 |
| Credit: Pixabay.com |
We finally have the
winter weather back, since for the last week here in Sacramento we’ve
been getting a pre-mature spring. Extreme sunlight in the winter
always seems to throw me off balance. I almost thought I was going to
have to start sleeping days for a while there! While most people seem
to hate the winter because of the gray skies and the cold weather, I
love it. Anything other than those here in Nor Cal is a damned sign
of global warming which always scares me. But now that we have the
clouds and blustering wind back, I’m in the mood for the Winter
Games which I started watching last night. And I’m also in the mood
for some Nuclear Winter Names of stories that are set in winter or
arctic settings! These settings add to the chills of the plots. So I
came up with a list of eight of, what I think are, the best horror
and sci fi stories set in those environments. And in no way is it an
exhausted list; these are just ones that I’ve read and liked so
far.
Frankenstein,
Mary Shelley: This novel, that’s 200th birthday was last month, takes place in the Arctic both at the beginning and
end of the novel and throughout in between. It adds to the isolated
creepiness of both the monster and his maker.
Who Goes
There?,
John Campbell: This is the novella that inspired The Thing
movies in which both book and movies are set in one or the other of the two Poles. The
novella beats all three film adaptations together, though I love the first
one (as much as the monster almost resembles nothing of the one in
Campbell’s story).
“MS. Found In a
Bottle”, Edgar Allen Poe: The protagonist gets stuck on a ship
heading for the Pole and the story involves a terrifying maelstrom.
“A Descent Into
the Maelstrom”, Edgar Allen Poe: The protagonist in this story
ends up in an arctic whirlpool and sees strange occurrences.
At the
Mountains of Madness, H. P. Lovecraft: An expedition
discovers a frozen, ancient alien city in the Arctic and a terrifying
(or are they?) race of creatures.
The Shining,
Stephen King: One of King’s greatest novels that was adapted
into Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film and then later a mini-series on
the SyFy Channel. The second adaptation didn’t do justice to the
first (far from it) nor to the book. But all three (book, movie and
mini series) are set in in a haunted hotel in the snow-stormed
Colorado Rockies. The protagonist is the resort’s newly hired
caretaker in which to his surprise (in the movie at least) is not
open for the skiing season. The management says it’s due to budget
problems. However, we learn that the problems are no where near as
mundane as that.
“I Have No
Mouth and I Must Scream”, Harlan Ellison: This short story is
about the last five survivors on Earth during a, post-apocalyptic
winter. They must put up with the dangerous, god-like computer that
killed the rest of world’s people.
The Left Handof Darkness, Ursula Le Guin: The late Le Guin deals with transgendre aliens (aliens to the Earth descended
protagonist that is, who’s probably just as alien to them), who
live on an arctic planet. Sounds a little like Hoth in the Empire
Strikes Back, doesn’t it? But this book was way before that movie.
As I said, in no way
is the above list exhausted. So, help yours truly make it bigger by
letting me know in the box below what your favourite winter or arctic
sci fi or horror story is. And so, let the Nuclear Winter Names
continue!
Until next time . .
.
Note: This post was updated for edits on 12/21/19. The entry on the novella, Who Goes There? was in error. It had read that both book and its movie adaptations were set in the North Pole which was not true. Only one of the movie adaptations was set in the North Pole while the others and the book were set in the South Pole (Antarctica). Also, in this same entry, it had been stated that there were only two movie adaptations of the book when there has really been three. The blogger apologises greatly for the mistake.
Note: This post was updated for edits on 12/21/19. The entry on the novella, Who Goes There? was in error. It had read that both book and its movie adaptations were set in the North Pole which was not true. Only one of the movie adaptations was set in the North Pole while the others and the book were set in the South Pole (Antarctica). Also, in this same entry, it had been stated that there were only two movie adaptations of the book when there has really been three. The blogger apologises greatly for the mistake.
Comments
Post a Comment