Steady yourself Garfield!

“Candy, candy, candy, candy.” Those are the words that remind me of the best Halloween special.

Garfield is that fat lazy cat that I loved throughout my childhood, and I still love that cynical feline to this day.

His 30-minute Halloween special is an October tradition, bringing some creepy characters together with Garfield and his dim-witted owner Jon and his silent doggie companion Odie.

Garfield finds himself in a real ghost story on Halloween night when his love for candy takes him to a spooky mansion with a creepy old man with a frightening tale.

Halloween is never complete unless I sit down for some good old laughs with Garfield and his adventure.

Musical numbers, spooky ghost tales, and numerous costume changes, Garfield’s Halloween Adventure is a humorous romp with that fat, lazy cat from the Sunday Comics.

And the first full week of October was no exception, bringing those breakfast cereals that only come out during this month.

You know what I’m talking about: Boo Berry, Frankenberry, and Count Chocula. And this year brings some fancy imagery to our classic cereal monsters.

Not only did I purchase a box of each sugary delights, I was lucky enough to find some other treats.

Amazingly, I found Tales from the Crypt Seasons 1 and 2 (10% and 50% off respectively) at the local Barnes & Noble.

The two-disc and three-disc sets are only the beginning to the entire collection of Tales from the Crypt for me, which I hope to find equally on sale during the rest of October.

It has been too long since I faced the ghoulish Cryptkeeper; Tales from the Crypt frightened me when I was child. It’s time for another go at the macabre tales from the crypt.

But this week’s ultimate treat was Alfred Hitchcock – The Masterpiece Collection, which I have been eyeballing for months.

Fifteen discs – fourteen films packaged in a beautiful velvet box; it has been taunting me for months behind the checkout at Barnes & Noble. I could no longer resist it!

Films included: Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Rope, Rear Window, The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy, and Family Plot.

It’s going to be an amazing month counting down to Halloween!

Ruh Roh!

Being a late bloomer in my devotion to the horror genre, I spent my childhood in October watching the mildly creepy and goofy spooky of Scooby-Doo as Halloween tradition.

That lovable Great Dane was scared of his own shadows, which made for some good laughs during October.

Scooby-Doo accompanied by his best friend Shaggy and his nephew Scrappy-Doo found himself in a mystery or two during the original telefilms.

Ghosts, monsters, and ghouls befriend and terrify the talking dog that unwillingly solved mysteries by sheer dumb luck in these full-length movies for televisions.

Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987)

Freako, Meako, and Shreako a.k.a. the Boo Brothers are ghost exterminators that Shaggy hires to get rid of the ghosts haunting them. The Boo Brothers’ mannerisms closely resemble those of the Three Stooges.

Bringing more comedic relief, these ghostly exterminators are obnoxious, loud, and generally trouble when it comes to Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy’s attempt to solve the mystery of the southern plantation.

Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)

Daughters from the classic Hollywood horror monsters are desperately in need of gym teachers, if only Shaggy and Scooby had known the truth about Miss Grimwood’s Finishing School for Girls.

However, Revolta, the self-proclaimed Witch of the Web, and her minion the Grim Creeper plan to capture and enslave them, turning them evil at the stroke of midnight. The revolting Revolta turns this simply strange job into a rescue mission for Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy.

Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)

Manipulated and transformed into a werewolf, Shaggy participates in the “Monster Road Rally” with the classic Hollywood monsters, such as The Mummy, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein’s monster.

The most bizarre addition to the third full-length movie for telecast is Googie, the girlfriend of beloved beatnik Shaggy. Strangely, she is never referenced ever again in the Scooby-Doo universe.

Recently, I acquired a position as an editorial intern with SMITH magazine.

Due to lack of posting, I am going to bust out this month with holiday-themed posts, more reviews, and some much needed horror.

October is the month that recharges my horror loving batteries!

Look for some tricks and treats relating to my favorite holiday: Halloween.

An award of $1,000 is being offered to a single student studying to work in the horror industry.

Applying is easy. Simply begin by clicking on the button on the right, which opens another window to the Stars Costumes Horror Scholarship information page.

Spread the word about this amazing opportunity, Stars Costumes is giving back to the horror industry by awarding the first-ever horror scholarship.

Apply by October 31st, 2010

Candy, candy, candy!

In honor of fathers everywhere, especially mine who is a big part of the horror movie mania in my life, I am showcasing some of my favorite horror film fathers.

5. Chucky from Seed of Chucky

“Attaboy, kid… attaboy!”

Even a killer doll becomes a father in the last installment of the Child’s Play film franchise. Realizing that he has everything that he needs, Chucky wants to live as a killer doll family. However, Chucky’s stint as a budding father figure for his bizarre dual personality offspring Glen/Glenda is short-lived.

4. Nathan Wallace from Repo! The Genetic Opera

“It’s me she must escape.”

Devoted father. Legal assassin. Nathan Wallace is just trying to do right by his daughter, Shilo, but his methods are not ideal. Poisoning her daily to keep her from the outside world and repossessing the organs from delinquent payers, Nathan tries to protect his daughter.

3. George Lutz from The Amityville Horror

“What do you want from us? Goddamnit, this is *MY* house!”

After moving into his new home, George and his family are terrorized by paranormal phenomena. Consumed by the strange occurrences, George becomes more and more agitated.

2. Freddy Krueger from Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

“You’re my blood. Only you could’ve brought me out – in your mind.”

His fatherhood becomes his only way out from Springwood, using one of his victims to bring his daughter back home. Father-daughter bonding occurs between Freddy and his daughter Maggie by battling in the real world, resulting in Freddy’s death.

1. Jack Torrance from The Shining

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Jack is never a dull boy once he arrives at the hotel as a winter caretaker. Slowly losing his mind, Jack turns on his wife and child in the dead of winter with no one around to save them. However, Jack ends up becoming a popsicle.

After a break from the blog, I am ready to be back and undead!

Look deep into my eyes...

Recently, iZombie was gracious enough to zombify a personal image of me. Check out iZombie’s amazing zombie art at iZombieLover! Or I might just eat your brains…

I have been less than prolific as of late with my dear horror blog, but it has been with good reason. Waiting for word from graduate school, I have been less than focused.

Recently, I learned that I have been placed on the wait list for my top choice in graduate studies.

More applications are being reviewed, which means I have a chance of being selected for the class beginning this fall.

However, I need to be realistic when dealing with the facts.

Graduate school just might not happen as soon as I had planned.

I had a plan after graduating with my bachelor of science; however, that plan is looking less and less immediate.

And I did not formulate a backup plan, which means that I must figure out what I will be doing next.

That means I shall be on a bit of an official hiatus from Gruesome Details, but I shall return in June with more posts and more reviews.

I’ll be back!

Never judge a book by its title...

Being a frequent viewer of Lost (Give me more answers, not more questions!), I have been bombarded by images and previews of a new series called Happy Town, which is set to premiere Wednesday April 28th.

I could not stop myself from looking into it, especially when the previews definitely have a horror feel to them.

Wrought with mystery and thrills, Happy Town is less horror and more suspenseful drama. Happy Town is set in Haplin, Minnesota, a small town haunted by unsolved kidnappings. But a recent crime brings all the unresolved fears to the forefront of the town people’s minds. And who is “Magic Man?”

Even though Happy Town is more of a suspenseful drama rather than full on horror, it definitely looks intriguing and I will be checking it out when it premieres.