H.R. Giger, a Swiss artist whose macabre alien visions have influenced many a horror movie, has died. He was seventy-four. His initials stand for Hans Rudolf, of all names. I just went through many a photograph on the World Wide Web showing his work. Some of it I recognize at once, but most of it is at least vaguely familiar, for I have seen it in passing over the years. The only photographs that really touch me show his own face, though. And it strikes me as frightening. By comparison with his aliens, which I find ridiculous at best, his face is something entirely different. If I would ever go for a portrait of a frightening alien, I would choose H.R. Giger himself. An alien for true. Sorry, an alien artist for true. Nowadays, being called an artist is frightening enough all by itself.