Hey everyone, this is Ken, I am a veteran of Andy's as well as I have taken his sci-fi class back in '09. I am a bonafide nerd, not gonna lie. I like video games, movies, books, etc.
I will admit I have not read a lot of horror, but I consume horror in a lot of other ways. Movies for one. I love a good horror movie and range from zombies, vampires (which by the way do not wear glitter. Meaning, I disregard twilight as vampires), slasher movies, etc. Some of Johnny Depp's movies are great, and I'm not talking about Pirates (although Pirates is good as well), I mean movies like The Ninth Gate, The Astronauts Wife, From Hell, Secret Window, and Sweeney Todd. If you havent seen these movies, let me know and I can let you borrow them, but I do want them back!
Although, my favorite medium of horror is video games. This is primarily because only in video games are you actually immersed inside the horror and are not just watching it unfold like in movies or books. If you want a good game that will freak you out, try the F.E.A.R. games or the Fatal Frame games. They are both quite impressively scary and will keep you scared after you play them.
My other fantasy experiences are in the "Epic" Fantasy genre. I absolutely love medieval fantasy with magic, swords, knights, dragons, etc. So LOTR is awesome, AGoT (A Game of Thrones) series is totally awesome (I havent finished the series yet, but I am working on it when I have free time). AGoT is coming to HBO in april by the way, which I am wordlessly excited about.
I dont have any personal horror or haunting stories that I can think of. The few times I have been to places that are supposedly haunted, I have not felt, seen, or experienced anything, so I am inclined to disbelief. Although, that does not mean I am careless and I am quite certain nothing good can come from certain actions. I, by default, assume all graveyards to be "haunted" in the sense that disturbing a grave will result in severe negative consequences (a "curse" if you will). Basically, taunting the dead or areas of "power" (religious areas, places where events of strong emotions occurred, etc)
Finally, on to Aclute's excerpt. I think it is absolutely stunning in its simplicity. Being able to break down every horror story, which can then be expanded to every fantasy story, to four simple parts is pretty awesome. Because this allows for easier analysis and comparison of stories.
*wall of text hits you for 9001 damage* yes, you read that right, it is OVER 9000. (I did mention I was a nerd right?)
To sum up, I apologize as I am long winded at times. But I am excited to get back into the flow of this class. For the newcomers, this class is one of the best classes you will have, so enjoy it and dont be afraid to blog random stuff!
--Ken
4 comments:
I also love epic fantasy. LOTR and Martin's series were awesome though I'm still waiting on the last Martin book. I also enjoyed Robert Jordan and just finished an awesome trilogy by Brent Weeks.
Woot blogging random stuff! I like random. --And I had a friend who always wanted me to read A Game of Thrones but I never had the time. I keep hearing about it--maybe now I should. ^^;
Also, just FYI--you may know about this, but since you mentioned how you liked video games, I wanted to make sure you'd heard about PixelCon. It's Sat. Jan. 29 at the Ferg and is hosted by ABXY (one of my good friends, Tiara Dees, is a very active member and rabid gamer). It's going to be pretty cool and they have a Facebook event and I'm totally cosplaying. /endshamelessplug
I haven't played the F.E.A.R. games, but Dead Space scares the crap out of me! Also, have you played Alan Wake? I can only play it for about an hour at a time. Even though I know I'm going to be scared, I'm always driven to play it in the dark, to get the full effect.
Also, I love From Hell! I've only seen it once, but it's so amazing! I've heard of The Ninth Gate, but can't remember anything about it...I'll have to look into it.
I am not a fan of the Johnny Depp From Hell, but the graphic novel of the same title on which it is supposedly based, by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, is a masterpiece.
Ken, one needn't believe in the supernatural to agree that "disturbing a grave will result in severe negative consequences" -- such as arrest, and public disgrace, and maybe disease ... but keep this discussion in mind when later we talk about Kelly Link's story "The Wrong Grave."
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