Creeptastic

Happy Creeptastic Holidays!

Creeptastic is taking a break this week so we can all get through these pesky holidays and start fresh with the new year! Join me next Monday 1/2 for a brand new episode on the ever-horrifying topic of: sleep paralysis! Have some Happy Holidays if that's the kind of thing you're into, or have a fabulous and Creeptastic week if not, and join me in the new year for some new creepy content!
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44 - Crowd Crush: Too Many People, Too Little Space

In today's episode, I am going to make you never want to go to a live concert or sports game again by telling you all about the numerous instances in human history when a crowd has killed – not because they were an angry mob or had any desire to hurt someone, but simply because there were just too many people in too small a space, and that led to what is typically known as a crowd crush. What exactly is a crowd crush, and what conditions are needed for one to happen? What are some of the more horrific examples from our history of crowd crushes, and what can we learn from them? How can you try to effectively manage a crowd so it doesn’t get into a crushing situation…and if it does, what can you as the individual do to try and protect yourself so you make it back out? I will provide some answers to all these questions, talk super briefly about crowd crushes in horror entertainment because spoilers, it doesn’t show up often if at all for some reason, and bring you a delightful little bedtime story about a crowd who doesn’t necessarily crush, but is menacing and murderous all the same. Why talk about happy, festive events which turn into horrific tragedies in which dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people can die? Because at some point in all our lives, we are going to be caught in a pretty thick crowd, and the very idea that it could end up crushing us to death (given the right conditions) is beyond horrifying, and terribly Creeptastic!
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43 - The Perfect Crime: Rope (1948) & the Murder of Bobby Franks

In this episode I revisit the Murder and a Movie format with an examination of Alfred Hitchcock's underrated 1948 film Rope, and the so-called "crime of the century" which inspired it. The murder in question was that of 14-year-old Bobby Franks in 1924, by two affluent young men with genius-level IQs and an entirely dispassionate motive: the two young men simply wanted to prove that they were above traditional morality, and therefore, above everyone else. The murder of a child by a pair of wealthy, well-to-do white students, who claimed philosophical motives shocked the nation. The horror of the crime juxtaposed with the image of the criminals being anything but stereotypical made it all the more macabre and fascinating, inspiring works of film, theatre, and fiction, including the 1929 play Rope by Patrick Hamilton, which was performed on BBC television in 1939, and a film by the same name which was produced by none other than the master of the macabre himself, Alfred Hitchcock, in 1948. Why examine the history of this particular case and this particular movie? Because to many, this case is responsible for the trope of the “perfect crime,” one committed by self-professed geniuses just to prove that they could; a murder that was utterly dispassionate, cold, and calculated, and therefore Creeptastic!
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42 - Cabot Cove Syndrome: an Ode to Angela Lansbury & Murder, She Wrote

In this episode (in honor of her passing) I decided to talk about Dame Angela Lansbury, and what I consider to be her contribution to the wide world of horror that we all know and love: Murder, She Wrote. Why do I consider a family-oriented mystery show to be part of the larger world of horror entertainment, and even an important one? Is the tiny town where Jessica Fletcher lives, Cabot Cove, the true murder capital of the fictional world? And the truly critical question: was Jessica Fletcher the murderer all along?! I am getting a little silly this week and answering all those questions, and I even found some crossover fan fiction for your bedtime story which pits our hero Jessica against none other than The Thing from John Carpenter’s 1982 film. Why take an episode to talk about the mildest, most inoffensive murders ever to be portrayed on television? Because Angela Lansbury has more than earned it, and this is my way of thanking her for the hours and hours of entertainment she's provided me with. She is the Mistress of Mild Murder, and as such, also Creeptastic!
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41 - B Movie: the History of the Low Budget Horror Film

What's your favorite "B movie"? I know you have one. Today's episode is all about that low-budget, highly genre-specific, and often dismissed film that has been intrical to shaping the world of horror as we know it today: the "B movie." What precisely is a “B movie,” and what types of films have been referred to as “B movies” over the decades? Why did the ”B movie” come to exist in the first place, and how has its very existence been impacted and sustained by the shifting economics of the movie industry? What are some of the more well-known and celebrated horror “B movies” out there, and just how ridiculous are their titles and plotlines? (Short answer: very.) I will answer each and every one of these questions for you, and I even managed to find a short story written in the style of a B movie for story time which brings together the big three "B movie" genres: western, sci-fi, horror, and oh yes, horror. Why review the history of movies that many have called shitty at best? Because as much as some of them might sound shitty, many "B movies" can and do bring their own kind of horrific beauty to the screen, and that makes them so very Creeptastic!
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40 - Mercy Killing: Euthanasia, Angels of Death & ”Unbearable Suffering”

When (if ever) is it okay to end a human life? Today I am getting a little dark and a lot philosophical by tackling the very controversial topic of mercy killing, or euthanasia as its typically known. What do we mean when we call something a “mercy killing”? What is euthanasia as we understand it today, and how have we felt about it throughout history? Is it ever okay to kill another person, and if it is, under what circumstances? What do proponents of euthanasia have to say about why it’s a good thing, and what do its opponents have to say about why it’s a very, VERY bad thing? I will offer up answers to each of these questions (though some are really for you answer for yourself), discuss the grand tradition of mercy killing in horror entertainment, and tell you a Russian fairy tale about a soldier for whom there is no mercy, not even from God or the Devil. Why talk about the often-avoided subject of intentionally killing someone to end their suffering? Because mercy killing, whether you call it euthanasia or a coup de grâce, is something worth considering your feelings about - and very Creeptastic!
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39 - Looking Glass: Visions, Reflections & the Horror of Mirrors

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Something good, I hope. Today I am going through the looking glass and pondering that ubiquitous everyday household tool: the mirror! What exactly are mirrors, and how do they work? How long have mirrors been a part of human history, and just how culturally significant have they been over the centuries? What is it about mirrors, and what they reflect, that we humans can find so damn creepy sometimes, and why? I am going to answer all those questions for you, talk about the various ways mirrors can be used in horror entertainment to delightfully devastating effect, and lull you to sleep with a sweet little bedtime story about a feral girl (raised among wolves) who moves in with a werewolf and starts to discover her humanity in a mirror. Why spend an hour or two pondering something as everyday and painfully normal as mirrors? Because whether we’re worried they'll steal our souls, or that something monstrous might come out of them, or that ghosts and demons might try to talk to us through them, there is plenty about mirrors that is very Creeptastic!
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38 - Butcher Widow: Ilse Koch & War Crimes at Buchenwald Concentration Camp

Every so often I like to zoom in on certain creepy topics and characters in history so we can appreciate the horror of humanity on a micro as well as macro scale, and today I decided to share with you the tale of one of the only Nazi women to be convicted of war crimes in the wake of World War II: Ilse Koch, the so-called Butcher Widow and Bitch of Buchenwald (one of the more brutal concentration camps in Nazi Germany). The case of Ilse Koch is interesting for a few reasons, the primary one being she was the wife of a concentration camp commandant, not the commandant herself – but her husband had already died by the time Allied forces liberated Buchenwald. Was Ilse truly the monster that ordered the flayings of tattooed prisoners so she could keep their inked skins as sick souvenirs? Or was she really just the wife of a Nazi who was prosecuted because her husband could not be? Let’s dip our toes in the last few years of World War II, and learn more about Ilse, her husband Karl-Otto, and the camp that they would run together which would see the torturous deaths of tens of thousands of prisoners – Buchenwald. Why examine the history of this particular concentration camp and this particular Nazi? Because Ilse Koch has rightly or wrongly gone down in history as one of the most cruel women to have existed, one with a penchant for creating lamp shades from the skins of prisoners, and regardless of whether or not she really did even half the things she’s accused of, her story is still at least a bit Creeptastic!
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37 - A Painted Smile: Creepy Killer Clowns & Coulrophobia

Tell me truthfully - are you afraid of clowns? In honor of Halloween, I decided to tackle one of the requested topics I’ve been hanging on to for a special day –clowns! The creepy, evil kind, to be specific. How did the clown archetype as we know it today evolve over the centuries, and at what point did things take a more sinister turn? What is it about a creepy clown that we love to hate so much? Why is clown fear so prevalent that you are guaranteed to see at least one (if not a dozen) in every haunted house or corn maze? Where do evil clowns show up in the wide world of horror we all know and love, and where do they show up in real life? I am going to answer these questions for you, and tell a nice spooky Halloween bedtime story which is about – you guessed it – a deeply creepy clown with murder on his mind. It’s obvious why today, of all days, I would want to celebrate the creepy clown, right? Because creepy, evil, demented maniacs with smiles painted on their faces are terrifying, horrifying, and totally Creeptastic!
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36 - Border Fortress: the Ghosts of Chillingham Castle

In honor of the spooky season, today I decided to examine the haunted castle, and on in particular: Chillingham Castle, the most haunted castle in England (so sayeth the current owners).  What do we know about Chillingham’s history as a border fortress between the warring nations of England and Scotland, and just how dark and bloody does that history get?  I’ll say it now – pretty damn dark and pretty damn bloody.  Who are the various ghosts people have claimed to see at Chillingham, whether it’s in a bedroom, the chapel, or out in the courtyard, and how dangerous might those ghosts be?  In what ways does Chillingham truly epitomize everything we love to be scared of in a haunted castle?  I will be answering these questions, mentioning a few notable haunted castle horror films of note, and have a sweet little bedtime story for you about a fancy married couple who have an old torture chamber in their basement, and not the sexy kind.  Why ponder the haunting of a medieval castle when I for one don’t believe in ghosts?  Because the legend and history of Chillingham, complete with a sadistic master torturer and a lake full of bones, is very Creeptastic!
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