#Murders in the Rue Morgue is NOT that long

[ava-of-shenanigans]

Top 5 gothic lit characters not counting Renfield and Adam Franking Stein

Victor Franking Stein.

Carmilla

Utterson

Laura

Auguste Dupin

[flanaganfilm]

Loved Fall of the House of Usher!! (And all your other work, at that)

I really love your references to other horror media, particularly fun to pick out what I think is modern horror refs - was the chimps inspired from Nope? And the reference in Tammy’s death to a twin growing in the brain feels very obviously about Malignant?

if these aren’t the inspirations, what were? And is there any inspos everyone’s missed that you wished they’d noticed (in any of your work)?

The chimps were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's story The Murders in the Rue Morgue

The concept of the "twin" was from Poe's William Wilson (also Tammy's husband's name). Worth noting Poe wasn't alone in this either - a similar storyline was used in Henry James' The Jolly Corner. Fun fact - long before the concept of a parasitic twin was used in Malignant, it was done to amazing effect in Takashi Miike's Imprint, and many others. Malignant was homaging a lot of other work, it wasn't the first to this party.

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: The Halloween Factory

Ray Bradbury: gone too soon! Bradbury: the lazy summer afternoons picking dandelions by miller's pond forgotten, buried under an avalanche of adult responsibilities. No time for jump rope or blind man's bluff, there's a new game they play - a game of bills and forms and gray-faced men in suits.

Bradbury: ah! but tonight! Bradbury: tonight Bradbury: tonight will be Bradbury: a game of magic Bradbury: tonight, dear reader, they put aside their forms and licenses and dreary paperwork Bradbury: and journey back to a time when this big big world still had a lot of small small towns

Bradbury: for tonight and tonight alone Bradbury: remember the magic! Bradbury: the magic of Bradbury: halloween!!! [Midnight Pals presents a special holiday event: Ray Bradbury's Halloween Factory]

King: [wearing clown costume] hey guys, welcome to our halloween party! King: great costumes! King: love your monkey costume, edgar Poe: [muffled inside gorilla suit] it's an ape Poe: [muffled inside gorilla suit] like in the murders in the rue morgue Barker: great monkey suit edgar! real scary!

King: and boy clive King: you really went all out on that cenobite costume King: you put that together just for halloween? Barker: uh no Barker: not really

King: and frank! wow, that is an amazing wolf man costume King: you put that together just for halloween? Frank Belknap Long: uh no Long: not really   King: but one thing i don't understand King: why are you wearing pants with a full body fursuit? Long: no Long: no reason

King: and howard! King: howard King: wow howard Lovecraft: you said i should come in costume King: yeah but King: howard Lovecraft: i dressed as the scariest thing i could think of King: yeah but King: oof King: howard

King: dean! great costume Dean Koontz: i'm a dog! King: yup! you sure are! Koontz: i borrowed the collar from clive King: you sure did!

King: and there she is! the queen witch herself! King: our mary shelley! Mary Shelley: sup fuckers King: dressed as frankenstein's monster i see Shelley: i'm dressed as frankenstein King: King: but mary Shelley: [flipping switchblade] King: oh yeah! mary's here as frankenstein!

[connorsnothereeither]

I dont know if youve talked about this before, but if not, how did you come up with some of your characters' names?

I’ve talked about it before for Ulysses here in this post but not some of the others!! But I would love to I shake their names about!!

Virgil Coronis (Sky Bound SMP)

So Virgil went through a lot of potential names. He was built up vibes-first in development, so I had my gothic, conspiracy librarian, and no names. I wanted something that sounded more sharp, and angular. Crow-like.

I went for some classic gothic literature names to start. Jonathan (for Jonathan Harker from Dracula), Percival/Percy (for Percy Shelly), and Auguste (from Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue), along with some others were all potential candidates. By then, however, @jamphibiann had already chosen Pietro, and so I looked for some other Italian names to match since we were playing brothers. Romeo, and Salvatore were somewhat higher contenders then!

Landing on Virgil was actually sort of stolen from @venear-tmblr . When throwing around potential names, one of the ones that didn’t make the cut for him was Dante. And while Dante didn’t quite fit the character I had in my mind, Virgil definitely did! It had Latin/Italian roots, and felt angular and distinctly raven-like to me! :D

“Coronis” as a last name is actually an ancient Greek word, which is both referring to the curved flourish in old handwriting, and is same root word (corone) for the Greek for crows or ravens, referring the curvature of their beaks! So it felt very fitting too.

Leopold Haust (Terramortis)

Leopold was honestly… kind of a silly one. He never had any alternate names. I knew he was going to be from the 1920s, so I wanted a vaguely old-timey name, which fit the vibe, but could still be shortened into something more modern and easy to quickly say. And, at the time, I was reading Ulysses by James Joyce as a joke… and “Leopold” is the name of the Odysseus/Ulysses counterpart in that novel. So it just sort of… ticked all the boxes lol. It wasn’t supposed to be connected to Ulysses at all, but it jumped out at me as a perfect name for the character I had created. Haust was just a made up name that sounded like it matched well when spoken allowed!

D’Hakth’rkael “Daniel Thorns” Thoricht (Cantripped)

So Dan was… interesting name wise. I had the “bit” in mind long before I came up with the name. I was somewhat inspired by a lot of people I know or grew up knowing, who would have long, intricate names, and would shorten it to just like,,, “Mike”. But mostly I was inspired from the “folk hero” angle of how through Christianisation and colonisation, Celtic mythology names were super worn down into common, short Anglican names. Things like “Cú Cuhlainn”/“Conochubar” or “Fionn mac Cumhail” being worn down to names like Connor or Finn. I also just love when folklore figures have what feel like really mundane names, with a descriptor or trait. “Robin Hood”, “Jack Frost”, etc. it’s very English folktale to me.

For a while I wanted to play with “Tom” of “Jack” but for whatever reason “Dan” just stood out to me as a very mundane feeling name (and to be fair, Dan does go by Jack sometimes… in some places… just nowhere we’ve been yet…). So Dan Thorns came first, and I worked backwards from there.

From “Daniel Thorns” it was basically just a process of mashing fantasy sounds together until they sounded like a name. Thoricht felt like a believable evolution of “Thorns”, and could still pass as a human name. “D’Hakth” came next; I liked the juxtaposition of sounds, and the ways you could linguistically interpret it, taking it in a D, H, Y, or even J direction. The final part, “rkael” was mostly just for flavour. I started looking into vengeance Paladin, “avenging angel” imagery for Dan for a while, felt biblical, and I really liked the vaguely biblical feel it brought to the name, while adding another layer of “oh that’s why he just goes by Dan” akgakag

[clit-misto]

All the awards for Carla Gugino. I can’t fucking get over her sequence in The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Phenomenal. I haven’t been so excited about a scene, acting choices, direction and camera work for so long.

[according2thelore]

happy wincest wednesday!!! i really want to pay it forward from the ask you sent me last week and ask what you (both?) think sam and dean's favorite books are! i mostly answered based on what books i had already read, so i'm really curious if in the books you've read you'd have different opinions! if not though (or in addition if you'd like!), i'd love to know what you think their favorite movies are, too :) give dean's favorite medium a moment in the spotlight, too 💖 (@incesthemes)

hi! happy wincest wednesday!

hmm--i think sam has a long, enduring, passionate love affair with the hardy boys and nancy drew books. i think he longs in some ways to be the hardy boys/nancy drew, because they get to solve mysteries and be hypercompetent while also having a secure home environment. in nancy's case, she's popular and has a boyfriend and also gets to explore thick tomes of town lore. they were so easy to find at libraries across america, and super easy to steal/shoplift because of how thin they were.

(dean also makes fun of him by calling him a hardy boy for a long time, i imagine. you also cannot tell me dean would not get an absolute fucking kick out of calling sam "nancy")

i also think that as he gets older, he gets more bitter/disillusioned about both series, but still has a secret fondness for seeing their covers in bookstores.

as he gets older (high school age), sam definitely gravitates towards more gothic, as you mentioned! i think he finds wuthering heights compelling, but can't quite put his finger on it, and never tells dean because dean would make fun of him for liking such a girly book. science fiction/horror novellas are also fun to him (frankenstein, poe, dracula, jekyll, the murders in rue morgue).

we know dean is a closet intellectual at his own choice, so i imagine he steals/lifts books from libraries/stores, and keeps them in the bottom of his duffle. i think a lot of this happens after sam leaves for college and dean suddenly has 80 hours of free time a week now that he's not huffing sam's boxers and staring at him lovingly in the rearview mirror.

in terms of books that they had to read (and inevitably read/reread over and over again as they move to schools that haven't read them yet):

sam likes: tale of two cities by dickens, telltale heart by poe, in cold blood by capote, inferno by dante, to kill a mockingbird by lee, yellow wallpaper by gilman, matilda by dahl sam HATES: romeo and juliet by shakespeare, heart of darkness by conrad, a separate peace by knowles (he hates that he finds himself in gene), tess of the d'urbervilles (bc he also hates he strangely relates to it)

dean likes: in cold blood by capote, hamlet by shakespeare, 1984 by orwell, lord of the flies by golding, and then there were none by christie, count of monte christo by dumas, any western he can get his hands on dean HATES: frankenstein by shelley, a good man by o'conner (HATES IT), catcher in the rye by salinger (it makes him angry that he gets called out), lolita by nabokov (it makes him a little nauseous how much he likes it, he agrees that humbert is a pedophile, but the depth of the "devotion" there makes him ill), dense histories like war and peace/tale of two cities/les miserables, etc.; he hates anything by dostoevsky--he finds the morality to be posturing and tiresome

i think they BOTH love the LOTR series--books and movies. as they both canonically watch GOT together as adults (and considering dean is more into LARPing than he likes to admit) i think they both love fantasy.

dean saw two towers while sam was away at college and has been dreaming nonstop of dying in an epic battle protecting those he loves in heroic and sexy ways like in the battle for helms deep.

but he still mostly refuses to watch the parts with frodo/sam in return of the king because "frodo is annoying" (because he gets uncomfortable and scared when frodo and sam touch foreheads and cry and sam picks up frodo because he can't carry the ring but he can carry frodo, and hearing frodo scream sam's name in agony makes him nauseous)

dean swears he likes LOTR for the fights but sam knows better.

(secretly, i think dean used to read chapters of the hobbit to sam when he was really small. it's the first book john buys him after the fire because john grew up with his own dad reading it to him before he disappeared.)

i think as an adult, dean gravitates towards more crime thrillers. they have clean cut endings, and he likes how the main character is usually a grizzled, alcoholic washup looking for redemption with his estranged wife (he completely cannot relate). he also likes brandon sanderson until he finds out Nerds also like them, so he gives up on them.

and i think sam might gravitate towards nonfiction/realistic fiction/historical fiction. he doesn't want to read about quests, he doesn't want to read about chosen ones, he doesn't want to read about brothers having to watch each other die, he doesn't want to read about how Bad is Always Bad.

bonus: they both read 50 shades after the craze in like 2015, and dean was scandalized to read this in a book while sam was like...this is it? he hits her a couple of times??

i've mentioned this a MILLION times, but i think they both love the die hard movie series. mostly the first one, and mostly dean, but they try to catch the marathons on cable every christmas.

dean loves the lost boys (because COME ON OF COURSE HE DOES!!! little brother and vampires and the good guys win! no moral complexity!), ghost busters, roadhouse, quick and fast murder mysteries with easy solutions, dirty dancing, tombstone, rocky, jaws, and--secretly--little women. he cries like a fucking kid being dragged away from a candy store.

sam loves indiana jones, star trek, friday the 13th (bc if he follows the Horror Movie rules, he and his family are safe!), the rear window, ET, it's a wonderful life (a movie about how your life has meaning even if you think you're making everyone's life worse...come on...), and a million arthouse movies about how life is strange and vulnerable.

they both like/watch together: star wars, bill & ted's excellent adventure, die hard, jurassic park, LOTR, the early 2000 fantastic four movies (they're not good, but they're mindless; dean wants to be johnny storm and sammy would DIE to be reed; dean likes to joke that sam's jessica alba instead), oceans 11

sam doesn't like monster movies anymore. dean doesn't like war movies anymore.

THIS WAS SO MUCH LOL I'M SO SORRY--i have a lot of thoughts about their favourite books/movies apparently! thank you so much for this ask--it was SO FUN to answer, lol! <3

i have texted charlotte and will reblog with her opinions when she responds! (she is busy gworl)

-lizzy

[linkspooky]

BSD VS. LITERATURE: MURDER ON D STREET

The third entry in my long-running series analyzes every literature reference in Bungou Stray Dogs and tries to piece together the author’s intention in referencing the work. 

Ranpo’s the only character whose ability name does not reference a specific book, but his entire character seems to be a reference to Ranpo Edogawa’s collection of mystery novels and his life’s work in general. However, the first chapter to feature him is named after his first story facing his primary detective Kogoro Akechi. Let’s root out the references underneath the cut. 

1. Poe and Ranpo

Ranpo the character is not just a reference to the original author’s work, he’s a tribute to the mystery genre and detective fiction in general. 

Ranpo is an incredibly prolific mystery author in Japan. He is credited as one of the biggest influencers in the Japanese mystery tradition. He was an admirer of western mystery novels, especially Edgar Allan Poe, and tried to make his own more Japanese-inspired tradition of mystery novels. 

“His chosen name, in combination with his frequent allusions to works on crime and detective by mostly Western authors, demands that the reader or critic compare Rampo’s work with that of the famous western writers he references and consider them all as belonging to the same category. Ranpo believed that a Japanese detective story could match the work of Western authors in the modern ratiocinative tradition they had established. Some of his works bear directly on the debates surrounding the issue, such as “The Case of the Murder on D. Hill” itself which Rampo intended as a response to critics who argued it was impossible to set the secret incidents and mysterious dealings which formed the core of the modern WEstern mystery in the open, wood-and-paper houses of Japan and that it was thus a natural result of the Japanese way of life that Japan should produce no strong mystery tradition of its own.” 

Edogawa Ranpo - The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro Introduction

Ranpo set out to write Japanese mystery stories written in a Japanese way, so eastern authors could establish their own traditions. In the same way, Ranpo in Bungou Stray Dogs is always interacting with other characters inspired by Mystery Authors, Edgar Allan Poe himself, and Mushitarou Oguri another Japanese crime novelist who was western inspired (He was known as the Japanese John Dickson Carr). Yokomizo was named after Seishi Yokomizo. His pen named Kindaichi is named after his private detective character “Kosuke Kindaichi.” In the same way that Ranpo was dedicated to helping Japan create its own mystery tradition, Ranpo himself is someone who gathers other detectives around him and befriends them. 

The relationship between Edgar Allan Poe and Ranpo in BSD itself is also a pretty heavy reference to the influence both share in their respective genres. Edgar Allan Poe is largely credited as being the first mystery author and “Murders in the Rue Morgue” as the first modern detective story. In the same way that Edgar Allan Poe invented mystery novels and inspired Ranpo, Ranpo then went on to inspire mystery novels in the east and be formative for the Japanese mystery tradition. 

2. Murder on D Street / The Case of the Murder on D. Hill

There are several references to Kogoro Akechi’s first case in the first real mystery to feature Ranpo in the manga. The first and most obvious is the title itself. However, the fact that the murder takes place when a corpse is discovered in a river is a reference to Ranpo’s chosen pen name. "Edogawa” which Ranpo chose as a pen name uses the characters for the Edo river which borders present-day Tokyo to the south and was originally the lower course of the Tone River. 

His pseudonym incorporates the geography of Edo, the old capital of the isolationist Tokugawa Shogunate, with the name of Poe, an American writer. This contradictory composition reflects Rampo’s own efforts to create a uniquely Japanese tradition of an imported genre. 

Edogawa Ranpo - The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro Introduction

In D. Hill, the murder itself is a bit of a parody of more western mystery novels. Most of the deduction takes place when Akeichi and his friend the narrator are discussing the details of a particular case that appears to be a locked room. At first, the narrator makes a solid deduction in the way a Sherlock Holmes or Western detective would immediately jump to the conclusion of a case based on connecting a large amount of small evidence noticed at the crime scene.

The two characters themselves are also avid mystery readers and make references to several other mystery novels. 

“I know you’ve read Poe’s the murders in the Rue Morgue ad Leroux’s The Mystery in the Yellow Room, and I’m sure you know that Rose Delacourt Case in Paris. Even now, a hundred years alter, there are still mysteries surrounding that curious murder case. I’m recalling it now. Isn’t the way the perpetrator of tonight’s incident departed without leaving a trace somewhat similiar?” said Akechi.

The Case of the Murder on D. Hill

This was Poe’s first real attempt to create a locked room in a traditional Japanese paper wall and sliding door room. Poe even draws attention to that fact. 

“It’s often been said that the kind of serious crime you find in a western novel could never happen in a Japanese building, but I certainly don’t think so, because of incidents such as this one. Somehow or other, although I don’t know if I can, I feel that I’d like to try my hand at solving a real case, just once.” 

The Case of the Murder on D. Hill

The narrator goes through the process of deduction and comes up with a likely-sounding theory, that’s just like the kind of clever solutions in one of those novels. However, he comes to the wrong conclusion because he was thinking in mystery novel logic and Akechi goes out of his way to correct him.

The Murder on D Street chapter in BSD is structured in the same way, at first there’s an obvious culprit to the crime only for Ranpo to reveal that the culprit framed it as the mafia and there was another story behind it. In both cases too, the murder victim was killed by accident by her own lover. 

 In a way, Ranpo in his work goes out of the way to both parody and comment on the western genre of mystery novels themselves. Akechi even highlights that some of the guesses that characters leap to in those novels are ridiculous. 

“For example, concerning my relationship with that woman, have you made a thorough and psychological investigation inot what sort of childhood friends we were? Whether or not there had been a past love affair between us in the past/ Whether or not I bore a grudge against her? Those aren’t the story of things you can guess at, are they...?”

The Case of the Murder on D. Hill

Akechi points out that rather than solving mysteries by jumping to conclusions based on evidence he tends to solve people psychologically. 

“My methods are a bit different from yours. Physical evidence and things of that kind can take all sorts of appearances depending on the point of view. The best method of detection is psychological: to see through the depths of people’s heart.”

The Case of the Murder on D. Hill

Perhaps about this, Ranpo the character is a genius who can puzzle together the culprit of a murder with just a few pieces of evidence. At the same time, he is completely unable to understand psychologically the way people around him think. 

“I don’t understand what anyone’s thinking! I’m scared! It feels like I’m surrounded by monsters! It doesn’t matter what I say - nobody understands me! My parents were the only ones who did, and they’re dead!” BSD. VOL 3

Edogawa Ranpo the author also created a mystery series for children known as the “Boy Detectives Club”. Yoshio Kobayashi, the assistant of Kosuke Kindaichi starts a detective club of his own right by gathering other children from his own school. In the third light novel, Ranpo’s father is a reference to Akechi Kogoro himself. 

The man was a legendary detective. The “Headless Officer” case, the “Moonlight Phantom,” the “Cow Head Incident” - he helped solve several difficult cases that shook the nation. 

If his father was Kosuke Kindaichi, then naturally Ranpo himself would be a reference to Kobayashi the boy detective. Which also fits his role of gathering all the other detective characters and forming connections between them. He also gained fame for being a young genius detective, and it’s also how he gained his home and his place with Fukuzawa and the detective agency. 

Ranpo is also, much like the author himself a character who does not have a power like the rest of the ability users, trying to still create a name for himself. Ranpo Edogawa was an inspired and talented enough author to basically rewrite the japanese mystery tradition into something more unique. Whereas, Ranpo the character despite having no ability of his own is the most important character in the agency fights on the front line with everyone else. The same way Ranpo influenced the entire mystery genre in Japan, Ranpo the character also is the main reason the detective agency was created and the reason they all stay together. 

Which speaks a lot of the importance of both the author and the character. 

[theygotlost]

well i did a lot of things at the beach today...

read murders of the rue morgue by edgy allan poe which was kind of awesome 🦧

saw a cormorant that was just standing there chillin and it let me get within 5 or 6 feet of it

also saw a pod of dolphins, a flock of plovers, and lots of pelicans

found a really cool 7 foot long stick that i used as a walking stick for the rest of the day (i left it on the beach cause i couldnt fot it in my car and it felt wrong to take it anyway. thats gods creation)

found a dead pelican and poked it with the stick

used the stick to draw a bunch of circles and lines in the sand

found a beached uhhhh stingray ? or something of that nature that was still alive so i pushed it back into the water

stepped in tar or crude oil or something and got it on my hands somehow and its really sticky and wont wash out and smells like a bicycle pump

[flowersforfrancis]

i really like your blog :) do you have any book recs? besides The Secret History of course

Thank you. Book recs? I’ll try my best. My reading preferences are just what I call mainstream classics - you’ve probably heard of most of  these. And uh sorry for taking so long. 

No idea what you like to read, so here are just some books that I like/find interesting:

The Stranger - Albert Camus The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka Maurice - E.M Forster The Murder In the Rue Morgue - Edgar Allan Poe The Mystery of Marie Roget - Edgar Allan Poe  American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis  Brothers Karamazov- Dostoevsky 1984 - George Orwell  Animal farm - George Orwell  Down and out in Paris and London - George Orwell  Kafka on the shore - Murakami Norwegian wood - Murakami After Dark - Murakami  To kill a mockingbird - Harper Lee  Lapvona - Ottessa Moshfegh The Body in the Library - Agatha Christie The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath On The Road - Jack Kerouac Visions of Cody - Jack Kerouac Lord of The Flies - William Golding The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt Anne of Green Gables (and all the books that follow) - L.M Montgomery  Breakfast of The Champions - Kurt Vonnegut Circe - Madeline Miller The Song Of Achilles - Madeline Miller A room of one’s own - Virginia Woolf Picture of Dorian gray - Oscar Wilde Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes  Killer in the rain - Raymond Chandler If On a Winters Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino  The Road - Cormac McCarthy Any Terry Pratchett books Any Hermann Hesse Books (If you haven’t read them already-) Lord of the Rings (I’m personally not so into it but-) If We Were Villains - M.L. Rio

Hope this was helpful in someway. Hope you weren’t, I don’t know, expecting explanations of any sort…

[lostmyremembrall]

Hellooo! I just stumbled upon you're blog and saw that you do HCs for our lord and savior, Tom Riddle! I'm kinda embarrassed but somehow excited about this 😅

My name is Anamaria and I'm pretty much a very dreary person. I walk in graveyards, I like Edgar Allan Poe and sometimes if I like someone I write poetry about them-

This is very unlike me to ask but I'm just a slightly obsessed fan

🐍

🐍 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐂 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐦

𝓐𝓷𝓪𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓪

𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝐽𝑜𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 1𝐾 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡!

A/N: I am so glad you enjoy the words of our lord and saviour, Tom Riddle!! Thank you so much for the request; I really enjoyed writing this! I'm sorry this took so long, but here it is!

Tom found your dreariness alluring and mysterious.

One of his favourite things is to say your name. He often says it slowly, letting the syllables roll of his tongue.

He whispers your name close to your ear, and enjoys watching you turn red from the warm breath that tingles your ear.

You introduced him to Edgar Allan Poe, but Tom was insistent on being above muggle literature.

He'd never admit it, but he took the time to read and study Poe. It was crucial for him to always keep up with you in conversations and discussions revolving the author. And especially if it was an important aspect of your life; Tom was curious to understand, know, and learn everything about you.

You first noticed that he's read quite many books by him when he began quoting Poe.

He finds poetry to be most different from what he usually reads, which are scholarly articles, mostly non-fiction on the concepts of magic.

But, he's talked extensively about the Fall of the House of Usher. He sees many parallels between the House of Gaunt.

He's most enjoyed the Murders in the Rue Morgue, since he gets to challenge himself intellectually, competing against Auguste Dupin.

You find that reading poetry has allowed Tom to be more in touch with his emotions.

Writing poetry in class

Your eyes catch the profile of his face as his brows furrow in concentration. His hand travels across the parchment trying to not miss a single word muttered by the professor.

Words just come to you when you observe him, filling your pages and notes with your love, not your studies.

Your date involves a walk in Hogsmeade's graveyard.

Enjoying the cool mist against your skin, the crisp cool air.

Checking the years and names marked on gravestones and imagining and speculating the family history and lives of those that came before you.

Watching the ghosts play ball or bowling with their decapitated heads.

The two of you sitting at the usual spot, a stone bench underneath the old willow tree.

Resting your head on his shoulder.

Tom wordlessly wrapping his cloak around you. Whether you’re cold or not, Tom’s concern for your health shows in these moments.

He faces you and wraps his coat snugly around you, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ears while he’s at it.

Sometimes he would rest his head on your lap and listen to you read your poetry out loud with his eyes closed.

You two grow quite pale in the cold of the graveyard, but when he presses his lips against your temple, his lips are scorching hot and vibrant, contrasting the death that surrounds you.

Listening to the ravens that disrupts the serene space.

[harmonyhealinghub]

Edgar Allan Poe: Unraveling the Mastermind who Revolutionized Horror Shaina Tranquilino October 28, 2023

When it comes to horror literature, there is one name that stands out above all others – Edgar Allan Poe. Born in 1809, this enigmatic American author left an indelible mark on the world of literature with his dark and mysterious tales. With his unparalleled ability to delve into the depths of human psyche, Poe's work has forever transformed the genre of horror, inspiring countless authors and filmmakers over the years.

Poe's Unique Style:

Edgar Allan Poe was a master of creating an eerie atmosphere through vivid descriptions and chilling narratives. His stories were often characterized by themes of death, madness, and the macabre, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. Unlike other writers of his time, Poe refused to shy away from exploring the darker aspects of human nature.

The Birth of Detective Fiction:

Apart from his contributions to horror fiction, Poe is also hailed as the pioneer of detective fiction. In fact, his character C. Auguste Dupin was a precursor to famous detectives like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. Stories such as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter" showcased Poe's keen analytical mind and introduced readers to deductive reasoning long before it became popular.

Psychological Depth:

One aspect that sets Poe apart from other authors is his exploration of psychological depth. He delves into the darkest corners of human consciousness and exposes our deepest fears and desires. This penetrating analysis resonates with readers even today, making his works timeless classics.

"The Tell-Tale Heart," for example, showcases how guilt can drive a person insane. The narrator's obsession with a single eye reveals not only their own deteriorating mental state but also serves as a metaphor for humanity's hidden sins lurking beneath the surface.

Legacy in Poetry:

While primarily known for his short stories, Poe's impact on poetry is equally significant. His haunting and melancholic verses have become celebrated works in their own right. Poems such as "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," and "The Bells" continue to captivate readers with their lyrical beauty, evocative imagery, and exploration of themes like love, loss, and the inevitability of death.

Influence on Contemporary Horror:

Edgar Allan Poe's influence on contemporary horror cannot be overstated. Countless authors, filmmakers, and artists draw inspiration from his unique style and themes even today. The dark atmospheres, psychological depth, and twists that have since become synonymous with the genre owe a great debt to this literary pioneer.

Poe's Legacy Continues:

Despite facing personal tragedies throughout his life and enduring financial struggles, Edgar Allan Poe left an indelible mark on literature. His work continues to resonate with audiences worldwide, captivating us with its eerie charm and immersive storytelling.

Edgar Allan Poe forever changed the world of horror through his masterful writings. His ability to explore the depths of human fear and obsession has influenced countless authors who followed in his footsteps. From his chilling tales of suspense to his introspective poetry, Poe remains an icon whose legacy will continue to haunt our collective imagination for generations to come.

[blackcharactertournament]

Black Character Tournament: Right Side!

adding a post break to make this more rebloggable

—

Clawdeen Wolf | Monster High vs Tiffany Quilkin | Paper Girls

Miles Morales | Spiderman/Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse vs Kilik Rung | Soul Eater

Djembe | Roleslaying With Roman vs Undine Wells | Sleepless Domain

Benjamin Sisko | Star Trek Deep Space Nine vs Barbie "Brooklyn" Roberts | Barbie dolls, tv, and movies

Geordi LaForge | Star Trek: The Next Generation vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Troy Barnes | Community vs Jesper Fahey | Six of Crows

Shuri | Black Panther (Marvel) vs Zoë Alleyne Washburne | Firefly

Hazel Levesque | Heroes of Olympus vs Orange Blossom | Strawberry Shortcake

Louis de Pointe du Lac | Interview with the Vampire 2022 vs Usopp | One Piece

Tiana | The Princess and the Frog vs Allison Hargreaves | The Umbrella Academy

April O'Neal | Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs Adelaide Wilson and/or Red | Us

Victor Stone/Cyborg | DC vs Ikora Rey | Destiny 2

Grace Monroe | Infinity Train vs Beckett Mariner | Star Trek: Lower Decks

Alec Hardison | Leverage vs Ekko | Arcane

Starr Carter | The Hate U Give vs Rachel Reid | The Wilds

Janine Teagues | Abbott Elementary vs Farah Black | Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Barbara Howard | Abbott Elementary vs Xenk Yendar | Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Amber Bennett | Invincible vs Jade Claymore | Willow (2022)

Pete Repeat | BoJack Horseman vs Ana Spanakopita | BoJack Horseman

Perun | Xenoblade Chronicles vs Tracey Gordon | Chewing Gum

Cleveland "Book" Booker | Star Trek Discovery vs Jon | Less Is Morgue

Lionel Toussaint | Glass Onion vs Demoman! | Team Fortress Two

Erik "Killmonger" Stevens/N'Jadaka | Black Panther vs Claudia | Interview with the Vampire 2022

Annaliese Keating | How to Get Away with Murder vs Olivia | Pokemon

Violet Hart | Murdoch Mysteries vs Rya | Birthright

Craig | Craig of the Creek vs Susie Carmichael | Rugrats

Rue | Hunger Games vs Spider | Anansi Boys

Bismuth | Steven Universe vs Marceline Abadeer | Adventure Time

King Harrow | The Dragon Prince vs Camille Saroyan | Bones

Zachary Ezra Rawlins | The Starless Sea vs Willa | Skyward

Helena Bertinelli / Huntress | Birds of Prey vs Clyde Langer | The Sarah Jane Adventures

Frances Barrison / Shriek) | Venom: Let There Be Carnage vs Spike | The Irregulars

Rosemary Harper | The Wayfarers / A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet vs Georgiana Lambe | Sanditon

Lonnie | She-Ra & the Princesses of Power vs Erica Sinclair | Stranger Things

Patroclus | Hades (video game) vs Uma | Descendants (Disney)

Sig | Jak & Daxter vs Sheva Alomar | Resident Evil 5

Meadow | Entergalactic vs Marrow Amin | RWBY

John Stewart | DC vs Gwendolyn | Saga

Keesha Franklin | Magic School Bus vs Dionysus | Hades (video game)

Charles Milton Porter | Bioshock vs Kelsey | NCIS

Mat Sella | Dream Daddy vs Yutaka Babayaro Inomata | Re-Main

Lucretia | The Adventure Zone: Balance vs Blanca Evangelista | Pose

Max | Black Sails vs Darui | Naruto

The Tumblr Icon | Tumblr vs Knuckles the Echidna | Sonic the Hedgehog

Bonnie | The End of the Fucking World vs Dionne Davenport | Clueless

Jane McKeene | Dread Nation vs Grover | Percy Jackson

Roland A. Round | Valor Academy vs Yoruichi Shihoin | Bleach

Mina | Lou ! (French comic and TV series) vs Tyrone Johnson / Cloak | Cloak and Dagger

[kwebtv]

TV Guide -  November 30 - December 6, 1963

George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his portrayal of stern, but complex, authority figures.

Scott was in much demand for guest shots on TV shows, appearing in episodes of Ben Casey and Naked City. In 1962, Scott appeared as school teacher Arthur Lilly on NBC's The Virginian, in the episode "The Brazen Bell", in which he recites Oscar Wilde's poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol". That same year, he appeared in NBC's medical drama The Eleventh Hour, in the episode "I Don't Belong in a White-Painted House". He appeared opposite Laurence Olivier and Julie Harris in Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory in a 1961 television production.

In 1963 Scott starred in the hour-long television drama series East Side/West Side. He portrayed a New York City social worker, along with co-stars Cicely Tyson and Elizabeth Wilson. Scott was a major creative influence on the show, resulting in conflicts with James T. Aubrey, the head of CBS. The Emmy Award-winning program had a series of guest stars, including James Earl Jones. The portrayal of challenging urban issues made attracting advertisers difficult, not helped by the limited distribution. Not all CBS network affiliates broadcast the show, and it was canceled after one season.

During the early 1970s, Scott appeared in the made-for-television films Jane Eyre (1970) as Mr. Rochester and The Price (1971), a version of the Arthur Miller play. For the latter role, he won an Emmy Award, which he accepted. He also directed a TV version of The Andersonville Trial (1970).

Scott appeared in a television production of Beauty and the Beast (1976), with Trish Van Devere.   In 1981 was cast as Fagin in the CBS made-for-TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist (1982).  He starred in China Rose (1983) on television, and in 1984 portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in a television adaptation of A Christmas Carol. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the role. Scott played the title role in the made-for-television-movie Mussolini: The Untold Story (1985).

Scott reprised his role as Patton in a made-for-television sequel, The Last Days of Patton (1986). Based on the final weeks of Patton's life after being mortally injured in a car accident, it contains flashbacks of Patton's life. 

On television, Scott did The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986) and Pals (1987; with Don Ameche). He also played the lead role in the TV series Mr. President (1987–88), which ran for 24 turbulent episodes. He was also on the Johnny Carson Show in March 1987. Scott starred in the television film The Ryan White Story (1989) as Charles Vaughan, the lawyer defending Ryan White.  (Wikipedia)

[l1teraturen3rd]

i think that the short story form is best for the mystery and detective genre in particular as it allows the development of intrigue and interest in such a brief period of time. i think that one of the essences of mystery is thrill and suspense, which, yes, can be built over a long time within a novel-length story, but i think that mystery short stories definitely have a charm that full-length mysteries, although wonderful, don't possess.

i mean, one of the first, argued to be *the* first, forms of a modern mystery is edgar allan poe's "the murder in rue morgue", a short story. another icon of mysteries is the sherlock holmes stories, the vast majority of which are short stories. the father of mysteries in japan, edogawa rampo-san, mostly wrote short stories and rarely any novels.

the mystery genre is aptly suited for short stories, and short stories are, in my opinion at least, the best form of mysteries

[elvira-movie-macabre]

Movie Macabre 112 - Murders in the Rue Morgue

Movie Macabre Season 01 - Episode 12 (112) Original Air Date: 12 December 1981

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) Directed by Gordon Hessler Written by Christopher Wicking and Henry Slesar

Starring: Jason Robards Christine Kaufmann Herbert Lom Adolfo Celi Michael Dunn Lilli Palmer

"Paris...at the turn of the century. Inspector Vidocq investigates a series of unexplained murders at a Grand Guignol-type theatre...where the players have suddenly become real-life victims. Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe." (IMDb)

Elvira's Movie Macabre episode 12 featured Gordon Hessler's Murders in the Rue Morgue from 1971. Based very loosely on the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name, the film fails to entertain and enthrall the way Poe's stories do. As is always the case with these Movie Macabre episodes that are unavailable, I am curious what Elvira had to say about this movie. Would she comment on the age difference of the two lead characters? Would she be bored at the needlessly slow pacing? We'll probably never know.

"I never slept with her! I was too in love with your mother!" Cesar (Robards) says to his wife, who is considerably younger than him. Everyone is in love with Madeleine, mostly because everyone was in love with her mother. Now she's haunted by nightmares of an axe wielding maniac, while current and former actors are dying mysteriously.

Rarely does a 90 minute feel too long, but this really could have been a 30 minute special without losing anything. Slow, atmospheric films are great at building tension and suspense. But it has to be done well. This movie just wastes time meandering around to pad the runtime.

This movie does have one thing going for it: the costumes. There's a great mix of French fashion and gothic elements. Almost everyone wears cloaks. Can we bring back cloaks? They're so dramatic and way better than jackets. Thanks, costumer Tony Pueo.

I understand Movie Macabre was cheap B-movies, but I keep expecting better quality from these movies. That's my own fault. I shouldn't expect that. But when these movies are extra dull, it highlights the lack of Elvira. I'm sure this boring movie was considerably more watchable when Elvira was poking fun at it.

Without the Movie Macabre episode, this movie is entirely skippable.

[lovelyalicorn]

GUILD ME

Edgar Allen Poe

Ability: Black Cat in the Rue Morgue. Can make any book Poe writes a world that he can trap people in. You can only get out if he lets you out or you solve the mystery.

Book: Based on his short stories: The Black Cat and Murders in the Rue Morgue

Backstory: He was defeated by Ranpo in an investigation I think 6 years ago. Swore revenge by writing a book to trap him in. Possibly got Karl in that time. I personally headcanon that the Guild used him to “dispose” people and potentially as a way to get resources too.

Louisa May Alcott

Ability: Little Women. Slows time to 1/8000th but only when alone

Book: Little Women

Backstory: We actually don’t know. I know she found Lucy though. I think she was abused a lot though

Nathanial Hawthorne

Ability: The Scarlet Letter. Can manipulate his blood into long swords or fire letters made of his blood.

Book: The Scarlet Letter

Background: Not much again. He might have a past with Margaret Mitchell though

Herman Melville

Ability: Moby Dick. It’s a giant flying whale he can summon and control.

Book: Moby Dick

Background: He was the former leader of the Guild. Moby Dick used to be living before it was mechanized

Mark Twain

Ability: Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. This summons two little dolls he can attach to his bullets. He can also do long range surveillance as his mind is linked to them

Book: Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Background: Has sniped a lot, and keeps a list in his diary of successes

Margaret Mitchell

Ability: Gone With the Wind. It’s a weathering ability

Book: Gone With the Wind

Background: Joined the Guild in an attempt to restore her family’s honor

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Ability: Anne of Abyssal Red. She can create a dimensional space outside of current time. Anyone caught by her Anne is imprisoned there.

Book: Anne of Green Gables

Background: Grew up in an orphanage where she was treated really badly. Was used as a pawn by the Guild

John Steinbeck

Ability: Grapes of Wrath. He cuts a slit on his body and sticks a grape seed in there. He can then use the vine to fight or to attach to other plants so he can sense things through them or control them

Book: Grapes of Wrath

Background: He was a farmer from a poor, but large family

Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Ability: Great Old One. He can grow tentacles and become a eldritch horror capable of speedy regeneration.

Book: The Call of Cthulhu

Background: Lives underwater, immortal.

The lengths I go for you (affectionate. I wanted to rant about them)