Everyone who celebrates Halloween has their own way to seek out a good scare.  Some people like to go on zombie tours or haunted houses.  Other people like to search for real ghosts.  Some people seek out terror on the screen or in the pages of a good book.  Others like their spookiness mingled with a few good chuckles.
      And then there are some people who think Halloween is really meant just for kids.

This totally says "kid friendly" to me.

      Who are these people, and what is wrong with them?  Kids don't need holidays to play dress up or eat sugar!  And did you miss that part where monsters, murderers, vermin, and dead people are involved!?!
      Anyway, for me it's Gothic Horror, all the way.  Give me the dreary antiquity, the gloomy and forlorn, the doomed beauty and the unavenged wrongs.  Give me ghosts who want more than gore.  Give me settings as gorgeous as they are petrifying.

Conan Doyle's "Hound of the Baskervilles" is a good one.  Actually, it may have been my first...I watched a lot of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes growing up.

      Perfect example?  Just got back from watching Del Toro's Crimson Peak with my girl Camela Thompson.  This is my second time seeing the movie.  And I freaking love that movie.
      If you haven't seen it, then guess what?  Tomorrow is Halloween!  You have the perfect excuse!  It's got everything Guillermo del Toro does best: jaw-dropping sets, tantalizing plot, vibrant characters, and that exquisitely perfect mix of heart-rending beauty and truly shocking violence.  Why shocking?  Because he uses it just right.  Del Toro uses violence the way Hitchcock used suspense: just the right amount, at the right time, in the right way to really take your breath away.  I've seen hard-core slasher movie fans flinch and gasp at some of the key moments in Pan's Labyrinth.*

      The sad thing is how easy it is to make gothic horror cheesy, or over dramatic.  When it's done well, it's just so terrifyingly yummy.  When it's done badly, it's like opening a bottle of expensive wine, only to find it's gone to vinegar.  It'll probably be too damn long before another great gothic horror film comes out.  So I'll just rely on books.
      Or better yet, write one myself.


*If you've seen it, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  If you haven't seen it...*sigh*  Just...go watch it.  You'll thank me.

      So you may be wondering why I haven't updated in awhile.*  The answer is both a good thing, and a bad thing.  And an... amusing ...thing ...I guess.
      Simply put, I've been bit by a writing bug.  I got an idea for a story right after Geek Girl Con, started writing it down, and I'm just still going.  I sit down to my laptop every morning at breakfast (I'm eating oatmeal with bananas as I type this) and I think, "I need to update my blog, and I need to copy over that recipe, and I need to reply to these emails. But...this story isn't going to write itself!!!"  And I open my Word document and it just keeps freakin' flowing.  Each time there's this expectation that I'm going to hit a wall and nothing more will come of it, but that hasn't happened yet.  In fact, I leave each morning for work feeling mildly frustrated because I wanted to keep going.
      Obviously this is good because a) I'm writing, and b) I'm enjoying the hell out of myself.  But this is bad, too, because I'm neglecting other duties.  Case in point: this update isn't going to have any images, because I'm not going to take a moment longer on this than necessary.  I want to get back to my story.
      This happened to me once before, about three years ago, when I was inspired by a Halloween night storm to write a ghost story.  (Actually, there are some similarities in the two tales, now that I think about it: both take place in an old mansion, and both involve some supernatural mystery.  And that's all I'm going to tell you.)  It seems that Fall is just an inspiring time for me.  I feel like my Muse didn't want to wait for NaNoWriMo, and jumped the gun a month early; I checked my document the other day and in three weeks I've already written 20,065 words.
      So the amusing thing?  Part of the reason this is going so well is that I have zero intention of trying to publish this story.  I'm just writing it for me.  And maybe a couple of the right friends.  That's because it's not a good story, it's not a powerful story, and it's not a meaningful story: it's just a downright entertaining story for the right kind of audience.**  And I DO NOT want my first published work(s) to be that kind of fluff.  But at this point in my life, publication is a dream, and writing is - happily - a reward in itself.
        So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to the fun stuff.  Check back next week: once I have sufficiently scratched this itch, I've got a Con summary, some movie reviews, and a fabulous Spanish vegetable soup recipe to share with you.  Happy Halloween!



*Because apparently, you're really, really bored.

**Let your imagination fill in the gaps.  You're probably not that far off base.

      Geek Girl Con is this weekend!  If you live in the Seattle area, and you're a geeky girl, your attendance is required, lest you lose your hard-earned geek cred.  And geek cred can be hard to come by as a female: we're under-represented as serious players in the sciences, in sci-fi and fantasy genres,  in action comics and movies, and in video games.  There are a number of reasons for this, many of which are socio-political and/or historical.  But those are in the past.  It's time for Khaleesi to round up the dragons, for Samus to suit up, and for Black Widow to get her own movie.
      Seriously, Marvel: Black Widow needs her own freaking movie.

Or else.

      But I digress.
      If you're still making up your mind about attending, check out the line-up of panels and activities.  If that doesn't persuade you, go see a doctor, because I think you might have head trauma.  Yours truly will be co-hosting the panel "Brainy Anime Babes Who Know More Science Than You" on Saturday, at 1:30pm, along with horror/thriller novelist Camela Thompson.  We'll discuss women in the sciences through the lens of my favorite pop culture media.  Art emulates life, after all.
      Aside from the awesome panels, it's hard to know what I'm looking forward to the most.  The kick-ass cosplay?  The unbelievable merch!?  The games??!  Honestly, it's something far less tangible: the feeling of community.  The best thing about going to a Con is this overwhelming sense of "Holy $#!t, I've found my clan."  It gives us all a sense of belonging, and permission to let our freak flags fly!  And every geek - and every girl - can benefit from a shot of confidence.

See you there.