Category Archives: Holiday

05/5/13

Happy El Santo de Mayo!

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It’s time for our annual luchador-themed take on Cinco de Mayo and what better way to celebrate than with an El Santo margarita? Granted, I’m not entirely sure if it has anything to do with the famous luchador, but you know what? IT DOES NOW!

Remember back in the first El Santo de Mayo article where it was noted how El Santo surprised everyone by uncharacteristically removing his mask during a 1984 TV interview? Well, that famous part of El Santo history is now on YouTube:

And since no El Santo post would be complete without some footage of the man in the silver mask wrestling, here’s a clip from 1962′s Santo vs. The Vampire Women (aka Samson vs. The Vampire Women):

Even if you don’t watch professional wrestling, you have to admit that’s awesome. Sadly, later El Santo films would opt to save money by filming the wrestling scenes on an empty sound stage rather than in front of a crowd.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!

05/4/13

It’s Free Comic Book Day!

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It's no joke, just great news!

Once again that special day is here to encourage us to help support the local stores that keep us supplied in comics, horror magazines, model kits, DVDs and so much more. Thanks to the photo gallery at the Free Comic Book Day Facebook page, I’ve compiled a list of all the horror/sci-fi related titles that should be of interest to our readers:

The Walking Dead – Image

Fubar: American History Z – Fubar Press

Atomic Robo – Red Five Comics

Endangered Weapon B and the Tentacles of Doom – AAM/Markosia

There’s plenty of other awesome titles waiting for you, so don’t delay! You can find out whether your favorite store is joining in on the fun by checking here. If none of the stores in your area are participating, don’t fret! You can find a free downloadable zombie comic book here.

Special thanks to the organizers of Free Comic Book Day for use of the image!

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

04/25/13

Free Comic Book Day Is Coming!

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The first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day, so be sure to mark your calendars for May 4th, because you don’t want to miss any of the awesome freebies!

For more information, please visit Free Comic Book Day’s official website and Facebook page. As always, we’ll post a reminder on the big day (along with a special bonus surprise)…

04/20/13

Record Store Day Is Here!

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Record store Day is here at last. Seeing as how we’ve already discussed why this day is so important and showed you where to find the list of all the freebies available this year, there’s not much to say. You can find a list of the North American stores celebrating here and the list of UK stores can be found here.

No participating stores in your area? Fear not! As was the case last year, we’re offering some free music downloads to help you get into the spirit of things:

WVRockscene, has a ton of great free downloads. I especially recommend anything by The Renfields. Intrigued? Then their Bastard Sons of Ed Wood album is a great place to get started.

To quote the description in their Bandcamp profile, “Spirit of The Indies is a collective of independent artists, by the musicians, for the musicians, and their fans.” Every year they put together free sampler albums featuring a wide selection of artists, as evidenced by their 2012 and 2013 samplers.

If you’re looking for over 22 minutes of listening pleasure, then the Volcano Kings’ free Mechanical Beast EP should be right up your alley.

Both Lo-Fi Kabuki Records and Spookhand offer a mix of free and “Name your price” downloads, all of which are highly recommended. That said, please be fair with the “Name your price” downloads, as Lo-Fi Kabuki has been very good to our podcast and Spookhand is headed by our own Dr. Gangrene.

If you enjoyed Strange Jason’s review of Tales From The Emancipated Head by the Pine Box Boys, then you’ll be happy to hear how the track “Theme From The Emancipated Head” from said album is available on the free 2013 Farmageddon Records Music Festival Compilation CD download (along with 20 other great songs).

In addition to the free downloads of “The Film Geek Love Song” and “The Vampire Song (a plea for Cushing and Lee),” more musical greatness from Miscellaneous Plumbing Fixtures can be found at the two Soundcloud pages associated with the After Movie Diner podcast.

Happy Record Store Day!

As always, Gravedigger’s Local 16 is not to be held responsible for anything that may occur (be it good or bad) as a result of downloading from any links given here. Attempt at your own discretion. Blah blah blah…

04/14/13

Record Store Day Is Coming!

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That’s right, this year’s Record Store Day will be held on April 20, 2013. You can find a complete list of all the free goodies available at this year’s event here. Although there’s nothing on said list that immediately leaps out to me as something of interest for horror fans, we still recommend that you participate. Why miss on out some free goodies and special sales (on both music and movies)? Our fans will be pleased to hear that we’ll be continuing our tradition of offering some free spooky music downloads on the big day as well.

Lately, it seems to have become fashionable to poo-poo Record Store Day. While I can understand not liking how it’s become more focused on big name artists and some of the exclusive releases aren’t free, I find the claims that it was orchestrated from the start by major record labels since they don’t want to switch over to downloads to be particularly irksome. I could buy that if it had been all major bands featured from the start, but that just doesn’t work considering what I’ve seen since I first started following the event in 2008. Considering the usual ham handed manner in which big businesses go about trying to come off as a grassroots effort, I find it hard to believe that something as smooth as the way Record Store Day was handled was orchestrated that way. Since most of the big labels are connected to movie studios, then why didn’t they try doing “Video Store Day” as well? Although there is a movement to get such a day established on the same level as Record Store Day, it’s clearly the product of an independent video store in Canada.

Also annoying is when the people expressing the above opinions say that we should just let record stores die off, rationalizing that the employees will be able to find jobs elsewhere. Yeah, because worked out real well for people in Michigan once the auto industry there went kaput, didn’t it? People seem all too eager to forget that the closing of brick and mortar retail stores effect far more than the employees of said store. I’m not just talking about the various music and movie distributors taking a big hit, either. Physical media replicators, the people whose job it is to sell discs to stores and the people who physically transport merchandise across the country all suffer if your local music store closes. And considering that audio dramas are popular enough among truckers that companies rent ad space at rest stops to promote them, I’d imagine they would also lose money (and potentially have to let people go) as well. It’s a great big cycle of suck and we can’t afford to let it happen, especially in today’s economy. So when the 20th rolls around, be sure to get out there and support your local record store!

03/31/13

The 4th Annual GdL16 Easter Egg Hunt

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This was marketed as a Halloween decoration. No, seriously...

The objective is the same as it was last year: Find all of the articles that reveal hidden “Easter Eggs” in the disc being reviewed that are hidden among other articles without them. The actual amount of Easter Eggs is low this year, but new players should feel free to visit the previously-linked installment for more fun. Let the hunting begin…NOW:

Appointment With Fear
The Mission Creeps, HALLOWEEN
Freaky Tiki Surf-ari: King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis
Freaky Tiki Surf-ari: Phase 2
Tales of the Frightened
Winter’s Majesty
The Price of Fear
Sticks
Spine Chillers
Great Classic Horror

Happy Easter!

03/17/13

St. Patrick’s Day, Svengoolie Style

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Given today’s date and the recent birthday of Rich Koz (aka the man who plays Svengoolie), it seemed that the best way for us to celebrate St. Patty’s Day would be to share this comedy sketch that pits Sven against a leprechaun (but not *the* leprechaun):

In case you were wondering, the above video was uploaded by zoohorror5. New to the world of Svengoolie and want to see more? Then check these handy resources to learn more about the show (and to see if it plays in your area).

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

02/14/13

Have A Happy Valenslime’s Day!

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Somebody's rocking my scream boat...

The above spooky Valentine’s Day image is the work of one Eric Pigors. Being a horror fan, you’ve probably come across his work online at some point. In fact, readers of this site should easily recognize his work from the cover of Gore Galore’s Sounds of Gore sampler CD. However, chances are that you (and non-horror fans) have seen his work countless times without realizing it. That’s because he’s been involved in the animation industry for many years, doing work in both television and feature films. His most recent assignment (as of this writing) was a stint on The Looney Tunes Show. Hopefully, his next one will be the dream job that lets him showcase his wonderfully unique Toxic Toons (named for an incident involving a can of spray paint).

I highly recommend that you check out his official website to see more of his above-mentioned works. In addition to all of the great images, he also offers tons of merchandise including (but not limited to) shirts, stickers, calendars, masks and even Valentine’s Day cards! Although his annual Valentine’s specials are all sold out until next year, you can still console yourself for missing out by joining the Secret Society of Fiends Klub.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Special thanks to Eric Pigors for use of the image!

02/9/13

Make Your Own Jiang Shi

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Make one Pikachu joke and I'll drain you dry!

Gravedigger’s Local 16 is no stranger to spooky papercraft, so it only makes sense that we celebrate Chinese New Year with a papercraft Chinese hopping vampire! The one pictured above was designed by GRAVE (which was made using Shin Tanaka’s limited edition “Gritty” template). If you want to build your own papercraft Jiang Shi (which translates as “stiff corpse”), all you have to do is contact GRAVE and he’ll send you the necessary templates.

Being made from a preexisting template, GRAVE’s take on a Chinese hopping vampire doesn’t look like your typical Jiang Shi. When you consider how the “Gritty” template looks after the covering is removed, some might be disappointed in the end result. I’m not, as I understand this is the artist’s way of paying tribute to movies featuring the monster, rather than an attempt to recreate one in paper form. Besides, GRAVE and Shin Tanaka go together like peanut butter and chocolate, as further evidenced by this amazing “brass knuckle bot.” Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.

But this template can still be of use to purists. If you leave the removable covering on, you can pretend it’s a Jiang Shi encased in some sort of metal casing. Perhaps it’s meant as a way to contain it so that it can’t hurt anyone (with the spikes on the back being there to get it pinned to the ceiling should the talisman restraining it come loose and it tries to hop away) or perhaps it’s merely protective armor added by someone seeking to use it as a weapon. Being blind, a Chinese hopping vampire would have no need for eye holes, so we can imagine that the holes are there to help it search out its prey via its sense of smell and/or hearing. Hell, who’s to to say the process that turns a corpse into a Jiang Shi won’t eventually result in it changing into a more inhuman form if enough time goes by?

Sun Nien Fai Lok!
Xin Nian Kuai Le!
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Happy Chinese New Year!

Special thanks to GRAVE for use of the image!

12/25/12

Merry Fishmas!

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Another year, another fan-made music video of a holiday song by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. This year’s selection is “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fishmen,” as filmed and uploaded by one haakor:

That said, you shouldn’t watch it if you want to avoid any spoilers for The Shadow Over Innsmouth…

Merry Christmas!

12/23/12

Winter’s Majesty

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Nox Arcana
Official Site
Winter’s Majesty, Monolith Graphics 2012

Oh Gunter, I can't wait to show Finn and Jake my new look. The princesses are going to be all up ons once they see my sweet abs!

Back when I reviewed Winter’s Eve, I teased the upcoming release of the third (and final) installment of Nox Arcana’s “Winter” series. I’m happy to report that both Jeff Endemann and the Gregorian Shadow Choir have returned for this album. Those fond of the wordless female vocals that have shown up in past Nox Arcana albums will be happy to hear how practically every song on the album uses them.

While most Nox Arcana albums have the spoken word introduction and opening song presented as two separate tracks, Winter’s Majesty bucks tradition by combining both! In “Aquilon’s Wish,” the Gregorian Shadow Choir backs the opening poem of the Winter King’s wish for peace on earth, which gives way beautiful snowflake-like chiming and piano work. It takes a somewhat darker tone later on, but is still beautiful. Interestingly enough, there’s a seemingly alternate version of the introduction performed by John Rossi available online. “Tranquility” definitely lives up to its name, with the medieval ballad-style instrumental segment and the backing strings being great touches. Personally, the music makes me think of snow quickly falling. “White Woodlands” masterfully combines piano work and chiming tones that remind the listener of snow, while “Secret Sanctuary” has an overall ballad feel. Both the wordless female vocals and tambourine add to the feel of the dark beauty of a winter’s night, while the piano ushers in a somewhat darker feel and unisex choir work. The organ and tolling bells of “Summon the Wind” give the track a Dracula-style feel, while “Snow in the Shire” has a wonderful ballad feel thanks to its use of a minstrel guitar and touches of tolling bells and a tambourine. Despite the name, the latter has no connection to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The word “shire” is actually a traditional English term for what would now be referred to as a “county.” “Crystal Kingdom” combines excellent soft piano work with some tolling bells while “Solstice Spirits” gives the listener as sense of falling snow thanks to its chime-like tones and piano work. “Shelter from the Cold” is much more energetic than previous tracks, although it does have a ballad-like feel to it at times. “Angels in the Snow” slows things back down in a good way.

“Scarborough Fair” is a new take on classic song. Despite being commonly associated with Simon & Garfunkel, it’s actually an ancient folk ballad that has numerous alternate versions with different lyrics. For this new version, Vargo has replaced most of the lyrics (including the famous “Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme” refrain) so that the song now tells the tale of a spirit telling the listener to seek out his lover from when he was alive so she can visit his grave. Jeff Endemann gives an amazing vocal performance, with the opening ballad feel and tambourine work adding to overall feel. In addition to its connection to an earlier track by mentioning a shire, the online music video suggests a connection to Winter’s Knight. “Ivory Steeds” offers speedy and varied piano work with touches of bells while “Winter Haven” combines gentle snow chimes soft and piano notes with the strums of a minstrel guitar. In “Forest Lullaby,” gentle notes are joined by “chimes” to create a soothing, music box-like feel. The piano work of “Days of Olde” is noticeably different in tone than that of the past tracks. The unisex choir and snow-like chiming add to it overall feeling of long ago. “Saturnalia” refers to the festival that celebrated the winter solstice in ancient Rome. In fact, Christmas as we know it today has some of its roots in Saturnalia! The track has a definite celebratory feel thanks to its clapping hands and flutes, along with some tambourine and violin work. “The Coming of the King” uses a unisex choir backed by an organ and tolling bells to provide a sense of dark regality. Pounding drums also add to the effect. Although “Winter’s Majesty” uses soft piano work and bells, the piano is the real star here. There’s also lots of great musical variations. “We Three Kings” is an instrumental take on the Christmas classic, realized with soft piano and minstrel guitar (along with touches of bells). “Polaris” uses a different way of conveying falling snow via piano and soft vocals. “Final Peace” has a peaceful but somewhat mournful tone thanks its use of a violin and unisex vocals. Those who wait for the secret track will also hear the sounds of wind and soft piano work.

As with all Nox Arcana releases, the liner notes contain the lyrics and amazing artwork (along with a hidden puzzle). In fact, some of the pages are styled not unlike the illuminated manuscript look used for the liner notes for Winter’s Knight. All in all, Winter’s Majesty offers a return to the dark feel of Winter’s Knight, while still retaining the lighter elements of Winter’s Eve. Although I’m sad to see the series end, I’m glad it got to close out with an album like this.

Special thanks to Monolith Graphics for the review copy!

12/22/12

Freaky Tiki Surf-ari: King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis

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King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis
Official Site
Luau In December, Friki Tiki Records 2008

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Hey, you on the right. Show some class. I know the hula girls are gorgeous, but come on...

Even if you’ve never heard one of their albums before, chances are that you’re already aware of King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis. Although active for quite some time on the West Coast, King Kukulele officially made his presence known to the rest of the country at the Hukilau in 2002. The following year, his Tiki Palace made quite a splash online and has been hosting the Tiki Tot Tour at Tiki Oasis in recent years. But who are they? The members of King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis consist of:

King Kukulele (Denny Moynahan): Lead vocals and ukelele
Riki Kontiki (Richard Fultineer ): Drum kit, percussion and backup vocals
Malahini Marc (Marc Doten): Double bass, guitarron, glockenspiel and backup vocals
Waikiki Wakefield (Jeremy Wakefield): Lap steel guitar and backup vocals
Bora Bora Bonebrake (DJ Bonebrake): Marimba and vibraphone

Although their self-titled 2004 release was their first CD, 2008′s Luau in December is (as of this writing) their most widely available album. Although the concept may seem kind of odd at first, it actually makes perfect sense. Exotica music takes its listeners on relaxing journeys to faraway places, which is perfect for combating holiday stress and the cold weather blues. In addition to original songs, there are also several exotica versions of Christmas classics. From what I can tell, this album seems to be the first exotica Christmas album of the modern era!

“Luau In December” tells us to trade our eggnog for Mai Tais in this lively, but somehow mellow, tune. King Kukulele’s pleasant voice is well-teamed with the marimba, percussion and steel guitar percussion. A child singing about a greedy young boy’s Christmas expectations in “Brand New Ukulele,” but Kukulele takes over to tell us of the one special gift that changed the lad’s attitude as the extremely catchy backing music picks up. I’m not kidding about it being catchy, either. I can practically guarantee that you’ll catch yourself singing this for days after hearing it. “Santa’s Menehune” deals with a legendary Hawaiian creature that is claimed to have amazing building skills. Naturally, this comes into play when he goes to visit his elven cousin at the North Pole. It’s a cute song thanks to its Chimpmunk-style voices and amusing appearance by “Elf-vis.” The late, great “Duke of Uke” himself, Bill “Tappy” Tapia takes over the singing and ukelele duties for “Tappy Claus.” Backed by a steel guitar, Tappy denies being Santa Claus and recounts his constant bad luck with gifts over the years. It’s a real treat to hear the legend in action and although the song’s reference to over 100 years of bad gifts might seem like a joke, he actually had reached that age at the time the song was recorded! In “Christmas Luau,” the ukelele and steel guitar nicely back this musical tale of a Hawaiian Christmas (which also foreshadows the next track). Those learning about various Hawaiian terms will find this song especially invaluable in their studies. Just don’t listen to it while you’re hungry. Trust me on this.

“The Night Before Christmas” combines sleigh bells and vibraphone work as special guest Laura Thatcher joins King Kukulele in singing this holiday classic while the heavy introduction of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” leads to the marimba getting quite a workout with some great ukelele and steel guitar work. “I Work for Santa Claus” has a surprisingly Latin-esque feel thanks to its use of a guitarrón. In it, an elf sings about his job duties and the incredibly chain of mishaps that occurred the night Blitzen lost one of his hors…er…reindeer shoes. There’s also a very welcome reference to the Krampus. What’s not to love? While many traditional exotica songs combine music and animal noises, “Santa’s Workshop” couples vibes and percussion with the sounds of toys being made. This gives the song about toy building an appropriately soft and magic feel. The Friki Tikis’ take on the Yule standard “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” features incredible drum work here, along with a wonderful instrumental interlude with a steel guitar and marimba. “Reindeer Holiday” is a charming ukelele tune about Santa’s reindeer and their unscheduled Hawaiian vacation, which has a closing vocal harmony segment that is not to be missed. The Tiki rock take on “Hooray for Santa Claus” is simply amazing and is easily one of my most favorite tracks from the album. If you’ve ever cringed whenever the original version of this song played in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, you need to hear this version. Yesterday. “Thirty-Two Feet and Eight Little Tails” is a peppy musical tribute to the eight tiny reindeer pulling ol’ St. Nick’s sleigh, complete with a great vibraphone lead out. “Mele Kalikimaka” is Hawaiian for “Merry Christmas.” It’s also the name of the album’s final track, which is both faithful to the original version while providing enough of its own distinctive touches to make it feel like more than “just a cover.” Like any good holiday special, this track features plenty of guest performers. Joe Moe (who previously appeared on the album as the lead vocals for “Christmas Luau”) provides the harmony vocals while Ali Lexa handles the lead ukelele duties.

Luau In December will be enjoyed by people of all ages (especially fans of SpongeBob SquarePants) and is a highly recommended purchase. It’s also proof positive how something that’s “family friendly” doesn’t necessarily have be sappy or talk down to its listeners. I, for one, am eagerly awaiting what King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis have to bring us in the future. If it’s anything like this album, then we’re all in for a real treat.

Special thanks to Friki Tiki Records for the review copy!

12/14/12

6′+ Episode 45 is up!

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To quote the description given at the new listing:

“Here’s a cadre of songs to help you get through this, the most horrible time of year. With music from The Men Who Won’t Be Blamed For Nothing, The Coffin Crawlers, Bamboula, Fear and others, this show will help you float above the rising yuletides. Monstermatt Patterson got your name in the Secret Santa. Aren’t you happy?”

Remember to email 6′+ (contact at 6ftplus.com) or leave a comment below about the show, whether you liked it or not. Tell your friends, leave a review on iTunes, but above all – enjoy.

You can find all episodes of 6′+ over at the official site as well as on iTunes and Stitcher . We’re also on Facebook and Twitter.

12/11/12

Build Your Own Krampus Costume

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Those of you who remember my article about the Krampus might recall that people dressing up as the character is a holiday tradition in several European countries. Naturally, those living in countries without that tradition will recognize the inherent coolness of the Krampus and will be tempted to introduce others to the concept. And what better way to do that than to construct your own Krampus costume and bust it out at your next holiday gathering. Come to think of it, you can even reuse it as your next Halloween costume!

You might have noticed that I chose the word “Build” instead of “Make” in this article’s title. That’s because this is more of a general guideline on assembling a costume from preexisting materials rather than a step-by-step tutorial on making a costume from scratch. That’s because I want to make this as easy to do as possible. But if you have any sewing skills (or know someone who does that would be willing to help you out), then heading down to a fabric store to see if they have any costume patterns that go well with fake fur (gorilla, bear, etc.) would most likely be the most cost-effective option. The patterns for basic coveralls or a bodysuit could also work in a pinch, but be sure to pick up the patterns for gloves if you can. Just keep in mind that you have to be mindful of certain things when sewing fake fur. Hot gluing strips of fake fur to some old coveralls can make a quick ‘n dirty costume, but you have to be sure to brush the hair carefully in order to cover the seams. But if you want step-by-step directions on making a furry costume, these links can help you. While it’s also possible to mold your own masks and chest pieces, it’s much easier just to buy them. Even if you make your own gloves, you’re probably still going to need to buy some fake fingernails or claws to make them seem scarier.

As I touched on earlier, you’re going to need a furry costume as your base. Buying a complete costume is your best bet, but can also be quite expensive. Just be sure to make sure whether or not the costume comes with gloves and feet before purchasing. Buying separate furry “shirts” and leg pants can be cheaper, but then you have to be careful to make sure that the fake fur’s coloration on both pieces matches. This would also apply to any fur on the monster gloves, feet, and/or mask you purchase as well. However, you can avoid such problems if you use accessories that are completely hairless but have the same color as each other. If that isn’t possible and you don’t mind a little extra work, you can find resources on repainting your accessories on websites like the Halloweenforum. Alternately, you can visit your local costume or magic store to compare the fur colors and types in person (which is more accurate than trying to do so online).

If you look at pictures of Krampus costumes online, you’ll notice that many of them use regular footwear covered by the costume’s long fur. This is presumably done to make it easier for the performer(s) to run around through the streets. You can do the same with your costume if you want, but you can use more decorative feet if you’re just going to stroll around inside at a Christmas party. In addition to the types of feet that I linked to previously in the article, even hooves or black pointy elf shoes would work for a Krampus costume, as evidence here. Assuming the costume you’re using doesn’t have one, you could also invest in a chest piece if you want to. However, as you can see in these pictures, this accessory is completely optional.

Once you have the body squared away, you’re going to need the most important part: the mask. As finding Krampus masks in America is very difficult, you’re going to want to buy a “Devil” or “demon” mask. However, just any old mask of that type won’t work. Using one of these masks simply wouldn’t look right on a Krampus costume. These masks, on the other hand would be perfect. This one even has a Krampus-like extended tongue! Once you have that picked out, you’re all set! Although, you can also add some chains, cowbells, sacks and/or a big stick to the costume if you want to.

If you make your own Krampus costume, please feel free to send Gravedigger’s Local 16 any pictures or video of you in action!

12/8/12

Golem

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Golem Golem Golem, I made you out of clay...

Every horror fan has at least a basic idea of what a Golem is. We’ve all heard the story of how a clay humanoid is brought to life by a rabbi (usually due to an inscription on or in the Golem’s head), thanks to it being recounted in so many books on monsters and horror movies. The same basic story remains more or less the same, despite the different legends. But despite that, misconceptions and stretchings of the definition of Golem have been on the rise for quite some time. Remember last year’s “Stone Golem” article? That title wasn’t chosen just so that I could use the “Golem” title this year. Despite the legend specifically referring to clay, many depictions of Golems in popular culture refer to beings made out of stone! Similarly, there was a period in the 80′s when the term was applied to artificially created biological life forms, like a cloned alien baby and a Frankenstein’s monster-style creation.

I suspect the reason for this is due to the influence of Dungeons & Dragons. Flesh Golems, Iron Golems, and Stone Golems were introduced to the game in 1975, with the traditional Clay Golem being introduced separately that same year. It’s worth noting how only the Clay Golem can randomly go out of control, while all other types of Golems don’t. Is it any wonder that the stone variant gained more popularity? The Flesh Golem should be very familiar to anyone who has seen Andy Milligan’s Monstrosity (or Frankenstein).

Interestingly enough, the most famous story involving a Golem (and the inspiration for the Clay Golem randomly going out of control), The Golem of Prague, isn’t as old as it is often claimed to be. Although claimed to be an actual legend from the 16th century, the earliest literary references to the event can only be traced back to the 1800′s! I bring this up merely as an interesting piece of trivia and not as a criticism of any kind.

After all, American folk hero Pecos Bill has similar dating issues, as does gothic fiction classic The Castle of Otranto. Without that last example, I dare say that the horror genre as we know it simply would not exist! So let’s not quibble over the date of origin for that one particular story and instead let’s celebrate it for helping popularize the Golem around the world. It may not be the first story to involve a Golem, but its influence on pop culture can never be denied.

Happy Chanukkah!

11/22/12

Fangsgiving Feast

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Although the obscure slasher Home Sweet Home took place on Turkey Day, the best known Thanksgiving-related horror movie was a little “gem” called Blood Freak. While the holiday doesn’t play a role in the plot, its focus on a turkey-headed monster guaranteed that the film would be forever associated with it. Thanks to deadenddrivein, you can see the trailer for it below:

Maybe it’s due to the fake trailer for a Thanksgiving-themed horror movie from Grindhouse, but Thanksgiving-themed horror has started growing in recent years. In addition to the film ThanksKilling taking away the “only movie featuring a turkey monster” claim to fame from Blood Freak (although it still is the only Christian anti-drug movie to feature one), Florin Nicoara has authored a horror comedy ebook called Gobble Gobble featuring a mutant turkey beast going on a rampage on Thanksgiving! Said ebook has a free preview available in that link as well. If that isn’t enough for you, check out this episode of Traumatic Cinematic devoted to ThanksKilling (complete with an interview with one of the actors).

Finally, here’s a look back at all of my previous Thanksgiving celebrations here at Gravedigger’s Local 16:

Happy Fangsgiving!
Forget Turkey Day, it’s Turtle Day!
Night of the Thanksliving Dead

Happy Thanksgiving!