Those two scenes are what stuck with me the most too, though in my case I read the book before seeing the movie. In fact first I read his short story Jerusalem's Lot, a sequel to the novel I think (or maybe a prequel?). That was powerful enough to make me get the novel next.
The scene is slightly ruined for me, now that I know how it was filmed, by the fact that when the boy vampire backs out of the scene, you can see him grab hold of the railing of the gantry that he's standing on as he disappears from view.
This happens in Salem's Lot, when the priest Father O'Callaghan has a faith-off with the Big Bad, and his faith fails him (resulting in him being forced to drink the Big Bad's blood and be marked as "unclean"). The crossing themselves happens in the short story followup to Salem's Lot One For the Road. The thing is, a lot of mainstays of vampire fiction appear in Salem's Lot, but I don't know if King originated those tropes or used pre-existing ones.
Maybe the 70s hair ruined it. Although, the 1979 version of Salem's Lot was actually a short TV series, rather than a cinematic movie.
I’ve not noticed this, and I certainly won’t have noticed on the night in question because I doubt it got that far before I ran out of the room!
It might have something to do with me being too aware of how the effects are done. I wouldn't have thought the few years I spent in theaters would've affected me that way, but it did. I'm aware of the theater in everything from religious services to sports presentations and am always consciously or unconsciously looking for 1) what do the producers want me to believe? and 2) How are they manipulating me so that I believe it? Now, that is not to say that watching The Blair Witch Project in a dark house at midnight several days after my mother died didn't creep me out, because it did, but I was still analyzing the whole thing even as it happened.
Deadly Games by Steve Frech. Major let down. After taking forever to get the story moving, it’s like they forgot to include the last chapter. I don’t think they could have designed a worse way to end a book.
After the discussion here, I finally gave in. I’ve started with Salem’s Lot (I have a stack of library books that had priority but never mind). For some reason, Stephen King has a strangely calming effect on me when I’m feeling stressed, at least unless I read his books at night.
what I find scary about vampires is the possibility of the vampire to enter your home, to lure you into trusting him (here we see the vampire shows himself for who he is promising friendship). Even scarier is the thought that you can fail at protecting your home and yourself . . . the trial you face when they ask you to let them in, whether tricked or willing.
you mean suckers don't exist? PS: doesn't the guy from the video looks like Luke Skywalker??? "Use the force, Luke . . . use the force!"
Not literally of course, but vampire myths are largely about a certain type of person—users and abusers who will pretend to be your friend and slowly suck your soul dry. And yes, we do invite them into our lives when we buy into their friendly act. What's worse is when they're already in your home because they're your parents or a sibling. You can't uninvite them.
Just finished a mini-marathon for Boiotia in ancient Greece consisting of the following: Thebes - Paul Cartledge Thebes - Nicholas Rockwell Central Greece and the Politics of Power in the Fourth Century BC - John Buckler and Hans Beck Boiotia in the Fourth Century B.C. - Samuel D. Gartland (editor) Boiotia in Antiquity - Albert Schachter It feels great to have made it through successfully but now I want to read something lighter. Thus I'm starting a new major project to re-read the Belgariad, the Malloreon and the extra books of Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress along with the Rivan Codex.
In fact, it is not the bloodsucking that I find scary about vampires but the luring, and the fact that once is done is done and cannot uninvite them. But why do I find the fantasy of vampires so scary compared to what happens in real life? The fact that vampires are accepted so widely around the world tells me it is something people instinctively recognize and know about even when they haven't experienced it at a personal level. ------------- last read ----------- I read Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler. I picked up the book because she is a journalist (the book is fiction) and under the promise made by the blurb that she was going to take the reader on a journey discovering her boyfriend's secret life as a conspiracy theorist online. I misinterpreted the blurb--it only stated that she thought he was cheating and upon spying on him to figure who he is cheating her with, she realizes he is a conspiracy theorist. BUT . . . Spoiler: plot spoiler he dies and she goes on a self-discovery journey denying she is grieving, at least in some way, all the way to Germany where she throws diminishing comments about everyone she had just me, something she used to do even before her boyfriend died. It is part of the style, journalistic and entertaining, like some TV comedies do to make a point of the superficiality of contemporary society. But--plot twist--it turns out he has faked his own death! He is an artist who wants to make a point with his art about internet culture, even if it means using people to achieve his goal. This is probably the most unremarkable plot twist I encountered so far, I almost missed it The end of the book is where you see her the most vulnerable and a victim of his doing, but only briefly and for what feels only scratching the surface. I don't deny there are artists who to me appear as if they only thought superficially about their messages, seeking to elicit sensationalism to achieve fame in order to become an established artist, which is his very own critique (and the author's) of the internet. But it seems to me to also promote a superficial conception of art, the one mean (not the only one) that has the power to disrupt societal beliefs and thinking. I do believe she has done a good job in picking the subject matter and the kind of people/situations that represent contemporary society, but it is from the perspective of how the internet is generally viewed to do, not necessarily a digging of what it really represents. With that said, I was disappointed it wasn't about the conspiracy theorist because, as she is a journalist who often makes social critiques, her account would have been interesting to read, at least to see what society assumes conspiracy theorists do and why they do exist. Stylistically her voice was entertaining, but again her attitude towards the people she meets was a little depressing, like she has no interest whatsoever in other people, in what they do and why they do it, which is ironic for someone who is a journalist, I think. She often breaks the fourth wall, which is interesting because her book is a sort of diary where she takes the audience on a journey (her own journey). But unlike say, Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar which is also about her personal experience, here Oyler doesn't make you feel like you are experiencing what she is experiencing, the reader is placed among an audience listening to her story. While it is her personal account, (although I am not sure where personal experience ends and fiction begins) and because of that she takes you wherever her emotions and reasoning is taking her, it feels it is not exactly a story, I don't feel guided into a path . . . I feel like she is just talking--in that way it is a piece of journalism, which is consistent with who she is. It was an interesting read because, in terms of content, I get to see how she adapts living in a foreign country, nowadays an increasingly common experience for many in their youth, and because, in terms of writing, it makes me aware of the use and effects of certain writing devices like breaking the fourth wall, and what writing a story really means.
Bloodsucking is merely symbolism for feeding on another person's life essence or soul while slowly depriving them of it. More perfect symbolism—vampires are undead—only half alive, they don't have a real life. Users and abusers generally aren't capable of much joy or happiness, except when they feed on a victim. And then they seem to glow for a while in contentment while the victim is suffering.
My favorite vampire story is "Sunbleached" by Nathan Ballingrud. It's all about this kid who discovers a vampire living under his house. It speaks to him through the floor. I'm sure that's a metaphor for diabolic urges, like you're talking to the Devil, which is another metaphor for a teen's hormonal need for self-destruction. The kid wants it to turn him into a vampire too. I guess he thinks he'll be racing through the woods like a Twilight vampire. Typical depressed teen . . . The vampire lures him in and then destroys everything. It's a short story from Ballingrud's "North American Lake Monsters" book. I consider that the best horror collection of recent years. “We’re God’s beautiful creatures,” the vampire said, something like joy leaking into its voice for the first time since it had crawled under this house four days ago. “We’re the pinnacle of his art. If you believe in that kind of thing, anyway. That’s why the night is our time. He hangs jewels in the sky for us. People, they think we’re at some kinda disadvantage because we can’t go out in the sunlight. But who needs it. The day is small and cramped. You got your one lousy star.” A very clever speech used as a bookend framing device for the story. I see that question a lot: "How do I start story X?" Well, knowing how you end, you can bookend it from the beginning. It's one solution. And the structure holds.
I’ve ordered Matthew Fort’s Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons: Travels in Sicily on a Vespa, his exploration of the island and its food.
Reading through the Bible again - haven't done this in a long time. Started in March and I'm up to Joshua right now. The ites are about to get it and they know it. Also went to a little book store last week and picked up a couple books - read one of them - The Mentor by Sebastian Stuart. Really liked it - good prose. I picked it up cause it was kinda the subject I'm writing about -- creative jealousy -- only this was more of a slow-building, psychological thriller.
The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers. https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Federalist-Anti-Federalist-Papers/dp/1495446697/ref=sr_1_3?crid=ROE7HI69OIUP&keywords=anti-federalist+papers&qid=1652472763&sprefix=anti-fed%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-3
