One of my favorite childhood memories is watching Saturday afternoon TV. While it doesn’t seem so long ago to me, this would have been in the days when broadcasting ended in the wee hours of the morning forcing you to go to bed because there’d be nothing on until about 6 a.m. This was also pre-cable television, when we had rabbit-eared antennae on our two console TVs – only one of which was color.
I’m not that old really, just living in those fortunate years when Vincent Price was still making films and B movies ruled. After my brother and I finished our Saturday morning chores we were then allowed to hunker down in front of the TV for a few precious hours. Top picks? Night of the Lepus is one title I easily recall. Those giant mutant rabbits are forever etched in my mind. And, of course, there’s the original The Fly.
Beyond that, images of scraggly werewolves, elderly vampires, some flick about a takeover of amphibians in a remote swamp and tons of other sepia-toned viewings that my kids would now consider totally lame.
Mind you, the stuff often gave me nightmares. This resulted in screaming episodes that brought my dad to my rescue with a flick of the lamp and the reassurance of reality.
Yet, I kept at it. Eventually I moved on to Twilight Zone re-runs, and TV series like The Night Stalker. And then, somehow, I discovered Stephen King. I’d always been an avid reader – after all TV-watching was a rare, well-regulated treat – and the novel Carrie was my indoctrination in horror. I was hooked.
For years, I read everything King published. TV and movies took a backseat to the opportunity to generate my own mental screenplay. So maybe, it was natural that when I got serious about writing and decided to put something besides poetry on paper, paranormal became my calling.
I find it difficult to imagine a “straight” story – no supernatural twists or unexplained occurrences. My brain freezes at the thought of light, airy plots.
These days I feed my habit courtesy of our cable company’s FearNet channel and a novel diet that ranges from Dean Koontz to Toni Morrison to Carla Neggers, Tananarive Due and L.A. Banks. I love what we do and how the genre continues to evolve, both on-screen and on the page.
Still, I confess, my favorite moments remain those late nights when I’m distracted from my work-in-progress, flipping TV channels and I come across an old favorite like the original Dial M for Murder. Scary with special effects certainly has its place. But nothing feeds my muse like raw imagination in good ole black and white.
***
My latest twist of imagination is the novella HeavenSent.com in the Holiday Brides anthology. You can read more about HeavenSent.com and the first chapter of the story on my web site at http://www.stefanieworth.com/HeavenSent.html
I’m not that old really, just living in those fortunate years when Vincent Price was still making films and B movies ruled. After my brother and I finished our Saturday morning chores we were then allowed to hunker down in front of the TV for a few precious hours. Top picks? Night of the Lepus is one title I easily recall. Those giant mutant rabbits are forever etched in my mind. And, of course, there’s the original The Fly.
Beyond that, images of scraggly werewolves, elderly vampires, some flick about a takeover of amphibians in a remote swamp and tons of other sepia-toned viewings that my kids would now consider totally lame.
Mind you, the stuff often gave me nightmares. This resulted in screaming episodes that brought my dad to my rescue with a flick of the lamp and the reassurance of reality.
Yet, I kept at it. Eventually I moved on to Twilight Zone re-runs, and TV series like The Night Stalker. And then, somehow, I discovered Stephen King. I’d always been an avid reader – after all TV-watching was a rare, well-regulated treat – and the novel Carrie was my indoctrination in horror. I was hooked.
For years, I read everything King published. TV and movies took a backseat to the opportunity to generate my own mental screenplay. So maybe, it was natural that when I got serious about writing and decided to put something besides poetry on paper, paranormal became my calling.
I find it difficult to imagine a “straight” story – no supernatural twists or unexplained occurrences. My brain freezes at the thought of light, airy plots.
These days I feed my habit courtesy of our cable company’s FearNet channel and a novel diet that ranges from Dean Koontz to Toni Morrison to Carla Neggers, Tananarive Due and L.A. Banks. I love what we do and how the genre continues to evolve, both on-screen and on the page.
Still, I confess, my favorite moments remain those late nights when I’m distracted from my work-in-progress, flipping TV channels and I come across an old favorite like the original Dial M for Murder. Scary with special effects certainly has its place. But nothing feeds my muse like raw imagination in good ole black and white.
***
My latest twist of imagination is the novella HeavenSent.com in the Holiday Brides anthology. You can read more about HeavenSent.com and the first chapter of the story on my web site at http://www.stefanieworth.com/HeavenSent.html
You can also connect with me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stefanieworth), Twitter (www.twitter.com/stefanieworth) or MySpace (www.myspace.com/stefanieworth).
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5 comments:
This is a really great post, Roxanne, because I too remember those days pre-cable. My own child has just discovered the magic and beauty of the Wizard of Oz (1939 movie), and it made me remember way back to when it was only shown once a year on TV, and you had to watch it or else you were left out of recess conversations the next day.
Have you ever watched the 1960's version of The Haunting. Not the 1999 remake with Catherine Zeta Jones and Liam Neeson, but the original, based on the book The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Stephen King based his story of Rose Red on that book. It's a black-and-white movie, no special effects, just great acting, camera angles, strange noises and sounds, all that create one powerful movie with terrifying scenes.
Thanks for posting this again and hope you're enjoying this Thanksgiving season.
Nicole -- I remember those Wizar of Oz days, too. I've tried to get my kids to watch; the oldest was terrified of the witch and never lasted 30 minutes, and the other two were just plain bored. *sigh*
I don't recall The Haunting, but if it starred Vincent Price I probably saw it. Either way, sounds like a good title to look out for the next time I'm procrastinating.
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Hi :)
Thank you for the excellent post Stephanie. I enjoyed it very much.
Thank you for taking the time to share.
All the best,
RKCharron
xoxo
Night of the Lepus!!!!
Of all movies, why did you have to mention that one!? I'm still terrified of those giant bunnies!!!!
RKCharron -- Glad you enjoyed the post!
Phyllis -- Sorry for bringing up bad memories. lol Me? I'm still creeped out by "Help me!" from The Fly. (((shudder)))
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