Thursday, January 14, 2010

Sacred Circle - a dark poem about a witch chased by demons



Sacred Circle

A woman dressed in white runs swiftly through the forest. Closely behind, dark, monstrous demons growl as they chase her. The demons knock down trees that are in their way. When she turns to look, she sees red eyes glaring with evil. Finally, she comes to a clearing and sits down.


I call to the goddess,
to hear my prayer.
My life is threatened,
by demons most evil.


I sit on the earth,
and create a circle.
The lines are drawn,
and the blessings said.

Dark creatures draw near.
Soon I am surrounded.
Goddess, protect me now.
The demons draw closer.

Clouds form and thunder booms.
Lightning flashes across the sky.
Dark shapes reach for me.
My death is near.

Lightning hits the earth,
and a demon disappears.
More and more lightning,
until they are all gone.
I thank the goddess,
for saving my life.
Within her circle,
I will always stay.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Real Vampires: The need for bad science.


Undead Vampires, ranging from Dracula, created by Bram Stoker, to the more urbane Lestat, created by Anne Rice, all share two basic characteristics. They are dead, and they need to ingest blood from mortals to continue to exist. They also share common traits with mortals. They stand, talk, move, run, and carry out all sorts of physical activities.

How do vampires carry out their active physical existences? Humans, mortals, have complex biological systems that provide energy to the muscles, tendons, bones, etc. that enable us to carry out activities. Vampires are dead: their hearts don't beat; their lungs don't breathe; and their former biological energy producing systems are no longer functioning. Where do their muscles get the energy? Dr. Katherine Ramsland wrote an entire book,
The Science of Vampires, speculating about how vampires function and think. Dr. Ramsland could only speculate, because neither she nor anyone else has examined a "real undead vampire."


In the movies and in novels, vampires share blood with humans to turn them into vampires. How is this possible? Without hearts that beat, what keeps vampire blood flowing? Vampires are always depicted as being cold to the touch, quite logical since they are dead. Vampires are also depicted as being impervious to the cold. However, if they are cold-blooded creatures, and they are outside, or even inside, in freezing temperatures their blood would begin to thicken. That issue has never been addressed to the best of my knowledge. It's not a matter of unanswerable questions as much as it is a illogical possibilities.

We've also seen, or read about, vampires turning into some kind of dust or smoke. The transformation of matter from one form, a solid, into another form, gaseous, requires heat or some kind of chemical process. Modern science has no means by which it can almost instantaneously turn a solid object into a gaseous one with the exception of a nuclear explosion. There's a lot of bad science going on when it comes to the undead vampire. The stories of these creatures arise from folklore and are given life not by some magical process, but by the creative imagination of writers. The reader also has to participate, because more than a little suspension of disbelief is required to go along with the idea. However, judging by the current popularity of vampire books, movies, and now television shows, science and logic of the furthest things from the minds of readers and viewers.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Midnight Meat Train - A Horror Movie Too Far


Can horror stories go too far?


The Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker is a well written a horror story that takes the reader to the limits of civilization by virtue of the nature of its content. I read this story several years ago when I was studying Clive Barker's content and style. Many of his stories emphasize the psychological nature of horror, which I believe is a more effective to means of depicting horror than headless corpses and scenes of abattoirs.


I read the entire story but felt more than a little revulsion at Barker's descriptions of what happens on the subway train in question. I was impressed with his style, and the vividness of his imagination, but wondered if it was necessary to overwhelm the reader with gory details. I am aware, as are most people, there are many movies depicting bloody violence to an extreme that would sicken most people. The fact that such material finds an audience is a commentary on how much more humanity needs to grow to distance ourselves from the baser aspects of our being.

I was more than a little surprised when I read that Barker's horror story was to be made into a movie. I wondered wether they were going to show all the gruesome details that Barker depicted in his story. Recently, this movie was on one of the cable stations to which I subscribe. I recorded the movie so I could watch it when my wife was asleep. She cannot tolerate the violence in so many of our movies. It would be unimaginable for her to watch any of the slasher movies.

The other night I sat down and watched the first fifteen minutes of the movie, which was all that I could stomach, both literally and metaphorically. That was long enough for me to see the movie had been faithful to the details of the story. But on screen? Repeated bloody bludgeonings? The potential harmful effects of pornographic films pale in comparison to what this movie could incite. But the first amendment protects the right of this movie to be made and shown. It doesn't provide an explanation of why people would want to see it.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Other Side by Eric Starbock - free werewolf story




The Other Side by Eric Starbock is an unusual horror story about a young boy and his perilous encounter with werewolves. If only someone had told this young boy that things are not always what they seem.



http://www.scribd.com/doc/13829402

Monday, January 4, 2010

Book Bites by Neil Benson - vampire horror story



Book Bites by Neil Benson is a short story about what happens when a young male student at a college goes home with the attractive female librarian. Does the young man get lucky?
Or does he have an encounter of another kind.









http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1564907