For our traditional Saturday pizza and bad movie night, we watched a recent flick, an updated Agatha Christie murder mystery. Plot: Famous Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), who emigrated to England, has lost his faith in God and retired to post-WWII Venice, no longer investigating, despite the long line of people seeking hisContinue reading “Review of “A Haunting in Venice” (2023)”
Tag Archives: horror
Review of “Empire of the Ants” (1977)
Now that I can eat pizza again and stay awake for a while, we resumed our Saturday night pizza and bad movie fiesta. This one was silly. Plot:Somewhere off the Florida coast, figures in red hazard suits dump barrels marked “Danger Radioactive Waste” and “Do Not Open” into the water. At least one barrel washesContinue reading “Review of “Empire of the Ants” (1977)”
Review of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe Halloween Countdown
28) The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Plot:The narrator confesses to being nervous by nature, but he is not insane. His nervousness has increased his senses, not dulled them. His hearing is especially keen. What first led him to do what he did? He doesn’t know. He loved the old man. The old manContinue reading “Review of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Striding Place” by Gertrude Atherton Halloween Countdown
27) The Striding Place by Gertrude Atherton Plot: Weigall, “continental and detached,” has tired of grouse shooting. He finds the company at his host’s estate boring and the women “a dull lot.” What’s really bothering him is that his friend, Wyatt Gifford, a guest on a neighboring estate, has been missing for two days. ThisContinue reading “Review of “The Striding Place” by Gertrude Atherton Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Lazarus” by Leonid Andreyev Halloween Countdown
25) “Lazarus” by Leonid Andreyev Plot:According to the Bible story, Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha were friends of Jesus. Lazarus died and was buried while Jesus was in another town. He returned to find Mary and Martha in mourning, asked someone to roll the stone away from Lazarus’ tomb, and brought him backContinue reading “Review of “Lazarus” by Leonid Andreyev Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Out of the Deep” by Walter de la Mare Halloween Countdown
24) “Out of the Deep” by Walter de la Mare Plot: Jimmie’s Uncle Timothy has left him the house he grew up in as a neglected and unwanted child. After exhausting all alternatives, Jimmie moves in. He has no happy memories of living there. Relegated to an attic room without heat or light, he wasContinue reading “Review of “Out of the Deep” by Walter de la Mare Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs Halloween Countdown
22) The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs Plot: In turn-of-the-20th-century Great Britain, an older couple, the Whites, live in a remote area with their son, Herbert. On a stormy night, a visitor, Sergeant-Major Morris, an acquaintance of Mr. White’s, arrives and regales the family with tales of his time in India. He brings aContinue reading “Review of “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Demon of the Flower” by Clark Ashton Smith Halloween Countdown
20) The Demon of the Flower by Clark Ashton Smith Plot: On the planet Lophai, humans are subject to plants, which “[resemble] fields of rooted serpents that dance eternally to an other-world music.” Humans and all flora and fauna pay tribute to the supreme flower known as Voorqual, in which a demon more ancient thanContinue reading “Review of “The Demon of the Flower” by Clark Ashton Smith Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Green Tea” by Joseph S. Le Fanu Halloween Countdown
19) “Green Tea” by Joseph S. Le Fanu Plot:As recorded by the medical secretary of (the fictional) Martin Hesselius, the German physician, this is one of the doctor’s many cases, beginning with a meeting of a country clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Jennings in London. Hesselius and Jennings seem to hit it off well enough. JenningsContinue reading “Review of “Green Tea” by Joseph S. Le Fanu Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Night Wire” by H. F. Arnold Halloween Countdown
17) The Night Wire by H. F. Arnold Plot:Told by a night manager at newspaper in a western seacoast town, this is set in the days when news came in by telegraph. The narrator describes John Morgan as a “doubler,” that is, someone who can listen to two feeds and type their contents on twoContinue reading “Review of “The Night Wire” by H. F. Arnold Halloween Countdown”
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 