Horror Ranting and a Lightbulb?

"Hello, Claudia." said Eli. "Do you want an oatmeal cookie?"

"Does it have any blood in it?" asked Claudia.

"No, raisins."

"Oh......................sure...Thanks"

Here's the trailer for Let the Right One In: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICp4g9p_rgo A really good movie that I fear Hollywood will Twilightify. As a horror movie fan, it's disappointing to rarely get any original horror content out of U.S. studios. In the last five years, at least half of theatrically released horror has been remakes of foreign, classic, and franchise films. Arghhh...I've seen them already! And as cliche as it is to say - THE ORIGINALS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS BETTER. I do like the US versions of The Grudge and The Ring quite a bit, but they are exceptions. (And I may be in the minority of the horror community with that opinion). Still, I know there are new stories out there (or old ones that have never been filmed). Someone should take note and get some productions started. Here are a few suggestions from me:

• Pig Blood Blues or Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud by Clive Barker


• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman


• M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, Saki, and even Poe are grossly underused or misused (as in title only) in cinema.


• The Monkey, Jerusalem's Lot, Crouch End (and a dozen others) by Stephen King


• The Borderlands Anthologies edited by Thomas & Elizabeth Monteleone (I think there are five volumes so far) are full of the most unique and terrifying fiction out there.

OK? OK. Now on to something that has nothing to do with the above rant or Claudia and Eli. I have some character ideas and basic story line ideas for various children's books in my head - too many and that's just the kid story stuff. Most artists and writers will say the same thing - coming up with ideas is EASY. Picking and choosing an idea and nurturing them to a finished piece is very hard. Almost every time I get started on a project that I feel is worth investing months of time and effort in, I get distracted by a "better" idea. All of my favorite writers and artists have been able to focus. I need to focus.

So, last night I was telling my daughter a story and a lightbulb went on. I think I came across an element to finally tie an old character/story concept together. The pieces are still coming together, but they're pointing in the same direction. You might say--they are focusing. Hope you like your blog with extra cheese.