I was a fan of Dark Shadows before Tim Burton and Johnny Depp made an updated version of the old cult horror classic TV show.

I watched Dark Shadows in the 1970's when I was still young and impressionable. No wonder it stuck with me. I didn't get all the storyline, but I knew it was something dark and mysterious and probably too spooky for me. Dark Shadows was the only horror I watched and did not later have nightmares from. (I never did become a fan of horror).

I'm watching Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins in the 2012 movie remake of Dark Shadows. It's mainly a comedy. It misses the soap opera quality of the original series. But, I doubt it was aiming in that direction. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp do bring the dark elements in and manage to keep it from sinking into absolute horror. In that way, the Dark Shadows movie is a success. I am liking it.

But...

I still like the old TV series best. There are other versions but I have not seen them. The previews seem more slanted towards horror and looking bloody. That wasn't part of the charm of Dark Shadows. The element of the soap opera was the unique draw of the TV series. There was such a great combination of horror, fear, mystery, darkness and the unknown but, it was tempered by the soap opera atmosphere. It worked wonderfully.

Jonathan Frid (1924 - 2012) was a Canadian actor who starred as Barnabas Collins in the original TV series. Ironic that he had a cameo appearance in the Dark Shadows movie but died about one month before it was released to theatres. When I think about Dark Shadows it is always the face of Jonathan Frid I see in my mind.

Dark Shadows Wiki

Dark Shadows has been Revived (more than once)!

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein is a Canadian classic television show. The show ran for 130 episodes, filmed over nine months in 1971. Although it was an educational show it wasn't intended to be just for children. The humour appeals to all ages which is how the show is still in syndication over 40 years later.

First shown on CHCH, the Hamilton, Ontario station which used to be channel 11 when I would watch the show. Later I can remember seeing it come on in reruns very early in the mornings during the week. Catching the Hilarious House of Frightenstein was a great start to any school or work day. Even if you had already seen the episode there was still enough silliness, real humour and creativity to make you laugh again.

Do you Remember Billy Van?

The show starred Billy Van (1934 - 2003) as most (18) of the characters. Billy Van continued to create new characters as the show filmed. His picture is on the Canadian Comedy Wall of Fame at the CBC broadcast centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Some characters (actors and puppets) were: Count Frightenstein, Harvey Wallbanger, Super flying Hippie, the Gronk, The Professor, Igor, Grizelda The Ghastly Gourmet, Flying Hippie, Doctor Pet Vet, the Grammar Slammer Bammer, the mosquito, the gorilla suit, The Maharishi, The Oracle, The Wolfman, the Librarian, and the explorer Bwana Clyde Batty.

Vincent Price (1911 - 1993) narrated parts, including the opening and closing of the show. He came to Toronto for the first time, filmed approximately 400 segments over 4 days and bought the crew a couple of cases of beer.

Fishka Rais, (RIP 1974) was a jazz singer from South Africa. He played Igor, Count Frightenstein's sidekick and the Wolfman's dancing partner. No matter how many times he asked, the Count would never let Igor have one of animals which Doctor Pet Vet brought for Igor to see and find out about.

Julius Sumner Miller (1909 - 1987) appeared as The Professor, demonstrating and explaining physics experiments and scientific theory. He really was a professor with a Master's degree and a PhD in physics from Boston University.

Guy Big (Alan Hoffman, 1946 -1978) was originally to play Count Frightenstein but he did not come across as funny when he read the script as the shows began filming. Instead he was kept on and became the mini Count Frightenstein.

The music which began and ended each show, was titled March of the Martians. written by Harry Breuer, Gary Carol, Jean Jacques Perrey and Pat Prilly and played on a Moog synthesizer.

I've never understood the draw of scary movies. I can read about scary things, frightening and horror books are interesting when they have a real story behind them. There are very awful, frightening and horrifying things in the world. I guess having experienced my own personal, real horror, I don't want to see it illustrated with extra violence, blood and aggression in moving pictures. Besides, the books rely on your own imagination so you can use your own inner censor (or just skip a few paragraphs, pages or chapters even). When you watch a horror movie the best you can do is close your eyes and hum while you view someone's nightmare.

Is Horror like Culture Shock for you?

So, I don't enjoy horror on the screen. I did watch Fearless Vampire Killers on television last year, however. I liked the campy 70's feel to it. I liked the cleverly stupid humour. I liked that it was intended as a satire. So, even though there were some awful moments which I did cringe through, it was easier to consider them as part of the satire than to think of them as something more.

One odd thing about the movie was the sexuality. In these days, about 40 years later so much has changed. Yet this movie is pretty open about sexual relationships, specifically homosexuality. Watching it, I wondered if this is more open and somewhat perverted than would be accepted in our media/ movies now.

I loved the historical costumes and the costumes in general from Fearless Vampire Killers. One thing I do enjoy about vampire movies and TV shows are the costumes, the clothes and even the home style too when it's more than just bland background. Especially nice is the scene where they dance in their old fashioned ball gowns, suits, wigs and all. The castle is shown well too in several scenes. The rooftop still stand out in my memories of the movie.

Also, the surprise ending was pulled off well, even though I was expecting it. I was still surprised.

What do you think of horror movies? Do you watch the satires or must it be all out gore and dripping blood (no funny stuff) to please you?

Would rather read a book than see the movie... try one of these paranormal writers - my personal picks and among my favourites.

Betsy, Queen of the Vampires is the main character. MaryJanice Davidson is credited as the first to write paranormal fiction with humour. She is very prolific as a writer. It is easy to wind up spending the night reading in bed and realizing you have read through the night just because you could not find a place you wanted to stop reading and put down the book.

Gerry Bartlett writes about a plus sized vampire babe, Glory. I started reading the series just for that reason. But, the story drew me in and I have read all but the latest two. It is a shame the books don't come out in standard paperback here. I end up waiting to find them in secondhand bookstores. Which suits me fine but does mean there is a lot of waiting involved.

Kimberly Raye is no longer writing this series. A huge shame because I loved the characters in her books. The heroine, Lil could be a fashionable shoe diva type (which I am not) but she was so much more and she did not let her shoes keep her from adventure, even if it meant getting dirty. The male characters are not just cardboard cut outs either. I liked that Lil's men could be grumpy, could even be jerks but still feel like a guy you wanted to notice you, in a good way.

These are three paranormal writers who write about vampires with humour, fun and the occasional blood letting for those who must have some element of the traditional horror in their vampire tales. I am involved in reading each of the series of books below. However, Kimberley Raye's Dead End Dating series ran aground and it doesn't seem to be continuing.

I would be glad to have suggestions for more paranormal books with humour in the comments. There are a few others I have read but these are my favourites, so far.

I strongly recommend Kim Harrison too, especially if you love adventure more than satire or humour.

A story more horror than erotica. Originally posted to Sex Kitten (2003 - 2004) This really was written at the time I was getting a divorce.

That was when she looked at websites about disposing of bodies. Not that he was quite a body, he was still breathing after all. But... she was only curious really.

His head was heavier than expected, kind of like a really big cabbage she'd once cooked for making cabbage rolls. She had a hard time fitting it into the pot, the cabbage, not his head. Although, cooking him was an alternative under consideration. What do you do with an extra husband after all? Once the marriage was over, he became kind of disposable, like an extra toaster after the wedding. You could always give it away, but somehow that seemed so small minded. Why saddle someone else with your spare toaster? Even more so with a used toaster, one you had cleaned up after, slept with and all that other labour and time not so well spent. Maybe, it was really more like having a sixth finger than an extra toaster. Imagine how awkward that sixth finger would be? Holding a pen would be like a wrestling match and typing would be, well... interesting. …more

I'm reading Frankenstein.

I picked an edition which includes a lot of extras, mostly about Mary Shelley, the author and her life. Did you know her Mother wrote a classic book about women and women's rights long before it became a popular issue? Mary was a liberated woman herself. Yet, these ideals must have been given to her from her Father (William Godwin) because she never met her Mother. Mary Wollstonecraft died just after giving birth to her daughter. How did that form Mary and what did it add to her story about creating life, death and regret?

I picked Frankenstein as my classic fiction book to read this year because I do find the theory of reanimating life, animals able to grow back body parts and cloning interesting. Modern science is doing the same sort of research still. I don't think we really do hear about all that goes on in various laboratories around the world. Likely, there are still horror stories being written in the name of science (fame and fortune too).

Did you Know Frankenstein Will be 200 Years Old in 2018?

Frankenstein, the book, is almost 200 years old. The original story was published in 1818, a third edition came out in 1831. This was the final edition, with all her rewrites and additions to the story.

As I read Frankenstein, I am enjoying a glimpse of the past and the old style of writing. It really is more like prose, lines of poetry, than our style of plainer writing these days. I wonder if people also spoke that way or was the writing just that bit more formal.

My nephew, Zack, read Frankenstein for school and said he hated it. I think he just didn't like the style of writing, the prose which goes on and on about scenery and emotions rather than pressing on to move the story ahead or dwell on gruesome details. We are used to such a different way of telling a story these days - this does make it harder to read a book written 200 years ago.

Still I am enjoying the read, the adventure back in history and the idea of recreating life from something dead and how that could work out if I were to write my own story of Frankenstein.

Frankenstein: Read it or Watch it

In the later editions of Mary Shelley's book publishers had her revise the story, make it less shocking for people of the day. You can still find copies of the book, the original story from 1818. However, in the edition I'm reading the actual process of creating the monster is not written about in anything near to the detail which it has been given in the Frankenstein movies.

Also, it's interesting that the books consider the monster to be named Frankenstein. If people refer to Frankenstein they usually mean the monster created by Victor Frankenstein. Actually, in the mind of Victor Frankenstein himself he thinks he is the monster for creating this creature, or daemon has he refers to it more than once in the book.

Frankenstein in Film 1910 and Onwards.

From 1910 to the current I, Frankenstein movie trailer, you can find many versions of Frankenstein to watch. But, read the book at some point. It's the original and the inspiration for all the versions of Frankenstein which have come along since Mary Shelley published her story.

Life Without Soul was the second movie made from Frankenstein but there are no known copies of it surviving.

There had been a theatre production in 1826.