Macabre Monday: Dark Dolly

Greetings and Salutations.

Hopefully your Monday has been as macabre as mine. Searching for something to further delightfully darken my day I came across this dolly. It is from the new addition to the After Dark Horror Fest: 8 Films to Die For: The Hidden.

This deviant dalliance is a Norwegian production and stars an apparently famous actor Kristoffer Joner from said Nordic lands. The synopsis for the film is as follows:

“Hidden is the story of Kai Koss who upon the death of his cruel mother unwillingly returns to the small town he ran away from 19 years ago. He is left in charge of the family home and the dark secrets that come with it. Kai soon finds himself tangled up in a series of murderous events that are beyond anyone’s control and his troubles begin to overwhelm him. He has spent the past two decades trying to forget a tortured past only to find that there are some things that you just can’t run from.”

I like a psychological horror as much as the next girl, but what I like better are dark dollies and the one in the promo shots for this film is terrifyingly terrific! Enjoy!

Ms Harker

the-doll-from-the-hidden

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Gothic Photographic Goodies…

Greetings and salutations. Whilst I am trying to keep myself distracted awaiting True Blood’s finale this weekend I have been reading some new horror books and watching some movies. However it has been a while since I featured some Horror Art on Musings Across a Continuum, so lets get a little neo-gothic culture shall we?

Amanda Norman is a photographer I came a cross on Twitter. She has her own blog and sells her wares in the forms of print, greeting cards and business cards. Amanda describes her work as follows:

“They say that a picture paints a thousand words, but what about the feelings and emotions it provokes?

My graveyard photography allows the viewer to ponder in thought at the wonders of deathly beauty we seldom see, while some find my dark portraits truly horrifying.

Constant feedback from viewers tells me that my photography is working its charm and I always love to receive feedback from my fans.  It allows me to delve into their inner thoughts and this can be quite addictive.

‘She captures the souls of her subjects and feeds off the emotional energy provided by her adoring fans.’

I’m new on the scene of dark and macabre photography and therefore not yet established as an artist.  I’ve had a couple of photographs used; one on the cover of a book and the other on a magazine, but as yet, I still yearn for full recognition of my work.  Hopefully one day I will have an exhibition in a gallery and see more of my photography featured in magazines, on book and CD covers and even horror posters.

I decided to take up photography in 2004 whilst visiting a beautiful graveyard in a village called Heysham in Lancashire, UK.  I had a strong urge to capture my emotions and thoughts to share with others.

What secrets do the dead hide beneath their headstone?
Do the dead still have loved ones that tend to their resting place?
What was it like for them when they lived and how did they die?
If the dead arose, what would their eyes see?

The only planning I do prior to taking photographs is deciding which cemetery to visit or who I’m going to photograph.  The rest is then left to my wild imagination and making the correct use of the available lighting.

Currently I love to capture silhouettes against dark brooding skies and take photographs that feature long foreboding shadows.  This is developing into a common theme in my work, as I love the atmosphere and the thoughts I conjure up as in, ‘what is actually out there’?
The black subjects hide their true form and therefore the viewer is left wondering more about the scene.”

I love pictures of ye olde head stones and have a little obsession with gargoyles and gothic era angels (which obviously stems from an over exposure to Anne Rice in my developing years!), of which Amanda captures beautifully in some of her work. She also does some creepy shots with chicks and skulls, check out some of her work below and head over to her site for more gothic photographic goodies!

Ms Harker

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kerry-skull-2009

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I have Comic Con envy…

The web is humming with sneak peaks, previews, panel details, trailers blah, blah, blah for this years International Comic Con in San Diego. I’ll admit it, I have a serious case of Comic Con envy, being stranded on this continent surrounded by deadly snakes, spiders, crocodiles and NO COMIC CON! The below picture (courtesy of Dread Central) from the upcoming Woody Harrleson chomp fest Zombieland just rubbed salt in my gaping envious wounds.

Ms Harker

Nom nom nom!

Nom nom nom!

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