TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: QUARTET OF FRIGHT (BATTLE OF THE FIENDISH GHOULS!)

 

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER: STEPHEN KING MAY DISAGREE ...

BUT THIS tattooed pundit 

IS THE REAL 

GREG STILLSON. 

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

SALLY THE ZOMBIE CHEERLEADER'S SCHOOL OF HORROR: GALLERY OF HORROR

Sally the Zombie Cheerleader's School of Horror presents the offbeat, EC-aimed ("giant shock show") anthology, Gallery of Horror, aka Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horror, aka The Blood Suckers, aka "the world's weirdest movie." 

Directed and produced by David L. Hewitt and written by Gary R. Heacock, David Prentiss and Russ (Creepy magazine) Jones, this 1967 oddity stars John Carradine (as a wraparound, Serling-esque, pre-Night Gallery narrator and a character in one of tales) and Lon Chaney Jr. in a prominent role. (BTW: Hewitt holds a significant spot in the annals of cinematic thrills, having directed/produced The Wizard of Mars, based on L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Lucifer Complex, aka Hitler's Wild Women, The Great Gorga, Monsters Crash the Pajama Party, The Girls from Thunder Strip, Hell's Chosen Few and Journey to the Center of Time, as well as having contributed to The Time Travellers, Stargames, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Willow and Inspector Gadget 2.) 

Gallery's stories include a young couple haunted by a witch-cursed grandfather clock, overseen by Carradine's "casual" handyman; the frenetic search for a Saucy Jack vampire in Victorian London; a murdered man rising from the grave to gain revenge on his unfaithful spouse and her lover; an electrifying, Frankenstein sequel with Chaney as a professor fixated on reanimation; and a retelling of Dracula, with quite a clever twist. (Mitch Evans plays the commanding Count Alucard, and the multifarious Roger Gentry plays Jonathan Harker, in addition to other personas throughout the production.) 

As Sally mentions in her enlightening seminar (underscored by detailed liner notes), the episodes hold an uneven, anachronistic but fun flow. (Some parts invoke such Amicus' productions as Dr. Terror's House of Horrors and Torture Garden, while other parts reference such A.I.P., Roger Corman/Richard Matheson, Poe adaptations as House of Usher and Tales of Terror). The clashing (stock-footage bracketed, Flash Gordon music-cued) segments do, indeed, give the movie a quirky, cult vibe. (Carradine and Chaney's headlining participation doesn't hurt, either.)

Gallery of Horror is one to enjoy for its low-budget ambition and grim, child-like charm, made all the better by Sally's instructional lead, with generous help from that ever sarcastic SkeleKat, wiseacre dolls, fan-submitted, Cool Ghoul Art and nostalgic commercials.

Class commences at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuVGOHyqHIM

HAPPY WORLD DRACULA DAY 2026 (5/26)

LARRY JOHNSON'S FANTASTIC TALES

Larry Johnson isn't just a remarkable illustrator. He's a remarkable raconteur. His novel, The Mayfly, and his graphic novel, The Hand, prove it. 

Johnson's latest, short-story curation, the illustrated Fantastic Tales, is a tasty companion to those entries, sweetened by appearances from several of his most memorable characters, including the likeable Lew Brown; Lew's brother, Freddy (protagonist of The Hand); electrical engineer Lenny Jones (who's destined to become Ohm the Electric Man); psychotherapist Doctor Charles Young; the shape-shifting, android hunter, Bart Rover; the demon-plagued Madame Boogala; her amusing son, Goomar; and those dusty but diligent, weird-western cowhands of the Broken B. 

Also, as one can infer, the stories are diverse in theme and offer the following scenarios: Lew's attempt to rescue Freddy from a transcendental cult; Lew's shift from reality to weird reverie; Lew and Freddy's run-ins with strange maintenance workers; Boogala and her black-widow talisman; Lenny Jones and his image-altering "Inter-dimensional Viewfinder"; the creepy consequences of a red-headed fly (a Mayfly precursor, one might say); a cowpoke's extraterrestrial encounter; a penetrating meeting between cosmic colonists; Bart Rover's slimy transformation; and Doctor Young's analysis of Lenny's batty visions. 

Johnson's writing flows with scrupulous care and rich rumination (rather Bradbury-esque, if the truth be known, both in tone and variety). This makes his misadventures genuine page turners. 

I must say, I'd like to read more of Johnson's work. I hope he considers a Fantastic Tales follow-up. If he does, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be first in line to purchase it. 

Order Fantastic Tales at

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GVSHYJSS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

MEMORIAL DAY 2026 (5/25): IN HONOR & RESPECT