#Roman would make for a very fun ghoul :3

[masquenoire]

@gnarledbite​ found you HERE...

Well, tonight had been a real shitshow. What was supposed to have been a quick clean-out turned out to be more than Roman had bargained for, the group of thugs encroaching on his turf backed up with some real killer artillery. Definitely not some run-of-the-mill gang looking to pick up some parking meter change; it had been a trap and Roman charged in with all guns blazing only to end up against a firing squad himself. Kind of impressive actually, the simplicity of the scheme in which to draw Roman Sionis onto the street for an easy kill. Targeting his dealers and disrupting the flow of narcotics had been one thing but the joy of making an example out of the culprits, now they knew he'd find that irresistable. Roman would have smiled had he still had the strength. Scarface knew him better than he knew himself, the vicious little wooden bastard. However, Roman could only swallow, feeling oddly thirsty despite the strong taste of blood upon his tongue. He’s bleeding out fast and knows it, unable to repress a shudder at his impending demise. Then again it might have been his body beginning to convulse - already he could feel the cold, dark fingers of death reaching out for him like so many others had been claimed tonight. Speaking of Death, the bastard was already hovering over his corpse. It wasn't Scarface, much to his surprise. The odd, scratching voice that reached his dimming ears didn't carry the gloating words he'd been expecting, of luring him out onto his own turf that would now belong to him. Similarly the dark frame kneeling above his corpse wasn't chubby like the Ventriloquist Scarface had dubbed his puppet - this newcomer was thin and lanky, their silhouette so tall that overhead lights were blotted out, fanning behind the top of their head like some sort of nightmarish halo. He'd never put much stock into religion but in that moment, it looked like an awful lot like the Angel of Death had come for him. Or so he'd thought. Death didn't ask how badly you wanted to live, saying that your luck hadn't run out just yet. Roman swallowed again, coughing wetly as he struggled to get a better look at his saviour's face. It wasn't Batman or any of the other morons stupid enough to try saving the crime lord's life and with a bullet lodged in his lung, even the Bat wouldn't have been able to perform any miracles at this point. Well, fuck. What else did he have to lose? Roman figured the other person wasn't asking out of the goodness of their little heart, that payment would be involved one way or the other but right now he didn't have the time or energy to lay out the terms of any contracts, the fires of his hot blood now growing cold and dim. "... F-fuck it. Do what you c-can, n' I'll m-make it w-w-worth your w-while..." Roman spits, his words trailing off as a violent hacking fit overcomes him. The crime lord sighs as his strength gives out, jaw going slack as he fights bitterly to maintain eye contact until his last breath. He wasn't ready to leave this life yet, especially not by the hand of some two-bit chump he didn't even know the name of.

[duhragonball]

Hellsing Liveblog  Ch.4-6

This arc is called “Sword Dancer”, and I have no idea why, since they never call Anderson’s weapons anything other than “blades”.   Are they swords?   Maybe, but you never see him dance.  

The story starts at an orphanage, where Alexander Anderson is a priest there, settling a fight between two boys.   He sounds gentle and patient at first, until he tells them that the only thing they should be fighting are demons and heathens.   That pretty much sums up the character.   His mercy and compassion are almost entirely confined to the membership of the Catholic Church.   

Then another priest shows up and informs him of all the vampire incidents going on in the U.K.  Anderson doesn’t much care, since it only means more dead Protestants, right?  Except this latest incident is happening in Northern Ireland.  

So this neatly sets up one of the major conflicts within Hellsing.  Kouta Hirano took the vampire lore from Dracula and expanded it into a sort of 20th Century Cold War thing.   Instead of a single vampire hunter using crosses and holy water, we have an entire government agency, a secret service steeped in religious imagery.    But that religion isn’t a homogeneous thing.   Christendom has splintered a few times over the centuries.   Most notably, there was the East-West Schism of 1054, which saw the Eastern Orthodox Church separated from the Roman Catholic, and the Protestant Reformation that began in 1517.

I’m not sure how much research Kouta Hirano did into this topic, because he seems to have distilled the whole thing down into two major vampire-hunting groups, the Catholic “Section XIII” also known as the “Iscariot Organization”, and the Protestant Hellsing Organization.   Hellsing only bothers with vampire stuff in the United Kingdom, while Catholic Ireland is under the protection of the Iscariots.

Presumably, the Iscariots are tasked with protecting other Catholic nations as well, and maybe other Protestant countries have their own vampire-hunting sqauds to mirror Hellsing, but this overlooks the bigger issue: Catholics and Protestant populations don’t just fit neatly inside of political borders.   There’s plenty of Catholics inside Great Britain, for example, so it’s kind of glib for Anderson to write off British casualties as “not my problem”.  

And I think Hirano recognizes this, which is how Northern Ireland ends up in this story.    All of Ireland was British territory until 1921, when it was partitioned.   Southern Ireland became an independent nation, while Northern Ireland wanted to remain in the U.K., so it did.   This has caused no small amount of conflict in the decades since, and Hirano uses it here rather effectively.    There’s a treaty between Iscariot and Hellsing, one that recognizes Northern Ireland as their territory, but Iscariot still sees a duty to protect the minority Catholic population.  

So Anderson is sent to deal with the vampire attack at Badrick (or “Patrick” depending on who’s translating, and if he runs into Hellsing, well that’s too bad for them.    Despite the treaty, Iscariot considers themselves to be the morally superior group, so they won’t back down if confronted.  

From all of this, I get the sense that the normal relations between these two groups sort of depends on the rarity of vampire attacks.    There’s a lot of unsettled issues between them, but as long as nothing happens in disputed zones like Northern Ireland, everyone sort of minds their own business. 

Anyway, it’s now August 15, and Hellsing is indeed intervening in Patrick.   I never understood why Alucard had Seras sitting outside while he fought the ghouls in this house, especially when he was just going to call her in later.  But now it makes more sense to me.    He went in expecting to kill the vampire inside, and she’s outside to shoot down anyone who tries to escape, just like in Chapter 3.   Except Al found more ghouls inside than he bargained for, and he finds this dull, so he’s calling an audible and bringing Seras in to handle them instead.  

And this marks the debut of Seras’s Hellsing uniform.    In the anime, she gets this look pretty much from the start, so it’s weird to see her wearing pants in Chapter 3.   I assume she’s wearing pants in Chapter 2, but we don’t see her lower body in that.   My head canon is that she was still wearing her old police gear up until Chapter 4, while this uniform was still being tailored.   

I have mixed feelings about the design.    My first time seeing Seras was a cosplay photo, and I dug the idea of a vampire soldier.   Once I found out Hellsing was all about weaponizing vampires, I got into it pretty quickly.   And I found out Seras started out as a police officer, and that seemed really cool.   Like Alucard would handle all the spooky blood licking stuff, and she would dust for fingerprints and use pencils to pick up guns.   The uniform implies a professional discipline, the sort of thing that would set it apart from the almost casual villainy I find in vampire shows like Buffy or what-have-you. 

But, the artwork tends to make this look ridiculous, because Hirano keeps drawing it like it’s skin-tight around the boobs.   I don’t understand why he keeps doing this, since you don’t normally see it on the other women characters in this story.    Unless the idea is to set Seras apart from the others, which I can sort of understand.    Seras is the sidekick, and to a certain extent, she’s supposed to look kind of silly.   Even in this heroic pose, there’s still something goofy about her, like she can’t quite achieve full dignity yet.   Maybe this is supposed to be like Robin wearing the short pants until 1991, but I never really cared for that creative choice either.   

So she starts going to town, and Alucard takes a lunch break while she’s at it, which is a cool moment that didn’t make it into the anime.   He reminds her that the ghouls have to be killed expediently using shots to the heart or head.   That one who fell down the steps was still moving, you see, so Al had to finish him off.

And this is where Seras first addresses Al as “Master”.  This was one of the first scenes I found when I started trying to find out more about the character.  At first, it seemed like Seras was all business, but then you get stuff like this, where she’s doing the creepy vampire bit as well.    I like the way Hellsing approaches this.    Seras is gradually adjusting to being a vampire, and she isn’t always aware of that adjustment as it happens.   It seems like combat helps her get into that zone.   Early on, Seras would seem to change into a berzerker state, then snap out of it.   Except she never snaps out of calling Alucard “Master”.  

This is the start of that hard-to-define relationship between the pair.  Remember, the Cheddar Priest said she would have free will as a vampire, but she defers to Alucard anyway.    Before, that just seemed to be a practical matter.  She recognized Alucard as a superior officer, and as a mentor figure.   But now it seems more fanatical. 

Watching the anime, I was suspicious of Alucard’s intentions, because... well why wouldn’t I be?    He’s fucking Dracular for pete’s sake.   I thought maybe he was angling for some chance to escape from Hellsing’s control, and maybe Seras was part of his plan.  Scenes like this didn’t exactly dissuade me from that notion.  Seras got some ghoul blood on her, and she finds herself compelled to eat it, and he’s looking on very excitedly.    But then she gets impaled through the neck, and that puts an end to that.

Back at headquarters, Integra gets word that the Iscariots have send Alexander Anderson to Barick, and she realizes that this could escalate into a major incident.   No one at Hellsing seems to know much about Anderson, except that he’s powerful, and if he runs into Alucard it could be a major battle.  

This page marks the first appearance of Walter C. Dornez, whom she calls for consultation.   I find it odd that Walter has already received the same report, and has already taken steps to deal with it.   Almost like he expected something like this to happen...? 🤔 🤔 🤔 🤔 

As it turns out, Anderson’s already there.   He’s the one who impales Seras with a bunch of blades/swords/bayonets/whatever, and he already killed the vampire that Alucard was sent to find.    As far as Anderson’s concerned, the only thing left to do is kill Alucard and Seras, but Al shoots him in the head before he can really get started.    But as he goes to remove the holy blades from Seras, Anderson gets back up for Round Two.

Alucard calls him a “Regenerator”, like this is a thing he’s encountered before.   Anderson’s not just a priest with blessed weapons, he’s got special powers that the Vatican gave him for the purpose of hunting vampires.  Then he stabs Alucard a bunch of times and prepares to cut off his head for good measure, until Polnareff jumps in and... no, wait, wrong story.   Yeah, Andy just chops his head off, then goes to finish off Seras.  

Except Seras got away.    Somehow she got up and lumbered off while he wasn’t looking, pulled out all the knives in her back, and then managed to double back and fetch Alucard’s head.   Trouble is, she still can’t get out of the house, because Anderson set up a mystical barrier using sheets of paper.   Boy, that’d suck if you touched a wall and it shocked you.  Seras probably won’t forget this moment....

Then Al’s head is like “Ight Imma head out,” and melts into a puddle of blood. 

The blood then arranges itself into words, which tell Seras to drink the blood, as this will make her into a “true” vampire, instead of a “servant” vampire, which I guess is what she is now.   And this is also the first time we learn Seras’ true name.   Everyone had been calling her “Police Girl” up until this point.   

Although, one might argue from this scene that this is not her original name, and perhaps it’s a brand new name Alucard invented for her, one that she has to earn by willfully drinking blood.   I’m pretty sure this was disproven by later flashbacks to Seras’ childhood, but it’s fun to think about.    Maybe we never knew her human name.   Maybe she doesn’t even remember it.

But before Seras can make that choice, Integra shows up with a couple of guards and tells Anderson to stand down.   He kills the guards, and promises to finish her off as well, but she tells him that Alucard can’t be killed with a simple decapitation.   

Also, Seras is back up.  She hasn’t consumed Al’s blood, but she does pick up a gun to defend Integra, which is pretty cool.   See?  She looks badass here, maybe because you can’t see her anime boobs in this shot.  

Anderson still likes his chances, until Alucard starts to reassemble his body.   Unlike other vampires, stabbing Al through the heart and cutting off his head aren’t enough to kill him.   This is because of... something the Hellsing family did to him over the past century.  I don’t think it gets spelled out in this story, but it’s heavily implied that the Van Hellsing from the Dracula novel defeated Dracula and then enslaved him, and his family line has been modifying him ever since to turn him into their anti-vampire weapon.    And a big part of that involves making him stronger than the typical vampire. 

So Anderson withdraws, but only because he now sees he’ll need a bigger boat.  Alucard tells Integra that Seras’s performance was “the usual”, which is funny considering how pleased he was with her before.    Also he scolds her for not drinking his blood, and calls her a coward when she asks to be addressed by her name.   One way or another, the theme here is that Seras has to earn a name.   The way she is now, Al doesn’t seem to think she needs one.

Volume 1 ends with some notes by Kouta Hirano, including the part about how Alucard and Anderson never seem to run out of weapons.   Cosmoguns? Fourth dimensional priests?   I’m beginning to think this manga about super-powered vampires may not be entirely realistic.

Since chapters 1-6 aren’t quite big enough to fill out a collected edition, Hirano also includes a backup feature called “Cross Fire”, which he produced for “a defunct comic master”.    He calls this a “springboard for Hellsing”, which isn’t hard to see, since it features the Iscariot Organization, including Enrico Maxwell, Heinkel Wolfe, and Yumiko Takagi, who show up later in Hellsing.

This short helps me understand these characters a lot better, because when I watched the anime, Wolfe and Yumiko just seemed to show up out of nowhere, with no explanation given.    I think it was assumed that you would have read the manga collections first, and would know who they were.   Anyway, they’re both nun assassins.   Heinkel dresses like a man and uses guns, while Yumiko weilds a sword, but only when he “berzerker” personality, named “Yumie” is activated.   In this story, she’s actually among the hostages that the duo were sent to protect, but Heinkel shows up and knocks her unconscious, which prompts her to wake up as Yumie and they killerize everyone.   

I’m not sure if the Cross Fire stories are considered canon or not.   The characters show up in Hellsing later, but not quite the same as before.  So maybe these are prototypes rather than the real things.  Maxwell, in particular, looks a lot like Integra here, to the point where I thought he might be a woman in this version.   But the Heinkel/Yumiko team bears a strong resemblance to Alucard and Seras working together in Chapters 4-6, so it’s not hard to see the connection. 

[letterboxd]

Horror.

Letterboxd presents our community’s 25 top rated horror films of all time.

With the release this month of the newest Halloween, and an embarrassment of riches in the form of thousands of new horror film reviews thanks to all the Hoop-tober / Shocktober / 31 Days of Horror challenges, we are feeling brave enough to open the crypt and pull out the Letterboxd community’s 25 Highest Rated Horror Films of All Time.

Don’t @ or stab us, these are computed from your ratings of all feature-length films tagged in our horror genre, as at 24 October 2018. It’s a wide-ranging list, with some perhaps surprising omissions—for example, the original Halloween, Night of the Living Dead and Evil Dead 2 all just missed the cut. See the full list or read on for data insights and member reviews of our highest rated horrors.

Strangling the numbers:

Though there is some genre crossover (into comedy with Young Frankenstein, mockumentary with What We Do in the Shadows and One Cut of the Dead, and zom-rom-com with Shaun of the Dead), these films are all categorized as horrors by us (and IMDb).

In the battle of great horror decades, the scary sixties wins with seven films, over five films from the slasher seventies and three from the evil eighties. Shout out to the terror twenties, with three films.

By country, USA has most films in the list, but Japan comes in strong second with four, Germany has three and France, Sweden and the UK are represented with two each. India, New Zealand and the Czech Republic also make the cut.

The most obscure film on the list (from a Western perspective) is Manichitrathazhu, from Kerala-born director Fazil, watched by just over 250 members.

All the directors are dudes. We can’t make any excuses for that, but we can point out that, behind-the-scenes and on-screen, women played important roles in these films. The Phantom Carriage, for example, is based on the novel by Sweden’s Selma Lagerlöf, who in 1909 was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. And what would Jaws be without the editing prowess of Verna Fields?

There are five films on the list from this century, some by directors of color, including Jordan Peele, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. Roll on the 21st century of horror.

On that note: this top 25 is based on member ratings, but we also have a popularity index—based on the sheer amount of activity for each film regardless of rating—which produces quite a different list, heavily favoring the 21st century.

Letterboxd’s 25 Highest Rated Horror Films (as at October 2018):

1. Psycho (1960, USA) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

“Throughout his career, director Alfred Hitchcock has enriched the world of cinema with some truly groundbreaking thrillers and despite that, Psycho feels like something of a first from him. It’s his first stint with the genre of horror, it breaks through the barriers of censorship unlike any film before and over the years, it has played a major role in influencing not only films but pop-culture as well.” —CinemaClown

2. Alien (1979, USA) Directed by Ridley Scott

“When shit hits the fan it comes with the best first impression of any monster. PERIOD.” —TKettle

3. The Shining (1980, USA) Directed by Stanley Kubrick

“As soon as Jack Torrance is in frame, that uneasy feeling takes over. I feel as though I wish I could warn all of the other characters in the movie to walk on eggshells, don’t upset him! Maybe you shouldn’t talk to him right now! Can’t you see it! Just leave him alone! There has never been another character to give me such all-consuming anxiety.” —HollieHorror

4. The Thing (1982, USA) Directed by John Carpenter

“The man responsible for the movie’s stomach-churning physical effects deserves most of the credit for its appeal and success. Rob Bottin worked so hard he was hospitalized for exhaustion, pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer! And he was only 21 at the time! Pure underrated genius.” —Josh Stoddard

5. Rosemary’s Baby (1968, USA) Directed by Roman Polański

“I’m awestruck by how good this is. Every little detail from the very beginning means something and you really experience exactly what Rosemary experiences. Masterful spectatorship alignment.” —Sean Upton

6. Get Out (2017, USA) Directed by Jordan Peele

“When you prod underneath the surface here there’s so much just waiting to be unpacked. As a piece of writing it’s a masterclass in foreshadowing and subtext.” —Alex Secker

7. Jaws (1975, USA) Directed by Steven Spielberg

“Bruce, the mechanical shark, still works today. Even with all the VFX-heavy films that are commonplace now, the shark is [as] scary and compelling now as it was in 1975. The camerawork is masterful, and it feels like films now are still trying to catch up to what was happening behind the camera on this movie.” —EJ Moreno

8. 修羅 (Demons) (1971, Japan) Directed by Toshio Matsumoto

“Matsumoto è stato uno dei più grandi innovatori del cinema giapponese e fonte di ispirazione di grandi registi del cinema mondiale. Quest’opera non fa che confermarne l’importanza e la genialità.”

Translation: “Matsumoto was one of the greatest innovators of Japanese cinema and a source of inspiration for great world cinema directors. This work confirms his importance and genius.” —Tonino Mannella

9. Les Diaboliques (Diabolique) (1955, France) Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

“It was extremely suspenseful and you can see how this film had such a huge impact on Hitchcock when he made Psycho… Five out of five overly dramatic heart attacks.” —Libby Ajayi

10. Possession (1981, Germany, France) Directed by Andrzej Żuławski

“Ana’s spectral screams as she flows and dances like a ghoul in the subway. All I could do was cry at it, with her, for her.” —Claire Diane

11. 怪談 (Kwaidan) (1964, Japan) Directed by Masaki Kobayashi

“Every frame of this movie is a piece of art… To ask for more would be greedy.” —Gabe

12. മണിച്ചിത്രത്താഴ് (Manichitrathazhu) (1993, India) Directed by Fazil

“Perhaps the most popular film to come out of Kerala in this generation. The screenplay, the performance, and the plot are worth a study in [themselves]. Fantastic package of thrilling entertainment and storytelling.” —Vinay Warrier

13. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962, USA) Directed by Robert Aldrich

“Normally my heart really aches for ‘crazy’ characters who have been brutalized by the concept of womanhood but… it’s very hard for me to feel bad for Baby Jane.” —Caroline

14. The Innocents (1961, UK) Directed by Jack Clayton

“Exquisite and captivating… it’s the only movie I’ve watched this Hooptober that has genuinely scared me. Squirming, nail biting, chills down the back, all of it.” —Xebeche

15. Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) (2008, Sweden) Directed by Tomas Alfredson

“Deep down, it’s just a story about human misunderstanding, but it is gracefully put together to give you a thrilling ride that will make you root for an evil you’re not really sure is there. It makes you question your moral standards and puts you in a nice grey area.” —Charlie Bluu

16. カメラを止めるな！ (One Cut of the Dead) (2017, Japan) Directed by Shin'ichirô Ueda

“The film starts as a Z-list zombie movie and looks cheesy as hell, but when we discover we are watching more of a mockumentary of this film being made and the director on the verge of a breakdown, the fun really begins. The first 37 minutes are completely one cut… one cut, that actually blows my mind.” —Coles84

17. 鬼婆 (Onibaba) (1964, Japan) Directed by Kaneto Shindō

“In good ol’ black and white, Onibaba is a visually stunning erotic horror film painted in deep shadows and flesh… it’s less a ghost or monster tale and more of a morality play about the passions and desperation that arise in splintered, war-torn communities, and how no matter what we fear, we are ultimately our own demons. Creepy, sensual and effective.” —Doug Bellak

18. Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) (1920, Germany) Directed by Robert Wiene

“From Murnau’s Nosferatu and the American noir of the 1940s, to contemporary horror films and every piece of work where Tim Burton asks Johnny Depp to dab black around the actor’s eyes, the influence of Wiene’s film can be felt… it is the stuff of nightmares that still has power nearly a century after it was made.” —Travis Lytle

19. Spalovač mrtvol (The Cremator) (1968, Czechia) Directed by Juraj Herz

“I find it hard to fathom a film as stylish and mesmerizing as this is, 45 years old! It was obviously way ahead of its time! The cinematography is as captivating as the film is deliciously macabre!” —Juli Norwood

20. The Exorcist (1973, USA) Directed by William Friedkin

“The Exorcist remains one of the greatest achievements of the horror genre. The things they were able to accomplish with sound mixing at the time have yet to be outdone. The makeup department deserves a heap of credit, and the effects still look great. Acting is something that typically gets sacrificed in most horror movies, but this is one exception where every actor delivers a quality performance.” —Sean

21. Körkarlen (The Phantom Carriage) (1921, Sweden) Directed by Victor Sjöström

“It was not for nothing that Selma Lagerlöf became the first woman to get the Nobel Prize. She’s a great storyteller, and there’s a melody in her writings that is hard to not get sucked into… Victor Sjöström has really understood the tone of the novel and the music that comes with it is in tune with the melody of Lagerlöf's writings.” —Terése Flynn

22. Faust – Eine deutsche Volkssage (Faust) (1926, Germany) Directed by F. W. Murnau

“I watch this, and cannot fathom how this one man could make the cinematic medium look so relentlessly groundbreaking in its mere infancy. It’s obscene that he died so young… in a sense, Faust’s quest for the ur-truth becomes Murnau’s own quest for his own epic cinema: one that maximizes the potential for awe at every turn, leaving behind mundane methods for totalizing ones.” —Darkness Lingers

23. Shaun of the Dead (2004, UK) Directed by Edgar Wright

“I understand tossing Batman when your other options are [Prince’s] two biggest contributions to the world of music, but it still saddens me that Shaun and Ed so carelessly tossed away a truly undervalued record. Perhaps, we all do crazy things when we’re trying to survive.” —Willow Maclay

24. Young Frankenstein (1974, USA) Directed by Mel Brooks

“When Mel hits, he hits big… [he] may not employ nuance often, but he’s got broad comedy and wordplay down pat, and some of his best examples of this are in Young Frankenstein.” —Joe Campbell

25. What We Do in the Shadows (2014, New Zealand) Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi

“An absolute must-watch for fans of horror comedy, horror, vampires, brilliant comedy in general, and great improvization. According to their IMDb trivia, Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement and co. shot over 125 hours of improv for this film before finally whittling it down to 90 minutes of the best stuff.” —Voidember

Right. Now that that’s all done with, we are ready to go into town and party.

[bethelabba]

We’ll not be zombies when we face God for mocking eternal life.

It bothers me.   Honestly, it really bothers me.   I’ve been looking around at NetFlix for something to watch.... and the majority of things there are labeled “Dystopian” “Dark” or “apocalyptic”.

Now, when Hollow-wood deems this to be something worthy of "our” attention --- that usually means, people are buying it.  And if people are buying it..... one really has to wonder:  what is in our psyche that pushes us to think in this fashion?   Zombie Apocalypse... Walking Dead.... Z-Nation.... why do we find this plausible ---- and why is Hell a joke?

We can conceive of “Life after death” --- but only if they’re vampires or zombies or ghouls.  We consider this to be “plausible”.... and yet when someone speaks of Hell, eternal damnation, or the fact that men have spurned the Law of God and collectively spat in God’s face..... we’re considered to be the ones who are lost in a fantasy.

When did our fascination with death become the norm?   Vampires = dead people.   Zombies = dead people.  Ghosts = dead people.   We’re fixated on death.  I don’t remember this being the case in my personal youth or young adulthood.... so when did this become the norm?

I’m not a “Modern” historian.  I’ve spent decades of my life being an ACTUAL historian.... digging into true history, delving into the lives and times of eras and epochs gone by.  So it’s hard for me to look at where we are and figure out how we got here.   One thing I can say though.... sin is at the root of it all.

When we spurn God, when we proclaim He doesn’t exist, erase Him from history and creation..... when we mock the Biblical presentation of God, life and mankind.... we do so because sin lies at the very heart of our core-self, and we prefer our sin over any other alternative narrative. (John 3:19)   We are abandoned to our sin, in point of fact. (Romans 1:23-31)  Sin compels us forward. (Ephesians 4:18-19)   Want to know why strife rules our world?  Because all of us are selfish, angry sinners who refuse to let go of the very things that cause strife.  We’re unrepentant, unforgiving, unwilling to let go.... bearing grudges over any preceived little thing.

And we feed off of this sin.... so that it entertains us... becomes our comedy, our drama, our overall entertainment.  Sin makes us laugh... sin draws our attention... sin becomes the dominant desire in our minds.... because sin.... compels us.

And Hollow-wood, feeds us exactly what we want, because Hollow-wood is just as equally dead in their sin.   They can conceive of life after death... but only if they first make it twisted and dark.  Only if they warp it to their own dark fetishes.

Zombie Nation????  There will be no nations in Hell.   And there will be no Zombies.   Every man will be fully conscious... fully aware.... and fully crushed by the weight of their own guilt for all the sin they’ve ever commited.   We think of Hell as some form of Barbeque pit, where we’ll all laugh and sit and drink beers.  An eternal party.

It’s not.

Hell will be punishment.... on an epic scale.

“God’s too good for that.  God would never punish us, for we are his children.”

Sorry, but that’s a lie.   The only folk who are “God’s children” are those ADOPTED INTO HIS FAMILY.  (Romans 8:14-15;  Ephesians 1:5)  ADOPTED..... because we’re not, by default, God’s family to begin with.

We’re not God’s family..... we’re his ENEMIES.... and as such, punishment is just, and deserved.  (Romans 5:8,10, Colossians 1:21)

We think Zombies are fun to watch.... because we think life after death is a joke, and this misreable world we dwell in is all that there is and all there could ever be.   We mock sin, and find our enjoyment from it.  And when true life-after-death is presented, we mock. Because blinded eyes cannot conceive of life any other way.

Well did Jesus state:

And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil.   (John 3:19)

Judgement does come, and we’ll not be zombies when we face God for mocking eternal life.

[dangeroustimemachinehologram]

Spooky holiday

It was end of July, over 5 years after Amy and her family moved out from Norwich to Lower Gornal, town near Dudley. After 2 years of paranormal time, 3 years was quiet and settled. They start enjoy place where they live. They made some friends. Josh and Zoe grown up to a teenage age now. Both of them, mostly Zoe wanted visit town from a childhood times.

They missed the Town and wanted visit old friends. Amy and Beth didn't have a problem with it. Even if they hadn't much friends to visit over there, going on holiday in Norwich part wasn't bad idea for them.  Because Zoe and Josh had already holiday from school, Amy and Beth booked a week from there jobs and booked The Maids  Head Hotel in Norwich, Norfolk for four of them... They also decided make a visit to places in Norwich which was known with paranormal happenings. Shortly, they wanted to do their own paranormal investigating in town they lived before. Josh and Zoe was exited.

After couple days of making ready for holiday, finally on a 1st of August they've got up early in a morning after shower and a breakfast, got to a taxi on a way to train station in Wolverhampton.  Seven hours of a trip they finally made to Norwich. For a county that's so steeped in history, it's not surprising that Norfolk has its fair share of ghost sightings and paranormal activity.  And They was ready for adventure, meet old friends and fun.

The Maids Head Hotel, place where all 4 of them was staying, claims to be the oldest hotel in Britain This hotel is over 800 years old. Even Queen Elizabeth I was reportedly a fan, spending the night in what has now been called the Queen Elizabeth Suite during a stay in the late 16th century. The Tudor style hotel is supposedly home to a maid who floats around the corridors with a strong smell of lavender following her. A second phantom is that of a former city mayor who has been sighted in the courtyard violently shaking his head.

Next day in a late morning all of them we see their friends and catch on what is happening. It was Wednesday already. Few hours wasn't enough on catching up, gossiping and having fun that's why their friends, Michael and Suzy with their 2 kids, Malcolm and Andrew, invited them for Sunday for a nice chicken roast dinner. And they thought it's great idea for holiday Sunday.

After seen friends and have quick fresh up in a hotel rooms, they gone for a trip around. Their first place they fisit was Norwich Castle – founded by William the Conqueror. Norwich Castle stands proudly overlooking Norwich is steeped in a bloody history so it’s hardly surprising that a few angry souls remain, haunting the 900-year-old keep. The castle was also used as a place of imprisonment and execution. Ghost sightings include the decomposing remains of Robert Kett, hanging from the castle in a cage. Reports of another ghost, that of a black clothed woman, have been made since at least 1820 and are still noted to this day in the art gallery.

After a busy day Amy, Beth, Josh and Zoe end up in  Adam & Eve Pub. Just have rest, something to eat and drink. Of course there was some spooky reason why they chose this pub us well. In 1249, this inn on Bishopgate is said to be one of the oldest pubs in Norwich. If you fancy a drink, you might have the company of the ghost of Lord Sheffield, a nobleman who was caught up in Kett’s Rebellion in 1549 before being stabbed and dragged to the former inn on the site of the Adam & Eve, where he died. Reports say that he rings a bell when the pub is empty but don’t be deterred from visiting as he is known to be a friendly apparition, perhaps rewarding the hospitality of the pub that sheltered him in his final hours…

Next day they visited two very interested places.  Elm Hill in Norwich is known by being haunted by a zealous priest called Father Ignatius. He is thought to have cursed those that didn’t engage in prayer way back in 1864, eventually inciting an angry mob of superstitious townspeople to drive him out of the city. His vengeful spirit is said to have returned and curses passersby to this day. There is a separate ghoul that supposedly died in a fire whose footsteps can be heard walking around one of the houses on the street. People have also had strange encounters with disembodied footsteps clomping around the antique shop on Elm Hill.

The second place family visited at night was Maddermarket Theatre. To start with they watched show called The Secret Garden! It's based on a book by a same name, which also became a movie. This theatre is actually located on the site of an old Roman Catholic Church and is supposedly haunted by a monk seen walking from one of the reclaimed confessional boxes and across the stage. He has also been sighted in the cobbled alleyway that runs up to the theatre. Far from evil, this spirit has supposedly saved someone’s life who was about to be struck by a falling light and even comforted actors who forgot lines or mess up their parts.

On Friday they decide visit  Devil’s Alley, in near by town called King’s Lynn. The market town of King’s Lynn has many pretty streets and historical buildings but one street, now come to be known as Devil’s Alley, has a more sinister side. There used to be a mark in the cobbled alleyway that, according to legend, is the spot where the Devil himself stamped his hoof after a priest came upon him and banished him in a dramatic fury. The print has since disappeared but an eerie presence still remains.

On Saturday Amy get an idea to go for a trip to the Priory of Our Lady of Thetford, where it's been known for face a ghostly onslaught of hooded monks who allegedly roam the ruins’ grounds. Built in the 12th century, Thetford Priory was the burial site of many Earls and Dukes of the county before some tombs were removed in 1520 during the dissolution of the monasteries which may have disturbed more than just the mortal remains of those buried there… She decided to go their because people was reporting of hearing the monks chanting and singing in Latin have been documented as early as the 1930s. With other nearby spots that purportedly play host to ghouls and ghosts such as the Warren Lodge and Grimes Graves, this is a hub of paranormal activity. Which also Amy and Zoe could be a witnesses. Josh and Beth wasn't convinced about it.

The Sunday came. It was day when all of them could spend a day at their friends, as well enjoy a dinner. Michael and Suzy was very interested to listen to story of Beth and Amy adventures in a new place they moved in. Also Malcolm and Andrew was passionately listen to Josh and Zoe telling their stories from new place like last few days of holiday. All of them enjoyed a day together. They even invited Michel, Suzy and kids to visit them in Dudley and show them most interested places and place where they live.

Monday, last day of their holiday, Beth and Amy decided take kids to Cromer Pier. Cromer Pier is a Grade II listed seaside pier in the civil parish of Cromer on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk, 25 miles due north of the city of Norwich in the United Kingdom. The pier is the home of the Cromer Lifeboat Station and the Pavilion Theatre. It was an idea that would be nice to see some sea, while they on holiday. The beautiful listed pier in Cromer is a hub of activity during the summer months – think ice creams, fish and chips and seagulls. But when the colder months come creeping in, the old place reveals a more sinister side. It is good to have some more normal fun apart just be a people who don't have other hobbies then catching ghost. But it doesn't mean that the place doesn't have any spook to it.  The Pavilion Theatre, which is located on the pier and is supposedly haunted by ghosts seen by performers that appear on stage next to them. Theatre goers have also reported sightings of a man with a tall black hat and poltergeist activity too. There have also been sightings of a phantom island across the sea, supposedly the lost town of Shipden.

Next day, on Tuesday, it was time when the family came back home. After nice and adventure holiday they spend week in and area visiting area better. One of the days, while kids still had holiday from school, family went on a trip to Dudley Castle and Zoo. Great place for spend day off for few reasons. its a Zoo and Castle and it's an active spend time. Castle its a sources of a history. It's a day out. But as well if you like scary/haunted ideas to spend your time.

Dudley castle is a popular place know as one of the most haunted locations in the Midlands and perhaps the world. With history dating back to the Domesday book of 1086, this eerie location is full of ghosts, some of which have made the news. And this ghost is  the Grey Lady Ghost. The most haunted location in the castle is thought to be the chapel undercroft. In an Ancient Room there is a stone coffin, that is believed to have once held the body of one of the most castle’s most feared Lords, John Somery. Also you could find reports when people have reported seeing legs beside the coffin and they believed to be that of John himself. Other people reports include people having the feeling of their clothes being tugged at, and their bodies prodded. One of the best examples is story of the little girl flipped over a chair during a paranormal investigation. On another investigation, a dark shadowy figure was captured on camera. People have also reported strange grinding sounds coming from the chapel above, and obviously on investigation the sounds cease.

It was 27th August. Last few days of Zoe and Josh holiday. Also it was Zoe 16 birthday. They all went out for a meal. Some friends came for a little party in an evening. In September Zoe starting college. She decided IT course. She always wanted work with computers and do and computer art. Also to earn some little pocket money and earn some practice she started an YouTube channel. Because she found herself a new hobby: paranormal activities, scary stories and stuff are involed with this subject. She called her channel Creepy Intrest.