The Witch's Diner - Episode 2

 

We learn two things at the beginning of this episode. One, it seems as if CEO Oh doesn't approve of Hee Ra killing people. And two, Gil Yong has been suspended from extracurricular activities because of his "fight" with Yeong Jae.

I didn't mention it in the last recap (because I wasn't sure what we were seeing and I'm still not sure), but for the second time now, we're shown a flashback of a little girl, running from someone or something. It looks like it could be a nightmare Jin is having. Maybe a memory from her childhood. My theory is that she's met Hee Ra before, based on Hee Ra's interactions with CEO Oh and the fact that she seemed to be following her in the first episode. I'm not sure what her interest in Jin is, but there's something there for sure.

(Throwing this out there in the middle of my post, the music in this show is good, it sets the creepy-whimsical tone well. But I want a legit K-drama OST. That's my favorite part of dramas and I'm waiting for it.)

On her way to work, Jin sees her competitor being carried out on a stretcher. She tells herself it has to be a coincidence. I would think the same if someone told me they were a witch and could grant me a wish. What are the chances of that being true?

There's a man we haven't seen before, but he's behind on some kind of payments and is avoiding the loan shark who is looking for him. He watches Gil Yong at his job - a job he himself had applied for and was rejected from. Listen. Gil Yong is a good kid and if this man does something to him, I'm going to be so annoyed. He keeps taking matches out and snapping them in half, throwing them on the street. Why? What does this mean? Does it mean anything?

When Hee Ra arrives at work, Jin confronts her, asking if she really killed that woman. Hee Ra says no, Jin killed her. It was her wish. That's not the kind of revenge Jin wanted though. (It's the Monkey's Paw.) Hee Ra tells Jin she's a hypocrite, asking since when is revenge a "soft and nice" wish? Lightning flashes and we see glimpses of Hee Ra's face illuminated by it, again showing what she really looks like. I have only ever watched Song Ji Hyo's romantic comedies, seeing her as a villain is interesting and she's doing a great job here.

Jin runs from the restaurant, in tears, either because she's responsible for someone's death or because Hee Ra scared the hell out of her. Or both. She feels extremely guilty for what her wish has caused. She comes across Gil Yong, who is in therapy as part of the school's disciplinary action for the "fight" he had with his friend. He confides in Jin that when he was young, he caught a deadly illness. He no longer remembers that and in time, he says he won't remember this incident either. He has a good disposition and seems to make Jin feel better through their conversations with each other. I like the friendship developing between them. It needs to stop there though. It seems like Gil Yong has a crush on her, but she's about 10 years older than he is. Don't make this weird.

In school, Yeong Jae's phone rings during an exam and he's kicked out of class. My heart seriously breaks for this kid. Gil Yong tries to catch up with him after class, but his knee is injured. His doctor informs him that he can't exercise for a month and he may have to miss his next track competition.

While Jin is out with Yoon Mi, she tells her about the witch and says, "We take our words and thoughts lightheartedly. But there's actually power in them. Terrible things can happen because of them." We're all taught this from a young age, right? To think before you speak. This applies to so many different situations, but let's think about it in terms of bullying, since it applies to this show. I know it's a problem in my own country and I've read that it's a problem in South Korea, as well. The most known example I think people have seen in the past couple years are the deaths of K-pop idols, driven to suicide after the hateful comments and harassment they receive online. It can happen to anyone, but I'm using this example because it's so publicized. Your words carry weight. You may think they're nothing, but they can hurt people. I know I'm going off on a tangent, but what Jin said here was really important and I wanted to include it.

There are rumors spreading that Yeong Jae attempted suicide because of his "fight" with Gil Yong. Gil Yong goes to visit him at the hospital and Yeong Jae tells him that he tried to jump from the school's roof, but his legs were shaking and he must have wanted to live after all. In an attempt to comfort Yeong Jae, he says it isn't over for him, but Yeong Jae thinks having to live like this is even scarier.

Hey, there's another witch! And she's here to lecture Hee Ra about overstepping. At work, Hee Ra has a list of rules for Jin: Don't question her, don't eat anything she cooks, she decides opening hours and she can do whatever she wants. She's the boss now and the first thing she wants to do is redecorate.

Gil Yong is standing on the edge of a roof, believing everything is over now, including college, because he can't compete in the track meet. He receives a phone call from Yeong Jae as he's about to step off, and his friend says he won't lose to those bastards at school. This gives Gil Yong the strength to step away from the edge.

CEO Oh is called to redecorate the entire diner and it looks exactly like the one from the beginning of the first episode. Jin is not a fan, exclaiming, "We're not a tarot shop." She asks CEO Oh what his true identity is and he tells her, "It's best to think of me as a supporter who gives help without being noticed." Thanks, that clears everything up. Gil Yong walks past the diner and decides to go inside, noting that he hasn't had anything to eat. Hee Ra asks him to take a seat, to which Jin opposes, saying he's not a customer (clearly trying to protect him). Jin takes him outside, saying she needs a word with him, and we see a flash of two photos in Hee Ra's possession, one of Jin and her mother and another of (what appears to be) Gil Yong and his mother. Hee Ra says, "Now we've gathered everyone." What is she planning?

Outside the diner, Jin warns Gil Yong that the witch can grant wishes and he says he believes it since she's the one saying it to him. She tells him there's no guarantee that he'll be happy if his wishes come true, he'll have to carry the burden of even the smallest wish. Gil Yong asks what will happen if he makes a wish to help someone, when Hee Ra interrupts, telling him to either make a wish or get lost. He goes back inside and makes his wish (we aren't told what it is yet, but Hee Ra says he's a wacko) and asks that it be kept a secret. Once he's finished eating, the witch hands him a business card and he leaves.

That night, Jin wakes up and sees what looks like a corpse lying next to her. Was it just a dream? She returns to work and learns that Gil Yong is now a part timer at the diner. Someone is standing outside in the shadows, with a knife, watching them. That person, who turns out to be the man from earlier who lost out on a job to Gil Yong, enters the diner and pulls the knife on Jin, before Hee Ra appears and asks what's going on.

I'm really curious about why Hee Ra is gathering these people together. She doesn't seem entirely evil, although she's definitely questionable. I'm excited to see what happens in the next episode.

The Witch's Diner - Episode 1

 

The Witch's Diner is about Jeong Jin, who loses her job and boyfriend of five years in a string of bad luck. After deciding to open a restaurant with her mother, it goes bankrupt. Jin then meets Jo Hee Ra, a witch who is capable of granting wishes, for a price. In exchange for a wish, Hee Ra wants to borrow the restaurant. It becomes a great success, but at what cost?

I started watching this K-drama because I'm a fan of Song Ji Hyo on Running Man and I always like to support the Running Man members in their other activities. Also, a supernatural themed K-drama? Sign me up. The Witch's Diner is currently streaming on Viki, if you're interested in watching it. It was adapted from a novel written by Goo Sang Hee. I googled it, I don't think there's an English translation and while I can read 한글, I don't understand 99% of it, so unfortunately, I won't be able to read the book.

(Disclaimer: I don't know if I'll be posting about each episode as it airs due to my work schedule being all over the place while our building is closed this summer. It may have to be whenever I can find some extra time.)

Episode 1 begins outside the Witch's Diner, where a sign reads the following:

1. Operating Hours: Sunset to sunrise.
2. Menu: Differs depending on the request.
3. Price: Insanely expensive so not everyone can eat here.
4. *However, all wishes are possible. The effect is certain.

First of all, the cinematography of this shot is incredible. The set looks like it belongs in a dark fairytale (literally, it's kind of hard to see sometimes). It's stunning. I hope the production value continues throughout the rest of the episodes.

We see a father who is down on his luck, inside the diner. He invested everything he owns into a bad deal that didn't work out. He lost his home and is about to be living on the streets with his children. His wish is to win the lottery so he can provide for his kids. The cost? "That look in your eyes...I like it," says Hee Ra. That sounds ominous. As promised, the father wins the lottery. Running from his house, intent on taking everything from the man who took all of his possessions, he gets into his car, where his vision blurs and he begins to scream.

Jin is an office worker, struggling with a job that requires her to work long hours and deal with an abusive boss. One night, at a company dinner, she's attacked by her boss' wife, who thinks they're having an affair for no other reason than Jin had the misfortune of being seated next to him. When Jin arrives home, drunk and stumbling (and in a much better mood than she was before), her mother tells her she is "not a person, but an alcohol bottle." The next morning, when she arrives at work, her boss fires her because if he doesn't, he claims his wife will kick him out of their house. To make matters worse, that same day, her boyfriend breaks up with her, saying they've grown apart. He really had to do it at that moment?

Hee Ra and CEO Oh (played by Ha Do Kwon, who has been a guest on Running Man several times and is incredibly funny) go to a rooftop apartment that's so beautiful and impossibly large on the inside that I had to rewind and make sure I didn't miss something while typing this. If this is how a witch lives, I want to be one, too.

The next character we're introduced to is Gil Yong, a student. (If the spelling of these names changes from episode to episode, it's because I'm basing it on the romanization of Viki's subtitles and they aren't consistent. This is why I think learning 한글 is important before learning to speak Korean, romanizations are never the same and you're likely to end up misspelling the actual words if you base it on the romanization. That's not important right now though.) He runs track, but suffered an injury. Jin's friend, Yoon Mi, is a teacher in Gil Yong's school.

One night when Gil Yong is working, he sees a friend from school, Yeong Jae, walking home with a bruised face. He asks what happened to him, but Yeong Jae tells him to leave him alone. Inside Gil Yong's job at a convenience store, Jin comes in, drunk, to buy a coffee, before going back outside and crying. Gil Yong attempts to comfort her, but she says she's okay (she clearly is not) and goes home.

The next day, Jin's mom says she knows she lost her job and tells her to take her time looking for a new one. For now, she suggests they buy a restaurant together. They put all their savings into purchasing one from a woman who is looking to sell the one she owns. At first, the restaurant is very busy and seems to be doing well, but then the chef asks for a two week vacation. How can you run a restaurant with no chef? Well...You can't. Business dies down. It turns out that the woman who sold Jin her business is a scam artist and opens a new restaurant right across the street, stealing her customers. And guess where the chef is! Not on vacation. I'm so mad. There's always one evil woman in these shows (it's usually the rich boyfriend's mother/aunt/grandmother) and it looks like she's it. Jin's restaurant was already doing poorly, this is really going to be the end for her now.

At school, Yeong Jae is being bullied. I really hate kids. Gil Yong notices he's sick. Yeong Jae tries to leave the classroom, but some brat refuses to let him out and he throws up. Gil Yong tells him to leave, that he'll clean up, and Yoon Mi runs over to help him. Afterwards, Gil Yong follows him to the bathroom and gives him a change of clothes. They go to Yeong Jae's home, where his mother is suffering from a terrible cough, reminding Gil Yong of his own mother (I'm 99% positive she passed away).

Later, after receiving an urgent voicemail from Yeong Jae, Gil Yong goes to meet him at the junkyard. It's a trap. His bullies forced him to call and lure Gil Yong there. This is hard to watch. Any time someone is being tortured (and this kid really is), it's sickening. I hope these little monsters get what's coming to them. Soon. Yeong Jae is forced to fight Gil Yong, and he punches him in the face. The cops come and break up the fight. Back at the police station, the bullies lie and say those two were going to fight and they tried to stop them, and for Yeong Jae's sake, Gil Yong goes along with this, lying and saying he instigated it. The officer in charge makes a snide remark about how it's "always like this" when people come from "that family environment." Jin (who is there after causing a disturbance at the competing restaurant) overhears this and says it's discrimination. She calls the cops out and says you can tell that Gil Yong and Yeong Jae were the victims and the others were the perpetrators. The two boys are free to leave, thanks to Jin.

After posting a "for rent" sign at her restaurant, Jin is met by Hee Ra, who says she'll take over the business and in return, grant Jin a wish. Jin asks her to leave and touches her shoulder, which does...Something. Is she transported somewhere? Seeing another dimension? Is it a vision? Either way, they're no longer in the diner, they're in front of a mansion. Hee Ra tells Jin, "There are things that you can't see, but still exist in this world." She says what Jin is seeing isn't reality, but information. If you eat her food, your wish will come true. She tells Jin to make a wish and if it comes true, leave the restaurant to her. Jin's wish is revenge on the woman who scammed her. Honestly, I think Jin's getting off easy. Sure, she'll be responsible for whatever happens to her competitor (and her customers if Hee Ra takes over), but at least she won't lose her sight like the man at the beginning of this episode. After eating the meal Hee Ra prepared for her, rats begin to invade the restaurant across the street, giving her competitor a heart attack. Once the wish is carried out, Hee Ra's face is shown transforming from wrinkled to beautiful. Do these wishes help keep her young?

This was a decent first episode. It set us up for whatever's about to come next. As much as I don't want anyone to have someone else's misfortune on their conscience, I kind of hope Gil Yong will eat there next and get even with those brats from his school. Also, as a side note, "restaurant" is a word I can never remember the spelling of, but after typing it 500 times for this post, I don't think I'll ever forget it again.

Fear Street Part Three: 1666

 

The dog dies.

I don't have time for this. I have to watch Mulan, the entirety of Agent Carter and episodes of Running Man, The Witch's Diner and Monthly Magazine Home. I do not have time for movies in which the dog dies.

Fear Street Super Chiller #3 Goodnight Kiss by R.L.Stine

I know what you're thinking. "What makes something a Super Chiller?" 50 extra pages. That's it. They're no scarier than regular Fear Street books, they're just longer. Now here's what I'm thinking. Who is that supposed to be on the front cover? She doesn't match the description of our female protagonist at all.

I remember reading this book as a kid and listening to "Diggin' On You" by TLC on repeat because I'm pretty sure that was my favorite song on CrazySexyCool and I knew that was a summer song and this was a book about summer and it just...Felt right. It added to the mood, you know? I don't know how I did it, I don't think I've been able to read with background noise since then. That's how good that song was though. 

Predictions! Listen, I'm going to be honest. I think I remember how this book ends, so it's not really a prediction, but more of a spoiler. April is going to become a vampire and kill her boyfriend. I don't remember anything else that happens in Goodnight Kiss, but I distinctly remember April becoming a vampire. Let's see if I'm right or if I'm imagining that ending.

Goodnight Kiss begins with Jessica (not our MC) going on a blind date with a boy named Gabri. The movie they're seeing sucks (no pun intended), so Gabri suggests they leave. Can we talk about how stupid that nickname is? His name is Gabriel or something. How did R.L. Stine decide to go with Gabri instead of Gabe? I have a theory that it's because he hates this character as much as I do. Anyway. The two of them head over to the beach and Gabri decides to take a bite out of Jessica, but surprise! She's a vampire, too. Now that dinner has been ruined for the both of them, they need to find someone else to eat or Gabri will never shut up about "needing the nectar." (His dialogue is really bad and it makes me cringe.) These two vampires do not get along. Not in a fun, hate-to-love way either. It's an immature, She's All That, "Let's make a bet to see which of us can make a human fall for us and then drink from them three times and turn them into a vampire first" kind of way. They even choose each other's victims.

Our main character, April Blair, is vacationing for the summer. Her boyfriend, Matt, and his best friend, Todd, are also vacationing in the same town, which April's mom kind of hates because she thinks Matt is immature for liking video games and horror movies and I feel personally attacked right now. Mrs. Blair wants April to spend time with people she doesn't know from Shadyside, which makes sense since half the people in Shadyside either end up dead or being the reason other people end up dead. (That's not her reasoning though.) So we have Jessica and Gabri who are vampires, April who is going to become a vampire, Matt who is an idiot (trust me, he is) and Todd who is the shy third wheel. He has a lighter he plays with when he's nervous. He absolutely has social anxiety. I do the same thing with my phone. There always needs to be something else to focus on when I feel anxious. I really hope none of these characters treat him badly because of it. I think he'll probably just die though. Right? He's probably not going to last very long, someone has to die.

Jessica tells Gabri that she's choosing April as his target, and since she has a boyfriend, Gabri says, "I really must protest." THANK GOD she calls him out for sounding like a bad movie. Really though, April seems to secretly hate her boyfriend, so I don't think Gabri is going to have to work too hard. As for Jessica, she has to go after Todd...He's definitely going to die.

Jessica wastes no time with Todd. Seriously. She finds him on the beach and gives him a story about how this is her first time there and she's lost. He  walks her in the direction of the summer homes and kisses him. They met like, two minutes ago. And luckily for Gabri, April is annoyed because Matt is 20 minutes late meeting her (that's my biggest pet peeve, so I'm right there with her), so he takes that as an  opportunity to introduce himself to her. April explains that she's waiting for someone and Gabri suggests that maybe her "friend" misunderstood and went to the beach to wait for her. He then offers to walk her over there because it's dark outside. Wouldn't want anyone dangerous to approach her. With no sign of Matt anywhere, Gabri decides to take a chance, fangs out and everything, when bat-Jessica swoops in and attacks April. This sends her running down the beach, into Matt's arms. No nectar tonight.

Unfortunately, Matt screws up again and forgets he made plans with April and she is mad. So when Gabri asks her to go to the carnival with him, she says yes and he gets his first bite. Meanwhile, Jessica bites Todd for the third time, but she drinks too much of his blood and kills him. She leaves his body in the water at the beach, where Matt finds him and believes he drowned. Rather than admit defeat, Jessica decides to continue the bet, making Matt her new target. Good luck getting him out of the arcade.

After having a nightmare about Todd, Matt believes vampires are to blame for his death. Even with all the evidence...Todd and April's exhaustion, the bat attacks, Gabri being "allergic" to garlic and not having a reflection (Matt doesn't know about that last part, but April does), Todd getting paler on their beach vacation...I still think I would have a really hard time jumping to that conclusion. He runs to tell April, who may or may not still be his girlfriend? They're being super weird with each other. Of course, she gets mad. She thinks it's a bad joke. Matt sees two small puncture wounds on April's neck and tells her Gabri is a vampire and if they weren't broken up already, I think that probably did it.

Jessica definitely has an M.O. Lure unsuspecting boys down the beach, kiss them immediately, and then bite them. What's wrong with Matt though? This is the girl your dead best friend was dating. At least try to control yourself for five minutes. Just hold out a little bit. Jessica wastes no time, she's onto her fourth bite, meanwhile Gabri has bitten April once and now she's wearing a silver cross around her neck, so by the time he ever tries again, summer will be over. Luck is on his side though and the necklace falls off. Still, he's slower than a snail and I have little faith in him, even though I know April will be a vampire by the end of this book.

Corpse Todd comes to warn Matt that Jessica and Gabri are vampires. I kind of had to skim this entire section, it was pretty gruesome. Matt decides the only way to make April believe Gabri is a vampire is to act like a creepy stalker and take pictures of them together. When Gabri doesn't show up in the pictures, she'll have to believe Matt. Once they're developed, Matt has a picture of April, alone, in the ferris wheel. There's his evidence. Too easy, right? Yeah, I thought so, too. He drops the photos when he sees Gabri on a boat with April, headed towards an island, and he runs after them. Matt stakes Gabri with an oar and then sets Jessica on fire. (Since when does fire kill vampires?)

A few nights later, Matt is out with April when he finds her cross on the ground. She won't look at it and tells him to leave it there. I KNEW IT. Matt was too late, Gabri turned April into a vampire before he staked him. April bites Matt and I guess he kinds of deserves it for that one time he made plans with her and forgot about it, which really, if you think about it, was the catalyst for this whole thing anyway. She probably wouldn't have gone out with Gabri if that didn't happen. Nice going, Matt.

Goodnight Kiss is okay. Vampires really aren't my thing. The only vampire-related media I enjoy is 30 Days of Night. Nosferatu is an interesting example of German Expressionism in film, but other than that...Yeah, not a fan of vampires. The book isn't bad, I just think of all the monsters you could tell a story about, vampires are the most boring. Plus, Gabri was really strange. And Jessica was mean. Matt reminded me of too many of my exes. April was stupid because she never even questioned the bite marks on her neck. The only one I could relate to was Todd and he was killed off halfway through the book. Overall, I'd still rate it a 4/5 since Matt most likely dies.

Coffin Letter Board

I want to start by saying I love Etsy. Too much. Sometimes on my days off I wake up and the first thing I do is check the Etsy app on my phone and then I'm in bed for an hour scrolling and looking at recommendations based on things I've purchased already. People are so creative and I like supporting smaller businesses when I can. I won't lie, there are times I buy things on Amazon because it's convenient and then I hate myself for it. But I've been buying a lot from Etsy over the past couple years. I have prints that I bought and have no room for. I bought cases for games I bought used at Gamestop that came with the ugly Gamestop cases. Masks. A ton of pins. A copy of Shivers 2. Some Fear Street books. Things you'll see in another post. So, yes. I have a problem when it comes to Etsy, I want to buy everything. Let's just put that out there right away.

One day, as I was browsing things the app wanted me to buy, I came across a coffin letter board and my first thought was, "I need that." And then I asked myself what I would even do with it. And the part of my brain that malfunctions when I see anything horror themed said, "I'll use it for my horror blog that I never advertise and no one knows about!" So I was kind of like, well...That's a waste of money then, isn't it? And I wasn't going to buy it. I was going to do the mature, responsible thing and control myself. Well. You can see how well that worked out, right?

I absolutely love this letter board. I want to use it to count down the days until Halloween. I want to put horror movie quotes on it. I bought accessories for it. It's going to be amazing, I'm going to make it worth the $34 I spent on it.

The letter board itself is really big. It comes with a...Thing (I know that's not the right word, but it's all I've got) on the back so you can hang it if you'd like to, but it also includes a stand that you can sit it on. There are so many letters. If you look at the quote on my coffin, you can see how many I used and how many repeating letters there are and I didn't run out, I still had a lot left over. You should absolutely have enough letters to write whatever you'd like on there. It's sturdy, I don't think it's something you'll need to worry about breaking (unless you drop it from your roof or something in which case...what are you expecting to happen?). The only issues I had with it are that the letters are really hard to remove from the plastic they come attached to. I had to use a pair of hair shears to cut them off because regular scissors weren't doing it. Three pieces also broke, two W's and one *. That's not terrible because you do get so many pieces, but it's worth noting.

I have more accessories coming, but the ones I'm using now are from HoneycombHeights. What's nice about these is that you're able to choose how big they are and the color. I chose pink, obviously, because it's the best color. I know it's not a Halloween color, but I'm not just using this for Halloween, so it's fine. 

Fear Street Part Two: 1978

 

After the first Fear Street movie, I'm really dreading this one and if I were smart, I wouldn't put myself through watching 1978 just to write a blog post. Sadly, I'm not that smart and I'm going to torture myself. But hey, there are two things that could make this more tolerable. One, my expectations are low this time, so things can only go up from here. And two, I'm watching the first half before work and the second half when I get home, so maybe breaking the movie up will keep me from burning out on it. Fear Street 1978 is almost two hours long and that's a pretty significant amount of time to watch something if you're not enjoying it. Let's see how it goes.

Back in 1994, Deena and Josh break into C. Berman's house, with Sam, to beg for her help since she survived the camp massacre in1978. From the very beginning, we know that C. Berman's sister is going to die. She tells us so. The question is, how?

I'm taking a second here to rant because the main bitch at this camp says Sarah Fier would have stayed dead if you do what you always do: Burn witches. No one. In the United States. Was burned. They were hanged. Burning witches was a European thing. I can't even blame Fear Street for this, I've seen this happen in so many other movies and shows as well. But let's set the record straight, it didn't happen. They were hanged, with the exception of Giles Corey, who was pressed to death. Get your facts straight.

We already know what this is about, right? We heard about it in the last movie. A massacre at the camp. I'll skip over all the massive spoilers since the movie was just released today and instead keep it at this: To stop Sarah Fier, supposedly, her hand needs to be reunited with her body. I've seen enough horror movies to know there's always a catch, it's never that simple. I don't believe that's going to be the end of it.

I have a real problem with these movies. Sex has no place in Fear Street. No one in Fear Street was having sex. They were awkwardly flirting and making out sometimes, in an attempt to turn people into vampires or whatever, but they weren't doing anything more than that. Nudity? In a movie based on Fear Street? Books I read in elementary school? Seriously, who are these movies made for? I said it last time and I'll say it again, these movies are not appropriate for kids and they definitely weren't made for fans of the books, so what is this supposed to be?

I will admit, 1978 was slightly better than 1994. It had a coherent story and wasn't all over the place. The acting was so much better, there were even a few characters I didn't hate. But it still feels nothing like Fear Street and rather than making these movies for a demographic that doesn't exist, I wish they had just followed the storylines of some of the books. I think, if I'm going to like any of these movies, it will probably be 1666.

In the Mouth of Madness

"It's not real from your point of view and right now reality shares your point of view. What scares me about Cane's work is what might happen if reality shared his point of view. A reality is just what we tell each other it is. Sane and insane could easily switch places if the insane were to become the majority. You would find yourself locked in a padded cell, wondering what happened to the world."

One hundred plus posts and I'm just now getting to the movie that was the inspiration for my blog's name. In the Mouth of Madness is a Lovecraftian horror film, directed by John Carpenter and starring Sam Neill, Julie Carmen and Jurgen Prochnow. (Honorable mention to David Warner, who seems to turn up in every movie ever made.) It's about an insurance investigator named John Trent (Sam Neill) who is hired to look into the disappearance of horror writer Sutter Cane. Cane's work is said to be the cause of mass hysteria among his readers, often resulting in extreme violence. Cane's fans begin to believe his work is real instead of fiction, something John Trent initially scoffs at, but as the movie goes on, he begins to question reality himself.

I have so many things to say about this movie, but I will be here forever, so I need to edit myself. One night when I was younger, I was flipping through channels at like, 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and I saw Sam Neill and thought, "Hey, that's the guy from Jurassic Park." And because Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies, I decided to watch this film that I'd never heard of and knew nothing about. Several things happened after that. First of all, I loved the movie because it didn't have a clear ending, it was open to interpretation. I also became a huge fan of Sam Neill. And I went to the IMDB message board (back when they still existed) and found out that the movie was inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft, whom I had also never heard of before. I'm now a fan of his work (the parts of it that don't make me cringe, anyway) and a lifetime member of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. In the Mouth of Madness really shaped the kind of horror I ended up loving.

John Carpenter makes fantastic films. In the Mouth of Madness is my favorite horror movie ever. The Thing and The Fog are great as well. I know Halloween is Carpenter's most famous/loved film, but he's done so many other interesting things that deserve more attention. There are some really beautiful shots in this film of the fall foliage in Canada and it's incredible. The theme song is so different from anything else Carpenter has done, but it really works here. The rest of the soundtrack is subtle, yet effective. Everything about this movie works together beautifully (except Julie Carmen's acting, I'm sorry, but she's over the top, especially her "I'm losing me!" line). There are Lovecraft references scattered throughout the movie and you can even see some of his creations brought to life by Greg Nicotero (I really appreciate that they used practical FX instead of CGI). People seem very divided over this film, they either love it or hate, but I'll keep recommending it to anyone who will listen because I absolutely love it.

Just a quick aside, I wanted to show this canvas I bought from Whack Wam Bam on Etsy. They have some amazing artwork and this is one of the best things I own, so I wanted to quickly recommend their shop.

Fear Street #25 One Evil Summer by R.L. Stine

 

WARNING: THE PETS DIE IN THIS BOOK. Also, spoilers.

Something about the cover of One Evil Summer always draws me to it (surprisingly, not the cat). I think it's the colors. I really like the way the yellow lettering looks with the teal background. Random, I know, but I wanted to make a point of it because I think this may be my favorite Fear Street cover of all time. 

Are books like this even around anymore? I work in a library and we still have a collection of Goosebumps books, but we don't carry Fear Street or any Point Horror novels. Our entire YA section is fantasy/dystopian/romance (there's nothing wrong with that, I love a good dystopian novel), but we don't have any fun, paperback horror novels like we did when I was a kid. R.L. Stine was everywhere back then.

I'm going to be making "predictions" before reading these R.L. Stine books again. (With the exception of Halloween Party because I already read that book by the time I came up with this idea, even though this post is going up first.) For some of them, I also have very specific memories associated with them, so I'll probably briefly mention those things, too. Or any other "interesting" tidbits about the books. Like the fact that I bought this book on Etsy and there's a guy's name and number written inside the front cover. Anyone else see Serendipity?

I decided to start off this series with One Evil Summer because I personally feel that even without a psychotic babysitter, summer is pretty evil. I did read this book 500 years ago, but the only thing I remembered about it was the cover. So! My prediction, based on the cover and the description on the back...I don't actually recall how dark these Fear Street books get, but I'm going to guess the babysitter kills the kids she's supposed to be taking care of. And maybe the cat helps her? Let's see how evil the summer really was.

The book begins in the present, where our protagonist, Amanda Conklin, is locked up in a juvenile detention center for the murder of a girl named Chrissy who was hired to help take care of her siblings for the summer. We're off to a good start, someone is already dead!

The Conklin family is leaving Shadyside behind for the summer and going to Seahaven. Amanda will be going to summer school (I didn't know you could even do that outside your own school district) and her parents will be working (her father is a lawyer and her mother is a journalist). Because Amanda failed algebra and won't be able to watch her siblings, her parents decide to hire someone to take care of  Kyle and Merry. Along for the ride are Mr. Jinx (an orange cat) and Salt and Pepper (canaries). 

Not long after the family arrives, a girl named Chrissy comes by to apply for the job. But something is weird about her. Mr. Jinx hisses at her, something he's never done to anyone before (TAKE THAT AS A SIGN), and Chrissy hisses back at him. Listen. If someone hissed at my cats, I would tell them to get the hell out. During Chrissy's interview, she claims to be living with her aunt and says her cousin just came home from college, so a live-in job is perfect for her. Mrs. Conklin gives her the job without even checking her references because the entire family is completely enamored with her, except for Amanda, Mr. Jinx and the birds (who stopped singing in Chrissy's presence).

As Chrissy is unpacking, Amanda notices a newspaper clipping fall to the floor. Chrissy reluctantly hands it over to her. It's an article from two years ago, about a 15 year old girl who was in a coma from carbon monoxide inhalation. Chrissy tells Amanda that Lilith, her twin sister, is still in a coma. And that she's evil. (Coming to you from the future here to say that this makes NO sense given the rest of this story, I don't even know why Chrissy made that comment.) I mean, she's the one hissing at cats, but sure, okay.

This is when Chrissy's lies begin to unravel. At summer school, Amanda meets a boy named Dave who lives in Seahaven. She asks if he's ever heard of Chrissy or her aunt, but he hasn't. This surprises her because the town has a small population, you would think everyone knows each other. The other lie Chrissy is caught in is that she told Mrs. Conklin that her parents died in a car accident and her sister is all she has left and she's worried about her. She just said Lilith was evil like, five pages ago. Amanda tried to tell her mom that Chrissy is lying, but of course her mom doesn't believe her. It's so frustrating to me when parents believe someone they barely know over their own children (assuming their children are generally well behaved and not Macaulay Culkin in The Good Son). Chrissy is probably going to murder them and all their pets, but sure, Amanda's imagination is working overtime.

This is getting long, I'm going to skip ahead. Strange things begin happening that prove Chrissy has some sort of supernatural powers. She gets Mr. Jinx killed. Then she kills the birds and makes it look like Amanda did it. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin bring Amanda to a psychiatrist because they think she's delusional. The psychiatrist says Amanda believes she doesn't deserve her parents love anymore because she failed algebra and that she feels Chrissy is taking her place. I think he got his degree from a Crackerjack box.

Amanda's parents decide not to fire Chrissy and feed into her "delusions," so she decides the best thing she can do is act like she buys into the doctor's theory and apologize to Chrissy. I was really on Amanda's side, but everything she does from now until the end of the book is absolutely idiotic:

1. She brings a kitten into the house, after Chrissy already killed three of her pets.
2. She calls Chrissy's references while she's in the house.
3. She snoops through Chrissy's room for the rest of the newspaper clippings and reads them in Chrissy's bedroom instead of going into her own room and then hides under the bed when Chrissy comes in.
4. When Chrissy thinks she's killed Amanda, Amanda comes back home and eats some Cheerios when Chrissy goes in the shower. Instead of grabbing Kyle and Merry and getting out of there. (She also leaves the box of Cheerios open, so Chrissy knows she's been there.)

Throughout the second half of the book, we learn three things. The first is that Chrissy's parents were found dead in bed, their car was left running in the garage. That's not exactly a car accident. The second thing is that one of Chrissy's references was a judge, who is now most likely dead, based on Amanda's conversation with the reference's neighbor. And the last thing we learn is that her father had Chrissy's father prosecuted for arson. Chrissy tells Amanda that Mr. Conklin is the reason her father killed himself and...What the hell? If you want to kill yourself, why take your entire family out with you? She also reveals that the two people she gave as references were the judge and the assistant D.A. so we can assume they're dead. And that's...Fine. But did she really have to kill the cat and the birds? And if Chrissy just wants revenge, why not kill the Conklins immediately instead of playing head games with Amanda? (Because then there would be no book.)

All of this leads to a showdown on a boat where Chrissy plans to kill Kyle and Merry. Amanda goes to save them and Chrissy falls and hits her head on the boat. Amanda takes that as an opportunity to tie Chrissy up and drag her back to the house, but before she can call the police, Chrissy breaks free and sets the house on fire. Amanda tells Kyle and Merry to get out, and then THE KITTEN TRIPS CHRISSY and she falls into the flames! That's for Mr. Jinx! Amanda escapes with the kitten and is then arrested for murder because when Chrissy's body was examined, they found the wound on the back of her head and the police believe Amanda set the fire to cover it up. That's...A bit of a reach. Kyle, who was in shock and unable to speak for several days, is finally doing better though and he confirms Amanda's story about Chrissy. Amanda is told that Chrissy was actually Lilith (why did she say her sister was evil, she was talking about herself, was she actually self-aware?), and the name Chrissy came from Lilith's pet cat. That is the most surprising part of all of this, that she had a cat who probably didn't hate her and that she would kill someone else's cat when she had one of her own.

One Evil Summer was fun, when Amanda wasn't making stupid decisions and her parents weren't ignoring all of her concerns. I would have liked it more if the pets didn't die, I feel like that never adds anything to the story, it's just a way to make people upset. It's unnecessary. We all know Chrissy is evil without her killing the cat. Other than that though, I think we're off to a good start rereading these Fear Street books!

That was supposed to be the end of this post, but this morning when I was cleaning off my desk so I could get on my computer and actually type my notes into something somewhat coherent, I moved a box of books (all purchased from Thriftbooks and Etsy)...

...And noticed one had a pink piece of paper inside it. So I looked at it...

I went from receiving a book with a guy's name and number in it and thinking it was my Serendipity moment, to finding a really creepy note in another book. Just wanted to share that. Also hope whoever this note was to didn't date that person's brother.

Fear Street Part One: 1994

So...The first Fear Street movie was released on Netflix today and it's...Something. (Spoilers for the opening of the film ahead.)

Things start off well. The movie opens with a shot of Wrong Number by R.L. Stine (or Robert Lawrence in this universe), inside B. Dalton's in the Shadyside Mall. Do you remember when there were still book stores in the mall? That's where I used to buy all my Fear Street books as a kid. It was my favorite part of going to the mall. That's not really what I'm here to talk about though.

Heather is closing up for the night when she's attacked by a person wearing the skeleton mask from the cover of Halloween Night 2. They do a couple laps around the mall before she's stabbed in a scene that looks extremely reminiscent of Drew Barrymore's death in Scream. It's gruesome. Fast forward a bit to an AOL chatroom, where we find out this sort of thing is a normal occurrence in Shadyside and people believe a witch, Sarah Fier, is possessing people and causing them to go on murderous rampages. That's not important. What is important is that I remember AOL chatrooms and if they were striving for realism, they missed the mark because no one ever typed like they were turning in a school paper and every other line was "a/s/l?" or someone running a bot. I'm just saying. I was there. I know.

The beginning of this film builds up the rivalry between the Sunnyvale Devils and the Shadyside Witches (seriously, what happened to the Tigers?) so much that you really believe it's going to play into the plot somehow, but the entire thing is forgotten a half hour into the movie. The only reason I remember it now is because it's written in my notes. Honestly, I got pretty tired of the rivalry between schools pretty early on. They could have made the movie a half hour shorter and saved all of us some time. The actual plot is a bunch of dead mass murderers coming back from the dead to kill a girl because she, through no fault of her own, disturbed Sarah Fier's grave.

Before I really go in on this movie, I will say that it has an epic soundtrack. Garbage? Bush? Staples in every playlist I ever create.

I haven't read any of the Fear Street books in like, 25 years (that's about to change, as you'll see throughout the next several months), but I don't remember them being this dark. I know, people get murdered. All the time. But I still think of them as being kind of innocent. You know, early 90's pre-Dawson's Creek. So watching this movie was a bit jarring.

Fear Street 1994 feels like it tries too hard. At what, I don't even know. Is it trying to be funny? Edgy? Is this what movies made for kids are like now? I know Monster Squad had some very questionable moments in it, but it still felt like a movie made for kids. So if Fear Street isn't aimed at them...Who? It can't be the adults who read the books when they were younger, it doesn't even have the same tone as the books. I don't know who this movie was made for. But it wasn't me. Maybe nostalgia is getting in the way, maybe I'm too old now. But nothing about this felt like Fear Street. It's like they wrote an entirely unrelated movie and then slapped the name on there to draw in fans of the series. A couple costumes and shots of the novels isn't really enough to warrant calling this Fear Street. I mean, they couldn't even leave the mascot alone. I'll watch the other two films, but I'm really disappointed.

Crow Haven Corner

I found Crow Haven Corner while searching for shops located in Salem. I'd been thinking about taking a trip there in October, depending on whether or not the world is back to "normal," because it's been a long time since the last time I visited and I haven't had an actual vacation since 2018 and work is stressing me out. Salem is absolutely beautiful, from the weather to the scenery and no one knows how to celebrate Halloween like they do. So yes, Salem was on my mind and I wanted to support one of their local businesses. I believe the shop is owned by Lorelei (I could be wrong) and all I needed to see on the About page was, "Lorelei runs a Non-profit organization called Salem Saves Animals...She will always have her dogs with her in every reading," to know I wanted to purchase from her store.

I don't practice Wicca (or any religion). I'll probably touch more on this when I post about The Secret Circle, or in an upcoming Etsy post, but I was very interested in it after reading those books, from a standpoint of, "Hey, cool, herbs and crystals and scents and colors all have different properties and serve different purposes." I'm not religious. It was enough that I was forced to go to religion classes when I was younger and I had to miss all the good Saturday morning cartoons, that put me off it for life. (It's totally cool if other people are into whatever religion they practice though, as long as they don't use it as an excuse to discriminate against others.) That was a pretty long tangent to go on when all I wanted to say is that I don't practice it, so I didn't buy these items with the intent of actually using them. I did recently go through a breakup, so I don't actually need the candle I purchased for that, I just thought it would look nice on my Halloween shelves. (Are they still Halloween shelves if they've been decorated like this for two years? Aren't they just shelves at that point?) And even though I said I won't be using these items for anything, like I mentioned, I did just go through a breakup, so a little rose quartz can't hurt. And I bought the tarot deck for the artwork.

First up, I bought the Buh Bye candle ($21.99). I mostly bought this because of the skull on the paper wrapped around it. It matches nicely with the pile of skulls I normally keep on my horror shelves, which is where I had originally intended to keep this candle. Its actual purpose is to help you let go of bad habits and relationships. The website doesn't say how large this candle is, but it's a good size. It also doesn't state what the scent is. I'm terrible at describing scents, I have no idea what this one is, but it's definitely herbal. That really isn't my favorite scent family (I'm definitely an apple/cinnamon/pumpkin person), but that doesn't mean it's bad. If you're into herbal scents, you would probably enjoy it. The candle comes with an incantation to recite while you burn it, if you're looking to get rid of a source of negativity in your life.

The Halloween tarot deck compared to the Universal Waite deck.

I've had the Universal Waite tarot deck since I was 13, I think I bought it at Spencer's in the mall because I was really interested in it when I was younger. (And by "really interested," I mean I was interested enough to buy it, but not interested enough to develop the knowledge needed to actually understand it, like everything else I've ever taken an interest in.) As you can see, this Halloween tarot deck ($28.95, can be bought for $19.95 on Amazon) is quite a bit smaller than the Universal Waite deck is. I'd say it's the size of a standard deck of playing cards. It's beautiful though. I love the Halloween illustrations, and I appreciate that they mirror the illustrations of the other deck.

The final item I bought was a rose quartz wishing tree ($25). The website says it's "made to promote love, beauty, and self-esteem." It's stunning. I have it hanging over my computer and I can't stop staring at it. It's so pretty, so well-made, I love it. Crow Haven Corner's website actually says this is made by a local artist, so I did a quick google search and found her Etsy shop. (I ordered a necklace from her and when it arrives, I'll make another post including that.) The wishing tree I received is different than the one on the website, instead of pink metal wire, it's silver and I honestly think mine looks so much nicer. I do wish it came with something other than fishing line to hang it with, but that's just me being nitpicky.

My experience ordering from Crow Haven Corner was positive. The package arrived quickly and everything was nicely wrapped in purple tissue paper. One thing to be aware of is that I didn't receive an order confirmation, so you probably won't hear anything until your order ships. The only real complaint I have is that the descriptions on the website are lacking. The candle doesn't say how large it actually is or give a scent description. The wishing tree has two different size variants, but neither say how big they are either. Other than that, I'm very happy with everything and I would purchase from them again in the future.