Brain Matter

In keeping with the whole Halloween theme, here is a list of 31 songs for Halloween. Now, there's no way to cram all the great Halloween mood-inspiring music into just 31 slots, so this is a sort of a representative of things I enjoy, ranging from the classic and silly to the downright morbidly dark. In no particular order.... Bela Lugosi’s Dead - Bauhaus Every Day is Halloween – Ministry Monster Mash – Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers Season of the Witch – Donovan Theme to The Fog – John Carpenter Blaze Soundtrack (I & II) Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon Vampires – DJ Touch I Put a Spell on You – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins This is Halloween – Danny Elfman Nemesis – Shriekback Dead Man’s Party – Oingo Boingo Pet Sematary – Ramones The Host of Seraphim – The Dead Can Dance Blood Bitch – Cocteau Twins House of Lost Souls (Album) – Catacombs Cry Little Sister – The Anix How Soon is Now – The Smiths She’s My Witch – Kip Tyler The Mummy’s...

Last year, for the month of October, I counted down on Facebook what were my top 31 books for Halloween. They didn't have to be about, or even take place during, Halloween. They just, for me, capture the Halloween spirit. So for those of you who missed it, here's the list: Oct. 1 - Shadowland – Peter Straub Oct. 2 - Four Octobers – Rick Hautala Oct. 3 - Pet Sematary – Stephen King Oct. 4 - Frankenstein – Mary Shelley Oct. 5 - Tommyknockers – Stephen King Oct. 6 - Haunted Forest Tour – James A. Moore & Jeff Strand Oct. 7 - The Keep – F. Paul Wilson Oct. 8 - ‘Salem’s Lot – Stephen King Oct. 9 - They Thirst – Robert McCammon Oct. 10 - Little Brothers – Rick Hautala Oct. 11 - Julia – Peter Straub Oct. 12 - Heart Shaped Box – Joe Hill Oct. 13 - Traveling Vampire Show – Richard Laymon Oct. 14 - Floating Dragon – Peter Straub Oct. 15 - Necroscope – Brian Lumley Oct. 16 - Guilty Pleasures – Laurell K. Hamilton Oct. 17 - Bloodlist – PN Elrod ...

Would you dare play hide and seek with a possessed teddy bear? If you’re a kid in Japan, most likely you not only would, you have. Hitori Kakurenbo is a distinctly Japanese version of hide and seek, with two distinct differences from the American version. One, you play alone (the name actually means Hide and Seek Alone), or at least without any other people around. Two, your opponent is a demon. When the four authors in Samhain’s CHILDHOOD FEARS anthology of novellas decided to share blog posts, the main character in J.H. Moncrieff’s story, The Bear Who Wouldn’t Leave , made me think about the legend of Hitori Kakurenbo, which I’d done some research on as preparation for a story I’m still in the process of writing. Holli’s story doesn’t involve the Japanese game; it does, however, involve a very disturbing and deadly teddy bear with some evil intentions. So I decided to do my blog on Hitori Kakurenbo, which might not be known to the average American reader. On paper...