tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post3785574227027856124..comments2023-08-14T10:44:59.007-04:00Comments on Novel Spaces: What's in a TitleKeVin K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14792797517571690942noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-22618984269463806672011-06-13T01:24:50.325-04:002011-06-13T01:24:50.325-04:00X-Dell, I have seen that one, and I actually know ...X-Dell, I have seen that one, and I actually know the guy who made it. The Howard heads, who generaly dislike anything that tries to interpret Howard, like this movie. And I do to. That tells you quite a bit.<br /><br />Liane, city person perhaps? I didn't really think of that connection.<br /><br />Jodi, I do remember that scene. Definitely freaky. The rats of the skies as somoene has said.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-83732179052268717882011-06-12T22:51:17.750-04:002011-06-12T22:51:17.750-04:00Hi Charles,
On a friend's recommendation I rea...Hi Charles,<br />On a friend's recommendation I read Pigeons From Hell this year. I was blown away. One of of the best horror tales I've ever read. I also agree with you about the bird being neutral. If he had even chosen the dove which is so similar to a pigeon, it would have been too peaceful of a creature. But a pigeon? Do you remember that show from SK's Cat's Eye. Where the guy made a bet to make it around the edging of the building. He slips. And a pigeon lands by him and starts pecking at his leg. It pecks until his legs bleeds. Just creepy.Jodi MacArthurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13373591664178281529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-7311381468501093382011-06-12T16:55:42.231-04:002011-06-12T16:55:42.231-04:00Never heard of him, but his creations must be fami...Never heard of him, but his creations must be familiar to almost everyone on the planet.<br /><br />Pigeons from Hell works only too well as a creepy title to me. I've seen the creepy, pest-y side of pigeons so I'm biased. I never view them as innocuous.Liane Spicerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05035607144500219524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-55230448279607894162011-06-12T11:15:32.926-04:002011-06-12T11:15:32.926-04:00If Hell has a lot of pigeons, then it probably has...If Hell has a lot of pigeons, then it probably has lots of statues too. After all, the real hell is cleaning up all that crap.<br /><br />I'm sure you have seen <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118163/" rel="nofollow">this flick</a>, and you might have posted a review of it before I started reading your page. But I was curious as to what you might have thought of it in terms of how accurately it reflects Howard's thoughts and life.X. Dellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561609651507566271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-84285298002456767172011-06-12T10:35:40.619-04:002011-06-12T10:35:40.619-04:00Bernardl, Yes, I finally saw that Thriller episode...Bernardl, Yes, I finally saw that Thriller episode a few years ago. I thought it translated very well.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-69253204649339460832011-06-12T09:02:08.525-04:002011-06-12T09:02:08.525-04:00Howard's story also made for one of the best T...Howard's story also made for one of the best TV horror episodes of all time by the same title on Boris Karloff's 'Thriller'. It's one of the few times the TV version of an original horror story captured so many of its frightening elements.BernardLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09722619048888613647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-54517205816665454492011-06-12T00:09:22.539-04:002011-06-12T00:09:22.539-04:00Laughingwolf, I imagine city dwellers have a diffe...Laughingwolf, I imagine city dwellers have a different reaction to pigeons too than rural dwellers do. City folks have to deal with them a lot more and the messes they make.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-54028459767199496912011-06-11T19:42:40.570-04:002011-06-11T19:42:40.570-04:00i agree, and i don't...
think it was a spielb...i agree, and i don't...<br /><br />think it was a spielberg flick, where this guy is out on a ledge of a highrise, in a high wind, trying to keep from falling... while a pigeon's pecking at his bare feet, bloodying them, causing many missteps!<br /><br />i've always called pigeons 'rats with wings'... turns out they cause all kinds of illnesses, from the shit they leave behind, especially on windowsills... <br /><br />had that problem in vancouver, where my kids got ill, when, unknowingly, we opened the window to air out their room and the wee tykes all became sick!<br /><br />took antibiotics, and many weeks of closed windows, for them to recover... never opened the window again while the hell horrors were around!<br /><br />neutral birds? far from it! GRRRRRRlaughingwolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08873675614347328116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-58821629373229926982011-06-11T16:56:44.323-04:002011-06-11T16:56:44.323-04:00Deka, and that's a good thing.Deka, and that's a good thing.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-74421889752869101292011-06-11T16:53:26.300-04:002011-06-11T16:53:26.300-04:00Thanks... iften i'm campy.. at least people ha...Thanks... iften i'm campy.. at least people have fun!Deka Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08328847551867893941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-61497679341146965982011-06-11T14:30:32.984-04:002011-06-11T14:30:32.984-04:00Ron, hadn't thought of the flock, but that mak...Ron, hadn't thought of the flock, but that makes sense. And the sound a bunch of them make is kind of eerie<br /><br />Kevin, "the Gnats of Heaven." I like that. I'm seeing a literary novel, sort of like "the World according to Garp," "See Rabbit Run," and that one with "bees" in the title.<br /><br />Deka Black, red nails is a great one. Howard used colors to good effect. lol. I like Exorcist from Hell. It's campy but cool.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-47193081340815470602011-06-11T13:14:05.681-04:002011-06-11T13:14:05.681-04:00Titles... First one i read from Robert E. Howard w...Titles... First one i read from Robert E. Howard was Red Nails. Being honest... i was thinking at first it was about vampires!<br /><br />In the end, my mistake was not mistake at all. because thanks to it, i ended loving Howard works. And i still love him.<br /><br />And for menacing titles and hellish things... "Exorcist from Hell" i think is pretty menacing.i mean, a exorcist is supposed to fight hell, right? So, if he's from hell...Deka Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08328847551867893941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-29023770983525250682011-06-11T11:33:32.275-04:002011-06-11T11:33:32.275-04:00The story is no longer under copyright and is avai...The story is no longer under copyright and is available from Amazon's Manybooks.net. I know this because I went looking for it after reading your column. The cover of the May, 1938, Weird Tales is classic Good Girl Art. <br /><br />The racism of 1930's pulp fiction in combination with the repeatedly-tell-how-scared-everyone-is conventions of horror fiction of the period made moments awkward for the modern reader, but taken in the context of the culture in which it was written, an excellent yarn. The "twist" was pretty obvious from the set-up dream/vision of the protagonist, but timing on delivery was spot on.<br /><br />Relevant to your essay: The unexpected linking of the neutral and usually innocuous with symbol of power makes for an evocative hook -- and an image that sticks with you.<br /><br />We're trying to sell my mother-in-law's former house and I spent this morning mulching the flowerbeds in an effort to improve curb appeal. Inspired by your column I've combined my thoughts and experiences of the morning to create a title now in search of a story: The Gnats of Heaven.KeVin K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14792797517571690942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-43778712412073193422011-06-11T10:14:02.962-04:002011-06-11T10:14:02.962-04:00Watched WHOLE WIDE WORLD again recently after lear...Watched WHOLE WIDE WORLD again recently after learning more about Howard and knowing folks like yourself. It's one of those films that gets better as it gets older...<br />On the subject of pigeons, I think the telling connotation is the element of "nuisance" they immediately suggest - plus how they tend to collect in large numbers. A flock of them becomes almost menacing...Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-18642830248555917782011-06-11T09:38:46.727-04:002011-06-11T09:38:46.727-04:00Patty, that was really a good movie, for sure. I h...Patty, that was really a good movie, for sure. I have a DVD of it.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-72452786291374661172011-06-11T07:55:37.316-04:002011-06-11T07:55:37.316-04:00Everything I know about it comes from the movie TH...Everything I know about it comes from the movie THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, which I enjoyed.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-79495866263023105322011-06-11T02:25:12.443-04:002011-06-11T02:25:12.443-04:00David, yes, indeed. I should have mentioned those....David, yes, indeed. I should have mentioned those.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-70856676207300365682011-06-11T01:00:45.634-04:002011-06-11T01:00:45.634-04:00"Pigeons from Hell" was the last BIG/Fam..."Pigeons from Hell" was the last BIG/Famous Howard story I read. maybe I was saving it for last?<br /><br />It's a great piece with a magnificent twist.<br /><br />As for titles, I love the chapter titles within it as well.nephite blood spartan hearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17092519999184585295noreply@blogger.com