Halloween Fun

I read to my kids every night. We just finished the last two Harry Potter books and I read them a short story by pulp science fiction writer Fredric Brown. You might know the FB story Arena - it was reworked into a Star Trek episode of the same name (big lizard guy called a Gorn) - classic SF. Well, in honor of Halloween I'm reading them a story by my cheesey horror hero H. P. Lovecraft. Those who know me know I love Lovecraft. I know the stories are corney, but somehow they're effective. The good ones really are creepy. I'm reading them one of my favorites: The Colour Out Of Space. They haven't really been exposed to horror fiction so this is quite a change of pace. So far, their attention is rapt. They keep saying things like, "Dad, that's freaky!". At some point I should show them a picture of 'ol H. P... that's freaky! He looks like a character from one of his own stories.

On Halloween we're going to watch the campy old Vincent Price film The Abominable Dr. Phibes. I think they're going to love it. My favorite is the part where Dr. Phibes locks the frog mask on his victim's head at the masquerade party and it slowly clicks tighter and tighter until the poor creep's head explodes, spewing blood all over the transparent eyeballs of the mask. Of course the scumbag deserves it! Hooray for campy horror, hooray! Vincent and H. P., true kings of cheese!