Samhain 2006

Blessed Samhain to everyone...

'Tis the time of year once more, as the veil thins, that we honor those that have passed over. As always, the patriarch's of Clan Freeman are foremost in my thoughts, from Col. Lafayette to Greenberry and finally to my dear Grandfather, Walter. There are others of course that I pay tribute to, cherished souls such as my grandmother Leila, my great grandmothers Arnold and Qualls, and more recently my late mother-in-law Lana... This year I have added my cousin Richard to those remembered, and of course Christina will be in my thoughts...

We have all lost people dear to us, but the key is, they are not really lost, just seperated from us by a short distance... tonight that distance is even less.

Honor their memory and in turn you to will be honored.

Blessed Samhain and Happy Hallowe'en one and all.

Live Science's Top 5 Haunted Places

http://www.livescience.com/othernews/top5_haunted_places.html

Love is the Law

This just in from the OTO US Grand Lodge...

The long-delayed August 2006 issue of Agapé (volume VIII number 2) is now available:

http://lib.oto-usa.org/agape/agape.8.2.pdf

Investigation of the Woodcarvers Building 10/21

The Eastern Woodland Carvers Club Investigation
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

Time for my reflections on the Nightstalker/WPIRG investigation of the Eastern Woodland Carvers Club on October 21st. You can read the reactions of some of the other investigators at the following links:

JOY ANGELINA CHRIS

It was a dark night, moonless and overcast, with a chill wind blowing out of the south east. The evening started on a few high notes. We had some "ride alongs" making their first venture into the realm of paranormal investigation, Mark and Trish Sullivan, from Elwood, and Fireman Doug (who brought along a thermo-imaging camera for us to play with). We did our best to make them comfortable and explained the basics to them. I then had the pleasure of presenting WPIRG co-founder Jason with an exclusive, one-of-a-kind, special edition of SHADOWS OVER SOMERSET(his prize for winning Insidious Reflections' Shadows Over Cairnwood contest). I gave Joy a belated birthday present and she in turn gifted me her latest collection of dark poetry. I was thrilled. We wrapped up our prelimany discussions and "official" business and then took our leave of the ground floor... ascending to the upper levels where the paranormal activity occurs.

I gave our guests a quick tour of the second and third floors of the Carvers Club.

The second story had housed a doctor's office and surgery, a lawyers office, offices for the Ku Klux Klan, and apartments in the past. This floor now served as overnight guest rooms, storage, and the clubhouse for the Crafty Ladies, a sewing circle made up of local residents.

The third floor was the former IOOF Lodge serving Converse... now used as rough storage (with future plans of turning it into a woodshop), this level has a macabre feel to it, with the large hall and towering windows, long streams of wallpaper hanging like flayed flesh from the ceiling, and the ancient chandeliers looming overhead.

I'll tap dance around what others have blogged about... they have more than adequetely covered their experiences, therefore I'll concentrate on my own experiences...

I felt a presence in the third floor cloak room right from the get go, as they say. It was noticably colder in that room and the air was thick and hard to breathe. I could feel it swarm around me, for lack of a better term.

On the second floor, in the back carving room, I had a similar feeling of dis-ease. Something moving in the shadows. I have been captivated by the piano in that room ever since my sister-in-law and I heard it play sans musician some weeks previous... the feeling I got was that there was a playful spirit about... a playful haunt, michiveous and somewhat mean-spirited.

Later in the evening we split up to meditate in different locations. You've read the others experiences... here is mine:

Sitting in the former physician's waiting room, while unbeknownst to me Joy was being choked by an unseen assailant, I was attempting to astral project. I immediately met with resistence... something was trying to keep me grounded. I felt the layers of the physical realm slowly slipping away, I was in a vortex of psychedelic imagery, then suddenly I was thrust into an alien landscape, a dreamlike realm littered with the ruins of some fallen empire. Off-lit, I sensed a dark presense, malevolent and hungered, somewhere within the ruined cityscape... I was snapped back into my body, somewhat shaken. I went downstairs and out the doors to smoke a cigarette in the misty rain. I recovered slowly.

The rest of the night I was more observer that participant... though I did experience the flirting images of shadowy forms in the corners of my eyes.

All in all, it was one of the more surreal investigations I've undertaken... something, just under the surface, festering... I'm still not confident that I can put a label on the experience.

I'm just thankful that we will have the opportunity for a return visit.

The IOOF and I have unfinished business.

The Masters of Horror Return...

The Masters of Horror is set to return just in time for the Samhain season...

On October 27, Showtime will unveil “The Damned Thing” by R.C. Matheson.

An unknown monstrous force descends upon a small Texas town, turning husband against wife, brother against sister, parent against child. Tortured by his own tragic past, Sheriff Kevin Reddle (SEAN PATRICK FLANERY) must overcome his horrific rage if he is to restore order. MARISA COUGHLAN and TED RAIMI also star in this apocalyptic tale of terror.

Tobe Hooper
(“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Poltergeist”)
is set to direct.

Prepare to FREAK OUT

Freak Out

So chilling… you'll laugh yourself to death.

Anchor Bay Entertainment, an IDT Entertainment company, gives cult film fans yet another treat with the November 7 th DVD premiere of Freak Out , director Christian James's first excursion into stomach-clutching, bloodcurdling and drop-dead hilarious horror. Winner of numerous accolades including the “Commendation Award” for Feature Films at Manchester's Festival of Fantastic Films, “Best Genre Cross-Over” Award at the Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival, and an official selection at the Montreal Fantasia Festival, Freak Out is set up to please both “serious” and “spoof” horror fans alike. SRP for the 2-disc Special Edition DVD is $19.98 and pre-book is September 27 th 2006 .

Turning the great horror movie clichés on their severed ears, Freak Out opens like all great slasher films -- with a flashback of an incidental character. Young Cliff is being dropped off at school by his alcoholic mother, only to be tormented by his teacher and peers. Thirteen years later, Cliff escapes from a mental institution to find that the school that he vowed revenge on is no longer standing. Disappointed and with nowhere to go, Cliff wanders onto the doorstep of horror film addicts Merv and his best friend Onkey. With visions of slashers and maniacs and box-office grosses (oh my!) dancing in their heads, wannabe schlock kings Merv and Onkey fit Cliff with a potato sack on his head and cover his face with a hockey mask, transforming him into the ultimate homicidal filmaniac. Things soon take a turn for the worst after the killer “finds his groove,” dispatching shoppers and employees alike in a supermarket. With their Frankenstein officially out of control – killing everyone in sight -- Marv and Onkey start to have second thoughts. Can they stop their own creation or are they – and the town -- doomed?

Freak Out has already created a buzz among comedy and horror aficionados. The film has been critically acclaimed by Rue Morgue, calling Freak Out “one of the finest indie horror-comedies of the year,” All Things Zombie who raved “a winner, destined to be a fan favorite,” and Arrow-in-the-Head who dubbed the film “A high-rolling, non-stop laugh fest.”

Freak Out is stuffed with an asylum-full of bonus features including:

Two audio commentaries with Director/Writer/Producer Christian James, Actor/Writer Dan Palmer and Actor/Producer Yazz Fetto (#1); Christian James, Dan Palmer and Actors James Heathcote, Nicola Connell and Chilli Gold, moderated by BBC Radio 1 movie critic James King (#2)

“Making Out” Behind The Scenes Featurette“Geek Out” Featurette – Internet movie critics expressing their views on the movie“Bum-Feeling 101” Sketch featuring the characters of Freak Out“5 Minute Film School” Humorous and informative film school-type tips“Honey, I Blew Up The Looney” Featurette“The Video Store” Spoof films17 Deleted ScenesZaniac Music Video

Freak Out

Street Date: November 7
Pre-Book: September 27
Catalog #: DV13320
UPC: 0 131313320-9 4
Run Time: 103 Minutes
Rating: Not Rated
SRP: $19.98

Fan Boy Moment

Doctor Strange & the Black Knight by Paul Smith

Saturday

For those interested, time is running out on my eBay auctions. If you are into comic books you may want to take a peek: CLICK HERE

This evening, Kim and I will be taking Connor to participate in Sweetser's annual Pumpkin Walk. Should be a helluva good time. Any chance to see my boy in a Hallowe'en costume is worth the price of admission :) He'll be dressed as Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and loving every minute, I guarantee...

Later I'll be joining WPIRG in a follow-up investigation of the Converse IOOF Lodge. This time we'll be armed with a $25k Thermo-Imaging Camera, on loan from a local Fire Department... Curious to see what comes of it...

Well, until Monday. I hope your weekend is as fun filled as mine looks to be...

~Bob

Check out my eBay auctions

For those of you who might be interested...

Huge Lots of Comic Books for sale now on eBay: RIGHT HERE

Ruse, Sojourn, Witchblade, Rising Stars, Cyber Force, the Magdalena, and more...

My Weekend

Friday Night I visited with old friends at Shannon Driver's Costume Party ( I went as an overweight horror novelist). I had a fantastic time. It is always a treat to see Shannon and I had the added bonus of seeing my favorite songbird, Sammy Edmonds and her husband Greg. I caught up with Shannon's ex, Andy, and was thrilled to learn that he's written a book and I get the pleasure of giving it a look over. Definately looking forward to that. Alex, Shannon's first born, struck me as being far too smart and witty for a kid so young... that boy is going to be dangerous. All in all, a wonderful couple of hours that passed far too quickly, but we had big plans for Saturday morning, so...

Saturday found Kim, Connor and I attending the Mississinewa 1812 Re-enactment Festival. Traditional crafts, music, dress... and of course the battle itself. Turns out my favorite vendor, Father Son & Friends, was in a bit of disarray what with the ir patriarch undergoing quadruple bypass... I wish him the best and a speedy recovery. We had some decent food and enjoyed the sights and sounds then stopped on the way and rented a couple of movies...

That evening we watched the remake of the Stepford Wives, which was a pale shadow of the original, but fun nonetheless. The real treat was watching the director's cut of the Butterfly Effect. A great film in my opinion, and the director's cut was even better. Much to recommend about this flick. Capped of a great day nicely.

Sunday finds Kim at work and me and the boy spending the day together. We've already went out and made some extra money by doing some manual labor on behalf of the Eastern Woodland Carvers Club by hauling about 150 cans of paint down from their second floor. Connor had a good time playing on an old, out of tune piano (the same one that hauntingly played for Cassie and I a month ago, if you recall the story from a previous blog entry)...

What now? An afternoon of Disney Channel for the boy and some harried writing for his dad... Wish me luck. :)

Tomorrow will be my first meeting with the Indiana Horror Writer's Association. Now that's something to look forward to.

Till later...

~Bob

Happy Horror Day

DAVID MORRELL’S AWARD-WINNING BESTSELLER CREEPERS EMBARKS ON A NATIONAL BOOK TOUR – ONLY THIS TIME WITHOUT THE AUTHOR. CAN YOU FIND A COPY IN YOUR CITY?

For the paperback release of David Morrell’s highly popular dark-suspense thriller

CREEPERS (CDS Books, October 2006),

a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller which earned the celebrated Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel of 2005, his publicist decided to try something new –

a book tour without the author.

Coined “The CREEPERS Book Tour,” the campaign blends the book-exchange concept and the Internet into a literal book tour. The tour is being hosted and sponsored by HorrorWorld.org, and will launch on Friday, October 13, 2006

(designated as Horror Day by the Horror Writer’s Association).

Created by Morrell’s publicist and daughter, Sarie Morrell, “The CREEPERS Book Tour” literally sends the book on tour. Instead of the traditional method of sending the author on tour, as was done for the debut of the hardcover, actual paperback copies of CREEPERS will be sent out on a nationwide tour.

The books will be tracked through a message board on HorrorWorld.org, which also will feature unique contests. Prizes include signed copies of CREEPERS and advance review copies of Morrell’s upcoming thriller, SCAVENGER.

To get the “CREEPERS Book Tour” started, Nanci Kalanta, owner and editor of HorrorWorld.org., posted a request through various message boards for volunteers who wanted to help launch a unique new promotional campaign. Within hours, dozens of eager recruits responded to what Kalanta described as a “special project which is not illegal, immoral, or fattening.”

On Horror Day, Friday, October 13, volunteers nationwide will deposit 50 specially prepared paperback copies of CREEPERS in busy places where people mingle and read, such as coffee shops, donut shops, parks, train stations, and malls. The front cover of each paperback tour copy of CREEPERS is clearly marked as a tour copy, and the inside front page of the book describes the campaign. Those who find the copies are asked to log on to http://www.horrorworld.org and go to the CREEPERS Book Tour Page to learn more about the tour and contests. After reading the book, participants are asked to leave the tour copy where someone else can find it and enjoy it. Each book’s adventures will be charted on-line.

Hailed by Stephen King as “chilling and hypnotically readable,” CREEPERS is ideal for Horror Day and the Halloween season because it dramatizes the secret underground world of urban explorers. Five “creepers” infiltrate a long-abandoned hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey, only to discover that some buildings are abandoned for a reason. The book was named one of the ten best thrillers of 2005 by the Chicago Tribune and one of the top five thrillers by the Providence Journal.

Considered the father of the modern action thriller, David Morrell is the award-winning author of First Blood, the 1972 novel in which Rambo was created. Co-president of the International Thriller Writer’s organization, he holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from the Pennsylvania State University and taught in the English department at the University of Iowa. “The mild-mannered professor with the bloody minded visions,” as one reviewer called him, Morrell is the author of 28 books, many of them bestsellers. With more than eighteen million copies of his books in print, his fiction has been translated into 26 languages.

Morrell describes his next novel, SCAVENGER, as “a desperate high-tech scavenger hunt for a hundred-year-old time capsule.” It is scheduled for publication in March 2007 (Vanguard Press, a division of the Perseus Books Group).

Visit the author at www.davidmorrell.net.

Visit CREEPERS at www.theparagonhotel.com.

To track the “CREEPERS Book Tour” beginning on

Horror Day, October 13, 2006, visit www.horrorworld.org.

As one of Horror World's Creepers Book Tour Volunteers

I'm tossing in a signed copy of my novel

Shadows Over Somerset

as well as some literature pertaining to the

Wabash Paranormal Investigation & Research Group

You can find both books at

STARBUCKS

3101 S. Western Avenue

Marion Indiana

Happy Horror Day & Happy Hunting

The Nativity of the Beast

Happy Crowleymas to you all!!!

May your day be filled with MAGICK!!!

Do What Thou Wilt is the Whole of the Law...
Love is the Law, Love Under Will.

Dark Muse

A fell wind blows across the harvested fields that surround my home, foreshadowing winter's promise.

The chill wind brings with it an old friend, one who comes 'round with the turning of the leaves... It is my own personal demon, a malefic creature who burrows into my skull and wraps icy fingers around my heart.

Its stranglehold is unforgiving, fettering me to the lettered keys that even now my fingers dance across.

What tales has it brought to me this Samhain season?

What verse shall flow like blood from an eviserated wound and spill across virgin paper?

Already they have begun to take shape, rising up on dark wings and enveloping me like a hallowed shroud.

Will they find an audience?

Is there anyone out there waiting to take a peek into the darkest recesses of my demon-haunted mind?

We'll see...

I mean, you're reading this now.

Aren't you the tiniest bit curious as to what witches brew of sinister delights is being stirred within the caliginosity of my gray matter?

You've got to be kidding me, right?

This almost made me choke this morning...

A SWORD-MAKER who creates weapons for Braveheart-style battle re-enactments is to take up the fight against tough new restrictions on the sale of swords.

Paul MacDonald, who owns MacDonald Armouries on Brunswick Street Lane, presented a petition of more than 2000 signatures to the Scottish Parliament last year.

The sword-maker is angry that he will face tough new restrictions on the sale of swords under a Bill, introduced last week and expected to receive parliamentary approval early next year.
Commercial sellers will have to comply with strict new licensing conditions such as keeping full records of all sales and buyers, and complying with restrictions on displaying items.

Now Mr MacDonald has collected another 500 signatures and plans to re-submit his Save Our Swords petition to parliament.

He claims his campaign has gained widespread support from other sword retailers, antique dealers and historical fencers.

Mr MacDonald makes swords costing between £300 and £2000 for collectors, museums and theatre companies. He also makes historically accurate reproductions of swords, mainly with blunt edges for the historical fencing market.

The sword-maker said he now faced having to buy a licence to sell swords which he does not consider any more of a menace to the public than kitchen or Stanley knives. He said: "My concern is that this is red tape for no reason when dealers having a licence will not affect street crime in any way."

The 34-year-old said people who commonly bought swords, such as Highland dancers, auctioneers and museum curators, had signed his petition.

"This is placing an unnecessary burden on sword-makers and I plan to officially resubmit my original petition to parliament with more signatures."

His concerns were echoed by Edinburgh antiques dealer Murdo McLeod, owner of Bow Well Antiques, on the West Bow. He said: "I think this is a knee-jerk reaction by the parliament and it is completely pointless."

"Politicians have said they do not know why people would want to own a sword in this day and age – and the answer is that they are part of our nation’s history and are very beautiful objects."

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said knife-carrying was all too prevalent in certain parts of Scotland and had cut short and scarred too many young lives.

He said: "It is simply far too easy for these weapons to be bought and sold. That is why we intend to make it an offence for anyone in Scotland to sell a sword, subject to a number of exemptions, and require businesses to be licensed to sell non-domestic knives."

How very sad... freaking freedom-hating, PC-lapping imbeciles.

Connor Landon Freeman turns 3 years old

Today is my bouncing baby boy's third birthday. I'm almost at a loss for words. I mean, look at him. He is as close to perfection as a father could ever hope for. Rosy cheeks... Long golden curls... Sparkling blue eyes... Rapier smarts... oh, and an enviable imagination.

Connor Landon Freeman

Three Years Old

Wow... it flies by so fast.

This little boy fills me with unimaginable joy. He is virtually my whole world. My love for him is unbridled. As a father is apt to do, I worry so much... I want the best for my little guy. He deserves all that I can muster on his behalf.

He is my little buddy.

He is my son.

I love you boy. Happy Birthday.

Okay... I get it.

Alright already. I get it. Someone out there is trying to pass along a message. I get it. Really. But maybe, just maybe, you might need to pull out a big hammer and smack me with it, because I'm not wrapping my head around it yet.

Okay, here's the latest:

Last night, as per my wife's wishes, we went to bed early. Long story short, I don't typically get a lot of sleep. This concerns my better half. So, I've been trying... Anyway, after less than five hours of restless sleep my eyes pop wide. I check the alarm clock. 3:15 am. Damn.

I get up, hit the bathroom, have a glass of milk... Yep. Wide awake. I check my email. It's now 3:45... I think, I should go back to bed, despite not being tired. I have to leave for work at 6:30 and I have the nagging suspicion that by the time that hour rolls around I'll be zombie material. But still, I feel something pulling at me... So, what the hell, I'll smoke a cigarette, then hit the mattress.

I grab a Marlboro and my lighter and step outside the front door and... BAM... there it is. Streaking from North to South, a comet or meteor lights up the sky, arcing over the house and past the horizon.

It was a marvelous sight.

One of those moments where the majesty of the universe unfolds before you...

But what the Hell? All of these Jungian synchronistic occurrences have been raining down on me for months now. Unlike the good doctor, I have a more open mind to the reality of the paranormal and to cosmic entities and esoteric intelligences operating within our existence.

Trouble is, the signs are there, but I'm not grasping the message.

Maybe I should send the universe my email address...

RAW needs your help

From author Douglas Rushkoff's blog yesterday:

I hope people I've inspired with my work would band together to help me out in my later years if I needed it. Which is at least part of the reason why I'm sending what I can to support cosmic thinking patriarch Robert Anton Wilson, whose infirmity and depleted finances have put him in the precarious position of not being able to meet next month's rent.

In case the name doesn't immediately ring a bell, Bob is the guy who wrote Cosmic Trigger - still the best narrative on how to enter and navigate the psycho-spiritual realm, and co-wrote the Illuminatus Trilogy, an epic work that pushes beyond conspiracy theory into conspiracy practice. Robert Anton Wilson will one day be remembered alongside such literary philosophers as Aldous Huxley and James Joyce.

But right now, Bob is a human being in a rather painful fleshsuit, who needs our help. I refuse for the history books to say he died alone and destitute, for I want future generations to know we appreciated Robert Anton Wilson while he was alive. Let me add, on a personal note, that Bob is the only one of my heroes who I was not disappointed to actually meet in person. He was of tremendous support to me along my road, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to be of some support on his.

Any donations can be made to Bob directly to the Paypal account olgaceline@gmail.com.

You can also send a check payable to Robert Anton Wilson to
Dennis Berry c/o Futique Trust
P.O. Box 3561
Santa Cruz, CA 95063.

In his own hand...

"...All these old letters of my Book are aright;

but Tzaddi is not the Star.

This also is secret..."

Aleister Crowley - The Book of the Law

93 / 93

It's Horror Month!!!

Ah, it's here. My favorite time of year. There's a chill in the air. Can you feel it? 'tis the Season of the Witch, when the leaves put on their autumnal dress and magick permeates the night. It's October at last, my friends, and that can only mean one thing...

It's Horror Month!!!

That's right, guys and ghouls. Horror month has decended on us once more and my oh my but this month has a lot in store for yours truly... A quick check of the calendar and what do I see?

For starters, my son Connor has a birthday party scheduled for the 7th and, on Leif Eriksson Day, the 9th, Connor gets to celebrate his actual birthday once more at Chucky Cheese. My darling boy turns three years old. This is the highlight of the month for me... three years old... man, where has the time gone?

Friday the 13th, International Horror Day, will see me playing Santa Claws as I leave gifts throughout Marion for the Horror impaired ;) This will be followed by an appearance at Shine 99 host Shannon Driver's Costume Party.

The 14th will find me and the family taking in the sights and sounds of the annual War of 1812 reenactment along the Mississinewa River. Buffalo burgers, Elk chili, Saspirilla, Bagpipes, Fiddles, and period encampments and costumes... Who could ask for more?

I'll be taking in my first Indiana Horror Writers meeting on the evening of the 16th.

On the evening of the 28th we hope to have a WPIRG Gathering...

And finally, the icing on the proverbial cake:

October 31st... Samhain... All Hallow's Eve... Hallowe'en

Sprinkle in a couple of radio interviews and a book signing or two, add a dash of frightful television programming from Disney, Family, and TCM (not to mention Lost's season premiere on the 4th)... well, I think you get the picture. My cauldron will be overflowing with a devilish stew...

May your Horror Month be as fruitful.

Happy Hauntings.