Halloween megathread!

[wh_vigo]

Welcome to the Halloween Mega Thread! 3 days to go.

What are you up to this spooky season? Share it in this space. For instance:

• Which horror movies have you been watching?
• Reading any horror novels or comics? Name them.
• Who are some of your favourite horror novelists/artists?
• Have you been listening to any "dark" music?
• What would you usually be doing for Halloween (i.e. pre-COVID-19)? For example, would you decorate your home, have parties, go out, or something else?
• What do you like most about Halloween/horror?
• If you could choose to be a monster, which would it be?
• Have you ever had a creepy experience that scared you?
• Have a horror novel you're writing? Post a link and synopsis below (Mature content OK, just make sure it's marked and follows the Tapas rules).

In my case:

Novels: "The Hellbound Heart" (Clive Barker), "Carrie" (Stephen King).
Short stories: "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" (Harlan Ellison), "The Wendigo" (Algernon Blackwood) - both of these are free to read online, btw.
Comics: "Uzumaki" (Junji Ito), "Tomie" (Junji Ito).
Movies: "Hellraiser" (1-6), "The Thing", "Evil Dead" (2 & 4), "Terrified" (legit scared the hell outta me), "Coraline", "Pan's Labyrinth", "VHS" (1 & 2), "Host", "The Wailing", "Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum", "Candyman", "Get Out", "Grave Encounters" (1 & 2).
Music: Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Deathgrips, Rob Zombie (c'mon the guy has a monster in his name, 'nuff said).
Activities: Dress up. Party, party, party, and...hand out candy.

Happy Halloween!

*P.S.: I'm writing a Halloween special so come haunt me on the 31st.

[ivanskilling]

I'm terrified of most horror movies (zombies being the exception) but I have to say Get Out was amazing!

Movies: Recently watched #Alive and re-watched World War Z
Music: My friend recommended the song The In-Between and I'm loving it.
Activities: Dinner with friends lol!

Although my work is a scifi anthology, there are a few stories in it that focus on the horror element as well. And a Halloween special is coming out.. on Halloween of course!

https://tapas.io/episode/1933824

Dark Bytes | Tapas

[scribesunlimited]

Novels: Anything thing from Stephen King, Dean R. Koontz, and Peter Straub in the 70s and 80s. With a nod to "Red Dragon" as probably one of the most horrific novels ever written.

Short stories: "Graveyard Shift" (Richard Matheson). It's tough to find online but if you do, it is probably the scariest short story I have ever read. A nod also to J.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw", which I consider a strong contender for second place. :D.And I can't forget “The Professor’s Teddy Bear” by Theodore Sturgeon. OMFG, READ IT and you'll never look at a teddy bear the same way again. There are many others, and you'll find them all in https://www.amazon.com/Masterpieces-Terror-Supernatural-Treasury-Spellbinding/dp/0385185499 - these ARE the greatest ever written even over a century later.

Comics: "Spawn" by Todd McFarlane

Movies: There are too many here to list. But I'll go with the one that scared me first, "The Exorcist" directed by William Friedkin. I'll also add "The Blair Witch Project" because Paola and I watched it on a Halloween night on DVD and after it ended, we were forced to watch the whole movie again in commentary so we could remind ourselves it was just a movie, and be able to sleep that night. For more RECENT scares, you can't go wrong with "Hereditary", and if you haven't seen it yet, it's one of the most unsettling movies I've ever seen and it was damned brilliant enough to deserve Oscar contention.

Happy Halloween!

Edit: Hell, I forgot BARKER! EVERYTHING by Clive too.

[Memento_Mori]

Monster:If I were a monster I would definitely be an orc, both evil and very stupid.
Movies:When I was little I was absolutely terrified of Coraline, The Craft (the original one), This isn't scary but Hocus Pocus.
Novels: There is this novel of short horror stories called '666: The Number of The Beast' there are some pretty horrifying short stories in there.
Activities: Make apple pie, while drinking apple cider, while throwing apples and cars (not the last one tho) For some reason everybody likes pumpkin pie, I don't get it.

[wh_vigo]

Did you like "Alive"? I haven't seen it yet but heard some mixed reviews.

Looking forward to your Halloween special! I'm writing one too and am very excited about it.

[ivanskilling]

Hmm there were some good parts but some of the scenes were quite unbelievable. Overall I still enjoyed it but felt like they could have done much better.

Thanks! Cool, I'm looking forward to yours too!

[wh_vigo]

Never heard of The Professor's Teddy Bear, going to check that out. Anything unusual or uncanny-valley horror is always a plus for me. Thanks for these recommendations!

Hereditary I've seen. I don't care what anybody says, Toni Collette was 100% robbed of the Oscar that year. That was hands-down the best horror performance I've ever seen. Those mournful screams haunted me all night. The dinner scene was also incredible. I didn't like Midsommer though. I don't know why I was laughing through all of The Exorcist, maybe I need a (plague) doctor.

My god, Spawn is a classic for sure. Who's your favourite villain? I love Clown/Violator. And do you have a favourite Cenobite? I like Chatterer.

[scribesunlimited]

Hereditary I've seen. I don't care what anybody says, Toni Collette was 100% robbed of the Oscar that year. That was hands-down the best horror performance I've ever seen. Those mournful screams haunted me all night. The dinner scene was also incredible.

F**KING A RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR NOTICING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I mean, ahem, yes...yes she did, that was one of the most heart-wrenching dinner scenes ever.)

[wh_vigo]

Your orc description is hilarious! I like it. And I absolutely love The Craft (the original one) too.

I'm one of those pumpkin-pie enjoying weirdos. Now that I think about it...I don't even know why I like it.

If I could be a monster I'd be a dragon because I have a long list of grievances.

[Pony_wearing_a_hat]

Started a horror Anthology! It's got a horror host named Mikki Menace who tells stories within the framing narrative of a phone call to a friend.

Late Night Prattle: Horror Anthology | Tapas

Also, The Bad Seed is my favorite scary movie, and book hands down. I even use it as my photo here on forums and on my main page on tapas!

Here on Tapas, I really like Sally Nosferatu!

[But_a_Jape]

Books: I just finished rereading Dracula last night - I hadn't read it since middle school and I wanted to see how it held up since I remembered enjoying it then. My opinion: the first few chapters are really strong but then it kinda drags for the rest of the book. Still, it was an overall enjoyable experience and it's nice to see where a lot of modern tropes originated in this novel. I have a trend of making comics about whatever book I've recently read and I was hoping I'd be able to get one for Dracula before Halloween, but I couldn't quite make it. Though I do have an older comic about Frankenstein that I might repost on Twitter and Reddit for the season.

TV: For a few years I've been hearing the cartoon aficionados say good things about the 2012 series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated so I figured Halloween season was the best time to check it out. The first 10 or so episodes of the first season are kind of interesting, fairly formulaic with some annoying bits (Velma is kind of terrible in a lot of the early episodes) but once the overarching plot gets into gear near the end of the first season there's a noticeable increase in quality that's gotten me invested. I'm a few episodes into the second season, which is where I've heard most of the praise come from, so I'm looking forward to how that turns out.

Movies: I'm saving these movies for Halloween, as that's how I plan on spending the day. Train to Busan is something I haven't seen yet but I constantly hear good things about it, so I figured Halloween would be an appropriate time to check it out. Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island is a childhood favorite of mine and the moment I saw that it was on Netflix I knew I had to slot it into my Halloween viewing list. It's probably my favorite piece of Scooby-Doo media and it legitimately holds up as a quality film overall with genuine horror elements. Over the Garden Wall isn't a film, but it is an animated mini-series that's practically the same length as a film. It's a charming little series about two brothers who get lost in a spooky forest and has a good mix of lighthearted fun and frightening themes/imagery. It uses old-fashioned Americana visuals and music that's not really seen anymore in modern media.

I may include more in my viewing list by the time Halloween proper arrives, but that's just what I've got so far.

[Pony_wearing_a_hat]

You have excellent taste!

[LCT_m_a_d]

Starting Mr. Mercedes by Stephen king (a well overdue read for me)

[Dysis]

"Graveyard Shift" (Richard Matheson). It's tough to find online but if you do, it is probably the scariest short story I have ever read.

I'm off to find this right now! In case you find a link, please send it to me.

Horror movies: I recently watched the Autopsy of Jane Doe.

Horror novel/comic:
1) Stories from Alternate Realities by May Ravenwood (@MayR ). It is a collection of many short stories, I finished the first one. It's about a zombie-infested city.

2) Karana by Kainat Arma (@uselessgoddess) . It is a fantasy but with awesome horror vibes to it. You should check it out!

Favourite horror novelist/artist: Jihye Han, creator of the comic Jack: The American Ghost. Ahh, I've never read something so unique before!

Dark music: Lullaby of Woe, from the Witcher. That should be the most recent one.

What would I be doing in Halloween: I wish we celebrated Halloween in our country!

What do I like most about Halloween/Horror: The spookiness. I don't like gore and violence but I'm totally into those bats against the full moon, those hoots of the owls, those long shadows and leafless the trees and things like that...

If I could be a monster?: Ahhh, a Vampire They're so dark and sophisticated.

Ever had a creepy experience: Hmm. In our land, it's said that if you're near a foul-smelling area, there is an evil spirit around, so you should chant prayers to drive it away. I was alone in my house once (this is from when I was a child). It was getting late and my parents hadn't returned. I was studying when an awful smell emerged from somewhere. I went straight for my phone to call my parents but the battery died down. It scared me so much that I stood frozen stiff, and began praying like crazy and the smell vanished after some time. Strange occurrence.

Horror novel I'm writing? Ahh, I don't know if I should call it a horror. It has spooky vibes in it and I can't do without spooky. There are ghosts and cemeteries and dark themes in it, so maaaybe I'll take my chances and drop the link here:

Time Out | Tapas

Happy Halloween everyone!

[scribesunlimited]

Am searching diligently for it. I knew I should have saved my copy.

[WhoDrew]

@wh_vigo

In my case, I'm either watching horror movies, watching The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror specials(The Good Ones) or even replaying Bendy and the Ink Machine.

[scribesunlimited]

Okay, short and sweet........and absolutely mind-blowing, terrifying ending...

Author David Nickle with the short story, "The mayor Will Make a Brief Statement and then Take Questions".

[wh_vigo]

Thanks for sharing. I read the first chapter - it's a bit hard to tell which character is speaking and where the dialogue is separate from the narrative. It's an interesting concept though (I wrote a horror chapter that takes place almost entirely in an online chat room) and I encourage you to keep refining it and above all; keep writing.

Are you writing the anthology with anyone? If you're the only author, that means you're writing a collection (I'm writing one, too).

[scribesunlimited]

Horror movies: I recently watched the Autopsy of Jane Doe.

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC MOVIE!!!!

that was slow-burn horror at its BEST and deserved a lot more attention than it did.

[Dysis]

The ending was awesome!