13 HORROR VILLAINS THAT COULD ACTUALLY KILL YOU
By JEFF COLEBANK

Now we all know horror movies are just that, movies, and the characters on screen could never actually come into our bedrooms and kill us…or could they? 

Now I’m not talking about the terrors from Aliens or The Descent or even Poltergeist.  I am talking about real flesh and blood people that could actually come into your bedroom and drive a stake through your chest. Real people who have gone on a killing rampage for God only knows what reason, but one thing is for sure, they are hungry for blood, and they’re coming after you.

My Grandfather always told me, “It’s not the dead ones you got to worry about, it’s the live ones.” This statement has never been truer than in this list.  Here are 13 villains that could actually come into your room and murder you if they wanted. Enjoy, with minor spoilers.

13. Bruce – Jaws
Baaadum, Baaaadum, Badum, Badum, Badum.  Good, now that that is stuck in all of your heads we can start this list off right.  Bruce is last on my list because he isn’t someone that can come into your bedroom and kill you, but he sure can kill you at the beach when your floating around in your polka-dot bikini. Bruce the shark is an iconic image of what could be considered the first Blockbuster horror film in history.   Jaws and Bruce also kept a lot people out of water for years after it came out, so it deserves a spot on my list.

Likelihood he will kill you - Out of water: 0/10 In water with a polka dot bikini: 9/10

12. Annie Wilkes – Misery 
Ms. Wilkes was one hell of a number one fan that’s for sure.  Most famous people have to worry about fans stealing their underwear or trying to take nude pictures of them.  But Paul Sheldon had to worry about his number one fan kidnapping him and breaking his ankles.  Maybe Paul should think about a different career, like rock and roll, and then his fans would be throwing their panties at him and not trying to set his bed on fire.

Likelihood she will kill you – If you’re a famous writer: 8/10

11.  Rhoda Penmark – The Bad Seed
Children have always been great horror film villains.  They seem so sweet and innocent and then the next thing you know the child has just set you on fire.  The Bad Seed was one of the first great horror films to use a child as a villain, and ever since, films like The Omen, The Orphan and Them have been doing its job of natural birth control, because I sure as hell don’t want a child in my house after seeing The Bad Seed. 

Likelihood she will kill you – If you’re a parent that likes to spank your kids: 7/10

10.  Billy Loomis and Stu Macher – Scream
I need to look up and see if the “Ghostface” mask was the most popular Halloween costume after Scream came out.  In fact, I still see that face at Halloween, but it is usually the guy who couldn’t think of a good costume and “Ghostface” was the only thing left at Wal-Mart.  But this movie did open the door for some of the worst horror spoof movies of all time. The Scary Movie franchise wont be running out of ideas any time soon either, “Ghostface” is expected to return in Scream 4 rumored to be coming out sometime in 2010.
Likelihood he will kill you – If you don’t know who the killer was in Friday the 13th: 10/10

9. John “Jigsaw” Kramer-Saw
Do you wanna play a game? No John I don’t wanna play a game and I don’t like it that someone in a pig mask just drugged me and kidnapped me either. Currently the Saw Franchise is running second in most profitable horror franchise, about 62 million dollars behind Friday the 13th. However, Jigsaw has at least one more film to play some games in so we shall who will win this game.

Likelihood he will kill you – If you wake up to the words “Wanna play a game?” 9/10

8. Leatherface – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I wonder if this movie helped or hurt Texas tourism? Because it sure as hell will keep me out of Texas for the rest of my life.  However, Leatherface is prime example of a hurt boy just looking for some friends.  Every time someone comes into close contact with Leatherface, he is very frightened and he just cuts people with a chainsaw because he is just so scared.  Maybe if someone just asked Leatherface for a hug he wouldn’t be so angry all the time and come after scantily dressed girls. 

Likelihood he will kill you – If your car breaks down in the middle of the Lone Star State: 6/10

7. Michael Myers – Halloween
You never see a really skinny killer do you? Leatherface and Michael Myers are both big boys, but damn can they chase people down.  This movie is a leading example of why you don’t let people out of a mental hospital until you know 110% that they are sane.  Michael did some pretty cruel stuff when he was little and probably should have stayed in Smith’s Grove for a little longer.
 
Likelihood he will kill you – If you’re out on Halloween night: 7/10

6. Norman Bates – Psycho
Can you say Mama’s Boy?  Norman loved his mother so much that he wanted to be just like her, literally. But this movie did make people think twice about taking a shower for a while.  However, every time I hold a chefs knife I cant help but make the slasher noise and chase after my dogs.  
Likelihood he will kill you – If you check into the Bates Hotel – 9/10

5. Asami Yamazaki – Ôdishon (Audition)
Even though this is the only Asian horror flick on here, trust me, it’s the best.  Ôdishon is an example of what happens when you date someone who is young enough to be your own child.  This film is definitely Asian because it has its fair share of blood and gore.  But overall Asami Yamazaki is one of the more freighting women of horror films and I would not want to let her in my house. 
Likelihood she will kill you – If your old enough to be her father: 6/10

 4. Crazed Trio – The Strangers
This movie is one of the only horror movies out there that severely frightened me.  But not because the movie was terrifying, but because, Man in the Mask, Doll Face and Pin-Up Girl were people that literally could be my neighbors.  This trio had no motive as to why they kill, other than the fact that Kristen and James were “A Home”.  Some of the other horror villains in my list have had fucked up pasts, abusive parents or a violent childhood, but The Strangers villains are just ordinary people who want to simply kill people. 
Likelihood they will kill you – If Tamara isn’t home: 9/10

3. Jack Torrance-The Shining
This film gets better and better every time I see it and Jack gets more and more evil too.  If you really pay attention you can see him go crazy, every scene he looses a little bit of his mind, slowly, until, “Here’s Johnny!” Recently I just found out that that line was improved as well, which just adds to the overall effect of the film. If they ever made a sequel to this film Danny would be the one going crazy because he was already weird when that movie started. 

Likelihood he will kill you – If there is all work and no play: 8/10

2. Hannibal Lecter- Silence of the Lambs
I wonder what fava beans taste like and if they really are good with liver?  Hannibal Lecter should have just claimed that he was a native to an African tribe that was Cannibalistic and he would have been freed.  But I think he liked the fun and games he got to play with Clarice too much to ever want to be freed.  This film does get props for being one of the few “thriller” films to win a Best Picture Oscars, along with four other Oscars as well. 

Likelihood he will kill you, or eat a part of your body – If your name isn’t Clarice Starling: 9/10

1. Zodiac Killer –Zodiac
Now, now, I know Zodiac isn’t your typical horror film that you would find on Horrornews.net, but this guy was so good at killing people that he was never captured, which means he is still able to kill you at any moment.  This movie wasn’t the most suspenseful nor did it have the best acting, but it was still a good thriller, mystery film.  But The Zodiac killer is my number one choice for the Horror Villain most likely to actually kill you because he actually killed many people and he is still on the run capable of coming into my bedroom and slicing my throat with a nice encrypted note laying next to me for police to solve.

Likelihood he will kill you – If you live in the Northern California area – 9/10

Well that was my list of who I thought were the most likely to kill me from the horror movies I have seen. The above films and villains will definitely make you think twice about the man in the shadows from now on.  If you have seen a film that has a great villain who could actually kill you and he/she/they are not on my list, then leave the name down in the comments below.

CLICK HERE FOR COMMENT PAGE

HORROR, RELIGION, & VOODOO
By BRIAN E. NISKALA

  With Haiti’s devastating events still in the news and as you may of guessed I am a historian and love to build the relationship between my love of horror, history, religion and of course politics, but I like to forgo the latter in this forum.
Horror historically always seems to hover around the aspect of religion, good defeating evil for that matter all early wars evolved around religion until the true discovery of using petroleum as a fuel, now we fight about religion and oil but I am almost crossing the line about politics!

The 1791 Slave Rebellion in Haiti is a classic example of good defeating evil sort of… People of the day held religion as their highest priority. Although owning slaves was viewed as a simple business decision with no thought of human life except on how to breed slaves to make bigger stronger workers.

Quick history of Haiti, Haiti was originally Hispanola named by Christopher Columbus Dec 5th, 1492. Its native people were small in numbers but soon over ran by ships carrying loads of slaves to work the fields growing sugar cane. Originally a Spanish colony, it was taken over by French buccaneers who used the island of Tortuga (1625, an actual place not only in The Pirates of The Caribbean), as a launching ground for raids on Spanish ships. France quickly made claim to the island but the Spanish held on in the areas that became The Dominican Republic in later years. Sugar expanded to indigo and cotton. This flourishing business gave great wealth to France and the slave owners drove their slaves hard in darkened misery of endless days of work. Voodoo was the chosen religious practice chosen by the slaves something that the so called Christian slave owners would try to beat out of them.

By 1791 the slave population reached a staggering 790,000! With only 32,000 being white. Some slaves tried planning revolts, but were slaughtered, gutted and hung around the cities and plantations to warn the other slaves to ‘stay in line’ others were so savagely beaten by their Christian owners that they would remain crippled for the rest of their lives.

Voodoo was a pagan ritual seen as a type of demonic practice or ‘pact with the devil’ as the recent Pat Robertson so affectionately yet irresponsibly reminded us of and caused our wonderful Dai Green to send that nice email to the 700 Club, Pat Robertson’s launching ground for his cult like practice of evangelism. Voodoo in fact is a blending of African religious beliefs and Christianity which was forced upon the slaves as they became the property of their Christian owners. As the generations of slaves progressed so did the blending which eventually became known as voodoo.

1791 led to the breaking point, Boukman Dutty a self educated slave and voodoo high priest (witch doctor) led the successful slaughter of the white dominance on the island. Boukman was large in stature with a rage unlike anything the Christian’s had seen, leading them to believe even more that voodoo had made his rage so intense to lead the hundreds of thousands of his people into revolt. He was viewed as being invincible by his followers and many French as well.

Such a rising could only be seen as a ‘pact with the devil’ in the eyes of the French Christians. The Christian slave owners could not fathom their God would let such a uprising against his Christian followers, they only knew this had to be the devils work.

Boukman on the eve of the first organized attack slaughtered a pig in sacrifice and ‘cast aside the image of the God of the whites.’ Being interpreted wrongly as a revolt against God but in fact a revolt against the white God who was seen by the Boukman’s followers as letting it be ok for a human to be slaved to another human. Simply put, practice what you preach. Saint Domingue saw some 1800 plantations burned to the ground and 1000 slave owners savagely killed ripped to pieces, burned alive or dragged to their death in one of the bloodiest horrific uprisings to date. Rumors of slave owners were reported to be used in human sacrifices with various body parts being consumed by Boukman’s followers adding to the intense state of horror felt by the French colony. It was viewed as Boukman was demonically possessed by the devil himself.

 The uprising ceremony is remembered as ‘The event of the Bwa Kayiman ceromony’ it forms the important part of the identify of the genesis of the Hatian people. Still viewed as a ‘pact with the devil’ by many Christians who do not understand its meaning or heritage.
Boukman a few months later was caught by the French, brutality tortured in public until his death and dismemberment where his head was put on display to show his disciples that he was indeed defeated and he was not invincible as previously thought.

August 29, 1793 slavery was abolished in the Northern territories of Haiti and eventually completely by 1794. The United States took nearly 71 years (1865) to follow France. 

Written by: Brian E. Niskala, Author of Rhinehoth, a Dark Gothic Horror Novel available on Amazon.com, Fan page on Facebook:  Rhinehoth 

CLICK HERE FOR COMMENT PAGE

THE ABC'S OF THE HORROR KIND
By Selina Alaniz

Remember learning the alphabet in elementary school and having to assign words like ‘apple’ and ‘banana?’ Those were the days, but honestly I think there’s a better way to learn the ABC’s. How about the horror alphabet?  It’s a much more fun and entertaining way to get educated. Take a gander and begin the learning process.

A is for alien. Who can forget Sigourney Weaver’s ‘Ripley’ versus the big, bad alien in the “Alien” franchise?  Aliens may be from a different planet but Ridley Scott proved they can be creepy and blood thirsty killers.

B is for blood. This is essentially one of the main components to horror. Blood represents life. By spilling it, you are spilling out life (and guts if you’re Eli Roth).

C is for clowns. This baddie may seem cute and harmless at first, but upon further investigation it has been found to scare the crap out of people and on occasion come out of a bath tub drain. “It” anyone?

D is for death. Horror entails blood, fright, and death. There can be no horror if everyone survives.

E is for Robert Englund. Portraying Freddy Krueger was a great choice for him but not so good for us. Never sleep again is an understatement.

F is for fear. This is the whole point of horror. It instills the emotion of fear; this in turns makes you paranoid and afraid of pretty much everything. A true horror tale will always instill fear.

G is for ghosts. The noise in the attic. The cold brush of wind (in the middle of the summer). The movement from the corner of your eye. You know who the culprit is.

H is for “Halloween.” John Carpenter will forever be one of the master’s of horror. Thanks to him, Michael Myers and William Shatner’s face have permanently been burned into our brains.
I is for infection. No one wants big, red blotches oozing out blood and then having an arm fall off. It’s not attractive and it’s not cute.
J is for Jack the Ripper. What’s scarier than some guy going around turning hard core surgeries into a crime?  He’s been an inspiration for many of today’s murderous characters. On top of that, no one even knows who the guy really is.

K is for killers, the human kind. Sometimes the one creating the horror is the neighbor next door. “The Strangers” did a good job of making people think twice about answering their doors. ‘Tamara’ does not live here nor will she ever.

L is for Hannibal Lecter, everyone’s favorite cannibal and serial killer. No one ever wore a jail jumpsuit as well as he did.

M is for masks. Smart killers use these to get away with their crimes.  Michael Myers, the killers from “Scream,” and Jason Voorhees wore creepy masks as they committed their heinous murders.

N is for “Nosferatu.” This film showcased the first vampire on film. Edward Cullen he was not.

O is for obsession. In most horror movies and stories, the killer or monster lusts after something. It may be a person, an object, a goal or even a feeling that gives them fuel. A villain cannot be a villain without having some sort of obsession.

P is for possession. No one wants to have a demon renting out space in their bodies. “The Exorcist” is a prime example of what a possession would be like. Possessed children make for a bad night’s sleep.

Q is for quiet, the calm before the storm. You know those quiet moments in movies are only precursors to something really scary popping out right in front of you and scaring the ‘you know what’ out of you.

R is for Anne Rice. She brought vampires like Lestat and Louis to life in her “Vampire Chronicles” series.  She made it cool for vampires to be deadly and sexy.

S is for Bram Stoker. He brought forth one of the most notorious blood drinkers to walk the planet. Dracula will forever be the ultimate vampire icon.
T is for torture. The hero in any story must be tortured either physically or emotionally before they can kick some serious behind. Plus it makes for great entertainment.

U is for the unknown. Knowing is the best tool in survival in any horror story. Not knowing, not so much.

V is for vampires. One minute they can be charming and sexy. The next thing you know, they are sucking the blood right out of you.

W is for werewolf. By day they are your lawyer or P.E. teacher. But by night, they transform into blood hungry monsters looking for their next meal, which could be you.

X is for xenophobia. The word simply means being afraid of outsiders and what horror story doesn’t have that. This is how our horror antagonists are usually created. They are the ones that people ignore and fear because they are ‘different.’

Y is for youth. For some odd reason, those youngins are easy victims. They are the ones running around while being chased by some maniac yielding a sharp weapon.

Z is for zombies. The undead coming back to life makes people nervous. No one wants to see their grandmother outside their window trying to get in to eat their brains. No one.

CLICK HERE FOR COMMENT PAGE

WHO: RAMZI ABED
FILM SITE: HOLLYWOOD WIZARD

MIKE JOY : Well, first off, Happy New Year & congratulations on your new position!! How did you acquire the "Acquisitions & Production" role for Hollywood Wizard?

RAMZI ABED : I've known Tony Kandah, the President and founder of Hollywood Wizard for a little over six years, and I approached him after last year's American Film Market to see what was new with him and his company. I joined his team, and have been actively helping him find and make exciting new films. Tony is a very inspiring person, and I look up to him a lot. He's done it all, and has a wealth of experience in the film business.

MIKE JOY : I know you mentioned you are assembling films that cross "various genres". Does this mean you will not be doing your raw, nail-biting movies for Hollywood Wizard? Please explain...

RAMZI ABED : I will still be directing and producing my own films, like the upcoming film "Noirland", as well as some other people's films that I can't really mention yet. I will continue to make the films I want to make independently. Tony has expressed interest in working with me on my films, but that's really something I can't talk about too much at this point. Ultimately, my films are a different story here. The main thing is the films that I will be acquiring and representing for Hollywood Wizard will come from all genres. Cast-driven indies that have both commercial and niche appeal are what we're aiming for. I am a big fan of clever films that cross genres, and are original. It's too early to tell, but we're already getting involved in some very cool projects for production also. So, really a lot of stuff will be happening.

MIKE JOY : How do movies like the recent "Devil's Muse" & "In a Spiral State" come about? What inspires you, as they are very unique, in a very positive way. Very engulfing...

RAMZI ABED : It's an interesting process that's very hard to really pinpoint. With "The Devil's Muse", which starred Kristen Kerr and Cinque Lee, I was sincerely interested and intrigued by the tragic and mysterious life and death of Elizabeth Short, the so-called "Black Dahlia", and many ideas ruminated until I got David J involved, who was the first person that started working on the film. The music was the impetus for much of the feel of the film, so we actually created some of the original musical themes and a couple of songs before I started lensing the film. Also the movie went through various stages, until it became itself.

With "In A Spiral State", which starred Lizzy Strain and Bianca Barnett, it's a little different. I've been fascinated with the concepts of synchronicity and unified consciousness, and also experimental cinema. What really inspired it though was a number of scenes that popped into my head from out of nowhere, and they haunted me. I basically wrote out a basic outline, but those particular scenes became the first things we shot, and informed the rest of the story for me. Unlike "The Devil's Muse", which was at least 75% scripted, "In A Spiral State", was written in a very non-traditional way, and involved both improvisation from the actors, documentary-style storytelling, and a good number of scenes that I would write out only a few days before we shot them or even on the spot. It was far more about capturing and creating a real reality than normal narrative filmmaking. In the end, these films are not for everyone, but I hope that some people will find them mystifying or unusual at least. Both films were released widely by cutting-edgle label, Halo 8, so go and get those dvds!

MIKE JOY : Could you dive a bit into what type of new "in-house" projects you are currently working on for Hollywood Wizard? I know you mentioned a new assmebly of films already, but what other projects are you referring to?

RAMZI ABED : It's actually really amazing and in some ways still a mystery as it's unfolding right now. There are a few incredible projects that are in the potential pipeline for production right now, and they range in genre from thrillers to action and horror films. It's really hard to say what's going to be made first, but as the casting and financing commences, we'll have a better idea. These will be big movies, and we're excited about them. Also the most recent in-house title, "Ballistica", which is a really cool and energetic action and cult film, was just recently finished. It stars genre kings like Martin Kove, Robert Davi, and Andrew Divoff from the Wishmaster movies. Martin Kove was recently featured on an episode of TMZ, and they mentioned the movie and actually talked about his role in it, as well as his son who also acted in the film. "Ballistica" will be coming out soon in the US. I can't wait for you to find out more about this stuff, and the movies we'll be involved in.

MIKE JOY : I think many will agree, it's awesome you will be accepting material from other independent filmmakers. What type of film/screeners are you specifically looking for? Any specific criteria??

RAMZI ABED : Again, I'm looking for all kinds of films, but with an emphasis on films that have a good cast, great acting, good stories, and an inventive style. If people have a film that's finished and it has these things in it, then they should send it our way. These are, of course, feature films that we're looking for, and if they meet our criteria, then we'll pick them up for our premiere line of films at Hollywood Wizard. There is an incredible new service that we are offering also through our just recently launched global online film market, Cinesouq. Cinesouq is a way for us to represent any finished feature film out there, no matter how new or old it is, and allow the filmmakers to save a bundle on expenses. So through both Hollywood Wizard and Cinesouq, we will be able to represent many different kinds of films. I would encourage filmmakers to look us up. Tony Kandah, the President of the company, has over 20 years of experience selling and producing independent films, has an awesome reputation. His ideas and vast knowledge of film distribution will help filmmakers all over the world. You can go to www.hollywoodwizard.com and www.cinesouq.com to find out more also.

MIKE JOY : Also, would there be any specific protocol one should follow when submitting their material to you?

RAMZI ABED : Basically, I would say, just email me at ramzi@hollywoodwizard.com or just send your screeners to Hollywood Wizard directly. The mailing address is on our website. I would also emphasize checking out Cinesouq also, because it may be the easiest way to get your film repped by us. In general though, we are very open to and excited about new films, so send those movies our way!

MIKE JOY : Do you have any new upcoming film/s in production we can expect to see in the very near future? If so, about when do you expect it/them to be released?

RAMZI ABED : I'm finished the post-production on my first ever feature-length documentary, "The New Erotic", which is a sure-to-be controversial film about the new wave of erotic photographers and filmmakers that are shaping the world of erotica today. I'm very excited about this film, and about finishing it in time to meet my upcoming distribution deadline for its release through Halo 8. If everything goes right, it could be out as early as the end of April. Also I've recently finished shooting the most emotionally powerful, maybe even devastating dramatic thriller I've ever made. It's called "Telephone World", and it stars Elissa Dowling, Chandler Maness, Tamarah Murley, and Kara Michelle Hyatt among others. It's all about our public personas versus our private ones. The performance that Elissa gives is unbelievable. It's going to blow people's minds wide open.


Also I've just started getting ready to shoot all of the principal photography on my newest feature, "Noirland", which stars a number of people, including Rena Riffel, Lloyd Kaufman, Ford Austin, Hollie Stevens, Sean Cain, October Kingsley, Clint Catalyst, and if everything goes right, James Duval. I'm extremely excited about this film. I'm talking to David J about collaborating on some music for it also. I'd love to work with him again, as the experience was so wonderful on "The Devil's Muse"

MIKE JOY : Can you give any hints as to what any of your films or Hollywood Wizard film/s will be about? Any tiny teazers?!

RAMZI ABED : This is one question that I really can't answer. It's just so confidential right now, and also so exciting, that I can't say anything about it. All I can say is that if these new films get made, they will have some amazing casts, amazing directors, and amazing locations. If it all works out, it will be very, very cool. I can say this, our two most recent acquistions are both for the horror fans out there. We picked up "Red Velvet", which stars Henry Thomas and Kelli Garner, and a new and stylish new creature feature called "The Shriven", which is really intelligent and new. Again, I can't wait for you to see or know more, but the rest will be revealed soon enough!

MIKE JOY : Will you still stick with your edgy and raw styled films for your production, not Hollywood Wizard's production?

RAMZI ABED : It really all depends on the film. Every movie is a different beast, and also each film demands a different world and mood. Every time I approach a film that I'm directing, I am open to whatever the project inspires in me visually and also in what I want to hear. I will continue to carve out films that are edgy, because that is generally what interests me. However, I will be making films that look and feel totally different from project to project. The aim is to just make films that I feel need to be made, and the rest happens as it should. Positive energy and results are the primary objective at the end of the day.

MIKE JOY : Lastly, what kind of advice can you offer to any aspiring film makers,
producers, writers, etc..., just trying to get their foot in the door, so to speak?

RAMZI ABED : I would say, never give up. Life is so short, and we never know what's going to happen tomorrow. At the end of it all, we are put in a box and our physical forms goes away. What matters is what you care about, and how much care you put into making what you want to make. Always be open to new ideas, but don't let anyone stop you from making your vision a reality. Listen to people, but don't let people influence what you hold to be true. If you are the one that is both directing and producing the film, then make sure you get along with everyone on your set, and make it a family. As far as distribution is concerned, always look for the right home for your movie. Just like the family you want to surround yourself when you're making a movie, you have to find the right venue for your work. It takes a lot of perseverance, but you just keep going. Also don't be too delusional, if you're making a movie, make sure it's not just what you want it to be, but that it's able to shared with other people too. The main thing is make movies, and keep on making them.

MIKE JOY : Thank you for your time Mr. Abed, as I know you are very busy. I look forward to speaking with you again in the future.

- JOYHORROR

CLICK HERE FOR COMMENT PAGE

WHO: MARK REDFIELD

Nevermore in Baltimore - Mark Redfield on Producing Live Theatre and the Edgar Allen Poe Bicentennial Celebrations in Baltimore, MD

When you have friends all over the globe, you aren’t always entirely up to speed on what their current projects are.   In this case, my darling friend Mark Redfield has gotten himself entangled in a morass of Poe tendrils worthy of Cthulhu himself.   In October of 2009, I was watching CNN’s coverage of the Funeral of Edgar Allan Poe that was taking place in Baltimore, 160 years after is actual death.   I suggested to my husband that no doubt Redfield was somewhere in attendance.   When he and I finally talked to each other again, I found out that he’d produced the damned thing!

And he’s not done.  It would seem that 2009 and 2010 are the years that Baltimore will celebrate Poe until the cows come home.   With this in mind, I nailed Redfield for an interview so he could tell us about all the things they’ve done already and what’s coming up next.

Jessie Lilley: So Mark, when did you first get involved with the Poe Museum and its curator, Jeff Jerome?

Mark Redfield: A couple of years ago I made a film called The Death of Poe and spoke to a few historians before we shot the picture, one of whom was Jeff Jerome, curator and director of the Poe House and Museum in Baltimore.  The film is about Poe’s last week and his mysterious death and I really wanted to know what the scholars thought of all the theories that were floating around.  When The Death of Poe premiered we invited Jeff and he liked what we did and my performance as Poe.   He was very supportive and invited me to a few events in Baltimore at Westminster Hall to promote the DVD release.  Sometime in 2007 Jeff began talking about his plans for the Bicentennial in 2009 and then, knowing my background in theater and live events, began to pull me in to help with Poe-related events that he was doing.

JL: It would seem you agreed to this.

MR: Yes.  Throughout 2008, Jeff would thrash ideas around about the events he wanted to do to celebrate Poe’s 200th, and by then I was in his circle, along with director John Spitzer from D.C.; we began to focus on the January 2009 Birthday Celebration.

Jeff Jerome had ambitious ideas about what he wanted to do, kicking it all off with a bang with the birthday.  He wanted to do things that were more theatrical than what they had been doing.  Other than the usual parade of Poe impersonators reciting and the wonderful live adaptations of stories that John Spitzer had created, my initial contribution to the 2009 Birthday celebration was to adapt and stage Poe’s Hop-Frog.  What was different was the use of masks and puppets; sort of a mini-Cirque du Soliel experience.  It went over very well.

JL: Wow! What made you choose Hop-Frog?

MR: I had picked Hop-Frog for a number of reasons.  Doing a live performance, making Hop-Frog and Tripetta three-foot tall puppets worked wonderfully and the contrast between them and an enormous Minister puppet and King worked well visually.  In the adaptation, I made the occasion of the King’s masquerade his birthday party and that fit well with the theme of Poe’s party as well as lending lots of color.  I could also make it a very grim comedy which was a bit different in its irreverence.  It’s the first piece of theater I’d designed and directed in about ten years as I’ve been making films.  It was an exhilarating experience for me. 

JL: But this is all birthday stuff.  Where did the 2009 funeral come from? It was a spectacular idea.

MR: The funeral was always key to Jeff Jerome’s plans for the Bicentennial.  He had the idea of a kind of symmetry to the year-long series of events, and wanted to top what had come before with the funeral event.  I think he succeeded in spades!

JL: I’d say so! Did you ever expect to get the attendance you got for the funeral.  not to mention worldwide media coverage?

MR: It was bigger than we all thought.  Something about it captured people’s imaginations.  NPR, the BBC—it was fun herding all the press through and around the streets as they covered the procession and the event inside the hall.

JL: Did you find folks in Baltimore eager to invest in these events or were they privately produced?

MR: It’s all paid for by the City, which makes budgeting a tough job as cuts are the norm throughout the US in all major cities.  But I think the City of Baltimore sees the value of what we’ve been doing, at least as far as publicity and promotion and tourism is concerned.  I’m worried about future budgets for things like this. 

JL: As producer of these events, what kind of hoops must you jump through with the City of Baltimore?

MR: Thank God I don’t have to deal with them! My job as producer has been creative and organizational.  I try to bring to life what Jeff has in his head, working within the many tight restrictions of time and budget.  Jeff Jerome deals with the City bureaucracy! But I’ll say this; once the City saw the press we were getting—beginning with the ’09 Birthday Bash—and the fact that all of the events have at least broken even financially, not to mention the press that Promotion and Tourism has been able to use, they’ve been wonderful and very supportive. 

Jerome started the ball rolling by saying that he wanted to give Poe the funeral he never had.  When Poe died, he was buried so quickly by family in Baltimore that nobody really knew about the service until after the fact; only a handful of people were present, and so few that the minister dispensed with the eulogy altogether.  Rather sad.

JL: I read that there were some major players involved theatrically.  Who were some of your cast members?

MR: For months it was Jeff Jerome, John Spitzer and me.  Jeff wanted Poe’s body to be ceremoniously transported in a horse-drawn hearse from The Poe House on Amity Street to Westminster Hall.  He also wanted a collection of eulogists to speak and honor Poe.  John Astin, who used to do a one-man Poe show, was tagged as the host as he had performed at Westminster Hall in years past and was a big part of the birthday celebration earlier in the year.

The first thing Spitzer and I did was make a list of the eulogists, then broke it down into three groups: Poe contemporaries—people who were alive when he died; historic characters—mostly writers who could talk about Poe’s influence and the debt we owe; and finally, “living” eulogists.  Our initial list was so long that after I did the math and figured that if everyone spoke for a minute and a half to three minutes, the program would last over six hours! The final event clocked in at about three hours, not including the hearse procession!

So we made some hard decisions.  The first difficult decision was to eliminate any “family”.  Then we had to decide which authors to include, so we could cover horror, science fiction and poetry.

JL: Did the performers prepare their own eulogies?

MR: No.  I wrote the bulk of the eulogies—Lovecraft, Conan Doyle and others—and Spitzer concentrated on some like Griswold, who was of course, Poe’s archenemy.  The living eulogists included me, Gris Grimly, Editor Ellen Datlow and of course, John Astin.  Jeff Jerome handled booking the musical entertainment, which set a beautiful tone and was used to bridge groups of speakers.

We then cast the actors, which I think were really great, including Ron Burr who played a young Alfred Hitchcock; Matthew Bowerman who played H.P.  Lovecraft, Tony Tsendeas.  John Spitzer himself played Griswold—the cast list, along with photos—70 out of 1500 that were taken that day, is up on the website www.poebicentennial.com—they were all really great.

JL: And were you satisfied that you’d presented Jeff’s vision?

MR: I think we delivered everything Jeff Jerome had envisioned.  I was quite stunned that it got the world-wide press and attention that it did.  People traveled from all over the world to attend this funeral; from Europe, Vietnam, South America and all corners of the US—it turned out to be an incredibly emotional event and entertaining at the same time; a wonderful way to honor Poe.

REST OF INTERVIEW & COMMENT PAGE