The Horror Of...Halloween Night, Agatha Christie's Poirot - Hallowe'en Party, Mystery By Night

Halloween is ever a time of spooks and goblins. Even the pranksters and the tricksters love to come out to play. But sometimes, the murderers also get out. And we cannot have that, can we?

At times like that you want the sharpest minds and eyes at work. Through the falling leaves, the rapid dusk, and along the forgotten paths, the sleuths will make things right.

So today let's enjoy the efforts of one such sleuth. Hercule Poirot. Drawn out in the wake of a Halloween tragedy in...

Agatha Christie's "Hallowe'en Party".

Hercule Poirot, Mystery By Night

Starting in 1920 the world began it's journey beside a curious and discerning little Belgian newcomer to British society. Mr, Hercule Poirot.

A creation of the great Agatha Christie, he can be seen as an amalgam of many living and fictional detectives of the day. But the unique combination of traits made the character beloved to this day. For Christie though the character became an annoyance, "a creep", but she had an audience for him so she had new stories published of his into the 1970's.

The small man in his impeccable clothing, the fastidiously managed mustache, curious walk, and broken English was idea to be contended with. He might seem a humorous figure, but in truth he was an experienced and knowledgeable investigator.

Once he was a respected Belgian police officer who rarely failed to bring his targets to the law. Respected and happy living in his homeland, his time there came to an end with the invasion by Germany at the start of World War I. Injured in the fighting he was taken to England as a refugee.

There he took time to convalesce and find his feet in this new land. Grateful for the security of England he decided to apply his skills anew, now as a private detective.

As a detective he was highly successful, often being called into cases of the highest echelons of British society to sort of thefts, murders, and disappearances. The work helped make him wealthy enough to eventually retire and only take cases of personal interest.

The Horror Of...April Fool's Day (1986), No Joke.

Time to return to reviewing. And what horror awaits us tonight? On a night of fools? What else can we have but a pleasant end to out April Fool's Day. And why not do that with an actually April Fool's experience. A fun murderous night of fools.

April Fool's Day

Creeping Up On Halloween With The Hardy Boys

Wait? Is Halloween over? Or can I count Daylight Saving, and the fact it's night still?

Oh, well. Either we're finalizing Halloween this year, or slowly ramping up for next year. (What? Is Christmas coming up? I hadn't noticed.)

So let's take one more trip back before we stop our creeping for a few days, or weeks, or months. And we again head back to the 1970's. -- Hey? Between this KISS, Paul Lynde, and The Halloween That Almost Wasn't. Was there a hidden theme this year of the 70's? Weird.

The Horror Of...Cast A Deadly Spell, A Mystery By Night

Ah. Hello, again. Don't mind me. I'm just out enjoying nature, seeking to call the Great Old Ones back to...Oh, you know.

And out, traipsing about where the Byakhee warble, makes one nostalgic. Perhaps for something with a little mystery. And, of course, a proper dose of horrific doom in the works.

So, let's go for something a bit Lovecraftian. Something from the 90's. Something with Fred Ward, Julianne Moore, and David Warner (and a bit of the old Clancy Brown). Yes, let us Cast a Deadly Spell.

Trailers in Short - Sherlock, Noah', and some more Doctor Who

Time for some more trailers. It's almost time for the return of Sherlock. Will the Ark float? And the day of the doctor may have passed, but what of the Christmas of the Doctor(s)?


Sherlock

It's almost time for Sherlock to return. And Watson has a mustache? Maybe that's why Sherlock took his time coming back, having second thoughts. But I'm ready for it to be back.

The Horror of...The Bat

Time to inaugurate The Horror Of... And what better way is there to do this than partaking of a rather fun movie from the 1950's.

So welcome! ...welcome

As things stand, this film has out me in an inconvenient predicament. I'm hiding in a closet, and won't come out. Thanks to this movie, I'm convinced that there is a murderer in the house. So I'll just stay safe in here, stay quiet...and keep typing...

Meanwhile, what will you make of...

...The Bat.

Oh, boy! I bet this is the original secret Batman pilot.
The one that starred Lyle Waggoner!

Sleepy Hollow Pilot Review: Put on your shades. Sleepy Hollow just got a wake up call. *UPDATED*

UPDATE:

Okay I'm now kicking myself. I forgot a curious part of this shows concept I wanted to mention.

I haven't seen it mentioned by others (Maybe because it's so obvious.), but this show actually is melding two (at least) of Washington Irving's legendary tales. We have "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" being played out, of course. But Ichabod Crane also takes on the role of Rip Van Winkle, from "Rip Van Winkle", in the show as well.

He goes into a strange sleep and awakens to find that time has passed, his wife gone, and the world has changed on him. Granted, for Rip it's a couple of decades, and for Ichabod it's centuries. But it seems a clear parallel.

Seeing this does make me want to further review Irving's works, to see if anything else is made use of in the series.

Hey. Any excuse to enjoy some good literature, right?

_________
UPDATE:

I wanted to note that at least via iTunes, you can download the pilot. They also have a few very short documentary pieces for the shows making.

Also on YouTube, their is a channel called The Corbin Files, which gives minute long videos for each episode and the threat that is being faced. It has Clancy Brown making voice recording of his characters discoveries. It's a little more Clancy Brown for your enjoyment.

_________

I am still trying to get myself on a schedule of writing, so I can work on the different topics that interest me. ...Still got work to do on that.

But as part of some coverage of enjoyable horror, I thought I'd take a look at Sleepy Hollow...just in time for the second episode tonight (Hopefully...Oh, look, I didn't make it.). Still, like me I'm sure you've all DVR'd it and will be watching it tomorrow, so this works. (Come on! Work with me here.)

So let's see if it is worth tuning into these early episodes, and the rest of the season.


Sleepy Hollow, is a production of Sketch Films, Kurtzman Orci Paper Products, and 20 Century Fox. It shows Monday nights on FOX. And, it started last Monday, September 16.

Tarzan, conqueror of jungles
and split ends.

The show follows Ichabod Crane, the main character of the original tale told by Washington Irving. The show takes our hero from the events of the American Revolutionary Wars to modern day East Coast America. No surprises there. It's not the first time we've had characters taken from their time to ours. Continuum gives us a heroine out of time trying to set things right for the future. H.G. Wells and Jack the Ripper have made the jump to the present. Sherlock Holmes has been repeatedly moved though time to other ages, and also been modernized more than once. And in 2003 they modernized Tarzan and moved him to the "jungle of New York City". So this is old hat.

Sleepy Hollow's pilot wastes no time getting going, taking us right into battle.

Thankfully this isn't one of those battles during the Revolution that one of the Justice League lands in the middle of...or a guy in a time traveling plane.

Christmas: Let's just watch something and not talk. *UPDATED*

Well. It is Christmas Day...Crap! It's Christmas. That means you may be stuck with family. The awkward questions. The awkward silences. The awkward family members. What to do?!

What do we do in America? Watch some TV. But, trying to be me, let me offer up some ideas you may not have considered. If you can get them, enjoy them. ...So many Christmas choices.

Hmm, Hmm, Hmm, Hmm...oh, doesn't work if you can't hear me hum.

The I Expect You To Die blog pointed to this video. And it does prove how fun the James Bond theme is. No words. But the beat turns a walk down the stairs to breakfast into the start of a globe-hopping adventure.



Yup. I will be looping this while I work out tomorrow...maybe it's more of the park walk tune...We'll see.

An irregular review of Sherlock Holmes.

Sofie Liv (at @RedSuitCaseXxX on Twitter) and Sursum Ursa (at @JillABearup on Twitter), regularly found at The Agony Booth, continue an amusing look at various adventures of Sherlock Holmes in, The Baker Street Adventures.

This time, Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars.




Previously they looked at Sherlock Holmes, as played by Robert Downey Jr.



Also, Sursum Ursa has further looks at Holmesian work at her Blip channel.