The other day I saw a Youtube video where an interviewer asked his guest to name one record, one movie, and one book that he'd recommend to others. Titles that were meaningful enough to the guest that he'd share them with others. That got me thinking of my own choices... which was not at all easy.
But just now I thought I could narrow that down to a genre, specifically the horror genre, since this is October - the month of Halloween, after all. And that makes selection a bit easier.
My choices here may not necessarily be my absolute favourites in each medium, but will be more significant and representative of the genre in a slightly more objective way, and maybe more accessible for newcomers. Some are titles that I feel aren't known, or appreciated, widely enough. I believe these records, movies, and books (I include a few honorable mentions for the extra inquisitive) are important enough that I'd like more people to experience them.
First off, one record:
Black Sabbath - their debut album, the original supernatural, doomy heavy metal record. Most people, fans that is, say their preference is Paranoid or Master of Reality, which boast Sabbath's best-known songs. But I feel the first album is under-appreciated. It established an atmosphere that never appeared again in Sab's music. A hazy murk enfolds the listener in a nightmare-like grip as the blues-metal fusion lays out a bleak landscape, unsettling vocals and lyrics adding to the sinister gloom... and the two "suites" paint pictures of even deeper disquiet. Essential to the "horror" music listener.
Honorable Mentions:
Bram Stoker's Dracula, movie soundtrack
Carpathian Forest - Black Shining Leather
Danzig - How the Gods Kill
Ghost - Opus Eponymous
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One Movie:
The Uninvited (1944) - an early classic, classy and haunting... mystery and romance add spice to this ghost story with depth and detail. Due to its age, the film may put off younger (and maybe some older) viewers today with its old-fashioned depictions of that time, not to mention the old-school acting style and outdated social norms. Yet that is part of the charm of the picture, along with its subtle method of story-telling. As a ghost story, this is top-notch, among the best in cinematic history, starring some of the finest actors of Hollywood's Golden Age.
Honorable Mentions:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
The Shining (1980)
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One Book:
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. I've read this twice, and each time I am thrown into a dream-like state as I turn the pages of this hunt across Europe for the "real" Dracula. History and geography play a big role in this creepy adventure thriller. Detailed and rather epic in its scope, considering the travel across the continent and in its deep investigative procedural process. The chilling parts would best be read in daylight, unless the reader welcomes a sleepless night.
Honorable Mentions:
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Revert
The Demonologist, by Andrew Pyper
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