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What Dreams May Come - #Afterlife #Book & #Movie #blog

1/15/2016

Robin William left us on August 11, 2014. I have not been able to watch a single film of his since then, and I love many of them. I am at a point where I can now watch this one again.

What Dreams May Come started out as a novel by one of my favorite authors, Richard Matheson, who penned such great stories as Somewhere in Time (Click Here to see my blog post), Stir of Echoes, I am Legend, and countless Twilight Zone episodes. My two favorite books of his are Somewhere in Time and What Dreams May Come.

It was Matheson’s imaginative story of what heaven and hell are like, that made this such a great read. The imagery it paints in your mind is spectacular. Likewise, the movie did the book justice and won an Academy award for best visual effects.

Matheson was raised as a Christian Scientist, but due to high blood pressure, left the church and developed his own belief system. What Dreams May Come is the culmination of some of those beliefs, yet shows an afterlife strangely devoid of a deity.

The film version was directed by Vincent Ward and has a wonderful cast, including:

Robin Williams as Dr. Christopher Nielsen
Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Albert Lewis / Ian Nielsen
Annabella Sciorra as Annie Collins-Nielsen
Max von Sydow as The Tracker / Albert Lewis
Rosalind Chao as Leona / Marie Nielsen

Robin Williams plays a wonderful and tender role as Chris.

The story is about the love Chris Nielsen has for his wife Annie, which continues even after he is in heaven. He is met first by the family dog, but then is helped by an old friend, Albert, (Cuba Gooding, Jr.).

Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Chris can see Annie’s paintings which manifest themselves in heaven. Especially the tree she is currently working on, until she becomes distraught and destroys the painting. In Matheson’s heaven, the physical is an illusion, thought is real. So to fly, for instance, all you have to do is think it.

It is soon discovered that Annie has committed suicide and thus sparks an ambitious quest for Chris to rescue her from hell. Chris would rather spend eternity in hell than to be in heaven without her.

Max von Sydow, leading the way to hell.

In the end, love conquers all. However, the movie and the book’s ending differ on this point. In the book, Annie is not ready for heaven and must be reincarnated back to Earth. Chris decides to go with her.

Annabella Sciorra as Annie

Rosalind Chao and Jessica Kate Brooks

What Dreams May Come is a wonderfully told, imaginative story, and is among my favorites in this genre.

<-----CLICK Picture.

The seemingly paranormal phenomena recorded in this book, are entirely based on true events.

Pennies From Across the Veil is a love story…about death and the afterlife.

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A Fine and Private Place – Novel by Peter S. Beagle #afterlife #book #blog

1/8/2016

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The book derives its name from the following quote from Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress: "The grave's a fine and private place, but none, I think, do there embrace."

Peter S. Beagle

This fantasy novel is one of my favorite in all the world.

Original release cover. "A Fine and Private Place" Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_Fine_and_Private_Place.jpg #/media/File:A_Fine_and_Private_Place.jpg

It takes place in the fictional Yorkchester Cemetery which is cared for by Jonathan Rebeck, a homeless and bankrupt pharmacist, who in turn is cared for by a raven who brings him sandwiches. This is much like the biblical raven who fed Elijah in the wilderness.

Rebeck can communicate to the raven and to the departed souls. One such soul, is newly departed, Michael Morgan, who either was poisoned by his wife or committed suicide. He can’t remember which. He starts out in the coffin, but then pops free into the cemetery where his soul is bound. Soon another soul emerges, Laura Durand, a bookshop clerk, who was killed by a truck.

Alternate cover designs.

The two souls fall in love and make this pledge to each other, "for as long as I can remember love."

Rebeck also finds love with Mrs. Klapper, a widow who discovers him while visiting her husband's mausoleum. Their story makes for a quirky, yet wonderful account of an unlikely quintet of characters.

Meanwhile the raven continues to bring them word, via the newspaper of Morgan’s wife’s poison trial. She is found innocent. Her husband's death ruled suicide. Morgan then faces separation from Laura when his body is removed to unhallowed ground. Mrs. Klapper talks Rebeck, into finding a way to reunite the two love souls, and he finally leaves the cemetery for the first time in twenty years.

Peter S. Beagle was born in Manhattan on April 20, 1939. Today he is 76. He also wrote The Last Unicorn which made him famous. A Fine and Private Place was released in 1960 and written when Beagle was 19 years old. I loved his style of writing which flowed so nicely across the pages. You don’t have to think about the words. He writes like my brain thinks.

A Fine and Private Place was apparently made into a musical, but was withdrawn by the author’s request. My wife always said that a serious stage play should have been play written for this story.

A comic book version was made by IDW Publishing, but only the first of five has been published.

Peter S. Beagle is truly one of the greats.

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Afterlife #movie #blog

12/24/2015

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I am taking a break from my time travel blog posts to explore afterlife books and movies. I consider most of these stories fantasy. They don’t necessarily represent my personal belief in what the afterlife is like. For that check out my book: Pennies From Across the Veil, which is based on true phenomena.

Having said that, the first movie I am featuring deals with the theory of reincarnation. I enjoy stories with this theme, even though it is not part of my own theology. I mean no disrespect for those who believe in it.

The first film in this category is:

Chances Are

It stars:

Cybill Shepherd
Robert Downey, Jr.
Ryan O'Neal
Mary Stuart Masterson
Christopher McDonald

Chances Are was released in 1989.

Louie and Corrine Jeffries (McDonald and Shepherd) are a happily married couple until Louie is hit and killed by a car. He ends up in heaven with severe separation anxiety from Corrine. So the Heaven authorities agree to let him go back and be born again. But Louie slips past without getting his inoculation which makes you forget your past life.

Louie is reborn in a new body (Robert Downey, Jr.) who, at first grows up not knowing anything about his past life. One day he meets a cute young woman named, Miranda. Through a work colleague, Phillip (Ryan O’Neal) he gets invited to Miranda’s house, where he meets her mom, Corrine.

Robert Downey, Jr. and Ryan O'Neal

Louie begins to remember who he was and the movie becomes very comical as he tries to convince Corrine that he is her dead husband, who, by the way, Corrine never got over losing. He also realizes that Miranda is his own daughter, who he had never met in his other life. He has to pull away from her as he seduces her mom, Corrine.

Quote: Louie: “Miranda, go to your room.”

Mary Stuart Masterson as Amanda

It’s odd to see Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) in such a young role, yet it wasn’t odd for me to see him and Cybill Shepherd together. I thought they had better chemistry than he and Masterson.

The 44 year old Cybill Shepherd was extremely sexy in this role and the way it was cast and acted made it plausible.

Ryan O'Neal as Phillip Train also did a great job. Phillip had been in love with Corrine even as she was marrying Louie back in the 1960s. He never stopped loving her. She just thought of him as a dear friend. But when push came to shove, literally, as Phillip and Louie have a fight, the question is raised where her true feelings and loyalties lie.

The movie has a good ending, but some people were disappointed by who ended up with whom. Others were not.

Original cover release

Check out my afterlife book: Pennies From Across the Veil where the seemingly paranormal phenomena recorded, are entirely based on true events.

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Aaron Paul Lazar - #Mystery Writer & More #GIVEAWAY Plus: Cover Reveal

12/11/2015

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Aaron Paul Lazar

Husband/Father/Grandfather, Obsessed Writer, and Fanatical Gardener!

Today on my blog, I am featuring Aaron Paul Lazar in a very interesting interview. He is not only a wonderful author of multiple book series, but a true gentleman and nice guy. I am lucky and blessed to have befriended him.

READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR DETAILS OF THE GIVEAWAY!

Hi Aaron. Thanks for agreeing to be hosted on my blog.

APL: Hey, Dennis. It’s great to be here. Thanks for inviting me!

My pleasure.
First let me start off by congratulating you on your many accomplishments.

APL: Thanks so much. It’s funny, but I don’t feel so much as if they are accomplishments as releasing of those stories that must be told, you know?

I like that view point. We are led by our characters sometimes, aren’t we?

APL: That’s for sure. I feel as though these parallel universes that I create aren’t always born the way I picture them. They seem to grow into entities themselves, and take off in directions my characters decide to go.

So, how many books do you have published?

APL: I have twenty-five books published to date. Most are in eBook, print, and audiobook format, although a few, like my Write Like the Wind writing guides, are just in eBook and audiobook.

Wow, my seven books pale in comparison.

When did you start writing?

APL: I started to putter with it in 1997, but I really got hooked in 2001, when I finished Double Forte and started on Upstaged, the second book in the LeGarde Mystery series. Since then I’ve been unable to stop. It’s like an itch that must be scratched, this writing obsession. I’m sure you know exactly how I feel.

Indeed, I do.
This is an unfair question, I know and I’m sorry. But can you pick a favorite?

APL: Being an author yourself, Dennis, you know how tough a question this is! But if I absolutely had to pick just one book, I think it might be Don’t Let the Wind Catch You. This is part of my “young Gus LeGarde” series, and it’s a sequel to Tremolo: cry of the loon.

Why is that, Aaron?

APL: Well, because writing as an eleven-year-old boy is just plain fun. I also love the nostalgia of the era. I grew up in the fifties and sixties, and man-oh-man did we have fun!

That’s awesome, Aaron! I had fun in the sixties too. I’m going to have to put that on my to-be-read list.

Click the picture to purchase.

Like me, you have a family, a day job, as well as your writing career. What is your method for balancing all that?

APL: Dennis, it’s a little easier now that my daughters have grown up and moved out to start their own lives. Sure, we have many grandkids around all the time, and we also care for my wife’s 92-year-old mother. But my best way to balance all this is to go to bed super early, and get up at 4:00 AM to write to my heart’s content. This way I can get all my chores done, do my exercise (walking for an hour), write several chapters in whatever book I happen to be held captive by at the moment, and still leave for work by 8:00. Of course, when I get home, my wife and I pretty much just eat and go to bed, LOL. We watch a little TV, but we fall asleep fast!

Aaron, I knew we were kindred spirits. My day is pretty much like yours. Early to bed, early to rise. I’m also a morning writer.

If you had the opportunity to quit your day job and write full time for a living, would you?

APL: That is my dream, Dennis. I’d do it in a heartbeat.

Oh, me too, that’s why I asked.

This is an older alternate cover of The Seacrest, shown here for interest purposes. Click to purchase The Seacrest.

With all your books out there in the world, I am ashamed to say that so far, I have only read The Seacrest, but my wife has read Spirit Me Away and she loved it. But speaking of The Seacrest, I love your style of writing and how you switched back and forth between 1997 and 2013. I guess I liked it because it’s a style I use in my own time travel books.

But there is something else that struck me. It’s the way you write sensual scenes. Maybe it’s because I’m a guy and the way you wrote them resonated with me from my own memories of the past. I think female written erotica tends to be much more blunt…at least in the scenes I’ve read. Bravo on your subtle style. How does it feel to write erotic scenes like those in The Seacrest?

APL: I’m glad you read The Seacrest, and especially grateful for your comments from a guy’s POV. You see, my whole life, I wrote relatively “wholesome” mysteries. I was afraid to “go too far,” and didn’t want my daughters to know that I “thought like that.” LOL.

“Laughing”

I get that. I have a daughter too.

APL: So, it took me a long time to actually reach a point where I realized it didn’t matter anymore. (Daughters are all over 30 now with their own kids!) When my wife asked me to write a love story, “like Nicholas Sparks,” I laughed. But then the idea grew on me. It was a particularly strong urge when I stayed with her on Cape Cod near Paines Creek Beach, in Brewster, Mass. I have always loved the Cape, but the sensuality of the beach convinced me to write The Seacrest.

Sounds like a wonderful place to become inspired.

Paines Creek Beach (From the internet)

APL: I also wanted to pay homage to one of my favorite characters of all time, Mr. Travis McGee (John D. MacDonald’s character). So I created a feature character to do just that.
When it came time to write the love scenes, I decided to just let go. I’d read a little erotica, and found that a bit too graphic for my own tastes. So I felt I knew where to stop. I still am not sure if I achieved that, because although most of the reviews are just wonderful for The Seacrest, a few readers have been shocked by the sex scenes and recoiled in horror that their “wholesome” author went down such a scandalous road. LOL.

“Laughing”

I don’t like the graphic scenes either, as you could probably tell from reading my book, Pennies From Across the Veil, and I would say you managed to achieve the perfect balance.

APL: Your comments about the scenes meant a lot to me, coming from another guy. This is not usually a man-centric genre, you know, and I was really challenged with it. I thought back to the days when I was a teen, and how desperately I hungered for my girlfriend (now my wife of 35 years), how I worshipped her, and could not imagine anything more beautiful than making love to her. Those were the thoughts I used when I was in Finn’s head, when he was a teenager as well as further on in the story when he reconnects with Libby. I’m really relieved to see the scenes worked. Thank you!

They worked wonderfully for me. It’s beautiful to think it was your dear wife that inspired you.

APL: Regarding the alternating time chapters. Phew. That was one of the hardest writing challenges I’ve ever faced, Dennis, and I take my hat off to you for being able to regularly pull that off!

Thank you, Aaron!

APL: I really found it difficult to keep in the head of the person of the correct time frame. Normally, I have this movie playing in my head, and it’s easy to see the next scene. But here I had to stop, remember which time I was in, and then move forward. I don’t think I’ll do this again, and I didn’t for The Seacroft and for The Seadog.

Well, well done, sir.

APL: Thank you!

So The Seacroft is the sequel to The Seacrest?

APL: Yes. The Paines Creek Beach series has three books so far, The Seacrest, The Seacroft, and my current WIP, The Seadog.

Click image to purchase The Seacroft.

Your books have such great covers. Speaking of which, below I present the COVER REVEAL for the not yet completed book, The Seadog. Thank you so much, Aaron for letting me be the first to reveal this to the world. It's another fantastic cover.

A lot of your books are mysteries. What made you interested in Mysteries?

APL: Dennis, my whole life I read mysteries. Even as a kid they were the only type of book that interested me. I was very likely influenced by my parents, however, who were avid Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, PD James, and John D. MacDonald fans! Even in my love stories, like The Seacrest, I can’t help but infuse some themes you might find in a mystery, as well. ;o0

I noticed.

What started you on a writing career?

APL: Dennis, I always wanted to write, because I loved reading so much. I pictured it would be later, when I was older, maybe when I retired. But when my father died unexpectedly in 1997, it knocked me for a loop. I found writing to be supremely therapeutic, and the writing bug bit me hard. I had a brief stalling period with my first book, which I picked up after a few years of doing nothing. Since then, I can’t seem to stop. ;o)

As you know, I relate to writing after a loss as well.

Name three words in priority that describes you.

APL: That’s a tough one. My first impulse is to say husband, father, grandfather, but if you let me string those together, I’d say husband/father/grandfather, obsessed writer, and fanatical gardener.

LOL! Those are great descriptions. I’ve seen beautiful pictures of your gardening. I've attached a few below.

Who were your major influences growing up? (Writer, actor, musician…)

APL: My father was a classical music professor who played piano and filled our home with culture, wild artistic personalities, and amazing European influences in the culinary and art fields. My mother was a dedicated and loving mom who made sugar cookies and sewed our clothes. She was a great cook, too. Both of them influenced me hugely. All four of my grandparents also played a big role in my life – from my musical, Victorian-antiques-loving maternal grandparents to my outdoorsy-Maine-loving paternal grandparents.

So do you love antiques as I do?

APL: Because of my grandparents and mother (who ran an antique shop for many years), I LOVE antiques. I can’t figure why people would buy new furniture, when for half the cost they can get handcrafted, real wood products that will last centuries. My house is full of them. None are perfect – we will live normally with lots of grandkids running around – but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Most came from my grandparents and parents. But some we also found lots of them via excursions into local places here in upstate NY. There are some amazing antique shops around here. For example, when my daughter got married, I found her a Duncan Phyfe dining room table that normally would have cost $800 in the higher priced shops – for $225.00. What a deal! I also inherited my most prized possession this past year when my mother passed away, a bittersweet moment for sure. I’d much rather have my mom than all the antiques in the world, but I cherish this thing. It’s a Regina music box (cherry with carved wood and a beautiful picture/engraving on the inside lid). It came with 50 disks and a carved cherry cabinet to hold them. This kind of family treasure makes me feel blessed.

I understand this perfectly. Like I said, Kindred spirits. Antiques are links to the past. In your case it was my mom. When my mom passed, I found an old WWII scrapbook in her possessions. I didn’t know the people in it, but several months of research uncovered their identities and I even found the maker’s children. It inspired my upcoming novella, simply called The Old Scrapbook.

What can we expect to see next from the collection of Aaron Paul Lazar?

APL: I’m halfway through The Seadog, my third book in the Paines Creek Beach series. I’m really enjoying this novel and think my new character Jack Remington could be my favorite of all characters to date. He’s seriously damaged, trying to figure out what happened to make him homeless and living on the beach. The man is obsessed with incessantly searching the ocean to find someone, but he doesn’t remember who he’s looking for.

Sounds fantastic.
What else would you like to discuss?

APL: I’d like to tell folks that I’m an accessible author who loves to connect with readers. Feel free to check out my website at www.lazarbooks.com, or contact me via email at [email protected].

You can connect with me, too, at these sites:

Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
LinkedIn
Google+

Dennis, thanks for having me here today. It’s been a blast!

My pleasure, Aaron. I admire you greatly.

Aaron has agreed to give away three eBooks from his collection, and has let me choose the three. So comment for a chance to win, either The Seacrest, For the Birds, or Devil’s Lake. Winners will be chosen randomly.

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Déjà Vu – 2006 #Timetravel #Movie

12/4/2015

4 Comments

Déjà Vu is a great time travel film from 2006. It stars Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Paula Patton, Jim Caviezel, and others. Wonderful cast!

Déjà Vu was filmed in New Orleans, both before and after Hurricane Katrina and these scenes are visible in the film. In fact the script was amended to include a reference to the tragedy.

On Fat Tuesday a ferry crossing over the Mississippi River, containing Navy Sailors and their families explodes, killing 542 passengers. One of the bodies recovered from the river doesn’t fit the bill as a person who died in an explosion. The body is that of Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton) who even in death is beautiful, and this does not go unnoticed by ATF Special Agent Douglas Carlin (Denzel Washington).

Paula Patton as Claire Kuchever

Carlin is brought in on (sort of) a new government project called Snow White. He is told it is a video screen made up of satellite imagery merged together to form a 3-D stream that can be looked and manipulated from any angle. But the stream can only be obtained from exactly 4 days, 6 hours, 3 minutes, 45 seconds, and 14.5 nanoseconds in the past.

They end up viewing inside the home of Claire Kuchever. Carlin gets the notion that Claire is aware that she is being watched…by them, so he shines a laser pointer into the screen and watches as she notices the beam.

Project Snow White with: Denzel Washington as ATF Special Agent Douglas Carlin. Val Kilmer as FBI Special Agent Paul Pryzwarra. Adam Goldberg as Dr. Alexander Denny. Erika Alexander as Shanti.

A topological representation almost identical to Brian Greene's idea as used in the film to explain time travel and a wormhole.

Adam Goldberg as Dr. Alexander Denny. Erika Alexander as Shanti. Elden Henson as Gunnars.

Spoiler Alert: He is then told the truth. He isn’t just seeing images from 4 ½ days ago, he is seeing the actual past as it is occurring 4 ½ days ago. From a time travel point of view, Claire is alive.

An attempt is made to send a note back to himself, but he leaves the office and the note is discovered by his partner who is killed trying to stop the bomber, (Jim Caviezel). It was strange for me to watch the actor who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ and a beloved character in the time travel movie Frequency, playing such an evil bastard in this film.

Directed by     Tony Scott
Produced by    Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by      Bill Marsilii and Terry Rossio
Music by         Harry Gregson-Williams
Consultant:      Brian Greene

Cast
Denzel Washington as ATF Special Agent Douglas Carlin
Paula Patton as Claire Kuchever
Jim Caviezel as Carroll Oerstadt
Val Kilmer as FBI Special Agent Paul Pryzwarra
Adam Goldberg as Dr. Alexander Denny
Erika Alexander as Shanti
Bruce Greenwood as FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Jack McCready
Matt Craven as ATF Special Agent Larry Minuti
Enrique Castillo as Claire's father
Elden Henson as Gunnars

Douglas Carlin is eventually sent back to the past, with a plan to save the girl and stop the bombing. I’ve given enough spoilers, so I will leave it at this. The attempt didn’t go off exactly as planned, but the film comes to a very satisfying conclusion.

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Source Code #TimeTravel Meets Alternate Universe

11/14/2015

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A line in this 2011 film, directed by Duncan Jones, states that the source code project is not time travel, but rather time reassignment. Earlier in the day, a commuter train bound for Chicago, Illinois is bombed.

Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up to find he is in another man’s body, sitting with a pretty girl who is talking to him. The bomb detonates and he finds himself in a pod speaking with a military woman named Goodwin.

He is told that he has to go back and find the bomber. He has eight minutes to complete his task.

My kind of town. Chicago, Illinois

He is sent over and over again in eight minute intervals, picking up a little more information every time. In one segment he saves the girl, and even though he is told she is dead and he can’t change reality, he starts to believe that what’s in the source code is real, in some way…in its own reality.

I was surprised to realize the star, Jake Gyllenhaal, is the kid from Donnie Darko. I had no idea when I first saw this film in the theater. He does a fine job.

His pretty train passenger is Christina, played by Michelle Monaghan (Mission Impossible III, Pixels)

Goodwin is played by Vera Farmiga. She was nominated for best supporting actress in Up in the Air with George Clooney. She has fascinating piercing blue eyes, which were highlighted in this film as she spoke to Colter via a video link.

The film also stars Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Rutledge, who is the brains behind source code, but not a very compassionate person. Fine actor playing an unsavory person.

NOTE: Colter's dad on the phone was voiced by Scott Bakula in a touching scene.

I will venture to say that Colter Stevens was correct and each source code was its own alternate reality, but no spoilers on how it all works out. Very intriguing movie.

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Blue Moon - #Timetravel #movie

11/1/2015

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This obscure little movie, directed and co-written by John Gallagher, is becoming hard to purchase and even harder to find a synopsis online. Here is what IMBD and Amazon say about it:

“A magical story about an older couple (Ben Gazzara and Rita Moreno) who try to rekindle their love one night in the Catskills.”

This does not tell anything about what makes this movie so charming. Yes, Frank and Maggie Cavallo (Gazzara and Moreno) go to the Catskills to rekindle their love, but there is so much more. Frank is struggling with his retirement and the couple’s marriage is beginning to fail. They find themselves fighting constantly.
We learn that the mountain cabin is a place they used to go to for romantic rendezvous. But this particular night Maggie, more or less, forces Frank to go.

The scenes cut to another couple who are just starting out in their relationship. This young couple is Mac and Peggy, played by Brian Vincent Kelly and Alanna Ubach (Meet the Fockers, Legally Blonde). When Mac tells her they are going to the mountains, she assumes he means the Alps to fulfill her dream of one day going to Paris. But instead, they too are renting a cabin in the Catskills.

Brian Vincent Kelly and Alanna Ubach as Mac and Peggy

Meanwhile Frank and Maggie remember a long ago rhyme about making a wish during a blue moon. Maggie makes a wish that she and Frank could remember what it was like to be young and what brought them together in the first place.

In Mac and Peggy’s cabin, Peggy wishes she could see how her future husband, Mac, turns out in the future.

Not being happy with Mac in the moment, she undresses and goes to hop into bed. She screams because she finds Frank and Maggie asleep there. This causes Frank to point a gun at the young couple, wondering why they are trespassing.

Brian Vincent Kelly (Mac)

Alanna Ubach (Peggy)

SPOILER ALERT...

... but no surprise, Mac and Peggy are Frank and Maggie from the past. As the night goes on, they learn all about each other. For instance, the young couple learns that Frank never took Peggy (Maggie) to Paris and Frank talks about how he was abused as a child. But the older couple now remembers what made them fall in love to begin with, while the younger couple sees a long fulfilled life together.

Ben Gazzara and Rita Moreno (Frank and Maggie Cavallo)

This movie is well done for a low budget film. It is presented and acted like a stage play, which gives it a different feel, and as I said, it has a very romantic charm. It has become rare enough for Amazon to charge big bucks for the DVD, but there are used ones for sale.

3 Comments

#Horror Story for #Halloween

10/23/2015

4 Comments

The New Orleans Horror Story – By Dennis Higgins

This is my first attempt at a scary short story.

The New Orleans Horror Story – By Dennis Higgins

New Orleans
1906

She was beside herself with grief at the loss of her only child. I reckon she was a good mom. I never did take much to the child though, too whiny, always needin’ something from me.

My name is Claire Badeau and I am the only housemaid and nanny for this here large mansion. My employers treat me alright for rich folk, although I don’t have much dealing with the mister. They both sure did love that child, however. Now he’s over in the parlor, laid to rest. Folks will be coming later to pay their respects to the poor thing. I haven’t yet seen him myself. But I figured this would be a good time since no one is up before dawn and the house is pitch black. I now know what they mean by that old saying, it’s always darkest before the dawn. Not even the moon can shine through those heavy black curtains hangin’ on the windows and surrounding the little casket.

As I strike a match to light the lamp I’m holding, my thoughts go to the boy. I had tried hard to be a good nanny. I even attempted to give in to his tantrums, but it was so difficult sometime. I know it wasn’t entirely his fault, being brought up with a want for nothing the way he was. Must be nice having all that money his granddaddy made selling munitions to both the Yanks and our boys in gray. Traitor is what I say. They named the child after him, Albert Ashford the third.

As I creep towards the coffin containing the body of this nearly four year-old boy, I am grateful neither the Ashford’s nor their doctor questioned that bottle of tonic they found near his still, little body. It was my newly opened bottle of nerve tonic. I never thought it would harm their precious child. I only wanted to calm him down a bit since he was havin’ one of his temper fits over a broken wooden toy. I lied and told the Mrs. that I had taken it myself that day, so she gave it back to me.

The shadows in the room dance with the flicker of the oil lamp as I creep closer to the poor little thing. I try to walk slowly so the floor boards don’t creak too much. I don’t much like being around the dead. Makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. But I feel I must pay my last respects now, since later I will be busy servin’ folks.

I creep closer and closer and can just make out the silk lining of the coffin’s interior. I am almost there when a faint noise startles me. I stop dead in my tracks. It sounded like a whisper coming from somewhere in the room. I look, but my eyes can only make out the fine marble sculptures on the fireplace. The room is still, maybe too still. I am about to take another step when I hear it more clearly this time.

“Claire,” the sound hisses out. It definitely came from the right side of the room. I continued walking while keeping my head turned, trying to perceive where that dreaded sound is coming from. Suddenly I am at the coffin. I look down at the motionless, pale little body and I become filled with grief and guilt.

“Oh, poor little Albert, what have I done to you?” I cross myself but somehow feel that God won’t be forgivin’ me for the transgression against this little one. I’d given him a gulp of my nerve tonic before. Maybe I gave his little body too much this time.

His face is so sweet and I get closer to give him a kiss when… his eyes pop open. I jump back and let out a little scream, but when I again look down at the boy, he looks to be at peace. It must certainly be my imagination playin’ tricks in the dim lamp light.

“Come on Claire,” I say to myself. “You know dead little boys can’t come back to life. Get a grip on yourself, old girl.”

I steady myself and the room becomes a dead quiet. Suddenly my lamp goes out for no reason and I am standing in total blackness. My hand fumbles past the bottle of tonic in my apron as I feel for the matches. Putting the glass from the lamp down on the table next to the casket, I strike the match. In the dim light from the little wooden stick in my hand, I see the boy. His head is turned towards me, staring at me. His eyes are wide and full of anger, like a mad dog ready to pounce. The match starts to burn my finger and I let it drop to the floor. I thrust my hand into my apron pocket and grab for the bottle of tonic. I need to calm my nerves. I open it and take a large gulp. It sears like acid going down my throat.

Poison, the tonic was poison. I didn’t know. I collapse.

The End

The story above was based on nothing but my imagination. For my book based on real events, be sure to read Pennies From Across the Veil. Release date, November 5th, 2015. Pre-order today.

4 Comments

The Age of Adaline #movie #timetravel

10/5/2015

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The film, The Age of Adaline was 12 years in the making. The first script began in 2003 by Screenwriter, J. Mills Goodloe. Salvador Paskowitz joined in, and after several rewrites, location changes and castings, it was finally released on April 25, 2015.

The film is about a girl born in 1908 on New Year’s Day. In 1937 when she was 29 years old, Adaline’s car runs off the road during a snowstorm. She ends up in a ravine of frigid water, goes into hyperthermia and her heart stops. But when the water is struck by lightning, she is revived, and something miraculous happens. She stops aging.

Adaline remains 29 years of age for the next 78 years.

Blake lively (Gossip Girl, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Green Lantern) was cast in the leading role and does a fantastic job. She is just as believable as a modern woman in 2015 as she is in 1937, 1963, or 1996.

Ellen Burstyn plays Flemming, Adaline’s daughter, who in her later years had to pretend to be her grandmother, rather than her offspring.

Adaline loves deeply, but can never stay with the men she has relationships with, having to leave them before they can discover her secret. She also changes her name and identity every few years. Adaline’s 2015 love interest is Ellis Jones, played by Michiel Huisman. They meet at a New Year’s party. (Everything in this film happens on New Year’s) Ellis knows her as Jenny Larson.

Ellis ends up taking Adaline to his home for his parent’s 50th anniversary party. His parents are William and Kathy Jones, played by Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker.

SPOILER ALERT: The moment William Jones (Ford) sees Adaline, he recognizes her, calling her by her real name. But she quickly claims to be Adaline’s daughter. In a flashback, it is shown that he and Adaline were romantic back in the 1960s. As she always did, she left him. But she tells the aged William that Adaline loved him very much.

Note: Anthony Ingruber played the young William Jones and manages to channel Harrison Ford’s looks and crooked smile. The actor even wants to play Han Solo.

William remains suspicious, and when he notices a scar on her hand, he then realizes she is his long lost love.

Harrison Ford is great in this role and the love he has for Adaline comes across well and believable.

The film comes to a very satisfying conclusion when the process that stopped Adaline from aging is duplicated… Yes, on New Year’s eve.

Directed by
Lee Toland Krieger

Produced by
Sidney Kimmel
Gary Lucchesi
Brett Ratner
Tom Rosenberg

Written by
J. Mills Goodloe
Salvador Paskowitz

Starring
Blake Lively
Michiel Huisman
Kathy Baker
Amanda Crew
Harrison Ford
Ellen Burstyn

Narrated by
Hugh Ross

Music by
Rob Simonse

This film is not time-travel in the strictest sense, but is a unique form of the genre. I highly recommend it.

Speaking of love, Life and Death, don't forget to read my latest novel. CLICK> Pennies From Across the veil.

3 Comments

The Final Countdown #movie #timetravel

9/7/2015

1 Comment

Time travel with a moral dilemma. If a modern day aircraft carrier was sent back to Pearl Harbor on the day before the Japanese attack, should it intervene?

This is what faced the USS Nimitz as a strange storm propelled it back to June 6th, 1941 near Pearl Harbor.

The film starred Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen when they looked like their sons, Michael and Charlie. The movie was produced by one of Kirk Douglas’s other sons, Peter Vincent Douglas, who was the brain child and driving force in the making of it.

Peter got the attention of the US Navy and received their full support. They even allowed the filming of an actual rescue that happened to take place during production. The scene is in the film.

Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Kirk Douglas

The movie also starred James Farentino whose character is pivotal, as he is the historian of the original Pearl Harbor attacks. But he also believes history can’t be changed. That is until he aids in rescuing a man, woman, and dog out of the water from a Zero attack. The man turns out to be Senator Samuel Chapman, who was supposed to die that day. The senator is next in line to replace FDR as president.

Charles Durning as Senator Samuel Chapman

Chapman’s secretary is Laurel Scott played by Katherine Ross. She has a love interest with Owen (Farentino) right after he rescues her dog, Charlie from the water. NOTE: I could not find one single picture of Charlie from the film. Nor does the movie credit him. What’s up with that?

·        Kirk Douglas as Captain Matthew Yelland, Commanding Officer, USS Nimitz

·        Martin Sheen as Warren Lasky

·        Katharine Ross as Laurel Scott

·        James Farentino as Commander Richard T. "Dick" Owens, Commander, Carrier Air Wing 8

·        Ron O'Neal as Cmdr. Dan Thurman, Executive Officer, USS Nimitz

·        Charles Durning as Senator Samuel Chapman

·        Soon-Tek Oh as Simura

??? as Charlie the dog.

Katherine Ross and Soon-Tek Oh

This movie comes to a very satisfying conclusion, but I will not give you any spoilers. This is a good time travel film. It has most of my elements. Awe in traveling in time, conflict, action, some romance. What it lacks from my list is good props as the movie is filmed entirely on the carrier or in the air. The only thing to give you a sense of the period is the senator’s yacht and a few radio broadcasts. The movie does use Japanese Zero planes which were made for the movie, Tora! Tora! Tora! and has a small bombing scene from that film.

Based on a true story, a real scrapbook from World War II and real people. Bet and Ray met, fell in love, and got engaged until they were separated by a war.

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