Movies

True Crime Podcasts I’m Listening To

Once upon a time, I had an obsession with pulp novels and Film Noir movies… hold on… wait one darn minute… Ok. Ok! I still do. What’s with this once upon a time crap. It’s true, I love reading trashy 1940s and 50s pulp fiction and there is a beautiful satisfaction watching a femme fatale get some dark and dirty revenge on the person who wronged her. Oh. Yes. There. Is. I rarely read or watch modern books or movies, unless they independent. I’d rather drift off into another era and enjoy the masters at their craft. Give me a pre-code or film noir movie any day or a novella from the 1920s. During my commutes to work, I would always have a book to read and eventually I started getting into podcasts. I’m now obsessed with them. I am a full-time writer now and no longer take that daunting trip via transit on a daily basis any longer. The only thing I missed was that time I had to read or listen to a podcast. Now I listen to them before I begin writing. It helps to wake up my creative juices.

Over the last few years, True Crime Podcasts have become increasingly popular. There are chatty podcasts like My Favorite Murder or ones that more news-driven, including having experts on their shows like Murder Was the Case. The beauty of a podcast is that you don’t always need access to WiFi to stream them. Many podcast apps will let you download them so you can listen to them at your leisure. I currently use PlayerFM. They have an extensive list of podcasts that pretty much cover everyone’s interests. I was thankful to have that app during my recent, fours hours both way, trip to my parent’s house.

Whether or not you want to personally admit it, as humans, we are all interested in hearing or reading about the darker side of humanity. I honestly feel like this is the reason there has been an explosion of True Crime podcasts, blogs and YouTube channels of late. Podcasts are also an alternative to books on tape. It’s less of a commitment when the story may only take up an hour of your time.

I have compiled a list of my favourites below. There is a mix of real life and fiction. The link will take you into PlayerFM. I’m not saying you should use that particular app, it’s just a fast way for you to access the podcast and information if you are intrigued by the title. There are descriptions of what the podcast is about for each individual podcast on their website.

What podcasts are you listening to? Do you have any True Crime Podcasts you’d like to suggest? Please let us know.

Alice Isn’t Dead

Bloody Murder – A True Crime Podcast

Canadian True Crime

Darker Projects: Night Terrors

Final Girls Horrorcast

Hollywood & Crime

Last Podcast On The Left

Murder Was The Case

Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

Once Upon A Crime | True Crime

Post Mortem with Mick Garris

Serial Killer Documentary Podcast

Serial Killers

The Minds of Madness – True Crime Stories

The Serial Killer Podcast

The Strange and Unusual Podcast

This Podcast Will Kill You

True Crime Garage

True Crime Historian

Undone

Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories

Welcome to Night Vale

Owen Sound Twin Drive-in Theatre

I just found out that the Twin Drive-in Theatre, just outside of Owen Sound, is being torn down. My heart sunk a little when I saw these words, that was immediately followed by a torrent of childhood memories. Good memories. Flushed with nostalgia, I began to reminisce about hot summer nights, curled up in the back seat of the white, Pontiac station wagon, dressed in our PJs. Anticipating dusk so the movie would begin.

In the summer and even early fall, we spent many Saturday nights at the Owen Sound Twin Drive-in Theatre. With no air conditioning at home, it was an escape from the stifling heat of the century-old, badly insulated Victorian house we lived in. My Dad would pack up the Igloo cooler with bottles of Pop Shoppe cream soda and root beer and it would be one of the few occasions our Mom would allow us to have junk food. We grew up in a household free of it. Fresh popcorn, sugar controlled Freshie and homemade cookies were her snacks of choice for us. Occasionally, our parents would let us buy something from the concession stand.

Before heading out for our night of movie entertainment; we were put into our pajama’s, our parents knowing we would never make it through the second movie. We tried, oh trust me, we tried.

My Dad would always try to get us there early, like many others, he wanted a prime spot. This would mean waiting extra time for dusk and time to play in the rusting structures of the play area. How we didn’t end up with lead poison or lockjaw still confounds me. Running wild with hoards of other children, our parents hoped we’d exhaust ourselves so they’d be allowed enough peace and quiet to hear the voices through the vintage speaker mounted on the driver’s side window.

Since 1950 and when the Owen Sound Twin Drive-in Theatre first opened up, the long line-up of cars would cruise in, set-up the speaker in their window and then make their way to the concession stand. That drive-in saw many cars filled with young lovers, families with kids in PJs, teenagers excited that they could test their new driver’s license and freedom and older couples enjoying a date night. When I think of drive-in theatres, I often imagine the voice of Wolfman Jack drifting from the radio, in sync with the crunching sounds of popcorn and the release of metal pop bottle lids. We usually parked close to the concession stand, allowing our car to be filled with the smells of food cooking and the sounds of beverages being poured into wax-lined paper cups.

Drive-in-concessions-stand.courtesy-LAPL

One memory that has always stuck with me is that of being scared shitless to go to the bathroom that was attached to the concession stand. It was mere feet away. One of the movies from a double feature that particular evening was The Car. In this movie, the car was possessed and was running people down and starred the very handsome James Brolin. I was so scared of this evil vehicle that I was convinced that it was in the drive-in. I remember begging my mother to take me to the washroom. She was frustrated by this since I’ve never been scared to go on my own before that night. Oh, the 1970s. A time when you’d let your young child wander off to a public washroom all on their own.

It’s sad that drive-in’s and bowling alleys are dying away. They both have filled my heart with so many wonderful memories and I often wonder what could be done to keep them open and popular for today’s society. Would adding fun extras such as live music, trivia contests or some other events to entertain the masses, while they wait for the sun to go down, be enough? I’m afraid it won’t be. Let’s hold onto those wonderful memories and continue to tell others our stories of hot, humid summer nights at a double feature at your local drive-theatre.

Please share your stories in the comments below.

Killer B Cinema Presents Japanese Monster Attack double bill!

May is Japanese Monster Attack month and do we have some monsters for you for you. Frankenstein vs Baragon and Gamera will not disappoint! The perfect double bill and all for the low, low price of $5. That’s right FIVE DOLLARS! And there will be trivia with prizes!

Doors (back performance space) open at 8 pm and the movies begin at 8:30 pm.
Where: The Imperial Pub Performance Space, 54 Dundas Street East
Facebook Invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/158830411451532/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/killerbcinema/

Frankenstein vs. Baragon (also known as Frankenstein Conquers the World ) is a Japanese-American 1965 science fiction kaiju film co-produced by Toho, Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises, and Benedict Productions. The film is directed by Ishirō Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and stars Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Tadao Takashima, with Koji Furuhata as Frankenstein and Haruo Nakajima as Baragon. The screenplay is credited to Takeshi Kimura, with the story credited to Reuben Bercovitch based on a synopsis by Jerry Sohl.

The film was released theatrically in the United States in the summer of 1966 by American International Pictures. The following year, Toho/UPA produced a sequel titled The War of the Gargantuas.

Gamera is a fictional giant monster or kaiju originating from a series of Japanese tokusatsu films of the same name. He first appeared in Daiei Film’s 1965 film Gamera: The Giant Monster, which was initially produced to rival the success of Toho’s Godzilla; however, Gamera has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own right. The character has appeared in other media such as comic books and video games.

Each month join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a double bill of B-moves from the 1930s to 1970s!

Thank you to the Imperial Pub and their staff! They make our monthly event extra amazing!

We hope to see you at The Imperial!

Killer B Cinema: Lady Frankenstein & Bride of the Monster

April is Mad Scientist Appreciation month and do we have some mad scientists for you. Lady Frankenstein and Ed Wood’s Bride of the Monster will not disappoint! The perfect double bill and all for the low, low price of $5. That’s right FIVE DOLLARS! And there will be trivia with prizes!

Doors (back performance space) open at 8 pm and the movies begin at 8:30 pm.

Lady Frankenstein (99 min) is a 1971 English-language Italian horror film directed by Mel Welles and written by cult writer Edward di Lorenzo. It stars Rosalba Neri (under the pseudonym Sara Bey), Joseph Cotten, Mickey Hargitay and Paul Müller.

Bride of the Monster (75 min) is a 1955 American science fiction horror film directed, written, and produced by Edward D. Wood Jr., and starring Bela Lugosi, along with Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy and Loretta King.

The film is considered to have Wood’s biggest budget ($70,000). Production commenced in 1953 but, due to further financial problems, was not completed until 1955.

A sequel, entitled Night of the Ghouls, was finished in 1959, but due to last-minute financial problems, was not released until 1984.

Thank you to our prize sponsors Bren Clews, Tom Davey, Alumni Theatre, Toronto Film Noir Syndicate, Jonathan Kociuba and Drunken Cinema!

Each month join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a double bill of B-moves from the 1930s to 1970s!

Thank you to the Imperial Pub and their staff! They make our monthly event extra amazing!

We hope to see you at The Imperial!

Killer B Cinema: Turkish Superman & Mexican Batwoman Double Bill

Ask me how excited I am about the March 3rd Killer B Cinema (please join our Facebook page for updates). No really, ask me! Our March 3rd double bill will be two killer movies. Superman and Batwoman like you’ve never seen them before. I’m not kidding! Like. You’ve. Never. Seen. Them. Before! The perfect double bill and all for the low, low price of $5. That’s right FIVE DOLLARS! And there will be trivia with prizes!

Doors (back performance space) open at 8 pm and the movies begin at 8:30 pm.

Turkish Superman (1979): After a mysterious prologue in a Christmas tree ornaments-filled “starscape”, Turkish Clark Kent is told by his parents that he is an Alien from space and that he must leave to accomplish his destiny. They give him a green gem which he takes into a nearby cave. There, Jor-El, minus half of his front teeth, appears and reveals to Clark that he is Superman… The rest needs to be seen to be believed.

Mexican Batwoman (1968): Batwoman is called to investigate a whacked out scientist that is capturing wrestlers and using their spinal fluid to create a Gill Man. Starring Maura Monti as the extra sassy Mexican Batwoman.

Facebook Invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/1340218836084747/

killer-b-cinema-postcard__mar-3-2017

We also have an amazing line-up of prize sponsors for March. Thank you to Toronto Film Noir Syndicate, Alumnae Theatre, John Oughton and L’Rock. We will also be having a special raffle for a handmade Mexican Batwoman doll by the uber talented Carlin Belof from Unravelled: Crocheted Items by Carlin.

Each month join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a double bill of B-moves from the 1930s to 1970s!

Thank you to the Imperial Pub and their staff! They make our monthly event extra amazing!

We hope to see you at The Imperial!

Fall is in the air! Upcoming shows and dates!

Fall makes me happy. The crispness of the air, the crunch of the leaves under my feet, the smell of Autumn in the air. HALLOWEEN! I wish it could be fall all year long! I have a few shows and events coming up soon and thought I would share all of the dates and details!

The Redhead Revue: is a cabaret style show starring Lizzie Violet, Heather Babcock, Neil Traynor and Zoltan Du Lac. Each show has storytelling, music, a pre-code movie and trivia with prizes!

redhead-review-poster-of-human-bondage

Event listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/147937915784393/?active_tab=about

Killer B Cinema: Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly double bill of b-moves from the 1950s to 1970s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Our first show will be on October 7th at the Imperial Pub’s performance space located at 54 Dundas Street East. More details coming soon!

21248509_456378958082691_8021154570133935698_o

Music Makers: Portraits at the Great Hall: I was honoured that I was able to help edit Lisa MacIntosh’s stunning book! The book launch will be on October 14th, at the Great Hall. There is also a concert with some of Canada’s best loved musicians!

Event listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/161786311046366/?active_tab=about

CIUT Halloween show: On October 31st, I will be reading something scary at the CIUT Halloween show! I may or may not be dressed as a Zombie! More details soon!

Redheads Writing in Cafes — The Sandman

Once again, I’m not actually writing in a cafe. I’m on my red couch, however, I do have a cup of coffee, so technically my living room is a cafe? I was hoping to hop over to one of my local cafes today to write, but… surprise, surprise, it’s going to rain! As much as I want a change of environment, I don’t want to risk getting my laptop wet. Alternatively, I want to start spending time in the back garden writing, again, rain delay. Maybe I will get to one day this summer. I know. I know. Stop complaining, your life isn’t that rough.

So, you may be asking, what has Lizzie been up to these last few days. After her daily barrage of blogging, why did she go dark? I needed a few days off. If you are a creative, you will get this. You can exhaust your juices and need to recharge them. That is exactly what I did. I am feeling fresh and ready to write again. Part of recharging was spending the afternoon and evening with friends. We indulged in ciders, comfort food and one of my favourite things, Neil Gaiman. Calm down, not the actual Neil Gaiman (I wish), rather a live action fan film created by Evan Henderson and Nicholas Brown.

We began our adventure at Sneaky Dees. I went with my fella, my partner-in-crime October, and her fella. Every. Single. Time. I go to Sneaky Dees, I forget how large the portions are and of course, we always get nachos to start. Why do we do this? WHY? After being uncomfortably stuffed with delicious food, we slowly ambled towards The Royal for the premiere of Sandman: 24 Hour Diner. First up, I need to say this, the marketing for this movie was brilliant. Not only were the posters stunning, but they postered the city, had tonnes to give out at the end of the movie and we were given these lovely tickets because we reserved our seats. Kudos to the marketing team.

Evan Henderson and Nicholas Brown did a fantastic job for their first film. Doing fan fiction is hard because you don’t have financial backing and you need to pull out all your skills to get these types of projects made. Hopefully, Neil gets to see this adaptation. After midnight, the film was made available for everyone to see, here is the link to the movie. If you are interested in reading more about the project, here is a link to their Facebook Page. Personally, I’m glad I got to see it on the big screen and at The Royal. Our rep theatres are an important resource for young filmmakers. October and I have written a horror movie short and after seeing this film am realizing we need to get off our butts and get it filmed.

After the movie was over, we made our way over to Free Times Cafe for a few more drinks and a discussion with our friends Raven, Simon and their daughter. They are both huge Gaiman nerds as well and we have a really interesting conversation about the books in comparison to the movie. I loved that I was able to nerd out, about Neil Gaiman with like-minded goth nerds. Yes. Goths can be nerds too.

Also in the works is a project that my fella and I are working on. It will be launching in October and I will have more teasers in the next few weeks. We are working out the details and once we do, we will let you in on our secret. I can tell you it is something we are both passionate about.

Until the next time…. stay gothy.

Redheads Writing in Cafes — why are the crows avoiding me?

Today is the day. If I don’t get a photo of the crows or the Raven, I will need to find somewhere in Toronto where they congregate. Why must they torment me? I can hear them and see them in other people’s yards. When I try to make my way towards them to take a picture, they take off. All I ask is you come visit our front yard and let me get some good photographs of you. What I wouldn’t do right now for my DSLR right now and a zoom lens.

My intention today was to sit on the covered porch to write, but the temperature suddenly dropped and big, gray clouds started rolling in. I moved to the kitchen table and can actually see a wall of rain heading towards us. Have you ever been outside when this happens, especially when you have nowhere to go? I have, it’s not always a fun experience. I’d much rather be watching it from the safety of inside.

I’ve decided to give myself permission to take a few days off. Not sleeping well due to the futon from hell, I’m tired. When I get home tomorrow, I will likely take a long, hot shower, throw in my laundry and then watch 1950s, sci-fi b-movies. Maybe I can convince my love to order in. I’ve been away from him for a week and a half and it will feel good to be with him again. I have to say I am incredibly lucky to have such a supportive partner. It doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes.

Blogging every day has been fun and a great way to wake up my brain each day, but I’m not sure I can continue to do it daily. I have realized that I definitely need to blog more often. I still have plans to vlog, but for now, will continue to blog. My priority is to get a solid first draft of my novel done, then I can figure out vlogging and the youtube channel I keep talking about.

The other thing that evades me are the books I am looking for. We checked a few places in town and was not able to find them. It looks like a trip to the Reference Library will be happening upon my return. In all honesty, I need to go there on a regular basis to research and write.

Because of the pending rain, the crows have disappeared again. Off to find shelter and to stay dry. They are intelligent creatures and I’m sure decided that the redhead isn’t going to capture their image. You just wait crows, I may not capture your image today, but I will one day.

Redheads Writing in Cafes — there will be some swears, but for a change, it wasn’t me.

Oh. There you are! I’d wondered if I’d see a blue sky again. Of course, I feel a storm brewing, but not the weather kind. I’m currently sitting at the kitchen table, attempting to write and instead am listening to my father curse. I think he’s to the point of his tirade that he’s making up swear words. You see, at some point during the night, the basement sump pump broke and now the basement is flooded. This is what happens when your house is built beside a former swamp and it hasn’t stopped raining for days. There will be swears and lots of them. Mom and I are steering clear of him for the moment. Oh, the swearing!

My Mom had her staples removed and the doctor reported that things are AOK. Such a huge relief for everyone. While staying here, I’ve been doing most of the cooking and we have figured she may also have a form of IBS. I have convinced her to take her diet down to the basics, keep a food diary and cut out foods that are likely the irritant, then discuss with her doctor. All was going well until last night when there was indulgence in greasy foods. Hopefully, the mostly whole foods, plant-based diet will get her tummy back on track. It would be awesome if she went all Vegan, but… baby steps. We have found a few really good sources for an IBS diet and if she sticks to it, she should be back to normal quickly.

Now that she is healing up and 75% more mobile than when I got here, I can return to Toronto. Look for another edition of Redheads Writing in Cafes except when it’s on a bus unless I fall asleep, the bus leaves here at 8 am and I haven’t been sleeping well. Remember that episode of Seinfeld with the pull-out couch that had ‘the bar’ — I’ve got the futon couch/bed, with ‘the bar’. I’m looking forward to being in my own bed and back to writing in actual cafes.

02 May 1960 — Carol Burnett as Princess Winnifred in the musical comedy Once Upon a Mattress, taken from the fairly tale of the Princess and the Pea. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

I hope the rain holds off tomorrow. I want to make another trek to the Salvation Army to see if I can find some treasures. It was also suggested that the drugstore downtown may carry books written by Diane Madden. I’m on the hunt for her books titled Tale of the Unusual, More Tales of the Unusual and Yet More Tales of the Unusual. I’m not a 100 percent sure these are the books, but they sound closer topic wise to what I am looking for. Sometimes, when I can’t find these specific types of items, I often wonder if I dreamt them up. Anyone else do this? It’s incredibly frustrating.

The cursing has at least settled down a bit. I’m still at the kitchen table trying to will my laptop to charge faster. Seriously, charge faster, I want to retreat to the covered front porch. Hopefully, it will be quieter and I can get back to working on Freaks and Grimm.

Till tomorrow… stay ghoulish.

/nb A question for my readers. Do you read my posts via your browser or directly from your email?

Redheads Writing In Cafes — the ghost hunter edition

I am starting this post by saying how thankful I am for the Toronto Public Library. I’m researching for the novel I am writing and looking for specific stories of hauntings in my hometown. There are books out there, I just can’t find them online. I can’t even find any information online, which is frustrating, I would think that someone would have blogged about them. I have also reached out to Facebook, hoping someone I know, knows… something. A few names were suggested, one of them is Diane Madden. The Reference Library has her books (for reference only) and once I am back in Toronto, I will be making a trip there to do some further research. In a world of everything being online, it’s frustrating when I can’t find the very specific things I need. It seems more often than naught, I’m finding myself going to the Toronto Public Library to get the information. Our libraries are vital and we should never forget that!

As I continued to browse through the library website, I found several books by Terry Boyle and John Robert Columbo about Haunted Ontario. All of these books are sitting on my bookshelf at home and though they didn’t include the stories I needed, I was grateful that I could access them online to check. Let’s keep our libraries alive!

The rain has been non-stop and yesterday we had thunderstorms off and on. Toronto even had a tornado warning. I’ve lived in Toronto since I was 18 and only recall this happening two or three times. Right now, it is pouring rain and windy. If it was a light rain I could sit on the covered porch, but even that is getting drenched at the moment. Instead, I am once again in the kitchen.

Last time we visited we bought our parents a Chromecast. I’ve been introducing them to the wonders of Netflix and all of the 1950s b-movies on YouTube such as The Night The World Exploded (1957). This 1957 sci-fi schlock movie was our rainy evening treat. Tonight I may see if I can find a Universal Monsters movie to watch or a copy of 13 Ghosts. If not, I know I will find something campy that will not disappoint.

My parent’s dog Flash has bonded with me. I’m not sure if it’s due to me being here for a week or because I gave him a cookie last night or maybe he just likes me. All day yesterday he followed me from place to place throughout the house and last night he decided to sleep in my room, snoring and farting. It’s been awhile since I’ve had puppies do that and it reminded me of my beloved Harley. I really miss both my furballs, I don’t miss the snoring and farting.

Today is also Father’s Day. I hope all the Dads or Dads to be or Dads who just haven’t discovered they are a Dad yet… that they are aware of… have a fabulous day.

Stay spooky…

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