27th to 31st Days

TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY

You’ve Done it Again, Charlie Brown, Charles Schulz – Finally we see what that one comic strip from AD 2000 referred to. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and other characters from Sunday “Peanuts” strips.

“The Damned Thing,” “Mysterious Disappearances,” Ambrose Bierce (h ss) – More scary tales, these by a fellow named Bierce.

Psycho (1960 horror) – Another Hitchcock film, this one the ancestor of all sorts of serial killer and slasher movies. Maybe Cubby is reading and watching too many scary things!

“The White River Monster of Jackson County, Arkansas: A Historical Summary of Oral and Popular Growth and Change in a Legend,” William Harris – an article of folklore from Mid-South Folklore, Vol. 5, No. 1, Spring 1977. A monster in an Arkansas river? Hard to imagine!

Thirty-Two books read = 1/150 of the way done.


TWENTY-NINTH DAY

“Some Haunted Houses,” “The Ways of Ghosts,” “The Death of Halpin Frasier,” Ambrose Bierce (h ss).

“The Borden Case,” a sizable portion of Studies in Murder by Edmund Pearson, plus “Legends of Lizzie” from More Studies in Murder.

Unsolved Mysteries, “Ghost Writer,” “The Marie Celeste,” Myrtle Plantation,” “General Wayne’s Inn.” More scary ghost stories!

Lone Ranger, “The Rustlers’ Hideout”

Jonny Quest, “Riddle of the Gold”

Legend of Boggy Creek (1972 horror) – docu-drama about the Fouke Monster in Arkansas. Certainly unique with its folk-song interludes!


THIRTY-FIRST DAY

Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949 animated) – A Disney more-or-less feature film. A rather hurried version of Wind in the Willows, but great adaptation of “Sleepy Hollow.” A harrowing final chase by the Headless Horseman at the end!

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966 animated short) – plus extras. We see more of those “Peanuts” kids (and that World War I flying ace, Snoopy) as they prepare for “Tricks or Treats.”

The Colour Out of Space, H. P. Lovecraft (h ss) – As much sf as horror, this story about something nasty in a meteorite brings us one HPL story before the end of the first month.

Excuse Me While I Wag, Scott Adams (comic strips) – this new comic collection introduces us to Dilbert, Dogbert, and co. – and what a workplace is really like.

Observations on the First Month: Cubby has seen, heard and read quite a bit during his first month. TV shows and movies, from the educational to pure entertainment, from funny to frightening. History: still mostly from Victory at Sea; the 9-11 LIFE magazine showed the modern world. Nature: Well, we learned a lot about whales and dolphins! Science: NASA shows and the Golden Book of Stars are still the leaders here.

Cubby’s read through most of the juvenile books I have. Next come more challenging books. He has read a few poems and one novel (a pulp Doc Savage though that was). Music is probably the smallest category in my personal collection, but, besides the CDs Cubby has listened to, he’s heard music in every DVD and VHS he’s seen.

I couldn’t help leaning toward horror tales and monsters as we swept towards Halloween. Cubby’s read about and seen ghosts and monsters, imaginary and (supposedly) real. A single issue of Famous Monsters gave him a passing acquaintance with all the Universal monsters like the Wolfman, the Creature, the Mummy, etc. He’s read stories by Bradbury, Wellman, Jackson, and others. Space travel he knows from Bradbury and the reality of NASA films. Wells introduced the concept of time travel. Monster movies were a staple in my own diet when I was young, then I made the leap into science fiction literature. That comes next!