October 2019 Recommended Reading/Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Once again, fall - and the witching season - is upon us. Therefore, I have some seasonally appropriate choices again, although I wouldn't want anyone who doesn't engage in such matters to feel left out. I thought for a bit that I might not be able to pull something up, but I reached a bit back into my past experiences and found something, so I hope you all get as much enjoyment out of it as I did.

Reading: I Am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson

Here is one of the most well-known works by the king of scares before Stephen King took up the mantle (subsequently, Matheson would be a significant influence on King). A modernization of the vampire legend with a science fiction twist, the story of Robert Neville - a scientist left the last living man on earth after a plague reduces the remaining population into the undead - and his day-to-day survival experiences would prove to have a monumental impact on the contemporary zombie phenomenon developed more than a decade later. It's a masterpiece from one of the most talented icons of print and screen of his generation (as he was also a scribe for numerous television and film projects such as The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and Roger Corman's Poe adaptations).

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Legend-Richard-Matheson/dp/031286504X/ref=tmm_pap_title_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1569958627&sr=8-2
Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Legend-Richard-Matheson/dp/0765357151/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1569958627&sr=8-2
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Legend-Richard-Matheson-ebook/dp/B07XB49BG4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1569958627&sr=8-2



Viewing: The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961)

Based on a stage adaptation of Henry James's classic psychological ghost story The Turn of the Screw, this film follows a governess left to care for the niece and nephew of an uninterested socialite at his country manor; gradually, she comes to suspect that the spirits of two recently deceased figures close to the children are trying to possess them in order to live out their own sordid lives. A superbly crafted gothic tale with a minimal yet talented cast, it ranks among the most critically acclaimed movies of its kind, especially among film theorists. Check it out as soon as you can.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Innocents-Deborah-Kerr/dp/B00L3ZB8FW/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Innocents-Blu-ray-Deborah-Kerr/dp/B00L3ZB27Q/ref=tmm_mfc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=


I hope this will make your Halloween a special one. Until next month!