Literary Inspiration

During last October, I went to all of my favorite sources, and many new ones, for some Sleepy Hollow party inspiration. Throughout, I found some great new artists, designers, and bloggers - many of whom stood out, including Bryton Taylor and her blog: In Literature. 

I stumbled upon this gem while looking for food/appetizer ideas for a Sleepy Hollow themed party, and although I thought nothing this specific would turn up, I was pleasantly surprised. 

Blogger Bryton Taylor has combined her love for literature, and her love for throwing themed parties, to create a unique and creative guide for any reader to bring to life the food described in an array of classics, including Sleepy Hollow. 

Bryt's literary menus are as described, and are down to the details, so her Sleepy Hollow spread is no exception, including every goodie Washington Irving mentions from short cakes and pies to fruit and roasted meats.

View her gallery and recipes by clicking below: 

I didn't end up having enough time to do these specific treats, but they did inspire my appetizer spread, indeed!

Here are a few more literary menus and recipes of Bryt's that would be fun to try: 

Harry Potter

The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Treasure Island

In Literature is full of neat literary themed party ideas from decor and tablescapes to treats, snacks, and even full menus. Search by book, or by author, and you're bound to find something that strikes your fancy (and trust me, these ideas are fancy)!

For more great ideas, visit her website:

And don't forget to take a look at her Food in Literature Episodes for how-to videos: 

To stay up to date on her latest works, subscribe to her YouTube channel!

I mean, who wouldn't want a slice of the infamous chocolate cake Bruce Bogtrotter is forced to eat in Matilda?

 

Or this transformation potion from Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde?

Do you think these violet marshmallows from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will turn you violet? Only one way to find out...

AYAOTD Summary Time!

Adam Beauchesne, one of my favorite You-Tubers, is back with another great summary of an Are You Afraid of the Dark episode. This time it's "The Tale of the Whispering Walls," enjoy!

See more hilarious summaries of AYAOTD here!

The Tale of Locker 22

I love Adam's AYAOTD summaries so much... that I can't stop sharing them! Here's another great one!

The Tale of Locker 22

Back to School

Had a great first day of school yesterday and was very happy to see that Sam always does too! 

View Video Here

Happy Easter!

This just cracked me up.

Haunted Fridays: Celebrity Ghost Stories

Melissa George talks about her strange experiences while filming the Amityville Horror.

Frankenweenie 2012

Tim brings Frankenweenie back, this time in stop-animation... looking forward to it!

The Civil Wars

Just getting really into morbid music videos lately, and been really liking this couple...

Barton Hollow

Safe & Sound (Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars. One of the best decisions T-Swift's ever made, in my opinion.)

Sherlock

I am basically obsessed with BBC’s Sherlock, a mini series featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson on their adventures through London. This series, however, takes the classic literary characters and places them in modern day, along with modern technology, modern London, and modern mysteries. I so wish there were more episodes than three a season, but at least they are all very good!

The Raven

Can't wait to see this...

It's a Dead Man's Party

Annual Halloween Party Tonight!!!

Click to Watch:

Halloween Movie Countdown: "Shutter Island"

"Personally, Doctor, I'd have to say 'screw their sense of calm...'"

I have decided to save the Halloween Movie countdown for the last 13 days of Halloween (like ABC Family, I know...). This is purely due to the fact that I have been busy working on several theatre productions lately as well as some film projects and of course, Halloween! I thought it would be great to start this years countdown with one of my all-time favorites, Shutter Island.

To me, this film is a masterpiece. While directing the movie, Martin Scorsese made sure that all vital elements to a great production were there: plot, spectacle, character, theme, language, and music. Shutter Island explores arguably several themes, but the main one being presented in one simple question "Which would be worse, to live as a monster or die as a good man?"

Now, I don't want to give anything away because I am one of those people who never spoils the secrets of a great film in hopes that people will just watch it for themselves, but I will say this: it is the ultimate psych-thriller and it keeps you on the edge of your seat literally throughout the entire movie. Trust me it's definitely worth seeing and will probably require multiple viewings as most people feel mind-boggled after watching it for the first time... which Martin Scorsese would only have done to us intentionally. Hey, it takes place in a mental institution... we should feel crazy by the end of it, right?

Soundtrack Selection: On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter

Movie Trailer:

Haunted Fridays: Ghost Adventures in Old Town

Having been to Old Town many times, it's great to see the boys investigating in a place I know pretty well- although it is quite a bummer they could not investigate the infamous Whaley House. Hopefully one day they will return to San Diego and spend the night in one of America's most haunted houses.

Click to Watch:

Celebrity Ghost Stories UK

I am a huge fan of Celebrity Ghost Stories and was thrilled to see the UK format of the show on YouTube. With so much amazing history in the UK, there are bound to be some great tales. Here is one I found today that really gave me chills!

The Hand That Bends The Spoon

My latest short! I just finished this film last week for my film final. I am mostly happy with the way it came out. Of course there are a few things that did not work exactly as I wanted, but I think, on the whole, I accomplished a lot this time around. Special thanks to Britney Arcadio, my best friend, who originally came up with plot, and for starring in the movie. Thanks also to Brent Perkins for acting along side her, and thank you Marshall Murr for being a great production assistant. PS, forgive the crappy lighting in the last few shots, we were racing daylight and had technical difficulties on top of that. Anyway, Enjoy!

Annie, Let's Not Wait

I just love this animation...

Happy Mother's Day...

The Days of Illusion

Here's a clip from GhostWatching's YouTube Channel about the spiritualism movement and its effect on early cinema:

Happy Easter!

The Great Houdini

Since his 137th birthday on Thursday, I've been thinking about The Great Houdini. Harry Houdini has always been inspiring to me, as he has been to many, so I decided to see if I could find an interesting documentary or video about him on YouTube to share and I found this episode of Dead Men's Tales:

Not only were Houdini's tricks and stunts brilliant and original, but his involvement in the spiritualism movement was also quite interesting to learn about. Here's some info on how Houdini set out to disprove self-proclaimed psychics and mediums: Wikipedia.org