What is your main purpose in life? Same as everyone else: to accomplish my goals. Which in so many words is to reshape this unfortunate earth of yours into something more pleasing, more…orderly. I’ve had chances in the past to accomplish this, and have always been thwarted, but this time…this time I am going to…
Classic Characters: Hop Frog – Justice or Revenge?
One of my favorite themes is revenge. There’s something incomparably satisfying about a person getting even with the one who wronged him. Edgar Allan Poe’s Hop Frog is a great revenge story. It delivers the expected appalling behavior of hateful tormentors and the pleasure of the victim getting even, but it also raises interesting questions….
Character Profile: Pietas ap Lorectic
Who is Pietas ap Lorectic and what makes him a villain worth knowing? In my story world, Pietas is known as the Bad Boy King of the Immortal Sempervians. He is a twin. His parents were Mahikos and Helia ap Lorectic, the last genetically created “Ultra Beings” (aka Ultras) created by humans. They were…
Top 5 Scariest Horror Villains
I love watching horror, but not all horror villains are frightening enough to make me look over my shoulder after the show ends. The five on this list are disturbing enough to give me the chills every time I think about them. Freddy Krueger (played by Robert Englund) from the Nightmare on Elm Street series-…
Antihero Recommended Movie: Late Phases
Reviews and recommendations on the Compelling Beasts blog are my honest opinion. I purchase the books, comics, and movies that I recommend and review and I do not accept free copies for review. A werewolf stalks the citizens of a retirement community and it’s up to a blind Vietnam vet to stop it. Late Phases…
5 Great Romantic Horror Movies
As a fan of horror and romance, there’s nothing I like better than movies that combine the two. Romantic subplots show up often in horror movies, but in these five, the romance is as important to the story as the horror. Mutants – This is both a tale of terror and a touching love story….
Interview with JJ DiBenedetto
Tell us a bit about yourself. I’m the author of the Dream Series, which kind of straddles the line between suspense, romance and paranormal. I’m also a marketing professional (which you’d think would make it easier for me to sell books, but it hasn’t worked out that way yet!), a native New Yorker and the…
Classic Characters – The Phantom of the Opera – Villain or Antihero?
He extorts money, he frightens the innocent, he commits murder and creates torture chambers, but somehow he’s one of the most sympathetic and strangely romantic characters in classic horror. Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, was shunned by his family for nothing more than his appearance. Always an outcast, he relies on his keen intelligence…
Antihero Recommended Movie: Bone Dry
Reviews and recommendations on the Compelling Beasts blog are my honest opinion. I purchase the books, comics, and movies that I recommend and review and I do not accept free copies for review. An attractive businessman driving alone through the desert is abducted and tortured by a sadistic enemy. Eddie (played by Luke Goss), a…
Character Interview with Roark Archer
Where are you from? Hey. I’m from the Lamar Canyon pack in Yellowstone National Park. It’s a cool place for bad boys to play. Me and my best buddy, Jared, used to jump over steaming fumaroles, nearly burning our man parts off. I tipped over a buffalo once. That’s how I lost my claw. Unfortunately,…
5 Handsome Villains
Sometimes a villain is so wicked the only good thing about him is his looks. Some of these guys actually have redeeming qualities, but others you might consider bad all the way through. Here’s my list of Top 5 handsome villains. Who’s on your list? 1. Lucius Malfoy (Harry Potter movies)- Blond, beautiful and the…
Character Profile: Jake Hennessey
Name: Jake Hennessey Nickname: Jake Antihero, Antagonist or Villain? Antihero Title: The Marquesa’s Necklace, Her Ladyship’s Ring Author: P.J. MacLayne Species: Human Hair Color: Light Brown, worn short Eye Color:: Brown Height: 6 ft Build: Moderately muscular Special Characteristics: Smooth talker, Rock-steady nerves Special Powers or Skills: Real estate mogul, Master jewelry thief—or is he?…