BOOK REVIEW: A Season with the Witch (2016)

Every October, I pick a Halloween-centric book or two to read. This year, I picked up A Season with the Witch by J.W. Ocker (do his friends call him J.W.?). It was published in 2016 so there’s not even a hint of a discussion of the pandemic or national politics. Yay! The basic concept is that the author spent the entire month of October living in Salem with his family and these are the interviews and experiences that came out of that. I suppose the goal was to present an overview of Salem, warts and all. To that end, the book is successful.

Where the book wanes is in it’s inconsistency. It vacillates wildly between travelogue style, historical non-fiction, and personal musings. As such, it’s more like reading a series of blog posts than it is a cohesive book. In fact, I’d say the author’s style reads more like that of a blogger, with snarky asides at every turn. It’s informal for sure, so if you’re looking for more history and less anecdotes, look elsewhere.

Overall, I found it to be a fun read, though I do admit to skimming past subjects that were of little interest, like the interview with Salem’s mayor. I just wasn’t interested in her prattling on about how great Salem is and reading the author’s repeated mentions of the mayor character in Nightmare Before Christmas.

There isn’t much depth to any of this, and that’s fine for a breezy read. I found it entertaining enough for an Autumn distraction. If only his editor had removed all of those “because Salem” remarks from the ends of paragraphs.

Scary Stories to Read in the Dark

By the time I got my hands on the three books that make up the Scary Stories to Read in the Dark collection, I was a little too old to be frightened by the stories. I read them and thought they were okay, but they certainly weren’t scary to me. However, the same cannot be said of the accompanying illustrations.

The illustrations by Stephen Gammell had something extra spooky that stuck with me long after I’d put the books down. I can’t be the only one who felt this way because publisher HarperCollins got tremendous pushback from fans when they released the books with all new art in 2011. The original illustrations were quickly restored in subsequent versions.

Gammell is infamous for his refusal to do interviews. The publisher of his book, Mudkin, somehow convinced him to allow a time lapse video of his illustration techniques. That’s probably as close as we’ll ever get to an inside look at his process.

I’m not sure what sets his illustrations apart and makes them feel so creepy to me. There’s certainly a bit of Gerald Scarfe’s messiness that I personally connect to the art Scarfe created for Pink Floyd’s The Wall. That impression probably spills over a bit, but there’s more. Gammell’s characters feel otherworldly but also grounded, as if they could really exist. In the Scary Stories books, they live under the perpetual threat of Autumnal storm clouds. The scenes could be happening anywhere at anytime, even here and now.

I recently saw the film adaptation of Scary Stories and was surprised by how well I liked it. It weaves together a few of the most memorable stories within a framework that feels less like an anthology than I expected. Gammell’s illustrations were translated particularly well, showing just how three dimensional his paintings are. I’d argue that the film works largely because of its ability to immerse us in those familiar illustrations rather than sticking to the plot points of each particular story. Film is a visual medium, after all, and the filmmakers did a great job capturing the look and feel I associate with the books. My only complaint is the open-ended conclusion intended to force sequels into existence. Even with that issue, this is one of those films I’ll revisit every Halloween season, along with the books.

New Cassandra Peterson Autobiography Out Tomorrow

Some celebrities inhabit characters so well that the general public begins to think they actually are the characters they play. Such is the fate of Cassandra Peterson, the creator of camp queen Elvira. Despite her appearances in other roles, it’s the Elvira name and, um…shape, that she’ll forever be remembered as.

She seems to be fine with that. After all, Elvira is her bread and butter. So I’m looking forward to more insights into how she’s coped with that over the years. I’ve heard so many stories about her, I’m sure this book was the only way for her to set the record straight. For example, I once read that she was severely burned as a child and that her scar tissue is just barely covered by the Elvira gown. Is that true? Guess I’ll have to buy the book to find out!

For me, Elvira was a parody of 60s vamps like Vampira (Maila Nurmi) and Hammer Horror stalwarts like Ingrid Pitt. Taking that goth image and pairing it with valley girl speak was comedy genius in the 80s. It’s too bad Nurni didn’t get the joke and attempted to sue Peterson. I’ve often thought there’s a great reality series waiting to be made called “When Ex-Celebrities Attack!” but I digress.

I always liked Elvira, and not just for the obvious two reasons. Her character was like a modern day Munsters or Addams Family, two shows I loved as a kid. In fact, those sitcoms are what her corny film, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, most reminded me of. She’s never taken herself too seriously, so I hope that continues to hold true for this autobiography. I’ll update this post when I’ve read it.

If you act quickly, you can even score a signed copy HERE.

The Nightmare Before Payday

Tim Burton originally developed his ideas for The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1982 when he was working as an animator at Disney. The idea eventually evolved into a feature film project utilizing Burton’s story and visual ideas. Despite Tim’s association with the project, it was directed by Henry Selick and written by Caroline Thompson for eventual release in 1992. That release was with Touchstone Pictures, a Disney brand originated to handle projects deemed too mature for the Walt Disney Studios branding. As a side note, Touchstone was officially my own employer when I worked on the Disney backlot in Burbank.

The initial release went well enough for such a low budget affair, garnering $50 million in the US. But in the years since then, the film has leapt into bona fide hit territory with total grosses nearing the $100 million mark. In addition, disenfranchised teens (and Hot Topic shoppers) have steadily increased the footprint of this little film by spending on home video versions and products of all sorts. At the time of this writing, Shop Disney includes 67 product listings including the Nightmare slow cooker and the Disney parks are transforming many Haunted Mansion attractions with a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay each winter. Let’s just say that Disney has embraced the little cash cow that could. Which leads us to the news I read earlier today.

An official sequel of sorts is in the works for release in July of 2022. Thankfully, it’s just a young adult novel for now, but it shows us that Disney is seriously plotting to expand the IP footprint of their goth film miracle. I’ve yet to read anything from Burton about this turn of events, but it’s likely to move ahead even if he doesn’t like it. After all, the film belongs to Disney and they can pretty much do anything they want with it, as evidenced by the aforementioned crock pot.

Krampus is Coming!

image © Thomas Raven

Well, it’s nearly that time of year again. No, not Christmas time…KRAMPUS TIME! Now’s the time to place your order if you want to celebrate with a copy of my book, LETTERS FROM KRAMPUS. This Yuletide season is likely to be a nightmare for shipping companies, so ordering early will ensure you have your copy before the big day.

I’d like to tell you about this book if you haven’t read it. First off, it’s intended for children, so my Krampus is only frightening to the enemies he encounters at the North Pole. Given that I’ve written some very adult horror novels, I just want you to know you aren’t getting the uber-frightening version of Krampus here.

I chose to reimagine Krampus as a misunderstood guy who can be scary but who also has a heart of gold. I feel that this is a good message for children today. Kids are often taught to fear others by adults who have their safety in mind. I get it, but I sometimes think this can go too far. While you certainly can judge most books by their covers (including mine), you should always remember that you don’t truly know anyone until you dig a little deeper.

I was inspired to format my Krampus book as a series of letters to my niece because I grew up with JRR Tolkien’s charming Letters From Father Christmas on my bookshelf. If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it. It’s compiled from letters that Tolkien wrote and illustrated to entertain his children every Christmas.

I’m sure there are those who feel this kinder, gentler version of Krampus is a betrayal of the concept of the Yuletide enforcer. I disagree. I think everyone can be seen in a multitude of lights. We all just need to find the one that shows off our good side.

The Addams Family - An Evilution

photo © Thomas Raven

I’ve recently become more interested in the original Charles Addams cartoons that inspired the Addams Family TV series, an animated series, and several feature films. After watching a few YouTube videos about the inception of the 1964 series, I wanted to know more.

As it turns out, none of the characters were originally intended to be a part of the same family. Addams ended up putting them together because they all shared the same dark aesthetic. Once together, they still didn’t have names because single panel cartoons really don’t offer a lot of room for exposition. The characters were named by Addams only after he agreed to allow them to be used in the TV series. He also wrote character descriptions for the show’s producers.

Those character descriptions are included in this very nice book, but very little else here is worth reading. Most of the text consists of descriptions and explanations of the very cartoons we’re looking at in the book. It’s oddly redundant. There’s a little bit of extra info on Addams and the origin of the TV show (Pugsley was originally named Pubert but the network censors wouldn’t allow it)., but there’s not much here that can’t be found on the Wikipedia page for the show.

All in all, this is an overpriced collection that can easily be read in one sitting. Some have suggested this is a complete set of “Addams Family” cartoons, but that’s just not true. It’s well produced but it doesn’t include enough of the Addams cartoons and other supplemental info to warrant the purchase price. I’d suggest trying another Charles Addams book.