31 Days of Halloween #5

Fans of horror literature cannot escape the reach of these two writing greats.  Whether you prefer the classic gnawing chills of a Poe story, or the more visceral, aggression of a King story, you are guarenteed to find something to chill you to the bone in one of these author's collections of stories.  I'd say that mostly I'm a Poe fan, but for now, let's just enjoy a rap battle between two of the greatest minds in horror.

31 Days of Halloween #1

Welcome to this year's first of 31 days of Halloween.  I know I've said this for the past few years, but this is going to be the year that I finally get through all 31 days with posts and videos.  And to do that, I'm going to streamline things considerably.  So, instead of long posts with lots of exposition, I'll just post what I have, and offer a little bit to say about each thing.

Vsauce is one of my favorite channels on YouTube, because of its fun take on science.  Plus, it tackles a lot of strange questions that we would never think to ask.  For example, what does human taste like?  Gross, yes, and of course very creepy (there is always something nightmarish about cannibals), but an interesting question.  For those of you who are interested, follow the link to learn about this and other interesting things from Michael at Vsauce!

Christmas Face

So, I might have already mentioned it, but Christmas is coming, y'all!  I still have a crap-ton of shopping to do....like almost all of it....but I'm watching YouTube videos instead, and posting them here so you can join me in blissful procrastination.  You're welcome :)

Rhett and Link are the best.  Seriously, go watch all of their stuff.  They do sketches, songs, commercials, and even have their own YouTube morning talkshow!  Simply the best.

31 Days of Halloween #22

Phone Guy: Well, if you're listening to this, it looks like you've survived to night five, so congratuations.  But, this is not the time to celebrate.  There is something VERY important that I have to tell y-- *crash* Wh-what was that?  *footsteps* Who's out there?  Oh, God no!   No! *footsteps coming closer* Stay back!  No!  No!  NOOOOOOOOO! *Sounds of screaming and mechanical movement*

Hello?  Hello?  Eesh.  Well, I guess that's the end of that then.  No more phone calls, no more Five Nights at Freddy's posts.  I promised five and here is post five, so I guess I have no reason to go beyond this last post.

Day 22: FNAF Day 5

The brother is a huge fan of Did You Know Gaming's channel on YouTube, and he knows I've been diving into FNAF lore, so when he found that they had done a Five Nights video, he was quick to send it my way.  That being said, this video is a collaboration with another video game channel I really enjoy: Game Theory.  So, if you like this video, check out both Did You Know Gaming and Game Theory to support two awesome channels!

The video included below is just a bit about the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise, with some of the background details.  Its less about the lore of the game, and more about the history of the game, so if you're not a huge fan of jump scares and horror stories, this might be more your speed.  Also, if you're like me and you just love the heck out of trivia, then this is also the video for you!

31 Days of Halloween #14

So, I know I had intended to do 5 straight days of Five Nights at Freddy's, but once again, I am running low on material.  So, that being said, I will try to pop in the last few days of FNAF in a few days.  So, stay tuned for those later.  For now, however, I would like to return to our regularly scheduled Halloween posts.

I've featured JonTron in Ramblings posts in the past, but today, I would like to do another bit about him.  As a gamer, I love finding other people who also share an open and honest love of video games (not these pretenders who say they're into games for the attention, or those who are majorly pretentious jerks about it.  JonTron is one of the good ones.

I love watching videos that talk about classic games and hidden gems.  I know that I won't be able to play half of the games I watch videos about, but that's okay.  I'd probably suck at them anyway, and I have enough fun watching someone else play for me.  Monster Party is one that I would be willing to give a try.

Day 14: Monster Party

So, I'm not sure exactly what to say about this video.  My general rule of thumb with JonTron is to just sit back and enjoy the ride.  He's kind of all over the place at times, and he comes across as a big goof, but this guy really knows his stuff.  Even if you're not familiar with the game or the console, you can still have a lot of fun watching his stuff.  Jon is one of a kind!

If you like what you see, please let me know in the comments.  I have a couple more JonTron episodes that I would love to share if people were interested :)

And if video games aren't you cup of tea, never fear!  There was a Rankin-Bass movie that came out years ago with a similar title: Mad Monster Party?.  It's a kids' movie where Dr. Frankenstein announces his plans to retire, and gathers together some familiar faces so that he can appoint his successor.  I'm including the trailer for the film below.

 

31 Days of Halloween #13

PHONE GUY: Well, it looks like you've made it to your third day.  Good!  Not many people have made it this far.  So, hang in there!  Today, we have a collection of FNAF videos from different parody groups on Newgrounds.  I hope you enjoy watching these and generally have a good (but somewhat scary) time.

Day 13: Five Nights at Freddy's (Day 3)

Night Guard Mike and Toy Bonnie

First up, we have Five Nights at Freddy's: The Prequel.  This is a silly little animation (that I rather enjoyed) which focuses on the infamous "Freddy Head" from the later games.  (The animatronics are trying to find you and stuff you into a costume, so wearing the Freddy head makes them think you're an animatronic, too).  Unfortunately, this doesn't work for all of them.  Foxy still knows that you're the night guard.

This second one is an original animation that takes some of the reactions and comments from Markiplier and arranges them into a story.  Markiplier has done stuff like this on his own channel, but his videos tend to be a collection of moments, like a "best of" gag reel, while this is an actual story (of sorts).  If you would like a straight up "best of," then I suggest checking out my post for Day 11 here.  Just a heads up.  This video is a lot darker than the first one, so be prepared for a jump in mood here.

And finally, this last one is not a video, but a game.  I'm not sure if any of you actually enjoy dating simulators, but I think they can be fun every once in a while.  Also, this one is a lot easier than most of the ones you can find online, which take up a TON of time and yield little results.  If you've ever wondered what life could be like attempting to woo a murderous robot in a animal suit, now you can!  Try to win the heart of Freddy, Foxy, or a surprisingly adorable Springtrap in this Newgrounds game here.

31 Days of Halloween #11

I'm not a fan of scary games.  Scary movies I can handle because there is a certain element of detachment.  I'm just a viewer.  I'm not in the story.  But, when you play a scary game, you ARE in the story.  You are the one trying to escape the zombie hordes, or the one dodging the stuff of nightmares.

And then we have Five Nights at Freddy's.  I've never played the game myself (I'm too high-strung for that!) but I have fond holiday memories of my younger cousin showing us old-timers how to play it, while we all simultaneously performed the sitting high-jump.

Day 11: Five Nights at Freddy's

I'm sure many of you have already played Five Nights at Freddy's, but for those who haven't, you can read about the game here.  But, the short description is this:  You've been hired to be the night security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza--think a Chuck E. Cheese style place.  All you have to do is hang out at night while the restaurant all night...and make sure the animatronics don't kill you!  While possibly cute during the day (although I doubt it!), at night, Freddy Fazbear and his pals Chica the Chicken, Bonnie the Bunny, and Foxy the...well the Fox wander around the restaurant while you track them on the security cameras.  If they come too close, you can keep them away by closing the doors and turning on the lights.  But, be careful, as this consumes power.  And if the batteries are drained before the night is out, you could find yourself the victim of a grisly murder, just like your predecessor.

The game is full of jump-scares and leaves you feeling on-edge and nervous, since you never know when Freddy or his pals will end up at your door.  There are a series of sequels, too, but I've only ever watched the first one.  Each new game introduces more animatronics for you to hide from, and new perils, as well.  Do you have what it takes to survive Five Nights at Freddy's?

So, in the spirit of the game, I'm including a few related videos, including one of my favorite Rhett and Link music videos.

And while we're at it, here's an animated version of that song.  The main difference here, besides the fact that the one is animated, is that the first features an interview with Markiplier, who does the voice of the man on the phone in the song.  I suggest starting with the first one, and if you liked it, then try the second.

Markiplier is known as "The King of Five Nights at Freddy's...probably for his reaction videos.  Check out this animated video compilation to get a sample.  If you like what you see/hear, check out some of his other videos!

31 Days of Halloween #10

I love documentaries. And honestly, I'll watch them about anything.  Monsters, aliens, mysterious disappearances, social taboos, wildlife, famous people....the list goes on and on.  Mostly, though...I love to watch ones about creepy stuff.  The funny thing is that the creepy stuff leaves me all creeped out.  I'm in a very bad relationship with creepy.  I love it, but I always feel on edge afterwards, like I'm about to jump out of my skin.  Still, like a crack junkie or a chocoholic, I just can't get enough.

A Toynbee Tile

Day 10: Creepy Documentaries

So, this is a list of some creepy documentaries.  Some of you might want to watch, while some might be just a little too creepy.  I feel ya.  I'm not sure if I'll be watching all of these myself, either.

When you're done checking out that list, here are a few more that weren't included that really should have been.  These are two of my favorite creepy documentaries.

This first video is just the trailer, but this is one of my favorite documentaries: Ressurect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles.  What are the Toynbee Tiles?  Well, there's a lot to say about them, so I'll be brief.  They're mysterious tiles that have been appearing in the pavement on roads and crosswalks.  They have haunting, unsettling messages about a plot to resurrect the dead on Jupiter.  It sounds crazy, but this documentary is legitimately unsettling and awesome.  Check it out!

This second one is not nearly as chilling, but still really interesting.  Its about a Bible called "The Devil's Bible" and legend says it was written by one monk in one night after he asked the Devil to save him from being executed.  Chilling, unusual, and interesting, I hope you enjoy this one as well!

31 Days of Halloween #8

As I'm sure most of you are figuring out, I love things that are spooky, creepy, macabre, etc.  Case in point, yesterday's post was about creepypasta.  But, what IS creepy, really?  And I don't mean spiders, snakes, strange old men who talk to themselves or butlers in horror films.  I mean, creepy as a concept--what is it?  What makes things creepy?

Day 8: The Science of Creepy

Okay, I'll admit that little girl is creepy.  And adding the caption on there only makes it worse.  But, why is she creepy?  Why are we "creeped out" by certain things?  Check out this great video from Vsauce for some answers.  Vsauce is one of my favorite channels on YouTube, because they provide answers to all sorts of strange and interesting questions.  If you ever were looking for answers to questions you didn't even know you had, then check them out!

Stay creepy, my friends!

31 Days of Halloween #7

When I was a kid, my friends used to love telling me scary stories because my overactive imagination would keep me up all night thinking about them.  We had your classics like Bloody Mary (say her name three times in the dark and she will cut your face), but there were also a few other chillers, such as the monstrous tree people (they tap on your window at night and when you go to look, they snatch you from your room and presumably eat you), and perhaps the scariest to me, the red eyes of Dawn (a young girl is brutally beaten and locked in a closet by bullies, she eventually dies of starvation, and her ghost haunts bedrooms.  In the dark, if you look up and see her red eyes glowing in the darkness, you know she is coming to kill you).

We didn't really have a name for these tales.  Scary stories?  Sure.  Urban legends?  Maybe.  But, now, it seems that everyone just calls them Creepypasta.

These are the stories that bring us haunting figures such as Slenderman, Jeff the Killer, and the Rake.  And of course, in my favorite creepypasta, we get tales of haunted videogames, such as Pokemon Cursed Black.

Day 7: Creepypasta

 

Now, I don't know about you, but the above story really gave me chills!  If you're looking for something a little less scary, but want to get the creepypasta experience, try this video below.  It's more of a parody of the classic Pokemon creepypasta, and is one of my personal favorites :)

If you're looking for something a bit scarier, I recommend just checking out YouTube or Google.  I'll be honest, I tried to do some searching myself, but as I said before, I have a super-active imagination and I'm getting myself all freaked out looking at pictures of Jeff the Killer.  So, with that in mind, this is where my searching ends.  I hope you find some good stuff, and feel free to share what you find the comments.  I might add it into another blog post!

31 Days of Halloween #6

I love stories that turn classic tales on their heads.  For example, one of my favorite horror films is Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.  The plot?  Two hillbillies named Tucker and Dale decide to purchase a rundown cabin in the woods, thinking they can build it into the perfect vacation home where they can go hunting and fishing and generally have a good time.  But, at the same time, there are a group of college students camping in the woods.  They've apparently seen enough horror films to be convinced that all hillbillies are backwoods, cannibal, psycho rednecks, and through a series of horrible misunderstandings, come to believe that Tucker and Dale have not only kidnapped their friend, but that they are also trying to kill them!  Ah, horror/comedy at its finest :3

Day 6: Crashervania

I have been listening to this song quite a bit these past few days.  For those of you who have never heard of Castlevania, I'll try to sum up the plot as simply as I can.  Basically, you play Simon Belmont (or one of his family members) and try to destroy Dracula (because he's evil).

This song is part of a series by Starbomb, a musical group that writes songs based on various videogames, including Minecraft, Pac Man, Legend of Zelda, and Super Smash Brothers.  You can find videos done by tons of artists all over YouTube, but the "official" stuff can be found on Egoraptor's channel (he's one of the singers).

A quick disclaimer: I love Starbomb's music, and the vocals are excellent.  But the content can be very dirty--almost uncomfortably so.  But, this is one of those songs that is just good fun without tons of sex jokes.  Now, there are two versions of the song that I just love.  One includes a more "comic book" style (the artist actually drew a comic for it, and copied it into the video).  I'm including the original comic here for you to check out.

This second version is actually animated.  Simon Belmont looks so goofy and cartoonish in this version, but I really liked it.  Actually, if you like the song, I suggest you check out both versions.

31 Days of Halloween #5

If you're like me, then every year, no matter how old you get or what you're doing, you make sure to watch the Peanuts holiday special on TV.  And It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! is an absolute classic!  But, what about those other Halloween specials?  Sure, there's always the one based on the current children's franchise, such as Toy Story, but I'm talking about those off-beat oddies and oldies that no one has heard of.

Day 5: Forgotten Halloween Specials

The titles included in this series by Familiar Faces are strange, quirky, offbeat, and just plain weird.  After watching this, I feel like I have to track down some of these specials myself!

Part 1:

Part 2:

31 Days of Halloween #4

In honor of the Pope's visit to the United States, today's entry is going to focus a bit more on Christian imagery.  Of course, there is still an element of Halloween involved, but for those Christians among my readers, this post is for you!

Day 3: Christian Halloween

Don't worry--Christian Halloween doesn't mean we're going to be talking about dressing your kids up like saints.  And this isn't going to be one of those posts that demonizes Halloween (or "Hell-oween" as I've heard it called).  Naw.  This is all about Catholic or Christian imagery and how Christians should really be enjoying Halloween.  It's a great time of the year!

First up, I have a list of reasons why Christians should love the holiday here.  And then, we'll follow that us with a bit of Catholic imagery in Dracula.  I hope you enjoy!

31 Days of Halloween #1

Happy October, everyone!  Welcome to 2015's first of 31 Days of Halloween!

When I was a kid, I always wanted to prove that I was brave...by reading scary books.  I wasn't brave enough to sleep without a night light, or to kill a spider by myself (I still can't do that), but I really wanted to show that I could read scary things and not get all worked up about it.  Goosebumps?  Sure!  I could do that (they were pretty unsettling, and gave me some freaky dreams, but I wouldn't say the ones I read were scary per se).

Reading scary things meant that one time, I tried to read Poe's The Black Cat.  It scared the crap out of me!  And even now, I hate reading that story.  This post isn't about The Black Cat, though.  It's about another Poe story that is near and dear to my heart (Oh my!  Was that a pun?)  You guessed it, folks!  The Tell Tale Heart!

Day 1: The Tell-Tale Heart

This is what I like to describe as your classic chiller.  A man goes mad over the image of his elderly roommate's hideous eye.  What happens next (for those of you who haven't seen it) is a tale of psychological terrors.

First, the story itself.  I'm including two video versions here, and have linked the full text under "Day 1".  First is an animated version, and one of my personal favorites.  It is perfectly creepy and unsettling, but with some moments of humor (but not too much!).

Now, we've heard versions of classic Poe tales told by Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, but this was the first time I found one by Bela Lugosi.  So, the second version I have (included below) is his reading of it (and it is actually quite good, although I'm not sure why I expected anything else!)

Now, this final video is from Thug Notes.  This is a great series on YouTube that provides summaries for classic stories and novels (in the vein of SparkNotes and CliffNotes), but with a "thug" twist.  To see what I mean, take a look :)

What is your favorite Poe story?  Is there anything else you would like featured during this series?  Let me know in the comments :)

31 Days of Halloween #3

I loved dressing up for Halloween when I was a kid.  It was only as I got older that I started to get uncomfortable and stopped wanting to go Trick-or-Treating with the Brother and my friends.  As a 20-something college graduate, I almost wish I could go back to doing that again.  I might this year.  Who knows.  I would love to pass out candy dressed as Alice Cooper.

My list of childhood costumes ranges from cats to a ladybug to a cheerleader to a clown.  And it's this last one that I feel commands special attention.  I had to be like 5 or 6, dressed up with big floppy shoes and a rainbow wig; I never thought that I was scary.  And I never thought that the costume was meant to be scary.  After all, clowns, as far as I knew, were funny characters with big red noses and painted on smiles.  But, do a quick internet search, and you can find some pretty creepy stuff.  Personally, I'm not afraid of clowns, but I can certainly understand why some people are!

So, this I suppose is your warning, everyone.  This post is all about clowns.  And if you're one of the above-mentioned folks who suffer from Coulrophobia, then I apologize in advance; I don't mean to freak anyone out.  This is all meant in good fun.

Yes, that is a clown shark.

Day #: Clowns and Clown Shark

Yes, yes, I know.  I thought I would kick off this creepy clown post with a little video called Clown Shark.  This is by the wonderful team of Rhett & Link, personal favorites of mine.  Granted, this is not their best work, but I've been finding a ton of clown related videos, costumes, etc., and I thought it would be funny to include it, too.  The basic plot is a peaceful hippie (Rhett--looking a lot like John Lennon) reveals his fear of clowns and sharks...and is then attacked by a fearsome combination of the two.  Campy, silly, a bit stupid, and actually a bit freaky.  But, I enjoyed it.

Makeup by MadeYewLook

Now, if you made it through that nightmarish combination, perhaps we could move on to a makeup tutorial?  Have you thought of a costume yet?  If not, perhaps you might want to go as a clown.  This is more for the ladies, but feel free to watch as well, gentlemen.  I think the artist hams it up a bit too much at the start of the video, but her makeup job is so awesome that I think she can get away with it.  You can find her tutorial here.

Finally, I'll wrap this up with a song by my man Alice Cooper: "Can't Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me". 

Please let me know what you thought in the comments.  And if you have any ideas for other posts, please feel free to share those as well.  It could be as specific as "Rhett and Link did this video called Clown Shark!" or as general as "Please show some stuff about Halloween costumes!"  Or, maybe something in the middle "I would love to see a post about Boris Karloff."

31 Days of Halloween #2

If your childhoods were/are anything like mine was, trick-or-treating was a really fun time.  You dress up in colorful costumes and get free candy.  It doesn't get much better than that!  I'm sure, also, that you got the usual candy fare: Snickers, M&Ms, Reese Peanut Butter Cups, Dum Dums, Almond Joys, etc.  But, I'd bet that you weren't getting Musk Sticks and Salsaghetti in your treat bags.  And I'll bet that when you were growing up, most of you hadn't even heard of them! (And you might not even have heard of them until now!)

My personal favorite; Botan Rice Candy :)

Day 2: The Strangest Candy on Earth

When I was a kid, my aunt when on a business trip to China.  I remember her returning with all sorts of treats, covered in strange letters that I couldn't read.  I remember a bag of cookies--that tasted like animal crackers--with a picture of Hello Kitty on the label.  To 10-year old me, who loved Hello Kitty, it was the coolest thing ever!

In this video, YouTube tag-team Rhett & Link talk about different strange and wonderful (and maybe not-so-wonderful) candies and snacks from around the world.  I've tried a few strange treats myself, including Botan Rice candy and Satsumaimo sweet-potato-and-caramel rice candy.  I also love mochi, and while I have tried both strawberry and taro, my favorite has to be the sweet taste of red bean.

Of course, today's video covers more than just Japanese candies.  But, my experience really does not.  So, apart from one or two candy bars from Ireland (Crunchie, Flake--those may or may not be the actual names...) most of the non-American candy I've sampled has been from Japan.

Rhett & Link are a personal favorite of mine when it comes to YouTube channels.  And their Good Mythical Morning Show is worth subscribing to.  If you like what you see here, good, because I'm sure they will be popping up again somewhere on this blog :)  I actually have plans to bring in another one of their videos for my 31 Days of Halloween Challenge, as well.

October Means Halloween!!

So, call me a dork, but I just love Halloween :)  I just love seeing the trees change colors as the nights grow longer, and children dress up in cute costumes to go trick-or-treating door to door for candy treats.  I haven't been home for Halloween since I went to college, so I haven't had the chance to enjoy that aspect of the holiday, but I've still been having fun enjoying spooky stories, scary videos, and other Halloween themed treats.

Every year, I think I'm going to post a whole ton of awesome Halloween stuff, but every year that falls through and I only end up posting a small smattering of things.  This time, I'm not going to try and be too ambitious, but I did want to pass along some fun seasonal treats for all of you.

I think I'll start off with a video.  I thought this was the funniest thing when it first came out, and I'm sure most of you have already heard of it, but for those of you who haven't, I'll provide a bit of background.  So, a few months back, a song came out on the Internet called "Actual Cannibal Shia LeBeouf".  And as far as I know, there was really no reason behind it; the actor is not actually a cannibal.  But, it sounds cool, and it's actually a very funny song (if you understand that it's still very dark).  I've included the song below (this video is my favorite version so far--I love the cartoon characters, and I think it's funny that Shia is drawn to look like Hannibal Lecter).  Also, if you want to learn a bit more about the song, you can read all about it on Cheezburger.com's Know Your Meme, here.

Enjoy!

The Film's the Thing

Rachel is in a film directing class, and since I'm fairly good natured (and often too nice to say "no"), I usually get recruited to perform some part in all of her films, from Good-Intentioned-Best-Friend, to Crazed Fangirl, to awkward, terrified, boyish Roommate who is dolled up in makeup to the tune of Popular from Wicked.

Now, in real life, I don't like to wear makeup.  I think ponytails are awesome. I don't wear skirts.  And I cringe at the suggestion of "makeover" from well-meaning friends.  So, of course, this seemed like the perfect idea.  Put Emmy in makeup and a skirt.

It was an easy role; I just had to magnify my horror at having to wear eyeshadow and lipstick.

The first attempt left me looking like the Joker from Dark Knight.  It was all I could do to keep from laughing.  "You wanna know how I got these scars?"

Musical Parodies #2

Here's the second installment of musical parodies.  I hope you guys enjoyed the first one :)

So, if Rachel sees this, she's prolly going to kill me...so don't tell her...Shhhh.  (jk, jk...)

So, here's Whataya Want from Me? by Adam Lambert....

Musical Parodies #1

After spending way too much time on YouTube instead of doing my homework, I came across several fun vidoes that were parodies of other songs.  As of right now, I have three lined up, but there might be more if this proves to be popular with all of you.

So, here's the original song first (in case you didn't know it beforehand, or wanted your memory refreshed), and after that is the parody song.  I think the three I have so far are fun because not only does it parody the song, but it makes fun of the music video.  For me, that's just an added bonus :)

Enjoy!  First up is Safety Dance by Men Without Hats.