Richard Wilmore Show With Halloween Makeup - Episode 8

Having fun being zombified on The Richard Wilmore Show by my Trailer Park of the Living Dead director, Rio LaCour.

On Nights Of Halloween

A black cat flying through the air.
A man whose head just isn't there.
A vampire in a dentist's chair.
The moonlight's stunning silver flare.

A snowman on the beach in June.
A werewolf howling at the moon.
A skeleton casting his rune.
A banshee whistling a strange tune.

Are the strangest things I have seen.
Except on nights of Halloween.

© 2016 W.P. Rigler

find more W. P. Rigler poetry in Summoned Secrets at www.lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler

Vampire Lore

     The October country has arrived.  What better night of the year is there to celebrate chills down the spine and things that go bump in the night then the fast approaching Halloween?  Dozens costumed as witches, werewolves, zombies and vampires will saunter down streets to add candy to their bags of sweet booty.  But each iconic creature has a heritage beyond the common ideas of modern writers and readers, of bizarre beliefs that people once cherished as the best way to survive supernatural encounters.

     My monster of preference has always been the vampire.  But what really are the facts behind the ancient fanged predators of the night?  Did you know that vampires might be the first and only OCD  monster as it was once believed that if one dropped a handful of pebbles the creature would take the time to count the fallen objects instead of pursuing its prey?  And don’t think you can kill a vampire with a wooden stake through the heart.  A wooden stake will just pin the vampire in its coffin, ’cause the creature is already dead!  My how the vampire’s reputation has evolved over the years, from filthy smelly undead beast whose scent was stronger then garlic to a figure of dark romance.

     I’ve written about vampires in several stories and even a novella titled Terror’s Taste in which I attempted to add to the vampire legacy with my own origin of the species dating back to Atlantis, and answer some of the mystery of the vampire’s special relationship with mirrors.  All in all though I’ve tried to remain loyal to the original personality of the vampire – a creature cursed to the night with little humanity remaining.

     At Monstermania in Baltimore I listened with great curiosity to Christopher Sarandon speaking of fashioning his vampire character for the 80’s film Fright Night.  Apparently the director wanted each actor to dwell on their character’s backstories and further flesh out who they were portraying.  Faced with playing an ancient vampire, Sarandon chose to turn his attention to bats and found that there were more fruit eating bats then vampire bats.  Hence his character was often seen munching on an apple, as a tribute to the character’s bat lineage not focused on blood.

     Have a happy Halloween, whichever monster you may embrace for it.  And I hope you’ll enjoy one of my frightening stories from Midnight Writings or Summoned Secrets available at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler

Fright Night reunion at Monstermania with Christopher Sarandon (far left)
 

The Cemetery Intruder

 

 

The following story originally appeared amongst my ghoulish offerings at the departed horror site MICROHORROR, but some tales won’t remain in the grave.  Enjoy in time for Halloween!

     The old man grinned as he saw Rustin rambling toward his shack, shovel in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
     “Been expecting you,” Dalliard chuckled as he threw wide the dilapidated door and grasped the bottle.  “Didn’t think you’d let Toper rest long.”
     “Well he won’t be grieved.  He lived his last years as a hermit, never seen venturing from his house.  The maid just happened upon his cold body when seeking shelter from an afternoon storm last week.”
     Rustin watched as Dalliard took a gulp of whisky, allowing a thin stream of the precious liquid to drip down his grey beard.
     “To your liking then?”  Rustin inquired.
     Dalliard nodded.  “Care to join me?”
     “Must be about me work.  Considering that wicked wind and the clouds, there must be a storm tonight.”
     “And I suppose the fine doctor doesn’t like the bodies wet when delivered.  How much will you be getting for Toper?”
     “His due worth,” Rustin replied as he held out his hand.  Dalliard offered a key, which Rustin took in exchange for  two silver coins.
     “Don’t forget to lock the gate and bring back the key.”
     “I always do,” Rustin grumbled.
     Dalliard watched Rustin walk toward the cemetery.  He tightened his shabby collar to ward off the wind’s chill, but a mouthful of whiskey proved more effective.  The rusted gate creaked shrilly as if sounding an alarm at the intruder’s entrance, but Dalliard only chuckled.  Since becoming the cemetery’s keeper his greatest profit had been earned from his dealings with Rustin the ressurrectionist.

     The thunder had begun before Dalliard finished the whiskey.  As rain tapped against the roof, Dalliard went to the window and saw Rustin walking empty handed from the cemetery to the dirt road that twisted toward town.  Dalliard rushed out, buttoning his coat.  “What about returning my key, you clod!?”
     Rustin gave no reply.
     “What about the body?” Dalliard questioned as his pace quickened to gain on his rascal of a comrade.
     Rustin walked on silently.
     “Talk to me,” Dalliard muttered as he grabbed Rustin’s shoulder and spun him around.  Rustin’s face was deathly pale and blood flowed from a gaping wound on his neck.  As Dalliard stepped back, Rustin’s mouth opened with a loud hiss to reveal glistening yellow fangs.  Dalliard let out a gasp as he stumbled backward with trembling legs, his old boots churning mud before turning to see another figure approaching through the rain.
     “Lord in heaven!” Dalliard spat out at the sight of Toper, whose bloated face was covered with grime from his burial and Rustin’s blood from feasting.  Rapidly Toper pounced upon Dalliard whose scream was drowned out by a thunder clap.  Toper’s long claw like fingers tore at Dalliard’s warm flesh and worn clothes.  Dalliard’s body thrashed about in the mud as fangs ripped into his neck.
     Only once the body had grown still and Toper had drunk his fill did Rustin approach his wicked business partner.  Kneeling, Rustin deeply inhaled the scent of blood before tasting it for himself.  As the scarlet liquid filled his mouth and rushed down his throat, Rustin wondered what a fine doctor’s blood would taste like.  Soon he would know.

© 2010 W.P. Rigler

W. P. Rigler’s Midnight Writings & Summoned Secrets available at www.lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler

                                                           Follow W. P. Rigler at riglerwrites on twitter.

 

 

2001...Are We There Yet?

Keir Dullea & I.  September 2016

My mind’s been in – or on – 2001 of late.

I’ve seen the science fiction film many times but over the last few weeks I finally took time to read the book by Arthur C. Clarke.  It’s as sprawling and magnificent a science fiction experience as the film is but a bit less enigmatic – but only a bit.  The book, as is usually the case, fleshes out several sequences.  Interestingly in the book the monolith has multiple lessons like how to tie knots in addition to the use of deadly force with a bone.  And the ending has a more menacing, if not surprising, note to it.

In addition to the book, in September I had the pleasure of hearing at the MidAtlantic Nostalgia Convention first hand 2001 film remembrances by stars Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood.  Interestingly, Dullea said that HAL’s voice on set was delivered by a set worker with a cockney accent light years from the iconic computer's now famous voice.  Both Dullea and Lockwood agreed that director Stanley Kubrick had a masterful photographer’s eye, especially in regards to detail.  Kubrick was also open to allowing the actors to bring ideas to the table.  Lockwood suggested the astronauts attempt to confer without HAL’s ease dropping in the space pod.  It’s a scene I can assure you was not in the book.

I’m done with 2001 for now.  It’s 2016.  But I have to wonder – where are the promised space ships?

Richard Wilmore Show With W P Rigler - Episode 2

Stream of Thought - Civil War to The Twilight Zone

Maryland has gotten one blizzard and one reasonable snow fall, from which mounds of the white stuff can still be spied in small mounds strewn around the yard or street gutters.  Last week the local groundhogs recently forecast an early Spring.  Coming up this weekend are holiday celebrations for Presidents' Day and Saint Valentine's Day.  I'm not much for Saint Valentine's Day, perhaps due to some more then lackluster dating experiences.  President's Day is okay, and maybe I even have a little Lincoln on my mind as I've been following Mercy Street on PBS.

Mercy Street is a hospital drama during the Civil War era.  The production values seem top notch to me (although I'm far from a Civil War re-enactor, expert, or even enthusiast) while the writing deals sensitively with the human drama associated with those exposed to war and their efforts of recovery.  There are graphically real depictions of primitive surgery and shocks to the system range from the physical to the mental.  The hospital is a confiscated Virginia hotel.  A major subplot involves the hotel's Southern owner's attempt to remain loyal to the South while safe guarding his business enterprises.  Gary Cole, TV veteran of Crusade and Midnight Caller, plays the put upon Southern patriarch.  He's my favorite of the series.  Will he sign a loyalty oath?  The question is a divisive one amongst his family.  The issue of slavery is also explored in a subplot.  These types of questions are often in the center of some grandiose TV productions dealing with the Civil War.

Jonathan Frakes & I years ago at Garden State Comic Con. 

My favorite Civil War production is North and South, an 80's mini-series.  The epic uses a common Civil War motif - the central characters were two school chums who found themselves on opposite sides when the conflict broke out.  James Read and Patrick Swayze portrayed the once friendly duo, but the labyrinthine plot allowed for a mega cast.  Hollywood icons Robert Mitchum and Elizabeth Taylor were in North and South, as well as future stars like Jonathan Frakes, who would become famous as William Riker on Star Trek the Next Generation. 

While taking smaller roles in the 80's Frakes entered that decade's adaption of The Twilight Zone.  The episode Frakes appeared in concerned and unappreciated secretary who suddenly found herself in a place where secretaries were highly prized individuals.  I liked the 80's Twilight Zone TV version a lot and I actually saw it in prime time before being exposed to the classic black and white series with introductions by show creator Rod Serling.  Serling's opening narration and introduction are iconic and future versions of The Twilight Zone tipped their hat to that fact.   The 80's also produced a Twilight Zone movie.  I seem to remember The Twilight Zone returning as syndicated series in the 90's, when genre shows were the rage everywhere.  At the start of the millennium UPN reinstated The Twilight Zone briefly as a part of its lineup with Forest Whitaker as host.  Trying to chart The Twilight Zone's TV history might be as confusing as entering the Twilight Zone.

There are a lot of great supernatural anthologies out there - Dark Room, Hammer's House of Horror, Monsters, Night Gallery, The Twilight Zone, Ray Bradbury Theater, and Tales From the Crypt.  The later started life as a comic book, became a British film and then a TV show on HBO.  There are rumors that Tales From the Crypt may be returning with new macabre episodes.  Have a ghoul time!