tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33953154665626252992024-03-12T21:26:05.519-07:00Strictly GothicAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-85597563130865819162012-11-04T18:03:00.002-08:002012-11-04T20:28:33.743-08:00The Chill November Winds Give Warning; Heathcliff is Coming!<br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Heathcliff
is coming!</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“I believe--I know that ghosts
have wandered the earth. Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad. Only
do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is
unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!
[Lily’s note: his ‘life & soul’ being Cathy!]” </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights by
Emily Bronte<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWr2jjL6hfiCxL2Izpqb0Fze9qibPAxsji_cE7kc5vi2KaY83b0VQRk6xFKpM13fCF1ITbzuDxo19LrQ1xptKkofivaz0ODCCLzep8teic-wDhCe5GgDQNvvb_dONwnnDg9j12AIR0eJWi/s1600/Olivier+as+Heathcliff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWr2jjL6hfiCxL2Izpqb0Fze9qibPAxsji_cE7kc5vi2KaY83b0VQRk6xFKpM13fCF1ITbzuDxo19LrQ1xptKkofivaz0ODCCLzep8teic-wDhCe5GgDQNvvb_dONwnnDg9j12AIR0eJWi/s320/Olivier+as+Heathcliff.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sir Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I’ve
always loved the Gothic Romance genre. My first taste and probably most
people’s first brush with Gothic Romance was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wuthering Heights</i>, by Emily Bronte. It’s been around a long time,
as it was written in 1847. The old black and white movie starring Sir Laurence
Olivier as Heathcliff was my first taste of the dark, twisted, beautiful yet
sad tale. The black and white version is visually stunning and has the haunting
atmosphere of the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether it’s
Heathcliff served up as Olivier in black & white or as Ralph Fiennes in the
1990’s A & E television version, it’s an equally compelling in its desolate
splendor. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Every
November, it seems, there is a new version of the classic available in movie
form. My husband and I first discovered Heathcliff and Cathy’s sad tale on a
cold, stormy night in November. The rain was horrendous, branches were creaking
outside and the wind battered the windows as we sat huddled together on the
sofa watching the old B&W classic movie. To this day, when the wind is
whistling eerily through the bare tree branches in November, my husband will
turn to me with a creepy grin and say “Heathcliff is coming!” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdTDfi_1H34X2rEsgqY6AdRwNA8l7fxE0BBm6O7LsJocDCYlNuEhDiifzHfEUuQfbO_uHlIBoCUUDGQWzL9PjwlKBloDr7PiMxY-Cn29Zrbt8mPsoQx1eWKEYv-k52yZKvHryW4mW-lxj/s1600/Fiennes+as+Heathcliff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdTDfi_1H34X2rEsgqY6AdRwNA8l7fxE0BBm6O7LsJocDCYlNuEhDiifzHfEUuQfbO_uHlIBoCUUDGQWzL9PjwlKBloDr7PiMxY-Cn29Zrbt8mPsoQx1eWKEYv-k52yZKvHryW4mW-lxj/s320/Fiennes+as+Heathcliff.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The old movie
version with Olivier is romantic and sad, while the newer version with Fiennes
is a disturbing tale that adheres more closely to the storyline in the book. For
those who are not familiar with the tale, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wuthering
Heights</i> tells the story of Heathcliff and Cathy. They are both under the
power of Cathy’s brother and they are in love. Heathcliff silently and
stoically endures the cruelty of Cathy’s brother and pines for Cathy as he
seeks to be with her. Cathy, on the other hand, loves Heathcliff but flippantly
decides to marry another man, a rich man who can give her social prestige and
luxury. Heathcliff is heartbroken. He vows to wreak revenge on everyone in the
story who wronged him and displays an alarming penchant for cruelty as he
torments even the children of his enemies. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Heathcliff begins as a wounded lover
in the story and changes into the villain--or the monster by the end of the
book. Lucky for him, even though he’s the bad guy who has made everyone suffer,
he finally is reunited with Cathy in the afterlife as they haunt the moors
together. The quote above from Heathcliff is spoken when he’s given news of her
death. He’d rather be haunted and driven mad by her then live without her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
question: Can Heathcliff be redeemed as a romance hero by today’s standards? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Answer:
Probably not. We’d damn him as the villain for his innate cruelty and also
label him as psychotic, and rightly so. No hero by today’s standards could get
away with hanging his fiancee’s dog from a tree and survive to remain a hero.
It’s just sick, sad and creepy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Still,
the icon of the Gothic Romance Hero survives. It’s Halloween today, we’re
celebrating Dark Things. Dark love, dark kisses, dark magic, dark embrace . . .
you name it and we’ve probably had a gothic romance novel with the word <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dark</b> emblazoned on the cover. The
haunting November winds are upon us and I have to warn you, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heathcliff is coming</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A sort
of kinder, gentler cousin of Heathcliff. My version of a Gothic Romance Hero is
not a bully or a psychopath. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dark
Hero, A Gothic Romance </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Donovan
Beaumont is a scientist, a former pirate and pure alpha male. He escaped France
at the onset of the French Revolution after being tortured for a crime he
didn’t commit. He mistrusts those about him and wants only to live in peace on
his isolated island estate in the West Indies. As an adult he has physical
scars yet his childhood was not dark and tragic like Heathcliff’s. Donovan was
the only son of a wealthy nobleman, much beloved. This gives him the depth of
character to be able to give and receive love from a worthy heroine; something
I think Heathcliff missed out on growing up. Heathcliff knows only how to
manipulate and control, not to give real love. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODjFS6p1wsnbKtfPefnqY2DJZZ3Lt-MBoBiUHkGItpuB9hwFfCwBYdAllK6BG4seJUlNaKtHDWJiKF-SLsKHu3DhiFRPxPn1u6rMHHiEvOprKfifZDCsxB0feDjDrmisgQazAcO0mMu3B/s1600/dark+hero+final+cover+nook+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODjFS6p1wsnbKtfPefnqY2DJZZ3Lt-MBoBiUHkGItpuB9hwFfCwBYdAllK6BG4seJUlNaKtHDWJiKF-SLsKHu3DhiFRPxPn1u6rMHHiEvOprKfifZDCsxB0feDjDrmisgQazAcO0mMu3B/s320/dark+hero+final+cover+nook+copy.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donovan, A Dark Hero </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My
Gothic Hero, Donovan, also has a dark side. He mistrusts people so he uses
disguises and false identities to keep people at a distance. He’s damaged, and
may seem a little too close to crazy at times. He’s a scientist, an anatomist to
be exact. He studies disease but in order to do that he dissects corpses that he buys from the hangman. He doesn’t believe in the
supernatural. As a product of the Enlightenment he’s a stickler for logic and
reason. And yet, his home is infested with ghosts. Others can see them, others
have told him, but he just won’t believe them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Elizabeth,
the heroine in the story, is Donovan’s opposite. It’s sort of like Heathcliff
meets the Ghost Whisperer, they fall in love and get married. Elizabeth is a
child of nature, a descendant of Druids. She can see and speak with the dead.
She’s not happy about it, and would rather just ignore the gift and try to
pretend to be normal like everyone else. She can’t. Once her grandmother dies,
the gift of the seer passes t her. It’s as if she suddenly has a sign on her
that says to ghosts ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hey, want to speak
with the living, talk to me!’</i> This creates a serious problem for her as
she’s married to Mr. Logic and Reason and those pesky ghosts just won’t leave
her alone. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Elizabeth
is afraid to let Donovan know she has this gift, and with good reason as he
might just think she’s crazy and pack her off to the nearest asylum. They did
those things to women back in 1798. Elizabeth spends a lot of time trying to
hide the gift. It would be easy, except there is one ghost in particular who is
trying to harm her. This ghost won’t let her ignore it and the more she tries,
the more violent the ghost becomes. So, Elizabeth has a problem, a big one. A
ghost trying to hurt her, and its getting harder to hide the bruises from her
husband. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It seems Donovan is her worst nightmare at times as Elizabeth struggles to
understand him. Like Heathcliff, Donovan can not only be dark and brooding but also
scary, manipulative and controlling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
yet, Donovan is just what Elizabeth’s Druid Granny ordered. You see, before
Elizabeth’s grandmother died she cast a spell to summon a champion from the
mists to protect Elizabeth, a Dark Hero based on the heroes in the Gothic
Novels Elizabeth devoured as an adolescent girl. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So the
question that begs answering is this; was Granny Sheila senile when she cast
the spell or perfectly lucid?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Will
Donovan win Elizabeth’s heart or drive her away from him? Will Elizabeth trust
him with her secret? Can she trust him? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There’s
an old saying. Be Careful What You Wish For. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I’ve
reworked it a little for the tagline of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dark
Hero</i>: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Guard Your Dreams, Lest They
Emerge from the Mists to Embrace You . . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Like
Heathcliff, Donovan emerges from the mists . . . embrace him at your own risk!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Happy
Halloween, everyone. May all your hauntings chill you to the bone and your
heroes be dark, sultry, passionate but ultimately redeemable.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Buy Links: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/148132">Smashwords--all digital platforms available </a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-hero-a-gothic-romance-lily-silver/1113027240?ean=2940014522441">Barnes & Noble Nook </a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Chills to You, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Lilith Bloodrose </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-71865161582270850622012-10-10T18:13:00.000-07:002012-11-04T17:53:01.571-08:00Gothic Romance; Magic,Tortured Heroes and Ghosts, Oh My!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVjWEgwhY3ptOIItv1cOpimfA5Dsse2d0x7hqA8ZKirY2glu5RJT5JhTOByXSW5qDh1neSjSlAPNiTBnuot9m7qLY7c-EJSiiwivTU7hJ6Av2ef5lcp96U6jBgGuXGxqEs3TXZw0hjtfx/s1600/dark+hero+red+text+nook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVjWEgwhY3ptOIItv1cOpimfA5Dsse2d0x7hqA8ZKirY2glu5RJT5JhTOByXSW5qDh1neSjSlAPNiTBnuot9m7qLY7c-EJSiiwivTU7hJ6Av2ef5lcp96U6jBgGuXGxqEs3TXZw0hjtfx/s320/dark+hero+red+text+nook.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">I'm in the Halloween Spirit. After all, my fellow lovers of Dark Things, this is the most wonderful time of year. We can decorate our homes and yards with all the lovely little skulls and ghosts and no one blinks or thinks we're weird. We fit in, for one month out of the year. So, Let's Celebrate the Dark Side. I'm giving away free copies of my Gothic Romance to readers here. All you have to do is use the coupon code at the end of this blog and you've got a full length 400 page Gothic Romance Novel Free on me.</span><br />
<br />
Excerpt From Dark Hero, A Gothic Romance:<br />
<i>Just to bring you up to speed: Donovan, the main character, the Dark Hero in the story, is a doctor and a scientist. He cuts up dead bodies, and preserves specimens. His laboratory, like that of any scientist, is sort of creepy for the rest of the world to enter, as he has his preserved specimens of both animals and human remains on display. </i><br />
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Seated behind his desk, he watched the woman’s reaction to
the preserved specimens adorning the shelves. As a rule he didn’t allow
strangers into his laboratory, particularly women, who tended to be squeamish. The
one time he summoned Elizabeth here he’d had the more offensive specimens
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The rest of humanity could run shrieking from him and good
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Elizabeth was the one person he did not wish to repulse with
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<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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Miss Ramirez started and gasped as she saw the grinning
skull on his desk. “El Diablo!” </div>
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“Not the devil, one of his hirelings.” Donovan replied. “I
killed him and fed his body to the sharks. Sit, Miss Ramirez.” He gestured to
the chair. </div>
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She regarded him with horror, as if he would slit her throat
if the mood took him. </div>
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Smiling, Donovan gestured again to the seat opposite his
desk. </div>
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With reluctance, she sank into the chair. “Please, do not
send me away.” The woman blurted, near the point of tears. “I talk too much, it
annoys my lady—I will try to be—“</div>
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Donovan raised his hand, indicating silence. “I did not
summon you here to reprimand you. I need your assistance. How long has the
ghost been haunting Elizabeth?” </div>
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“You know about the spirit, my lord?” Her eyes grew wide
with alarm. </div>
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“She visited us last night. It threw Elizabeth to the floor,
right in front of me.” </div>
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“Dios! I did not think the spirit would attack her in your
presence.”</div>
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“What does she want?”</div>
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Chloe clutched the arms of the chair and pressed her lips
together, as if the truth might fly from them unbidden. Her doe-like eyes
begged him not to ask her to betray her lady. </div>
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Donovan maintained his impervious stare. </div>
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She crumbled. “I do not know, my lord!” </div>
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“Has Elizabeth said anything to you regarding the ghost? Who
is it?” </div>
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“Her mother, my lord.”</div>
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Donovan’s heart chilled at the woman’s words. “Her mother?
What does she want?” </div>
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“I do not know, my lord. My lady does not speak of her
mother at all. She talks about her grandmother often, but . . .” The woman
paused. Her eyes took on a terrified cast as something slowly became apparent
to her. </div>
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“Elizabeth is being harmed.” He insisted in a severe tone.
“If you have any insights, no matter how slight, now would be the time to share
them, Chloe.” </div>
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She stared at him, considering her predicament: angering the
master, who paid her wages, versus reporting the truth to him about his lady.
Her lower lip quivered, her eyes brimmed with rising tears. </div>
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Bloody Hell, Donovan cursed silently. That last thing he
needed was another weepy female to deal with. Lizzie had been weeping off and
on for days, and he fully expected that storm to worsen before it was over. He
loved Lizzie, and dealing with her tears left his heart in shreds. He couldn’t
endure a bout of hysterical weeping from another woman—he’d rather die, by his
own hand. </div>
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As he glowered impatiently at the servant, waiting for her
to explode into an annoying torrent of tears, she straightened her spine,
clasped her hands together tightly, and appeared to tuck her raging emotions
neatly away beneath her colorful shawl for another day. </div>
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“At first,” She sniffled, and went on in a throaty voice,
“The spirit did not harm Madame. She appeared a few times to her at night and
during the day she would toss items about my lady’s room. Several times, we
would find the wardrobe emptied all over the floor. After questioning me as to
the reason for the mess, my lady realized it was the spirit doing this to get
her attention. She said her mother was a having a—Oh!” She spun her hand in the
air. “—acting like a child who does not get its way? I do not know the word, my
lord.”</div>
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“Having a tantrum?” </div>
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“Yes, that is the word my lady used. Every few days there
would be an incident. Madame and I would pick up the mess and she cautioned me
to keep silent. Lately, the spirit started attacking her. My lady has been
pushed, slapped, shoved, and once she was locked in a closet.”</div>
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“Yet, you did not come to me.” Donovan chastened. </div>
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“My lady swore me to silence, my lord. And you are a man of
science,” She gestured around the room. “What could I have said to make you
believe my tale?” </div>
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The woman did have a point. He would not have believed
her—not before last night. </div>
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“Nothing like this happened on the ship. These attacks seem
to have begun after our arrival here. What could have disturbed her mother’s
spirit since then?” </div>
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Her dark eyes moved about the room, from the stuffed raven
to the owl and the lizard perched on the shelf behind him as if seeking the
answers. “There is a magic charm in Madame’s possession. She discovered it
among her grandmother’s things after we unpacked her trunks. My lady believes
the charm is a protection against nightmares.” The maid tugged her shawl about
her. Her dark eyes widened. “But it is pure evil, my lord.” </div>
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Donovan pondered her words. Maureen’s ghost had said
Elizabeth’s ancestors were sorcerers. If senile Old Sheila had fashioned a
malicious charm, it seemed prudent to remove it from Elizabeth. “Find it. Bring it to
me.” </div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"> Dark Hero, A Gothic Romance is available FREE at Smashwords.com. This is an exclusive offer only for readers of this blog. Coupon is good through Oct. 31st 2012. Have a Halloween Treat on me!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">If you would like a free e-book copy of Dark Hero use coupon code TN97B at the checkout at <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/148132">Smashwords.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Chills to You, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Lilith Bloodrose </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgIpzWq40vXH6ADRdedQCJ7N7cojxGb73HZWk861FrQNnlsz-3rj4NcQ1cEQhyQHVCn6r9gXFNaY8tL0PhivfyIsmRerrhdujVZqS2S5fTi_wfYh4W33ldWV94RIC-bHYEGdIO9TTjFdh/s1600/Darklily+Dec+2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgIpzWq40vXH6ADRdedQCJ7N7cojxGb73HZWk861FrQNnlsz-3rj4NcQ1cEQhyQHVCn6r9gXFNaY8tL0PhivfyIsmRerrhdujVZqS2S5fTi_wfYh4W33ldWV94RIC-bHYEGdIO9TTjFdh/s320/Darklily+Dec+2005.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-38317816607568276442012-09-10T17:49:00.003-07:002012-09-10T17:49:55.901-07:00A Chilling New Gothic Classic <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6DcHZl6hpVKWJTGSyyA-j6-7U5NCVhkrwoSSpLio7rwDQyRiT3MbSEO-fKqCF3GBPYr_uCMq2Kw7SHdFL7DdXvyfM8qjL3qc0uticfYCKZ8kmR0fx5PyeKhSj2uIxJtJ1UfD337qNAPy/s1600/MV5BMjEwMzIxOTg3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjI4ODUzNw@@._V1._SY317_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6DcHZl6hpVKWJTGSyyA-j6-7U5NCVhkrwoSSpLio7rwDQyRiT3MbSEO-fKqCF3GBPYr_uCMq2Kw7SHdFL7DdXvyfM8qjL3qc0uticfYCKZ8kmR0fx5PyeKhSj2uIxJtJ1UfD337qNAPy/s400/MV5BMjEwMzIxOTg3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjI4ODUzNw@@._V1._SY317_.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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<br />
I just watched "The Woman In Black", and let me tell you, it's scary!<br />
I was home alone, so I had to cling to my German Shepherd for comfort during the really scarey scenes. Usually my dear husband is the one who holds my hand, but he wasn't available, but Fritz, my 2 year old shepherd was most happy to sit on the sofa with me and let me snuggled him from protection.<br />
<br />
I must say, it's rare that a Gothic story gets me that spooked, and I give praise to the director for taking the story and creating a very seriously creepy movie that is destined to become a cult classic. It's set in th late Victorian age, about the turn of the 20th century. <br />
<br />
Daniel Radcliffe stars in a adult role in this thriller written by Susan Hill. He's a widower named Arthur Kripp, a lawyer who is sent by his firm to a remote village in England to find the correct will after a rich woman dies and leaves her estate papers in shambles. He has lost his wife, and has reached rock bottom. His son is about four years old, and doesn't want him to go out of town for this job. Arthur is in arrears financially, and his boss at the firm makes it clear that if he can't complete this job, he'll be let go from the firm. So, Arthur travels by train to the remote seaside village and is met by cold shoulders and anger at every turn. Arthur goes to the deserted manor house to find the papers, against the advice of the local lawyer and other villagers. The house is seriously creepy, a pure goth delight. The interior is dark, moody, and full of spooky atmosphere, the perfect setting for a ghost story. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQ0-A-L_D0RoHNv1K9QsqD5V_PY5_OuUEOmaflc6MAD6vHIdIpRo6qXkpW-3eAUlrmc-8Z5dxC3knw_k5sNSrF_gE1UsaXlZMj4WHmDvJeSn_d2YSL7KmRXpI6MULYQgvTFqJgwBFN935/s1600/images+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQ0-A-L_D0RoHNv1K9QsqD5V_PY5_OuUEOmaflc6MAD6vHIdIpRo6qXkpW-3eAUlrmc-8Z5dxC3knw_k5sNSrF_gE1UsaXlZMj4WHmDvJeSn_d2YSL7KmRXpI6MULYQgvTFqJgwBFN935/s400/images+House.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As Arthur goes through the widow's papers at the empty manor house, he hears odd noises, and has strange sensations as things brush past him. He looks out the window at one point and sees a woman in black on the deserted grounds. He goes outside to try to find her, but to no avail. Instead, he finds a grave. Meanwhile, he goes to town and children immediately start dying. He can't understand it, but each time he encounters a child, they seem to die shortly thereafter, violently. The townspeople try to make him leave by force, but won't tell him why this is happening in their village. As the mob closes in he is rescued by the local gentry, Mr. Daily, played by Ciaran Hinds. Mr. Daily offers him a room at his mansion, and Arthur meets Daily's disturbed wife. The Daily's have also lost a child, and the mother is grieving, and has a strange affliction/gift as she as sometimes able to channel her child. Her husband just thinks she's nuts, but she's actually giving Arthur a few clues as to the strange woman in black and her purpose in the area. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfd1TgsSoAusEIPWDXyR0HXG-6e96eMv4fi3zNlL5AjWuHmQhUcG4jG9mU34L4RCWdPK309fLRJC4P8c7tYrtVmZpFTJ8fWBkrWb5PC9OuPybP3dDSrtWsaW1HLSQcVA2VLT8p2sH1Ftc/s1600/images+Ghost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfd1TgsSoAusEIPWDXyR0HXG-6e96eMv4fi3zNlL5AjWuHmQhUcG4jG9mU34L4RCWdPK309fLRJC4P8c7tYrtVmZpFTJ8fWBkrWb5PC9OuPybP3dDSrtWsaW1HLSQcVA2VLT8p2sH1Ftc/s400/images+Ghost.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poor Arthur is alone at the Haunted Mansion, but really not alone!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Determined to follow through with his job, lest his employer let him go if he does not, he keeps searching through the papers at the mansion. He discovers some very disturbing things as he does so. A child of the owners died years ago. He finds letters from the birth mother, the old widow's sister, accusing her of taking her child from her, and of being responsible for the child's death. The woman in black is the birth mother. She's haunting the house and the villagers, taking their children from them one by one for reasons unknown. She's a very angry ghost! Arthur is being stalked by her. The toys in the dead child's room start to play (wind up toys) in the middle of the night. He sees strange shadows and things brush past him. This movie is brilliant in that it's not about what you see, it's what is implied behind the scenes. There were some seriously creepy scenes using the children's mechanized toys. Scary little ghost children who aren't very nice! Talk about a high creep factor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgherkI0LgJE_eiLC7miKJsnx1Tc7d6MORdF2J9OPSSyzjg_xq1uMCvbLMtjiizw5XDg6PpfS-ILGi3LrqfkqBQ4suZmP7H-Tb8hi4dPbdw3w2NOkej_5OYtfBzE_RUucqe7HPm09qJ8wIC/s1600/02-03womaninblack_full_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgherkI0LgJE_eiLC7miKJsnx1Tc7d6MORdF2J9OPSSyzjg_xq1uMCvbLMtjiizw5XDg6PpfS-ILGi3LrqfkqBQ4suZmP7H-Tb8hi4dPbdw3w2NOkej_5OYtfBzE_RUucqe7HPm09qJ8wIC/s400/02-03womaninblack_full_600.jpg" width="400" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arthur's scared, wouldn't you be, all alone in a mansion with lots of ghosts? </td></tr>
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Arthur came to the remote village to find legal papers at the house of a dead client. Easy job, right? He ends up finding a desolate house full of ghosts and dark secrets. He is isolated and alone, and is stalked by a woman in black as he tries to prevent her from taking more children to the grave in her mad quest for vengeance. Watch the movie, you won't be disappointed. But my advice, watch it with a friend!<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXXRS3Kghh4">Watch the Movie Trailer</a><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Chills to you, </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Lilith Bloodrose</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-25194383673906380042012-08-13T12:22:00.001-07:002012-08-18T20:49:02.283-07:00What makes a compelling, believable Ghost Story?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyOL1KlqFQ5mZ-56uSspOJFW7Y4MYNU2tc22pQoHZyX_k56VAsXapsr7qZEPeVo7HHnqA3hj0cFNI5GeKLm9YGtWe0A-P65XOShmA3gTf1UTBLZKCYBz3t-kRe47JgmTN1tAllCI5IQOQ/s1600/dreamstime_xxl_21467810-cop.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyOL1KlqFQ5mZ-56uSspOJFW7Y4MYNU2tc22pQoHZyX_k56VAsXapsr7qZEPeVo7HHnqA3hj0cFNI5GeKLm9YGtWe0A-P65XOShmA3gTf1UTBLZKCYBz3t-kRe47JgmTN1tAllCI5IQOQ/s400/dreamstime_xxl_21467810-cop.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span id="goog_223094558"></span><span id="goog_223094559"></span>Ghosts
have always fascinated me. My first encounter with a ghost in a romance was
Lynn Kurland’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stardust of Yesterday</i>.
I admit I was pulled in partly by the cover, as the actor from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Highlander</i> was the cover model. Yes,
those alluring covers do draw us in, don’t they! In this story, the hero was a
ghost and the heroine was still alive. Talk about instant conflict. That first
paranormal romance sparked my interest to the genre and led me happily down the
path to the dark side. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As
an author, creating ghosts is much harder than reading about them. When writing
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dark Hero</i>, a Gothic Paranormal romance, I
had think long and hard about how and why the ghosts would appear in the story
in the first place, as well to try to create that chill factor we love in ghost
stories. No, I didn’t go into haunted houses. I love to be scared by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reading</i> ghost stories and watching scary
movies (not alone!) but facing a real ghost in a haunted house--no, not if I
can help it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I
asked myself this, why stick around in a place for centuries when you could be
off enjoying the after-life? I’d go to Paris, to the Louvre. I’d be off in a
heartbeat if I was a ghost and able to travel anywhere I wanted to go with no
physical boundaries. And yet, the main element of ghost stories is the ghost
being tied to the person or to a specific place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ah,
now I had a clue. I can’t just throw random ghosts into a story to jack up the
creepy factor and scintillate readers; we need to have reason for the haunting that
fits into the plot of the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So,
I came up with a list of elements to help me construct a compelling, believable
ghost: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">1).
Ghosts have feelings, and feelings compel us to act, rationally or
irrationally. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I
love the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Supernatural</i> TV Series. As
Dean and Sam hunt ghosts, there are often some pretty angry haunters to contend
with. An example is the female ghost in the show’s pilot who kept appearing to
men along the deserted road. The men she appeared to were unfaithful to their
mates, so after they picked her up she would kill them. She did this because
she had been betrayed by her husband and being in an angry, irrational state,
she killed herself. Thus, she became fixated on killing other men in the area
near her home who are adulterers. Her feelings of pain and betrayal at death
forced her to seek revenge--now that’s an emotionally driven ghost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2).
Ghosts want to contact the living. That is the bread and butter of the Ghost
genre. If they’re off doing their own thing, like going to Paris to haunt the
Louvre (my choice) then where’s the story? What’s the point? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might be at the Louvre . . . but again, why
would I be there instead of at home trying to contact my children and
grandchildren?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">3).
Ghosts have to be motivated toward a goal. There has to be a reason why they
are stuck where they are. That’s why they are so angry, sad or psychotic. They
have intense feelings which cause them to act and they are motivated to
complete a goal so they can find peace. </span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To illustrate this, consider two of the ghosts
in the Harry Potter movies. I love the headless ghost who keeps floating around
Hogwartz cheerfully chatting with everyone, but it seems he serves no real
purpose in the movie other than background flavoring. Moaning Mertle on the
other hand, (the girl who haunts the bathroom) has intense feelings and a
purpose to be in the story. She has knowledge that ultimately helps Harry and
the gang. Once they talk to Mertle, she helps them solve their problem by
giving clues that lead to the next step in their quest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMc_MjCLmjpzQF0W0IRE4oySDjv992ecM5vFbQqSSPC_U7zoBPdk8JJ1x9m0ZFuo4wbqVaSBfoy91t3VwHnutTNKlJMj-2vQ_63M_uHzemnuxCh-MjjXmNYurZS-CBj7E8cjeIugZI__vF/s1600/iStock_000017696969Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMc_MjCLmjpzQF0W0IRE4oySDjv992ecM5vFbQqSSPC_U7zoBPdk8JJ1x9m0ZFuo4wbqVaSBfoy91t3VwHnutTNKlJMj-2vQ_63M_uHzemnuxCh-MjjXmNYurZS-CBj7E8cjeIugZI__vF/s320/iStock_000017696969Medium.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth O'Flaherty in Dark Hero</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I
have several ghosts in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dark Hero</i>. Some
are strangers to the heroine and others are family members. Regardless of their
relationship to Elizabeth O’Flaherty, they all have a reason to be stuck with a
haunting gig and a reason to want to contact to her. Elizabeth is a seer and is
able to see and speak with the dead. Examining why the ghosts should be present
in first place helped me to write a compelling ghost story and avoid using
ghosts as wallpaper merely to spice up the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After
sharing what I think makes a credible ghost, let’s open this up for discussion.
Feel free to share your comments about what makes a worthy haunting in a story
and what you like (or don’t like) in ghostly characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: #990000;">Chills To You, </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: #990000;">Lilith Bloodrose</span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-65320525028256723892012-08-04T22:11:00.001-07:002012-08-04T22:13:25.345-07:00The Highwayman, Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Undead Romance . . . Ghostly Lovers . . . The Highwayman still comes to visit Bess at the Inn after their demise. Love it. You will, too. With the Full Moon this week, enjoy this poem and imagine a bit of ghostly
courtship taking place on a lonely, moonlit road, as gentleman caller
rides up to the old abandoned inn door and pays a visit to the lovely,
pale Bess, the Landlord's Black eyed daughter . . .<br />
<br />
Part one of this excerpt was in the previous post, and the following lines are from Part II of the famous poem.<br />
<br />
When
we left the lovely Bess on Friday, she was having a bad night as the
soldiers came to the inn and seem to be settling in. She's worried, for
you see, her lover, the highwayman, promised to come to her that
night. <br />
<br />
The Highwayman, Part II by Alfred Noyes:<br />
<br />
He [the highwayman] did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;<br />
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,<br />
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,<br />
A red-coat troop came marching—Marching—marching—<br />
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.<br />
<br />
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,<br />
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;<br />
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!<br />
There was death at every window; And hell at one dark window;<br />
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that <i>he</i> would ride.<br />
<br />
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;<br />
They had bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!<br />
"Now, keep good watch!" and they kissed her.<br />
She heard the dead man say—<i> </i><br />
<i>"Look for me by moonlight;</i><br />
<i>Watch for me by moonlight;</i><i> </i><br />
<i>I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way!"</i><br />
<br />
She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!<br />
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!<br />
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,<br />
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,<br />
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,<br />
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!<br />
<h3>
</h3>
The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!<br />
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,<br />
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;<br />
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;<br />
Blank and bare in the moonlight;<br />
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain.<br />
<br />
<i>Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot!</i> Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear;<br />
<i>Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot</i>, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did not hear?<br />
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,<br />
The highwayman came riding, Riding, riding!<br />
The red-coats looked to their priming!<br />
She stood up, straight and still!<br />
<br />
<i>Tlot-tlot,</i> in the frosty silence! <i>Tlot-tlot,</i> in the echoing night!<br />
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!<br />
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,<br />
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,<br />
Her musket shattered the moonlight,<br />
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him— with her death.<br />
<br />
He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood<br />
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!<br />
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear<br />
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,<br />
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,<br />
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.<br />
<br />
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,<br />
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!<br />
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,<br />
When they shot him down on the highway,<br />
Down like a dog on the highway,<br />
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.<br />
<br />
<i>And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,</i><br />
<i>When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,</i><br />
<i>When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,</i><br />
<i>A highwayman comes riding—Riding—riding—</i><i> </i><br />
<i>A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard;</i><br />
<i>He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;</i><br />
<i>He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there</i><br />
<i>But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,</i><br />
<i>Bess, the landlord's daughter,</i><i> </i><br />
<i>Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair</i><br />
<br />
If you are looking for a musical rendition of the this haunting poem,
check out Lorena McKennitt's version from her Book of Secrets CD. The
link is here again for your convenience:<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teq2m0BN-Wo">Lorena McKennitt's rendition of "The Highwayman"</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-16102882510389301252012-08-01T18:48:00.000-07:002012-08-01T18:48:01.166-07:00Full Moon, Ghosts, and Eternal Romance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you've never read the narrative poem "The Highwayman" by Alfred
Noyes, published in 1906, you've missed a truly romantic story. The
Highwayman and Bess, the Innkeeper's daughter, have a thing going. They
meet late at night. He stops by on horseback, knocks on her window, and
she leans out. They talk, they kiss, and her lovely long dark hair
caresses his face. But, with any story, there is conflict. The
Highwayman is a wanted man, because he is in reality a thief. Soldiers
come, they set up camp at the Inn, they use Bess as bait to lure him to
the trap, she kills herself, using the gun shot and the flash of the
powder to warn him and he escapes. The next morning he hears the news,
how the lovely Bess killed herself to save her love from the soldiers
waiting for him at her home. He's so full of grief at the loss of his
love, what does he do? Why, he heads back towards the soldiers and has
it out with them, going down in a bloody fight to avenge his true love's
death.<br />
<br />
The beauty of this romantic story,aside from the Romeo and Juliet storyline, is that it doesn't end there.<br />
The
ghost of the highwayman comes riding down the lane, stops and the inn,
and knocks on the window. And who's to say a Ghostly Bess doesn't answer
his romantic knock?<br />
<br />
The poem is in the Public Domain, as it was published before 1923.<br />
So, dear reader, savor it for yourself. The original poem is far better than any retelling; <br />
<br />
<i>The Highwayman</i>, by Alfred Noyes: Part I (Part Two will be in the next Post) <br />
<br />
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,<br />
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,<br />
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,<br />
And the highwayman came riding—<br />
Riding—riding—<br />
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,<br />
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;<br />
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!<br />
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,<br />
His pistol butts a-twinkle,<br />
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard, <br />
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;<br />
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there<br />
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,<br />
Bess, the landlord's daughter,<br />
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.<br />
<br />
<br />
And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked<br />
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;<br />
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,<br />
But he loved the landlord's daughter,<br />
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,<br />
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say—<br />
<br />
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,<br />
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;<br />
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,<br />
Then look for me by moonlight,<br />
Watch for me by moonlight,<br />
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."<br />
<br />
He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,<br />
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand<br />
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;<br />
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,<br />
(Oh, sweet, black waves in the moonlight!)<br />
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.<br />
<br />
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;<br />
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,<br />
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,<br />
A red-coat troop came marching—Marching—marching—<br />
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.<br />
<br />
<br />
In
Part two, to be featured in the next Post, Bess is confronted with a
horrifying reality as the soldiers lay a trap for her lover as she
remembers her love saying at their last parting:<br />
<br />
<i>"Watch for me by moonlight;</i><i> </i><br />
<i>I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way!"</i><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-788420756663464242012-06-30T21:42:00.002-07:002012-06-30T21:59:44.917-07:00Snow White and the Huntsman Movie Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
It seems that this spring and early summer has been a true goth fest when it comes to movies. We had "The Raven" in early May, followed by "Dark Shadows" in late May, and now another dark movie has come our way. Oh joy! It's sort of like Halloween, when everywhere you look you see the wonderful little skulls and pumpkins! It's the most wonderful time of the year.....oops, well, it is, when we have three Gothic themed movies in a row....and it's not October! <span style="color: #cc0000;"><HUGE GRIN></span><br />
<br />
I went to the movie Snow White and the Huntsman this weekend after anticipating it for months.<br />
<br />
This movie does have a seriously creepy, dark atmosphere. I loved it. The director has taken the lovely children's story of Snow White and turned it into a Gothic Fairytale.<br />
<br />
The storyline follows the fairytale pretty well. A beautiful, enchanted child is born to a king and queen in medieval Europe. The queen dies when the little girl, called Snow White is about seven or eight. The king mourns his wife, but eventually remarries a beautiful woman. Unbeknownst to him, the woman is a sorceress. The king dies, and well, you know the rest. Evil stepmother rules the kingdom, Snow White is out of the picture. In fact, she ends up locked up in a dungeon for years.<br />
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The movie veers slightly from the fairytale, but not far. The princess Snow White escapes, runs into the forest, and the Queen wants her back, because of the whole rival beauty paranoia going on. So, the Dark and Beautiful Queen hires the huntsman to go after Snow and bring her back. The problem is, my fellow goth lovers, is that Snow has ran into the Dark Forest, a place of magic, mystery and Halloween type trees that grab at you with roots and branches. The Dark Forest is the only place the Evil Queen has no power--go figure?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8us-E0VE4L6gobsKIbcQu-Ur4ICXbag9kwWkOxweoZsZpV8Ee2i9d2e2Y1JbVN5GB1uThHAcMi6KIMGhf42628HSRkBkhED570D50yScKeDBs0oZnthzj0dZdr_Y61McPPZUI-m8fyR81/s1600/Snow-White-And-The-Huntsman-2012-Film-Wallpaper-474810.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8us-E0VE4L6gobsKIbcQu-Ur4ICXbag9kwWkOxweoZsZpV8Ee2i9d2e2Y1JbVN5GB1uThHAcMi6KIMGhf42628HSRkBkhED570D50yScKeDBs0oZnthzj0dZdr_Y61McPPZUI-m8fyR81/s320/Snow-White-And-The-Huntsman-2012-Film-Wallpaper-474810.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
So, enter Thor---er--the Huntsman.<br />
He's the only one who knows the secrets of the Dark Forest and can track her and bring Snow White back to the dungeons. But, then, as you probably guessed, he switches sides, feeling sorry for Snow White and her plight. Of course they encounter dwarves in their journey, and of course the Evil Queen pursues them. The Queen tricks Snow into eating the poisoned apple, and she dies. The rest is history, as they say. you know the story. The Huntsman kisses her, she comes back to life, and they storm the castle . . . That's the short synopsis.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryFzdH4RJD-O__a51GtEtSuNWyFs-guM7-Ob330hyphenhyphenJ9AWSGEYE0NTg1kpQiS4JCKKUMIsIV5IyPutfliOS39rAf31ptlo3bl6kxlUJd8BRMBN5SGJJiu7wa3yeohQE-Gfm6DT0ZbRdMlk/s1600/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-movie-image-kristen-stewart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryFzdH4RJD-O__a51GtEtSuNWyFs-guM7-Ob330hyphenhyphenJ9AWSGEYE0NTg1kpQiS4JCKKUMIsIV5IyPutfliOS39rAf31ptlo3bl6kxlUJd8BRMBN5SGJJiu7wa3yeohQE-Gfm6DT0ZbRdMlk/s400/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-movie-image-kristen-stewart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Along the way, the princess and the huntsmen encounter some adventure, a little romance, a triangle romance scene, if you will, and some enchanted creatures, including woodland fairies. I found this version to be visually lush, amazing and richly imaginative. I highly recommend it.<br />
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Now, you're probably thinking of Kristen Stewart and going....ewww....from the Twilight thing. But seriously, I have to say, the movie is well worth the effort. Stewart does a pretty good job in the lead role. She's not bad, really. Just not incredibly strong with the screen presence thing yet. But she's young, and she's growing into it. Regardless of how you feel about Stewart, the movie is incredible, truly strong visually. Having Thor (Chris Helmsworth) in the role of Huntsman was a huge bonus. And, if you're looking for strong female screen presence you've got it with Charlize Theron as the evil queen. Now that is some smoking stage presence, ladies and gentleman. Give that woman an Oscar, please! I was captivated by this lovely, bewitching, malevolent queen. In fact, I think Theron stole the show, for me. She is hauntingly beautiful and frightening.<br />
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One of the most striking scenes of Theron is when she appears to Snow White, offers her the apple, and then the Huntsman discovers who she is and swings his axe at her. She transforms into a flock of black crows against a snowy forest and they all cascade up into the sky. It's so darkly poetic and lovely. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4bTcn98ve-7OW5-ZzIQVXhFmzavu8FGIaBzxndR-VPi6x6iWO9kjd7W3cd9H1XtNEKNf55ThEffchWoBjezUCl8i6X4pgJCK-pN08UCBclrMwcVH2SXSU6K352ukiS5dg5njhfi-ZfhT/s1600/Snow-White-kicking+ass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4bTcn98ve-7OW5-ZzIQVXhFmzavu8FGIaBzxndR-VPi6x6iWO9kjd7W3cd9H1XtNEKNf55ThEffchWoBjezUCl8i6X4pgJCK-pN08UCBclrMwcVH2SXSU6K352ukiS5dg5njhfi-ZfhT/s1600/Snow-White-kicking+ass.jpg" /></a></div>
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So, bottom line; Get over the Kristen Steward dislike due to her role as wilting Bella in The Twilight Saga, and go see this wonderfully Gothic Fairytale. Stewart shows promise in this story, and she learns to kick ass and wield a sword. No more squirming and grimacing as she waits for her boyfriend to save her. And if you're looking for stellar performances; with Thor from the Avengers headlining as the male lead and Charlize Theron as the elegantly malicious sorceress queen, you'll be vastly entertained.<br />
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The men who play the dwarves are also worthy of note, as they capture your heart. Not Doc, Dopey and Sneezy, but real life, gritty, warrior dwarves that deserve the limelight every bit as much as the rest of the cast. <br />
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Movies this good do not--I repeat-- do not come around very often. So dear Gothic Friend, savor the moment, and don't choke on your popcorn. <br />
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Chills to you, </div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Lilith Bloodrose. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-73781951463786775602012-06-19T22:51:00.001-07:002012-06-30T22:15:04.423-07:00Meet Elizabeth's Mysterious Bridegroom in Dark Hero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Chapter four excerpt: Elizabeth's stepfather meets the mysterious Count Rochembeau; Copyright Lily Silver 2012<br />
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The door opened, and the count emerged. The lawyer rose and Fletcher followed suit. <br />
“My
Lord, this is Captain William Fletcher, the stepfather of the young
lady you had me inquire about. Captain Fletcher, may I present Le Comte
de Rochembeau.” <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8gusSRydK85wwuUZnY65oAFhukmF63OrADuZjP2lw6vO8UdY7PpXOvcf2FxkPCGBu4TyW9c-OQha13TPNpDmEYoSZsqr3VJVMNvIKYMglYVBG4JQjEFLWaOTDYPFpi6FEKGOneHwnYGd/s1600/Captain+Midnight+face+only.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8gusSRydK85wwuUZnY65oAFhukmF63OrADuZjP2lw6vO8UdY7PpXOvcf2FxkPCGBu4TyW9c-OQha13TPNpDmEYoSZsqr3VJVMNvIKYMglYVBG4JQjEFLWaOTDYPFpi6FEKGOneHwnYGd/s1600/Captain+Midnight+face+only.jpg" /></a></div>
Fletcher stared at the apparition dominating
the chamber, rendering it even darker by his mere presence. His host’s
mutilated face was covered by black silk scarf. Only his lips and chin
were visible beneath the dark silk. The skin just beneath the fabric
appeared angry and swollen. Tiny holes had been cut into the cloth, yet
all one could make out in the dim light was the eerie shifting of light
behind the eyeholes of the dark sheath.<br />
“My lord.” He made a
bow, recalling his manners. The mute specter nodded and gestured to the
chair. Fletcher sank into it quickly, the better to hide his knocking
knees. <br />
The count sat in a chair next to the door he just
emerged from--a dark corner devoid of illumination--and gestured with a
wave of his hand for his solicitor to begin. <br />
“His lordship
wishes to know if you’ve had sufficient time to consider the agreement.”
Jamison asked, unaffected by the veiled creature staring at them from
the gloom.<br />
“Aye, its fine, I’ll sign.” He had been warned not to
stare, but couldn’t restrain himself. The dark sheath hiding the man’s
face made him uneasy. It reminded him of an executioner’s mask. The
count was a sizeable man, with inky black hair that swirled about his
broad shoulders in wild disarray. Unable to hold that disturbing silvery
gaze, Fletcher focused on his host’s attire; gleaming black Top boots,
black breeches, and a silk dressing gown of blood red. The gown was
opened to reveal a mass of scars riddling his chest that were long and
precise.<br />
“We will collect her Friday.” The Frenchman spoke at last in a harsh, grating tone.<br />
Dark Hero, Lily Silver; Copyright 2012 <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNWGDfmf7DJ31pR3qUAd-ZN5a2XGRVDoaYaGbKvdSwGirJ6fGSs6TVMo4cIJoSQSRASPkldrHHoit7ykWJY6fTK7kNfgCA95wKEQ8W0pYyGh5_hwyEL67W0tkMi0x-UvRkjP1ZogvDZbf/s1600/roses2-copy-3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNWGDfmf7DJ31pR3qUAd-ZN5a2XGRVDoaYaGbKvdSwGirJ6fGSs6TVMo4cIJoSQSRASPkldrHHoit7ykWJY6fTK7kNfgCA95wKEQ8W0pYyGh5_hwyEL67W0tkMi0x-UvRkjP1ZogvDZbf/s640/roses2-copy-3.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Missed Appointment, Copyright Lily Silver, aka Lilith Bloodrose 2004</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-29916986568779359042012-05-27T10:47:00.000-07:002012-05-27T11:10:11.758-07:00The First Lady of Gothic LiteratureThere once was a very talented woman who possessed a great imagination and a penchant for spinning dark, haunting Gothic tales that thrilled readers and had them up late at night, reading by candlelight and longing for her next great work.<br />
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I'm not talking about Laurel K. Hamilton, although, I have read many of her Anita Blake stories and enjoyed them immensely.<br />
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The First Lady of Gothic Literature is not Anne Rice, either, in case that was your next guess. I have read many of Rice's wonderful vampire chronicles, starting with Interview with the Vampire and going on through to Blood and Gold. While Rice may be a close second when discussing women who write delicious Gothic stories, there is someone who came along a few centuries earlier and made a big splash in the literary pond with her intriguing tales.<br />
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Here's a clue: Jane Austen tried to emulate her works when she wrote "Northanger Abbey." <br />
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If you haven't guessed who I'm talking about, let me introduce you: it's none other than Ann Radcliffe. Mrs. Radcliffe lived from 1764 to 1823, in England. She was a married woman of moderate wealth, childless, who found succor and fulfillment in her writing. She also found a willing audience for her works among the London Elite of the 1790's.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVlEgF-KSeRzPwOZWkyv4GaCAmQdwXYCO6c82aCz5OXAPNhFIsFTfRAdLdh6Qz7JEUFXfEuxUG2ZJdxt2TkgqOpNXTnGqMY6_cBw0lKoMxZ-JWkBIg_UT5bDadayVygH6YV91F_At_h72/s1600/radcliffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVlEgF-KSeRzPwOZWkyv4GaCAmQdwXYCO6c82aCz5OXAPNhFIsFTfRAdLdh6Qz7JEUFXfEuxUG2ZJdxt2TkgqOpNXTnGqMY6_cBw0lKoMxZ-JWkBIg_UT5bDadayVygH6YV91F_At_h72/s320/radcliffe.jpg" width="183" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As there are no known paintings of her, this a sketch depicting the author. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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There is not a lot known about this wonderful writer's personal life. She was married to a lawyer, and they did not have children. She was reputed to be a recluse. She wrote stories with dark, threatening men set in mysterious, sometimes bleak landscapes, such as dark, haunted forests, or lonely castles or abbeys. The heroine was often in danger from these brooding men, and had to solve some mysterious and paranormal event. Her writing is also very poetic, with long, vivid descriptions of landscapes and creepy, abandoned abbeys sufficient enough to make us worry for our heroine as she investigates the odd goings on in a rather foreboding, disconcerting setting.<br />
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Sound familiar? It should, because many later writers following her into the 19th century would emulate and build upon her works; writers such as Dickens, the Bronte sisters, Mary Shelley, and even Edgar Allan Poe & Bram Stoker. Radcliffe's works always stirred the imagination, and left a definite 'chill' factor in her audiences, much as our modern horror writers do for us today. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQdTftGhuikpThXGrMefetYvlaDQdtyGcjzgw0wQUWlRztmJo9Blwzhv60v3UcNR0qYbGn5OARsGd7kivEr6Q0ejKTNMdR7qmHhU1NWlmIiEvk16v94ZnVYqw0Y1A5D8-t-OVFCRyY2B0/s1600/james-gillray-tales-of-wonder-gillray-satire-on-the-taste-for-gothic-novels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQdTftGhuikpThXGrMefetYvlaDQdtyGcjzgw0wQUWlRztmJo9Blwzhv60v3UcNR0qYbGn5OARsGd7kivEr6Q0ejKTNMdR7qmHhU1NWlmIiEvk16v94ZnVYqw0Y1A5D8-t-OVFCRyY2B0/s1600/james-gillray-tales-of-wonder-gillray-satire-on-the-taste-for-gothic-novels.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a caricture of women enjoying one of Radcliffe's Gothic Novels by candlelight drawn by James Gilray, caricurist for the London Newspapers, and printed in 1802. Note the expressions of suspense on the faces of the listeners. </td></tr>
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My favorite by Radcliffe is "The Romance of the Forest." It is the story of young woman who was raised in a convent. One day, her nefarious father comes to take her home as she has turned 18 years of age. He takes her to an abandoned farmhouse, locks her in a room for days, and then shoves her off onto some travelers who happen by the farm in the middle of the night, travelers who are fugitives from the law. She is forced to enter their coach and go with them by her rather nasty father. They take her deep into the forest, where they set up camp in an abandoned old Abbey that is reputed to be haunted and inundated with some mysterious tragedy. The heroine, Adelaide, looks about the ruins as night is falling, seeing and sensing that something is watching them, that danger is mere waiting for them to fall asleep . . . <br />
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That is just the first few chapters. Need I say more? As a fan of Ann Radcliffe myself, I have given tribute to this wonderful writer in my own Gothic Romance; Dark Hero. The heroine in my story is fascinated with Radcliffe's writings, as my book is set in the late 1790's and my heroine has grown up in London. In Dark Hero, the heroine's Irish grandmother will cast a spell to summon a dark hero to rescue her, a hero based on the girlish fantasies the heroine nurtures from devouring Mrs. Radcliffe's delicious Gothic horror novels with relish. Thus, my own endeavor of publishing a Gothic Romance in 2012 has also been influenced by the daring Ann Radcliffe and her writings from the late eighteenth century. <br />
<br />
Anne Radcliffe liked to intersperse lines of her own poetry into her stories, a technique that later writers would also emulate, particularly Mr. Poe. <br />
<br />
Here are a couple of delicious quotes from the lady herself: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"He, wrapt in clouds of mystery and silence,</i><br />
<i>Broods o'er his passions, bodies them in deeds,<br />And sends them forth on wings of Fate to others,<br />Like the invisible Will, that guides us,<br />Unheard, unknown, unsearchable."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Ann Radcliffe Poem, from cover page of "The Italian", 1797</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>"Fate sits on these dark battlements, and frowns,<br />And, as the portals open to receive me,<br />Her voice, in sullen echoes through the courts,<br />Tells of a nameless deed." </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>From "The Mysteries of Udolpho" 1794</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Ann Radcliffe's works have fallen into obscurity, yet, you can still purchase her novels through Penguin Press. Mostly, they have become required reading for college literature, but for those who like a truly poetic, wordy, and descriptive Gothic story, they may be worth your time. I have them on my bookshelf. </div>
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<i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Here is a list of her works. Look for them on Amazon.com. </i></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>A Sicilian Romance, 1790</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>The Romance of the Forest, 1791</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>The Mysteries of Udolpho, 1794</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents, 1797</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Gaston de Blondeville (published post-humously) 1826.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Click here or more info on Radcliffe: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Radcliffe">Wikipedia </a></div>
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Chills to you,</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Lilith Bloodrose</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-33580531914786045962012-05-19T15:39:00.000-07:002012-05-19T15:48:17.564-07:00The Nightmare: A classic in Gothic Art<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13qLL5LgviuGHEQEh_rRfXbGbrC9JgF7DP4bTA3qG2wkTjhz5oU6e7MDcje0Cm2Tmo58QW41J8PE77LqEgWFvx7iE3jMfbB5o8IDfDnH1IvL5ZEM6Aozi7KAyBok9hYYJ6NL8D2jgVYgb/s1600/330px-John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13qLL5LgviuGHEQEh_rRfXbGbrC9JgF7DP4bTA3qG2wkTjhz5oU6e7MDcje0Cm2Tmo58QW41J8PE77LqEgWFvx7iE3jMfbB5o8IDfDnH1IvL5ZEM6Aozi7KAyBok9hYYJ6NL8D2jgVYgb/s400/330px-John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Nightmare, by J. Henry Fuseli, 1781 Oil on Canvas</td></tr>
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Greetings my fellow Gothic Lovers,<br />
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As I've spent a few posts writing about Gothic Movies and TV shows, I decided it was time to mix things up a bit, and talk this time about Gothic Art.<br />
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Now, mind you, in Art History circles there isn't necessarily a recognized 'school' of Gothic art, but there are plenty of Gothic paintings to search for throughout the centuries. The Romantic period has many Gothic images in it, and once we get past the revolution in Art that the impressionists started in Paris of the 1880's, we can find many more wonderful examples of Gothic, dreamlike or nightmarish depictions.<br />
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One of the most famous of these earlier paintings is the one above, <i>The Nightmare</i>. It was painted by an artist slightly before the Gothic craze that hit England in the late 18th century.<br />
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What, you say, there was a Gothic craze in the 18th Century? Yes, there was. I've studied the Gothic movement for some years and as a historian I am delighted to share this news with you. Often we think our generation invented a fad, but really, there is nothing new under the sun.... just revivals. You've heard of Gothic Revival Architecture when talking about house design, everyone has.<br />
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Well, it seems that in the late eighteenth century, England experienced a Gothic Revival of sorts, in literature, architecture and in some art circles. It's found under the "Romantic" period, and is considered a backlash against the Age of Enlightenment when men were courting logic and reason and the Industrial Revolution began to pollute and tear up the pristine English countryside with factories. Romanticism was a return to the dreamy side of the mind, the illogical, and often unexplainable part of life, like falling in love or . . . having a nightmare. <br />
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J. Henry Fuesli's <i>The Nightmare</i> is an example of this return to Romanticism in thought and art. His painting has rather chilling undertones. The woman lying with her body dangling over the bed is supposed to be a virgin. She's lying as if half dead, or stoned out of her mind--you pick, the interpretation is usually left up to the viewer. The creature sitting on her chest has visited her while she is asleep, giving her a 'nightmare'. It was believed in folklore that when a virgin, or other female sleeping alone had a nightmare, that she had been visited by an incubus--or demon in the night. Some stories claim the demon had sex with her while she was unconscious.<br />
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Wow, who thought our century had the corner on the crazy market. As I have a minor in Art History, I can tell you what the horse and the incubus are supposed to mean. There all kinds of psycho-babble and nerdy interpretations have been written about this great painting, (the woman is sexually frustrated, repressed, she's courting the devil, practicing witchcraft and ecetera). And you can nod your head, politely, and make your own assumptions and allusions. <br />
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Or just enjoy this rich, lovely Gothic painting and the creepiness it evokes in the viewer. It was shocking when first displayed in the Art Galleries in the 1780's, but it caught on, and has lasted as a disturbing painting for two centuries. <br />
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<u>About the Artist</u>: Henry Fuseli was born in Zurich, Switzerland as Johanne Heinrich Fuusli. He was lucky enough to be born into a family of artists, art historians and writers. Although his siblings were artists, his father slanted him for the clergy. Fuseli became a clergyman, but he had his own opinions about things, so that didn't take very well. He became an artist in later years instead. Good for us! Fuseli was a reputed to be a short man of 5'2'' but had a very 'domineering' personality. He was reputed to be a very intelligent and fiery sort of man. He also had pure white hair, which gives me the image of Doc from Back to the Future. <br />
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Fuseli spent much of his time as a painter and writer in England. He painted a lot of Shakespeare's scenes, and became known for his mystical and haunting style of painting. <i>The Nightmare</i>, is his most famous work. He is considered by many to be a forerunner of the Symbolist movement and the Surrealist Art movement, as most of the paintings he has done are very dreamlike and surreal at a time when most English painters stuck to historical figures, landscapes or portraits of the rich and famous. <br />
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Sweet Dreams!<br />
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Chills to you,<br />
<br />
Lilith BloodroseAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-9440287882048649622012-05-13T16:22:00.000-07:002012-05-13T16:48:43.944-07:00Happy Mom's Day: A salute to the ultimate Gothic Mom!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June Cleaver eat your heart out!</td></tr>
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As the sun sets on Mother's Day at Bloodrose Manor, and as I didn't really have a role model for a mother, I'm thinking of the TV moms who I admire.<br />
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My first thought was Morticia Adams, but as I recall her Motherly behavior, I don't come up with too much as memorable from a maternal standpoint. The kids were there in the background, but Morticia was always just standing or sitting around being beautiful, being kissed by Gomez, or cutting the buds off the roses so she could arrange the thorny stems in a nice bouquet.<br />
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Then it hit me: Lily Munster. Yes, she's our own June Cleaver, with a lot of Goth thrown in. Lily Munster is one classy dame. June Cleaver may scurry about the house in pearls and high heels, but Lily has black lipstick and a cool bat pendent. A stay at home mom with a golden heart who is devoted to her family. She's a modern mom, even if the show was made in the 60's, as she has more than just her own wee lad, Eddie, to look after. Like many modern households, she has extended family living with her; Grandpa and her niece. Suffice it to say she really has her hands full. Grandpa, her father, is a vampire who can turn into a bat, but also a nutty professor and who knows what he'll get up to in that basement lab of his when she's not watching him. If anyone has had to endure the trying situation of an aging parent living with them, remember Lily did it too. She did it with firmness, patience and love. <br />
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When I think of Lily, I recall her making breakfast for the family, or dinner in their little kitchen. With the family gathered around the table, she's standing over a steaming pot of ...what ever .....something gooey and slimy, and dishing up the family a hearty meal made with her dear little pale and lovely hands. Lily is a doer and shaker, the real backbone that holds everything together. She is a comfort to little Eddie when he's having a bad day, just like moms everywhere. I can see Little Eddie clutching his werewolf bear, who is dressed in matching striped pajamas that I'd guess Lily made for the teddy, and I can remember Lily soothing him, encouraging him or just being there to cuddle and comfort him with motherly devotion.<br />
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As a concerned Aunt Lily to her niece, Marilyn, Lily advises her on dating and on how to behave in high school. She encourages poor Marilyn with true motherly concern regarding her looks, which in truth Lily finds the girl plain and unlovely. Funny, as the Marilyn character is sort of a parody of Marilyn Monroe, but in this family she's the plain Jane ugly duckling. As a loving aunt, Lily does her best to mother the young woman and put up with her despite her weird appearance. Ah, yes, a goth mother with a sadly 'normal' looking child. I think Lily would have loved having Abby Scuitto from NCIS as a niece or daughter, don't you. Abby is just happy enough and quirky enough to fit in with the Munster clan.<br />
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Lily really has two children, if you count her ditzy husband, Herman. With him, she had her hands full, as he gets into one scrape after another and she lovingly and persistently tries to get him out of it. She lectures him, scolds him and in the end, she hugs the big lug, knowing damn well she knows best in this family (Father Knows Best, eat your heart out!).<br />
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So, in honor of Mothers everywhere, let's raise a glass of absinthe in praise of Lily Munster, our inspiring Goth Mom! <br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTPGlBuYxNo&feature=related">Watch this clip to see Lily in action as our devoted homemaker</a><br />
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Chills to you, <br />
<br />
Lilith BloodroseAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-16047624635209877772012-05-09T00:19:00.002-07:002012-05-09T01:00:05.246-07:00Dark Shadows: Be Very Afraid.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh, the horror! What have they done?" Jonathan Frid as Original Barnabas Collins</td></tr>
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Okay, so in the last blog I mentioned we should just enjoy a good Gothic film and not be too cerebral in our criticisms. But remember I also used the term <i>Good</i> with the term <i>Gothic Film</i>. I have to admit, I'm a little uneasy about this new Burton/Depp conception named "Dark Shadows".<br />
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I feel the urge to utter caution to my fellow Goths, something along the lines of "Be very Afraid!"<br />
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Not in the good sense. No. That's the problem. I'm not anticipating delicious 'chills' or screams or a squirm factor from this one. What I'm anticipating in this odd remake of the old 1960's soap opera is plenty of 'schmaltz'. Lest you scratch your head wondering what the bloody hell I just said, let me rephrase it; I think it's going to be over the top silly and cute, to the point of being utterly pointless and possibly downright <i>stupid</i>.<br />
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I could be wrong. I'd love to be wrong because I have been a serious fan of Tim Burton's work for years and usually if Johnny Depp in the project, it's double the pleasure. But lately, dear readers, I've been a little wary regarding this sacred union of Burton & Depp. Alice in Wonderland was . . . a little scarey--and not in a good way. I looked forward to AIW long before it's release. But the Mad Hatter depiction by Depp was silly and disappointing. I love Captain Jack Sparrow. But the Hatter, hmmm, weak, limp, hapless. You had the name Johnny Depp after it, but even so, it was just too--cute--to suit me. And then there was the Willy Wonka nightmare. The repetitiveness of silly, hapless characters is getting wearisome. At least Captain Jack had . . . dare I say it . . . BALLS. In comparison, the other two characters have teeny little marbles, lots of them--and their strewn all over the floor in a jumbled mess. <br />
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But I digress. My purpose in this little discussion is not to complain about Depp's recent characters, but rather to discuss the authentic Dark Shadows Television show for those who have not had a proper introduction to a truly unique television series--for it's time period. <br />
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I have seen the original Dark Shadows, the original TV series from the 60's, back when it was on regular TV in the sixties. I was just a kid, but even then, I <i>knew</i>, I could tell by the intro scene with the dark seas and waves crashing upon the jagged rocks, complete with the eerie music, that this was not a campy, silly show. It intrigued me as a child. It was dark, creepy, and that was precisely what attracted me to it. I would have loved to stay home from school to watch that show, but mom wouldn't have it. It was the forbidden fruit because it was on during daytime, and it was serialized story about life, love, convoluted storylines, romance and loss, (a. k.a. soap opera) with dark brooding undertones. The original series was not campy, sarcastic or spoofy. It was a serious drama. Oh, yes, I know, the whole vampire thing and the soap opera thing make it a spoof of the regular soaps, but it was a brilliant sort of spoofing in that it did not stoop so low as to make an ass out of itself in the process. The actors were serious, not seriously deluded. Okay, okay, I'll calm down a little and discuss this rationally. I promise. It's just that ..... as I said in an earlier post, the label Gothic used to stand for something really special, and that something was a darkness with gravity and dignity coupled with intense yet beautiful moodiness that was nothing short of majestic.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark Shadows, the Original TV Series</td></tr>
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Dark Shadows, premiered on the 27th of June, 1966 on daytime television and was billed as a "GOTHIC" soap opera. Note I capitalized the word Gothic. It was filmed in black and white to add to a very nuanced creepiness of an old horror movie. The series starts out with a young woman, Victoria Winters, who is traveling to Collinsport, Maine by train to take the job of governess for the wealthy Collins Family. The child she will oversee is troubled, the family she will live with is troubled. There is a dark brooding spirit over the manor, and supernatural goings on. Victoria has dreams and queer flashbacks regarding her past that she can't explain. There are allusions in this work to past life experiences and reincarnation. Eventually, Victoria encounters an English cousin of the Maine Collins Family, who is in truth one of the earlier founders, Barnabas Collins. He's a vampire from the 18th century who was cursed by a witch, and trapped in a coffin for 175 years. He comes back to his home, and finds Victoria there; he believes she is the reincarnated spirit of his lost love, Josette. The two of them spend a lot of time dancing back and forth, each trying to make sense of the situation in traditional soap opera style, with heartache, longing, angst and avoidance. An undead love story, he's a vamp, she's a reincarnated governess who doesn't like him so much after all these centuries, but he doesn't want to give her up . . . you get the idea. There are lots of other story lines, as there is a whole cast of characters, but Barnabas pining after Victoria/Josette is really the thru-line of the story once Barnabas appears. <br />
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Interesting trivia fact: Barnabas Collins, the Icon of the show, wasn't on it for the first 9 months. Dan Curtis, the creator, decided to toss in a vampire at the end of season one when the ratings weren't so great, kind of along the lines of <i>hell, if we're going out, let's go out with a bang!</i> (Note to reader, not a direct quote from Dan Curtis, but my research points to an indirect general idea that these were his thoughts at the time). Well, they got this creepy looking dude, Jonathan Frid, to play said vampire, and wouldn't you know it, rather than sink the show took off! It continued on, with the vampire becoming the most well remembered character, for five years, ending in 1971.<br />
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Jonathan Frid was a Shakespearean actor. By that, I mean he was trained in theater, and was a very talented actor in American Shakespeare playhouses before joining the cast of Dark Shadows and immortalizing Barnabas Collins as a cultural Icon. He took his role very seriously, and played the part of Barnabas with a mixture of angst, longing and good old Shakespearean Romantic Longing. This is why I'm afraid the latest version of Dark Shadows on the big screen will prove disappointing--there is no depth of character in the Burton/Depp version. It appears (from the trailers) to be merely a mindless romp with plenty of bad puns and dark scenery when held up against the backdrop of the original. Jonathan Frid makes an appearance in the 2012 movie. Mr. Frid died on April 13, 2012, at the age of 87. <br />
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The original series had a really attractive werewolf in it as well. David Selby played a brooding, young Byronic hero, cursed to be a werewolf. He is Quentin Collins, and a few other Collins ancestors, as they use this handsome young man to do some soul swapping through the centuries. This is an interesting plot line as well for daytime television set in the late 1960's. Concepts like reincarnation and soul travel, or rather, astral projection, were not really all that common on network TV back then. Today, we are inured to alternate religions and the paranormal with shows like Supernatural, Ghost Whisperer, The Vampire Diaries and the like so we take those plot-lines for granted. But nearly fifty years ago an obscure soap opera started it all. Oh, what the devil has unleashed!<br />
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And yes, a storyline even involved the devil in the last season! Truly imaginative Television for it's day. <br />
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They tried to re-make the TV series in the 1990's, with Ben Cross playing Barnabas Collins. It lasted one season, didn't have the werewolf in it, or the devil. It was okay, and it was a serious work, not silly or campy, but it ended on a cliff hanger and didn't get renewed for the next season. You can get it from Netflix, if you're so inclined.<br />
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In closing, I want to direct you to a truly wonderful site that celebrates the old TV series properly. If you are curious about the actors who played in it, about the series itself (episode guides), photos, journals, links, where to buy the DVD's and whatnot, you'll find it all here. I was awed and amazed by this site, so rather than using pictures or clips from it, out of respect for the creator and contributors to this site, I'm just sending you there. Bon Appetite. <a href="http://www.collinwood.net/info/about.htm">Link to Dark Shadows Journal Online</a><br />
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Oh, and if you do see the Movie, email me and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.<br />
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Chills to you,<br />
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Lilith BloodroseAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-56479392326123090252012-05-05T11:08:00.002-07:002012-05-05T15:07:51.566-07:00The Raven: Movie Review<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of Gothic #2, Literature, by Lilith Bloodrose, Mixed media collage. See full work here <a href="http://strictlygothic.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=13354239">StrictlyGothic website</a></td></tr>
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The Verdict on "The Raven" Movie: Bottom Line, I liked it!<br />
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Yes, it was dark, and scary, and had a lot of great atmosphere and gritty gore scenes.<br />
It's a murder mystery, along the lines of Criminal Minds or Bones, but set in Victorian Baltimore. And as the murders are quite grisly, they are based on Poe's stories, be prepared to see dismembered body parts lying about and lots of screaming. I'm just warning you.<br />
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In case you haven't heard it yet, here is the plot, in a nutshell:<br />
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Edgar Allan Poe is down on his luck. He's short on funds, and seems to have lost his muse. He writes reviews and columns for the local paper, but his popularity has waned, as we learn when the stinging review of another writer's work he had hoped would be a literary triumph (and earn him a few bucks) gets killed (publishing term for canceling a planned story before publication) before publication, and to his horror, is replaced in the paper by the very item he was reviewing. He's angry with his editor, and when he confronts him as to why this has happened, why not only kill his article but publish the very piece he was hacking to pieces in it's slot, the editor replies blandly, "The people like it." (the it meaning this rival author's work)<br />
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Ah, tis the bane of every author, someone elses work, whom you may secretly loathe, is loved by the masses, while your work is . . . ignored.<br />
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But Poe has an unknown ally, a fan of a very creepy and twisted sort. This fan has been inspired to commit murders from reading Poe's work, and he's a serial killer from the cradle (Don't worry, I won't spoil the story for you by giving away the end, this part about the murderer's childhood comes out at the end of the movie), and since he admires Poe's work so much, he feels it is his 'moral' obligation to become Poe's muse, to get his juices flowing artistically again so he can reclaim his title of master. This premise is seriously creepy--it's basically "I'll kill for you to get you writing horror stories again."<br />
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The murders point the police to Poe, first as a possible suspect, but once the inspector realizes Poe is not the man responsible, he asks Poe to help him with the investigation as an expert witness because the murderer is using Mr. Poe's works as a template for each kill. This is a good idea, an excellent story idea. However, I had one problem with this premise; Poe wrote so many stories, how can they logically know which one the killer will use next?<br />
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It's sort of a crap shoot in my mind, but Poe and the police seem to figure out which of his stories will be used next based on clues given by the murderer on the bodies of past victims. As a writer, I found the idea of taking a huge body of work of a prolific writer, and being able to pinpoint an exact idea for the next murder a little stretched. But, I suspended my disbelief in order to enjoy this wonderfully dark, Gothic tale with Mr. Poe as the hero. (Every movie has it's flaws, right?) And besides, the main point of a movie is to entertain us. If we become too cerebral and scholarly about movies and their break with reality, we've really just ruined our own fun, haven't we? I won't do that. <br />
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To up the game for Poe, the killer decides to kidnap his lady love, Emily Hamilton and the implication is clear, she will die unless Poe figures out where she is being kept. (Clue: buried alive, but where is the question). This is unexpected but brutal as Poe nearly falls apart at the news. Now it's personal. If Poe fails, Emily will die. Bodies pile up with clues attached or rather, inside them. Deliciously gory. <br />
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The chase scenes are excellent, as Poe and the police detectives hunt down the killer by following the bodies of clues, yes--dear reader, the killer leaves the bodies themselves as clues for the next kill. Poe and the inspector end up crashing the Theater during a live scene of Macbeth, end up crashing a Masked Ball, searching the dark tunnels below the city and chasing through the foggy countryside in pursuit of a killer who remains one step ahead of them. We get glimpses of the killer in a mask and cloak, running away just as the Poe and the Police arrive. Cat and mouse, as one reviewer said.<br />
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If you like Poe, if you like Gothic movies, if you like Victorian Gothic, with dark nights and swirling fog, if you like murder mysteries--you will like this movie. If you like costume dramas and period pieces, you'll like this movie. If you are looking for an accurate portrayal of Edgar Allan Poe's life, you won't find it here. It takes place in his later years, after his wife's death from consumption, when his career has waned. At the end of the movie, this is made perfectly clear, when you read in the end credits. <i>This movie is a work of fiction and any resemblance to actual persons, places or events is purely coincidental.</i> There you have it, in the filmmaker's own words. This is fiction. Not truth, just a fun story, so don't go hunting for errors or expect the film depict Poe's life with complete accuracy--just have fun!<br />
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That's my point. Just have fun. A good Gothic thriller comes along only so often. And emphasis on the word GOOD. Yeah, we have plenty of losers out there that fail miserably, lots of B-Movies. This one is Very Good. It's not perfect, but movies never are. You can bash it to death, my beloved Gothic friends, find fault with every little detail, or just enjoy it, savor it as a triumph for the dark side. I don't think Poe would object, very much. This movie is so much better than the Poe movies from the 60's, seriously. (Check yesterday's post to read about them.)<br />
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Two last parting points:<br />
1. John Cusack did a fabulous job portraying Poe. I'm used to Cusack as the quirky, funny male lead in modern romantic comedies, (Must Love Dogs, Serendipity) but he has crossed over to the dark side with grace and aplomb.<br />
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2. It is unfortunate that the release of this movie coincided with the opening of The Avengers. This will probably hurt box office ratings, but true Poe/Gothic fans will love it anyway. My husband and I saw it on Friday night, opening night for the Avengers. There was a long line to see The Avengers, while my darling and I, on the other hand, had the theater to ourselves. Could have had some good times making out all alone in the dark--but darn, that movie was just too fast paced and compelling to look away. <br />
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For the serious Goth, this movie will be a delicious escape into the world of Poe. <br />
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Another incarnation of Poe on the big screen is an older movie, The Black Cat, 2007. This is another depiction of Poe, using events of his life as a backdrop, and is likely more accurate for the Poe Purists. Jeffrey Coombs stars as Poe. I've seen it. It's good and creepy, and has wince worthy moments. <br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0785533/">The Black Cat link</a><br />
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Chills to You.<br />
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Lilith Bloodrose. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-57664309885266317642012-05-04T15:35:00.003-07:002012-05-04T22:10:41.947-07:00The Raven; A Pre-Movie Ramble<div style="background-color: black; color: white;">
Limited Time: Free E-Book 'Dark Hero' A Very Gothic Romance <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/148132">get it here Use Coupon Code WG572</a> </div>
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Tonight, I am going to the movie, "The Raven" starring John Cusack as the wonderful Mr. Edgar Allen Poe. Tomorrow, I will write a review. Here are a few thoughts on movies and the venerable Mr. Poe. </div>
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When I first saw the previews and trailers a few months back, I thought <i>Yes, it's about time someone did a movie about Poe for the big screen.</i> Our Patron Saint, Mr. Poe, rarely gets much stage time anymore. I very vaguely recall a few cheesy movies I saw on TV as a kid (made in the 60's) with Vincent Price involved, (although I don't think cheesy is a term worthy of Mr. Price. He's good in anything). </div>
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The movies were done by Roger Corman, and enough said, you either love them as cult classics in this modern era of the 21st century, or you hate them. Either way, you are forgiven. </div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raven_%281963_film%29">Link to Wikipedia description of The Raven, 1963</a><br />
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I'm undecided on the Corman 'classic horror' status. They may have been really intense in their day, but with all the changes in movies in recent decades, I think all those stories could be done a lot better. Take for example, "The Raven" starring Vincent Price in the 60's. I saw it a few years ago on Cable and it was boring.</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pit_and_the_Pendulum_%281961_film%29">Link to Wikipedia Pit and Pendulum Movie</a><br />
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There was also "The Pit and the Pendulum." Another ........hmmm .......strange one. Then again, maybe it's genius, who knows? </div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">A disgustingly weird and flat 60's '</span><i style="background-color: black; color: white;">Poe</i><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">' movie was "The Mask of the Red Death." </span><img alt="" height="350" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1f/MasqueOfTheRedDeath%281964film%29.jpg/220px-MasqueOfTheRedDeath%281964film%29.jpg" width="220" /></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masque_of_the_Red_Death_%28film%29">Wikipedia "Masque of Red Death" page</a><br />
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Done badly, or wondrously--depending on your point of view. I'll go with the former, myself. I saw it on Cable TV last summer, and argh--that's a couple of hours I'll never get back. I couldn't stop watching it, cuz I kept hoping it would get better! It didn't. Only thing going for it was Mr. Price as the lead actor. It was in that age where everyone was trying to emulate Hitchcock's genius with Vertigo or The Birds, and everyone fell short. To me, it's akin to a grad student trying to emulate Tim Burton's film genius--and doing it very badly.</div>
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Needless to say, dear Goth reader, keep in mind that a movie, any movie, even one based on solid literature and storyline, is always subject to the director's artistic vision and influences, for better or worse. Often, it's worse. Enough said on that account. Take Tim Burton, for example. His doing Alice in Wonderland gave it a darker flavor then say, the Disney version. </div>
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I've often wondered why the works of Edgar Allan Poe have not been mined by Hollywood in recent years. I've often wondered why Tim Burton, the Dark Film God of this Age, has not tapped into the Master Poe's works for the big screen. I absolutely loved Sleepy Hollow, an early Tim Burton/Johnny Depp Movie. </div>
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The atmosphere alone in that movie was worthy of an Oscar nomination, it was that tangible and deliciously creepy. And just think, Burton could work up the atmospheres for Poe's works and give them the finesse they truly deserve.</div>
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Back to "The Raven". I've heard good and bad things. I'm a little nervous, wondering if it will be just another bad Poe movie. I'm also hopeful, as John Cusack is a brilliant actor. I want to like this one, I really do. But people, critics, are already bashing it. Well, all I can do is go and give my honest opinion. </div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Tune in this weekend for my own review. And don't forget to get a free copy of my E-Book, Dark Hero, a Very Gothic Romance at Smashwords.com. </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/148132" style="background-color: black; color: white;">Link</a><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"> Use coupon code WG572 </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-13343879180145605332012-05-02T16:05:00.001-07:002012-06-19T22:40:46.619-07:00A Very Gothic Romance: Get a Free E-Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSWRoiP5FwBdjzK6yyrlC9lQsDuRA-L5swQP3tL3heD9tVN7PwhIWUZXc7ghZj4Ld4KNYcKLlNazVVyEFrJm5DcQP3EMnIprglk-J1WB-ZrMbNSNnseu3UIMxFjstjZNEOo4EioxZFKkr/s1600/dark+hero+final+cover+adjust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSWRoiP5FwBdjzK6yyrlC9lQsDuRA-L5swQP3tL3heD9tVN7PwhIWUZXc7ghZj4Ld4KNYcKLlNazVVyEFrJm5DcQP3EMnIprglk-J1WB-ZrMbNSNnseu3UIMxFjstjZNEOo4EioxZFKkr/s320/dark+hero+final+cover+adjust.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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New book release: My latest book is a Dark, Gothic Historical Romance with a heavy Paranormal feel. </div>
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Indie Publishing is a wonderful thing. It allows the writer to by-pass the traditional publishing houses and put their work online for anyone to read. As a celebration for this new event, I am willing to give away copies of my newest book, Dark Hero. </div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">This story is starts in England, with most of the action taking place in the Caribbean in 1798.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMc_MjCLmjpzQF0W0IRE4oySDjv992ecM5vFbQqSSPC_U7zoBPdk8JJ1x9m0ZFuo4wbqVaSBfoy91t3VwHnutTNKlJMj-2vQ_63M_uHzemnuxCh-MjjXmNYurZS-CBj7E8cjeIugZI__vF/s1600/iStock_000017696969Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMc_MjCLmjpzQF0W0IRE4oySDjv992ecM5vFbQqSSPC_U7zoBPdk8JJ1x9m0ZFuo4wbqVaSBfoy91t3VwHnutTNKlJMj-2vQ_63M_uHzemnuxCh-MjjXmNYurZS-CBj7E8cjeIugZI__vF/s320/iStock_000017696969Medium.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Th</span><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">e</span> heroine, Elizabeth O'Flaherty, is a descendent of the Druids. </span></span></div>
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Elizabeth will face many challenges, both from enemies in the physical realm as well as in the supernatural. She marries a reclusive man who dissects corpses in order to study the human body, a man who lives on an isolated island estate in the Caribbean with locked and shuttered rooms. Her new home comes complete with a couple of resident ghosts. She will be forced to take up her unique heritage as a seer and priestess of the old religion, in order to save her family from a very determined evil. </div>
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As a lover of all things Gothic, from Evanescence to Anne Rice, Sleepy Hollow and Dracula, I loved writing this story. I had so much fun throwing more and more dark and creepy happenings into poor Elizabeth's life, that I truly felt sorry for this young woman as she struggled to overcome such devastating obstacles. But, as great writers have said, you have to be nasty to your heroes and heroines in order for there to be a true conflict and thus create a compelling plot. Let me know what you think, dear readers. I had fun writing this, and I hope you will have fun reading it as well. </div>
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Here is a brief blurb from the back of the print copy of the book:
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Guard Your Dreams . . . Lest They
Emerge from the Mists to Embrace You! </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After
her mother is murdered, Elizabeth’s Irish grandmother uses Druid magic to
summon a champion from the mists to protect her from her nefarious stepfather.
Granny Sheila calls forth a Dark Hero based on the Gothic Romances Elizabeth
devours with relish. When a beguiling Irishman appears at their cottage one
magic summer eve, he seems to be everything Elizabeth imagined in a hero. But her
dashing Irish beau is much more than he appears to be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Donovan Beaumont
is a tormented recluse who takes refuge in logic and reason. After escaping the
torturer’s den he uses disguises to protect himself from those about him. As
the mysterious French count, a scarred survivor of ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Terror’</i>, he inspires dread in all. As the charming Mr. O’Rourke,
he gains people’s trust and learns their secrets, making certain he is never betrayed
again. As The Raven, a notorious pirate, he is death to those who cross him on
the high seas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As Elizabeth’s
husband, he is much more than she bargained for when she said ‘I do’. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Once
they arrive at his isolated island estate in the West Indies, a dismal place
where ghosts linger and sorrow pervades, Elizabeth fears her new husband may be
courting madness. She struggles with his dark moods, his eccentricities and their
growing estrangement. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Elizabeth
inherited the gift of the seer and is able to speak with the dead. Married to a
scientist, she is reluctant to take up her gifts lest he consider her the mad
one and pack her off to the nearest asylum. Tormented by guilt, past abuse and memories
of her mother’s murder, Elizabeth is being stalked by a malicious ghost who was
cursed by her ancestor. Elizabeth is forced to embrace her Druid heritage and
confront the disturbing secrets hidden in her soul. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
price of honesty may be too steep; if Donovan learns her horrifying secrets she
may lose his love forever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Available on Amazon.com in kindle format and in Print form. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Hero-Reluctant-Heroes-ebook/dp/B007RIVFW0/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1340170791&sr=1-1">Dark Hero on Amazon.com</a> </span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-71584150759836682882012-01-24T13:02:00.000-08:002012-03-21T10:05:02.159-07:00Is there such a thing as a cheerful Goth?One thing I can say that has attracted me to the Gothic genre is the seriousness behind it.<br />
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It doesn't matter if it's a photo, a person, or a story; serious and somber = Gothic, in my humble opinion.<br />
When it came to heroes, I preferred Heathcliff to Mr. Linton. My all time favorite Gothic Hero/villian is from the 1994 Movie, Wuthering Heights, starring Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff, 1994</td></tr>
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Spooky, yes. Scarey, Hell Yes. He was one scarey dude. But SEXY as hell. Thus, the attraction, for me.<br />
Dracula, serious and scarey. Lestat, serious, somber and scarey. Mr. Rochester, serious and somewhat dangerous, moody to the point of exasperation. Yes, these are the literary Gothic heroes who made my heart throb and my soul cling to the dark half. Even Darth Vader, yes, please, in his younger days as Annikan, before he was deformed and totally corrupted. I must say, I even fell for the Dark spiderman, when good old Peter Parker became goth for a short time in Spiderman Three. My heart sang. Yes, yes,<br />
a vast improvement!!! That Spiderman was not the kicked dog, he had attitude. I liked it, despite the atrocious character change for our sunny, good boy next door hero. I know, I know, Peter Parker is a good boy next door, he's supposed to be sweet and endearing--but the change, no matter how temporary, was refreshing for my little goth heart.<br />
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This version of Spiderman/Peter Parker, was edgier, more alpha male and attractive. He knows what he wants and he goes after it, end of story. He doesn't take any bull from people anymore, he stands up for himself. But, alas, he had to revert to the original version of nerd/inept uncertain hero.<br />
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So, my point in all of this is the question? Can Gothic be sunny and happy, not dark and spooky and serious? I don't have the answer, but I ask you, dear readers, to comment on this question.<br />
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I have two images that I'd like to present as examples. The first is Howard, from The Big Bang Theory.<br />
Howard is a geek, a loser, and sometimes his own worst enemy. On an episode, they had him dress like a goth in order to get girls (his continual mission on the show). Howard as a Goth was sort of interesting. It was a vast improvement, and even I might feel compelled to have a drink with him at the Goth bar.<br />
With his eyes outlined in kohl, dressed in black, with his hair done in a less ditzy fashion, he's sort of hot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Howard and Raj of Big Bang Theory</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Until he opens his mouth! Then he's just silly.<br />
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Now, then, for those of you who love Abby on NCIS, yes, she is the most wonderful character on the show, for me. I absolutely love Abby Scuito. I wish I had her as a friend. She's a goth, dressed for work in a way that most of us could not, (that in itself is a reason to be in awe of her0. She's a scientist, and she listens to Heavy Metal music at work. Wow, it's a wonderful life!!!! Wish we could all be our true selves all the time and everyone loved us in spite of it. <br />
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Abby is awesome. I'm so glad we have a Goth representative on prime time TV. Only problem is, she's so darn cute. Yes, CUTE. Lovable. It works, mind you. Very well. But in the Gothic traditions, I ask you, isn't it something of a oxymoron? The Cute, smarmy, peppy, cheerful Goth? Hmmmm. <br />
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I don't know what to think. I seriously take umbrage with the depiction on the one hand, as a tradition Goth from an early age. And yet, I am so enamored with her character. She's just so lovable!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6Qs8aCvS7UpzD6eJyF9iNovm7ywaoEH0C9sy4sV6cKgK77fmnGbAqcpuhPNwY6ADvz9vTFf5cyPLtZWfpAfplP1Yx48Mtgl62-A2_ni1Gvh9LuX_qWZXWJeAE-yohyELZw0GD7DJ5aZ_/s1600/Abby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6Qs8aCvS7UpzD6eJyF9iNovm7ywaoEH0C9sy4sV6cKgK77fmnGbAqcpuhPNwY6ADvz9vTFf5cyPLtZWfpAfplP1Yx48Mtgl62-A2_ni1Gvh9LuX_qWZXWJeAE-yohyELZw0GD7DJ5aZ_/s1600/Abby.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby Scuito of NCIS </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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And there is the problem. Lovable Goth? Hmmm. What will they think up next? Ah, yes, lovable serial killer, a la Dexter.<br />
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Gothic has been dark and twisty, or rather, dark, mysterious, hinting of danger, somber, grave, intellectual and romantic for centuries. Now we have pink skull sweatshirts and T-shirts that we can put on our babies at Toys R Us, and little pink skeletal dolly images on back packs. Sort of sad, yet cute.<br />
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I still love the darker side of Goth.<br />
And I like pink, too.<br />
Pink and Black go well together.<br />
Not so sure about this softer side of Goth that has emerged in recent years.<br />
A Cheerful, perky, lovable Goth? <br />
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Give me the dark, edgy, dangerous verison, please. Edward from Twilight is serious, all the time. He hardly smiles, hence, his appeal. The same with Annikan Skywalker in the last Star Wars, he was dark, disturbed, troubled, and it was so appealing. I like my Gothic Heroes full of angst and gravity. It's why I'm attracted to the genre in literature. But, everyone has their tastes and their opinions.<br />
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Please, feel free to post your comments on this bizarre new infusion of soft, cheery and warm fuzzy pink skulls to the Gothic world. <br />
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Chills to you,<br />
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Lilith Bloodrose <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395315466562625299.post-91853270017473570992012-01-16T10:03:00.000-08:002012-01-26T08:41:30.214-08:00<br />
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Why Gothic? What's the attraction? <br />
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For my first post, I wanted to share a little bit about myself before I post discussions on Gothic Art, Literature and Architecture and music. So here goes: <br />
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I always knew I was different. From the time I was a child, watching The Addams Family--no--not the movies made in the '90's , but the old TV show. I loved Morticia. I thought she was so elegant and beautiful with her long black hair and long black dress, so pale and so lovely. I had to be about six or seven years old.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qQJrqHE4SCCDXDiSodY4JsAW1O6_jmrN2L3fMNT6ohC_oJ5Xtv2j_oKP47r2vL49qHvjAg3j1nO_C0V8eh4m1UyuEck_4U8m1iXEWeVXvsz3pDhUjKPW5efOrOP3lAbzU8wgQbRqBnys/s1600/morticia+addams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qQJrqHE4SCCDXDiSodY4JsAW1O6_jmrN2L3fMNT6ohC_oJ5Xtv2j_oKP47r2vL49qHvjAg3j1nO_C0V8eh4m1UyuEck_4U8m1iXEWeVXvsz3pDhUjKPW5efOrOP3lAbzU8wgQbRqBnys/s1600/morticia+addams.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morticia Addams, my mentor at age seven</td></tr>
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Little did I know that I was falling for the dark side, even as a child. I developed a fascination for the beauty of the dark Goth.<br />
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The dark side of romance also was blooming in my faint little heart. Mortica and Mr. Addams were intriguing. His passion for her, no matter the situation. Mr. Addams worshipped Mortica as a goddess extraordinaire. I was enthralled by their love play, and in later years that simple admiration would blossom into a writing career where I created dark, sinister Gothic Heroes.<br />
Thank you, Mortica and Mr. Addams.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglAuGbUP8eSBxNK-bkQJj7KakccQxmqH31wGaieqTLk0VvFndK5SU8plNV5gQf86kUh2tCPa3YG9SFaS152wYNjKX1uHPiZAJk3Q1yuz7PF53jrcImygxYqJCspnOTzQSsNcKQIvY9fP-J/s1600/Lily+Munster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglAuGbUP8eSBxNK-bkQJj7KakccQxmqH31wGaieqTLk0VvFndK5SU8plNV5gQf86kUh2tCPa3YG9SFaS152wYNjKX1uHPiZAJk3Q1yuz7PF53jrcImygxYqJCspnOTzQSsNcKQIvY9fP-J/s1600/Lily+Munster.jpg" /></a></div>
My second role model was Lily Munster. Again, dark, elegant, beautiful.<br />
Normal, in my way of thinking. Long black hair, pale skin, so ethereal. If kids are influenced by what they watch on TV, then I was influenced as a child by Mortica Addams and Lily Munster. <br />
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As a teen, I was drawn to the dark side. The bad boys then were the Vampires. Louis and Lestat of Anne Rice fame. These men made my teen heart throb while others were fascinated with the bubble gum good guy types. <br />
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As I look back, I realize that I was attracted to the Gothic genre before I even completed elementary school, before Goth became a term describing kids with black lipstick, badly dyed hair and dog collars. I was Goth before it was a label. I didn't wear black lipstick as a teen, or black nail polish. I just read dark books, and was attracted like a moth to a flame to anything dark and creepy. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GiBacqpEeu7bLjsJUWUVand3oZptpP2ZWF3MKpHr7aMZaYwzQETwM2jaBb3qtT5RXsaL5KaMTHesgubbagwEvUw_laUWTlB1W9J6M-1O1A6lzvHen1Jw2wi28x3haTvnZnD4rh79TBGS/s1600/Crypt--special+effects+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GiBacqpEeu7bLjsJUWUVand3oZptpP2ZWF3MKpHr7aMZaYwzQETwM2jaBb3qtT5RXsaL5KaMTHesgubbagwEvUw_laUWTlB1W9J6M-1O1A6lzvHen1Jw2wi28x3haTvnZnD4rh79TBGS/s320/Crypt--special+effects+1.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cemetery Crypt Special Effects, Copyright 2006 Lilith Bloodrose </td></tr>
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In college, I was also set apart from my peers. I was older than the average college student, as I went back to college to pursue a degree in art with an emphasis in photography. What really set me apart as an art student was my dark side, not my age. I created dark works for my assignments, and was labeled as weird and dark by all the happy, cheerful 18-20 year olds who didn't see the ethereal beauty in the cemetery photographs I shot (above), or the gargoyle photo I created with our pinhole camera assignment. (Below)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxHIiNtOryx9geN_BJWRT7RhZ_LP2P2uGRFhzvAIqMZ3Ka6l3ftX_ga9uUX0Zl7JlzynETswOnTfwb1pLG8cn_nOq-kNLM4No1a1ZA2ZdeWZI4E78IJUXRPrxn8sUjxFf0nu-SRS_Zhc4/s1600/blood+gothic+gargoyle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxHIiNtOryx9geN_BJWRT7RhZ_LP2P2uGRFhzvAIqMZ3Ka6l3ftX_ga9uUX0Zl7JlzynETswOnTfwb1pLG8cn_nOq-kNLM4No1a1ZA2ZdeWZI4E78IJUXRPrxn8sUjxFf0nu-SRS_Zhc4/s320/blood+gothic+gargoyle.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gargoyle, Pinhole Camera Shot. Copyright 2004 Lilith Bloodrose </td></tr>
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I did not fit in with the 'normal' crowd, and I took that as a blessing. As an artist, and a mature adult, I wanted to embrace my fascination for the dark side. My photography teacher, bless her, was the only one who understood my need to create dark images, and she encouraged me to follow my muse. Fellow students, however, labeled me is dark, strange, odd, weird--not much had changed since high school, despite having married and having children. I was still dark inside. Not dark and twisty, like Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy, but dark, and happy to be so.<br />
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So, dear reader, I am a Goth, born that way. Not a phase, not after so many years. I love gothic art, architecture, and literature. I read classic Anne Rice, and also Anne Radcliffe--for those of you who do not know, Anne Radcliffe wrote Gothic Novels that were popular in the 1790's, long before Anne Rice hit the scene with her 18th century Lestat. I love Ozzie, and Evanescence. I like Jessica Galbreath's Gothic
watercolor fairies. I like to walk through cemeteries, looking for
beautiful sculptures of angels and wistful women. I love Tim Burton's works, Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. <br />
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If there is one thing that's true about those who are truly Gothic at heart, is that it's a lonely existence. You don't tell your cheerleader friends, lest they step away from you. You don't tell your in-laws, who never liked you to begin with. So with that in mind, please feel free to connect with me on this blog or on my facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lilith-Bloodrose/276490345732977">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lilith-Bloodrose/276490345732977</a><br />
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So, why Gothic? I opened with a question, and I'm not sure of the answer. Why am I attracted to Gothic things? I don't know, maybe it's in the blood? All I know is that after so many years, it's just who I am. <br />
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I welcome my fellow followers of darkness to connect to each other and to stand proud yet different as an alternate genre. <br />
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Chills to you,<br />
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Lilith Bloodrose 2012 <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02219348756569450202noreply@blogger.com0