It’s sometime after ten and we’re standing in front of Old Yard holding an eighteenth-century lantern replica with a tin roof, holds slotted into it to let the heat escape. We’re dangling it over the wall that separates the parking lot from the cemetery. The candlelight reflects off a small slabbed tombstone — isolated from the rest of the graves without any real indication why. It could be a dissenter’s plot. I run over the number of reasons why someone might be buried as a dissenter in 19th century Stowe: usual reasons include not adhering to the popul[...]
Tag
folklore
1 When we discuss folklore, the stuff of legends particular to certain areas, we're not always discussing the story itself -- we talk about the hype that surrounds it; makes it bigger than it probably is. The fact is, a lot of the pop culture we get our hands on today lies roots in stories that were told a couple of centuries ago. I can't say that this suggests that there's no original horror stories anymore, far from it; it's interesting, however, that the origin points for the things we find scary now might actually have kernels of truth to them because they're so[...]
As 2015 begins, I can’t help but reflect on my favorite books of 2014. Probably one of the most influential was The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman, a Gothic Horror wrapped very neatly inside the structure of a fairy tale. Like most Gothics, the story is set in an exotic place. Though we don't have the Gothic castle, we do have the snowy and isolated village of Nag’s End where our heroine, Rowan Rose, lives with her father, Henry Rose, and their maid, Emily. On the opening page, death has come to Nag’s End, when some strange beast attacks a group of sold[...]
Argentinians take their folklore seriously. And rightfully they should. According to legend, the seventh son born to a family is cursed to become a werewolf who feasts on the bodies of unbaptized babies. Yep. I'd take that pretty seriously too. But they take things to a whole 'nother level in Argentina. In fact, their president gets involved. In order to thwart the curse, there is a long-standing tradition where the leader of the country legally adopts any seventh born son. This way, the son is no longer technically part of their original family, and no longer co[...]
Yep, you read that right. According to this very extensive article from The Daily Mail, an amateur sleuth, an expert in DNA and genetics, and 7 years of exhaustive work have cracked the case that has baffled detectives and historians for over a century. If you're a die-hard CSI junkie, you HAVE to read this article. But for those who want the short version (but how can you call yourselves horror fans, and not read the article about Jack the Ripper?!?!?!), here it is... You might have watched the movie 'From Hell' with Johnny Depp: And maybe you've pictured thi[...]
Over the past few days, I've been having the "horror" discussion a few times with a few different individuals. What is it? What makes it appealing? Does all horror fall under the same umbrella? Where do you draw the line between the things that creep and the things that scare versus the things meant to titillate and disgust? I think it's all relative -- we draw from experience and expand the lens on the things that dig into our history both as individuals and collectively. What scares me might scare you, but maybe not. In the effort to overturn a few rocks, to p[...]
With camping season upon us, I've been trolling the internet for various campfire-worthy spooky stories. We like to pack up our gear and head to the nearest body of water on the long weekends -- take a dip, lounge on the beach, swim out to the docks. There's nothing like a still black lake in the wilderness to inspire a fright -- especially when you can't see two feet below you in the water. It's easy to imagine the brush of seaweed as reaching fingers, straining to grasp your ankles and pull you down below. Love it. I'm a huge fan of monsters, so today, I've u[...]
We horror writers are made of sturdier stock than most, right? We can handle a good scare without much psychological scarring. I think? Maybe? This is the lie I usually tell myself as I pop in another horror movie: "I can handle it." Telling myself that "I could handle it," I sat down for the first time to watch a series of Japanese horror films that basically destroyed my sleeping patterns for a the few following months. I bought a nightlight. I developed a habit of dashing from the bathroom, which is three feet away from my bedroom, once I'd shut off the ligh[...]
