Day 12 – Haunted Inspiration
I could just put a whole bunch of other scary stories in here, but the ghost stories that stuck with me the most over the years were those from the Ghostbusters franchise. In my novel SOULS 4 SUPPER, and its spinoff GHOSTLY HAUNTINGS, the first names of some of the characters pay tribute to the actors and cast of the original films.
The first ghost movie I ever watched was the original Ghostbusters. I was instantly a fan. The follow up, Ghostbusters 2, may not get the credit it deserves but it is still a great movie in my opinion. Again, I was a kid, so when The Real Ghostbusters cartoon came out I was all for it. I’m pretty sure I caught every episode and even liked the less detailed animation that followed (The Extreme Ghostbusters).
My hopes for a third feature film in the franchise died out, but then we got Ghostbusters the Video Game. This brought together the original writers and actors in a storyline that basically was the third movie.
Now before you get all bent out of shape about me not including the new Ghostbusters movie in there, I’ll explain. First off, I haven’t seen it yet. I know. I know. I plan on it, but am not a fan of remakes that disregard the originals. In my opinion the new one should have been a loose sequel. It would have made more sense and made fans happy. I will see it eventually though.
The other reason for not including it is because I’m talking about the inspiration I had with ghosts. There are countless movies I’ve seen that freaked me out and they all made their mark, but they were all a one and done watch. I can still watch GB over and over again and not get sick of it. I wrote Souls and Ghostly before the new movie came out, so it can’t count as inspiration.
Regardless, if you like a good spooky book, check mine out. Souls got me a place in the top 25 and 100 lists of authors, and I even freaked myself out at times writing it. What are your favorite ghost stories? Make sure to use the hashtag #scrypthalloween if you post, and you’ll have a chance to win one of my books!
Day 29: Top 5 for Halloween
For today’s installment of my 31 days of Halloween I made a top 5 list of my personal choices for film, book, etc. These are stories that not only have entertained me, but inspired me to continuously try exceeding what I did and topping each previous book I write. I tried to keep them as Halloween related as possible, and even though some aren’t horror, they fall into the thriller category and have spooky elements. What are your personal choices? Feel free to comment below.
TOP 5 NOVELS: The “Area 51” series by Bob Mayer (writing as Robert Doherty), Dan Brown’s “Robert Langdon” series, Thomas Harris’ “Hannibal Lecter” series, The “Atlantis” series by Bob Mayer (writing as Greg Donegan), Dean Koontz’ “Frankenstein” series (please don’t watch the movie because it’s terrible the books are great though. *Bonus All novels in the FLESH AND LEFTOVERS SAGA by Rick Pipito (had to add them, sorry.) 😛
TOP 5 TV SHOWS: Once Upon a Time, Arrow & The Flash (I put these as one because they crossover and exist in the same universe), 24, Law And Order SVU, Hannibal
TOP 5 GAMES: The “Tomb Raider” series, The “Resident Evil” Series, “Silent Hill”, “HeroQuest” (This is a board game I had growing up, and I just remember how awesome it was. I recently found it in my parents’ attic), The “Doom” series.
TOP 5 SONGS: Dragula by Rob Zombie, Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett, Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr, Don’t Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult (because everyone needs more cowbell), Mz. Hyde by Halestorm
TOP 5 MOVIES: Ghostbusters 1 & 2, The Goonies, Monster Squad, Van Helsing (Kate Beckinsale, Huge Jack Man, and monsters? I don’t care if its cheesy. It’s awesome), The Brendan Frasier Mummy Movies.
BONUS—-TOP 10 COMIC BOOK Movie List (in numbered order):
1) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2) X-Men Days Of Future Past
3) Avengers
4) Ironman
5) Captain America: The First Avenger
6) Guardians Of The Galaxy
7) Man Of Steel
8) Spiderman 2
9) Thor The Dark World
10) Batman 1989
*This list is current as of 10/29/14 of course. It will most likely change, but it is the order I believe works. I wanted to put both Punisher movies in there as well just for pure fun, but they didn’t make the cut.
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