Why Horror?

If you're already a horror fan, this isn't much of a question. You know, you understand. It's an unspoken common ground we all share. But I hear this often from people who don't like horror, who don't understand the compulsion to read, see or experience scary things. "Why would you want to be scared?"

There's more to this question than one might assume at face value. For one thing, there are different levels and variations on fear. There are jump scares, and then there is lingering dread. There is discomfort and anxiety. There is a visceral recoil. They all have their own reason for existing, and different reasons why people might seek them out. 

It's easiest to discuss the type of scare that makes us jump, gasp or scream. It's adrenaline. It's roller coasters and sky diving. It's getting on a stage to sing or tell jokes or act. The thrill of being alive in the face of the fear of failure. "I did this and I survived." That isn't difficult to comprehend.

What about the rest? Why do some of us want to be haunted? Often it's a way to process things we're already scared of, already worried about. If we can stare it down, look at it without blinking, examine the details and feelings and come out the other side, we feel we can survive it. I am terrified of spiders, for example. But I will stare at a spider, I will look at spider photos online, I will read about them and learn about them in an effort to master my fear. I am afraid, and so I am obsessed. 

Body horror has a similar motivation. We are mortal beings of flesh and blood, and the idea of that being mutilated or morphed into something alien, something unnatural, causes a physical and mental recoil. But many of us will encounter bodily fears over our life: chronic illnesses, injuries, surgeries, failing organs. The feeling of a part of your body rebelling against you, or even trying to harm you, is a unique experience. I myself have a chronic auto-immune disease and it's a challenge to reconcile the idea that my immune system wants to destroy essential parts of my body out of a genetic misunderstanding. It feels like I am at war with it. In my mind, I think about my body as a separate being that hates me and wants me to suffer. It makes sense to see that reflected in horror, and helps to process that feeling. 

Lingering dread is perhaps the most uniquely human experience. We know we are mortal creatures who will die someday. Either by age, disease, accident, purpose, or disaster. When I was a child I would think about death, wonder what it was like. I tried to imagine what "nothing" felt like. It was terrifying. But I kept doing it over and over again. What drove me? The unknown. The worse option. If I knew what was in store, I could feel resolution. Not knowing was worse. This is why in horror, not understanding the source of terror is always worse. If you don't know where the monster came from, why the serial killer was killing, what was causing the haunting, it was so much scarier. Because, you wonder, what if there is no reason? Then the world is chaos, then we can't know what's going to happen, and we will be alone and afraid when we die no matter what the cause or reason. 

Personally, horror is also a way to process the nightmare of my own mind. Ever since I was very young, I had nightmares. Countless nightmares. Some of them I still remember now, after 30 years. There were particular types that I had so often and were so distinct that I had to name them. Apocalypse dreams and dream loops. In the former, I always saw the world end. In the latter, I kept thinking I woke up only to find myself in a new nightmare, still sleeping. I learned how to lucid dream while very young, because I couldn't handle the recurring nightmares I had and needed a solution. I had to learn techniques for escaping dreams in case they became too scary. Then I started having sleep paralysis, and it felt like my entire body was betraying me and thwarting my efforts to escape fear. Even when I was technically awake, I was still living the nightmare and couldn't escape. I had to wait it out until my brain released my body and I stopped seeing and hearing things that weren't really there.

People-- even family-- say this is because of the scary books I read, the scary movies I watch. But the sad truth is that my nightmares sparked my interest in horror, not the other way around. Horror made me feel understood. It made me feel like I had control of an otherwise uncontrollable situation. It gave me the escape I craved.

I'm not weird because I like horror. And I don't like horror because I like being scared. I like horror because I am weird and scared and I long to find a place where I can belong and control my fear.

Horror is the way to process this. We can face our fears, face the chaos, and yet come out alive and well at the end of the story. Because it was just a story... wasn't it? 

Comics Review: Monstress Volume 1 & 2

Monstress is a dark fantasy story written by Marjorie Liu (Astonishing X-Men, Dark Wolverine) set in an alternate version of 1900's Asia where gods, magic and monsters all dwell among humans and part-animal half-breeds. Our protaganist Maika Halfwolf is one of those half-breeds, known as Arcanics. She has survived a major war, and in the beginning of volume 1, she has purposely allowed herself to be sold off at a slave auction in order to learn more about her mother's life and death.

Volume 2 reveals much more about Maiko's backstory, her mother's history, and the mythology of this world in general. In every issue they peel back one more layer and it gets more and more fascinating as you go. I won't reveal too many details, because the best part of this series is discovering these links and layers for yourself firsthand. But I will say that one of the highlights of the story is the same theme the title so clearly advertises. Is Maiko, herself, a monster? How will this struggle change her? What does that mean for her relationships with others? How will her mother's secrets change how she views herself?

Monstress is the most gorgeous comic I've read all year, thanks to the brilliant artwork by Sana Takeda (X-23, Ms. Marvel). There is a clear anime influence to its style, particularly the way the characters are drawn. But in the clothing, interiors and buildings there is a solid Western influence. It's very Art Deco, and it works beautifully. The art also lays full claim to both the horror and fantasy genres; there are many intense, dark scenes to convey the hungry monster inside Maiko that threatens to take control. But you also get a sense of how big and complex this alternate world is through the intricate scene details, and the expert work on the half-human half-animal characters.

For all these reasons, Monstress has become my new go-to recommendation for both horror and fantasy fans. It has a rich mythology, as well as engaging themes of otherness and fear that are well explored through the horror of slavery and invasion.

Book Review: Gwendy's Button Box

If you're a Stephen King fan but you don't quite have the time for his usual wonderful but lengthy novels, Gwendy's Button Box should satisfy your King craving. This horror-fantasy novella, written with Richard Chizmar (A Long December, October Dreams) clocks in under 200 pages.

We meet the titular character Gwendy in Castle Rock, Maine, in the summer of 1974. She is 12 years old and has committed herself to climbing the Suicide Stairs-- which zig-zag up a cliffside-- every day in order to lose weight before the school year begins. On this particular day she meets a strange, but not dangerous man in black named Richard Farris.

Mr. Farris gifts Gwendy with a button box that has several buttons of different colors and two levers, one which dispenses a piece of chocolate, the other giving out a valuable silver dollar. He explains how powerful the box is, and what the buttons do, and insists that Gwendy must keep it safe. The rest of the novella follows Gwendy through young adulthood, as the box both blesses and curses the course of her life.

It ends up being both a dark fairy tale and a coming of age story. Gwendy begins to realize the weight of her responsibility early on, but it's only as she reaches full adulthood that she experiences the real price of the box. It's a classic "What if?" kind of story that will make you wonder what you would have done in Gwendy's shoes.

Overall I enjoyed the story and Gwendy herself, although there were moments where I felt like she lost a little bit of dimension to her character. Was that supposed to happen as an effect of the box? I'm not sure. But it's a fun experience, and will leave you wanting to know more about the box and where it came from.

Sick Day, Bloody Sick Day

Last week I had the pleasure of my second summer cold of the season, and while lying around coughing uncontrollably I thought about good sick day movies.

For me, a good sick day film has to be relatively low on gore and surrealism. Even mild fevers mess with my head, I don’t need the film to add to it. So I tend towards older films that are creepy or fun in a spooky way. Even better if it’s something I’ve seen a billion times, so I won’t miss out if I drift in and out while sitting on what I have dubbed the Couch of Doom, due to its seemingly mystical ability to cause sleepiness even when one is perfectly healthy and alert.

So as my immune system waged a war so forceful that I hoped my respiratory system would remain in tact, I came up with three solid pre-1970’s films starring horror icons to help me pass the time.

Horror vs. Sci-fi: Genre and the Nature of Disbelief

In my opinion, Sci-fi/Horror is one of the greatest genre hybrids of all time. It reaches all the way back to Mary Shelley writing about Frankenstein's Monster, which was a defining work in both genres. They fit together so well in part because they inspire questions about the consequences we face as individual people, as a society, as creatures on a planet that may or may not be alone in time or space. They both deal in the unknown, or unexplained, but often in different ways. For example, science fiction looks into the vastness of space and sees possibility, advanced technology, the enlightenment of discovery and the awesome potential of meeting new intelligent life. Horror wants to show you why you should be very, very afraid of those things.

But that's a shallow reading of the potential of each genre. The truth is, they can reach and be so much more. They are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes they can even swap M.O.'s and really blow your mind. 

Merging science fiction and horror has resulted in some amazing films. The adaptations of FRANKENSTEIN should be mentioned, but two of the best and most successful examples are ALIEN and ALIENS. Other films worth mentioning include THE THING, SCANNERS, and VIDEODROME. Even the 1953 version of WAR OF THE WORLDS is considered to be a hybrid of the two genres. 

Thinking about this has made me wonder, though: Even if the two genres fit together well, do we experience them differently? Do I approach them differently? Do I expect more from science fiction than I do of horror?

And I'll tell you what made me even entertain the idea that there might be a difference: EVENT HORIZON.

Film review: The Haunting in Connecticut 2

I used to be a lot better about staying up to date on new movies, but the fact of the matter is, it's a hell of a lot of work and I sort of gave up the past few months. I have a feeling I'm missing out on a lot by being passive, and waiting for this information to work its way to me via the few channels I still use on a semi-regular basis. So it wasn't until recently that I realized a) The Haunting in Connecticut 2 was out and b) on DVD and c) on Netflix. Yep.

I really liked the first film, I've watched it maybe three or four times now. It's got some of my favorite story themes: spiritualism, haunted house, horror of physical disease, historical content, a mystery demanding to be solved. I find it creepy as hell, and appreciate the hopeful ending. So I gave the sequel a shot, hoping beyond hope.

Film review: The Conjuring

Thanks to a youth spent reading everything I could on the paranormal, I was already familiar with the real Warrens and their reputations. Even better, thanks to Lorraine appearing occasionally on Paranormal State, I was primed for catching her cameo in THE CONJURING.

So part of my interest in seeing the film was based in prior knowledge and an appreciation for ghost stories. But more than that, even early reports on the movie gave a glimmer of hope that this might be one of those rare, genuinely good modern horror films. The casting seemed excellent, and while it's based on a true story that's similar to many other haunted house tales (fiction or not) it's a formula that just kind of works.

Turkey Day Terror

Tradition dictates that Thanksgiving is a time for family, and turkey slaughter. I say the latter with joy in my heart, as I harbor a grudge against all turkeys thanks to one biting me when I was young. I've been biting back with pleasure ever since.

Whether you're planning a traditional full-course turkey dinner with parents and kids and aunts and uncles and cousins and hobos (give that turkey an extra stab for me) or spending your day with the MST3K Turkey Day Marathon (Ahem... hi) it's certainly a time that gets you thinking about family. For better or for worse.

On the other hand, if yours is too much of a headache, you could always think about someone else's family, especially ones that make you more grateful for even your own potentially wacky kin. On that note, here are some of my favorite horror films featuring creepy relatives and terrified families.

Book review: Doctor Sleep

It's sad, but I can count the number of Stephen King books I've read on one hand. THE SHINING, DUMA KEY and now, DOCTOR SLEEP. I've also read ON WRITING, I believe because it was required reading in a creative writing class I took in college. Deservedly so. If you're a writer and haven't read it yet, get on it right away.

And yet I wouldn't hesitate to say King is one of my favorite writers. I'm much more familiar with the film adaptations of his stories, but they are still his stories. So I'm a fan.

It is on my ever growing to-do list to read the original novels of stories like IT, CARRIE, THE STAND, PET SEMATARY, etc. but we all know how those lists tend to fare. I still haven't gotten to a bunch of Neil Gaiman books, like GOOD OMENS, AMERICAN GODS, and then of course, ANANSI BOYS. So King is in good company, I suppose.

I've missed a couple of his more recent novels, but I could not pass up DOCTOR SLEEP. It's the sequel to THE SHINING, which is one of my favorite horror novels, and in it King catches us up with how life has been treating Danny Torrance ever since he and his mother survived the insanity at the Overlook Hotel.

5 Bloodcurdling Birthdays

Before Carmageddon 2013 happened and I ended up on a week-long quest for a less crappy used car than the one I was perilously driving, I had a birthday.

Many of my friends are at the stage of life where they don't necessarily do anything major to celebrate. If they do, it's with their spouse, family, a couple of close friends maybe. Welcome to the 30+ club, I guess. I, on the other hand, coordinate something every year. Lately it's been game nights, which have been extremely fun. My theory is: I've had some really shitty birthdays. I've had some really shitty years of not having real friends, of being really lonely, and I still have a hard time reaching out to people because of all of that. So, being an adult with a nice group of really awesome friends, I've totally earned my right to surround myself with all the people I like at least once a year. You know, in person. As in, not on Facebook.

So I had a fantastic birthday with fantastic people, fantastic games, food and beverages.

But as most life events do, it got me wondering about birthdays in horror. What were some of the absolute worst birthdays on film? Here are my top 5, in a general order of how creepy I find them.

Book & Brew: Bloodsuckers

During September my library is featuring a display I put together where I pair up books with beers based on a theme. We're using it to help advertise an event we're having in October on home brewing called You Can Brew It! I had a lot of fun coming up with the pairings and lists, and I'm sharing a handful of them each week here on the blog.

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring-- seems he was troubled by being left out of the Book & Brew. Luckily I had a couple of good choices lined up to keep the old bloodsucker happy.

(See the end of the entry for thumbnails and links to the brewmarks!)

Book & Brew: Hell's Bells

If you didn't catch last week's post on beers to go with the undead, during September my library is featuring a display I put together where I pair up books with beers based on a theme. We're using it to help advertise an event we're having in October on home brewing called You Can Brew It! Plus I had a lot of fun coming up with the pairings and lists.

This week, my second horror-themed brewmarks come straight out of hell.

(See the end of the entry for thumbnails and links to the brewmarks!)

Book & Brew: Zombies!

I've been on vacation for the past week or so, but before I took my time off I got to work on a fun project for a library display. I was pretty excited about the program lineup I'd worked on for Fall, which includes a lecture on home brewing called You Can Brew It! It gave me an idea to make a book display that would pair up books with craft beers, based around their theme. I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas- and I got plenty of help from my friends! On the display we'll have bookmarks I made that feature a book-beer pairing, or to suggest a list of books that matched a particular beer's theme. I've taken to calling them "brewmarks."

(See the end of the entry for thumbnails and links to the brewmarks!)

Horror Marathon: Shark Week Edition

This Sunday marked the beginning of a beloved annual Discovery Channel tradition: Shark Week. I myself am not necessarily a shark enthusiast, but I would have loved to check some of it out... if Comcast, slimy bastards that they are, had not taken away the few remaining cable channels that I actually gave a damn about. I'm not entirely sure I still have enough channels for it to qualify as cable, but they still keep charging me for it every month like clockwork. (If there's any justice in the world, someone from Comcast will read this and do something to sway my increasingly plummeting opinion of their service, which I am eager to drop completely.)

So instead, I'll have to make do with whatever content Discovery puts on their website. I also took it upon myself to have a bit of a shark marathon over the weekend, to get in the mood. Creature features are not my forte in the genre, they either have to be really good, or really funny to keep my interest. Out of the four films I chose, I had only seen JAWS once before. All things considered, it didn't turn out too bad. I came out with one great film, one surprisingly decent film, and two that I feel dumber for having watched.

Film review: Mama

Let's amputate the fancy preamble and cut to the chase about this movie. I don't have a good segue for it, and it seems so clear to me in the light of day that I want to jump right in.

Watching the Guillermo del Toro produced MAMA was like reading a story out of sequence. Being an aficionado of horror movies featuring frustrated ghosts, I know the drill. Spooky happenings, the skeptic explains it away, the believer does some research and finds a juicy story, activity ramps up, maybe the ghost is finally seen to prove its existence, they realize they have to do something to appease or banish the ghost, and in some films that works and in others it totally doesn't and they're all hosed.

To Induce Terror

It's no secret that I love words. I love them so much, that the way a person uses words can be a major factor in not only what I think about them, but how I feel about them. Am I saying that I fall in love with the way people talk? A little bit, yeah.

It's the words they choose, how they string them together, how creative they can be creating new words, what type of slang they use; and of course, basic spelling and grammar.

Book review: Warm Bodies

As I write this, the film version of WARM BODIES is burning a hole in my dining room table. After reading the book, I'm both dying to watch it, and a little nervous. I'm worried that it will pale in comparison to the novel. I'm worried it will turn into a completely different type of story just based on the trailer I saw a while back. I'm worried it will lose everything that I loved about it.

Film Review and Freak-out: Kairo (Pulse)

I hesitate to call this a review, because my reason for writing it has more to do with something out of real life that happened while I was watching it. If you're already familiar with PULSE, you'll understand why I was terrified, but if not, I'll explain to the best of my ability.

Book review: The Lords of Salem

I'm a pretty lucky reader. I like almost all of the books I read in varying degrees, I rarely find a story so bad that I can't finish it, and I have never wished I could have the hours I spent reading a book back.

But after reading LORDS OF SALEM... well, I'm not saying I wish I had those hours back, but I wouldn't complain if some flying spaghetti monster god of fiction decided in his infinite mercy to grant them to me.

It was an interesting idea, and I liked parts of it, I just felt that there were so many things wrong with the approach, as well as the plot and character development. I say that as both a reader and a writer. And I don't like writing negative reviews, I like to give all creative works a chance; but I also have to be honest. And I honestly don't have a lot of positive things to say about my experience, but I will try to be constructive at the very least.

I'm going to stop here and say that there might be spoiler-ish information in my review, so if you're concerned about that you may want to skip this. My brief spoiler-free version is: If you're a big Rob Zombie film fan, have at it. It's gory, it's heavily influenced by past eras of horror, maybe you'll find it fun. If you're on the fence about his films, or outright don't like them, you may find this less fun. There are interesting, redeemable parts to the story, but the authors make a few wrong turns in terms of plot and character and leave you stranded in a bad part of town by the end.

Horror is Other People

One of the pitfalls of enjoying older horror films is discovering whether or not they still hold up in the 21st century. Some are so inextricably tied to their time period, that they lose any possibility of timelessness. But even if the audience is fine with that, accepts it, even loves it, it could still lose them if it just isn't scary anymore. Sometimes the only thing left is the satisfaction and appreciation for a well-crafted, masterful horror film-- even if it's no longer that relevant to modern life or modern fear.


One of the films that I find still holds up really well is PSYCHO.