What can be found inside my traveling bag
My family and I would be far and away a few weeks from now, a tropical region to seek refuge from the biting cold. My coursemates were surprised when they found out that I won't bring a paperback in this holiday. I could cite three good reasons. This would be my gap year, and I might think about my career options. I had enough of reading, but I might make an exception for any information that would guide us on our trip. I was thinking of old movies. Ray once recommended Susan Hill, the so-called Queen of a traditional ghost story. "The Traveling Bag and Other Ghostly Stories" would be out soon, he reminded me. I saw an older version of "The Woman in Black", which got under my skin. I preferred cheap thrill, which confounded my buddies. (They couldn't imagine how a brainy lad would fancy such things. It was one of those things.)
I was thinking of the portmanteau horror films by Amicus Productions, which proliferated during the 1960s and 1970s. My parents didn't understand my fascination with this kind of motion picture, even wondered why I couldn't have the same taste like my coursemates. I didn't tell them that Michael Bay would be their idea of guilty pleasure, and they were excited about the recent trailer for "Transformers: The Last Knight". I figured my preference wouldn't be cheaper than theirs, but I don't want to force it into them (and vice versa).
I could imagine the likes of Susan Hill not warming up on the portmanteau horror films for several reasons. I learned that some female authors penned the scariest stories, which might put Edgar Allan Poe to shame. The Amicus vignettes would be recommended on a Saturday afternoon, when my friend and I have nothing better to do. It would appeal to the younger viewers, who don't have the patience to sit through an Andrei Tarkovsky film. (In other words, they don't want any form of deliberate pacing at all.) Some vignettes could be wickedly fun (and it still won't be recommended for those with the faint heart). These stories would stroke on the unpleasant traits of the human personality. They could be morality lessons.
"… And All Through the House" shocked me, as it was about the wife who killed her husband on Christmas Eve. She planned to set it up as an accident, and the insurance was supposed to make her richer by the millions. However, a serial killer was on the prowl in her neighborhood. He was dressed up as Santa Claus.
I could recommend the following:
Werewolf. A blood feud between two families would last several centuries, which would mean that there was truth behind the legends surrounding werewolves. This was set in the foggy Scottish countryside, where going out on night time would be a no-no. It wasn't hard to guess the twist near the end of the story, but the atmospheric setting carried me away. If the location was terrifying enough, then the rest would fall into the right places.
Terror Over Hollywood. A starlet discovered that her costars were androids, which could be interpreted in many ways. It may refer to Hollywood's fixation with science-fiction films, and some filmmakers covered their opinion on pressing political issues. It could also be the absence of soul in showbiz until a startling thought snapped me out from my musings. Could this be Orwell's warning to the future generation? There was more to his works than the perils of totalitarianism, and this deceptively simple vignette would offer hints. I don't want to think further.
Wish You Were Here. This vignette gave me the jitters, as it reminded me of my mother's small collection of figurines from the Far East. She wasn't a huge believer in good luck, even any objects that supposed to bring such fortune. But this would be a Buddhist custom. (She would fancy such an idea.) This hair-raising tale could suggest otherwise, which made me looked at those vignettes warily.
I was told about another fascinating vignette, of how a scintillating fabric could bring a dead corpse back to life. I might have a chance to see it (while on the road), as my traveling bag would contain some clothes and my iPad. There might be a video (of it) on YouTube.
