I have some nerve combining the thought of angelic kittens with Satan but I'm not the first one to think fluffy cute kitties can be evil. Don't get me wrong I love, love, love cats but I did have an experience with an evil cat...once.

I was cat sitting for a friend about 16 years ago. The cat was a long haired orange kitty named Joshua. (The kind you really want to pet because he's so fluffy). There was an introduction dinner to make sure he liked me, and in front of his owner Joshua was a gem! So shortly after, I stayed at my friend's apartment with her cat while she was out of town. She told me he was "shy" ~ I get shy cats. This cat was not shy, he was something else all together. As soon as my friend left, the cat disappeared under the bed. He had a strict diet and a mixture of pills I had to administer twice a day. Despite his unenthusiastic welcome, I was ready to care for this little guy!

Note: Not an actual picture Joshua, but this could be his brother.

The first couple days he only came out to eat. One of those days I had to wake up early and go to work. I was all dressed in a cute outfit, top, skirt, and tights. I put down his food and he crawled out from under the bed. Joshua took a leap at my calf with his claws, ripped my tights and latched on to my leg with his teeth! I had to kick him off. I grabbed the broom and shooed him away. I ran out into the hallway. He seemed possessed! Oh hell no, how can this adorable creature be terrorizing me?

Ripped tights and two puncture wounds on my bloody leg, I knew I had to make a few phone calls. This was before I had a cell phone. I had to call into work and go to the doctor for a tetanus shot. I contacted my husband, Andrew ~ and him being the "cat whisperer" ~ he said, don't go back to the apartment, I'll feed him tonight so you don't have to. 

Then I called Joshua's owner. I explained what happened. She was supposed to be home the next evening, but rescheduled to come home earlier in the day. She didn't seem too surprised ~ that should have been a red flag.

That evening Andrew went to feed Joshua, I went along and waited outside in the car. I was so nervous and it was taking too darn long. Just as I was about to go up to the apartment, Andrew came out. Joshua had bombarded him too! The cat ripped though his jeans in the exact same spot on his leg, leaving a wound. This cat was vicious.

The next day owner came home and reimbursed us for our clothes and doctor bills, apologizing profusely. I should have known by all the Band-Aids and Neosporin in the bathroom that Joshua was not a tame cat, he was slightly demonic. Looking back on it, I think he was misunderstood, possibly feral, but she was determined to give him a loving home. Bless her heart.  Evil cats need love too. It took me about a year to get over my fear of cats after this incident. Thank goodness I did, or I wouldn't have my very loving Vicktor and Ginger kitties.

Flash forward to this Christmas. I didn't ask for much, just some new cat ear headbands, but my husband really delivered! So many companies have jumped on the cult cat clothing (say that three times fast) bandwagon and each one brings their own unique flavor to the table. I'm going to list my top three, so you can let your playful wicked cat style strut.

I'm not a name brand snob by any means, I just wear what I like (proof here) and I like things with cats on them. The first brand I ever saw with Satanic cat prints was Killstar. They have been around since 2010. I love the bell sleeves dresses, ruffles, and lace but many of them are impractical for layering in 3 degree weather. Everything would get bulky layered under a sweater, and knowing me, the long drapey sleeves would end up in my soup! That being said, they do have nice going out and /or club clothes and incorporate classic gothic styles like a Wednesday Addams dress with original novelty prints, including cats. They don't seem to take themselves too seriously and that's what makes them fun. i.e. They have a McGoth line! 'Cmon that's pretty funny!

Shown here: Azrael Skater Dress & McGoth Raglan Top 

Unlike Killstar, BlackCraft Cult specializes in a more casual style. They offer printed T shirts for men and women, tanks, sweats, leggings, hoodies, and some accessories. I was gifted this Lucipurr Hoodie and I couldn't be happier. It's toasty warm and the print is large, bright, and purrrfect. I may need to collect everything Lucipurr is printed on (and there's a lot)! Plus you can't go wrong with their philosophy, "To be kind to all man and animal kind, and do positive things for others." Just reading their "About Us" page makes me want to support such a admirable company. On a side note: they also sell gore-geous furniture and drinking spirits! 

Shown here: Me wearing my Lucipurr Hoodie, Lucifer the Cat Throw Pillow, Unholy Ritual Men's T, Hooded Balloon Chair, and BlackCraft Ghost Pepper Whiskey.

Cat Coven is the newest of the creepy cat brands I've been following. The shop began in 2013 and is a little more specific ~ they sell witchy cat print Ts, occult, and feminist Ts for men and women, along with banners and some small accessories. They even sell cat toys!!! How can you not love them?! I received a slouchy Magickal Protection T for Christmas. It's a little wider and looser than I'm used to, but I love the print and it's super soft, so I think it will be great for layering over dresses, doing yoga, over pencil skirts, I even like it with leggings. I was also was given a Cat Coven Pin ~ now I can feel like part of a real cat cult! They even donate portions of their designs to feminist causes. I can't wait to see what they design next!

Shown here: Me wearing the Magickal Protection Slouchy T (Pictured are regular and off the shoulder Flashdance version), Cat Coven Silver Pin, Creature of the Night Crew Neck, Sassy Kitten Pin, Mini Catnip Pillow

Even Hot Topic which usually only features the lastest craze in movies, geeky toy collections, and current TV shows is on trend with a pentagram cat ear headband! These are the ones I received for Christmas...

They are available here. Their model looks so sad, you can't be sad wearing cat ears! I've decided to buy more cat ears from Hot Topic, the quality is surprisingly really nice for the price.

Everytime I think of a demonic cat I will always think of Joshua, so get out there and dress like the demonic cat you are because all cats need love even the unholy ones. Meow.

Bonus picture of the most angelic cat ever...my Ginger.

With the New Year upon us, I found myself hibernating because of the frigid temps outside. It was the coldest New Year's Eve on record in Buffalo, NY at a high of 6 degrees. I didn't leave the house, BUT I did watch the Netflix Original movie The Babysitter.

***SPOILERS***

I kept hearing great things about it and at an hour and a half, it's a quick watch. (It was produced by McG the same guy that has worked on the Supernatural TV show forever.) This is a very light and funny horror movie about a 12 year old boy named Cole that still has a babysitter. In the first scene Cole is in the nurses office at school and there's a cat meowrul...er mural on the wall ~ ok I like this movie already.

 Giant cat picture in the school nurses office.

Everything is too good to be true though. Cole's mom is cool, his dad is cool (also played by Ken Marino from The State. I'm not big on watching funny stuff, but I loved The State when it was on TV) and Bee his babysitter is cool...so he thinks. On the outside she's pretty and awesome and tough and gives him the best advice for bullies ever ~ "Kick 'em in the dick." Little does he know she's part of a demonic cult and she chose him for his blood!

Cole's best friend, that lives across the street, tells him that he should stay up late and find out what his babysitter does after she tucks him in at night. Cole stays up and watches Bee and friends play spin the bottle, oh and kill one of the "friends" by stabbing him in the head! This was predictable and hilariously bloody. They see that Cole is awake and witnessed everything, so the killers go after him. He hides in the house! If it were me, I'd be running down the street as far away as I could. Why does he stay close to the house? Maybe they couldn't afford a new set, I'm not really sure. The ritual never gets performed because of Cole's interference. This left me wanting a sequel about the cult. Overall it's a fun movie, a little predictable and very light. I give it a 4 out of 5 stabs.

Bee stabs the guy in the head, 

but can we take a minute to check out her sweet cat tattoo?

Trailer...

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone that has been encouraging me by reading my blog. I have 100 Facebook followers and to celebrate I'd like to do a little giveaway!

Included in the giveaway is....

1. Orly Cat Woman Nail Polish Set
2. Pusheen USB Mug Warmer
3. Times Three Limited Edition Bath Bomb from Porcelain Wolf
4. Full Moon Bubble Bar from Nature's Whimsey
5. Freddy Sticker and "Baddest Witch in Town" Decal from Merch Massacre

All you have to do is...

1. Like the Fluffy the Vampire facebook page

2. Comment on the Giveaway post

3. Share the Fluffy the Vampire facebook page

Good luck! Winner will be picked Fri., Jan 5, 2018 and will be contacted via facebook.

I know I've been M.I.A. as of late. This holiday season at Cats Like Us, (the shop I own) is taking over my life ~ even more than normal! So I'm blogging when I can, and it's not very much. I plan to get back on track in January. BUT please enjoy this unboxing of the Winter 2017 Pusheen Box. (You can see the Fall unboxing here.) In this video I use a massager! (Get your mind out of the gutter!)

(My necklace in the video is from GoreJess Labatory from the Glamour Ghoul Luna Box.)

Here's the packing list...

1. Pusheen massager. Not sure if this works. I feel like it would just tangle my hair, but maybe I'll try it on my elbows like the box says.

2. Winter Pusheen Mug. This is a big ass mug. Perfect for my tea addiction.

3. Pusheen Vinyl Holiday Figure.

4. LED Charging Cable. This is really cute. It lights up just like Christmas lights AND THEY ARE LITTLE PUSHEENS!!!!

5. Set of 4 Holiday Pins featuring a yellow star, present, Stormy (the fluffy cat) and Pusheen. Yes the fluffy kitty is named Stormy and they have a little brother kitty that pops up every so often, his name is Pip.

Stormy, Pusheen & Pip.

6. Set of 4 Pusheen Holiday Sticky Notes.

7. USB Mug Warmer. This is a good idea, but I'm not sure if I'll ever use it. It's stinkin' adorable though.

8. Plush Winter Pusheen. Look at those little arms!

9. Pusheen Holiday Sweatshirt.

Pusheen Cat is the equivalent to Hello Kitty in the 1970s and 1980s. She was everywhere and on everything, especially stationary. Then they turned Hello Kitty into a pink design that I hated. I liked her red, white and blue outfit ~ probably because she wears stripes. Hello Kitty approves of this Pusheen Box, can't wait for the Spring one!

Halloween 2013, I was the original Hello Kitty ~ I'm the one in the first picture. ;)

While looking for a specific cat picture for my last movie blog, Movie: Hush (2016) I stumbled across a certain website and was completely intrigued. Andrew, my husband, and I always joke that our next career move will be to train cats for commercials and movies and I love that this website has a database for movie star cats! It's www.cinemacats.com. It includes a ton of genres, short films, television, animated cats, and more! But they aren't the only website dedicated to actor cats. There's The Horror Cats, Moviepaws, and Pet Cinematary (the last one includes all animal actors)! Who knew?!

Here's a small compliation from the Cinema Cats website of The Greatest Cats in Films, don't worry Burger Fiction (the people that made this video) are working on a part two! This one includes tons of Disney movies and animated cats, but it's still worth a watch. They are missing many ~ off the top of my head Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Keanu, Pywacket from Bell, Book and Candle, are missing for sure! (I blogged about Bell, Book and Candle for my shop website Cats Like Us. You can read it here.) If you want to talk about animated cats ~ what about Si and Am from Lady and the Tramp?! You can't leave those troublemakers out.

There's even a book dedicated to cats on film that came out this past September. It's simply called Cats on Film by Anne Billson. (I'm going to try to get my paws on it from the library.)

If you want to see a newer movie with real cats that aren't actors ~ I recommend Kedi. It's more of a documentary about the lives of stray cats in Istanbul. Trailer below...

Someday Andrew will be a cat trainer. Here he is teaching Ginger to be a parrot for his "pirate lifestyle." (a.k.a. drinking too much rum.) She sits on his shoulders while he walks around the house. It might be harder to do with a large cat, but Ginger is tiny and easy to carry. She purrs and loves being chauffeured from room to room. I'm off to go train Vicktor not to be a jerk and eat our fake Christmas tree!

Thanks for reading, my holidays have been very busy, hopefully things will calm down and I can get back on track to reading, writing, and watching more horror and cats!

I heard about a TV show called Lore, so I did a little research and found out there's a book called The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke and podcast too, and all are based around the same thing...folklore of unsolved mysteries. I think I'm the only person left anywhere that doesn't listen to podcasts, I swear I don't have time for them. I drive 5 minutes to work where I listen to rockabilly music, and when I'm at home I'm reading or watching a movie or trying to finish Supernatural because ~ I'm not afraid of commitment ~ and I'm in the home stretch in the middle of season 10. (You can read all about my Supernatural thoughts here, here, here and here.)

Being a book nerd I ordered the book The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures from the library. It touches on all the historical monster narratives from vampires, witch hunts, zombies, pygmies, ghosts, to things we still hear about today ~ the Warren's Annabelle doll and curses, Shirley Jackson's haunted house writings and poltergeists. Historical vampires and witch folklore are my forte, so I was already prepared to like this book. Vamps have a special place in my heart along with witches and it started for me in junior year of high school where I wrote a 25 page paper comparing Bram Stoker's Dracula book to the movie. (Side note: No comparison. The movie is very pretty with bad acting, the book is better although a little boring as it's written like a diary.) The witch curiosity started even earlier, sophomore year when I wrote about Cotton Mather's Salem Witchcraft Trials and their attack on women. Now I'm not going to claim I know about everything in the book. I did learn about Spring-Heeled Jack in England and lots more specifics on creature origin stories. It even includes the origins of words and why certain things are called what they are. You can see a lot of time and effort went into this book and I'm always excited to expand on my creepy knowledge especially if I don't have to do all the research. (Haha.)

Enough about me, Lore, the book, covers a lot of (burial) ground! It references 1980s pop culture movies and icons, i.e. The Serpent and the Rainbow, Teen Wolf, and even MacGyver. It includes horror anecdotes too which really hold my interest, but it goes deeper and explores folklore itself. There's always been a fear of the unknown everywhere. And how do you explain the unexplainable? With folklore! Perfecto example: A woman in Salem, MA back in the 1690s didn't conform to societal norms because she didn't attend church. The town decided to call her a witch and put her through the witch trials. (That way they can get rid of her since she's different.) Another example: A family claims to see a deceased family member, they dig up the body and find that it hasn't decomposed and there's blood by it's mouth. Well, obviously it's a vampire. These stories get told over and over, expanded on and spread throughout history creating the monster lore we know today.

One of the really fun things I enjoyed about the book is that the chapters don't end with conclusive evidence but often plot twists, suggestions of what happened, and speculations that make you come up with your own conclusions. It really makes you think. Could there be logical reasons people saw and documented what they did? Hmmm.

The Edward Gorey-esque pen and ink illustrations in the book are something you don't get from a podcast. The artist M.S.Corley is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer that draws for a variety of books. The artwork in Lore is very Edward Gorey compared to his other pieces. Gotta love a book with pictures!

Many of the creatures written about can be found in the TV show Supernatural (I'm not joking) ~ trickster, jinn, wendigo, changling, elves ~ and here I thought the writers were just making them all up! So I guess you can say Supernatural was my introduction to a wide array on monster folklore and it's a good preface. After reading this book though, I feel like anything is possible and real. Truth can be scarier than fiction. Yikes.

Look for Aaron Mahnke's next book, The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals coming out in May 2018.

When I'm not wearing something in theme, or something that's black and white, I'm wearing cat clothes. Yes, CAT CLOTHES. I will admit I'm the biggest sucker for anything with a cat on it. Throw a cat on it and I'm sold! It can be ugly as hell, it can be cutesy with the most adorable pink fluffy kitten, it can be a tough as nails satanic cat and I'm sold. I love them all!

I'm going to let you in on a fashion secret...I shop a lot in the kids dept for cat things. This latest acquisition is from the girl's pajama section at Target. It's supposed to be a night gown, but I added leggings and a belt and it's become my favorite comfy cat dress! This outfit makes me soar like an atomic space kitty!

So you can't fit into the stuff in the kids section ~ still shop there! You might find a really cool cat purse, or cat ear headband, or cat leg warmers. In recent years even the men's section has cat clothes. I've seen amazing 1980s inspired cat Ts, socks and more. Cats are everywhere and I challenge you to find your crazy cat person through fashion.

I say wear what makes you happy and don't be afraid to think outside the box!

If you've been following me, you know I like subscription boxes. I subscribed to the Glamour Ghoul Batty Box, Classic Horror and Luna Box. I LOVED the Batty Box, the Classic Horror was a-ok, but I was really unimpressed with the Luna Box. As a result, I decided to take a break, and try out their Beauty Bag. It's the same idea, but with just makeup. At only $10 (plus $3 shipping), I feel like you can't go wrong! I loved this one.

Here's a speedy unboxing...er unbagging video...

Included in the November Beauty Bag...

1. An adorable black and white ghost zipper pouch.

2. Blue Raspberry Lip Balm from Rebel Rouge Labs. If you're curious about the lip balm, you can find it on their website for $2.50. It smells very light and the scent isn't over powering at all. It even smells a little herbal-y. I like that.

2. Lipstick from Spoiled Lips in "Bittersweet". I like this color. It's sort of a pumpkin shade, perfect for fall. Glamour Ghoul works a lot with Spoiled Lips and I have another color, "Charmed" from them that I love. It really does stay on ALL DAY. No joke. You can find both colors on their website too.

"Bittersweet" & "Star Light"

3. Dirty Glam Cosmetics loose powder in "Star Light". This is probably the thing I like the least simply because it's messy...or I should say I'm messy. I end up with more everywhere else than on me. This color is ah-mazing though! It's a silvery blue, super shiny, very neutral. After going to their website it looks like they are on vacation and will be back Oct 18, 2017. Ha! Um yeah, it's a month later now, better update that. I guess they don't care about sales.

4. Chirality Polish in "The Night Runner" is a nice dark shade with gold and rainbow glitter. I can't wait to try it, perfect for the holidays or anyday!

Thanks Glamour Ghoul! I think I'm going to have to try another Beauty Bag, I'm really enjoying the makeup choices. Even though lots of gals are posting them as soon as they arrive on the Glamour Ghoul facebook page, the colors and bags may be different from person to person, so it doesn't ruin the surprise ~ I like that.

p.s. You're probably wondering, "What the hell is she wearing this time?" You can get a better idea in this blog.

I'm not much for home invasion movies, I tend to find them boring, BUT Hush kept me on the edge of my seat and I really enjoyed it...AND there's a fluffy white Persian kitty in the movie named "Bitch". Um YES! More kitties should act in horror movies. The basic premise is it's about a deaf and mute writer living in the woods and there's a masked killer that learns about her disability and wants her dead. It's no surprise that this is a very quiet movie, but the action speaks for itself. (See what I did there?)

Spoilers ahead (sort of)...

The first fifteen minutes set the tone for the rest of the movie. We find out how isolated Maddie is living in the woods and just how she lives with her condition. The killer comes in and steals her cell phone and then starts taking pictures of her without her knowing and messages them to her on her laptop. She freaks out and locks herself in the house ~ now she's a captive. He seems pretty smart, he kills her closest neighbor, steals her and her neighbor's cell phones, cuts the power and slashes her tires. He taunts Maddie and shows her Sarah, her dead friend through the window, in the hopes that she'll break. He even pretends to be the police when her neighbor's boyfriend comes by to check things out. She in turn sets off her car alarm to distract him, steals his crossbow, sprays him with wasp killer and sets off the house fire alarm that is extra loud and vibrates the whole house.

As a writer she runs through all the possible scenarios in her head of how to escape. In all of them she ends up dead, except for one. I won't tell you what that is, but it makes sense that she thinks this way.

There's lots of good realistic gore in the movie too. It's really well done!

Bitch Kitty survives! Yay! She's a Final Girl.

In retrospect, this whole killer situation could have been avoided if she had basic life tips:

A. She kept her cat inside. (Reasons why you should are here.) Even her neighbor is concerned that she leaves her cat outside and asks her about it! Her door wouldn't be open if the kitty was inside.

B. Call me paranoid BUT she has tons of bare windows and really needs to have curtains and keep them drawn at night. If she did, the killer might not know that she was even home.

C. Keep your doors locked when you're home alone at night in the middle of nowhere! He would have never stolen her phone if he couldn't get in the house. Duh.

D. Don't sit with your back to an open window or door, it's bad feng shui (or something like that).

Also I knew I never wanted to live in the country, that's where aliens land and home invasions happen. ;)

Trailer

Side tangent...If you like the suspense of no sound in horror movies, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode where everyone lost their voice was also called "Hush" and is definitely quiet. The Gentlemen Demons in the episode are always rated in the top three scariest monsters on BtVS.