Episode #6 Ladies of Valhalla – Halloween Spooktacular
A vampire, a ghost and a werewolf walk into a bar. But this isn’t a bad joke, this is the Ladies of
Valhalla.
Singing! Laughing! Potentially inappropriate content!
In their sixth episode the Ladies are doing something slightly different, with a raft of
recommendations for you this time round. There’s plenty of really scary stuff out there to watch,
read and listen to (check out our friends at Sirens of Scream for more details!), but about some
things that you can share with all the family? Look (Ed. – listen?) no further, the Ladies are here to
help…
Next month the ladies will be looking at the recent movie adaptation of A Wrinkle In Time, based on
the book by Madeline L’Engel. They have already recorded this episode (time travel!), but if you have
thoughts please do send them in, we’d love to share them.
Ladies of Valhalla is brought to you by Talking Comics (www.talkingcomicbooks.com). The podcast is
hosted by Sarah Miles, Bronwyn Kelly-Seigh and Jessica Garris-Schaeffer, and is a monthly look at
media from female or female-identifying creators, or featuring female or female-identifying
characters. You can find the hosts on Twitter (@ValhallaLadies) or Facebook
(www.facebook.com/ValhallaLadies) or email them on ladiesofvalhalla@gmail.com
The Ladies of Valhalla logo was created by Jessica Garris-Schaeffer.
‘The Valhallan’, the theme music for Ladies of Valhalla, was created by friend of the pod
SuperbadLarry
Recommendations galore (ones for the older children / YA ages marked with *):
**Movies**
– Hocus Pocus
– Ghostbusters (any version, because they’re all great)
– Dracula: Dead and Loving It
– Gremlins*
– The Craft*
– The Faculty*
– The Nightmare Before Christmas
– The Corpse Bride
– Beetlejuice
– Zombieland*
– The Addams Family / Addams Family Values
– Death Becomes Her
– Paranorman
– Coraline
– The Princess & The Frog
– Maleficent
– Monster Inc. / Monsters University
– Donnie Darko*
– Buffy the Vampire Slayer
**TV Shows**
– Scooby Doo
– Dr Who (especially The Empty Child)
– Brooklyn 99 (Halloween episodes)*
– Chilling Adventures of Sabrina*
– Stranger Things*
– A Handmaids Tale*
– Buffy the Vampire Slayer
**Characters**
– Coraline
– Wednesday Addams
– Hermione Granger
– Sabrina Spellman
– Ellen Ripley*
**Comics**
– Gotham Academy
– Nancy Drew
– Papergirls
– Hexed
– Scales and Scoundrels
– Black Magik*
– Bloodstain*
– Harrow Country*
– Monstress*
– Clean Room*
– Animosity
– Wytches *
– American Vampire*
– Redlands*
– Backstagers
**Musicals**
– Sweeney Todd
– The Nightmare Before Christmas
– Little Shop of Horrors
– Rocky Horror Picture Show*
**Books**
-Michelle Knudsen – Evil Librarian
– Sarah Pinborough – especially Dog Faced Gods trilogy and Poison / Charm / Beauty*
– MR Carey – The Girl With All The Gifts
– JK Rowling – Harry Potter series
– Seanan Macguire – The Sparrow Hill Road, Girl In Green Silk Dress
– Roald Dhal – The Witches
– POINT HORROR!
– GOOSEBUMPS!
– Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (www.scaryforkids.com)
Bob Reyer’s lucky thirteen:
– Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) an excellent gateway to the Universal
– Evergreens of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, or The Wolfman.
– The Cat People (1942) The original, directed by Jacques Tourneur; and very creepy!
– The Thing from Another World (1951) Despite the title, it's more an "old dark house" movie,
but with plenty of other-worldly scares!
– Curse of the Demon (a.k.a. Night of the Demon) (1958) Also by Tourneur, a non-believing
psychologist discovers the truth about the power of the occult!
-The City of the Dead (1960) Christopher Lee in a town ruled by witches
– The Haunting (1963) Based on Shirley Jackson's "the Haunting of Hill House", this is probably
the best "ghost story" movie ever.
– The Haunted Palace (1963) Vincent Price stars in an adaptation of Lovecraft's "The Case of
Charles Dexter Ward".
-Night of the Living Dead (1968) I know what you're thinking, but depending on the child
involved, this can definitely work. There is one extended scene of "ghouls" feeding, but
there's very little gruesomeness beyond that. Despite all that has come since, this progenitor
of all things "zombie" still retains its creepy power!
– The Fog (1980) This is my second favorite ghost story after "The Haunting". Directed by John
Carpenter ("Halloween"), it does carry an "R" rating, but only because there wasn't a "PG-13"
back then! (There is one scene of mild gore.)
–
The Monster Squad (1987) A bunch of monster-loving kids find out that there are such things
as monsters!
– The Others (2001) Wonderful Gothic ghost story with Nicole Kidman
– Corpse Bride (2005) Sometimes music can be the entry-way to horror for younger viewers, so
although this film isn't the equal to Nightmare Before Christmas, it's a fine film in it's own
right.
– Blood and Chocolate (2007) Based on a YA novel, this tells of a young woman dealing with
her coming of age as a werewolf. (A more adult take on this plays out in the wonderful
"Ginger Snaps" trilogy!)
– The Hole (2009) Directed by Joe Dante ("Gremlins"), this film centers on a family moving into
a new home, and finding a gateway to…somewhere… hidden in the basement!
Happy Halloween!
