How The Nightmare Before
Christmas Saved Halloween
Jonathan janz
Copyright ©
2016 Jonathan Janz
The most amazing thing I’ve
ever experienced—in addition to being a husband—is being a dad. In some ways
fatherhood is gloriously simple: You love your children, you spend time with them,
you help them in any way you can. At other times parenting is extraordinarily
difficult: You can’t always help your kids the way you wish you could, and you
aren’t always the person you wished you could be. Complicating matters further
is the small issue of how your own past affects your interactions with your
kids. For me, my childhood—basically everything involving my father—makes me
draw closer to my kids in an attempt to love them even more. But the past also
opens wells of pain that take you by surprise and threaten to make you cling to
your children too tightly.
So what does this have to
do with Jack Skellington?
Admittedly, not a lot.
Admittedly, not a lot.
Except it sort of does.
See, I want you to know that being a dad means everything to me, and I need you
to understand that my life consists of only four pursuits: being with my
family, teaching, reading, and writing.
And I’m incredibly happy
doing these four things.Sure, I take part in a few other activities, like
lifting weights, but even when I’m doing that, my kids are with me watching the
Cubs or Classic Mickey Mouse on our
weight room TV.
Are you picturing my life?
If you are, you’ll realize
that I simply don’t have the opportunity to watch horror films.
Why not watch them with your wife? you’ll understandably ask.
Well, my logical friend,
the reason that doesn’t work is because my wife hates horror movies. Oh, she’s
not dismissive or judgmental of them—she’s simply terrified of them (which, to
me, implies a healthy respect).
But it leaves me with a horror
movie gap. If I’m alone, I’m writing. And when I’m with my wife, I can’t watch
horror, and when I’m with my kids (who are still pretty young), I can’t watch
horror, and this isn’t a bad trade-off because I love my wife and kids more
than horror movies, but, but, but…
I still want to watch
horror movies.
And this is why Tim
Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
is so incredibly dear to me. It’s the one Halloween film that won’t scar my
five-year-old for life, the one “horror” film my wife likes to view over and
over.
Thankfully, it’s an awesome
movie.
Why do I love it? The first
reason that springs to mind is the aura Tim Burton creates, the
cozy-yet-dangerous atmosphere I associate with the Halloween holiday.
And it all begins with the
eerie, iconic song “This Is Halloween.” Sung in sometimes hushed,
semi-chanting, wildly varying voices, the number is hypnotic, creepy,
dangerous, and oddly beautiful, like the holiday itself. The visuals of the
sequence feature a “greatest hits” of monsters and sinister creatures.
Underlying the insidious elements is an irrepressible glee, which again,
perfectly encapsulates Halloween. You’re scared, but you’re delighted to be scared. You revel in
your shivers, you nervously laugh as you glance over your shoulder.
And amid all this
shuddering and chortling, one figure emerges from the haze:
Jack
Skellington.
Perfectly voiced,
beautifully constructed, the star of Burton’s masterpiece conveys every single
emotion we Halloween lovers experience as the glorious day draws closer. He
approaches the holiday with respect, with adoration, with a macabre embrace of
its shadowy depths. He is a gaunt, leering poet, an eloquent ghoul. A saint and
a demon, a defender of tradition and an innovator of fresh approaches.
My children love him, even
if they’re slightly frightened of him.
And as the five of us watch
the film unfold, often huddled together in a cluster of blankets and popcorn,
we smile, tremble, and even sing together as the nightmare unfolds.
There’ll be a point when
I’ll feel comfortable showing horror movies with more bite to my kids. But for
now, my permanent horror movie addiction is mostly satisfied by our yearly
viewings of Burton’s film. And when my kids are old enough to watch The Exorcist, Halloween, and Dog Soldiers?
Look out. There’ll be three
new horror movie fans in the world.
Maybe I’ll even convert my
wife.
GIVEAWAY
Today’s giveaway is THREE ECOPIES of
supercreepy CHILDREN OF THE DARK!!!!!!
To enter
to WIN: Find today’s post
on the Official FB Event page featuring the awesome Jonathan Janz, and comment, “I WANT TO WIN!” in that post and you
just might!!! Good luck!!!
Will Burgess is used to hard knocks.
Abandoned by his father, son of a drug-addicted mother, and charged with
raising his six-year-old sister, Will has far more to worry about than most
high school freshmen. To make matters worse, Mia Samuels, the girl of Will’s
dreams, is dating his worst enemy, the most sadistic upperclassman at Shadeland
High. Will’s troubles, however, are just beginning. Because one of the nation’s
most notorious criminals—the Moonlight Killer—has escaped from prison and is
headed straight toward Will’s hometown. And something else is lurking in Savage
Hollow, the forest surrounding Will’s rundown house. Something ancient and
infinitely evil. When the worst storm of the decade descends on Shadeland, Will
and his friends must confront unfathomable horrors. Everyone Will loves—his
mother, his little sister, Mia, and his friends—will be threatened. And very
few of them will escape with their lives.
AUTHOR BIO
2013 saw the publication of his novel of
vampirism and demonic possession The Darkest Lullaby, as well as his serialized
horror novel Savage Species. Of Savage Species Publishers Weekly said,
"Fans of old-school splatterpunk horror--Janz cites Richard Laymon as an
influence, and it shows--will find much to relish." Jonathan's Kindle
Worlds novel Bloodshot: Kingdom of Shadows marked his first foray into the
superhero/action genre.
Jack Ketchum called his vampire western
Dust Devils a "Rousing-good weird western," and his sequel to The
Sorrows (Castle of Sorrows) was selected one of 2014's top three novels by Pod
of Horror. 2015 saw the release of The Nightmare Girl, which prompted Pod of
Horror to call Jonathan "Horror's Next Big Thing." His newest release
is Wolfjavascript:void(0) Land, which Publishers Weekly called “gruesome yet
entertaining gorefest” with “an impressive and bloody climax.” He has also
written four novellas (Exorcist Road, The Clearing of Travis Coble, Old Order,
and Witching Hour Theatre) and several short stories.
His primary interests are his wonderful
wife and his three amazing children, and though he realizes that every author's
wife and children are wonderful and amazing, in this case the cliché happens to
be true. You can learn more about Jonathan at www.jonathanjanz.com. You can
also find him on Facebook, via @jonathanjanz on Twitter, on Instagram
(jonathanjanz) or on his Goodreads and Amazon author pages.
This sounds really good
ReplyDeleteThank you
This sounds really good
ReplyDeleteThank you
Thanks for the giveaway! I too love that movie as much as you do. It's one of a kind!
ReplyDelete