With the political climate the way it's been going, it's easy ~ as a woman ~ to get discouraged. Some friends I know feel inspired by what's taking place, I on the other hand, feel like just when we have made some strides forward, we fall back even further. It's maddening and surreal.

My business owner friends at Pulp 716 (the comic book shop a hop, skip, and a jump, over the bridge from my store Cats Like Us) relate to my frustration and were kind enough tell me about the comic Maneaters (with glitter cover) from Image Comics when it came out last month.

Check out that shine.

I enjoy comics, but never grew up with them, that being said, in my impressionable years ~ the 1970s ~ I was exposed to superheros everywhere on TV. I love the fantasy aspect of being different and having powers. Even though superheros aren't real (that we know of) it gives me hope that people inherently want to be good citizens and help others. Along with horror and cats, it's another escape for me.

So back to Maneaters...***SPOILER ALERT*** it's about some teen girls turning into large cats during their periods and killing people. Do you blame them? Being a woman can be frustrating, and being a teen too, ugh. Let's just say, I'm happy my teen years are behind me.

The illustrations are great for so many reasons...

There's hidden cats on every page! Check out the first page...

There's a nod to the nerds reading it...

There's subtle references to "simpler" eras in our history. 

The 1980s had Magnum P.I. & Crockett on TV with crimes solved in an hour.

The 1950s had creepy ads with children fake smiling.

This comic also reminds us of the current state of affairs with Pussy Hats and female empowerment T shirts. I'm looking forward to see where the story goes. But really though, I'd love to turn into a giant cat.

Not only can I feel stronger and more confident by wearing my Wonder Woman and Spider Man Underoos, now I can read comics with my matching Maneaters Pin and hope women are finally recognized by everyone as people that deserve respect. Meow meow meow.

I know this has really nothing to do with cats or horror, but I like makeup. After buying Sugarpill's Feline Fancy palette I was hooked. They are cruelty free, so it has to do with animals. The colors they sell are hyper pigmented, easy to apply, and stay in place. What more can you ask for?! I've been following their social media waiting for the next thing I had to have, and along came the Trick or Treat Limited Edition Liquid Lipstick, so sort of horror themed?

Here's a video of me awkwardly unboxing my order with my left hand.

Their packaging is carefully thought out and pretty.

I also ordered a white pressed eye shadow because it's the color I use the most aside from black and gray.

I'm the first to admit I hate liquid lipstick. I have thin lips and over drawing them just looks dumb ~ think wax lips ~ and/ or the lipstick gets smudged and ends up everywhere other than my lips. BUT NOT WITH SUGARPILL'S LIQUID LIPSTICK! I'm convinced it's the applicator, or doe foot, or wand, whatever you want to call it. It's curved and fits my lips perfectly. I know this won't work for everyone, but it works great for me.

Here's some makeup pics.
 (Keep in mind I'm not a makeup artist, just an everyday girl
that appreciates good makeup.) 

 Treat Liquid Lipstick

 Trick Liquid Lipstick (it's black with orange glitter flecks)

I used the Feline Fancy Palette for brows, eye shadow, blush and highlighter.

You can shop Sugarpill's full line here.

Other makeup I've reviewed in the past:

Wet & Wild's Goth-O-Graphic Set

Lunatick Cosmetics Elvira Palette

 

I am a huge fan of The Lost Boys. It was one of my first blogs when I started Fluffy, you can read it here. I love the story, that it's a horror / comedy, and the stylish 1980s feel of the whole movie. I was really excited when the now defunct Horror Block Box included a Lost Boys T in the May 2017 box, so I wore it in this video to stay in theme. It's no surprise, when I heard Creeper Crate was doing a Santa Carla Box ~ I HAD TO HAVE IT! In the video you can hear Vicktor's bell, see Andrew's blurry finger, and ogle my Halloween tree.

This box included...

1. Star Enamel Pin by Demonic Pinfestation.

 2. Chinese Take Out by Creeper Crate & Demonic Pinfestation that includes a box, chop sticks, and a "Be One of Us" magnet.

 3. "Windex" Body and Room Spray from Dearg Due Bath & Beauty. It smells like flowers.

4. Blood Sucking Brady Bunch decal by Vampyre Coven. (It looks like the website listed for them doesn't work.)

5. Frog Brothers T Shirt by Brett Sailor of Snotty Rockers.

A little disappointed there wasn't any Sexy Sax Man merchandise included in the box.

Reminder: "Listen, just so you know, if you try to stop us, or vamp out in any way, I'll stake you without even thinking twice about it!" ~ Edgar Frog

Thanks for watching and / or reading!

Past Creeper Crate unboxings:

Vincent Price

Puzzle Box

Curry Creeper Crate with Jodee Bowie

MacNeil 

Overlook

Trick R Treat

Coven

Slasher

Update: I made a back patch for my hoodie out of the T shirt!

This is the time of year I see lots of black cats up for adoption, and I get a deep-dark-empty-pit-feeling in my stomach. I'm going to throw this out there, but I'm sure you already know if you're reading my blog, that black cats are not Halloween decorations! They can be a friend and part of the family. Don't look to them just because of the season. Cats will choose you as a companion, consider yourself lucky if a black cat loves you. When they select you, they are open to relate to you on a deeper level and they can feel like your familiar. Witches and cat familiars go together like werewolves and full moons, but how did the association begin?

Cats were worshipped as embodiments of the gods in Ancient Egypt to the extent that when a pet cat died, the whole family would go into mourning. There would even be a ceremony to send that cat off to the other world. The reverence was there, but all that changed years later.

The term witchcraft came from "craft of the wise". Witches brewed potions to heal the sick, and help people. The Catholic Church didn't like that people were going to witches for help and spread propaganda that their powers stemmed from the devil. Witches were known to commune with nature, animals are closer to nature than humans, therefore it was common for them to have animal companions ~ often cats. Cats are nocturnal, and as far as the church knew, witches held their meetings at night. Witch persecutions began, and sometimes their cats were killed too.

In the 14th century black cats were killed with the assumption they were in league with the devil. Cats are not listed in the Bible, but since they hiss and have glowing slits for eyes like a serpent, it's no wonder they are evil incarnate. Those evil purrs get me every time.

The Celts believed that cats were humans forced to return to this earth for doing bad deeds. So stories were made up of witches turning into black cats. But in reality cats and witches have a lot in common being wise, resourceful, and independent. Cats and people can be drawn together and form a lifelong bond. We are all survivors in this crazy world!

Some fun tidbits about cats, it is said they can feel psychic vibrations. They can guide you by seeing and hearing things you cannot. They are in tune with ghosts and spirits and will alert you to them and chase unwanted ones away. Supposedly they can predict the weather and spells are said to be more powerful with cats around too.

In Japan and Russia black cats are thought to be good luck, probably because they never experienced the witch hysteria. In Japan, if a single woman has a cat it's meant to attract handsome suitors. In Scotland if a cat appears on your doorstep it's a good omen. Well duh, we know they aren't bad.

With a cat you will always have mystery and magic in your home, along with a couple hairballs. Cats have power over us and I'm happy to be under their spell.

I drove out to my fav haunt this week ~ The Screening Room ~ to see the movie Extremity, put on by Dread Central. I went in blind, only watching the trailer. It's about a girl that wants an extreme haunted house experience. I feel like extreme haunted houses are the new "found footage" of horror movies, but I'm keeping an open mind. What do I mean by "extreme"? It's a haunted house where you sign a release form stating that the workers are not responsible if anything bad happens to you and they can touch you, torture you, and test your physical and mental boundaries. Some don't even have safe words or time limits. Don't believe me? Here's a list of places to check out.

Why would I want to do that? I'm already challenged enough by trying to sleep and getting dressed everyday. #truestory #cantsleepclownswilleatme

***Warning Spoilers***

The movie introduces us to a girl named Allison that has to take meds ~ we find out to overcome family trauma at the hands of her alcoholic father. Her father is represented by a monster in her psyche that hoovers over her constantly. She is in and out of a hospital that's trying to help her cope with her past and an attempted suicide. She has a supportive girlfriend that sticks by her side.

Allison researches an extreme haunt called Perdition and feels it will test her limits to the point of nothing being able to hurt her anymore. Her counselor advises against it, but she does it anyway. Perdition is a fully immersive experience that she qualifies for with a background check. I'm not really sure how she passed, but maybe they were specifically looking for someone that was unstable to promote how extreme the place can be. They have cameras everywhere to share it's severe internal tortures online. They ask her about her fears that include winter, claustrophobia, and drowning. The hope was she could be used as a marketing ploy for the facility.

Allison enters a building with another willing victim named Zack. They both get tied up with bags over their heads and taken to the main Perdition facility. All the actors in the haunted house wear masks with voice distortion. I found it hard to understand what they were saying. Eventually they took them off. Along with the actors, there is a Chinese camera guy and host that are interviewing the people behind Perdition for television. They separate Zack and Allison to ~ I'm guessing ~ have their own unique experience. At one point they shoot a dog in front of Allison, but don't worry, they show that it's fake and all special effects. I liked that they had several locations throughout and you saw background of the characters outside of what they were playing at Perdition, not just torture scene after torture scene.

Allison gets broken down, she's tough and angry and she head butts one of the actors. At one point they drive her and Zack out to a snowy field and they make her shoot him. The audience thinks it's real but later we find out that Zack is one of the actors too. After the shooting, they bring her back to the facility, restrain her, and tell her they aren't going to call the police. Then they have her real father there to film her reaction. She gets so enraged she stabs him to death and ends up killing off the workers one by one. If they knew her background, you'd think the workers would have a plan for her attack. Really, do you blame her? That was a low blow bringing her father into the game.

She used Perdition for therapy, but in the process it made her a killer. I give it 3 victims buried alive out of 5.

p.s. I don't even like friends touching me, so there's no way in hell I'm going to pay a stranger in a haunted house to do it. I have so much pent up rage, I'd probably make the workers afraid of me too, but I'd rather torture than kill. I'm a jerk like that.

Trailer...

I just finished reading Horns by Joe Hill. Who is Joe Hill you might be asking? He's Stephen King's son! A few years ago I rented the movie Horns with Daniel Radcliffe ~ of Harry Potter fame. I loved the story because it's really a modern fairy tale/ love story, and found out it was based on Joe Hill's book of the same name.

After I found this out, I put it in the back of my mind to pick up one of Hill's books and lo and behold, over the summer, while at a yard sale, I stumbled upon his debut book Heart Shaped Box, and decided to give it a try. It's a wonderful ghost story and an easy read. In my opinion, I think Hill's story telling is much better than King's. King always puts random weird stuff in that doesn't always fit. Don't get me wrong I enjoy his fantasy books i.e. The Dark Tower series and Eyes of the Dragon, because that's where the weird random things aren't so weird, but Hill's writing is smoother and keeps the same tone throughout.

After finishing the book Horns ~ from what I remember ~ the movie follows the book pretty closely. It's about a man named Ig Perrish that wakes up around the anniversary of his girlfriend's murder with horns on his head. A murder he was blamed for. The horns allow him to hear everyone's unsolicited deepest darkest thoughts. Essentially he slowly transforms into the devil and uses his gift to find out who really murdered his girlfriend.

Some parts are a little difficult to read, especially the sexual assault details just because of the climate in the world today. That being said, it's the perfect time to read this book. If you see or experience people you know acting in a similar way to the killer those subtle actions may be red flags.

Overall it's a great book. It really makes you wonder what would you do if you could hear people's thoughts? Would you use it for good?

Side note, here's the trailer for the movie...