Lucky Tiger in his angel hair...

Caspar and Lonnie: The Saga Continues

Oengus's latest installment in the continuing saga of Caspar the Amicable Ghost and Lonnie the Dead Hippie Preacher. This time they meet a Gnome. Here's a grabber:

They were about ready to give up their search when they entered a particularly hard to reach grassy spot, surrounded on all sides by very thick brush.

"Get off my grass!" came a loud, cross sounding voice from somewhere in the bushes. It startled them.

Caspar started, and Lonnie too, looking around to see from where the voice came. They moved forward to investigate — by which I mean that Caspar floated through and Lonnie hovered above the vegetation.

"Get off my grass you dumb ass ghosts!" came the voice again, louder and grumpier than before, but this time it sounded as if it came in front of them low to the ground.

This post is from September; I'm still catching up. I'm never disappointed for having read the man's ongoing work.

Mr. Moonbones on Gargoyles

I used to think a gargoyle was a certain type of goyle, as opposed to a boy. But that silliness is only one of the many misconceptions about gargoyles. Oengus Moonbones instructs the ignorant among us with regard to these strange—but eminently good—creatures in an installment of his serial Caspar and Lonnie. Excerpt:

The best way, I suppose, to describe the appearance of a gargoyle would be to say, as a first approximation, that it is like a monstrous blend of monkey, lizard, toad, and octopus. Now gargoyles stand upright, usually, and are bipedal, mostly, and have binocular vision, if you don't take into account their auxiliary receptors. Gargoyles have very strong prehensile tails, which can be used as an extra leg. Their hands and feet are more reptilian-like with long, razor sharp nails and claws, which are retractable like in cats. The arms and legs are long and slender but surprising for their strength and agility. As for their skin, it appears more toad-like than anything, and it is covered with many protuberances, or bumps, the overall coloration ranging between a dark greyish green to a deep bluish purple. Gargoyles are odorless. Their large primary eyes are a deep red in color, with pupils resembling what you see in cats. Their heads sport multiple horns, sprouting at least six or more, which curve to sharp points. Their noses are bulbous, with a keen sense of smell, and the large mouths contain long fangs. The ears are large, and floppy, and acutely sensitive over a wide frequency range. A Gargoyle's tongues is split at the end, the tips being capable of moving independently. A gargoyle's voice is clear, well articulated and gentle sounding. If ever you have heard a very mellow, late night FM radio disk jockey, that is close to what a gargoyle sounds like when it talks.

I mentioned "auxiliary receptors". What I mean each of the protuberances on the skin houses a tentacle which can be extended or retracted, and these tentacles have visual receptors as well. And by extending its tentacles, a gargoyle has the ability to view its surroundings in many different directions simultaneously. Besides being able to see, the tentacles are also very strong and can grasp hold of objects. Now some species of octopi are famous for their ability to instantly mimic or blend into their surroundings. Gargoyles have the same ability, only carried to a much higher degree. This is how gargoyles can make themselves virtually invisible. You could have a gargoyle clinging up on the ceiling just a few feet above you, watching you, but you would never be able to see it. That is how well they can blend into their surroundings.

Read the whole thing. It's getting good.

More Menacing Mannequins in the Macabre Moonlight

Latest installment of Caspar & Lonnie is here, folks, and in this one we meet a Non-Domiciled Indigent Person. Every great story from the Holy Gospels to Happy Gilmore features a Homeless Dude, right? Here's a teaser:

"Don't worry, Lonnie. They are just mannequins." said Caspar with relief. His excellent "sixth sense" told him that no demons were possessing these laughing mannequins, and there was nothing to fear. And Lonnie didn't feel anything tingling in his hands. Nonetheless, both ghosts were very unnerved by the horde of mannequins who, in the weird lighting, appeared as if they were laughing at them for their misfortunes.

I am sure that once Hollywood acquires the film rights to this excellent story of mine, the screen writers will probably juice up parts of it to make it more terrifying. So I imagine that here they would turn it around so that the mannequins Caspar and Lonnie saw were all demon possessed as well, and consequently they would all start walking towards our two friends in the most menacing way possible. And this would be a spot where the CGI lab could add gee-whiz special effects to accentuate the terror of it all. But really, nothing like this happened in this case. Sometimes the mannequins are just mannequins.

[other posts on Oengus Moonboones.]

Caspar & Lonnie Meet a Demon

Another chapter in the exciting serial of Caspar and Lonnie by our friend, the inimitable Oengus Moonbones.

You may have missed the 2nd episode, Evening at the Mall, which I link here for your convenience. It came out shortly after my initial post on which I mentioned the series. I only hope the man continues this intriguing saga.

Oengus Moonbones: Storyteller Extraordinaire

Every time I visit Oengus's fine blog I feel like I've stepped into a different world. It's a lunar landscape of sorts. Plus I almost always learn at least one new word.

When I started to read his Story of St. Alison Kaylee that he recently relinked here, I immediately realized that I had read it once before when he wrote it almost 2 years ago. But I had forgotten it. Oengus has a simple style that really puts things right inside you, so often you don't remember the reading. The beauty somehow got directly infused into my soul. Or maybe I just forgot reading it? Either way it's lovely; here's an excerpt:

As the story goes, some time after her sister's passing, while walking on the beach with her friends — this was the Oregon coast near Tolovana — Alison looked out at the ocean waves and the sun light glistening on the foamy water. She saw a most marvelous vision that caused her to be frozen and transfixed. Her friends didn't know what was happening to her, as she seemed to just stand there on the sand staring out at the sea.

She saw two angels, dressed in sparkling white, their beards were long and golden, and they hovered with their feet just above the waves and the sun drenched water. Between them, they were holding a dark wooden cross, and on that cross Alison could see a vision of the Lord crucified and hanging there. He looked up at her, wearing the thorny crown, and said "love me, Alison, for I greatly loved you." Alison distinctly heard this and fell on her knees in the sand astonished. Her friends saw her doing this but only heard the rushing of the waves. Alison was never the same after this. She decided she would love Him who greatly loved her and bore such suffering for her sake to free her from her sins.

Read the whole thing; it's not long and well worth the time it takes to read.

On the quirkier side, check out his "ghost story" titled Caspar and Lonnie about two ghosts who become friends. Here's a teaser:

"Oh, look at that! A worm." said Caspar.

"Hey, I know him," said Lonnie, who had floated over to get a closer look. "That's my friend, Herman the worm."

"That is wonderful. He is your friend?" asked Caspar.

"Oh yeah," Lonnie explained, "I know him well. He helped to turn my mortal remains into compost, in a very environment-friendly, natural kind of way."

"Herman looks like he is in trouble. Maybe we should try to help him," said Caspar as he bent down besides Lonnie to get a closer look at the poor worm, who was in danger of desiccating if he didn't return soon to the moist earth.

It's not a finished story, but maybe if Mr. Moonbones gets enough readers he'll be inspired to finish the story.