The blog of author Dennis Cooper

DC’s ostensibly favorite Haunted Attractions of the Halloween season 2024 (Southern California edition) *

* (Halloween countdown post #2)

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The Haunted Carwash (Anaheim)
‘Brace yourself for a Halloween scare like no other! Starting at $30 per car, Southern California residents can dare to enter the Haunted Carwash—a nightmarish journey that turns an ordinary car wash into a realm of terror. As you slowly drive through, sinister performers will leap from the shadows, and spine-tingling special effects will envelop you in an atmosphere of sheer horror. With bone-chilling surprises lurking around every corner, this is a Halloween experience designed to keep you on edge.’

 

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Backwoods Massacre (Simi Valley)
‘”Backwoods Massacre” is in a league of its own, foregoing the use of scare actors and instead relying on ambience and suspense as its main form of frightening storytelling. Its designer, Jesse Reed, converted his two car garage into a shack themed maze which funnels out through a side yard. With its flickering lights and environments accented by body parts and taxidermy, you feel like you are lost in a Louisiana swamp. You come upon a mysterious cabin, and every turn feels like you are about to encounter an armed hunter who is ready to kill and dismantle anyone who dares to trespass. This theme is very original and enhances the singular nature of this haunt. Backwood’s Massacre is always a wonderful way to feel like you are starring in your own horror film. Reed’s haunt is truly a standout experience which unquestionably scares everyone who visits. The reactions of everyone who we saw leaving the haunt were a testament to Reed’s success in playing by his own rules and creating his own signature experience in the haunt world.’

 

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Night of Terror: Freedom (Whittier)
‘Well we found it, the rarest haunt of them all: the hell house. We stumbled across it outside of Los Angeles in the small town of Whittier. For those who aren’t familiar with this phenomenon, hell houses are haunts hosted by fundamentalist christians where you travel through a maze of “real life” vignettes which typically portray dead children at raves, girls killing themselves over abortion guilt, and drunk teenagers dying in violent car accidents. These Reagan era ideas are a bit dated, but get strapped in because we are about to go on a wild ride.’

 

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DELUSION: THE RED CASTLE (Los Angeles)
‘Its past installments have found attendees stealthing their way through a Victorian home and embarking on a Blade Runner-esque bounty hunt. And now this celebrated immersive horror theater event will return for an event at a new location, a 133-year-old castle near USC.

‘Delusion, an interactive seasonal event that combines elements of immersive theater with a more story-based approach to a walk-through haunted house, will take over the Stimson House, a recognizable red brick mansion built in 1891 in University Park. “The Red Castle,” which opens on September 20 and runs just past Halloween to November 3, puts you in the role of a possibly-superpowered asylum patient under the care of a spiraling psychologist who’s attempting to resurrect his deceased wife.’

 

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LUNAR TERROR PRODUCTIONS: VERUM (Lancaster)
‘LUNAR TERROR PRODUCTIONS IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED, GEN-Z OWNED AND IS PRIMARILY BASED IN LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA. IT IS AN ART PROJECT CREATED BY ME AND MY ONLINE FRIEND, CASSIUS AS AN EXPRESSION OF OUR VERY OWN PERSONAL NICHES AND AS PROTEST TO ARTLESSNESS THAT MANY ASSUME HAUNTED HOUSES TO POSESS. WE’VE BOTH SPENT OUR CHILDHOODS PLANNING HALLOWEEN AND OUR “HAUNTS” YEAR-ROUND AND OVER THE YEARS, DEVELOPED OUR OWN LANGUAGE OF THIS MEDIUM.

‘OUR HAUNTED HOUSE IS A HOME HAUNT, MEANING IT’S NON-PROFIT AND HELD ON OUR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. IN OUR OPINION, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THE EXPERIENCE ISN’T WORTH VISITING IF YOU LIVE IN THE ANTELOPE VALLEY OR LOVE HOME HAUNTS.

‘LIKE THE BASEMENT HAUNTED HOUSES OF THE 20TH CENTURY, OURS IS SMALL – INSIDE THE 3-CAR GARAGE THAT’S BEEN CONVERTED INTO A HOLLYWOOD-LIKE SET. WE’VE FOUND WAYS TO MAXIMIZE THE SPACE AND LENGTH TO OUR HAUNT. THE EXPERIENCES WE’VE MADE IN OUR “SOUNDSTAGE” AVERAGE AT ABOUT 4-8 MINUTES, WHICH IS LONGER THAN A UNIVERSAL HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS HOUSE THAT PEOPLE WAIT HOURS FOR.’

 

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Nightmare from Main Street (Paso Robles)
‘Absolutely the most frightening and engaging haunt in California. While we go to LA a lot to see the wide variety of DIY haunts offered there, it is this amazing gem that excites us the most for Oct to roll around every year. Combining both an actual old house and additional maze structures, there is a playfulness between realism and artifice that makes one feel like you’re completely in another world here. Suspense is the key as well, building terror through patience and surprises in a manner most haunts are simply not sophisticated enough to pull off. This is worth the drive no matter how far you are coming from.’

 

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Fear Farm (Chino)
‘Fear Farm and Keys2Fear Productions are proud to announce they are joining forces to create the Inland Empire’s newest multi-attraction scream park, Fear Farm IE. Located at 8900 McCarty Road, Chino, CA 91710, at the famous SC Village Paintball and Airsoft Fields in Chino, California, this brand-new event will host five separate haunted attractions spread over 200 acres.’

 

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SLEEPWALKR 2.0 (Echo Park)
‘Our Tribeca Festival selected immersive show is BACK with an ALL-NEW 50-minute-long sci-fi/horror experience, SLEEPWALKR 2.0, coming to Echo Park this October! Enter 2044 Los Angeles, where underground entertainment troupes plunge audiences into the dreamscapes of others.’

 

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The Escondido Mad House (Escondido)
‘It’s time…. THE ESCONDIDO MADHOUSE IS BACK!!! As seen on KUSI, Frightmaps, and the Scare Factor!! Voted the best home haunt of the western USA!! Come if you dare, YOU WILL BE SCARED!’

 

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Blood Hill (Altadena)
‘When the Circus shut down everyone wondered where all the clowns had gone but, after 70 years, everyone moved on. They had forgotten about The Circus, and left it to rot. 70 years later and the surrounding neighborhood watched as the Circus came back to life! Surprise turned to horror as now they realized where the clowns had gone, they never left! Insane and demented, they have now re-opened The Circus, in their twisted vision!’

 

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Urban Death Tour of Terror! (Los Angeles)
‘Part twisting haunted house and part badass theatre attraction, URBAN DEATH TOUR OF TERROR will reach into the depths of the darkest corners of the human psyche. The monstrous freaks are here to terrify and shock you to your core! After facing the spine-chilling and risqué maze upon entrance, guests will be treated to a live show consisting of a series of shocking and bloody wordless vignettes and mind-blowing physical performances. Guests will then face frightening new creatures hiding within a reversed version of the scream-inducing TOUR OF TERROR maze on their way back into the real world.’

 

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Ghostwood Manor: The Wreck of the Crimson Dagger (Pasadena)
‘Two thousand feet below the moonlit tides of the Caribbean lies a spooky tale of greed and its consequences. Take a deep breath and explore… THE WRECK OF THE CRIMSON DAGGER!! Ghostwood Manor is a Home Haunt in Pasadena, CA.’

 

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Reichland Asylum (Riverside)
‘Reichland Asylum haunted attraction returns for our 15th year of fear! Featured on Season 2 of the Great Halloween Fright Fight, and one of the largest home haunts in Southern California with over 5,000 sq ft of walkthrough haunt and a display that engulfs the entire front of our home. haunted attraction returns for our 15th year of fear! Featured on Season 2 of the Great Halloween Fright Fight, and one of the largest home haunts in Southern California with over 5,000 sq ft of walkthrough haunt and a display that engulfs the entire front of our home.’

 

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Fairbrook Manor (Long Beach)
‘Explore the grounds where in the 1930s, oil heiress Victoria Fairbrook kidnapped local children and held them captive. Have the tortured souls of the ghostly children crossed over to the dark side, or do they simply want to…play…with you? You’ll find out…at Fairbrook Manor. Your soul is your entry, and we also collect canned goods & toiletries.’

 

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Rotten Apple 907: The Last Stop! (Burbank)
‘It was a long wait, but it was worth it. Don’t miss this one!’

 

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The Condemned Compound (Brentwood)
‘This haunted house started in Tracy. We grew such a fan base,we needed a new larger location. We moved the haunt to Brentwood ca. 2023 was our new haunt start and now on our 2nd year in Brentwood. Come scare yourself.’

 

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Realm of Shadow (Norwalk)
‘Welcome to the heart of the Lord of Shadow’s Puzzle Box – his Labyrinth of Lost Souls. Find the path out, but don’t awaken his guests. You have been warned!’

 

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Dread Town (Chino)
‘We are a small, family-run haunt, sometimes running off a skeleton crew, so we thank you for your patience. Plan accordingly as there are no restrooms on-site. Scheduled dates and hours are subject to change based on demand.’

 

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The Gershon Dungeon (North Tustin)
‘The Gershon Dungeon is one of the largest and longest-running home haunts in all of Orange County (32 years).’

 

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Burbank Clown House (Burbank)
‘We have ambivalent feelings about carnival-themed Halloween haunts: as a concept, we think clowns are overused, but in spite of our misgivings, Burbank Clown House is a great example. This home haunt uses tents, lights, posters, and rooftop decorations to obscure the house, creating the visual impression of a circus occupying the entire property – there is even what looks like a giant Ferris Wheel, which seems to be looming from behind the house.’

 

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Caitlin Manor Haunted House (San Bernardino)
‘Come visit the scariest place in San Bernardino … Caitlin Manor Haunted House! many themes and horrifying rooms of horror including the Clown Room, Zombie Room, Room Five nights at Caitlin, and the unimaginable Doll House. Tomb of darkness and Full of ghouls…you may want to write your will before entering.’

 

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Beware the Dark Realm – The Sanctuary (Santa Clarita)
‘The brainchild of Scott Sivley and family, whose haunt resume dates back to 1971 (predating the historic first year of Knott’s Scary Farm), Beware the Dark Realm is a medieval-themed maze that trades contemporary horror for ancient darkness. The enormous attraction feels unique in a landscape full of serial killers and zombies. Guests will encounter witches, crazed jesters, and perhaps even a mythical dragon. The Dark Realm manages to sidestep cliches while also offering an experience that is timeless and nostalgic.’

 

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The Chainsaw House (North Hills)
‘A walkthrough built to traumatize for years to come. Not recommended for small children. We pride ourself on unique props and nightmare fuel. The name says it all… welcome to The Chainsaw House.’

 

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Kamp Kaos Haunt (Jurupa Valley)
‘Great news!!!! We have acquired solid wooden walls for this year’s haunt! We just can’t wait to show you all the improvements we have in store for this year!!!!’

 

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The 17th Door (Buena Park)
‘The 17th Door has moved its over-the-top immersive experience to Buena Park, Orange County. As one of the scariest, most intense, and most interactive haunted houses in the country, they have continued their pursuit to innovate and push the boundaries within the haunt industry. With a new location, even bigger and better than before, comes exciting future opportunities and room to expand. The 17th Door is excited to present more unique experiences that have never been undertaken before in a haunt!’

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. The Halloween roll out continues today with my annual wrap up of this year’s most delicious looking Southern California haunted attractions. Assuming most of you don’t live around there, I suggest you peruse these wonderments like they’re art, which they are, if you ask me. Or wish me future luck when I’ll be there driving all over the place hitting as many of them as I can. Or, if you’ll be in the actual vicinity, join me! ** kier, Hey! Fuck, I hope fucking Cloudflare fixes that fucking bug soon. They’re being yelled at from every corner of the internet, so you would think they’d get a move on. But I’m glad incognito worked. ‘Resident Evil: Village’ was great! I sort of half-played, half-observed my roommate playing it when I was LA for the long haul waiting to shoot our film. I think he had it on Xbox? I haven’t played the Re4 remake, no, but that’s my favorite RE game, so obviously I want to. I’m relieved to hear your face is recovering its true self. God, what a hassle. My ear is near-normal again. A doctor cleaned it out of an astonishing amount of crap and gave me anti-biotic drops that I’m near the end of my regimen of taking. Hey, Ottar! My yesterday blew because we got some bad film-related news, and I’m kind of in despair about that, so I’d rather not talk about it. We’ll survive, but it sucks. Today should be better if only by default. The game we made: We only have a walkthrough demo at this point. We showed it at an event here. We’re going to finish the game, but the film mess has gotten in the way. We made it while we were planning the film, and it’s involves exploring a haunted, demonic house, basically. It’s kind fun, very deliberately old-school, early 90s style with out-of-date graphics and a super basic play through. I’ll show it to you one of these days. Keep upwardly swinging, my pal. Big love, me. ** jay, Hey, Wieners isn’t hugely well known, but he’s great and revered by those in the know. Yeah, the writing of ‘A Little Life’ was just unbearably shit (for me). Looking forward to ‘Starve Acre’, for sure. Let me know how the house party goes. It sounds like a good combo and nice and kind of fraught. ** Poecilia, Greetings, maestro! Wow, those artworks by you are amazing. And I’m super tickled and honored by the ones inspired by my things. Wow. I’ll show Zac. He’ll be blown away. Thank you ever so much! Let me try to share them. Everyone, Masterful artist Poecilia has shared some new works with us, and a few of them relate to either ‘Permanent Green Light’ or ‘I Wished.’ I’ll let Poecilia explain and point you to them, and I most highly recommend you visit the links because you’ll be very glad. Poecilia: ‘The last time you linked some art I did with your very kind encouragement, it was actually a piece that I didn’t like much at all (Cygnet version 1) but thanks to you I got the motivation to re-work it. Here’s Cygnet version 2. (Some parts of the first version I liked better, folds on the sleeves or that the cygnet bird stands out more, but overall the composition was closer to what I was trying for.) Now that I’m back in my art nouveau phase, here’s some Permanent Green Light fan art that I’m trying to continue in that style. I like swans. This next one is relatively the least flop of the handful of movie stills and character portraits I tried for: here. I love the use of light and shadow in that movie, but so I try to make studies of the stills and then I just don’t with the light and shadow that I set out to wrangle in the first place… but I hoped this all might somewhat cheer you up somehow for a moment. (I did get around to trying my hand at the backpack at the crater scene from ‘I Wished’.)’ Amazing! I hope you’re doing superbly! Are you? ** _Black_Acrylic, I think we’re supposed to get a teeny summer reminder later this week. Hopefully teeny. Yesterday got eaten alive by a mess, but PT is on my imaginary turntable and waiting for its needle. ** Bill, Wieners is a very favorite poet of mine, and an influence on my own poetry. Check him out. I don’t know what Gisele ended up calling the film. Yes, the actress did all the ventriloquism live. She was a ventriloquist by profession. The film is an edit from a test-run shoot we did for that ARTE TV series that never panned out. Gisele pulled out some highlights and made something new out of them. I’ll look for the photo you sent. Thank you! Sorry, I’m a little behind on everything. Very safe trip back across the world! ** Lucas, Hi. The poems I translated were by the Dutch author Gerard Reve. It was very tricky, and honestly, I didn’t do an amazing job, But I got really fascinated by Dutch sentence structure, which is very different from English and has a kind of puzzle quality, at least to me. So great to see your story in SCAB! It looks and, obviously, reads beautifully! No, not an IRL Halloween thing yet. I’ll be lucky to see a fake pumpkin in a shop window. Unless I go to Parc Asterix where they do it up with haunted houses and stuff. But I won’t be here this year for almost all of Halloween anyway. It’s kind of autumny here. Well, sort of. Like there are hints. xoxo. ** HaRpEr, Oh, a creative module, fantastic! So much better! Theoretically that parade of topics sounds pretty okay. Were the Genet and Mann books taken off for political reasons, or … ? ‘Nightwood’ is stellar, obviously. When will you hear about the potential room? Fingers stranglingly crossed. I’d say with Wieners maybe start with either this book or this book, which, as you’ll see, is free on Internet Archive if you’re a user of that site. ** G, Hi, G! Uh, I’ve been up and mostly down. What can one do? Amazing about your great start on the book. Productive and confidence maintaining vibes are being transmitted from me to you. Paris is into fall and very lovely. I am and have been very amidst never ending film-related hell and trying to find a way out of that. Yes, come visit! xoxo, me. ** Justin D, My pleasure, re: Wieners, of course. Well, there’s a very good reason why you didn’t know that Rolling Stones song, haha. A Kobe burger? What makes a burger Kobe-esque? I’m assuming Kobe is the Lakers Kobe. Carrot cake used to be the one thing I could make well. I was kind of famous for my carrot cake when I was in my early 20s. Maybe I should make some and see if I get famous again. My day sucked. But it’s over now. And today … you never know. How was your today? ** Right. I did my post intro up above, so now you can just revel in Southern California’s gift for making haunted houses until tomorrow when I will see you again.

10 Comments

  1. _Black_Acrylic

    Happy to see the continued Halloween rollout going on. Here in Leeds, my local shopping centre remains a sadly spookiness-free zone with posters advertising Xmas stuff already but so far nothing remotely spooktacular to be found. Bah!

    Last night I watched a really good horror film that’s free on YouTube. Axe is a 1974 effort where a young girl and her paralysed father are attacked at home by 3 ne-er-do-wells. Her vengeance is righteous and everything hapens at a super-slow, dream-like pace. Would recommend!

  2. jay

    Hey Dennis! Wow, some of these are amazing. I can’t imagine what the un-staffed one is like, that must be pretty interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to one of these, but I’m sort of morbidly curious. I’m unfortunately way, way too easily scared for one of these, but I really enjoy the idea of one. I might look for a game-ish equivalent of a haunted house, or something like that.

    Um yeah, that house party should be really fun, I think. I’m annoyingly low-energy today, cos I ended up accidentally getting my dosage wrong last night, so I’m being a consumptive poet again – e.g. energy drinks in bed and a videogame, but I think I’ll be up from tomorrow.

  3. kier

    morning den:) happy early halloween!! i love the carwash one. maybe because i’ve never been in a carwash, i don’t think, so that in itself seems exciting. i did a quick google and the closest i can find to a haunted house in oslo is a too expensive escape room. actually when i’m in sweden for a week in october, liseberg has a halloween theme month, i def wanna try to go to that. i’ve never been.

    i’m glad your ear is better! when i went to the doctor for mine, he told me my ear was extremely clean (i guess in regards to goo) and i felt curiously flattered. RE4 is my fave too, as you probably know. i’ve been playing through all the main ones in order (remakes of 1, 2 and 3 ’cause i don’t have ps1), and my 2nd fave is the remake of the 1st one. i just looooove running around that labyrinthine house, generally love being in big weird houses in games. 5 and 6 kinda suck. especially 6. i played 5 in co-op mode with erik, that was fun. your game sounds so exciting, yes please show me sometime. does finishing it require chasing funding and all that comes with, or is it much easier than it is with a film?

    yesterday i did a deep clean of my bathroom, mostly because my sink is leaking and i need to ask the landlord to have a look. but now that it’s done the world feels brighter. i’m pretty tidy and hate cleaning, but i’ve discovered it’s like a cool breeze across my soul when things are clean and nice around me, so i’m trying to go with it. i made pancakes, and did some work on a drawing. i’m doing a series of small square drawings on black paper with watercolour pencils, minus water, because the colours are even better than regular colour pencils. though they’re expensive as fuck. i’m showing two of those drawings this weekend in the group show in copenhagen. did a half day of work at the 2nd hand store, i’m still too tired for more, and now i’m at the studio making weird little things.

    i’m so sorry about your terrible day, and bad news on the film. i hope your yesterday (my today) was much better? tell me if you like?

  4. Måns BT

    Hey Dennis!!!
    Oh my god, these look glorious. I wish these kinds of things existed in Sweden. I mean, maybe they do, but not to my knowledge! Every Halloween, Gröna Lund and Liseberg decorate themselves to be more scary, and they also install new temporary haunted house attractions, but I don’t think they’re of this quality.
    And yes, the nollning did kind of feel like those kinds of extreme attractions, if not a little more humiliating hahahahha! But it was so great, really loved it, which totally shocked me. And thank you for backing me up on the non-kissing decision! I think it was the right one now about a week later, it could potentially have made things extremely awkward.
    So much has been going on lately! I’m not used to having a lot planned each weekend, but now the Swedish Cinematek is back on and there’s parties ALL OF THE TIME. And most of them are on Sundays too, which honestly is the worst possible day to party. Last Sunday, the people in the first and second year of Gymnasiet at my school had this party where all the people who studied social sciences were invited. It kind of felt like a children’s birthday party, if the birthday party involved lots of booze. So much fun! Have you been up to anything fun lately? Or just anything that has been on your mind the last couple of days?
    You haven’t watched ‘Fucking Åmål’?!!! It’s not my favorite moodysson film, but here in Sweden, it’s a mandatory watch. ‘Tillsammans’ is amazing too, very Swedish in a lot of ways but I think you’d like it. Great soundtrack, a standout from it is Bo Hanssons ‘De svarta ryttarna’ (which was actually made for a Swedish adaptation of Lord of The Rings, and if I’m not wrong, the first ever live action adaption of it! Oh my god it’s so fucking horrible it’s almost amazing, but pretty boring too. The whole things is complete green screen mess, I love it. https://youtu.be/tmHU_Ayv3jo?si=-oZr13U7_SgsYbr8 here’s a clip from it, if you’re interested!) ‘Container’ is so great! I could have guessed it would’ve been your favorite out of those hahahahha. I have a suspicion that you’ll like ‘A Hole’ just as much, if not even better, so I’m excited to hear what you think, whatever it will be!
    Also, just wanted to add something that I was very thrilled about! A couple of days ago, I walked past this bookstore in this normal little Swedish neighborhood, and they had this logo or what ever you want to call it that consisted of a couple of faces of different authors. And guess what, whose beautiful face was right there at the front of all the people?!?! Yours of course! I had to go in, and it was this really cool little place that sold both books and vinyl. I’ll have to go back there!
    Sad to hear that your last couple of days have been nightmarish, I hope good news and lots of joy is awaiting you. My last couple of days have been pretty good, but you’re right about my normal life feeling kind of boring when I’m not tortured by a bunch of slightly older teens in the forest! I wish you some time off and a chance to forget about all the film trouble and whatever else could be troubling you.
    XOXO, a normie turned masochist after the nollning?

  5. G

    Hello, oh, no, I’m so sad to hear you’ve been mostly down… Is this because of the film situation? Or are there other reasons? I wish I could come to Paris right now just to try cheer you up. But I will do so asap, either towards the end of this month, or early November. Thanks for sending me encouraging vibes re my book. Today, I reached ten thousand words! It needs to go up to 30000 words, so it’ll be a novella. May I ask how many words is FLUNKER? Sending happy-making hugs your way

  6. Lucas

    hi. I think I get what you mean re: dutch sentence structure being like a puzzle, I feel like german is like that too. I don’t rly read any german poetry though. thanks a lot again about the story, I’m really excited to have it out, and especially to hear what people think. I showed it to most of my friends now, and, although some of them seemed put off by the plot/‘subject matter’ or whatever, they all told me they liked it, which is so nice. I already have some ideas for another story I could work on; with pretty much the same subject matter though, unfortunately for my friends, haha. but I’ll have those awkward conversations again much later. the thing would be to start actually working on it, I guess. I’m better but still not doing great, it’s hard to do stuff, etc. but what’s not helping is that since germany is so weird about school I’m already somehow receiving legal (??) pressure for not really going there as much, and that’s kind of stressing me out. I mean there’s not much I can do except to literally just go but it feels like everyone in my life right now is focused on trying to make me function and seem like a normal person first before anything else. it feels suffocating but in turn maybe it’s helpful in some way if I have no other choice? it’d be easier with less stress, though. I saw from another comment that you had a bad day with the film stuff and so on, so I hope tuesday was better for you or that you were at least able to mentally get away from it for a while. sending love/hugs/maybe a time machine too—I don’t know how you feel but october can’t come quick enough for me.

  7. Justin D

    Hey, Dennis! LOVE today’s post. I hope you have a blast exploring these in person! Kobe is a Japanese beef. It’s very similar to Wagyu. I always feel weird talking about meat to vegetarians/vegans, so sorry for that! 😸 Maybe a Kobe Bryant burger would have been better, though! I watched ‘Nocturama’ last night and really enjoyed it—thanks for encouraging me to give Bonello another chance after being disappointed with ‘The Beast’. Ooh, I wish I could’ve been around to try carrot cake à la Dennis Cooper! A good carrot cake is so underappreciated, I think. Fuuuck, I’m so sorry the film shit is getting you down. I never have the words for times like these, but know that I’m hoping it’s all over soon.🫂

  8. HaRpEr

    Hi. Thanks for the Wieners recs! I don’t know why the Genet and Mann books were removed from the curriculum but if I had to guess it may have had something to do with the lecturers not knowing how students will react to them. I definitely think that they would worry that the students would misconstrue both writers as respectively connoting being gay with pedophilia (in Mann’s case) and crime in Genet’s case. Looking at the curriculum I think they want to heavily distance the course from works depicting more challenging portrayals of sex in favour of sex positive stuff, but that just might be my guess, I don’t know yet. I think that’s a shame, anyway, because I think Genet was fairly sex positive? In his own way, of course, with some Catholic stuff/trauma or whatever mixed in.

    I’ll hear back about the room whenever the people renting them out decide on the right person to move in. The one I went to today was a really good room, and not too pricey. It had an en-suite and everything! As always I don’t want to get my hopes up, and I don’t know how the potential flatmate views me. I’m pretty sure she gasped when she opened the door and saw me there. It’s situations like this where I’m reminded that I’m trans and that may weird a lot of people out. But I guess regardless of my identity I do dress like a low budget version of someone in a German expressionist film mixed with what the cat dragged in (that’s my best attempt at a description). I definitely have experienced a lot of transphobia along my search for a room, but I’m in London as opposed to some small town and most of the glaring red flags are obvious from the jump. But it’s the kind of thing where you have a really awkward interaction and someone is being nice to you but then they cut off all contact with you and the same situation happens again and again to the point where you ask what it is and how all of my friends who aren’t trans found a room months ago.

  9. Poecilia

    I promise that I am eternally an apprentice at making stuff look like something, so I’m delighted that you liked the fanart. Otherwise I’m doing not too shabby, not superb but holding up.

    I’m contemplating starting a book club for transgressive fiction over at the Fable site/app, so I’m open to anybody’s recommendations. Nonfiction commentary on the influence of specific works or overviews thereof or cornerstone arguments regarding literature censorship are all welcome, though I’m definitely thinking more on the fiction side and preferably short (so Juliette and the déjà vu of meat-puppets nun is going to be really low on the list.)

    Posting this courtesy of Firefox and the IPVanish app, because the incognito-mode bypass did not work for me. I couldn’t wrangle Ignite that’s supposed to do the same thing.

  10. Oscar 🌀

    I think we’ve done sigils before, but, hey, they’re funky — so they totally get a pass. I recently had one of my many tote bags stolen, and they left behind a note as some sort of clue: 📦🤕🚎🕹️🤕🚐🚐🪶☕️. Through some sort of total fluke or other, I managed to crack the code! 📦 – H 🤕 – E 🚎 – Y🕹️-D 🚐 – N 🪶- I ☕️ – S. I don’t know it it’s a one-off code or what, but you never know when it might come in handy!

    Today’s post made me even more secondhand excited for your LA trip. What one would you pick from this list if you could only pick one to go to? I actually think I’d have some sort of unexpected medical crisis during ‘Nightmare from Main Street’. Too much for me.

    So, yeah, the design stuff I mentioned the other day got clarified. They’re basically teaching us all the design-y bits of publishing — covers, typefaces, formats, marketing, etc, etc, etc — in stuff like Photoshop and InDesign. I’m pretty jazzed, yeah! I’ve always found design stuff pretty daunting, so it’ll be good to have someone teaching it for like six hours per week. The rest of the course seems like a lot of business/market stuff and a bit of history too, which is really cool. Also apparently they want us to start WordPress accounts — although not sure when/for what. Twins!

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