts was not "hosted" by a recurring character used in a framing sequence. In issue #104 (September–October 1981), however, Squire Shade was introduced as the title's host. He lasted in that position until the book was cancelled with issue #112 (May 1982).

Pencilers - John Calnan

Inkers - John Calnan

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Nextflix Reviews - I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House

Want to know what to 'watch next' on Netflix? Check out my Nextflix Reviews

Lily (Ruth Wilson) is a private palliative nurse caring for an elderly patient Iris Blum (Paula Prentiss) who is in her final months and wishes to die in her own home rather than in an institution. Blum was an author in her younger days and is confused, calling Lily "Polly" which is the name of one of the characters from her most well known book, The Lady in the Walls. Whilst staying in the quiet house the nervous Lily who is timid and easily scared begins to suspect the house is haunted. She begins reading Blum's book despite knowing she is normally too scared for such things.

The book claims to have been narrated to Blum in 1960 by Polly herself a former tenant of the house who has been dead some 100 years or more and somehow I guess communicates her tale from the other side. The mystery as to what befell Polly is not cleared up in the book as Polly seems to not remember just what fate became her. This film doesn't really have any surprises in it, the only surprising thing is how could such a nervously inclined woman ever become a nurse? I swear she'd be scared by a bedpan she's so wet!

As I put this film on I quickly realised that I had watched it before sometime, it was so familiar but I guess it just wasn't that memorable at all as I had to watch it again to remind myself. I can see why it never stuck in my mind, it is so slow, it tries to create atmosphere but rather than creating any dread or feeling of foreboding or mystery the pace of it just had me pondering what to watch next. If you want scares, or any sort of horror then this probably isn't for you. If you can handle glacially slow quiet brooding but ultimately not much happening films than give it a watch. For me the most interesting facets about this movie are it's title and the fact that Paula Prentiss was 2nd lead in the original The Stepford Wives, the old classic sci-fi movie from 1975. Also the director Osgood is the son of Anthony Perkins of Psycho fame. That's just 2 films you'd probably be better off watching than this one in my opinion.

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Movie review - A Ghost Story

"One of 2017's best films", "brilliant and profound", "a near masterpiece", wow great reviews there.

Hmmm.......

Yes it's one of "THOSE" movies. The ones that get rave reviews from... somewhere. I can't make out the names on the poster. I could be cruel or try to be funny and say perhaps they are from The Lunatic Asylum In-patients Review and the Sandwich Short of a Picnic Times but I won't do that. (Although I still made the joke lol, best of both worlds) 

I used to do a fanzine and I'd review everything using my patented 'cup of tea' ratings system where I would mark stuff out of how much it personally appealed to me. Just because I thought this was pointless, boring, silly and pretentious bilge it doesn't mean that it actually is. It just is for me. And my girlfriend and quite a lot of people on IMDB too. I am sure there are plenty of other people who's tastes differ a million miles away from my own who loved it. Cool. Good for them. I never want to meet these people though as their tastes are so diametrically opposed to my own that I fear we'd probably hate one another. Plus they'd probably also smell of wee and dribble a lot. (Joking!) 

First off I will warn you this is not a horror by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it scary or creepy or even trying to be. So what is it trying to do? 

So this is profound apparently but I just found it profoundly silly, if there was a reason that the ghosts are made out of sheets like an unimaginative child's 1st Halloween costume I can't fathom it. There is even a neighbour ghost later in a flowery sheet who our main ghost communicates to telepathically I suppose and we see subtitles of their banal conversation. 

It's also profoundly boring. Even before one of the two characters dies they just mumble to each other about nothing much. After the death they have even less interaction, the one mopes whilst the other watches. Eventually the living person moves out, we see other families come and go. There is a scene where the ghost goes full poltergeist mode for an unknown reason and starts throwing plates around, scaring the crap out've a mother and her children. Later during a party scene in the house the usual drunk/stoned blowhard nonsense philosopher gives a turgid diatribe on their thoughts of life, the universe and everything and on how we are all but motes of dust in the cosmic wind blah blah blah. It was like one of those typical deep sounding conversations you have when you are drunk and wake up and think, "blimey we didn't half talk rubbish last night!"

Then the film just gets profoundly ridiculous and then it ends and not a moment too soon just like this review!! 😜