- The Haunting of Hill House (1959), by Shirley Jackson
- Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962), by Ray Bradbury
- Rosemary’s Baby (1967), by Ira Levin
- Hell House (1971), by Richard Matheson
- The Mist (1980), by Stephen King
- The Cellar (1980), by Richard Laymon
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I recently played in a short Dungeons & Dragons campaign in which all the characters had to be inspired by classic superheroes, adapted to the medieval fantasy world of Faerûn. I liked the idea so much that I ended up creating a whole list of characters, and having much fun with it. Here are a few of them. The best part is that, if you don’t like my versions of these super-adventurers, you can just create your own. Spider-ManRace: Wood ElfClass: Monk (Open Hand) with a 1–3 level dip in Rogue (Scout) Wood elves have the agility, speed, and keen
- History of the Caliph Vathek (1786), by William Beckford
- The Monk (1796), by Matthew Gregory Lewis
- Frankenstein (1818), by Mary Shelley
- Melmoth the Wanderer (1820), by Charles Maturin
- Varney, the Vampire (1847), by Thomas Prest
- Carmilla (1872), by Sheridan Le Fanu
- Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), by Oscar Wilde
- Dracula (1897), by Bram Stoker
- The Turn of the Screw (1898), by Henry James
Richard Condon’s The Manchurian Candidate is one of the defining Cold War thrillers of American literature. Published in 1959, it captures a world of paranoia, espionage, and ideological extremism at the height of the Red Scare. The novel follows Sergeant Raymond Shaw, a decorated Korean War veteran who, unbeknownst to himself, has been brainwashed by Communist agents into becoming an unwitting assassin. The real tragedy (and brilliance) of Condon’s construction is that Shaw’s mother, Eleanor Iselin, is the true villain: an ambitious, ruthless woman who manipulates both her son and her husband, Senator John Iselin, a demagogic McCarthy caricature, to
- Count Graf Orlok (Nosferatu, 1922)
- Frankenstein’s creature (Frankenstein, 1931)
- Gillman (Creature from the Black Lagoon, 1954)
- Alien (Alien, 1979)
- The Thing (The Thing, 1982)
- Brundlefly (The Fly, 1986)
- Pinhead (Hellraiser, 1987)
- Pale Man (Pan’s Labyrinth, 2007)
In chronological order.
When Tron premiered in 1982, it was unlike anything audiences had ever seen. Made by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Steven Lisberger, the film combined live-action footage with computer-generated imagery in ways that were not just new but revolutionary. Yet for all its visual daring, Tron remains a strange hybrid: a movie that wedded an almost childishly simple story to some of the most sophisticated visual technology of its time. At its core, Tron tells a fairly naive story. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a brilliant but wronged programmer, is digitized and transported inside a computer, where he must battle
- King Kong (King Kong, 1933)
- Godzilla (Godzilla, 1954)
- Ymir (20 Million Miles to Earth, 1957)
- Gwoemul (The Host, 2006)
- Mantis creatures (The Mist, 2007)
In chronological order.
Sometimes I get asked why I never mention iPad games. Well, that’s because I stopped playing them a while ago. The design philosophy in the current iPad gaming landscape is pernicious, and it made me quit. Too many iPad games today treat players not as participants but as data points in a monetization funnel. Here are a few practices that annoy me the most. Most iPad games today run on a carefully calibrated system of deprivation. No matter what you do, you’re always missing something: a few more gold coins to upgrade your hero, a handful of gems to finish
- King Kong (Merian C. Cooper, 1933)
- Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968)
- Gorillas in the Mist (Michael Apted, 1988)
- Congo (Frank Marshall, 1995)
In chronological order.
Only one movie per franchise.
Airport (1970) was so successful that it paved the way for three sequels. Unfortunately, none of them was on par with the original movie. Airport 1975, directed by Jack Smight, was easily the worst one. Released four years later, it clearly reveals how quickly the franchise shifted from melodramatic ensemble drama to pure spectacle. The premise is simple to the point of absurdity: a midair collision between a small plane and a jumbo jet leaves the cockpit crew dead or incapacitated, forcing a flight attendant (Karen Black) to pilot the aircraft until rescue arrives. That’s it, a single setup stretched