The Halloween Meme

Today’s post is brought to you by Sunday Stealing.

1. What is your favorite written work of horror fiction?
If I had to choose one, I suppose it’d be Christine by Stephen King.Why? Well, it’s the one I find most memorable.
2. What is your favorite work of science fiction/fantasy?
That’s a huge question. But if my LibraryThing ratings are to be believed, then apparently it’s The Diamond Age.
3. Who is your favorite monster?
From all literature, probably the Shrike from Hyperion. From movies, I thought the Voice from the Wires was pretty scary.
4. What is your favorite Horror movie?
Zombieland. No, wait, Beetle Juice. No, wait, Young Frankenstein.
5. What horror movie gives you the most chills?
The Blair Witch Project. Specifically, that bit in which the two remaining investigators can hear their friend screaming out in the forest in the night.
6. What character from any horror film would you most like to play?
Doctor Frankenstein. “It’s alive… alive!”
7. Freddy or Jason?
I have to say that the idea of a ghost that can mentally torment and kill you in your sleep is much scarier than that of a mute brute with a machete.
8. What is your favorite Halloween treat?
The trick or treat aroma, that melange of imitation fruit, chocolate, caramel, and bubble gum.
9. Ghosts or goblins?
Goblins are one hit die monsters with no more than eight hit points each. Ghosts have level drain, and they don’t normally drop any loot. So I’d much rather do goblins, unless there’s a high-level cleric in the party.
10. Friendly-faced jack-o’-lantern or scary one?
I prefer a crazy face on my jack-o-lantern… somewhere between the two.
11. What is your scariest encounter with the paranormal?
I was using a mirror to look into the crawlspace under my house and thought I saw a face.
12. Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
I don’t believe there is enough evidence to make a decision. I suspect that much of what we classify as paranormal activity is due to fluctuations in Earth’s magnetic and gravitational fields, but what do I know?
13. Would you rather be a zombie, alien, or psycho?
An alien. First of all, psycho and zombies are disease conditions, but alien is simply a matter of context. Second, being alien means that I’m not only on another planet, but also means that I probably have (or at least had) access to a spaceship, teleporter, dimensional portal, or some variation thereof.
14. Favorite Halloween costume?
Dr. DOOM
15. Best thing about Halloween?
It’s the only thing keeping Christmas from following immediately after Back to School.
16. Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)?
Actually, I have no idea.
17. Are you superstitious?
No. Not that I’m gloating or anything.
18. Share an unusual Halloween story.
It’s not exactly a scary story, but I do recall that one year, many years ago, there was a girl who went trick-or-treating a day early, since she’d be spending the next day on an airplane.
19. What did you do for Halloween as a kid?
The usual: trick or treating.
20. What’s the best Halloween party that you’ve attended?
It was probably the one in which I was introduced to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
October 25, 2009 | Posted in: memeday | 4 Comments »

Now Reading: Oct. 13

Now Reading: Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson

Just Finished: Voices from the Street by Philip K. Dick

Voices from the Street, according to the jacket, is one of the earliest books that Philip K. Dick ever wrote, and his only novel that had remained unpublished. It’s also not a science fiction story, but rather a realist novel set in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950′s. I encountered the book in the discounted impulse buy section of my local mega-bookmart, and was understandably curious, so I purchased it and began to read.

There’s an idea called “the fifty-page test.” That is, if you like the first fifty pages of a book, you ought to continue. Conversely, if you’re still bored by the time you reach the fiftieth page, you ought to stop and read something else. This book passed the fifty-page test for me, mainly because I was still curious as to what the story would be about, and also because I found the book interesting as a historical curiosity.

I think there ought to be another rule that says if you reach a certain point in the book and you’re still reading only because you want to know how the story ends, then you should be able to send off a postcard for the abridged version.

Voices from the Street is the story of a television salesman who’s not satisfied with life. He makes numerous bad decisions along the way, many of which fall into the category of what one truly wants versus what society says one ought to have.

It’s rather dark and grim, and if there is anybody left who thinks that the 1950′s were exactly like Leave it to Beaver depicted, then perhaps this book will prove to be a revelation.

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October 13, 2009 | Posted in: now reading | 2 Comments »