The Dark Corner-Discuss horror here.

[lovecraft68]

As the thread is titled, I thought us fans of horror in all its forms could have a little corner here to discuss the topic, or just post something in the macabre vein that we enjoy. Can be movies, TV, books, art, music, poetry, as long as its dark or creepy, its a go.

 

[lovecraft68]

Rather than kick this off with something well known and expected, I thought I'd go a different route. Lord of the Rings has its villains, but for the most part is scene as a thrilling adventure in a fantasy setting. But if you dig deep into Tolkien's histories you'll find some truly horrific beings, and none more so than Ungoliant, mother of spiders.

Also, just a shout out to this YT channel because if you're a serious Tolkien buff, this guy is a damn scholar when it comes to middle Earth

 

[Bazzle]

Just blowing my own trumpet...I've written two ghost/paranormal smoking fetish stories.

https://literotica.com/s/pop-art-a-ghost-story

And

https://literotica.com/s/watching-her-13

Both are aimed to keep you on edge rather than scare the living daylights out of you.

If you can plough through the smoking and ignore it, there should be a enjoyable story?

B

 

[Sammael Bard]

I haven’t played a single Warhammer 40k game but I love reading about the lore and gore of that universe. This diesel-punk genre coupled with religious hoopla caught my attention when I learned about the ‘Tyranids’ - a Lovecraftian space-wandering race of insects that devour everything in their path.

This is a fan-made video that narrates the Imperium’s first-contact and war with the aliens. It’s long but very well-done with artful narration and sound-effects:

 

[lovecraft68]

I haven’t played a single Warhammer 40k game but I love reading about the lore and gore of that universe. This diesel-punk genre coupled with religious hoopla caught my attention when I learned about the ‘Tyranids’ - a Lovecraftian space-wandering race of insects that devour everything in their path.

This is a fan-made video that narrates the Imperium’s first-contact and war with the aliens. It’s long but very well-done with artful narration and sound-effects:

Bit of a Starship Troopers vibe.

 

[SimonDoom]

I love this one:

https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/382194/lights-out-a-terrifying-horror-short-film/

 

[lovecraft68]

I love this one:

https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/382194/lights-out-a-terrifying-horror-short-film/

That one gets credited for really kicking off the short horror/creepy pasts type. I think it was made into a full length movie at some point.

 

[lovecraft68]

On the heels of Simon's post, if you like short horror movies, this station is epic, and has become so popular they're getting some big name talent in some of them.

https://www.youtube.com/c/WatchALTER

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Rather than kick this off with something well known and expected, I thought I'd go a different route. Lord of the Rings has its villains, but for the most part is scene as a thrilling adventure in a fantasy setting. But if you dig deep into Tolkien's histories you'll find some truly horrific beings, and none more so than Ungoliant, mother of spiders.

Also, just a shout out to this YT channel because if you're a serious Tolkien buff, this guy is a damn scholar when it comes to middle Earth

There is something deeply unsettling about spiders that affects most people, with the exception of people with weird fetishes. Tolkien recognized it and created Ungoliant, a creature that, from the pure fear point of view, puts to shame dragons, balrogs, ringwraiths, and anything else. The fact that it managed to put terror even in Morgoth's heart is a reflection of the same natural fear and unease that humans feel when they see a spider, especially those hairy, nasty-looking ones. I am not a fan of horror movies and I mostly find them silly, with some rare exceptions. Yet the feeling of dread is essential in fantasy and from that standpoint I like some aspects of it, but only if it is a part of a larger story and not just horror for the sake of horror and thrills.

 

[SimonDoom]

That one gets credited for really kicking off the short horror/creepy pasts type. I think it was made into a full length movie at some point.

What it shows is how simple and elemental horror is. It doesn't require a long story or special effects. Most of us know what it's like as a kid to be afraid of the dark. Horror, done well, takes us back to that.

Another element of horror that's sometimes lost with all the gore we get today is the element of suspense--not showing horrifying stuff, but making the audience dread seeing horrifying stuff. Hitchcock understood that. That's what made Halloween work so well. It's pretty tame by today's standards but it still holds up well because of the suspense and dread.

 

[SimonDoom]

Rather than kick this off with something well known and expected, I thought I'd go a different route. Lord of the Rings has its villains, but for the most part is scene as a thrilling adventure in a fantasy setting. But if you dig deep into Tolkien's histories you'll find some truly horrific beings, and none more so than Ungoliant, mother of spiders.

Also, just a shout out to this YT channel because if you're a serious Tolkien buff, this guy is a damn scholar when it comes to middle Earth

I remember when I read LOTR as a kid that the scene with Shelob was a highlight. I loved LOTR, but I was a kid and I wanted more monsters. And Shelob was a great monster, because everybody dreads spiders. That was the scariest and spookiest part of the story by far.

 

[lovecraft68]

What it shows is how simple and elemental horror is. It doesn't require a long story or special effects. Most of us know what it's like as a kid to be afraid of the dark. Horror, done well, takes us back to that.

Another element of horror that's sometimes lost with all the gore we get today is the element of suspense--not showing horrifying stuff, but making the audience dread seeing horrifying stuff. Hitchcock understood that. That's what made Halloween work so well. It's pretty tame by today's standards but it still holds up well because of the suspense and dread.

Same with Alien, other than the chest burst scene all the deaths were off screen, even the initial Friday the 13th wasn't that bad gore wise, but then it all escalated.

Being a fan of Giallo movies, when I was younger, I still like them from time to time, but after awhile I got tired of shock value and torture porn and prefer things that are more subtle now.

 

[lovecraft68]

Speaking of subtle well done horror. Netflix Haunting of Hill House series is the best thing I've seen come along in years. Its focuses on the dysfunctional family with the house in the background-and the past- and that's what makes it so powerful. No gore, no nudity, no over the top anything, and one epic AF jump scare, this is all psychological.

The writing in this series is so goddamn tight its amazing, the things we see in early episodes are shown from another POV in the later ones and the way it ties together....Nell and the bent neck woman's arc was such an incredible and disturbing twist. And...Carla Gugino never hurts

 

[DeLaFaye]

She has kind of a slow burn horror vibe going on, but Oyeyemi's The Icarus Girl gets fairly creepy in a deep, primal way. Without spoiling much, the MC has a sort of ethereal friend and it slowly gets darker and darker. Another book of hers, White is for Witching, also has a great horror vibe. It's shorter but I don't feel as though it's quite as impactful. Both great in different ways though.

On Lit, I love this one (not mine) :
https://www.literotica.com/s/tailypo

 

[onehitwanda]

Some Tolkien fanfiction / fan-theory: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil

But yeah, for sheer horror, I still think Ungoliant trumps almost everything except, maybe, Machin Shin from the Wheel of Time universe.

I'm trying to think of something recent that gives me the creeps but, honestly, I don't read much horror because I find it deeply uncomfortable at the best of times. When I do, well, Anansi's "Goatman" creepypasta is my bread and butter.

And then, anything whatsoever to do with naaldlooshii gives me a complete overdose of Oh, hell no.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Bit of a Starship Troopers vibe.

Yeah, the more recent versions may have been influenced by the ST movie. They were in the first edition of 40K in 1987, ten years before ST came out, and I don't think there was a lot of detail about the Bugs in the original book. But the Tyranids evolved quite a bit in later editions of 40K and I'd be surprised if there wasn't some influence from the film.

The other big influence there is Giger/Alien. Alien Queen maquette vs. Tyranid Zoanthrope - look at the heads:


The Tyranid background isn't the same as Alien's Xenomorphs, but the stuff with Genestealers has a similar vibe - humans infected and turned into Tyranid servants who have hybrid offspring, form cults, and take over planets a few generations later.

 

[lovecraft68]

Some Tolkien fanfiction / fan-theory: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil

But yeah, for sheer horror, I still think Ungoliant trumps almost everything except, maybe, Machin Shin from the Wheel of Time universe.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant which was a much darker toned story that featured main characters dying or having awful things happening to them at any given turn, had some great dark lore and a variety of creatures, but I don't think one single one compared to Ungoliant

I remain hopeful that at some point a show like Rings of Power-but you know, actually good-decides to get off the LOTR storyline and goes way back and features Morgoth and the original wars that went on.

 

[lovecraft68]

The Tyranid background isn't the same as Alien's Xenomorphs, but the stuff with Genestealers has a similar vibe - humans infected and turned into Tyranid servants who have hybrid offspring, form cults, and take over planets a few generations later.

This really smacks of HPL along the lines of Dagon and Innsmouth and the 'fish people"

 

[onehitwanda]

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant which was a much darker toned story that featured main characters dying or having awful things happening to them at any given turn, had some great dark lore and a variety of creatures, but I don't think one single one compared to Ungoliant

I remain hopeful that at some point a show like Rings of Power-but you know, actually good-decides to get off the LOTR storyline and goes way back and features Morgoth and the original wars that went on.

I remember reading the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant when I was 15 or so and it seriously fucked me up.

I really, really wish someone would do a good Beren and Luthien but I think I'm going to die disappointed.

 

[lovecraft68]

Eerie #1 published in 1947 by Avon is the first supernatural comic ever produced. High grade value-if you could find one, would probably fetch 30k or better which is over guide, but again...who can find one. Pic is a mid grade professionally graded copy. It took me a long time to find one, and mine's more beat up than this one and still cost me $1600 and that was a discount because I knew the dealer.

Comic also has some infamy for the bondage cover which landed it in the Seduction of the innocent book by Frederic Wertham who claimed comics were destroying young kids. Imagine of he were around today and saw social media?

 

[lovecraft68]

I remember reading the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant when I was 15 or so and it seriously fucked me up.

I really, really wish someone would do a good Beren and Luthien but I think I'm going to die disappointed.

First Chronicles were good, but the second series was epic, and a great ending....but of course Donaldson got greedy and went for a third series which I quit midway through the second book and I think there was four in the series, just blech.

The Lurker in the Sarangrave Flat creeped me out because it was like the entire swamp was this evil sentient thing.

BTW is it Beren? I thought it was Berek Half hand unless we're talking different things

 

[Sammael Bard]

I love how the dissonance between children story/poems/music while actual gore is played on the screen creates a sense of creeping unease and horror amongst the audience. You can see it on many horror movie trailers like “Insidious”.

This is a short 2 minute video by meatcanyon starring many a childhood favourite Peppa Pig:

Bit of a Starship Troopers vibe.

I didn’t read the novel - which was said to be one of the best Military Sci-fi of 1960. For me the movies were typical man v alien slugfest and it fails to capture any form of horror beyond the initial shock. James Cameron’s Aliens was way better as a horror-action flick with emphasis on the horror.

In defence of Warhammer 40k, I’ll say that Tyranids are only one of the many enemies. There’s a whole bunch of others as is common in an RPG setting.

 

[AlinaX]

First Chronicles were good, but the second series was epic, and a great ending....but of course Donaldson got greedy and went for a third series which I quit midway through the second book and I think there was four in the series, just blech.

I quit very quickly too, but mainly because it felt like a time travel plot developing and it was making me anxious.

 

[lovecraft68]

Water Ship down-to those who don't know-"Oh, look cartoon bunnies, this will be fun!"

To those who know....truly disturbing.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Eerie #1 published in 1947 by Avon is the first supernatural comic ever produced. High grade value-if you could find one, would probably fetch 30k or better which is over guide, but again...who can find one. Pic is a mid grade professionally graded copy. It took me a long time to find one, and mine's more beat up than this one and still cost me $1600 and that was a discount because I knew the dealer.

Comic also has some infamy for the bondage cover which landed it in the Seduction of the innocent book by Frederic Wertham who claimed comics were destroying young kids. Imagine of he were around today and saw social media?

View attachment 2260644

Since you are a comics nerd, you can tell me if this comic ever made it to the US.



It is an Italian comic with great writing and stories, usually very philosophical in nature. I was and still am a fan of it.

There was a weak movie based on the character, but it failed to deliver.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013860/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_9_tt_8_nm_0_q_dead%20of%20night

I am curious if the comic has any notable presence in the US?