Sweet Short Film Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

Check out this artistic interpretation of ?Goth? that was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and created by Saskia Kretzschmann.

Cool Review of Tolstoy's Short Stories Anthology

A cool review of Tolstoy's short stories anthology that was posted this week on Amazon. Here's a bit about  the book:

"Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace" branded Tolstoy as one of the greatest writers in modern history. Few, however, have read his wonderful short stories. Now, in one collection, are the 20 greatest short stories of Leo Tolstoy, which give a snapshot of Russia and its people in the late nineteenth century. A fine introduction is given by Andrew Barger. Annotations are included of difficult Russian terms. There is also a Tolstoy biography at the start of the book with photos of Tolstoy's relatives.

New Poe Statue in Boston

Any attention brought to Poe is much needed in this country, over two hundred years after the birth of one of its greatest and most mysterious authors. That's why I was glad to hear about a new Poe statue.

The Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston has commissioned a statue of Poe that is shown in their photo above. It features poe in his trademark cravat, carrying his valise that oddly has a heart spilling out the back of it in remembrance of "his most famous short story" The Tell-Tale Heart. In my view The Fall of the House of Usher is Poe's finest short story, but hey. In the foreground of the statue is, of course, a raven modeled after his famous poem that is still read today in schools throughout the world.

Read more about it in the Boston Magazine.

Coldplay's New Album--Ghost Stories--Drops in May

Coldplay's new album is called "Ghost Stories"and it drops in May. Let's hope some of the yet to be released songs draw from some of the best ghost stories in the English language. The first song is called "Magic" and you can watch the first video from the album below.

First Vampire Short Story Set in France - Pepopukin in Corsica

Arthur Young (1741-1820)

What was the first vampire short story set in France? In the English language it appears to be "Pepopukin in Corsica," published in 1826. It was in a British rag called The Stanley Tales. The author was only attributed to A.Y. and in The Best Vampire Stories anthology I edited, I give reasons why I think the author was Arthur Young who was an English writer that travelled extensively in France. He died in 1820, so it had to be published posthumously.

"Pepopukin in Corsica," was published for the first time in 175 years in BlooDeath: The Best Vampire Short Stories 1800-1849. It tells of malevolent vampires having claws and crushing bones. There is a nice review of the vampire tale over at the Taliesiin Vampire Blog.

Why the Captain America Movie Harkens Back to a Science Fiction Story from 1845

The new movie Captain America: The Winter Solider is out, but it is the first installment from 2011, Captain America: First Avenger that shows him waking up after being frozen in Arctic ice for 70 years. How does this possibly relate to a short story from 1845?

The first cryptopreservation sci-fi story is "Hilda Silfverling"by Lydia Maria Child, republished for the first time in over 100 years in Mesaerion: The Best Science Fiction Stories 1800-1849. In the groundbreaking tale, a chemist has found a way to "suspend animation in living creatures and restore it at any time" after they have been frozen.

Sometimes what's new in science fiction movies is old again!