SCARY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Horrordays! Have a cool Yule with a ghoul!

Hope you remembered to clean the fireplace.

Mamie has a message for you, too!

A DEADTIME STORY FROM ROBERT BLOCH

Here's a nasty bit of bedtime reading from the poisoned pen of legendary author Robert Bloch, famously known as the warped genius who wrote "Psycho". Originally published in WEIRD TALES in March 1947, "Sweets to the Sweet" was one of Bloch's numerous short yarns that were reprinted over the years. It's also purported to be one of Stephen King's favorites.

The version you see here is from the "Horror Stories to Remember" department in CAVALIER (March 1961). The men's adventure magazine was published by Fawcett, the same folks who owned a comic book division by the same name. In the 1960s, it was sold to DuGent Publishing where it went from a men's adventure magazine to a straight-up men's magazine, if you know what I mean and pun partially intended.

So won't you take a few minutes on your Yule Eve and read this tasty little tale entitled, "Sweets to the Sweet"?

A Scary Christmas to you all . . .

BORIS KARLOFF CIGARETTE CARD

Boris Karloff was an avid smoker and it's not uncommon to see him in a photograph with a cigarette or a pipe. He was also English through and through, so it's not surprising to see him on a vintage cigarette card.

Boris Karloff in his study 1938.

Back in 1938 he appeared on a card for Ogden Cigarettes. That same year the same card was inserted in a pack of Hignett Bros. and Co. cigarettes. A quick look shows that there are a scant few of these in circulation, with the Ogden card being more available between the two. Prices these days go from the hundreds to the thousands of dollars.

Today, Tatuaje Cigars issue an annual, limited edition cigar commemorating Karloff.

A MODERN DAY H.P. LOVECRAFT AD

Advertising has always contained some form of suggestive content to sell their product. As a matter of fact, a book titled "Subliminal Seduction" by Wilson Bryan Key was published way back in 1973 that claimed advertising back then used hidden, sexual imagery to manipulate the consumers' subconscious to influence purchasing behavior. While some of the photos he presented as evidence were as unlikely as finding an image of Jesus on a cereal box, after reading it, I agreed with his overall assertion of suggestiveness and innuendo.

Can you find the phallic symbol in this image?

While thumbing through an issue of MARQUEE, a 1970's Canadian film magazine, I came across a full-page ad that instantly struck me after seeing the name of the company. Of course, my perverse mind spun into its usual humor by association mode, but I think you'll find it easy to follow my twisted train of thought.

Here's the original ad from a company that looked like the Toronto version of Frederick's of Hollywood:

And with that in mind, I reworked the ad and applied the idea into one that advertises books by H.P. Lovecraft.

I don't know about you, but after finishing this I felt compelled to run down to my local Barnes & Noble!

MY TRIP TO THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (PART 2)

Yesterday. I promised I'd show you the inside of Frank Lloyd Wright's spectacular Ennis House, the architectural gem perched quietly on a hill in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. The site has been used for many films, including HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, BLADE RUNNER, THE ROCKETEER, DAY OF THE LOCUST and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.

Over the years, the house has been battered by rains and earthquakes and renovations have been ongoing. Repairs were completed within the last few years. Changing owners several times after the widowed Mabel Ennis sold it in 1936, it most recently sold for $18 million in 2019.

NOTE: I did not take any of the photos shown here today.

Here's the full story from Realtor.com:

Iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-Designed Ennis House Sells for $18M

By Claudine Zap | October 21, 2019

After over a year on the market for $23 million, the Ennis House in Los Angeles has sold for a record-breaking price. The $18 million sale is the highest ever for a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home, according to Variety. 

The 1924 home, perched on a Los Feliz hilltop, was originally built for retailers Charles and Mabel Ennis. The eye-popping design, the last and largest of Wright’s textile block houses, is constructed from 27,000 concrete blocks. Each block was handmade using decomposed granite extracted from the site and marked with patterns inspired by ancient Mayan designs.

After Charles died, Mabel sold the home in 1936, and the property changed hands several times over the decades.

Its arresting look made it a star in Hollywood, where it made over 80 screen appearances, in films such as "Mulholland Drive," "Beverly Hills Cop," and "Blade Runner," and TV shows such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

The structure had sustained damage after the 1994 Northridge earthquake and torrential rains in 2005.

The home's sorry state led the National Trust for Historic Preservation to add it to its 2005 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Places, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy. Work to stabilize the house began in 2006, earning it a Conservancy Preservation Award in 2008.

Enter a savior: billionaire Ron Burkle, who purchased the property for $4.5 million in 2011. He then took on a “thoughtful restoration” at a cost of nearly $17 million, according to the listing.

He placed it on the market in July of last year for $23 million. With its refreshed look, the home grabbed the attention of the internet, and topped our most popular homes list in August.

The 6,000-square-foot home features four bedrooms, three-plus baths, and a guest apartment over the garage. The patterned blocks continue inside, and walls of glass frame the city views. A marble hallway, soaring ceilings, and textile block columns add to the grand space.

Available furnished, the space includes a formal living room with a balcony and tiled fireplace, a massive dining room with city views through a corner picture window, along with another fireplace, a vintage kitchen, a billiard and screening room, a library, and a large terrace with a pool. 

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Following are two more sets of photos showing the interior of the Ennis House with a few added exterior views. I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of this place and am already vicariously living there!

Ennis House photo set 1:

Ennis House photo set 2:

A tour of the Ennis House by Architectural Digest (10:01):

Ennis House tour by NBC Open House (3:39):

John Lautner Architecture in-depth look at the Ennis House (30:00):