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HI-HO, CHAPPIES AND MONSTER-LOVERS, BARON Von WOLFSTEIN HERE, I'll believe that, thence, I shall entitle all of my featured documents as: 'BARON Von WOLFSTEIN'S HHU GgrrRANT's!' (# 1,2,3,Etc.) I believe that it lends a quaint touch to the topics at hand, er, paws, and, it somehow vaguely reminds me of someone whose name presently escapes li'l olde moi... Mayhaps,'twill later come to mind, as to exactly why this title seems so familiar. ************************ Oh well, what with so much to clarify; beseiged by so many issues begging to be addressed, I can only hope that these contributions, in some small way over the ensuing months, help to resolve some of the befuddling enigmas of being MONSTERS in the modern RAT-Race Dance of The Multi-media Frenzy! I can just hear RENFIELD's Maniacally gleeful laughter as he issues this statement to van Helsing and Dr. Seward: "RATS! RATS! Hundreds of rats, Thousands of rats, Millions of rats......!" DWIGHT FRYE'S Awesome Genius in his Portrayal as RENFIELD pre-figured WILLARD by a good 30+ years. ************************* With the Insight of Acquired Benevolence, based upon so many centuries of LIFE (& death) Experience, I think that I've gleaned at least some fragmentary tidbits; lessons, if you will, which I consider to be both invaluable and indispensible for our FANG-MILY'S Return to the Commercial Realm; connections contemplated upon that lofty promontory height of Solitude, which I'm now honoured to share. These insights include, yet, are not limited to:
In effect, these subjects are ripe for exploratory delving into the development of a deftly seamless blend, which incorporates the entire spectrum of MONSTERDOM, as well as the various Philosophies and Psychologies inherently possessed just beneath the vividly attractive skin of this Genre.
********************* PRODUCTIVITY: The Reasons and The Curve ********************* "Every Picture Tells A Story, Don't It?" This phrase accurately sums up the face value of the Cause and Effect Coinage, even, inspiring an Album's Title Song, as sung by ROD STEWART. That was a favourite to listen to, whilst I slaved away at mask-making back in the '70's. My Mom was still alive, puttering around the house, giving me full sway in my olde room to exhaust my Summer by forming Latex Visages of HALLOWEEN DREAD for 12 to 20 hours a day. Funded by the JayCees of Silverton-Deer Park, just north of Cincinnti, Ohio, and, graciously given free room and board by Mom and Dad, I was able to create 60-80 masks in a 3-6 month period for our yearly HAUNTED HOUSE. Music fron 'My Era' accompanied my every gesture, helping to prolong my energy for the daunting task of meeting the mid-October deadline. I also designed the HAUNTED HOUSE And Co-ordinated Sounds, Lights, and Costumes. I assisted with set-building, and, especially relished Being the one to create the Artwork/Murals which adorned the walls. I acted as a Monster, usually COUNT DRACULA, during the entire 'run' of the House. I lived in the basement of the house as its caretaker. Once, during the AD 1974 HAUNTED HOUSE, I found it necessary to sleep overnight in the coffin in the Vampire Crypt room. It was a real coffin, which had once provided temporary accommodations for a real deceased member of the Human Race. To compound the ghoulishness of this matter, I slept in that coffin in full DRACULA Make-up and Costume, because I had to travel KINGS ISLAND early the next morning, to inaugurate Their Official HALLOWEEN WEEK-END Proceedings, which, in turn led to my being hired to Be KINGS ISLAND'S First Official Clown the following summer of AD 1975. The voice I used for this Character, LUCKY OLDE BEANE, The English Clowne, became the voice I'd use 3 years later as ROBIN GRAVES, The Grave Robber, on: BARON Von WOLFSTEIN Presents SATURDAY NIGHT with The MONSTERS Some of Our HAUNTED HOUSES For CHARITY were done in old abandoned buildings, which contained resident spirits.... ************************ We all have mental videos of our Lives. I'll try to share only those which pertain exclusively to Our Subject, The HORROR GENRE, and, My consistant niche in it. But, such information will include lapses into Philosophy, and, Psychology. This, for example: This finite life is all about images. We are drawn to, or, repulsed by, different images, faces, landscapes, sounds, tactile textures, and, smells. "Not my cup o' Tea." and "One man's meat is another man's poison." readily come to mind as examples of Our Uniquely Individual Preferences. Our Predispositions; that 'inner call' of yearnings and leanings, which constitutes some unspoken Higher Purpose upon our lives, and, which contributes so mightily to our 'esthetic weight', cannot be denied. We are somewhat 'pre-defined' by those 'unknown tastes' for which we hunger, and, seek to satiate from the moment of our Birth onward. Hopefully, it is DIVINE Purpose, and, not mere Mortal Folly, which predicates and drives those Hungers. Our Resolve to 'do'; by a choice of action, to accomplish anything, is as much intertwined with Our Pre-destined Inspirations as it is with Our Acquired Information. It Is the Intuitive Heart longing to BE full-filled. 'Paying Our Dues' is the proof of our willingness to shape and hone those raw gifts and inclinations into a malleable present and ideal future. Take any Great Musician for example; from BACH or BEETHOVEN, to LENNON and MacCARTNEY. Their answering of the 'Inner Call', discovering, advancing in and, celebrating their innate talents, has certainly changed the world, and, improved upon our perceptions of it. I cannot imagine a world devoid of Their Genius and Contributions, nor, the Active Role of Inspiration, which Their Lives and Creativity have wrought upon My own desire and direction to add My small, but, Hopefully, Artistic Mark upon this olde Globe. 'Leaving this World a BETTER PLACE than it was when you found it', is the Ideal that shiningly bulwarks and buttresses the Positive Progression that we title CIVILIZATION. So, where does the dark side come into all this 'rose-coloured glasses' Optimism? And, WHY? I'll delve into this more at a later time, but, for now, suffice it to say that 'Opposites attract', and, we all carry a shadow figure, or, 'monster', within us; one, of which we are often not consciously aware, and, are taught to try to repress. Thus, our fascination with the dark side, those scary monsters that inhabit our deep psyches. We try to placate them with supernatural thrills, movies, haunted houses (real or man-made) etc. ********************* I remember working on the HAUNTED HOUSES For CHARITY, which I began in AD 1971 in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a mere lad (turning 23 on Oct. 23rd of that year), it was a heady rush to spend 6 months out of that year creating, inventing, and, manifesting a 'product' that would give all who partook of it a True HALLOWEEN 'Fix'! I could not have lived and not have done that; I was born to Celebrate that as a part of my life. It was PRODUCTIVITY on a massive scale, especially on a minimal budget totaling $2000.00. Hooked up with the right people, The JayCees and WSAI, Miracles occurred! Our PRODUCTIVITY was successfully validated when 70,000 people, at a dollar a ticket, graced our HAUNTED HOUSE With Their Presence in a mere 9 Day! $70,000.00 in roughly 60 Hours of total operation! Our Venture Spawned the HAUNTED HOUSE Movement across AMERICA and, in all likelihood, around the Globe. BILLIONS SCARED! (Eat your heart out, McDonalds!) As long as the monies earned from these Endeavours goes to CHARITY, to meet the needs of those less fortunate among us, tnen, all of those unsung Monsters Whom I'll never meet Are Truly FANG-MILY To Me! It was My HAUNTED HOUSE HISTORY, which eventually led me to inhabit the scare-waves of the Telly-fied Variety, as BARON Von WOLFSTEIN & Co. ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION perform an Invaluable Service to the Success of any Endeavour. Quite a simple concept, really. You can have the BEST Product in the world, but, if no one knows about it, it does you little good. Likewise they suffer the lack of seeing and learning about something unique. Successful Productivity relies upon Ardent. and, even, Agressive, Promotion. They are inseparable, and, contrary to popular opinion, it is not necessarilly 'egotistical' to advertise your wares. It merely confirms that you believe in your product, and, are willing to commit to going the extra mile to allow others to choose to interface your 'product' beneficially into their lives... ostensibly, for their enjoyment and betterment. In AD 1977, keenly aware that My Bloomington HAUNTED HOUSE was not realizing its Potential as a CHARITABLE SERVICE, I choose to embark upon TV Advertising. I turned to my dear Friend and Brother, MICHAEL BENJAMIN WHITE, for, it was solely with his invaluable aid and know-how, that I made, not only a commercial at the local Channel 4 TV Station, (where MICHAEL worked in the capacity of Director) but, that, by His kind assistance, the opportune Blessing was set in motion to appear on THE COWBOY BOB SHOW, taped at channel 4's Indianapolis facility. PRODUCTIVITY: In part, is being in the right place at the right time; often, this occurs without much effort on our parts. ************************* In my next HHU GgrrRANT, (#4), I shall relate the outcome of the COWBOY BOB Episode, and, the (Sometimes Slippery) Curve, which I identified near the beginning of this RANT. Meanwhile, Thank You for reading these Missives. If you like them, or, have any questions, feel free to send them to CURTIS, Our Impeccable HHU Web-Monster; he will forward them on to me....
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