Toni's Blog for Lit. of Horror

For the future in my lifetime and beyond, I think a lot of things will happen at a rapid pace, judging from the amount of things that had happened during the past few years. I'm mostly speaking from a technology point of view, where people are constantly inventing and developing our technology. We're already trying to find ways to utilize virtual reality in ways beyond gaming, and robots are already taking some jobs as science fiction had predicted. Aside from technology, the environment is getting progressively worse, so I'm sure chunks of Florida will be underwater in my lifetime. If we're lucky enough, we might finally have colonization in space in the near future.

Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was definitely on my reading list for a long time, so I’m glad I got to take time to listen to the original radio version, which I feel is so much better because hearing the voice acting really helps the delivery of the storytelling. I love the idea of Hitchhiker’s Guide because I’m greatly fond of absurd British humor. The whole radio series is done in this deadpan tone, which goes fantastic with all the over the top and silly stuff that happens in the story. One of the best examples of that shows through Marvin. It’s incredible that there’s just this robot designed to be smart but, also to be extremely depressed. Everything he says is horribly sad about his life, but it just ends up making him horribly relatable and that makes his character so funny. In addition to that, I love how they casually blow over a lot of the seemingly serious things that happen in the series. There was really no sentimental emotion over the Earth b

Italo Calvino's The Distance of the Moon was a very charming short story, but also a little bittersweet. I have to say, while reading this, I immediately began to imagine this story as a Studio Ghibli film, specifically Ponyo due to the amount of sea life floating about near the end. Something I really like about this film was who magical the imagery was. Thinking of these people jumping to and from the moon feels like a fantastic experience and a lot of fun. While this story was nice to read, something I didn't really resonate with was the narrator's personality. He seems to be a little desperate, jealous, and perverted toward the Captain's wife, Mrs. Vhd. I honestly did not feel that bad for him when he lost her to the moon near the end. I even felt bad for the woman cause she was alone on the moon with this guy she didn't care about for months. The idea of this sad woman gently playing the harp on the moon brings such amazing imagery though. Calvino's oth

Carol Emshwiller's story, I Live With You, was kind of creepy but I found it to be a fun little read for this week. The mysterious being that lives with the woman in the story reminded me a lot about the folklore of tontu, or gnomes, that are magical creatures that are able to live within people's houses and being barely noticeable. So while many find this story creepy, I found it a little fun. I probably wouldn't mind having this thing living in my house, since it's not really causing any arm to the woman. All it does is wear her clothes and buys stuff for her. Not to mention, it tries to get her a boyfriend. That thing is the ultimate wingman! Something I found odd was how this thing living with the woman brings her someone to get with, but then starts trying to seduce him as well. Ironic because it claims multiple times that it doesn't steal, which it sticks to its word in the end, but it still made an attempt. It makes me wonder, what is its purpose and why

Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson definitely carried a strong cyberpunk aesthetic. While I personally like cyberpunk themes in media, I have to admit, this was a little difficult to read. It took me a long time to realize the main character's purpose and one thing was happening after another that he just suddenly joined this place called the Killing Floor and became some kind of rebel with this cool and edgy girl with body modifications. Something I did find interesting though was how the whole story was a long chase scene, which makes sense sine everyone is after this guy with valuable information stored in his head. That aspect of it was cool, but I feel like it doesn't fit very well as an individual story, even if it was part of a series of them. The presence of such action made it readable though. I'm curious as to how the film adaption approached this story. Another thing I did like about this story was Molly. To me, her character seemed infinitely more interesting

Harlan Ellison's short story, I Have No Mouth and Much Scream, might probably be one of my favourite science fiction readings so far. I found this story haunting and gruesome, and the concept of AM torturing these five people and somehow keeping them alive forever was horribly interesting. The way each character was described so well, that I could almost feel their pain and you can tell that AM really destroyed these people in ever aspect possible. Something that really caught me off-guard though was the ending. I was really searching for some ray of home that Ted would be able to free himself from AM, but I was horribly wrong seeing that he was turned into an eldritch horror. While I was looking into the story, I noticed there was a point and click adventure game based off this story and was worked on by Ellison as well. I watched some people play the whole game and how it was done was actually really cool. The game kind of poses as an extension of the short story, because you

This week I read C.L. Moore's short story, No Woman Born. While I was reading this, it was very prominent that this was a space opera sort of story. I felt this whole love triangle thing going on between Harris, Maltzer, and Dierdre, especially at how Harris describes Maltzer and Dierdre's interactions with each other as if he's somewhat jealous of their relationship. I noticed the themes of female empowerment in this story. Dierdre constantly tries put herself out there despite the amount of times Maltzer tried to keep her away from human eyes. Saying that everyone out there wasn't ready for her because she's a one of a kind robot. Of course eventually doesn't listen and follows her feelings, despite that she's aware of what she is. In addition to that, she's also incredible strong and flexible, being that she's a robot. I just thought it was interesting that Moore decided to write this into a female robotic character, since robots are typically m

Neil Gaiman's short novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane was very reminiscent of stories of fairies. To be honest, I began reading this novel without knowing it was by Gaiman, and I noticed a lot of parallels to his other story, Coraline, so once I found out this was by him, it made a lot of sense. Gaiman's stories seem to show interest in the concept of fairy tales and old folklore revolving around fairies, and it shows a lot in this novel. In the beginning of the story, I found a very nostalgic appeal to its tone. The protagonist was living a calm childhood in his hometown, which I imagined being somewhat rural. He had his own little clubhouse and he would visit his friend Lettie, and everything seemed to have that childhood appeal to it. The fantasy aspect of the story picked up once Lettie and the protagonist headed out into that forest. By then, there were already signs of fairy tale themes, like when Lettie uses a hazel wand to find stuff, which seems to be used

This week I took time to read Madeleine L'Engle's novel, A Wrinkle In Time. I remember reading this young adult novel way back in elementary school, so I decided to revisit it with a more experienced mind. Needless to say, it made slightly more sense as an adult than it did to me a long time ago. Something that stuck out to me reading this was the mix of science and fantasy elements mixed into this story, which makes sense why some people classify this book as a science fiction novel. Meg's parents are both incredible scientists that have influenced her way of thinking. There are multiple references to mathematics and scientific equations, as well as examples of characters conducting logical thinking in the story. One specific excerpt from the story stuck out to me through a conversation between Meg and her mother, Mrs. Murry: "Do you think things always have an explanation?" "Yes, I believe that they do. But I think that with our human limitations w

1.      What is your reaction to the text you just read? ·       My first reaction while reading Bloodchild was confusion, as there wasn’t much explanation to what T’Gatoi was. Eventually it became somewhat clear further into the story that she is this alien creature that reproduces through parasitic-like birth through male Terrans. I found this story very creepy and gross, but despite that, the concept is interesting. I personally have a horrible phobia of parasites, so reading this was not very pleasant. I understand Butler wrote this story to play with the concept of male impregnation, but the idea of it being done through these bloodworms that eat people from the inside out is messed up. 2.      What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect. ·       The first thing I thought of while reading this was the movie Alien. I have not seen all the movies, but I do know that the aliens in these

J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was a pretty fun read to my surprise. I was honestly expecting a long, drawn out story, knowing that the movie was around 3 hours long. The way it was written especially drew me in, because of the vocabulary and the occasional musical poetry Tolkien would slip in.   There were a lot of made up words, which makes sense for someone who studied language, as he basically took time to make up one of his own. I noticed the novel almost reads like a children’s book, which gave it a very childish and fun atmosphere to it. That being said, reading the book made me feel like a kid again. I was able to read and find enjoyment in imagining the places Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves explored on their adventure and it was very easy to get sucked into their fictional world and really want to become a part of it. In context of the film, I noticed it felt a little more mature compared to the atmosphere of the book. When I was reading the story, I imagined the

This week I read a few issues of Redlands . This comic was so beautifully illustrated and the first thing that stood out to me was the feminist themes occurring through the characters. I noticed that a lot of the men seem to be very relentless, most of them being huge perverts, creeps, or even rapists. I think the only male characters remotely kind within this story were the witches’ forensics man and Lawrence. Even from the beginning, the men appeared to be demonized. I found this ironic reading the first chapter though, because the men were taking refuge in a cabin, addressing the witches as bitches and demons. This aspect of the story is interesting though, because I notice how witchcraft is a common theme for feminist statements, which makes sense, since they’re very powerful, immortal women. I also have to comment on how beautiful the artwork and writing in Redlands is. The body positivity and diversity are some things that makes this comic stand out from others. You can

Borne was really something else to experience. I think it really fits the concept of “The New Weird” because everything within the world that Rachel lives in felt so unusual and surreal. Of course it typically would be that way for a post-apocalyptic setting, but Borne dives into interesting detail about this mysterious organization referred as the Company that conducted bio-engineering and releasing creatures into the world. This single concept actually spiced up a setting used in a lot of fiction. The weird aspects of Borne, Wick, and Rachel’s relationship kept me interested, especially of the seemingly infinite forms Borne could take. Something that stood out to me was how sweet and adorable Rachel makes Borne out to be. At first he appears as this gross, multicolored tentacle monster that happens to talk and just exist. He kind of gives off this feeling of creepy-cute, much like No Face from the film Spirited Away. The fact that Rachel ends up taking Borne in and treatin

Haruki Murakami’s A Wild Sheep Chase was quite an interesting read to experience. I was only able to make it halfway through the novel, but there was something about the main character’s attitude that drew me in. A lot of depressing events have happened in this story, such as the death of this girl he got together with and the divorce of his wife, but he really never showed strong feelings towards anything. He just kind of…let it happen, and I found that pretty cool about his attitude! Once he started talking with the man about the sheep with the star birthmark and the strange tumor in the boss’s head, the story started to pick up a little, since at this point, some strange things begin to be addressed. The girl with the magical ears was also interesting to think about. The main character never explained why they were so compelling to him, but he always stated that there was something about them that was drawing him in. He never seemed surprised or terrified about her ears tho

Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire . For the longest time, I have been wanting to read this book, and this week was a pleasant excuse to do so since I’m unhealthily obsessed with vampire fiction.   For the first quarter of the novel, I was all over the story and ate it up. Reading about the characters and their world felt like a wonderful breath of fresh air, being that a lot of vampire media has been disappointing to me lately. Rice delved into the psychological impact of immortality and Louis’s struggle with his new life as a vampire. Louis’s reflections of his past, his letting go of humanity, and his complex, almost toxic relationship with Lestat were all extremely compelling to me because of how beautifully written it was. And god, Lestat may be a jerk and I hate his attitude, but he is beautiful. Reading this novel was an experience that really captured every ounce of my attention…until Claudia showed up. I was able to tolerate her for a while, but once Loui

Week One - Frankenstein Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein contained quite a few gothic themes, which is no surprise for a classic horror novel. I read the graphic novel version of the story, which seemed to tell the tale very well and I was able to catch the dark themes of the story with no issue. The concepts that describe the premise of the story the most are fear and death. After Victor Frankenstein created his monster, he and everyone that laid eyes upon it immediately became terrified of the creature, since it’s basically a sentient amalgamation of dead body parts. There would be no doubt that the monster would be horrifying to look at, but almost no one took time to consider the monster’s emotions. As the story progresses, Victor’s worries and regrets towards the monster takes the overall feeling of the novel downhill into depression. When the monster confronts Victor and talks to him about its experiences after it runs away, its story almost feels like a metaphor for harsh real

Tropes in the Horror Genre - The spiral staircase - A stormy night - The weird assistant / Igor - The rotating bookcase - Graveyards - Undead - The doppelgänger shadow - The damsel - The secret laboratory - "At least it's not raining" - Body parts - The mad scientist - Cobwebs - Sudden rat