Spooky film round-up, part I

It's that time of year again! This post features "new to me" ghostly/Gothic films, three of which are from this intriguing list of Scariest Ghost Movies of All Time.

(Stay tuned for a follow-up post on spooky films released in 2016.)


Jessabelle (2014)
Returning to her childhood home in Louisiana to recuperate from a horrific car accident, Jessabelle comes face to face with a long-tormented spirit that has been seeking her return -- and has no intention of letting her escape. (PG-13)
I'm surprised by the low IMDB Metascore on this one. Maybe people were misled by the trailer. Entertainment Weekly gave it 3 out of 4 stars, which I think is fair. Great Southern Gothic setting and solid creepiness without too many manipulative jump scares. Unlike some cranky reviewers, I thought the ending was pretty cool.
Watch the trailer. (Or maybe not?) Rent from Amazon, DVD from Netflix. Metascore: 37/100


The Canal (2014)
A man who suspects his wife is cheating on him begins having nightmarish visions of an evil presence that he believes inhabits his house. (Unrated. Warning for R-rated content.)
This dark and stylish film features strong performances, particularly from Rupert Evans (known to me previously from North and South). His character's study of archival film footage is just the sort of thing I love in a horror film. Hard to say much else without spoiling!
Watch the trailer (sex/gore warning!). Rent from Amazon or stream from Netflix. Metascore: 55/100.


Picnic at Table Rock (1975)
During a rural picnic, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind.(Unrated. PG content.)
This early offering from Peter Weir, director of Witness and Master and Commander, offers a slow burn of Gothic mystery rather than full-on horror. It's beautifully filmed, and how could I resist the turn-of-the-century girls' school setting?
Watch the trailer. Rent from Amazon. No Metascore on imdb.com, but apparently there is going to be an AUSTRALIAN MINI-SERIES in 2017!


What Lies Beneath (2000)
The wife of a university research scientist believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost - or that she is losing her mind. (PG-13)
I didn't see this movie when it was released because I hadn't yet evolved into full-on ghost obsession. (I think it was The Others, which came out the following year, that really flipped the switch for me.) There are many good things about What Lies Beneath: the cast (Harrison Ford!), the camera work, and its lack of cheap jump scares or over-the-top special effects. (I've said it before and I'll say it again--it's what we DON'T see that builds tension and dread. I'll address this issue again when I discuss The Conjuring 2, grrr.) I liked the nods to Rear Window and, to a lesser extent, Gaslight. I think this film is well worth watching, but it's at least half an hour too long and can't quite keep itself together at the end.
Watch the trailer. (Or not. It is very SPOILERY!) Rent from Amazon. Metascore: 51/100.

[All synopses from imdb.com]

Recaps from previous years:
2015 recommendations: Crimson Peak, Housebound, The Ring, and The Babadook.
2014 recommendations: Mama, Stoker, and Lake Mungo
2013 recommendations: The Changeling, El Orfanato (The Orphanage), Below, and Janghwa, Hongryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters)
2012 recommendations: The Pact and The Awakening. Also (each a separate post) Dead of Night, The Uninvited, The Innocents, and The Haunting.

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

September Tea and a Book: Daddy Long Legs

Quick take: Such a delight!

Official-ish synopsis: First published in 1912, this young adult novel is comprised mostly of letters from orphan Jerusha "Judy" Abbott to her anonymous benefactor whom she names "Daddy Long Legs". The letters chronicle her departure from the orphanage through four years of college. Judy makes new friends, slowly gains knowledge and independence, but also struggles with her humble past and unfixed future. (from Amazon)

Good news: This e-book is available from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble for only $0.99!!!

For years I kept seeing positive references to Daddy Long Legs, and you know how I love stories of orphans and foundlings, so I decided to give it a try. WOW! It took me less than five pages to fall for Judy Abbott. She is clever, hilarious, and quite forward-thinking for her time. And when anyone tries to push her around, she pushes back

Some favorite passages:

I find that it isn't safe to discuss religion with the Semples. Their God (whom they have inherited intact from their remote Puritan ancestors) is a narrow, irrational, unjust, mean, revengeful, bigoted person. Thank heaven I don't inherit God from anybody! I am free to make mine up as I wish Him. He's kind and sympathetic and imaginative and forgiving and understanding--and He has a sense of humour. (53)

Don't you think I'd make an admirable voter if I had my rights? I was twenty-one last week. This is an awfully wasteful country to throw away such an honest, educated, conscientious, intelligent citizen as I would be. (105)

Just back from church--preacher from Georgia. We must take care, he says, not to develop our intellects at the expense of our emotional natures [...] It doesn't matter what part of the United States or Canada they come from, or what denomination they are, we always get the same sermon. Why on earth don't they go to men's colleges and urge the students not to allow their manly natures to be crushed out by too much mental application? (135)

NOTE: As you can see, Judy is very free with socio-political criticisms, but she has her frolicsome moods as well. She reminded me of an L.M. Montgomery character--brimming with imagination and entertaining opinions!

And now for tea:

Judy spends the summer after her first year of college at Lock Willow Farm.

The farm gets more and more entertaining. I rode on a hay wagon yesterday. We have three big pigs and nine little piglets, and you should see them eat. They are pigs! We've oceans of little baby chickens and ducks and turkeys and guinea fowls. You must be mad to live in a city when you might live on a farm. (52)

When Judy mentions picking blackberries on the farm (something I did every summer on my grandparents' farm), I found myself with a powerful yearning for blackberry cobbler. Doesn't that sound lovely for a late summer tea?


I used this recipe from Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman (who lives in Oklahoma, of course!). Simple preparation and very tasty.


It didn't seem like a true cobbler without a little scoop of ice cream. I chose Breyers lactose free vanilla.


To pair with the cobbler I chose the Assam Hattiala from Palais des Thés, "a beautiful large leaf Assam with an abundance of tips, a pronounced, very spicy aroma, and dark, full-bodied liquor." Perfect with a warm and sweet afternoon treat!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

Summer travel postcards, final installment -- the photo parade of TEA!

For our London stay, a friend recommended The Wolseley, and we were quite pleased with our experience. First of all, it's not a stuffy sort of place in the least. It was very busy, with lots of chatter and laughter, plus great people-watching (& eavesdropping) opportunities. Steve and I both enjoyed the Wolseley Afternoon Blend tea. The scones were freshly baked and still warm, and the sandwiches were deliciously unfussy. As usually happens, we were a bit stuffed by the time we turned to the dessert tier of the tray, but rest assured we did our best. ;)


On our first full day in Cromarty, Scotland, we enjoyed tea and cake at The Pantry. This was a bright, cozy place, and quite peaceful in the late afternoon.


The next day we visited Coupers Creek, a cafe/gift shop also on Church Street. Doesn't that freshly whipped cream look divine?


Once in Gairloch we enjoyed a tray of tea at the Shieldaig Lodge. We each had our own teapot, our own pot of hot water for refilling, and a couple of shortbread cookies. Quite reviving after our long (& winding) drive from the Black Isle!


Finally, a longstanding favorite -- cream tea on the terrace at the Old Parsonage Hotel in Oxford. The silver teapot and strainers are fancy, yet the atmosphere is always relaxing. Over the years I've enjoyed many teas with friends at this spot. (Just for reference, here's what a full tea looks like at Old Parsonage!)

That's it for Summer postcards! I fully intend to return to my "Tea and a Book" posts this fall, so stay tuned!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

Summer Travel Postcards: Chastleton House

A field overrun with wildflowers near Moreton-in-Marsh

After our Scotland adventures, it was time to move on to Oxford. We decided to spend our only free day visiting Chastleton House, which involved a train to Moreton-in-Marsh and lots of walking through the Cotswolds. Huzzah!


We were pretty hungry when we arrived. Fortunately the adjoining church, St. Mary's, was offering tea and cake in return for donations to a charity supporting Medical Detection dogs. (This tickled me because I so enjoyed reading Nancy Cataldo's marvelous Sniffer Dogs.) It actually was quite lovely to eat cake in the churchyard among the gravestones!


Chastleton House was built in the early 17th century by a wealthy wool merchant. Hardly any updates were made over the last 400 years, and although the exterior has held up quite nicely, the interior had fallen into terrible disrepair by the late 20th century. (We heard tales of a dotty old lady living there with 30 cats while the house was falling apart around her--you know how I aspire to love that sort of thing!) The National Trust bought the house in 1991 and has been in the process of restoring it ever since.


[As always, click images for a larger view]
In most historic houses, only a few rooms are available for public viewing because the resident family prefers to maintain some privacy. Well, since no one actually lives at Chastleton anymore, we were allowed access to a surprising number of rooms. I was excited to learn that Chastleton was featured in the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. In fact, a key scene between Thomas Cromwell and Anne Boleyn was filmed in the Long Gallery, seen above at the right. Learn more about Chastleton House as a filming location here.


It was quite relaxing to wander in the topiary garden. I love this description from the National Trust website:

The garden has nods to changing garden fashions but still largely has its Jacobean layout, with divisions according to use. And it still preserves its secret garden feel of 'romantic neglect'.

[*happy sigh*]


We wrapped up the day with an impromptu game of croquet. Did you know that the rules of croquet were codified at Chastleton House? They were written by Walter Jones Whitmore and published on April 7, 1866.

Stay tuned for one last travel post featuring . . . TEA!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

Summer Travel Postcards: Scotland, part 2

Loch Gairloch

[Go here if you missed part 1 of the Scotland postcards.]

Our luck with weather continued throughout our time in Gairloch. I couldn't ask for anything nicer than the cool breezes and partly sunny skies we experienced.


We stayed at the Shieldaig Lodge, a former hunting lodge turned hotel. I felt a bit like a character in Nancy Mitford's Highland Fling as I wandered through sitting rooms like this one with the bay window, this one with the coat of arms, or this little library where we enjoyed tea (more on that later).


Here Steve looks out over the Fairy Lochs. We were told at the lodge that this was a fairly easy walk, so we set out shortly after we arrived. It soon became clear that we'd need more time and energy, so we turned back. The next day we were determined to reach the lochs, but despite what all the travel guides said, it was fairly rough going--rocky terrain alternating with muddy bogs, and very steep in places. We had at least four moments of false hope when we thought we'd almost reached the plateau only to find there was SO MUCH MORE ground to cover. This view was well-earned, I tell you! (Going back down was even harder, but we won't dwell on that...)


We enjoyed views like this (and easier paths) on our Flowerdale Glen walk.


Another view of Loch Gairloch.


I'll wrap up by offering this post-dinner selfie taken on our last evening at Sheildaig Lodge. The pictures were so goofy, and we were laughing so hard, that the owner came out and asked if we would like him to take the photo. (We must have been making a spectacle of ourselves.) As you might imagine, his photo featured the lodge much more prominently.

Stay tuned for postcards from our walk to Chastleton House in the Cotswolds!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]