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Review of People Under the Stairs

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peopleunderthestairsWes Craven is well known in the horror genre. But I really don’t know enough about him to analyze his overall style. I did enjoy several of his Nightmare on Elm Street films (sorry, can’t say I enjoyed them all.) Last House on the Left was “okay” – heavy on shock, light on substance, but interesting in its own weird way.

Craven fans seem to enjoy his 1991 film People Under the Stairs. I did not. It is not the movie for me. It’s billed as a horror comedy, but it didn’t scare me and it didn’t make me laugh. On the plus side, it didn’t offend, sicken, or repulse me. What did it do for me? Not much, other than annoy me a little bit.

The story is as follows – the family of a young boy, Fool, is about to be evicted from their apartment in the ghetto. He and two adults decide to break into the house of their slumlords. It is rumored that the slumlords are in possession of rare golden coins and the three burglars seek to steal them. They break in, but they can’t break out. There is this state of the art security system that seems to work better at keeping people trapped inside than it does at keeping people out of the house.   There is a reason for this. The man and woman who live in the house, “Mommy” and “Daddy” Robeson, are crazy sadists. They have hostages, one of who is presumed The-People-Under-the-Stairsto be their teenage daughter. The rest are teenage boys. To be honest, I forget why the sadistic couple had brought them into their home in the first place. But one by one, they were all deemed “evil” and then castaway to a boarded up area underneath the stairs. Mommy and Daddy Robeson have three simple household rules: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Well at one time or another, these boys violated these directives, and they paid for it. I think most violated the “speak no evil” directive, because they had their tongues cut off. The “daughter” follows the rules, so she is spared from receiving the severe punishments.

There are numerous chase scenes where someone is hunting down Fool. The hunter and “huntee” constantly go in and out of secret passages. These passages can lead anywhere, and they do. Almost every room in the house connects to them. Sometimes Fool is chased down by the killer dog. Other times he chased down by Daddy Robeson, who dresses for the hunt in leather fetish gear. Just when we think the dog or daddy is defeated, no – they rise again! Maybe it was scary the first time the dog attacked. Not so much the second time. By the time the film got to the 14th canine assault (I honestly don’t know how many dog scenes there were – too many), I was annoyed. It was almost as irritating as listening to “Daddy” cock his pump action gun several hundred times.

This film is overdone – too many chases, a ton of overacting (mostly on the part of The Robesons); it is a ham fest.

At this point in the review, a reader might be thinking, “Dude, you are taking this film too seriously! It’s a comedy. It’s supposed to be over-the-top.” I guess I’m old school. If I want to watch a comedy where cartoon-faced villains chase housebound victims in and out of doors and passageways then I’ll watch Scooby Doo. Or The Three Stooges.

Don’t get me wrong – “ham” can be entertaining. It just wasn’t sliced and served properly here.

peopleunderthestairs3As for the “people under the stairs”, once they slow down and stop jumping around like zoo-caged monkeys, viewers finally get a chance to see how they look – like the cheesiest of all Goth rock bands – long hair, white faces. I’d rather have the Lost Boys. But that’s just me!

I know many people like this film. It’s entertaining and definitely different. In that way I can see where they’re coming from. But there’s a difference between “seeing” and “feeling.” I “see” how it can be attractive to some but I just don’t feel the love.

Review of The Red Church

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TheRedChurch

Somewhere within the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina The Red Church stands. A beast of Author Scott Nicholson’s creation haunts its surrounding community. Locals are found dead in the fields; their bodies mauled to pieces. It is tempting to blame mountain lions for such tragedies, but forensics clears these creatures. They just aren’t capable of doing the kind of damage.

There is another explanation. But it is rather farfetched. It is based on an old community ghost story involving the abandoned Red Church.   But ten-year-old Ronnie Day believes the legends. So does Sheriff Frank Littlefield. Both have seen witnessed strange occurrences at this church.

Think for a moment about this archetypal horror scenario: A beast or phantom nests within a hidden compartment of a familiar site. It could be a bat that dwells in the loft of a rundown barn – a bat that haunts the night! Or maybe it’s a raccoon that lives under your porch – watch out for those glowing eyes! More common is the raven that rests on the archway of the front door, or the troll that hides under the bridge.

Here’s a new one for you: how about a dark figure that appears inside a church’s belfry. It has wings and sharp claws. It has livers for eyes. Sometimes the bell rings when this phantom materializes, which is quite a feat since the church no longer has a rope to activate a bell. This is the legendary phantom of The Red Church. It is this phantom Sheriff Littlefield fears is responsible for the killings. Naturally the detective he works with is skeptical of this theory. But Littlefield has lost his younger brother to this beast many years ago when a prank at the Red Church went terribly wrong.

If this isn’t scary enough for you, there is creepy cemetery in front of the church. Also, there is a humongous dogwood tree that hovers beside the church. The ghost of a hanged preacher from long ago is known to materialize on a tree branch from time to time.

This is a chilling book. The reviews are mostly positive. However, you can’t please everybody, especially those who are easily offended. There is a strong religious theme to this book. The novel’s antagonist, Archer McFall, claims to be The Second Son of God. He reopens The Red Church and seeks to preach “his truth” – that Jesus is evil and he, Archer, is the true savior. There are some negative reviews on account of this “sacrilege.”   Strangely enough, there are negative reviews that go in the opposite direction, complaining the book is too “preachy” and that its hidden message is that “Jesus saves”. To both sides of the argument, I shout a loud and droning “Ohhhh please!!!!!”

I enjoyed this novel and I’m going to pay it a rather strange compliment – It’s a fun, cozy read. How, you may ask, can a novel that borders on “sacrilege” (“I thought it bordered on “preachy”. “I thought it…” Shut up! Your thoughts are stupid!)  be “cozy?” Furthermore, how can a novel about a bell tower phantom with wings and liver eyes make me feel “cozy?” For one thing, I’m a bit weird. Let’s get that out of the way. But there are other reasons. It’s a straightforward tale spun in the familiar setting of small town Americana. The characters are folksy but the ghosts are creepy. I can lie out in the summer and read this with a cool glass of lemonade or sit back indoors in the cool winter and take this book in with a warm cup of cocoa. It works on all fronts.

SNicholson

This is Scott Nicholson’s first book. (He now has over twenty novels). It is excellent for a debut novel. The reason for this is that Nicholson is obeying an old rule or writing: write what you know. Nicholson resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains and he is in command of his setting. In the nitty-gritty details of the story we see local politics in action and the god-fearing behaviors of religious folks. We learn of the speaking mannerisms of a chaw chewing farmer. We learn of the family clans. All this Nicholson writes with confidence. It’s his town and he’s welcoming us to it, which is another reason I say the book is “cozy”.

This is also the first novel featuring Sheriff Frank Littlefield. The second is Drummer Boy, which is about ghosts of soldiers that spill out from a cave on the eve of the annual civil war reenactment.  Drummer Boy is a good book as well, but I will not review it as part of this blog since it does not deal with a haunted house. However, I have read other Haunted House novels by Nicholson.  These are The Home and Creative Spirit.  I hope to write about these soon.

My new novella – When The Storm Speaks of Death

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Storm

It was time to write another Voices story. So I created some characters. These characters – all of them assume they are going to die before dawn on the night of the big storm. The storm itself might not kill them. Instead it would serve as an omen – it would warn the doomed of their impending departure from this world. It would do so with a voice.

If this is true, what would the voice say?

This was the concept I was working with when I began writing this story. At the beginning, I didn’t know the specifics as to what the storm would tell them. But I knew what its general message would be – the voice of the storm would reflect the listener’s state of mind. If the character was afraid, the storm would scream out something that would terrorize the victim – something uniquely fearful to the specific individual. If the character was agonizing in grief – the voice in the storm would cry out with something that would only bring out more anguish. Finally, if the character was at peace, the voice would speak soothingly; perhaps it would lull the person into eternal sleep.

With this theme in place, I went to work. And it was quite an adventure. The plot twisted in ways I did not foresee, as I do not possess the foresight of the storm I created. But in the end, I was happy with the way the story turned out. Several suggestions from my editor helped me navigate the story into interesting directions as well. To her I say Thank You.

I hope those of you who read When the Storm Speaks of Death enjoy it as well. Thanks for your support!

Daniel W Cheely.

Please welcome author Bryan Alaspa!

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LightningWeaver     First off, I would like to thank my friend Dan for letting me set up shop here for a time. I have known Dan for a long time and we went to high school together. I also know he is an excellent writer in his own right, so while you’re here you might want to check out some of his work.

One of the things that we writers get asked all of the time is where do we get our stories? I guess that people who write dramas and stuff that doesn’t make people jump or look over their shoulders in the night or think sexy thoughts don’t get this question as much, but perhaps they do. I write thrillers, suspense, and horror novels and people are often baffled by the stories I write.

I once had a friend, upon hearing the description of the story I was writing, ask me why I didn’t write about bunnies, puppies or flowers. I said, unless the flowers were poisonous or the bunnies and puppies rabid, the story didn’t interest me. Sadly, that’s true.

As for where the stories come, well, they come from a variety of things. I cannot point a young writer to a specific place to find story ideas or ideas for novels. There is no story idea store or website. So, where do they come from? I can only say, keep your eyes and ears open and if you are truly a writer, the ideas will come.

Sometimes they take years to fully manifest. I have had story ideas kick around and around inside my head for ten years before I finally knew their story. I leave myself open to my stories and often feel more like a conduit that a creator. The characters, essentially, tell me their tales and sometimes I end up as surprised as the readers.

Sometimes the stories come from news articles. I have had a few novels that came from that. Sometimes TV shows or articles I read provide the inspiration. Sometimes they just happen. My idea for the novel After the Snowfall came in the middle of summer while I was out walking my dog and thought back to a severe snowstorm that had hit that prior winter. I had a clear image of three man, little more than shapes, on the horizon walking down the middle of the snow covered road. I knew that they were evil, but what kind, I was not sure. That came later.

I rarely work from outlines, although I do sometimes create character bibles, or lists, so I can keep everyone straight. I have ideas about the story, but rarely know exactly how to get to the end. The adventure for me is writing that I also hope the reader follows and enjoys. I open this tiny door in side my brain and the story is just there.

It is something that has always just sort of happened with me. I cannot tell you how I developed it other than I just kept writing. I have written hundreds of short stories and wrote my first novel, long-hand, in high school. None of them ever saw publication, but I did it anyway. That is the only way to nurture that muscle so it works when you need it.

My most recent novel, The Lightning Weaver, is the first in a series. The idea for the story actually came from my wife who once mentioned that she had, several times, had lightning strike near her. She called herself a lightning bringer and mentioned that might be a good idea for a story. It stayed in my head for years and developed over time. I soon realized that the character in the story had to actually manipulate lightning instead of just attracting it. Thus, she was more of a “weaver” than a “bringer.” I also created a world around it, developed future stories and, thus, The Elementals series was born.

So, keep your eyes and ears open. Those ideas can come from anywhere. You just need to be able to listen and hear them and have a brain that’s open to them. After that, you just need to have the passion to tell a story.

You can buy copies of Bryan Alaspa’s new novel, The Lightning Weaver, in print and ebook format here: http://bryanwalaspa.com/books/the-lightning-weaver-the-elementals-part-one/

A few notes about writing my lastest “Voices” story

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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R9RH686

Writing this story was a lot of fun! I had three goals in mind that were both challenging and enjoyable.

The first was to create a decadent and pleasure seeking folk-hero (somewhat in the fashion of Jack Kerouac’s “mad to live” character Dean Moriarty in “On the Road” but in the background of the urban nightlife as was Jay McInerney’s narrator in “Bright Lights, Big City.”) who believes that he is on a spiritual quest. This part of the story is told in the first person.

The fun part was finding spiritual and philosophical allegories and tying them into the sometimes mundane, sometimes outlandish events surrounding the character. The goal was not to convince the reader that, say, going to a bar and having a drink was like having Holy Communion at a church altar. Rather I hoped to convey that such a comparison was perfectly in line with the way my character thought and behaved.  His journey is not necessarily a believable one. Rather, he is the embodiment of the Freudian “ID”, a “voice” that if indeed existed in real life would best left inside the prison of the unconscious.

My second goal relates to the other intertwining tale; creating events in a setting where fictional voices move the narrative. These would be the voices inside his head; the third person if you will, or in this case, the three or more “people”.   They are humorous at times. They comment on everything, driving an already unstable person even madder. I had to write in such a way that these voices spoke in a way that was relevant to the story, but at the same time had the freedom to be inane and random.

My final goal was to wrap everything up in one cohesive story. It took a while to come up with a workable ending.   There were many possibilities but I am satisfied I chose the right one when concluding this tale.

So there you have it.   I hope you find this story as enjoyable to read as it was to write.

Halloween and The Exorcist – Two Memorable Horror Movies with Equally Memorable Piano Themes

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About a year ago I was at an art gallery. The studio had a piano, so I sat down at the bench and started playing a few songs I know.   When I was finished, a man asked me, “Was that The Exorcist you were playing?”   It was not.  It was the theme to Halloween.  His mistake might partly be my fault.   I’m not the best piano player. I only know certain parts of certain songs, and when I play my timing is sometimes off.   Perhaps he couldn’t recognize the tune the way I was playing it. But in general, people mix these themes up with each other.  Both are the main musical themes of horror movies and both pieces have a repetitive yet appropriately haunting piano/keyboard intro played in the higher octaves.
Halloween Theme Song

 

The Exorcist Theme Song

I’ve always loved these themes and learned to play the basic essence of these songs on the piano. Once upon a time, if people wanted to learn a piano part or their favorite song, they would have to find it on sheet music (assuming they knew how to read music) or just figure it out for themselves.  Now a days, chances are, if the desired piece is very popular, there is a piano tutorial on youtube.  I learned from videos such as these:

Halloween Theme Piano Tutorial

The Exorcist Theme Piano Tutorial

Here are some fun facts concerning these musical themes. John Carpenter, director of Halloween, composed the theme himself.  According to his written piece on his website (theofficialjohncarpenter.com)  – “the rhythm was inspired by an exercise my father taught me on the bongos in 1961, the beating out of 5-4 time.”   Carpenter composed the piece on the fly.  Having little studio time, he was forced to figure things out quickly.  Since he was the least expensive musician available, he used his talents and in my opinion came up with a simple yet brilliant piece.   True he did have a production crew to get the recording just right and the addition of strings and other orchestra instruments added the final touches.  Still, when removing all the layers of production, when just sitting at the piano without any accompaniment and playing the notes in the way Mr. Carpenters intended, you will find it is a fun piece to play.

The theme to The Exorcist is a different story. Its name is Tubular Bells and Prog-Rock artist Michael Oldfield recorded it in 1973 on the album of the same name.   The same year, The Exorcist premiered and used the first few minutes of the nearly 59 minute piece for its horror theme.

The song goes far beyond what is heard in the movie.  It is arranged in two pieces – Tubular Bells Part 1 and Tubular Bells Part 2.  It is a lengthy composition that takes listeners through many mood and structural changes, like any piece of good progressive rock will do. Beginning with mesmerizing keyboard riffs, continuing with joyful piano pieces of triumph, going on to the hard and heavy guitar, and easing the mood now and then with soft acoustics, Tubular Bells is a well crafted composition that takes the listener on quite the musical journey.   The album boasts of using more than 20 musical instruments, overlaid with each other to craft its two pieces. Mike Oldfield played all of them.

The musical themes to these two movies have thrilled me for many years. I hope they continue to delight music lovers and horror fans for many years to come.  They are classics – they should never fade away.

Welcome!

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How ya doing all? I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you already know me.   You might be a family member or a colleague of mine.  Maybe you are an old friend from high school or college.   Maybe you know/knew me from “the neighborhood”.   If you know me, then I say “HI!!!!   Nice to hear from you again!”

But perhaps you don’t know me from Adam. Perchance you stumbled across a published story of mine (so far I  have one) on Amazon and you just had to discover more about this author named Daniel W Cheely, so you somehow found your way here.  One can only wish!  If this is the case (rare that it may be), I say “Hi!  Nice to meet you!”

Assuming I’m writing mostly to people I already know, the key to this piece is a strange string of words found within the last paragraph – “author named Daniel W Cheely”.   Does that sound crazy?  If it does, don’t feel guilty, for we share the same sentiments.   Where is this “author” thing coming from?   You might think, “You have tossed words around on Facebook and at times arranged them in a creatively humorous way, but do your really fancy yourself as a writer?  The answer is yeah, I guess I do.  To support such a claim, I have my one published story.  It’s a small thing, a miniature shrub hiding within the “jungles of the Amazon” (you know, that book website) among the behemoth trees of books by authors with well-established roots in the literary forest.   So is it premature of me to be declaring myself an author as if this has been an ongoing , pre-established career path?

The truth is, I have been writing for many years. I have written poems, essays, and short stories.  Before I logged into Facebook for the first time in March 2009, I had written half of a full feature novel.   I have never shared this with you. But I am doing so now.

Before I owned a computer, I scribbled poems and essays in notebooks. Somewhere they exist, but hopefully they dwell inside a box somewhere in my house and not in a landfill.   This was in the 90’s.

In 2007, I began my first novel. It was about a mysterious lighthouse that emitted light from a source that existed within the netherworld.  The phantom light haunted this poor old woman who lived within its path on the seaside off the coast of Washington.   This same light beckoned a much younger woman who resided in Chicago. It called to her from across the country via telepathic means.  She went on a journey to be near this light. She would meet the old woman that was terribly frightened by the light.  The young and the old woman would have to work together to discover the mystery of the lighthouse.  Eventually, I finished the book and even went on to write the sequel.  But I found that the first book needed an overhaul.  A lot of editing was needed and elements of the story needed some rework as well.  I will finish it (and the sequel) one day – that is a promise!

I have also begun a novel about time-travel be way of inhaling the smoke of a cigarette of a special brand (Time Zones!)   It’s a humorous piece of work, as you can imagine based on the description.  This work has been shelved, but I will resume work on it soon.  I’m also working on a novel called “The House Sitter.”   It’s a thriller/horror about an author who writes short stories and draws his inspiration from the house he watches over.

Then there were my blogs. At blogspot.com, I had an interesting anecdotal piece titled “Mickey Mouse Disco Won’t Get You Laid”.   I’ll have to search for that blog one day.  Now, here I am at wordpress.  I had actually started this wordpress blog over a year ago, but I abandoned it as well and left it for dead.  Now I am resurrecting it.  I have redesigned it and it will serve as my author page.  Author = me.   Still sounds weird, but there you go! Please go to the “Published Works” section of this blog and access the link to my published story:  Voices: The Coffin is Calling You, James.     If you ever wondered what it would be life to attend a wake and hear the deceased speak to you, then this book is for you!   More short stories will be coming – they will all be about “voices.”

So…that’s it! I just wanted to reintroduce myself to you all!   If you have never met me, then I will say, “Hi! I’m Daniel W Cheely….an author!”    Thanks for reading.   Peace out!

Daniel W Cheely.