There are some homes whose stories pour out of them and into the surrounding countryside with a reckless and preternatural abandon. These homes speak of clandestine meetings and arcane secrets, of things that do far more than go bump in the night.
When you see this house, what is it that is whispered in your ear? And when you close your eyes tonight will you find this place waiting there beyond the veil of sleep?
Unleashing my inner fanboy for a moment as I share these images from the upcoming Smallville 2hr movie event titled “Absolute Justice”. Watch for “Absolute Justice”, featuring the Justice Society of America to air February 5th on the CW.
With a script by Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer and Marcus Nispel all set to direct it appears that the return of Conan to the big screen is all but a reality. Set to begin filming in February of next year in Bulgaria, news from the frontlines are not promising.
The current rumor is that Andrew McLaren has been tapped to play our favorite Cimmerian, but what little information that has leaked thus far bears next to no resemblance to the character as written by Robert E. Howard
It’s almost as if no one in Hollywood can be troubled to read Howard’s original tales. I mean, it’s all there right on the page.
I still hold out hope that they will do Howard justice. I’ve got to admit, I like McLaren for the role. I warmed up to him quickly, especially after his personal assurance to me that he’s tackling the source material. That’s all I can ask from him and his enthusiasm is contagious.
The true test will be whether or not the director and screenwriters are equally as thorough.
Here are the casting breakdowns, depressing as they are, that have been making their way around the Internet:
[ CONAN ] He’s in his 20s to early 30s, Caucasian, powerfully built, broad-shouldered, sun browned skin lined with scars. Piercing blue eyes and square-cut black mane, tall. He is a savage killer that has matured into the refinement his father tried to teach him when he was young. Conan is very smart, almost inhumanly strong, and very cunning. His entire life, from the moment of his birth, has been shaped by violence. Being the last of his tribe and having to watch his father die a cruel death, he is determined avenge his peoples slaughter by killing all those who led the attack on the Cimmerians, including the all-powerful Khalar Singh. He is prepared to die in order to accomplish his goal. What Conan did not expect, was to find a reason to live LEAD
[ TAMARA ] She is 18 to 24 years old, Caucasian or Middle Eastern, open to all ethnicities; beautiful, studious, correct, a novitiate of a Greek influenced monastery. A master of martial arts, she has been trained to be the Queen’s servant, bodyguard and best friend. She and many other female bodyguards to the queen have been in hiding most of their lives because of the curse of Acheron, which would take the queen’s life to bring almost immortal power to its king. When Khalar Singh, a powerful warlord with ambitions to become the king of Acheron, storms the monastery and captures all of the novitiates, she is separated from Ilira, the one she must protect. With all of her strength and will, Tamara is determined to find and rescue her. She finds herself in league with Conan because of a mutual need to find Khalar Singh. She is not in the least intimidated by Conan’s size or grim demeanor and their alliance eventually blossoms into something that surprises them both LEAD
[ KHALAR SINGH ] He’s in his 40s to 50s, Asian or Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mongol, Turkish, or Persian, open to all ethnicities; commanding in size and manner, a warlord and formidable warrior, brilliant, cruel, weathered and tanned by the many campaigns he has waged and won. He is driven in his quest to find the Queen of Acheron and has been building an empire to do so. His goal is to find the Queen whose blood will bring life to the demonic minions of Acheron while making himself king of this hellish power. With this power, Khalar will protect his legacy against the onslaught of master sorcerer, Thoth-Amon so that his weak son, Fariq may rule after his death. While riding into a Cimmerian village to recruit his old comrade, Corin, his large collection of mercenaries slaughters them to the last soul when Corin refuses to join them. The village’s only survivor was young Conan. When Khalar’s search has finally narrowed to the likely discovery of the queen at a monastery of female monks, he also learns Conan is older and hungry for revenge LEAD
[ CORIN ] He’s in his 30s to 40s, Caucasian, powerfully built, intelligent, graceful, master swordsman, skilled blacksmith, de facto leader of Cimmerians and Conan’s father. He resolves to answer the terrible request of his dying wife and cuts Conan out of her so she can see him. He then shoulders the burden of raising Conan, which proves to be daunting given the boy’s savage nature. Corin teaches his son the meaning of the sword: a hot blade must be cooled and tempered. When Khalar finally corners him and tortures him to death, he shows no regret nor pain, hiding his concern for his son’s safety from the eyes of the enemy. SUPPORTING
[ FARIQ ] He’s in his 20s to early 30s, Asian or Middle Eastern, open to all ethnicities, slight of frame, piercing eyes, cruel, determined to prove to his father that he can rule the world when the time comes. But he has the mentality of a proto-goth rocker, so ruling the world will prove elusive. However, Fariq makes up for his lack of battle skills with his deft understanding of sorcery and evil determination to find the real queen of Acheron. SUPPORTING
[ ILIRA ] She is 18 to 20 years old, Caucasian or Middle Eastern, beautiful, fun-loving, a novitiate of a Greek influenced monastery. She has been hidden away in a monastery since birth since she is the designated queen of Acheron. When Khalar Singh captures her among all of the other novitiates and start the process of killing them to find out which is the real queen, Ilira maintains her courage under unbelievably cruel circumstances. SUPPORTING
[ UKAFA ] He’s in his 30s-40, very dark-skinned African or African American, massively framed at six-foot-five, gold-toothed, hardened by a lifetime of war, a leader of Kushite Tribemen from the savannahs of Kush. Ukafa is Khalar Singh’s second in command, jealous that Singh’s son, Fariq, will one day be warlord. He obeys his leader but plots the overthrow of his son. He is a mighty warrior and unbeatable in battle until he comes face to face with Conan. LEAD
[ REMO ] He’s in his 30s, any ethnicity, thin, feral, misshapen, a mysterious warrior of dark magic who travels by shadow and surprises men with a quick death. He leads a band of tracking Shadow Scouts under Khalar Singh’s employ. He can be immensely fast and devious, his soul as twisted as his body. SUPPORTING
[ FASSIR ] He’s in his 50s, Middle Eastern, Asian, Caucasian, SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES, strict yet loving, learned and spiritual, an elder monk and leader of the monastery. He’s charged with the care and education of the queen, Ilira. SUPPORTING
[ LUCIUS ] He’s in his 30s, Caucasian, handsome, proud, haughty, lethal, a leader of a Legion of Aquilonian Mercenaries. While attacking Corin and Conan in close quarters, he is thrown into a fiery forge that disfigures him for life. His self-revulsion twists him to the point that years later he takes great pleasure in torturing prisoners. SUPPORTING
[ ONE-EYED THIEF (ONE-EYED PRISONER) ] Hes in his 20s to 30s, any ethnicity, wiry, a leader of thieves, who has had the bad luck to fall into Lucius grips and is being tortured by him. However, the tables are turned by Conan and this prisoner has his revenge. He later appears at Khor Khala City and offers aide to Conan as a way to pay his debt. SUPPORTING
[ ARTUS ] He’s in his 30s, tan and swarthy, almost Gypsy-like, handsome, charming, even dashing in a gruff way, a Zamoran pirate and good friend to Conan. They have shared many adventures together and trust each other with their lives. Artus is a master of the high seas with a fast and powerful ship. He shows his mastery in strategy and hand-to-hand combat during a fierce sea battle. SUPPORTING
[ CHEREN ] He’s in his 30s, any ethnicity, a blind archer with the mystical ability to strike down any enemy with his bow and arrow. He leads a large band of blind archers whose accuracy and cunning lends a powerful presence to Khalar’s army of mercenaries. SUPORTING
[ PICT ] He’s in his 30s, any ethnicity or dark-complexioned Caucasian (“pict” is Latin for “painted one”) the fourth in the band of Pict Savages. He survives Conan’s onslaught and beings Khalar Singh to where the Cimmerians camp. He is promised the heads of his enemies.
[ YOUNG CONAN ] Caucasian, tough and wiry, scary violent. At ten, he insists on joining the teenage boys entering their rites into becoming warriors. When four Picts cross his path and kill one of the boys, Conan unleashes a savagery that goes too far for a warrior. His father takes him aside and personally trains him. His father teaches him what makes a good sword but he has still much to learn what makes a good swordsman. When the Cimmerians are attacked by Khalar Singh and his mercenaries, Conan is the only survivor, the last of the Cimmerians. SUPPORTING
[ ISLENE ] She’s in her 20s, Caucasian, beautiful, courageous, Amazonian built, pregnant with her son, Conan. She is stabbed through the belly by an Aesir Raider. Her dying request to her husband, Corin, is to take the baby from her womb before she dies so that she can see him
[ YOUNG FARIQ ] He’s ten years old, Asian or Middle Eastern, submit all ethnicities, Khalar Singh’s son, a sociopath in the making, one who has no qualms killing a wounded man with his own sword.
[ MARAUDER ] He’s in his 30s to 40s, Caucasian, massively built and brutal, a stone cold killer that takes relish in the killing of the pregnant Islene. His shield bears the emblem of Thoth-Amon. However, his arrogance is his downfall as she, in turn, kills him.
[ YOUNG ARTUS ] He’s 15 to 16 years old, Caucasian, Cimmerian, a tall muscular kid embarking on the initiation rite to become a warrior. He mocks the smaller Conan much to his regret. While on the trail, he tries to convince Conan to flee after wandering off the path into a dark pass littered with corpses hanging from trees. Young Conan saves him from the Khalar’s raid on Cimmeria. When given a chance to fight for his homeland, Artus flees to save himself.
[ THREE PICT SAVAGES ] In their late teens, early 20s, SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES, large, brutish, bearded, and wild. They are on a hunting party and come across some teenage Cimmerians heads to add to their collections. What they didn’t count on was the savagery of young Conan.
[ NARRATOR ] A storyteller’s voice of old, VOICEOVER ONLY
My second pass at the cover for Wrath James White’s Vicious Romantic.
Coming your way in 2010 from Bandersnatch Books.
Just in time for the holidays,
a Yuletide treat for fans of the supernatural thriller.
ARCANUM
is a special, limited edition slipcase that collects
three Wolfe and Crowe chapbooks:
The Hour of the Wolf
A Murder of Crows
The Gathering of Shadows.
Coming soon from
Ghostwriter Publications and the Penny Dreadful Company.
Watch this site for details.
Episode III:
Of Those Who Have Inspired
Honorable Mention:
The fictional, but no less inspirational
Indiana Jones
5. Frank Frazetta
famed illustrator
4. James Patrick Page
guitarist, songwriter, producer
3. Aleister Crowley
magician, philosopher, author, & poet
2. Robert Anton Wilson
deep thinker, humorist & conspiracy theorist
1. Robert E. Howard
author and creator of
Conan – King Kull – Solomon Kane - and more
I will soon be closing the doors on the Ghostwriters Society wordpress site, but that does not signal the end of this erstwhile Order. The Society is moving.
Where, you ask? Why, right here, smack dab in the middle of The Occult Detective.
It just makes sense, after all, to consolidate these two sites into a concisive whole… The ground covered at GWS is right at home with the goings on in this place and, more often than not, my missives had always been cross-posted anyway.
I’ve decided that it’s time to bring it on home, here to where I spend the majority of my days…
Fear not, GWS contributors Scott Story, Jodi Lee, and Jim Cobb will still be making an appearance, and their past articles and interviews will be transitioned to the new digs.
The Ghostwriters Society is alive and well…
Real / Not Real by Scott Story
I’ve always lived in two worlds. As do most people, there is the sad, desperate, dark world of our consensual reality, a so called Veil of Tears that we dutifully mark our lives in. Yet, there is the other world, the World Behind the World, and that interests me so much more. As an illustrator, I’m focused on the perceptions of things, yet always aware that everything we see has a symbolic existence as well, a context and meaning that goes so far beyond its mere, physical presence.
I could write about this Invisible World, hidden from the vast majority of us, at length. But, if you have arrived here, then you are probably already well aware of the multitude of unseen presences that share our world, and the things that are so vast and omnipresent that we’ve simply forgotten they are there. Does the ant that lives in a box know he lives in a box, or is it his world, so huge as to be beyond his understanding? We are much like that allegorical ant.
In the paranormal community, much is made between the real and the not real. Science is a thing of the real and quite good at measuring and defining most things. Things that are not real cannot be quantified so easily. Can you measure imagination? Can you weigh a spirit? Well, until science advances a great deal, you cannot.
Current trends in paranormal thought hold that there are some things that can transition back and forth between reality and unreality as needed. A ghost can draw energy from its environment and manifest to varying degrees; a UFO can manifest when it lands, yet become de-materialized when it shoots away at a mind-boggling rate, ignoring the rules of aerodynamics simply because the UFO is not ‘real.’ Cryptids are often seen in environments that could not possibly support them, and this is because the cryptid doesn’t really live in the area, it simply manifests upon occasion.
You can probably see where I’m going with this—the paranormal exists in the world between what is real, and a part of the consensual reality that we humans (and others!) share, and what is not real, a hazy area just this side of mythology, folklore, and even fiction.
Magic is much like this. The core of most magic is gaining insight to the unknown, or influencing probability. Virtually every application of magic falls into these parameters. Pure will can affect reality. This sounds unreal, and, in its own way, perhaps it is. Real or not, magic’s effects can be very, very much a part of our material world.
This is why I intend to blog on the Ghostwriters society. As an artist, I spend a great deal of time with my imagination, and the perception of a thing is so much greater to me than the thing itself. If I can express this, and bring it into your reality, then I’ve done my job.
Probably not, but it’s got cool written all over it.
My first take on the cover for Wrath James White’s Vicious Romantic, forthcoming from Bandersnatch Books in early 2010.
