Rod Serling; A Man of Meaning

   

     Been watching some of my favorite The Twilight Zone episodes lately, and it got me thinking about Rod Serling and all of his genius. I found this interesting Mike Wallace interview with Serling on censorship, content, and commercial vs. quality. Throughout, you can really tell this is a man with dignity, a man with passion, and a man who believes in the use of entertainment to teach, question, and progress. Quite fascinating how Wallace questions Serling about superficial intentions as a television writer, where Serling keeps having to remind him it's about quality.

"I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to have to battle sponsors and agencies, I don't want to have to push for something that I want and have to settle for second best. I don't want to have to compromise all the time. Which in essence is what the television writer does if he wants to put on controversial things... I stay in television because I think it's very possible to perform a function of providing adult, meaningful, exciting, challenging drama without dealing in controversy, necessarily."

Sabrina the Teenage Witch - Halloween Episodes

     To this day, I'm not a morning person - I'm just a night owl, can't help it. I've never fit in with my family this way, so growing up, every morning was difficult dealing with me. I was ALWAYS late, and if not late, I was throwing a fit for everyone rushing me out of the house before I wanted to go. Fridays however, were different. Most mornings, I'd roll over and remain cozy in bed until it was absolutely necessary to get up (in other words, five minutes before class started). But when I did this on Fridays, my mom would say, "hey don't you want to get up? It's Friday, Sabrina the Teenage Witch will be on tonight." Sure enough, it'd do the trick, and all day I'd look forward to seeing Salem talk on TV (always secretly wishing my black cat, Bagheera, would talk and make jokes like he did).

Luckily I found a few episodes on YouTube, so here are the Halloween episodes, Happy Haunting 90's kids! 

Season 1- A Halloween Story (Click Below)

Season 3 - (Click Below)

Season 4 - (Click Below)

Season 5 - (Click Below)

Season 6 - (Click Below)

Couldn't find the Season 2 Halloween Episode, but figured I'd share "The Crucible" episode, one of my favorites. 

(Click Below)

Bird-man

 

     Getting really into My Haunted House lately, your classic home-haunting documentary/reenactment show format, but with quite a few strong scares. I recently saw this episode titled "Pest House/Sleepwalkers." During the first story ("Pest House"), a family begins seeing a "bird-man" in their home. I immediately remembered something I had seen images of when I was on my trip in Edinburgh, Scotland, and could see exactly where this episode was going.
    While on my trip, I paid a visit to Mary King's Close, one of Edinburgh's notoriously haunted locations and tourist attractions. Here, it was rumored that during the plague, several victims of the disease had been bricked up within the close. There is an even darker rumor about what happened when reopening sections of the close to rent out - that two brothers were hired to dispose of the bodies, and after struggling to carry the bodies, they dismembered them to make it a little easier... (read more rumor about the mystery here; Mysterious Britain and Ireland) No one is certain of this, and the tour guides tend to say it is fabricated, but what they do know is that there were plague victims quarantined, (though maybe not hidden in the walls) and the doctors who tended to them were covered head to toe, carrying sticks they used to poke bodies (testing to see if they were dead or alive). They also wore masks with long beaks (filling the noses with herbs to filter out germs), looking very much like this:

   Learning about these creepy "bird-men," or doctors, is just one of the interesting parts of the Mary King's Close tour. If you're ever in Scotland, I highly suggest it (plus, they've got one hell of a gift shop). In the meantime, enjoy this tale of America's own bird-man...

My Haunted House S02E06 Pest House Sleepwalkers

Still intrigued by Mary King's Close? Check out this episode of Most Haunted! 

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

Penny Dreadful

Been really wishing I had Showtime so I could indulge in this series, Penny Dreadful. My aunt sent me a cool and creepy clip from it which made me really want to watch it! 

View Clip Here

Salem: The Series

    So looking forward to this! WGN America has produced a new series called Salem, focusing on the infamous Salem Witch Trials, probably the most intriguing part of American history, in my eyes. Unlike the play and film The Crucible, the series is proposing that actual witchcraft played a role in the trials and community during 1692. As someone who has grown up with a curiosity for the trials and its secrets, I've spent many years reading up on the subject. I've always wanted to see a show or film portray the trials more accurately, because the tension between the people involved is probably enough drama already. As fictionalized as this depiction of the trials looks however, it does seem like it's going to be pretty awesome! I look forward to the partial accuracies and the fictionalized fabrications and how they will all melt together. I'm not expecting it to be the best show on television, and hell, I may not like it after all, but I think it's worth a shot. If you've been dying for Halloween lately like I've been, this may be our fix!

Check out more info here; Secrets of Salem

Lizzie Borden Took an Axe...

... And you know the rest!
    Finally got the chance to check out Lifetime's Lizzie Borden Took and Axe, and I must say I was pretty impressed as far as TV movies go. I would have preferred better music, more true to the period, but eh, what can you do? Overall, I think the movie captured the incident fairly well, though I'm no historian. Christina Ricci was very good too and really brought to life the Lizzie that most people tend to believe DID kill her parents. Here's the trailer!

Oh, and here's this, because it's down right awesome.

Source 

"There's something on the wing!"

On this day, 50 years ago, The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"first aired. 

Nothing like these amazing reaction shots of William Shatner...

Happy 4th!

Happy Fourth of July everyone! 

Enjoy fireworks and hot dogs- Oh, and two great marathons that will be on TV today! 

The Walking Dead on AMC... 

...and The Twilight Zone on Syfy!

 This is how a haunter celebrates their independence! ;) 

Haunted Fridays: "Duplessy"

Charles Dutton shares his ghost story on Celebrity Ghost Stories.

Click Below to Watch:

Haunted Fridays: Celebrity Ghost Stories

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

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:

Haunted Fridays: All New Ghost Adventures!

All new Ghost Adventures episodes premiere tonight!

The Ghost Adventures Facebook Page

Haunted Fridays: "The Poltergeist"

... From the new show Paranormal Witness. I've been getting pretty into this new series, so far they've had amazing stories to tell! I know the link I am posting is last week's episode, but I can't seem to get this one out of my mind... it's haunting.

Click Below to Watch:

Calling All Haunters!

I saw this link on PumpkinRot's Blog and thought it'd be good to share it here too, in case any haunters may be interested.

"Magic Stone Productions and Brainstorm Media are producing an Untitled Homemade Haunted House Feature Documentary for a NBCUniversal cable network and are looking for participants."

Click Here For More Info: Homemade House of Horrors

Image Source: Love Manor

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!

Fat Tuesday?

Ok, so I know Mardi Gras was yesterday, but I've been busy, and in lots of pain from horrible dental experiences... a post all its own.

Ghost Adventures: Salem MA; Part One

Sorry for posting that this episode was going to premiere on Friday when it had already aired the previous week, shows how behind I am on my Ghost Adventures! Here is the first part of the episode if you missed it. This episode ended up being an all-time favorite of mine- one, because there are a few funny moments (as always); two, they had to go to the town council in order to get permission to investigate, which makes them the first crew ; and last but not least... it's Salem. Need I say more?

Part One

Paranormal State: New Season

Coming Soon...

Paranormal State Home Page

Ghost Adventures: Gettysburg

Here is the first part of the season premiere episode.

Here is my favorite part of the whole episode, probably the most hilarious moment:

"I'm just trying to get evidence, guys..."

Watch it here!