Happy Birthday, Edgar Allan Poe!

Edgar Allan Poe's birthday was January 19, 1809. He would be 205 if he were a vampire! He died on October 7, 1849 when sadly, he was just 40 years old, only 5 years older than I am now. Poe was born in Boston. I actually didn't know that until today or I just didn't remember.

Ok, just before I carry on about Poe, because I am obsessed with him, I want this!

I knew he was adopted by a Maryland Family and Allan was not his middle name, but in fact his last name he took on as a part of his adopted family, the Allans. Poe was his birth name. They never formally adopted him, but they cared for him until he was an adult after he was abandoned by his father and his mother subsequently died.

 

A recent theory in his cause of death was actually rabies. It is believed that he abstained from alcohol for about 6 months before his death and as we all know he enjoyed his absinthe and not a little bit of Opium, but a lot bit of Opium. 

You can watch The Black Cat, an Edgar Allan Poe short story as a bit less than a one hour short film done by Stuart Gordon on Master's of Horror for free on Hulu below.  

Then, if and when you so feel inclined, there is a Biography special (about 45 minutes long) outlining the life and important aspects therein of Edgar Allan Poe that you can check out here. 

You can rent The Raven, the one with John Cusack portraying Poe on Google Play here as well as on Netflix here. 

You can download these games for an hour of free game-play, too, if you feel so inclined!

 

I Love the Victorian (Gothic) Horror Genre!

I don't know about you guys, but my favorite horror genre to read and watch has to be Victorian/Gothic Horror, which I classify as horror reading and viewing from the late 1800's and the early 1900's. 

Some of my favorite horror flix, mostly adapted from novels in said era, are set in Victorian England or in North America during the Victorian/Gothic era.  From the popularity of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula to the popular play Sweeney Todd - Demon Barber of Fleet Street, I have to say, this genre is more realistic and terrifying than any other.  Of course, I have to mention Edgar Allen Poe, the man that got me reading for enjoyment in the fifth grade. Not only did he get me reading, but he got me writing.  Not long after, H.P. Lovecraft got me to love science fiction infused with horror.


The notions and backdrops for these stories come from a time when science was in its infancy and we began to realize that science fiction, which can translate quite well into horror has no limits!


Some of my favorite stories that either come from this genre or are set in this genre are, of course...

1.  Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Dracula (1958) & Dracula (1979)

2.  Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

3.  Sleepy Hollow (1999) (not really Victorian, but it fits the genre very closely).

4.  From Hell (2001)

5.  The Others (2001)

6.  The Woman in Black (2012)

7.  Masters of Horror (mini movie short) - Poe's The Black Cat (watch it here, free.)

8.  Masters of Horror (mini movie short) - Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch House (watch it here, free.)

(This movie is set in modern times, but is a modern adaptation of a Victorian novel.)

9.  The Turn of the Screw (adapted from Henry James' 1898 Novel) - Its got many versions and I can't seem to locate the best one from the seventies/early eighties online, but it was creepy!

10.  The Wolfman (2010) - Though werewolf movies are not my favorite, this movie was the best adaptation and probably one of the better werewolf movies I have seen in quite some time aside from The Howling franchise, which of course, is not Victorian or Gothic in nature.