The blog of author Dennis Cooper

Month: October 2016 (Page 5 of 6)

Halloween countdown post #6: DC’s select international* haunted house attractions for the Halloween season 2016

* excluding Los Angeles (coming later)

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The Dent Schoolhouse (Cincinnati, Ohio)
The story of Charlie McFee is familiar to those well-versed in urban legends and American horror folklore: In Dent, Ohio (near Cincinnati) in 1942, children attending the local schoolhouse begin to go missing. They keep disappearing over the next decade, and in 1955, an angry mob discovers that Charlie, the school janitor, has been keeping the rotting bodies of murdered students in gruesome states of disarray in the basement. Charlie escapes and is never heard from again, while the ghosts of murdered kids roam the hallways, seeking revenge and release from their violent passing…but is Charlie really gone?

Josh Wells, Chuck Stross and Bud Stross are the owners of the Dent Schoolhouse haunted attraction. When they acquired the actual schoolhouse from a local charity organization, they discovered it had a dark history—one they could fully exploit for local Halloween enthusiasts. Fully theming the attraction around the story of the missing students and Charlie the janitor himself, the trio have created a fully immersive attraction involving the manpower of dozens of people, working all year long.

“We set Dent Schoolhouse up to be like a movie,” Bud Stross says. “You, the audience member, relive the horror of the schoolhouse and what Charlie McFee did to the students. From start to finish, our customers are engulfed by the building and its history. Before you even buy a ticket, guests are met by actors playing locals who are crazed by the grisly landmark in their town.”

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Justin Copeland’s Home Haunt (Scarborough, Canada)
Justin Copeland of Scarborough, Ontario has built an outstanding home haunt this year, with some of the most exquisite detail work we at Haunt Nation Magazine have ever seen in a home haunt. Justin’s work would rival most professional haunts. Here is what Justin told us about this award winning home haunt… “This year’s theme was a ‘Subterranean Tale of Terror’, with a Lovecraftian feel. Guests played the part of police investigating an underground cult, and had to navigate their way through a cave, catacombs, and a mine shaft, to reach the exit.”

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Andrewz Haunted Room (?, ?)
? Halloween is life ?


 

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Nightmare New England (Litchfield, New Hampshire)
The Bishop Family is no longer a threat to the people of Litchfield, NH this year. The police took matters into their own hands and shot, killed and locked up most of the family. It’s been said that a couple of members have taken to the hills, but only time will tell if the evil will ever return.

For now, Brigham Manor sits dark. Those in town swear they can still hear the blood curdling screams and cries for help coming from the house. Many have tried to walk through, but none have come close. Although supposedly abandoned, locals claim to have seen an eerie light coming from within the darkness of the condemned home, but many are too afraid to find out what is lurking inside.

A New Breed has taken over the wooded banks of the Merrimack River, transforming The Colony into something we couldn’t even have imaged. Enter this renovated labyrinth of chaos at your own risk, and meet a new strain of hell’s servants. Once hidden amongst the cover of darkness, these unnatural beings have reemerged and are looking for bodies to torture and souls to destroy.

What would it be like to be trapped in a nightmare that you could not wake up from? You have stumbled into a place where rot, decay, and the filth from the earth are a haven for evil. There’s no place to hide from nightly scavengers and life takers. You might make it out alive, but your soul will be gone. Try to make it out of Carnage.

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Krampus (Universal Studios, Orlando)
The Krampus maze takes us inside a typical suburban home filled with snow — on the walls, floors and ceiling. The unique look of the maze and interesting backstory combined with the detailed interiors and variety of scares made for the best experience of the night.

I loved the murderous gingerbread men running amok in the kitchen, and the terrified child stuck in the fireplace chimney. The best scene of the night put a horrified girl in the jaws of a giant jack in the box bent on devouring the helpless child in her bed.

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Dark Nightmares Haunted House (Elwood, Indiana)
We are a home haunt who want’s to become a pro haunt in the future. We feature 3 terrifying attractions, all in the same building and at one location. This is our first year in operation but we expect many more to come at this same location!

Dark Nightmares 3D: Revenge of the clowns is a 3D blacklight haunted attraction that will feature 3D based scares. From our crazed clowns who take you on a one of a kind tour of the 5 terrifying scenes we have to our amazing black light maze. This haunt is for kids and teens as well as adults. Open from 7-8pm on 10/21, 22, 28 and 29th only.

Blackout Nightmares is a in the dark haunt where you have to find your way out. There are 3 versions of this haunt we do… you can go through with bright glow stick, which helps you find your way better and is for kids and teens and those adults who are deathly scared of the dark. Then we have a flickering candle, which is for those who want a more “in to the unknown” type of experience. The candle will give you some light but not as much as the glow stick does. Then there is the “in to darkness” method. All you have is to feel your way through to the exit, in TOTAL darkness. You pick the way YOU want to experience this haunt! Parents are required to go through with their kids 13 and under. No groups, you must enter alone. From 8-9pm on 10/21, 22, 28 and 29th only!

Sensory Overload is our strobe haunt featuring 11 strobe lights and 4 fog units to bring this haunt to life. No actors but will be a lot of fun! Halloween Night only from 7-9pm.

Come on down and enjoy one or all the haunts! This is a family experience and we will have covered waiting under a 10′ x 20′ waiting area! Please also dress for the weather as we are expecting it to be cold all 5 nights we open and if we get rain, we will still be open depending how bad it gets. We WILL CLOSE in the event of lightning or seriously bad weather, so please be aware of this and watch our web site for the latest in weather details!

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Fright Night Haunted Dreams (Austin, Texas)
TEXAS – Fright junkies discovered more than they bargained for at a haunted house attraction over the weekend, when they stumbled upon what they thought was part of the show. The Fright Night Haunted Dreams attraction in Austin, Texas brought in hundreds of people looking for a good scare this Halloween season. But on Friday night, this “Haunted Dream” maze turned into a reality for one teenage boy.

Eyewitnesses say they were halfway through this macabre haunted house when they came across a scene with a crazy looking man biting into his victim that lay in a dirty bathtub. At first, it was just another scene within the haunted maze, but as they looked closer they saw the young boy that was screaming for his life was really in excruciating pain. For one witness, Paul Callaway, it was much too real. “I don’t think I can put into words what I saw. It will haunt my dreams forever,” said Calloway. “This sick ass man bit into this dude’s arm and I could literally see tendons being pulled out. The screams were unlike anything I had ever heard before. This boy was in some serious pain. I mean imagine being eaten alive!”

According to reports, once the group of fright goers realized this was not part of the haunted house, they decided to take action. Mike Sullivan, a Texas gun owner with a concealed weapons permit, said he had no second thoughts about taking action immediately. “I unholstered my weapon and drew on this creep,” said Sullivan. “I got about one foot away from him and shot him once in the leg, and again in the shoulder. Just enough to make him stop until police arrived.”

Police and emergency response teams arrived on scene within minutes, but it was too late for the young teenage boy who’s name has not yet been released. He was dead when medical staff arrived. We do know that he was a 17-year-old from the Austin, Texas area. Officers took 28-year-old Philip Harris into custody where he is currently being held without bond in solitary confinement at an Austin, Texas jail under the close supervision of officers and medical staff. The haunted attraction has been closed indefinitely.

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Uneasy’s Garage Haunt (Athens, Alabama)
OK after last year’s successful garage haunt for a large 10-12 yr old party I’m looking at going bigger and better this year, I started on the preplanning last year but am now going to get started as I have a lot to do. I purchased a lot of stuff after Halloween last year but have a lot to build myself. Here’s my idea and would appreciate critique or ideas from you guys. Last year I went with the black plastic walls which worked fair but this year I will have a combination of wood, plastic and heavy cardboard walls, since the plastic didn’t hold up so well particularly when kids tried making doorways where there wasn’t any haha. So here’s my plan below, keep in mind the drawing should be pretty much to scale with each block equaling 6 inches, I have a garage of 24’ wide by 21’ deep to work with, also I will try and incorporate something on the outside before they enter but not sure what or how I will do so, that’s next on my agenda. Once entering the garage I thought about an actor behind a scrim wall right off the bat then they proceed down a 3’ wide by 8’ hall then you will have to crawl into a 3’ wide by 3’ high by 8’ long wooden tunnel with holes in the left side with maybe fog and a strobe behind it, once inside the actor from scene 1 (scrim wall) will beat on the top of the tunnel with chains. After exiting this and standing up there will then be activated a drop down corpse reaching down from the ceiling then the guests go left across a wobbly floor. Then in front of you an actor is still in a chair which will cause a scare when they approach closer. Once past this they turn and go through another short hall into room 2 where there will be a “Frankencuted” prop and I am building a kicking hangman which will activate as they go by it then into a dark hall 30” wide which will be pretty dark with only dim spotlights on 3 pictures on the wall to the right the last picture will be a drop panel with an actor behind it, and hopefully I have everything set up so the same actor can do everything as you can see by the drawing. Then on to room 3 where it will be either blacklight lit or strobe, I haven’t decided yet. There will be white sheets hanging down they will have to go through then past that there will be hanging bodies in body bags they will have to pass and at the end I have an animated Gemmy Jason before the exit. There will be more static props and the lighting and sound will be good throughout but this is the major idea and would appreciate any suggestions from you guys that have more experience than I at this, as like I already mentioned I have been studying this and other forums for well over a year now and have learned a lot and after last year’s haunt went over so well, the kids from the party have talked about last year’s party all year but are expecting bigger and better this year and I don’t want to disappoint.

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Hysteria (Dubai)
It may be home to the tallest building in the world, but surprisingly, there has never been a haunted attraction in Dubai. Until now, that is… The folks at Extreme Fear Design & Production, who were responsible for the Hundred Acres Manor haunted house in Pittsburgh, PA, have gone ahead and created the first ever haunted attraction in Dubai. – 3,500 square ft. retail space transformed. – Located in The Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates. – Manor themed haunted house with custom props, sets and animatronics. – Sets built on-location in the Dubai Mall. – One-of-a-kind props built in the United States and shipped directly to Dubai. – First ever haunted house in Dubai.

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The Haunted Chicken House (Heflin, Alabama)
In 2003 Dan Hopkins made an attempt to revive the once thriving Seven Oaks chicken farm. He believed the answer to success was to order some rare genetically altered roosters from Katmandu. All was well until these roosters experienced tremendous growth. The 20,000 chickens started disappearing daily with no signs of FOWL play as if they never existed. As the hens vanished the roosters grew. Dan was sure these mutant roosters were to blame so he launched a massive attack to annihilate these super roosters. He immediately was mauled by overgrown yellow feathered ninjas ripping all of his hair and teeth out.

When released from the hospital he returned to Seven Oaks only to find less than 5000 chickens. He now declared war mounting assaults using machetes, knives, guns, poison, attack dogs and night vision weapons to no avail. All this done was to piss them off!!! His antics earned him the Name of “CHICKEN DAN” from the local Hollis residents. Soon Chicken Dan had no chickens only these damn six foot tall mutant BIG BIRDS. One final attack was launched to rid these evil creatures but the outcome was grim. With beaks and spurs they ripped Chicken Dan to shreds. Some wounds were so deep they actually tore out part of his voice box!

After a year of recovery Chicken Dan returned to the chicken houses only to find them totally empty. Finally he was rid of this resident evil or so he thought. In the fall of the year they returned and his battle resumed only now he had an army of 800 helping him exterminate these vicious killers. The birds survived!!! Now every fall they come back and Chicken Dan’s militants wage all-out war on them in the chicken house on wagons in the field and on foot searching the woods. Last year over 13,000 brave individuals joined the search and attacks but the birds survived.

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The Boneyard (Dallas, Texas)
The Boneyard Haunted House features high tech effects and good old-fashioned blood-and-guts scare tactics. In 2006, the Boneyard was submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest walk though haunted house in the world. The walk through Boneyard is more than a half a mile and includes more than 50 movie-quality sets, some with animatronics.

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Creepy CarnEVIL (?, United States)
This is the last trailer that I am uploading this year. I hope you enjoy the video! Shocking news from the old Kreepee’s carnival. It seems 13years ago tonight, there was a three year old boy, Thomas, who came with his parents, Marie and John. When they got there the first thing they saw was a clown with green hair. He greeted them into the carnival. They thanked him. When they passed the gates they darted their eyes to the carousel. The flashing lights were blinding. So they went over to this carousel. When they got there, there were only three seats left.one for each of the family members. So they got on and it started. But they realized it kept getting faster, faster, faster and faster. Then they looked over at the guy who was running it and it was that clown. It was going so fast.

So fast that the wires crossed and it malfunctioned and eventually exploded. When the police caught the clown they put him in jail. But the clown just got released. And the carnival just reopened its gates just for you! So have a ton of fun with the carnival. And the best thing is, they remade the carousel………




 

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McKamey Manor (San Diego, California)
Found in San Diego, McKamey Manor boasts a teribble past from the 1950’s that has left it haunted by the ghost. From the humble beginnings as an asylum turned into a eugenics nightmare of a doctor cloning patients for organ harvesting. A patient, Miss Mary Parker apparently got pissed and escaped the fate only to kill the doctor with an axe and is not prowling for her next victim.

Obviously you’re her next victim, but she isn’t going to be doing the basic jump-scream-scare tactic. Her posse of minions get to rough you up until you’re screaming at them to stop – only they won’t. Because you basically just signed away your life on a waiver that stipulates they can do almost anything to you except cause bodily harm. And safe word? What is this safe word concept you’re talking about. No such thing exists at the McKamey Manor.

Most people enjoy a little bit of a fright, but at what point is the line between terror and torture get crossed? It’s one thing to have the creature from the lagoon jump into your path screaming at your face and a completely different thing to get waterboarded. Both are equally scary, but he physical and psychological effects of one outweighs the other.

Here are a couple of online reviews to help you get the idea how victims of McKamey manner felt about their experiences:

“If you want to sign a waiver then be beaten, water boarded, put in a cage in a drowning pool and fed some god awful non-food all while you are blind-folded and have hearing protection on – then be my guest. Then after you have almost drowned several times and ask the facilitators to stop – they continue on because you signed the waiver. Know what you are getting into here folks.”

“Let me first start off, by saying that I was aware that I might be touched by the characters in the Haunted House, as I did sign a waver. But I never, ever, consented to be inappropriately touched by one of the men in the Haunted House. He touched me twice in the breast area. I am considering filing legal action, as this is rape of a woman. The owner is very rude, will never visit again.”

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Daiba Haunted School (Tokyo)
The scares begin early with the sound of movement, voices and the always sinister child’s laughter seemingly in the room with us, directly behind us and always – as best we can tell – live or at least from a recording of superior quality. We journey into the school proper and find that, though it is not difficult to find the correct path, it is full of winding corridors, pathways with windows, alcoves or gaps on both sides and many curtains and other obstructions blocking our already meagre line of sight. As expected of Japanese horror, we are not overwhelmed with loud sounds or a clear threat. We are never truly sure what to expect, leading our imagination to run wild – which any lover of horror will know is always more chilling. Even an experienced scarer begins to question whether or not those footsteps are really as close as they seem…

The more we travel in, the closer and more intense the scares become. Better (or worse) still, the attraction and the cast show us yet another trick they have in their repertoire; though we start with unexpectedly moving bodies or – disturbingly – even a hanging child that sweeps out of the darkness towards us and expertly done sound-based scares behind the walls or in the room with us, they soon add to that when the grim realisation sets in that – despite there being no clear hatches, curtains or trapdoors along the way – the cast are now somehow behind us as well as in front. We come across curtains that we must navigate, windows into classrooms on either side so that we cannot feel safer against either wall, even a smoke machine that is perfectly used to give us only a vague shape of movement ahead of us. When we finally find the Bon fire, making our offering in the form of a written blessing given to us by staff, a meak “arigato…” comes from the pitch black behind us. And, just when we think we have completed our task, we are chased from the attraction by an unseen entity.

Unseen. And therein lies the genuine brilliance of the Haunted School. It is hard to do justice to the level of atmosphere delivered by this attraction – it may soon occur to the visitor that the experience truly does feel like an exploration of the creepiest of all abandoned urban sites. The ability the cast have to sound right by us, or just a step ahead or behind, makes this writer wonder just how intricate this attraction is behind the scenes – it is easy to imagine a maze of passages behind the walls and hidden doors for the actors to go where they please. Several times, movement or voices were heard just out of sight or right behind and, when we turn, there is no-one to be found. In fact, on this visit, members of the cast themselves were only visible on 2 occasions; one, when a screaming face appeared briefly through one of many holes in the scenery and, two, when an actor was able to dart so quickly from the path of the provided torch that only a pair of trainers were visible under a curtain.

The set is supremely well dressed; from the high-quality mannequins used, to proper fixtures of doors and cabinets, even properly dressed ceilings at times (a startling difference to the scare actor all too accustomed to pipes and wooden joists). The practical effects – from snapping open doors to the previously praised smoke machine are slick and the mechanisms hidden and a high point of its design is a particular section where we come across dusty windows into an adjacent classroom; the space behind is thick with small, hanging bodies and the room appears to go back as far as the light will penetrate. Whether an ingenious use of space or simply a scared mind running wild, this – and many, smaller touches like it – drags us so firmly into a feeling of immersion in the setting.

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Dead of Night (Long Island, New York)
DEAD OF NIGHT on Long Island had one of the most brilliant haunt openings I’ve ever seen. Everyone waited in lines listening to a calming “we are here for your protection” recording, which was interrupted at intervals by an air raid siren and men in gas masks and suits, who each grabbed an unsuspecting patron and dragged them into the haunt. Some people were dragged in, one girl was zipped into a body bag, and I was thrown over someone’s shoulder and carried inside. The haunt opened with this very strong abduction scenario, then the focus shifted to humiliation, the smearing of strange substances, and hitting people in the face with laughably large and painfully heavy fake penises. Features: Violence, Sexual Undertones, Extreme Physical Contact, Submersion in Water, Humiliation, Must Sign a Waiver, There is a Safe Word.

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The House on Autumn Hills (Bloomington, Indiana)
The House on Autumn Hills is a home haunt in Bloomington, Indiana. What started out as a one-car garage covered in black plastic and spray paint has grown into a seven room walk through haunt.


 

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Haunted Hoochie (Patatskala, Ohio)
An enraged man sticks a gun in his mouth, pulls the trigger and slumps in front of the blood-splattered background. No question the scene is scary. But does it belong in a Halloween attraction? It’s acted out in Haunted Hoochie, a nationally known haunted house and forest in Pataskala. And some say the fright peddlers are going too far in their continuing quest to shock.

“There’s a line,” said Mary Brennen-Hofmann, coordinator of Suicide Prevention Services at North Central Mental Health Services in Columbus. Flesh-eating ghouls don’t exist, and even chainsaw-wielding murderers are, for the most part, imaginary. Distraught people kill themselves every day. “This is a real-looking person shooting himself with a shotgun,” Brennen-Hofmann said. “And people do shoot themselves a lot. We probably had 50 or so in Franklin County last year.”

Calls to the Haunted Hoochie/Dead Acres office were not returned, and the Web site’s “contact” link doesn’t work. The site does, however, feature a prominent “parental advisory explicit content” warning. It also includes a link to what had been called its “suicide video” but was renamed yesterday afternoon the “zombicide video.” Previously, the Web site had warned that: “This haunted house contains a graphic and violent suicide.” Now it says, “The haunted house contains graphic and violent horror.”

Either way, it wasn’t exactly the fare Stacy Ellis was looking for when she planned a family visit to a haunted house. “What could be neat or cool about that?” she said of the suicide scene. After her husband noticed the “suicide video” teaser on the Web site, they nixed a trip to Haunted Hoochie. “There’s no age limit,” said Ellis, who said her mother died by suicide two years ago. “If kids couldn’t go into a movie and see this without a parent, or buy a video that shows it, why should a group of 14- or 15-year-olds be able to line up and see that?”

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Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear (Fuji-Q, Japan)
Haunted House at Fuji-Q is the longest and most scary Haunted House in the world, and they keep modifying the process and interior of the hospital-scened house, from a horribly scary one to a suit for all, I was actually freaking out for the first ten minutes, but since get used to the dark and dead things, it was not so frighten for the next thirty minutes, but all in all, it was still the best Haunted House I have ever been to.

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Thrillvania (Terrell, Texas)
Located 20 miles east of Dallas, Thrillvania is one of the most decorated haunted attractions in the world. Spread out over 50 acres featuring eight attractions, Thrillvania frightens more than 20,000 visitors a year. The cornerstone of this fear farm is Verdun Manor, a two-story haunted house originally designed by Disney Imagineers and said to boast more props per square foot than any other haunted house in the country.

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The Hex House (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
WARNING!!! The Hex House is Tulsa’s only extreme haunted attraction (not intended for children). The Hex House is an intense multi-element, walk-through haunted attraction themed around a dark chapter in Tulsa’s haunted past. You won’t find any Freddy’s, Jason’s, or movie scenes in The Hex House (nor will you find any cheesy animatronics or goofy props). What you will find is that you’ve been fully submerged in an altered reality that is much darker and less predictable than anything you’ve seen in the movies. As you make your way through the flickering hallways and eerie rooms of The Hex House (assuming you don’t sprint out prematurely), you’ll descend from mere creepiness into a full-on, intense nightmare that you won’t soon forget. The goal of The Hex House isn’t to entertain you, it’s to completely remove you from your comfort zone and make sure you know what sheer terror feels like…. and if we don’t get you this time… rest assured that next time, we will…

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Gates of Misery (Rome, Georgia)
Experience one of the scariest haunted house in Georgia and Northwest Georgia Gates Of Misery Haunted House. Our 12,000 square foot walk through haunted house is filled with torture, torment, terrifying screams and nightmares your afraid to face in a dark atmosphere filled with live actors, special effects, props and more in an 95 year old 2 story building. We are located at 174 Chatillon Road, Rome, Georgia 30161 near Rome Braves Stadium, Fuddruckers Restaurant and across the street from Floyd County Board of Education. We are within 75 miles of Atlanta, Georgia, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Alabama surrounding areas.

Dolor Academy was once a prestigious private school settled back in the foothills of Rome, Georgia. It produced some of the finest students around, but that all changed the day the school custodian, Mr. Paymon accidentally unleashed a portal he discovered in his boiler room. Now reality has been warped as everything and everyone are being consumed by evil forces. Enroll for a night of wicked terror, but be warned this school is ready to give you the best DEAD-ucation.
But wait…the waiting list may be long the night you attend, Gates of Misery offers a second attraction The Labyrinth. Find your way through demented paths, black out mazes while being taunted and tormented by the creatures of the night that dwell within the walls. DON’T BE AFRAID COME FACE YOUR WORSE NIGHTMARES!

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Broken Spine Mine (Albany, California)
When Sam was 11, he told his mother, Holly DuBois, that he wanted to build a “cauldron creep.” She was skeptical. Still, she watched as Sam animated a plastic skeleton, using the motor from a Christmas reindeer. Combined with sound effects and a fog machine, the creep was a huge hit with trick-or-treaters that Halloween.

“The next year, when he said, ‘I want to build a haunted house,’ I thought, ‘Well, he probably can,’ ” DuBois laughed.

In the years since, she’s watched her son teach himself carpentry and electrical skills as he’s built his Haunt, first in their driveway and now in their backyard. Sam assembles everything for the event, from the lifelike gravestones in the front yard to a circus tent fashioned from an army parachute in the back. He even started fabricating his own line of Halloween masks. DuBois proudly points out that it wasn’t her idea to raise funds and food for the Alameda County Food Bank — she says Sam came up with that on his own.

But Kratkin doesn’t think the positive outcomes of the Haunt justify the unwanted effects on his family. Some of the Haunt’s scarier features frightened his son, whose bedroom faced the attraction when it took place in the driveway. Then there’s the noise, which isn’t limited to sound effects or shrieking children on just two October weekends. Kratkin says he suffers through months of construction-related racket, often during dinner or his son’s naptime.

The exact length of the Haunt’s construction time is up for debate. Kratkin says it can last as long as six months, while Sam says that in the past he officially began in mid-September. This year, between his high school schedule and having to plan ahead for fire inspections, he decided to get a one-month head start. He attributes additional construction-related noises that may bother Kratkin throughout the year to his other hobbies, not to the Haunt.

After 2014’s incident with the police, and before construction began this summer, Sam took his plans for his next Haunt to Albany’s fire marshal. They were approved, and Sam was set to build, until he got an email from Albany City Planner Anne Hersch, who had been tipped off by an anonymous complaint. She said he would need to procure a temporary use permit as well.

At an Albany Planning Division meeting in late September, Sam, his mother and about two dozen supporters tried to make the Haunt’s case. Kratkin did not attend, sending in a letter with his arguments.

The planning commission decided to let Sam open the house — after he paid $461 for a temporary use permit, plus $120 for a building permit. They also determined that the first pre-Halloween weekend of the event would not be open to the public, but would instead be an invitation-only dress rehearsal.

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Ghost Town Haunt (Portland, Oregon)
Ghost Town: Take a terrifying trip through the old haunted west! Along your journey you’ll visit the town sheriff, eerie cemetery, saloon, haunted mineshaft and more.. Make your way through live western shootouts and the gallows, if you’re lucky you may make it out of town without getting shot!

FarmHouse: Portland’s new and most intense and notorious fear experiences. You will be touched, restrained, and blindfolded. You will be tormented, challenged, and scared out of your mind.

You MUST be 18 years or older to enter this attraction, and willing to sign our waiver. No exceptions.

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Hundred Acres Manor (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Hundred Acres Manor is Pittsburgh’s largest and most extreme haunted attraction spanning over 1 mile and ranked as one of the top in the world. You will come face to face with some of the most terrifying zombies, creatures, monsters and products of your worst nightmares. Named one of the best in the nation and world visit Hundred Acres Manor Haunted House this season to see what all the terrifying buzz is about.

Dead Lift: Board a century old elevator to take you to the depths of the Acres family estate and experience a hellish ride to the bowels of the horror within the manor. The first of its kind in Pittsburgh, Dead Lift will send you whipping around and begging for mercy. Discovered during excavation of the estate; the Dead Lift elevators were originally used to transport guests and staff from the families quarters to the manors deepest secrets hidden within the basement. GOING DOWN?

Damnation: Enter the dilapidated acres family estate and experience the terrifying world of the lost souls buried deep within the manor walls. Traverse the manor room by room and see what makes Hundred Acres Manor Pittsburgh’s Best Haunted House. During your journey you will encounter the most grizzly zombies, bloodthirsty minions of the night, and the restless spirits damned to spend eternity confined within the manor compound. Prepare for the most relentless, mind-bending journey through hell on earth.

Torture Tank: Take a tour of Hundred Acre Manor’s Torture Tank and try before you buy. Witness what our clients call a truly explorative experience. Clients of torture tank are allowed to select their scenarios, costuming, set designs and are provided with an innocent human. Our contracts are discrete and totally legal as long as you keep your mouth shut!

Vodou: Take a tour through the deep south where the spirits of the bayou beckon you. The Stitchers want your bodies, The Priestess wants your souls and the bodies of the damned look upon you. Do your best to keep your skin in tact as you run from man and beast alike through the Louisiana swamps.

The Maze: Feel the terror begin to overwhelm your body as you attempt to navigate your way through our all NEW 7,500 square foot maze from hell. Which way to go? Choose your direction and choose it wisely, chainsaw wielding maniacs among other undead creatures roam the premises. The maze will leave you in the dark feeling cold and disoriented! Don’t bother asking our minions for directions, the only thing they wanna do is hear you scream.

Brine Slaughterhouse: Originally opened as a butcher shop for the families of the estate, this slaughterhouse turned into a processing plant for the whole town. Enter the bowels of The Brine Slaughterhouse and witness the unspeakable horrors that await. Your turn of this turn of the century slaughterhouse will unveil torture, gore and more. But beware; legend has it that Mr. Brine still walks the halls of this now-abandoned meat processing plant, with an insatiable appetite for human flesh.

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Jaden’s Halloween Room 2016 (?, United States)
Hello Werewolf Army this is Jaden from jadensvideos! I am a haunter. Halloween has always been my favorite time of year ever since I was little. I soon grew to love it like crazy and made a YouTube channel back on March 29 2012. Now that its the Halloween season for 2016 I am going to be uploading hundreds of Halloween videos. And I want to thank you all for over 3,200 subs! I have never been so grateful! Thanks so much for supporting my channel! More videos coming soon! Keep howling at the moon my werewolves!


 

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The 17th Door (Tustin, California)
Barely surviving freshman year, Paula has decided to return to Gluttire University. After an attempted suicide and a mental ward sentence, she struggles to pursue her fading dream of becoming a doctor. Frequent psychiatric evaluations force Paula to revisit disturbing childhood memories. Now dealing with a painful traumatic pregnancy, Paula remains desperate to escape her past. Nothing can prepare her for what comes next.… sophomore year.

If you attended Gluttire University last year, know this: it has grown in both size and difficulty. The personal pig demons of Paula’s past still roam the campus waiting to haunt her… and you. Everything inside this decrepit institution, which assaults your five senses, is real. Your endurance will be tested as you progress through the twenty one unsettling rooms of this monstrous school. Can you walk in Paula’s shoes through the dissolution of her life and burning flashbacks of her past to withstand what’s behind that final door? Can you endure over 34 minutes of psychological terror or will you scream MERCY to be escorted out of this nightmare? Are you brave enough to make it through… The 17th Door?

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Shocktober @ Paxton Manor (Leesburg, Virginia)
Leesburg, Virginia’s Shocktober is a month-long event that invites daring souls to get their scream on in a historical setting. It is hosted on the elaborate Victorian estate called Carlheim, a property which includes a labyrinth of underground caves, several outbuildings, and the infamous Paxton Manor. Throughout the grounds and the house’s over thirty two rooms, event organizers have staged trained actors and planted plenty of equipment (spiders, snakes, a casket simulator, and a clown-themed tunnel2, to list just a few) to ensure that visitors experience full-on fear. But the event can’t just thank these modern additions for its success; Paxton Manor, a house whose list of occupants includes wounded soldiers, orphans, and a man accused of animal cruelty, has always been paranormally busy. For producers of a twenty first century scare ground, it was ripe for the plucking.

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Haunted Basement (Minneapolis)
Haunted Basement returns to its roots with two twisted pathways leading to artist created environments built throughout the entire 13,000 square feet of The Soap Factory’s basement. But the nightmare starts before you even get there, as you are forced to wait in line through a maze of visual horror above the basement. Once its your turn, you’ll separated into small groups and fed into the depths a handful at a time where you will then be given a choice: follow the signs to take the “easier” path or be brave and take the path filled with more horror and more torment than ever before.

Once a path is chosen, there’s no turning back. But beware; we may decide to switch the signs at any time. And still, be bold with your choice. You never know when bravery will be rewarded.

There is no set time. Maybe you’ll find your way out. Maybe you’ll be stuck in the nightmare until we decide to let you out. Be prepared. Our Basement Creeps are ready. And they’ve been waiting for you.

Returning with us this year will be custom smells by Art and Olfaction Award nominated St. Croix Sensory, a partnership featured in The New Yorker in 2014. Your worst fears brought to life with all five senses.

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p.s. Hey.  ** Kyler, Hi. Goodest morning, sir. ** Ferdinand, Hi. The only thing I’ve read by Virginie Despentes is ‘Baise Moi’, and I saw her film of the novel too. I liked the novel okay, and the film less so. I don’t think ‘Vernon subutex 1’ has been translated into English? I could be wrong. I’ll check. There are few things greater than early-to-mid- Butthole Surfers. ‘Locust Abortion Technician’ is way up there in my all-time faves. Gosh, on your question, I mean it depends on how musically adventurous or not your protagonist is, I guess. The span from REM to Husker Du to AC/DC is pretty huge. Can you narrow down the area of the characters’ interest a bit? Again, not to be too nerdy, but what’s your definition of ‘hardcore’ punk? Punk continued to live and evolve from the mid-70s onwards, and what constitutes ‘hardcore’ is debated. Like would, say, Black Flag be considered hardcore? Meanwhile, let me try to pass your questions outwards. Everyone, Ferdinand has a musical question re: some fiction he’s working on. Help him out with suggestion if you can, please. Here he is: ‘I wanted to mention that I’m finding inspiration in Butthole surfers while “pushing the pen” and I’m compelled to set my story in the late 80’s. I wanted to get some feedback from anyone here: What would a few albums be that a teen interested in Rock, punk, metal would pick up from a used records stall in 1988? R.E.M; Husker du, AC/DC, The Replacements, Dead kennedys, what else? I’m interested in a wide selection / consensus / impression of accessible albums available in that time. I could pick from a ready list of album releases but this removed approach seems wooden to me. I’m more interested in what other people find emblematic of that time. Also did Hardcore (Punk) still hold sway in 1988, would it be stretch to put some hardcore in this fictive stack of Rock records? Again the lists are available but I would rather get “personal” “first hand” accounts or impressions of this time.’ Minitel, interesting. I don’t think I know of that, and, yes, it does sound like potential post fodder, so I’ll investigate, Thanks, man. ** Jamie McMorrow, Bonjour à toi, mon ami Jamie! Oh, Thomas Moore came in and answered your question about his book’s birth, if you didn’t see it. Oh, wait, I just scrolled down an inch and saw that you did see it. Nice, very nice: your visit in general and the Beuys show. My Monday was kind of busy, yeah. Arranging some stuff, and had to work a bit more on the opera libretto proposal because we have a big meeting with the collaborators tomorrow morning. The opera project is pretty early on. Well, we’ve worked a lot on it, but the musician/composer hasn’t inputted his ideas and stuff yet, and since it’s an opera and all, that makes all the work we’ve done pretty preliminary. It’s definitely not a traditional opera. Even calling it an opera is pushing it, but it’s being produced by an opera house in Berlin, so … it’s an opera, I guess. If it works, and I guess it has to, ha ha, it’s going to be a very strange and adventurous opera, that’s for sure. I’ll say more about it, of course, as it develops. It’s sunny and cold here too! My favorite weather! Have the awesomest day! Love from me and here! ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T! Wonderful interviewer = you. Your book is out! Whoa! Yes, please do send me the post on your book when you can. In the meantime, … Everyone, Mr. Jackson isn’t the only superb writer-d.l. combo with a new book out or nearly right now. Thomas ‘Moronic’ Moore’s new novel ‘In Their Arms’, which the blog will be celebrating in the form of a post very soon, is available for pre-order or, wait, for ordering itself (!) as of today, right now. Go here. ** Dóra Grőber, Howdy! Oh, no, I don’t think I ever read my stuff aloud to myself. No, wait, I do sometimes because I’m really concentrated on the rhythms in my prose, and reading a sentence or paragragh or whatever aloud to myself helps me hear/feel the rhythm. So, yeah, I guess I do, but only in bits and pieces. I’m glad your thesis is beginning to be nailed down, and I can’t even imagine how hard to must be to stay ‘scientific’ in the writing. Although the challenge of doing that is kind of exciting to think about. Me too, re: the gif novel. I’m excited. Oh, I know those hazy days. I think haziness is underrated, though. I don’t know what I mean by that exactly, ha ha. Things are good with me. I’m mostly just chipping away at work I need to do. I have this crazy schedule this month because Zac and I have to keep jetting off to foreign places to show our film every handful of days, so I have to work in these tight periods at home, but I’m not complaning. What did Tuesday give you, my buddy? ** Liquoredgoat, Hi. Ha ha, you unnerver. I would definitely be surprised if that weren’t the case based on my poetry workshop experiences. How is your prof about your work? That’s kind of the key, right? Larry Levis, huh, cool you’re reading him. I think I somehow knew that Levis and Dubie were friends, strangely. Will be curious to hear about that documentary, naturally. You sound good. ** Bill, Hi, B. I’ve heard of ‘The Incident’. I just read something about it, like, the day before yesterday or something like that. Cool, thanks, man. ** MANCY, Cool, gotcha about keeping the collab under wraps for now. Of course. Excellent, yeah, send me that gif if it works for you, for sure. ** H, Hi. Busyness is cool, but not to the point of getting sick from it, so don’t wear yourelf out, okay? ** Kiddiepunk, Oh, my pleasure, even my severe pleasure, maestro. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. ** Steevee, Hi. That film sounds powerful, for sure. I can’t imagine it getting a release here in France, but I’ll watch other channels for it. Thank you! ** Sypha, Nice review of Jeff’s book, of course. Thanks for the share. ** David Ehrenstein, Morning, D. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Man, fingers very crossed if need be about the SOIL thing. The return of YNY is monumental! ** Jeff Jackson, Hi! Oh, my great honor, man! And now that Michael has some more copies in hand, I hope to get my paws and eyes and other faculties on it at long last. Wow, very, very interesting about you working on sculptures! Will you share some visual evidence of them at some point? I’m fascinated to see what you’re doing in probably my favorite art medium. ** Misanthrope, Happy almost bordering on Halloween to you too, bud. Dude, get your ‘sorry’ ass to a fucking haunted house! There’s probably one up above that’s driving distance from you, or, if not, I’ll hunt you down one. ** Chris dankland, Hi, Chris. No, I don’t think I feel the same way about sad movies. Huh. I should, shouldn’t I? I mean there must be a lot to learn from them too. But, no, for now, I just get saddened by them, or saddened by the ones that hit my sad button. I’ve been known to cry in the presence of sad movies, yeah. For whatever reason, my emotions seem to particularly be suckers for depictions of acts of great kindness and for emotional reunion scenes between estranged fathers and sons. I have no idea where that trigger comes from. Do you cry at tugging movies? I’ll go find the ‘Dr. Strange’ preview if I can. McDowell is only in the film for 10 minutes?! Wtf?! I thought he was the star. Oh, that’s very disappointing. Yeah, it’s weird how Zombie seems to have lost his filmmaking mojo. I loved his first two films, but, ever since then, they’ve either seemed so-so or bad to me. Thanks a bunch about the Xiu Xiu video editing. I’m looking forward to it. I love editing, and Zac’s an editing super-talent, so I think we’ll be able to get magical with it maybe. ** Okay. Back to Halloween. Today I’ve picked out some exciting looking haunted houses for those of you who are lucky enough to be ensconced in the USA. See you tomorrow.

Please welcome to the world … Jeff Jackson Novi Sad (Kiddiepunk Press)

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Set in a bombed-out cityscape, Jeff Jackson’s haunting new novella Novi Sad follows a group of friends who take up residence in an abandoned hotel as they await the end of the world.

This melancholic dream story is filled with mysterious disappearances, floating corpses and decaying memories. Though a standalone work, Novi Sad is also a sister book to Jeff Jackson’s acclaimed novel Mira Corpora.

“In a time when it’s hard to say if the apocalypse is happening or still to come, Jeff Jackson gives us a tale that blurs the lines between our many possible fates. Novi Sad forces us to examine the consequences of adults who’ve run the world like children and in their folly left the world to children made to live in the rags of dignity they’ve stripped from the corpses about them. At once magisterial and decrepit, heartening and glum, this book will make you consider the power of our shadows, and of their dangers, too. The places of our imaginations, Jackson reminds us, are often so much more than real.” — D. Foy, author of Made to Break and Patricide

100 page book, paperback, printed on blue paper.

Available now www.kiddiepunk.com

 

Book Images

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LINKS TO A FEW REVIEWS:

https://electricliterature.com/hail-oblivion-the-apocalypse-book-that-wasnt-e3096d4f8e29#.wpugmyqid

https://litreactor.com/reviews/bookshots-novi-sad-by-jeff-jackson

http://www.charlotteviewpoint.org/article/3643/Novi-Sad

 

INTERVIEW:
Jeff Jackson interviewed by Thomas Moore about Novi Sad
 

THOMAS MOORE: I’ll start with the most common and awkward question that I get asked as a writer, when people find out I’ve written something new: What is it about? I think that the author mostly has a very different take on a text when summarizing it than a reader does, and I’m interested in hearing how you would briefly sum up Novi Sad to someone.

JEFF JACKSON: In the broadest plot terms, it’s about a group of kids coming together in an abandoned hotel to wait for the end of the world. It’s also about the unraveling of basic societal bonds and close personal relationships, and figuring out how to live in the ruins during an age of maximum destruction.

TM: Straight away and I mean within minutes of starting reading the book, I was struck by dialogue which I felt bore a direct relation to film. Lines like “It’s time to head straight into the heart of the annihilation,” and “We’ve got the chance, to create our own perfect finale.” These lines and others, especially a few spoken by Muriel towards the end of the book, feel dramatic and kind of suggest cadence that feels powerful and staged in a precise way, out of the every day. It made me want to know about the relationship between cinema and Novi Sad. Were films a specific influence – if so, which ones and how? It also made me think about the fact that you have worked in theatre – do you think this has had an effect on your fiction?

JJ: I love film, so there’s no question that’s filtered into my writing. But the main reason the dialogue is more dramatic is because the characters, especially Hank, are more theatrical. Hank’s a ringleader, a schemer, someone who’s always dramatizing his own life and the lives of those around him. Some of the other kids also have moments when they’re performing, even though their audience is only one another. This is especially true for Muriel and the narrator, who are both creating and contributing to a drama they don’t entirely understand.

My theater work and fiction share many of the same themes and impulses. But strangely enough, my recent plays have increasingly employed less and less dialogue. My last piece Vine of the Dead was a series of ritual gestures aimed at contacting the spirits of the ancestors. It had more elements of performance art and installation art than typical theater. The text was mostly monologues and ritualistic instructions rather than people conversing.

TM: The synopsis on the Kiddiepunk website states that Novi Sad is a sister book to your novel, Mira Corpora. Could you talk about their relationship? From an outsider’s point of view, I feel like one way they link is how place is used. Both books seem to use the environment and setting as a very important character in its own right – as present and carved out as the people in the books. In Novi Sad, the haunted city and decaying rooms feel like living and breathing entities – lonely souls unable to fully connect with those who temporarily inhabit them. Landscapes suffer violence and are left wounded; they feel equivalent to the corpses strewn within them.

JJ: Many sections of Novi Sad were written at the same time as Mira Corpora and were included in any early draft of that novel. These versions proved too wooly and surreal to make the final cut, but the basic material sprung from that same universe.

I radically reworked this material to make it stand on its own for Novi Sad, but the books still share some characters – though they’ve taken on slightly different forms. Environment and setting are hugely important connections as well. There are images and themes that echo across the books: bodies found in rivers, possible supernatural occurrences, dogs, pills, erotic paintings, etc. And both books present stories that are being self-consciously reconstructed and refashioned from old memories.

TM: Actually, having thought about that last question my brain is making comparisons with how place is used in the writing of Alain Robbe-Grillet. Specifically I’m thinking about his novel, Jealousy and how that book is just consumed by place and the mapping out of buildings and rooms. I don’t think I’ve spoken with you about Robbe-Grillet before but there feels to be a definite link between your respective works – especially when it comes to the role of place and setting.

JJ: I love Robbe-Grillet! I’m flattered he came to mind. Jealousy is one of my favorites. It’s a perfect novel. Reading Robbe-Grillet’s fiction – and watching his films – has made me think more concretely about place and how that can affect the characters and play an important dramatic role in itself. Part of reworking the original material for Novi Sad was more thoroughly mapping out and exploring the layout of the blue hotel where the kids stay throughout the book. I’m also obsessed with Robbe-Grillet’s use of repetitions and rhyming images. He’s masterful on many levels.

TM: Now this is a question that I wasn’t really sure how to word – but I want to know about how the “real” world has impacted upon the writing of Novi Sad. As in, were you conscious of parallels that one could make between what some see as a certain type of chaos specific to this point in time and the chaos that is contained with your new book? It’s strange because the world created in Novi Sad – like that in Mira Corpora – feels very unique to itself and hermetic in a way – it’s this fully formed organism that operates in itself – but the crumbling cities and dying people within them – there are echoes of the world that you the writer is living in … I don’t know if political is quite the right word but … Did it feel like the real world was playing into your fictional world in a direct way?

JJ: The real world definitely impacts my fiction. The raw urban landscapes I’ve lived in, world events like 9/11 I’ve witnessed and ones that I’ve watched on television, local scenes of kids in distress – it all feeds into the work. But it gets actively filtered and reimagined into something that’s more heighted, stylized, and like you said, hermetic. I’m glad you can see recognizable echoes of the world we inhabit in both books. That’s important to me. Those echoes in Novi Sad feel much stronger now than when I drafted the original version. And sure, in a larger sense, this process is also political.

TM: Do you have a set writing routine? How did you write Novi Sad?

JJ: I wish I had more of a set routine. For Novi Sad, a big part of the process was reacquainting myself with material that had been set aside for many years. I’d written another full-length novel since I last looked at these pages. It took me a while to reconnect with my original impulses and figure out what I needed to do to make these episodes stand on their own and tell a single cohesive story. I scribbled a lot of notes and embarked on a few lurching false starts before things began to fall into place.

TM: Could you talk a little bit about the structural workings of Novi Sad? I love how the final Appendix section of the book serves as a final, deep dissection of what’s happened – the almost clinical implications of that kind of section of a book end up perversely have a tremendously emotional impact.

JJ: I’m happy the appendix had that impact on you. I’m interested finding different ways to tell stories that still include emotion and excitement. Novi Sad is structured so there are large gaps between each section that the reader has to negotiate for themselves and fill in what happened. The final gap leads to the appendix which describes photographs the narrator has collected of his absent friends. You get a snapshot of them that captures one fleeting moment, but hopefully that moment resonates. I’m drawn to the possibilities of things like appendixes, author notes, indexes, dedications, etc. to deliver unexpected types of information. Despite what often fills mainstream fiction, literature remains full of possibilities.

 

ARTWORK:
Some of Michael Salerno’s artwork featured in Novi Sad.

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BOOK EXTRACT:

WE GATHER AT THE DOCKS before dawn to watch them dredge the river for floaters. Sure enough, there’s a new one every day. We stand along the concrete pier while the rest of the city sleeps. It’s so early the sun isn’t stirring below the horizon. The light is a diffuse combination of distant streetlamps and nearby stars. The smell of seaweed and sewer backwash tickles the nose. Wavelets of brackish water gently kick against the pilings. The faint rattle of a boat’s engine echoes as it approaches shore. Markus says: “They’re late.” Lena says: “Maybe it’s a different crew.” Rupesh half-sings: “Old man river, he keep on rolling.” Blue remains silent. She seems asleep on her feet, features obscured beneath a hooded sweatshirt, a triangle of pink tongue stuck between her lips. But if you look closely, her left eyelid twitches uncontrollably.

Everyone is on edge before the boat arrives. I softly practice my birdcalls, trying to lure some seagulls out of the inky haze. Markus punches me in the arm and whispers to shut the fuck up. We’re the only ones on the dock this morning. Some of us haven’t slept and others are half-stuck inside whatever fleeting dreams we managed to conjure. As the battered trawler pulls alongside the pier, the captain idles the motor and greets us with a businesslike nod. The crew raises the nets and sets about sorting the last load of refuse. It’s usually some unsightly combo of trash salvage, auto parts, and toxic paraphernalia. Rarely produces much drama. The day’s corpse is already stacked on deck.

We hold our breath as two sailors unload the body. They crouch on either side of the corpse, one grabs the shoulders and the other the feet, and count to three. Instinctively I pinch my nostrils. Lena shields her face. Markus bites his lower lip. Rupesh whistles through his teeth. Blue spreads her eyes wide to take in everything.

The body is ghostly pale, water-logged, wrapped in a strands of kelp. It resembles most of the others – serious bloat, pervasive spots of purplish gray mold, pasty skin peeling off in layers like old wallpaper. The most alarming feature is the cloudy eyes. They resemble a raw and slimy delicacy, two fresh jewels set in a side of decomposing meat.

The sailors lay the floater flat on the pier. A palpitation shoots through our lungs that might be described as a sigh of relief. The shriveled body is too old. This is an elderly woman with close-cropped steel gray hair, tattered black dress clinging to her sorry form, tarnished copper chain looped around her sagging neck. Somebody’s grandmother, maybe. Markus tells Lena that it’s okay to look. We stand silently over the body for a minute out of a theoretical sense of decency for the generalized loss. The moral protocol here is pretty murky. We feel grateful, mostly.

We slip away while the crew unloads the more mundane cargo. Lena wraps her arm around Blue’s shoulder and gives a quick squeeze. “I knew it was a false alarm,” Rupesh murmurs. We walk through the old fish market, which has been razed flat except for a few wooden stalls heaped high with cod. A crowd of children stand under a sodium lamp, their fingers prodding the piles of white bellies.

Nobody speaks Hank’s name, but we each nurse our private theories about his disappearance as we walk up the main artery that leads away from the waterfront. The asphalt beneath our feet has eroded to cobbles. Intermittent street lamps offer flashes of our faces while concealing the sprawling cavities of rubble that line the street.

As we head toward Novi Sad, the sky’s deep hues begin to lighten….

 

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p.s. Hey. Today the blog has the immense pleasure of doing its small part to help usher Jeff Jackson’s — aka, to blog familiars, Chilly Jay Chill’s — new novella Novi Sad into the widest possible world. If you haven’t yet scored yourself a copy, please rectify that absence, and, in any case, do enjoy exploring the book’s ins and outs and backstories. Thanks! ** Jamie McMorrow, Hey, Jamie! Cambridge was/is a funny place, from what I got to see of it, which was basically the sprawling campus and its fringes. Cool, awesome that the post coincided with your internal world a little. My weekend was pretty uneventful except in parts but pretty A-okay. So, are you in Edinburgh still? How and what was the Beuys exhibit? Hope you had or are having a ton of fun there or here! Love, me. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, David. I am, to some degree. I did an Ulli Lommel post here some time time back, and I think it had some of his horrors in there. Unfortunately, due to Google’s act of murder, that post is in an uncheckable shambles until I inevitably restore it. I hope you had a lovely weekend! ** Steevee, Hi, Steve. Okay, I’ll send you that link. Thanks! And how were those films? Busy sounding, in the good way, weekend you had there. ** Bill, Hi, Bill! Ha, well, since I didn’t see anything about the unattended bag incident on the news, I’m guessing it contained someone’s underwear. No, I weirdly did not take a single photo the entire time I was in the UK, which is quite unlike me. Oops. No, I never did end up seeing ‘It Follows’, very strangely. I keep forgetting that my TV has Netflix on it, but I’ll open it and see if ‘IF’ is there, which seems like a fairly good bet. ** Nemo, Hi, J. Oh, well, my pleasure, sir. Yeah, I didn’t get your email? ** Frederick Maheux, Hello, greetings, welcome to here! I just used the link and saw a bit of the interview video, and I’m definitely intrigued, and, of course would love to see ‘Ana’. You can get to me at: [email protected]. Thank you very much! ** H, Hi. Busyness, yes, I can relate and commiserate. I always keep busy but I’ve never been this busy and loaded up projects before ever. May we both not only succeed but survive. Oh, okay, I’ll avoid instant ramen. I knew about the lack of vegetarian packaged ramen options, and I actually checked my local health food store the other day just in case, but nope. ** Ferdinand, Hey. Wow, nice adds, man. I know Richard Kern’s films, but most of the others are total news to me. I do know ‘Beyond the black rainbow’, and, yeah, it’s a sweetie. I’ll use the appropriate links when I’m freed of the p.s. in just a while. Thanks a lot again! ** Liquoredgoat, Hey there! Good to see you, buddy! How’s Arizonian tricks? I am currently, albeit quite gradually, reading ‘In The Deep’, and liking it very much, of course. Yeah, my true loves amongst Guyotat’s work are the really dense, hallucinatory books like ‘Eden Eden Eden’, the slice of ‘Prostitution’ that got published some while back, and ‘Tomb …’, but apparently those books of his are immensely difficult to translate to the point where doing even one of them would amount to a translator’s life work or something, or so I’m told, so the ‘easier’ ones are getting English-ized instead. And I like and admire those books a lot, but, yeah, I crave more of the really ‘difficult’ ones. How are you finding ”ITD’? ** Dóra Grőber, Hi, Dóra! Thanks, it’s nice to be back. Yeah, I’m a person who doesn’t really enjoy being the center of attention. It weirds me out. But, at the same time, it’s pretty amazing to have people so interested in my work, and, in the case of the Sussex event, it was wonderful because my interlocutor was super smart and great, and the students asked and said very interesting things. So it was a total honor, and, ultimately, even a real personal pleasure. I read some pieces from my book ‘Ugly Man’. The pieces in that book are pretty straightforward, relatively speaking, for my work, and that makes reading them feel less like a huge compromise than when I’m asked to read from my novels, for instance. Great that you have enough stuff to be able to work on the body of your thesis. How is that going? Is it more or less difficult than you had imagined? My weekend was good. Saw a couple of really good friends who were visiting from Barcelona. A little work. Some prep stuff related to the upcoming film showings and the forthcoming gif novel. It was fine. Zac is going through the music video footage, and I think we’ll start editing it properly this week. How was your weekend? How are you today? ** Kyler, Hi, K. Oh, yeah, I came across that weird, cool Bosch animation video the other day. Thanks a bunch for the alert. ** MANCY, Hi, Steven. ‘Night of the Lepus’ is kind of low grade psycho/dumb in a good way. New GIF cycle! Awesome! Of course I would love to see any of it. And I’m hugely intrigued and bated in the breath department about your audio work with Mark. Whoa. Can you, like, describe it, if that’s interesting? ** Chris dankland, Hi, Chris! Cool, glad the horror things hit your spots. I’m, needless to say, thrilled that you’re focusing so much on your writing, and I was very happy to see that announcement thing you put on Facebook in that regard. Yes! I’m really bad with comix stuff so I don’t know what Dr. Strange is. Kind of sad. I will go see, seeing as how your enthusiasm is magnetizing. Yeah, we shot the Xiu Xiu video a couple of weeks ago. I think we’re going to start editing it this week. The finished product is due on November 1st. Ha, good question about how it went. I think it went well. We shot it a little randomly with the idea of making it into something in the editing, and I feel pretty confident that it will end up being something strange in hopefully the best way. The new Rob Zombie is only ok? That’s too bad. I think I’m going to see it at the Sitges Festival in Spain where Zac and I will be showing LCTG later this week. How is Malcom McDowell? I’m mostly excited to see him in it ‘cos I’m a huge MMc fanboy. The creepy clown phenom in the US is very, very interesting. I keep wanting to understand it. Oh, for whatever reason, I tend to go into horror movies with a kind of studious attitude. I approach them looking to see how each one handles the conventions and formalities of the genre, because I really like the genre, and, at the same time, am always looking for films that innovate within it. And I think that kind of protects me from the scares. But then I tend to approach everything like that — novels, music films, art — i.e., things’ content usually just seems like a property of the construction or something to me. Kind of very nerdy, ha ha, but there you go. My only guess about why ‘Blair Witch Project’ managed to transcend that and actually scare me is because the whole ‘found footage’ thing was brand new back then, so I couldn’t approach it as the usual formalist I normally am. It threw me or something. Or that’s my guess? Hugs galore back to you, my pal. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. I strangely wasn’t that taken with ‘Begotten’, and I don’t really remember why now. I think the hype = my heightened expectations was a problem. But I did and do really, really like Shipley’s ‘You With Your Memory Are Dead’ a lot. So, I don’t know? ** Montse, Hi!!! It was so truly wonderful to see you and Xet! A total joy! And, yes, I’m excited to see you in Barcelona, and excited for you guys to meet Zac and vice versa! Hooray! Lots and lots of love! ** Right. Please concentrate your local time on Jeff Jackson’s new book, won’t you? Thanks. See you tomorrow.

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