Terror Connection Magazine: Issue 1 - Nightmares

INTERVIEWS DIRECTORS CUT COMIC BOOK REVIEWS FILM REVIEWS … AND LOTS MORE ...

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4 … Letter From The Co-Editor: Life With Sleep Paralysis 8… Letter From The Co-Editor: Facing My Dream Demon 14 … Dream Demons 18… Charms To Ward Off Nightmares 22 … Real Cases 28 … A Reboot On Nightmare Street 32… The Best Shave I Ever Had 38 … Mr Knifey Hands 40 … Ash Arrives On ‘DEAD BY DAYLIGHT’ 44 … When Fantasy Turns Into Nightmare 46 … Director’s Cut 50 … The Showdown of The Century

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54… VHS Vault 60… Interview With The Director 70… Nightmare Warriors 76… Jack The Ripper: From Hell 84… Are You Scared?

90… Podcast Information Network 92… Fallout 4: Creatures of The Commonwealth 96… Alien: The Franchise Turns 40 102… Nilbog Milk

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Letter From The Co-Editor: Life With Sleep Paralysis By Gary Andrew Hindley Hello readers. I’m Gary, co-editor of ‘Terror Connection’. Welcome to our first issue, in which our theme is nightmares.

We’ve all had nightmares in our lives, and there are many people out there, who like me, have sleep paralysis. I’d like now to invite you to read about my personal experiences with sleep paralysis.

For me, it began when I was 30 during a very difficult time in my life. I’d had brain surgery for an ongoing condition, shortly after which I contracted meningitis, and during this period of time, my best friend died in her sleep. Initially the sleep paralysis was sporadic and attributed to the ongoing grief from the then recent life events, but then after a brief hiatus, became a much regular feature of going to bed.

After an episode, I wake up in such a state of fear, that I have to switch on every light in my house. Check the doors are locked up, and do the obligatory check behind the shower curtain to make sure no-one is in the house with me. To some this may sound like lunacy, but when you’re that scared, rational thought goes out the window.

When sleep paralysis occurs, here are two different scenarios that happen most commonly to me.

Firstly, when I sleep on my back, there is a black mass hovering above me, that freezes me, and then strangles me.

I find myself choking, and desperately trying to breathe before screaming. When this scenario occurs, my partner has said that she wakes up to the sound of me choking, and although im asleep, my eyes are wide open.

The second scenario… if im sleeping on my front, my arms become completely frozen, a massive weight is put on my back, and then even more weight pushes down on the back of my neck, forcing all of the air out of my lungs. When I wake, I find that because i’ve been retching and trying so hard to breathe, i’ve ended up with such a sore throat that i’ve lost my voice.

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Although both scenarios are the epitome of outright fear… it is the second of those scenarios that scares me the most.

When it happened for the first time, I honestly thought I was going to die.

It played on my mind for days after.

I was scared to go to sleep and felt like one of the kids from ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’... I found myself drinking huge amounts of energy drinks… So many in fact that Monster should be giving me sponsorship.

I found myself setting alarms so that I would only sleep for a couple of hours at a time, in the hope that I wouldn’t fall into a deep sleep..

It really didn’t matter what I did, nothing would stop the nightmare.

I tried things like eating better, having a light exercise routine, and trying to get back into a proper sleeping pattern…

I tried all of these things that my doctor had suggested, and in all matter of fact, it just made things worse for a period of time.

Although i’m now used to having sleep paralysis, it doesn’t make having the episodes any the less terrifying.

A recent episode that I had really had my brain in a twist in the days that followed.

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Life With Sleep Paralysis In this particular episode, it must have only just began… My partner saw that I was starting to struggle and put her hands on mine to try and wake me up.

In my nightmare… It was a recurring nightmare that I have, where a blonde haired man, in a clean, pressed white suit is chasing after me. I don’t know why he’s chasing me, or know what he wants. But in dreamland, if someone is chasing you, you run… ‘Cause Dream’ I guess.

I had ran round a corner and thought i’d give him the slip, but then I turned round, and there he was… He’d caught me dead bang, and grabbed my hands to capture me.

The moment my partner put her hands on mine, was the exact same moment my dream demon captured me and had hold of my hands.

I woke up screaming thinking that I’d been captured, when in all reality, all I had done was scream in my partners face, thinking she was my dream demon… But after gathering myself, I eventually calmed down and then over a coffee, I found myself deep in thought.

How did my brain know that my partner grabbing my hands, was going to happen at the same time as the dream demon was trying to paralyse my hands? It’s something, that as much as I try to make sense of it…

I know I never will…

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Life With Sleep Paralysis Many people philosophise about dreams and their meanings, and have different ways of interpreting them.

Some common interpretations are things like, when you dream about falling, it means you feel powerless, or out of control, or that you are afraid of failing at Something in your waking life.

A nightmare about drowning could mean that you’re feeling overwhelmed by your emotions.

Dreaming about war or a fight could mean that you need to be more assertive in a real-life confrontations.

The sad truth of it all, is that no-one really knows what nightmares are or what causes them, but everyone has a different opinion.

Some say they’re caused by anxiety, fear and stress in our everyday lives being brought to life…

It could be my brain trying to vocalise my anxieties…

Almost like its describing in pictures the things you can’t vocally explain when we’re awake. Maybe it’s the fears we have that present themselves in the form of a ‘dream demon’.

Real fear is paralysing, so simulated fear could be just as scary right?

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Letter From The Co-Editor: Facing My Dream Demon By S.J,. Carter From the time I could understand words and sentences, I was quickly made privy to the treasure trove of paranormal gold that I would inherit, if I hadn't already.

Tales of witches, curses, ghosts, and demons handed down through the generations by Word of mouth. Many of these stories will make their appearance in upcoming issues but, given this issue's theme, there is one in particular that I wanted to share.

A small part of my family's story… of my story.

The story of an entity that haunted our dreams and stalked us even in our hours of wakefulness. They called him the Man in Black.

I come from a backwoods Southern family in the U.S… which, as many horror fans would guess, has its fair share of “interesting” qualities. As far as I can tell, many of them settled permanently in the mountains of Tennessee while others migrated to Maryland and Delaware. A select few even ventured so far as Pennsylvania, my home state.

Regardless of where we all ended up, there was one thing we were all made aware of. We were all at risk. None of us were safe from the man in black. He could be everywhere and anywhere all at once. Like a satanic Santa Claus he would follow no matter where we went.

They called him the man in black because that is the form he most often took. While my family has always had a way with words, giving this creature a flashy title was hardly necessary. The first I had heard of him was when he appeared to my older cousin, though he was only a child at the time. The young boy had grown thirsty in the night and had gotten up to get a drink water. (We all know these situations never end well.) He crept through my grandmother's house quiet as a mouse.

As he entered the kitchen he heard a rustling as if someone was coming his way...

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Facing My Dream Demon It should be noted that my cousin had a penchant for pulling pranks and in the dark of the early morning hours he couldn't resist giving his unknown pursuer a bit of a fright. Perhaps he thought it was my mother following him.

They both loved horror and loved finding ways to freak each other out.

He tucked himself in between the refrigerator and the counter and waited for the perfect moment to strike. Just as he heard movement round the corner, he jumped out to make his scare, but the childish growl he had at the ready got caught in his throat… as a terrifying and unfamiliar face snaked down to meet his own.

A man, or something shaped like a man, dressed all in black with the exception of a red tie to match his glowing red eyes. He had long dark hair and a neatly cut beard and mustache. His teeth shown white as he smiled like a jackal.

It was a slow creeping, triumphant smile. You scare me? Not if I scare you first.

The boy screamed and the man, still smiling, rose and began walking away.

At least he appeared to be walking. He took steps but they didn't seem to make contact with the floor. He moved with an unnatural fluidity as he floated off and disappeared into the shadows of the house.

To my cousin, it was the night he saw the devil.

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Facing My Dream Demon Now I know this is all very dramatic but stay with me folks, because the fun doesn't stop there.

Another young male in my family saw a giant black cat with glowing red eyes in an upstairs hallway of a completely different house. Despite the different form, it somehow went without question that it was the man in black.

He seems to take a particular liking to the ladies of the family though. They seemed to get extra special attention. Most would awake to find, you guessed it, a bearded man with glowing red eyes on top of them pressing down, keeping them from moving. Some would catch him staring back from darkened corners and bedroom doorways. Many complained of hearing a strange rustling noise before their nightly attacks. That noise seems to be the other constant in every experience with the man in black.

As a child I was terrified and fascinated by these stories and wondered how I would react when my turn came. It wasn't until my early teens that I discovered the answer to that question...

It was shortly after I suffered a trauma that, I believe, awakened my senses to the dark cloud that seemed to hover over my family.

To put it briefly, I had a baseball accident that almost killed me. Not long after that the dreams and manifestations began. I would see him sometimes pale and snake-like perched atop my dresser.

At times I didn't see him at all.

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Facing My Dream Demon I'd be laying on my stomach and hear that same rustling sound and then it would be as if someone had hooked IVs of ice into my head and my entire body would feel frozen and paralyzed.

And then I would hear a voice coming closer and closer until it was right in my ear saying the same thing over and over in a smooth hypnotic voice. “Frozen. Frozen.”

(Don't even go where I think you're going. The cold definitely bothered me in this case.)

I would see him passing by windows and even hovering over people at parties. The strangest thing is that friends of mine would see him as well. People who aren't even related to me.

One of my worst encounters occurred when I was staying with my parents.

I was laying on my side on the couch in the living room when that same icy feeling began to creep over me.

But the sound...

The sound this time was more menacing.

Like someone had cupped their hands over their mouth and emitted this roaring television static right into my ear.

I was curled up into a tight little ball, my eyes clenched shut. I didn't want to open them and knew I had to to break this spell I was under.

I began to jerk my head back and forth, little movements at first until finally my eyes flew open and the presence slinked away as quickly as it came.

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Facing My Dream Demon I stood wanting to scream… wanting to run upstairs to my parents, but too afraid to do either for fear of what might lurk behind the corner.

The experience is one of the most vivid memories I have and probably will ever have had.

Now, I'm a believer in the paranormal, while also prone to look for the logical explanation first. I prefer to take a more scientific approach to things. It would be easy to chalk all this up to sleep paralysis and group hallucinations. I'm inclined to believe something different. A great many awful things have happened to my family members some by their own doing. I believe it was easier to come up with some kind of curse as the culprit for their misfortune. For a while I believed this myself.

And then it occurred to me… what if all the energy dumped into this curse, made one manifest?

A curse is only as powerful as you make it after all. And, if I could give this entity energy, I could very well take it away. So that's what I did.

I could decide my own fate in this matter at least. This being had no power over me. It worked. While my life isn't free of paranormal goings on, I would never want it to be, but the man in black has not haunted me since.

I am sure skeptical horror fans and those who believe in such things will read this article in equal measure.

Honestly, what side of the fence you hang your studded leather jacket on matters not.

Whatever explanation for these experiences you choose to believe also means very little, as the outcome would have been the same. This isn't a story of why you should or shouldn't believe in ghosts or demons.

This is just the story of my dream demon and how I defeated it.

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May 17th, 2019 (VOD Only) Terror Connection - Issue 1

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Dream Demons by S.J. Carter "When doomed to death I will attend you as a nocturnal fury; I will attack your faces and brooding upon your restless breasts, I will deprive of repose by terror . . ." - Horace, 1st century B.C. Most horror fans are familiar with Freddy Kruger, the child murderer turned vengeful sleep slayer. But the idea of a dark entity capable of attacking you in your sleep and even killing you through your dreams is an ancient and far reaching one. Nearly every culture has its brand of dream demon.

As humans we have always tried to find ways to explain that which we don't understand and we have yet to fully understand nightmares.

And we now have science. One can only imagine how our ancestors processed something like nightmares. Thrashing about in their sleep as they were stalked by a hungry beast or otherworldly being.

Perhaps they awoke screaming, soaked with sweat but somehow frozen.

Maybe they opened their eyes to find themselves paralyzed, staring into the eyes of some horrible monstrosity sitting on top of them, draining them of their life force. With absolutely no understanding of the human brain, it's no surprise that our predecessors came to such supernatural conclusions.

Unfettered by skepticism, what hideous creatures did their wild imaginations summon? And how have those demonic tales carried over into the night terrors of today? Well lock your door, grab your crucifix, and brew that giant pot of coffee because dream demons are everywhere.

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The Trauco of Chile is a hideously deformed dwarf that lulls nubile women and seduces them. In keeping with the dwarfish Don Juans, the Ecuadorian Tintin is said to seduce "abundant haired" women by playing guitar outside their window. There are certainly worse ways to woo a lady.

The Pori of India takes a less romantic approach, causing ill health and suicidal tendencies with their sleep sexing. And the Popo Bawa of Zanzibar is believed to primarily attack men behind closed doors. Who knew dream demons could be so modest?

The more flamboyant Lidere of Hungary is described as a satanic lover that appears in a fiery light. Again, not all of these creature have an erotic nature.

Women in South Africa are known to place their beds on bricks to keep the tiny Tokolosh at bay.

The Mara or Mare of Sweden and the Turkish Karabasan are both said to descend on the sleeper's chest, causing nightmares and preventing movement. The Mara sounds like the gnawing of a mouse or creeping of a cat and can be captured by grasping it while wearing an inherited glove. How oddly specific.Sleepers can also prevent the attacks by crossing both arms and legs before Sleep.

The Alp or Trud of Germany has an almost identical MO to the Mara.

It presses down on and sometimes kills its victims, an incredible feat considering it is small enough travel through keyholes. They can be repelled by offering to meet them for coffee the next day which would definitely go down as the most interesting Starbucks adventure known to man.

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Old hags were a common nuisance in Medieval Europe and the origin of the term "hag syndrome".

And the seriously disturbing Kokoma of St. Lucia are dream spirits that come in the form of babies to and beat their victims with furious little ďŹ sts.

Interestingly enough, in Japan, the Baku or Eater of Dreams is a good guy albeit a strange looking one.

Said to have the the face of a lion, body of a horse, tail of a cow, forelock of a rhino, and feet of a tiger, it is called upon to literally devour bad dreams caused by evil spirits.

While all of these entities can be explained away easily enough, these beliefs are very real to a lot of people and still scare the hell out of them to this day.

Even more chilling are the present day accounts of actual attacks linked to these beliefs.

Will delving deeper into this unpredictable, enigmatic world give us more answers.

Or will it only leave us even more afraid to fall asleep?

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Charms To Ward Off Nightmares by S.J. Carter "Devour, O Baku! Devour my evil dream!"

Should you find yourself facing a dream demon, one of these charms may be beneficial A Charm to Control the Nightmare - England St. George, St. George, our ladies knight, e walkt by daie, so did he by night.

Until such time as he her found, he hir beat and he hir bound, Until hir truth she to him plight, She would not come to him that night.

Charm to Deflect the Mara - Sweden Mara, mara, mind, thou may'st not enter here Until thou counted hast Birds in wood, fishes in river, all the oak trees And the words of God! Charm from Germany I lay me here to sleep, no night-mare shall plague me, Until they swim all the waters, That flow upon the earth, And count all the stars That appear in the firmament!

Thus help me God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!

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Charms To Avoid Nightmares Below are the charms in Swedish and German.

Charme aus Deutschland Hier leg' ich mich schlafen, Keine Nachtmahr soll mich plagen, Bis sie schwemmen alle Wasser, Die auf Erden fließen, Und tellet alle Sterne, Die am Firmament erscheinen!

Dazu helfe mir Gott Vater, Sohn und heiliger Geist. Amen!

Charm från Sverige Mara, mara, minne!

Du får ej bli härinne förr än du räknat fåglar i skog, fiskar i flod alla eketrär och Guds ord!

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Released In Theatres May 24th, 2019

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Released In Theatres May 31st, 2019 Terror Connection - Issue 1

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Real Cases? By S.J. Carter "I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." Hamlet, William Shakespeare.

Nightmares appear often in the works of Shakespeare. He seems to have had a deep understanding of them.

We carry so much potential, but our nightmares haunt us so that we are thrown out of balance and become muted.

Nightmares can affect our energy level, our mood, even our judgement and reflexes. But for some the experience goes well beyond the run of the mill nightmare and the effects can be much more severe.

One of the most famous cases of people dying from nightmares coincidentally also happens to be what inspired Wes Craven to make Nightmare on Elm Street.

In the late 1970's refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam fled to the U.S. after the insanely traumatic experience of surviving the Khmer Rouge death camps.

They soon began complaining of being attacked in their dreams by an evil presence.

To the Cambodians it was the khmaoch sângkât, a kind of spirit or ghost that pushes down on you.

The Hmong of Vietnam and Laos called it the Dab Tsuam, an evil spirit that took the form of a jealous woman.

Some Hmong men were known to go to bed wearing lipstick or even dressed as a woman to throw the Dab Tsuam off.

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These poor souls were terriďŹ ed to fall asleep. Family members reported coffee pots hidden in bedroom closets and stockpiles of stimulants used to stay awake for days.

Then in the early 80's more than 100 of these otherwise healthy men and a few women died in their sleep. In some cases screams could be heard from behind bedroom doors, but by the time loved ones reached them, they were already dead. Medical professionals were bafed.

They named the phenomena Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome or SUNDS. One theory was that a percentage of Southeast Asian men were predisposed to a genetic heart arrhythmia that allegedly caused more deaths in young men than car accidents. It was thought that a combination of the defect and the belief in these entities is what caused the deaths. Stranger still is that just as suddenly as the deaths began, they just stopped.

In another lesser known case from 1960, 11 Filipino sailors suddenly died in their sleep. All had complained of nightmares.

The autopsies didn't reveal much and so the event remained a mystery.

In both instances it wouldn't be a far reach think that sleep paralysis or night terrors could have been a contributing factor.

Both have gained attention in the media due to the increase in people willing to share their experiences.

The two are quite different from each other but both have been known to pose a danger to victims and those around them.

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Those who experience sleep paralysis are technically awake, but unable to move or speak, despite immense effort to do so.

Some complain of feeling a heavy weight on their chest and difficulty breathing.

In rare cases an unfortunate few suffer from the sensation of being sexually assaulted.

Hallucinations (or actual visions) on the other hand, are incredibly common.

Sleep paralysis is often called Hag Syndrome because of the prevalent sightings of ghostly, decrepit old woman.

Other hallucinations include dark figures some refer to as shadow men, various monsters, wisps of smoke, and glowing red lights. Sometimes the figures are standing in doorways, across the room, or hanging from the ceiling but, more often than not, dreamers awaken to find the spirit sitting on top of them or viciously attacking while they remain helpless.

Auditory and olfactory hallucinations have also been reported. The simplified medical explanation for this is that there are chemicals in the brain that slow everything down and keep you immobile for safe sleeping and chemicals that wake you up.

The idea is that people who experience hag syndrome have some kind of misfire that causes both to release at once. When this happens the brain, in order to explain what is happening, creates the various hallucinations.

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While science may be able to dismiss the Paranormal explanations for these events, it cannot deny the very real harm caused by them.

There have been cases where people have cracked teeth and left gashes in their hands in their intense efforts to release themselves. Due to the exhaustion and Trauma of the experience some long-time sufferers have contemplated suicide and even acted on the urge.

And as evidenced in the Cambodian refugees and Filipino sailors, death is even possible.

Not to be outdone, night terrors carry with them their own set of dangers.

Also called Sleep terrors, they differ from sleep paralysis in that dreamers are asleep despite appearing to be fully conscious.

They are mainly experienced by children but can occur in adults as well.

Unlike regular nightmares, night terrors usually aren't remembered upon actual wakefulness. They often begin with a frightening scream or Shout.

Sufferers May sit up and appear frightened staring wide-eyed.

They make kick or thrash, get out of bed and run around, and even display aggressive behavior.

Extreme cases there have been reports of people destroying property, jumping through closed windows, and physically attacking those around them.

Sadly it is thought that a rare few have even killed others or themselves their efforts to ďŹ ght off whatever unseen Force they feel is attacking them.

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These terrifying disturbances, greatly affect the lives of the people who experience them as well as their loved ones.

The taped interviews and footage of the events themselves are enough to make anyone appreciate a peaceful night's rest.

Night after night, terrorized by a sinister force or their own minds.

Exhaustion, embarrassment, and strained relationships.

Is it any surprise that these somnambulantly cursed folks go to great lengths to never sleep again?

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Released In Theatres May 31st, 2019 Terror Connection - Issue 1

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Director: Samuel Bayer Producers: Michael Bay Robert Shaye Writers: Eric Heisserer Wesley Strick Cast: Jackie Earl-Hayley Rooney Mara Kyle Gallner Connie Britton Clancy Brown IMDb: 5.2/10 RT: 15% Metacritic: 35% Box Office: $115 Million (US) Release Date: May 7th, 2010

A Reboot On Nightmare Street by Gary Andrew Hindley In a Twitter poll, popular online horror publication ‘Bloody Disgusting’ asked it's readers, “Which horror film that has already been rebooted, would you like to see re-rebooted”?.

Featured with the poll, was a picture from the (let's be kind) unpopular, Michael Bay produced reboot of 'A Nightmare On Elm Street', which for the first time in a feature film, would not feature ‘Robert Englund’ as Freddy Krueger.

More than likely, ‘Bloody Disgusting’ were suggesting that in their opinion, the film could use the re-reboot treatment. The poll caught the attention of none other, than Eric Heisserer, who is credited as a screenwriter on the remake, along with Wesley Strick.

Heisserer, to his credit, decided to open up about what it was like working on the 2010 reboot project and how things went from bad, to worse, to horribly wrong… resulting in a woeful film.

Speaking openly on his experience, Heisserer began by saying: “What a lesson for me in first movies made. I wish the script I'd written, with the two New Line Cinema executives would have been the movie that got made. The draft that I thought was going to be filmed, was different in many ways. I still have memories of arriving to set and recognising nothing from the script on the shooting schedule”.

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2 We would find out through his own admission during an interview in 'Never Sleep Again’ documentary, that despite the original story and characters being Wes Craven’s own creation, he was not consulted on creative direction by anyone involved or credited on the movie.

On the issue of Wes Craven not being involved in the reboot, Heisserer said: “With there being so many scenes that pay homage to Wes Craven’s original and a story that was so close to the original, you'd think it would be considered a remake by everyone. For credit purposes, another writer working on the film managed to get it classified as a sequel, which infuriates me, because it meant Wes wasn’t given credit for a world he invented”.

On top of Heisserers damning comments, 'Kyle Gallner’ who portrays the character 'Quentin’ in the reboot, had this to say in a separate interview: “Myself and Rooney Mara had a bait and switch pulled on us. The scripts we were sent originally were very different and much darker than the scripts we Were given when we got to Chicago to start shooting.

The original script (Heisserer’s version) was the movie we thought we were going to be making. I really liked that version. I was pretty surprised when I sat down in my hotel room the night before shooting and it was completely different. I wish there was a world where Heisserer's version of the movie existed. It would have been so cool…” .

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The Best Shave I Ever Had By S.J. Carter The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Hugh wheeler Adapted by Christopher Bond Directed by Jeffrey Lentz All Photography Courtesy of John Pankratz I love independent theater. I love Independent artists of any kind really.

Don't get me wrong, big-budget mainstream art holds just as much validity for me. I go into everything with an open mind and open heart.

It's just the idea that a person or group of people could take little money and resources and make something so damn impressive is amazing to me.

I live in a small city that either gets a lot of bad press or no press at all.

But I love my town.

I am fortunate to have several small theater companies and college theater groups to satiate my theatrical cravings.

Recently I had the extreme pleasure of going to see the Albright College production of Sweeney Todd. I have seen many shows at Albright and I am consistently blown away by the real talent of everyone involved.

Sweeney was no exception.

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To begin the cast did a phenomenal job tackling the dialogue, movements, and most of all, the songs.

Sweeney Todd is not what I would call a pretty musical. Both music and lyrics are jarring and uncomfortable and, technically speaking, incredibly advanced. I'd like to say that the entire cast handled it seamlessly ,but I think a more ďŹ tting and just compliment would be that they tore it apart at the seams and stitched them back together, bringing to life a beautiful Frankenstein monster.

Connor McLaughlin (Sweeney Todd) and Miranda Holiday (Mrs. Lovett) never faltered in matching each other's intensity.

McLaughlin was both terrifying in his obsession for vengeance and sympathetic in his moments of exhaustion and desperation.

Holiday was delightfully sociopathic resorting to unconventional means to boost her business and garner the affection of Mr. Todd.

Michael Hertzog (Anthony Hope), Karissa Haney (Johanna), and Tabby Spina (Tobias Ragg) in all their tragic optimism were absolutely heartbreaking.

Hunter Lutz (Judge Turpin) and Matt Ortiz (Beadle Bamford) had my blood boiling and my skin crawling which, I can guarantee, means they were giving a successful performance. Hector Echevarria was hysterical as the amboyantly sleezy Adolfo Pirelli.

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Even each ensemble member gave a memorable performance, every one of them pulling the audience into their bleak existence.

There is one cast member I took the liberty of saving for last. Every audience member at every show has their favorite and for me it was Natalie Torpey as the Beggar Woman.

She sang the tale of Sweeney Todd with such seething ferocity and snaked about the stage, sometimes only allowing the ďŹ ery intensity of her eyes to be seen before slinking back into the shadows. It gave me chills.

CHILLS YA'LL!!

And then there were times when her pathetic madness evoked an almost uncomfortable feeling in me as I both laughed and ached at her miserable circumstances.

One thing feel I must address, and this is by no means a petty complaint, is that it was moderately hot and stuffy in the Wachovia Theater that day and also the ďŹ nal performance of the show.

The sheen of perspiration was easily visible on the face of every cast member.

Having occasionally been on stage myself, I knew sitting there that if I was hot they were broiling.

Everything about this show is a test of one's endurance and not a single person on that stage dropped their energy at any time. It was exhausting just watching them all.

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Sweeney Todd was the final production of the season, which focused on issues of social justice. The decision was made by director Jeffrey Lentz and set designer, Cocol Bernal to delve into the existence of the people within the story in the hopes that it might connect to the lives of so many people today.

As stated in the production notes, "This play is filled of people who have no means at their disposal to escape their situation; no one saves them, no one represents them, and no one champions them.

Like cogs in a machine, their lives and their purpose are fixed and inexorable."

A beautifully succinct explanation to say the least The frilly decor of Victorian England was thrown off in favor of starker minimalistic design. There were no walls built up, no painted backdrops, no vibrantly colored costumes and there was no blood. Without giving too much away the (what I like to refer to as) "hollow props" were few and far between. This was such an incredibly clever choice because it clears the way for the straight razor to slash the truth directly into the minds and hearts of the audience.

These people have nothing and nowhere to go. They're trapped.

They can't afford the very blood that flows in their veins nor can they even claim ownership to it.

One way or another, it belongs to someone else.

I have seen many adaptations of Sweeney Todd. The films, productions with fake blood, productions with red scarves for blood. I have greatly enjoyed every one. This production though . . .this will probably forever be my all time favorite.

If you'd like to learn more about all the amazing performances and art to be experienced at Albright College, visit www.albright.edu/CentefortheArts Terror Connection - Issue 1

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CRAWL

Released In Theatres July 12th, 2019 Terror Connection - Issue 1

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Released In Theatres July 26th, 2019

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Mr Knifey Hands by Gary Andrew Hindley The ABC networks 'Set In The 80’s’ comedy show ‘The Goldbergs’, is most popular show on TV right now and has now been running for seasons.

Just like the Thanksgiving episodes, each season has had its Halloween episode. What makes the Season 6 special, so special, is that the man of our dreams turned up to give us nightmares all over again.

That’s right, Robert Englund has brought Freddy back to the screen to give us fans something to shout about, and as a viewer and a fan… It was incredible.

perhaps the six hilarious own bespoke

When asked about his decision to bring Freddy back, he had this to say: "It wasn't only to work with Wendi, but also, people have approached me and told me family stories about watching A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The generation from the '80s that saw it, remember it now as a family experience. Getting to go to the video store and having marathons for Halloween. I get this from people who’ve lost a parent or an older brother and they have this memory of a family being scared together and alive together. It's something I never imagined, that you’d consider Elm Street to have any contribution to the American family. I was ostracised as being this purveyor of violence and gore, but now I’ve been getting this new feedback, and when I saw (the real) Adam Goldbergs first draft of the script, it touched me so much. When I saw the story and how true it was to real life, I had to say yes."

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The episode features Adam wanting to celebrate Halloween by renting out 'A Nightmare On Elm Street’.

His mother Beverly, can't have her 'shmoo’ having nightmares, and wont let him watch it. Being a teenager though, he finds a way of watching the film, and begins having nightmares. After doing his utmost not to sleep, Beverly finds out he has seen the film, and feels like she has failed as a mother, which is her biggest fear, and greatest nightmare….

When Adam F. Goldberg, was quizzed about his first experience of the Elm Street films, and why he wanted to bring Freddy to the show, he said: "A Nightmare On Elm Street is the first place I go to when I think of Halloween. I was speaking to Robert about when I saw 'Part 3: Dream Warriors’.

I went home and I threw up all night. I didn’t sleep all week. It was so real to me, and my mom was freaking out. That was a traumatic experience for me.

So every year when we come to the Halloween episode, I say to the writers, “Let’s get Robert to be Freddy”, and i’ll get something back like “Let’s do poltergeist instead?”.

But this year I took the shot”.

It sounds like getting Freddy was a fairytale for Goldberg, but it was not an easy task. When asked about how things came together, he said: “He took quite some convincing. I approached Robert’. knew the show, and knew we would treat him and the character with respect.

I wrote from my heart, and when I actually spoke to Robert, I said to him “This character is in my DNA, starting with the trauma, then turning that trauma into something on camera with my friends. This was our bonding thing, making these horror movies, and that experience is why I do, what I do now…”

Robert responded and said “I trust you”.

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Ash Arrives On ‘DEAD BY DAYLIGHT’ by Gary Hindley ‘Dead By Daylight’ is a first person console game, where you can play the game as a survivor or a killer. If you play as a survivor, the aim of the game is to run round fixing electrical generators to power up an exit door so you can make your escape. The other objective, is not getting killed.

While you’re fixing generators, there is a bloodthirsty Killer hunting you down, every step of the way. If you’re playing as a killer, you job is simple, hunt down and kill anything with a pulse..

Fans of the already very popular game had cause for excitement recently, when it was announced on social media, by none other than Bruce Campbell himself, that his character ‘Ash’ from ‘The Evil Dead’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’’ would be added to the game as a survivor character.

This is big news for Evil Dead fans. When the hit show Ash vs. Evil Dead finished its third and final season, Campbell announced that he would be retiring as Ash and wouldn’t be performing as the character again. I’m not sure if this could be classed as a U-turn on that announcement, but whatever this is, it’s great to see Ash back in action.

Could this be the start of Bruce Campbell bringing Ash back for one last ride?

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The addition of Ash to ‘Dead By Daylight’ is available as part of the games downloadable content, which is available now for purchase from the Playstation Store, Xbox Marketplace, and Steam Store. Also, as part of the downloadable content available for this game, if you want to play as the villain from your favourite horror film, you’re in luck.

You can go on a murderous rampage with such characters as ‘Michael Myers’ from ‘Halloween’, ‘Leatherface’ from ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Jigsaw’ from Saw, and ‘Freddy Krueger’ from ‘A NIghtmare On Elm Street’.

Each of the killers is of course unique, and rightfully so, the game recognises this, which means you can perform your kills in a host of different ways depending on the character you’ve chosen.

I I had feared that perhaps they would just keep the actions of the characters the same but just change the appearance, but to my delight this was not the case.

Sadly, at this moment in time, there is no Jason Voorhees in this game, and that doesn’t seem likely to change any time soon.

Fear not though, cause Jason has his very own ‘Friday The 13th’ game where you can hack up neglectful camp counselors until your heart's content.

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When Fantasy Turns Into Nightmare by Gary Andrew Hindley It’s Halloween night in 1997, and it’s the last night of high school for Corey and his skater gang, called ‘The Gromits’. For Corey, the realisation quickly sets in that his childhood is over, and adult life beckons…

But a traumatic event from his child he tried his best to forget, has some unfinished business.

A Halloween night celebration for finishing high school, is about to turn into a nightmare..

Corey is walking home from the party, and encounters Jonah…

A former childhood friend that he and his gang now bully and victimise…

But Corey on this occasion, takes pity on him and agrees to walk him home for old time’s sake..

What starts off as a normal walk through empty suburban streets descends into something dark and magical as they tell each other ghost stories… drawing upon their fears of the world around them.

As they walk through their memories and the ghosts of their past, Corey is surprised to discover how much he still has in common with his friend, and is shown that although he was able to forget,Jonah couldn’t…

Just as their friendship appears rekindled, a tragic truth may mean he’s made the discovery all too late.

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2016 was a fantastic year for indie horror, with such films as ‘The Invitation’, Rob Zombie’s ‘13’. ‘Carnage Park’, and ‘House of Ghosts’ showing the big production companies such as Blumhouse how it should be done.

The film is another great effort from Australia. In the past, we have been treated to some brilliant films such as 2005’s Wolf Creek, 2008’s Lake Mungo, 2009’s The Loved Ones, and 2014’s The Babadook.

Quite simply the film is brilliant and actually had me in tears towards the end.

An aspect that I completely fell in love with, is that it completely reminded me of what life was like back in 1997. Dial-up modems and that awful noise they made, the hair cuts... the music,...Some of the cultural references that relate to the time…

It’s all there, and is a major trip down memory lane.

Onto something more serious though, a big theme in this film, is bullying… the physical and emotional torture of one boy. Some of the scenes that feature in the film are brutal, and are hard to watch.

Yes, this is just a movie, but the message is the same.

Sadly, it shows just how far bullying can go when it’s not put a stop to, both by actions of the bullies, and by the victim.Bullying exists in many forms…

In school, over the internet, and can even carry on as an adult in the workplace, and in many other forms.

The terrible things people can be driven to do to themselves as a result needs to acknowledged more now than ever in this modern age.

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By S.J. Carter

The Nightmare (2015) Directed By Rodney Ascher From the man who brought us Room 237, The Nightmare is a documentary film shining an eerie light on the subject of sleep paralysis. Ascher chose sleep paralysis because of his past experience with it.

In the film he interviews people who suffer from the disorder and then recreates their experiences with professional actors.

Rather than spending an hour and a half trying to science away the very real trauma caused by sleep paralysis, Ascher's emotionally driven, empathetic focus on the actual experience makes the The Nightmare more engaging than other documentaries.

While it differs quite a bit from Room 237, fans of that film will not be disappointed.

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The Blackout Experiments (2016) Directed By Rich Fox Rich Fox takes viewers into the gritty, controversial world of the extreme haunt.

His ďŹ lm examines the immersive horror experience blackout, in which willing participants try to make it through a hot tailored to their individual fears.

They reveal this information to the event coordinators prior to entering so the acts performed on the participants very.

The actors are allowed to touch customers and the event is so intense they actually have a safe word.

Fox, interviewed repeat customers in an effort to understand why they keep returning and recording their reactions to the Frights.

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Before I Wake (2016) Directed By Mike Flanagan Jessie and Mark take in a foster child named Cody after their own son dies from drowning.

Things get delightfully strange when blue butteries appear in their home, seemingly out of nowhere.

But it isn't until their dead son appears in front of them that they realize their new ward has the ability to make his dreams take shape in reality.

Mark is deeply disturbed when he discovers Jessie is using Cody to continue seeing their dear departed son.

Things take an even darker turn when they realize that not all of Cody's dreams are pleasant.

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The Showdown of The Century by Gary Andrew Hindley I have to confess, that as far as comic books go, i’ve always looked at them, and been able to have a huge appreciation for the artistry and talent that has gone in to making them, but for some reason, i’ve never properly picked one up and read one… until now…

In 2008, Wildstorm comics, and Dynamite entertainment released a 6 part comic book series called Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. In part due to its popularity and success, it would be followed up by a sequel series called ‘The Nightmare Warriors’. If you have lived under a rock all your life, and never seen a horror film, the characters featured here are what sums up the genre that we all love.

The first of these three icons to hit our screen was brought to us by Sean S.Cunningham.

The character was none other than Jason Voorhees in ‘Friday The 13th’ back in 1981.

There are going to be some of you who read the above line and saying something along the lines of “But it wasn’t Jason in the first film”... and you’d be correct in saying that.

But the groundwork for the character is laid out in the first film, and *Spoiler Alert*, we get a pretty good jump scare at the end. It wouldn’t be until the release of ‘Part 3’ in 1982, that Jason would put on the iconic hockey mask that we all associate him with for the first time.

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Next was a gift given to us by director Sam Raimi. In 1983, ‘The Evil Dead’ was released and along with it, the films main star, Ash. Portrayed in the films by Bruce Campbell, he is the boomstick butcher with the chainsaw hand.

Throughout time in horror films, 9 times out of 10, the surviving character will usually be a female. The Evil Dead broke away from that trend and cast a male to be the sole survivor. It was looked upon as a huge gamble at the time, but one that we can happily say paid off, spawning two successful sequels, a reboot, and a TV show that ran for three seasons.

Last but not least, was Freddy Krueger, created by Wes Craven for 1984’s ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’.

The overwhelming popularity of the character would see a further seven sequels, a TV show that ran for 2 seasons, and a reboot. The last of the films featuring Freddy Krueger was ‘Freddy vs. Jason’.

It would be the nature of the ending and the aftermath of that film that would give birth to this series of comics.

After the events ‘Freddy vs Jason’, Krueger is desperate to once again return. He invades the dreams of a sleeping Jason and once again uses him as a pawn, to go after a book called the Necronomicon Exmortis.

The demonic text has passages in it which can bring him back, stronger, and more evil than ever. He makes a deal with Jason that if he gets the book, he will give him the life of a normal little boy.

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What Freddy hadn’t bargained on, is that there is a guy called Ash Williams, who’s on his way Crystal Lake, to hunt for the same book, with the intention of destroying it, and ridding the world of the evil of the deadites, once and for all.

It’s safe to say with our three titans at the ready, we should get prepared for all out war.

Battle is about to commence. Who will be victorious?

If you’re a fan of the slasher genre, and/or a fan of any of these three characters, then this is something you’re really going to enjoy. The story is very entertaining and is full of sex, ultra violence, and fun, witty dialogue. Things get going quickly, with a lot of very exciting action sequences, full of blood and gore and violence, featuring Jason doing what he does best...

Finding teenagers that are up to good, and giving them a Voorhees style morality lesson. It is shortly after this, that the plot starts to unravel, and for the first time in the series, Freddy enters the fray, and immediately makes his presence known, and sets the groundwork for the rest of the series.

After the head chopping dished out by Laurie in the final battle of ‘Freddy vs. Jason’, Krueger only exists in the dream world. He’s not strong enough to fight Jason, so instead, he all out terrorises him, doing such things as having sex with his mother.

As you’d expect though, Freddy becomes more powerful, and evil. It’s a new kind of evil that we haven’t seen from before. We get to see the new lengths that he is willing to go to, to act out his will, and satisfy his sick desires.

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Ash’s introduction to the story, is him telling us he is on the road, actively hunting down the Necronomicon, and kicking deadite ass wherever it dare how its face. While on said road, he takes a job at an S-mart store that’s opened up beside Camp Crystal Lake.

His portrayal here, is very similar to they type of Ash character we saw in ‘Army of Darkness’ and the ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ TV series. He’s got all the sleazy lines with the ladies, and the funny one liners for the baddies, but when it comes to business of kicking undead ass, business is good, and Ash is as sharp as ever.

With Freddy and Ash being two larger than life personalities, I was worried that maybe this comic wasn’t ‘big enough for both of ‘em’, but the interactions between the two characters are scripted brilliantly. There is a brilliant ‘Who’s Top Dog’ style chemistry between the characters that’s organic and doesn’t Feel forced. It really works and credit to the writers for pulling it off.

As a series, this really is a good read but it’s not without its issues.

The artwork for Freddy is one example. Artists of varying experience may have worked on the 6 different comics, but regardless of that, there has to be consistency.

In every other page where Freddy features, he’s drawn differently, and sometimes in weird and unexpected ways. It’s almost as if they had 7 or 8 ideas for how they thought Freddy should look, and instead of using one, they decided to use them all.

The issue may have been that due to to budget constraints, they needed to basically use whatever artwork they had.

On doing some research though, in 1998, ‘Wildstorm Comics’ was purchased and became a subsidiary of the almighty ‘DC Comics’ label, so a lack of budget can’t be used as an excuse. It has a ‘That’ll Do’ attitude, and that just isn’t good enough.

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By S.J. Carter

Welcome to the VHS Vault!

Your one stop shop for video store goodies.

Take a look around, we've got quite a selection.

Be sure and grab a box of Junior Mints on the way out.

And for Satan's sake don't forget to rewind!

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Popcorn (1991) Directed By Mark Harrier Film student Maggie has recurring nightmares about a little girl named Sarah caught in a fire and being chased by a Jesus knock off trying to kill her.

As Maggie and her classmates prepare to throw a horror marathonin in an old theater, they discover a film reel containing an unfinished movie that bears an uncanny resemblance to her dreams.

Maggie's Aunt starts acting suspicious and as her friends start dying, she suspects her dreams maynot be dreams

at all.

Nightmare (1964) Directed By Freddy Francis

Developed for Hammer films, nightmare centers on Janet, a girl at a finishing school who witnessed her mother stab her father to death six years ago.

Now she's plagued by nightmares about her mother who has been institutionalized ever since.

Janet's nightmares begin to bleed into reality and those around her suspect her sanity is unraveling.

But there maybe something more sinister at play.

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Nightmare (1956) Directed By Maxwell Shane In this crime film noir, New Orleans big band clarinetist Stan wakes up to find evidence of the murder he dreamed about committing.

After a similar murder is discovered he quickly becomes the number one suspect but,as is usually the case, things are not always as they seem

Nightmare 1981 (Nightmares in a Damaged Brain) Directed By Romano Scavolini George is institutionalized after committing a particularly savage act.

He undergoes an experimental procedure to reprogram him, but he still suffers from violent nightmares about his childhood.

After his release he heads south to Florida to murder his ex-wife and their three children. Nightmare was banned in the UK as a video nasty and its distributor was sentenced to 18 months in prison for refusing to edit even one second of violent footage. Talk about suffering in the name of art! The film also gained controversy for claiming that Tom Savini provided the special effects which he be vehemently denied.

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Paperhouse (1988) Directed By Bernard Rose While ill with fever Anna has disturbing dreams about a house she has drawn. After including a face in the window, she encounters a disabled boy in her next dream. Learning the boy is real, she attempts to help him but her artistic elaborations seem to only make matters worse

Gothic (1986) Directed By Ken Russell.

Boasting the seriously impressive cast of Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson, Miriam Cyr, and Timothy Spall, Gothic takes some major liberties with an already intriguing historical event. It is a ďŹ ctionalized retelling of Percy and Mary Shelley's visit to Lord Byron in Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva. Mary and Percy are introduced to Lord Byron by Mary's step sister Claire. They all visit Villa Diodati where they meet Byron's friend Dr. John Polidori.

While a storm rages outside, the combination of drugs and a book of horror stories give them the truly stellar idea to hold a seance. The result is a downward spiral of revealed secrets and horriďŹ c manifestations possibly stemming from the seance or birthed from the dark recesses of their own minds.

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Dream Demon (1988) Directed By Harley Cokeliss

Dianna is about to be married and begins having nightmares about demons.

She wakes to ďŹ nd the demons are real and committing gruesome murders.

When she forms a bond with a woman named Jenny they race to ďŹ nd out what is causing the the terror before it consumes Dianna's happy life.

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Interview With The Director by Gary Andrew Hindley I got the opportunity, and had the privilege, of having a sit down interview with feature film director David Ryan Keith.

He made his first film ‘Attack of The Herbals’ in 2011, and since then, the versatile film-maker has gone from strength to strength with such horror films as the gorey slasher, ‘The Redwood Massacre’, and the paranormal haunted house spectacular ‘House of Ghosts’. With some new material on the cards, we sat down for a chat over a coffee.

At the Chicago horror film festival, for the previously mentioned ‘The Redwood Massacre, he received awards for Best Director, Best screenplay and Best Writer. For House of Ghosts, he received an award for best film.

Released at a time when paranormal films were at their peak, and what makes this film special, is that it ignored what was fast becoming very common tropes within the paranormal genre, it went in its own direction. Different doesn’t always mean better but with that film, he really got it right.

With plans being put in place for a Redwood sequel, I wanted to find out more about the films he’s made, and what the plans are for the future.

In what was a very relaxed and candid interview with the up and coming director, I wanted to go back in time to the humble beginnings and what it was that led him to start making feature films.

Transcribed here is the full interview with David, going through the ups and downs of his career in film making through years, Terror Connection - Issue 1

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The Interview: Gary: Firstly, let’s talk about your first film ‘Attack of The Herbals’.

David: Oh my god, what a lesson learned in first films made.

Before making that film, I worked in a film studio making short films, commercials and corporate films. With the short films, they went down really well, But I spoke to a producer at a film festival, and he said to me “Directors that making short films. It’s more for their ego…

You should take a shot at making feature length films”.

So... I decided to go for it.

I set up my own family production company, and with the savings I had, I made a film with a budget of £1000.

Gary: Wow… Thats a small budget for a film.

But on viewing, it’s a brilliant film regardless of the budget.I loved the blood thirsty Nazi Zombies, and all the blood. When I first saw the film, I remember being really happy at seeing my teacher from primary school, David: You’ll have noticed, there was more actors and actresses in the film that you’ll know or recognise.. Because of the budget, I couldn’t afford to pay anyone, so we did all of our filming at the weekends and would have Anyone who would volunteer to be in it.

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David: So, because people were only available at weekends, I got into a routine of editing during the week and then filming at weekends. That routine eventually became a problem as the film was taking too long and was behind schedule. It wasn’t until I made a proper timetable to get the film complete.

Gary: It sounds like a very hard and difficult situation Gary: What was it like for you behind the camera, filming and directing your first feature length film?

David: So in 2010 the Canon 5d came out at just the right time, it really tricked the distributors into thinking it was a bigger film. Before that you needed high end equipment to get that specific film look. It was a major factor in us getting distribution. So we had a bit of luck on our side.

Gaey: After the film was released. What was the reaction to the film? And how was it finding a distributor for the film?

David: Sadly , the reaction to the film was a negative one, but it didn’t surprise me… It’s a terrible film.

Gary: I quite liked the film. The quick pace of the film, and the crazy happenings in the film, such as the nazi zombies, and people drinking a cup of tea, made from tea bags that two men found in a box on beach. Then after drinking it, they ended up going on a murderous rampage.

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Gary: So let’s move onto what came next film which was the slasher film called ‘The Redwood Massacre’.This was a film that won Jury Awards at the ‘Chicago Horror Film Festival’ for ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Screenplay’. and ‘Best Writer’. It also received a nomination for ‘Best Score’.

With a much bigger budget on this production, compared to ‘Attack of The Herbals’, what did you do different compared to your first film?

David: Before making the film, when talking with producers, they told me slashers dont sell, and it may not do too well… But as it turns out, slashers do sell, and did well on Hulu, Redbox and WalMart. This is why talks started about making a sequel..

Gary: With regard to the practical effects in the film, when the killer is gutting the girl… They’re nothing short of amazing. They look awesome.

How did you go about putting the effects together?

David: They were so cheap. It was just a dummy doll filled with sausages and blood.

Gary: Even so, it’s amazing how something so simple translates onto the screen. It definitely delivers on the gore. Its Awesome.

David: With proper prosthetics, it would have looked even better.

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David: There was a blood company in England that sponsored the film, and they donated something like… 900 litres of fake blood, so that was definitely put to good use.

Gary: It was the close up shots and the blood and gore that for a fan like myself, it really delivered. It’s completely different to now, compared to what you used to get in old slasher films… If I was to think back to films like Psycho... in the shower scene, you never see the knife actually stab the girl.

David: This is it… Some people have described the movie as being ‘Torture Porn’ and things along them lines.

But from my point of view it’s just a dummy, and a prop for the movie.

We ended up stabbing the same dummy, over and over.

David: There was a lot that got taken out of the script for Redwood…

Around 90% of what the story changed when we got round to making the film There was a big fight scene we wanted to do, with a guy getting thrown around and smashed through walls, but in the end, it was something we didn’t get the chance to do.

Gary: As a filmmaker it must be hard to end up with something that’s different than what you set out to make?

David: When you’re writing things out in a script, it could be something on paper that seems so easy to do, but then you go to do it practically, it just not possible… So what you get at the end, is usually not what you’d started out with.

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Gary: Getting onto 2016’s ‘House of Ghosts’, I was blown away.

I loved the interactions between Paul and Michael..

Paul’s ‘Jonathan Blazer’ was spot on as the comedy relief. Michaels character, Jack Donovan... The development of his character, the way his tragic background is brought into the story, to then teaming up with Jonathan… You know you’ve got a good story when you go from Disliking to then liking a character and accepting that transition without it feeling forced.

David: Yeah, Michael did a really good job with his character and pulled off that kind of, stone cold, no nonsense kinda guy. With Paul. he actually changed some of his dialogue to suit his character and it really worked.

Gary: It would have been easy to follow tropes of the huge amount of other paranormal films that were coming out at the time… But with this one, it’s different. It has a story and proper development of characters.

David: When I was planning the film, I really wanted it to be a full on Horror. The distributor saw the script, they put forward the money for the film before we’d even started shooting it. But as with Redwood, when we got to the set and we started shooting, there were things we weren’t able to do and had to change a few things. We got Paul Flannery and Michael Koltes in to star in it, and the film became a lot more character based than it was initially, so we ended up pulling back on the horror side of things.

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Gary: I would say it for sure delivers on the horror element. It’s delightfully dark.

The story about the house, and that anyone who lived there has only survived for 3 days and died in all kinds of horrible, and graphic ways was great.

David: On reflection, I would have liked to have added another 10 minutes or so and added a few different things.

Gary: If you could go back and add something or do something Different, what would you have looked at doing?

David: Some more action stuff, and a few more horror elements.

Maybe some different kinds of practical effects, and maybe worked out something different with the CGI effects we did at the end of the film.

Maybe the poster that was used as well.

I’d have done it differently.

Gary: What were the reviews like for the film?

David: The reviews for the film overall positive and well received.

It also made it onto RedBox, Hulu and Amazon Prime

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Gary: The prosthetics used in the film looked terrifying.

The monster character called ‘Big Beard’ played by Liam Mathieson with the big red eyes, And the guy with all the wounds and the blood…It’s one of them “oh holy s**t, they’re done for”’ moments.

David: Well it’s not all make-up. Some of it is prosthetics, We weren’t too happy with what they looked like… For example, the effects on Liam’s face and the scene at the end with the girl stabbing herself… it looked bad, so the special effects guy motion tracked each frame and put it together. The effects in the film were done by just one guy over in Barcelona.

When it came to doing the Demon in cupboard at the end, he was a bit worried cause he’d never done character animation before, but he pulled It off.

Gary: He definitely did. I’m made up the reviews were all positive. They’re well deserved. It’s a film I really enjoyed.

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by Gary Andrew Hindley ‘The Nightmare Warriors’ is round 2 of the ‘Freddy vs Jason vs Ash’ mini series from Wildstorm comics and carries on from where the original mini series.

At the end of what we will call “Season One”, the scene was set for the showdown at Camp Crystal Lake, where the three titans are in the midst of a fight to the death.

Ash scrambled for the Necronomicon, and with an incantation from the book, sends Freddy through a portal into the Deadite dimension, thus vanquishing one of his foes.

Then in classic fashion, he drowns Jason in crystal lake., and disposes of the Necronomicon in the same fashion. With Freddy and Jason now defeated, and the evil book now laying at the bottom of the frozen over lake, Ash has come out on top, and can now live the normal life he has craved since that fateful night in the cabin.

He’s finished with the book, but the book isn’t finished with him.

In the midst of a new top secret government project, which starts with first retrieving the Necronomicon from the frozen lake.

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Where do I begin with ‘The Nightmare Warriors? Firstly, simply put, it’s very good, and is a great way to follow on from the first series.

As soon as Jason comes into the mix, literally, all hell breaks loose and the carnage that ended the first comic, spills over into the 2nd series in brutal fashion.

As you’d expect from a comic with these three characters, there is non stop action, hacking and slashing throughout. Dr Neil Gordon returns in the role of Psychiatrist, and is still trying to figure out a way to stop Krueger for good this time. Also joining him from the Elm Street franchise, is ‘Alice’, who features in Elm Street 4 & 5. She and her son Jacob are featured.

As a special treat, and with the power of the Necronomicon, those who had the misfortune of falling at Freddy’s blades, get resurrected, to help finish the job, and get some revenge.

Joining the Warriors, is Tommy Jarvis, who if you didn’t know, features in Friday the 13th parts 4, 5 & 6. ‘Tina’ from Part 7 also features.

Their powers combined are still shy of one more piece of the puzzle if they’re gonna kick some demon ass. That missing piece, is the boomstick butcher with the chainsaw hand…

The one and only, Ash Williams.

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Something I enjoyed in particular is that every character gets there moment in the sun. There isn’t anyone who is there for fodder… But in saying that, this comic does have a bit of ‘The Walking Dead’ complex, in that even the main characters can die. The essence of the characters from the films, and the further development of the characters is done brilliantly.

The story doesn’t feel forced. The script written for Ash is brilliant. I found myself reading his lines with Bruce Campbell’s voice in my head. The same character development can be said with Freddy Krueger. In the first series, I described Freddy as being different, and more evil… Similar words were uttered by Wes Craven did in his 1994 epic, ‘New Nightmare’.

In the first series, he’s even more evil than his most evil carnation from that film in the first mini series, and in this 2nd series, I would go as far as saying he’s even more evil… It’s just next level carnage, that only Freddy can deliver on. I can say with certainty… that it’s hard to compare his comic book character to his character in any of the Elm Street films, as there is a piece of him from each one the films… and then a whole new element we’ve never seen before. Jason, as expected, is a man of few words, but rest assured, he lets his machete do the talking. Something else to mention about Jason, is that in this comic, he is sporting a new, rather fetching get up that’s totally different to any look he has had before.

The long hair is a very interesting addition.

At first I was unsure about this addition, but it really grew on me as the series went on.

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I do need to say as well, that compared to the first series, the artwork has improved dramatically.

The first series has a brilliant story, but what let it down, was the outright lack of consistency in the artwork.

Whether that’s down to different artists working on the project is unknown, but in the ‘Nightmare Warriors’ series, there are vast improvements.

The subtle intricacies of the characters are captured brilliantly, and I found myself less frustrated while reading.

Please don’t think that i’m saying that the first series is inferior. The first series and ‘The Nightmare warriors are both well worth a look.

Freddy, Jason and Ash, all have there own comic books and graphic novels full of all sorts of whirlwind adventures.

In the case of Ash, there is a series he does with ‘Xena Warrior Princess’, and another where he takes on Hitler and the Nazi’s…

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From Hell by Gary Andrew Hindley Much has been written about ‘The Ripper’ over the years, but in 2019, using modern scientific and forensic techniques, it is believed that after all this time, that he has finally been identified.

For those of you who don’t know what we’re talking about, here is a low down on exactly who he is, the murders he committed, how he taunted the police, and of course, his victims.

In 1888, a series of gruesome murders swept the slums in the East of London, in the town of Whitechapel.

There was a total of five known Ripper victims, though that figure is disputed, as it’s believed that there could be many more. beyond recognition, and the killer was never caught. With police forensics next to non-existent back then, catching the killer required good old fashioned police work and investigation. All of the five Women believed to victims of the ripper were prostitutes.

The first victim of ‘Jack The Ripper’ was Mary Ann Nichols who was Murdered on August 31st, 1888. Her body was found with a slit throat and various slashes down and across on her abdomen. This corpse was the least mutilated of the Jack the Ripper victims, which increased in brutality as they continued.

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The next of the Ripper victims would be Annie Chapman, who was murdered on September 8th, 1888..

Her throat was cut from left to right, and she had been disembowelled, with her intestines thrown out of her abdomen over each of her shoulders.

The morgue examination revealed that part of her uterus was missing. Chapman's protruding tongue and swollen face led Dr Phillips to think that she may have been asphyxiated with the handkerchief around her neck before her throat was cut.

With the murder of two women within 8 days, the Ripper was causing chaos and panic all over Whitechapel. The newspapers referred to him as ‘Leather Apron’, thinking that the killer might be a butcher or a barber. Due to the large jewish contingent in the town, this gave cause to the rise of anti-semitism in the area.

Although the newspapers of the time referred to him as ‘Leather Apron’, on September 27th, that name would change forever.

George Lusk, the head of a vigilance team put together to catch the killer, would receive a letter now known as the ‘Dear Boss’ letter, just a week after Pizer’s arrest.

It is thought by many criminologists that the reason for ‘The Ripper’ sending this letter was that he couldn’t have someone else taking credit for his work.

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The contents of the letter are translated here exactly as they were written: Dear Boss, I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track.

That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits.

I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The next job I do, I shall clip the lady’s ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance.

Good Luck. Yours truly Jack the Ripper Don’t mind me giving the trade name PS Wasn’t good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it.

No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha

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The Whitechapel constabulary would only have 3 days before ‘The Ripper’ would strike again.

This time, he would strike twice in a single night.

At 1am on September 30th, he would kill Elizabeth Stride, and at 1:45am, he struck again killing Catherine Eddowes.

Stride was found with her throat cut, and it is thought that a passer by, may have interrupted the ripper before he could do any further damage to her. Eddowes would not be so lucky.

Up to this point, there is absolutely no doubt that Eddowes, the fourth of the five victims, was the most horribly mutilated up to this point.

As well as having her throat cut from ear to ear, her abdomen had been cut open and exposed, her intestines ripped out and thrown over her shoulders along with excrement, she had a kidney and her uterus removed, and her face was brutally mutilated. The cause of death was declared as severance of the left carotid artery, and that all mutilations occurred after death.

It is said by many that have studied the ripper murder cases, because of the interruption he had when killing Elizabeth Stride, when he came to killing Catherine Eddowes, he became frenzied. Due to the killers ability to remove organs in the way he did, it was thought among many that the killer could be a doctor or perhaps a butcher.

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The next move of the ripper was to send another letter to the ‘Central News Agency’.

When the police were informed of what is now known as the ‘Saucy Jack’ letter, they were told not to make the letter public, to avoid any further panic. Written on a postcard, it says:: I was not kidding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip.

You'll hear about Saucy Jack’s work tomorrow.

Double event this time. Number one squealed a bit. Couldn't finish straight off. Had no time to get her ears off for the police.

Thanks for keeping last letter till I got to work again.

Jack the Ripper

It should be noted, that written in the postcard is the mention of two victims.

There were two women killed very close to one another on the same night.

He wrote the words "double event this time". Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were both killed within 45 minutes of each other. Police weren’t initially convinced that the letter was from the ripper and was a hoax… Until they had word that part of Eddowes' ear was cut off as a result of facial mutilations inflicted upon her.

What the ripper did next, is what many class as his most chilling moment.

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As if what the ripper had done wasn’t chilling enough, George Lusk. would receive a 2nd letter. This was the infamous ‘From Hell letter’. The contents of the letter are shown here:

From hell.

Mr Lusk, Sir I send you half the Kidney I took from one women.

Preserved it for you. The other piece I fried and ate. It was very nice.

I may send you the bloody knife that took it out if you only wait a while longer.

Catch me when you can Mr Lusk

It is said that the half a kidney that George Lusk received, belonged to Catherine Eddowes, such were her horrific injuries.

After the release of this letter, it was the first case of a serial killer to be spoken of, and written about in news papers round the world.

The fact the Whitechapel Police Constabulary and The London city police had no idea who it was committing these awful crimes, only added to the media frenzy… If you thought that after all of this that Jack was done, you’d be very mistaken. What happened next is classed as the most brutal of the ripper murders.

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On November 9th, 1888, a landlord looking for overdue rent, went to the apartment of Mary Kelly.

When he knocked on the door and got no answer, he looked through the window, and saw her horrifically mutilated body.

He of course notified the police immediately of what had happened.

In the practically empty room, Mary Jane Kelly’s body was in the middle of the bed, with her left arm, partially removed, her abdominal cavity was empty, her breasts and facial features were cut off, and severed from her neck to her spine.

Her dismembered organs and body parts were placed in different areas around the room, and her heart was missing.

The bed was covered in blood and the wall by the bed was splashed with it.

Sadly, she was only 25 at the time of her death.

She was the youngest of the 5 ripper victims But what do we know of the ripper’s identity?

So many studies have been done, and with improved technology aiding forensic science, many claim to have identified him, but there theories were disproved by many historians.

But this year, in 2019, it’s believed that the ripper mystery has finally been solved.

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A DNA forensic investigation published this month by two British researchers in the Journal of Forensic Science, identifies the killer who called himself ‘Jack The Ripper.

The studies authored by Jari Louhelainen of Liverpool John Moores University and David Miller of the University of Leeds, found that the semen stains matched the sequences of one of the main police suspects of the time.

The authors of the study, conducted genetic testing of blood and semen on a shawl found near the body of the ripper’s 4th victim, Catherine Eddowes, whose badly mutilated body was discovered on Sept. 30, 1888.

His name is Aaron Kosminski.

He was a Polish Jew, who emigrated to England in the 1880s.

He worked as a hairdresser in Whitechapel in the East End of London, and In 1891, he was institutionalised in an insane asylum.

The Whitechapel Police Constabulary and the London City Police of the time had named one of their suspects as "Kosminski", and had described him as being a Polish Jew. When they decided to try and investigate him further, they found out he was now in an insane asylum.

131 years on from the final murder, the suspect "Kosminski" has now identified and was described as being a violent and extremely volatile patient at the same asylum.

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Are You Scared? By Gary Andrew Hindley Have you ever wished that you could actually enter the world of your favourite horror films?

Well… if the answer is yes, then your in luck.

Out in Los Angeles, California, there is a new company that opened its doors on April 4th, 2019, that provides you with a full on, immersive horror experience.

This is completely different to anything you will have experienced before.

It’s what every horror fan has been dreaming of.

The groundbreaking immersive art installation, is a celebration of some of the most popular and loved horror films out there, and is a unique opportunity for fans to interact and enjoy the films they love in a completely new way, with amazing and terrifying photo opportunities.

This is not like anything you’ve seen before. It’s not actors running around in costumes… It’s a whole new experience.

One of the exhibits features Tim Burton’s beloved character Beetlejuice, portrayed in the by film star Michael Keaton After visiting Beetlejuice’s graveyard, you take a walk into the Netherworld waiting room and hope you don’t receive your copy of ‘The Handbook For The Recently Deceased’.

And the fun doesn’t end there…

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Come Play With Us Danny…

The line made famous by the Stanley Kubrick directed, horror heavyweight ‘The Shining’, starring Jack Nicholson.

All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy… but your next immersive horror experience is anything but dull…

On your journey through the studio, you’ll get the chance to sink into the legendary carpets of the hotel,. Just hope and pray that the ghouls that lurk within the hotel don’t get to you and your friends, or that you lose you all sanity and go on a murderous rampage before you get to the next exhibit…

And watch out for the elevator… You don’t get washed away in the river of blood…

Next in line, is the slasher horror king of kings. Making its debut in 1984, Wes Craven brough the film ‘A Nightmare On Street’ to our screens and with that, the knife fingered man of our dreams, that Has been giving us nightmares ever since.

Freddy Krueger, portrayed by horror legend Robert Englund, went on to make 7 brilliant sequels.

The experience brought to you on your tour through the world of horror, will land you in the thick of it in Freddy’s boiler room, and an opportunity to get up close and personal with famous glove… But not too close… Nightmares, they come and go… but a trip to the boiler room will definitely ‘stoke the fire’.

“Sleep. Those Little Slices of Death… How I Loathe Them...” - Edgar Allan Poe. “Welcome To Primetime Bitch - Freddy Krueger

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Scared of clowns?

If not, you’re going to be. Get ready to be taken in Pennywise’s lair.

Pennywise the dancing clown has been terrifying us all since 1990.

Originally, Tim Curry portrayed the part of the clown, and then the film was rebooted for a whole new audience in 2017, and it scared the pants off of us all over again, with Bill Skarsgard portraying the part, and it was fantastic.

When entering the Pennywise lair… Remember…

“-We All Float Down here-”.

Like Vampires?

But hate the sparkling kind from that Twilight bullshit?

Do you like ‘The Lost Boys’ style vampires?

Well you’re in a whole heap of luck.

Revisit your favourite vampire film and get to grips with the frog brothers as they go to war with the vampires of Santa Carla.

‘The Lost Boys’, released in 1987, was directed by Joel Schumacher, and featured Corey Feldman who portrayed the part of vampire Hunter ‘Edgar Frog’, who was leading the fight against the movie legend Keifer Sutherland, who portrays the part of David, leader of the vampire cult that’s taking over Santa Carla.

The film revolves around a family moving to a new town, and two brothers discover that the idyllic coastal town is a haven for vampires. They are literally in a fight for their lives…

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If you are not of a nervous disposition and find yourself intrigued and wish to enter this immersive house of horrors and be at the centre of the action, here are the details: Location: The Desmond Building 5514 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 Tickets are $39 per person and are non-refundable.

When you check in at ‘I Like Scary Movies’, there are a few things you should know if you want to make the best of your experience.

You need to arrive 15 minutes prior to your designated check in time… and if you find yourself arriving more than 15 minutes late, you won’t be permitted entry….

The reason being, is that each tour is scheduled 15 minutes to allow for a smooth flow of traffic through the exhibits.

Your tour, depending on how quickly you go, and the amount of photos you want to take, it can anything from 60 to 90 minutes.

And obviously, don’t forget your ticket and a form of photo ID. You are encouraged to arrive in costume, but if you are wearing a mask, or have any kind of weapon (real or fake) you will not be allowed in.

If you think this is a scare maze, you’re very mistaken. This is a very unique horror experience.

As previously stated, there will be no-one in costumes jumping out and scaring you.

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By S.J. Carter Welcome to PIN, or for those of you who insist on the long version, the Podcast Information Network.

We endeavor to meet the needs of as many auditory consumers as we possibly can by helping them make the right listening decisions. Whether you need an idea for a new podcast to binge or are looking for more info on one you're curious about, we're here for you.

Take a look at our featured PIN Pick and see if it tickles your fancy.

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Ghostly Podcast First Episode Aired: 10/31/2018 Releases: Biweekly on Wednesdays If you like your paranormal podcasts fair and balanced . . .

No fair and balanced . . .no like actually fair an . . just shut up and read‌ Anyway, Ghostly Podcast is a great option. Ghostly features Pat (the skeptic) and Rebecca (the believer) covering a different ghost story every episode.

They give the details of the story and then each provides their own set of evidence supporting whether the story is real or make believe.

As part of the show, Pat and Rebecca include interviews from people on both sides of the debate, some with tales of their own.

What makes Ghostly such a fun listen is it doesn't take itself too seriously.

The hosts are kooky and corny in all the right ways and the debates are good natured. Ghostly is also pleasantly educational providing tidbits of information listeners might not previously have known about.

The show feels very grassroots and the interviews especially lend themselves to the genuineness of the show.

It doesn't feel rehearsed. Hearing people telling their stories and speaking on their opinions, with their pauses, occasional stammers, and varied vocal tones is both refreshing and so much more interesting than if the hosts just paraphrased everything.

As a fun lil bonus, their web site is both interactive and user friendly. You can listen to episodes and see pictures relating to the stories. PLUS, after every new episode they post a poll that listeners are encouraged to take part in.

So check out their breakout episode on Resurrection Mary on whatever podcast service you give your love and adoration to. Binge the episodes you've missed, then be sure to tune in every other Wednesday for new ones. And don't forget to participate in the polls. No seriously, do it. PIN will know if you don't. PIN is always watching.

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Creatures of The Commonwealth by Gary Andrew Hindley Fallout 4, released at the end of 2015, is still by far one of the best games available.

One of the main features of the free roam game, is the area in the game known as ‘The Commonwealth’. The game is set in a post war apocalypse, and after hundreds of years of exposure to radiation from the falling bombs, animals life that (pre-war) would have seemed totally harmless, are now extremely hostile. Let’s take a moment and have a look at the nightmare inducing creatures the lurk around every corner of the commonwealth… and just how dangerous they are.

Mirelurks: These are perhaps the most vile, if not the most disgusting looking creatures that exist in the game. When on your travels in ‘The Commonwealth’, if you find yourself in or around a coastal community, it’s highly likely you’re going to encounter a Mirelurk.

Hatching from eggs, they look like mutated crabs. There are six different types of Mirelurk that exist in the game, with each having different elements to it it, that make each more dangerous than the other. With their rock hard shells, they are very difficult to kill.

Different variations exist, in the form of ‘Hatchling’, ‘Razorclaw’, ‘Hunter’, ‘King’ and ‘Queen’. On top of being huge, and having massive pincer claws, the Queen has the ability to spew deadly venom that will melt any armour you’re wearing, and kill you very quickly. When coming up against them, you’ll want to make sure you’re packing some powerful weapons if you’re to come out of an encounter alive.

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If Marvel comics have taught us anything, when human beings are exposed to hyper amounts of Gamma radiation, they’re gonna hulk up. The only exception with ‘Super Mutants’, is that they don’t have a soft gooey centre, and when they’re done hulking up, they don’t turn back into scientists with the best intentions.

The only thing these guys are intent on, is causing as much damage to anything or anyone who isn’t a fellow ‘Super Mutant’.

They’re very big, very strong, very angry, and very green.

They come in two different sizes…

Regular, and behemoth.

The regulars are difficult enough to dispatch of, but should you come across a ‘Behemoth’, if have anything less than a nuke launcher, you’re going to very quickly find yourself mortally challenged. Something else to note about Super Mutants, is that they very much have this kind of pack mentality.

When you come across one of them, it’s highly likely his pals are waiting round the corner. Something else they have in their arsenal, are ‘Mutant Hounds’. Dogs that have hulked up.

A point of warning, f you find yourself at Walden Pond, that is no ordinary Swan… If you wake it up… RUN…

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When radiation burns your skin and cooks your brain, and you manage to live through this ordeal, you become a ‘Feral Ghoul’.

They adopt a pack mentality and are found, often in very large groups in abandoned factories around ‘The Commonwealth’.

There are three different types of ‘Ghoul’ that you will come across.

Your typical ‘Feral Ghoul’ will swipe and claw at you, and just standing next to one will poison you with radiation.

Charred ghouls are similar to ferals in the way that they attack you, but are a lot tougher. They hit harder, emit more radiation, and take a lot more effort to kill them.

Finally, are the toughest type of ghoul, known as ‘The Glowing Ones’.

If you find yourself in a scap with a group of ghouls, and you come across a glowing ghoul, you’re going to want to kill it first and do it quickly. They have the ability to revive any ghouls you have just killed, making your job of clearing a building very difficult if they’re left until last. As well as the ability to revive their fallen comrades, they are extremely tough, and emit a huge amount of radiation while alive. When on missions to clear buildings and you find yourself in a fight with a group of ghouls, you will only ever find one ‘Glowing One’, but that is more than enough to put you back to the start of the mission, and having to rethink your strategy on taking them out.

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There are a host of mutated insects floating around the commonwealth. Here we will look at the four that will bring you the biggest challenges.

Bloatflies, Bloodbugs, Radroaches and Stingwings represent what we know as house flies, mosquitos, cockroaches and Wasps.

Given the chance, they will spray you with venom that will melt your skin/armor and kill you quite quickly. Compared to other creatures, they are not difficult to kill, but should you find yourself confronted with one of them, you’ll want to get them out of your way quickly.

The most deadly of all the insects, are without a shadow of a doubt, Radscorpions.

In the real world, Scorpion venom can of course be deadly anyway, but imagine taking on a scorpion that’s the size of a car and 100 times deadlier… It’s not a battle you want to get into.

Should you take a venture into an area of the map called ‘The Glowing Sea’, this is where you are most likely to encounter these monsters, and when you do, be sure to have some powerful weapons with which to kill them, or otherwise, you’re gonna have a bad time.

Also, where the is one Radscorpion, there is more. If you’re brave enough to enter into battle with a Radscorpion, it’s highly likely that in the end, you’re going to end up battling two or three.

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The

Franchise Turns 40 by Gary Andrew Hindley

2019 marks an exciting year for the Alien film franchise.

The original movie, released back in 1979, celebrates its 40th anniversary, and in every way, is still very much at the top of the Sci-Fi/Horror food chain. No film of this type had the same impact as Ridley Scott’s masterpiece.

On first viewing, when we see the xenomorph burst out of John Hurt’s chest, you get the immediate feeling you’re watching the film that was, and continues to be ‘The Game Changer’. The box office figures speak for themselves.

A film, that was made on a budget of $11 Million (US), which by today’s standards would be classed as a shoestring… Made back an astonishing $203 Million (US).

A brilliant cast made up of Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, and led by Sigourney Weaver, deliver a dark and claustrophobic horror film, and make you believe the tagline...

‘-In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream-’.

One scene in particular that still sends shivers up my spine, is when the ship Captain Dallas is in the ventilation shaft looking for the alien, and 2nd in command ‘Lambert’ is guiding him on her tracking system. The system loses track of the alien, and what ensues is some of the most tense and scintillating pieces of horror cinema in existence.

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In 1986, another directing legend in the form of James Cameron would be given the unenviable task of making a sequel to one of horror’s biggest box office smash hits, and my god did he deliver.

Simply titled ‘Aliens’, he would take the idea of plurals to a whole new level. The original features only one of the alien creatures, but the sequel has hundreds of them. It could have been possible for it to become a bit overkill with the increased amount of aliens, but they get the balance perfect.

Making the wise choice of bringing Sigourney Weaver back to reprise her lead role as ‘Ellen Ripley’, she would be joined by more on screen legends in the form of Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton, and Lance Henriksen.The highlight of the film by far though, is the introduction of the Alien Queen.

She’s magnificent. From the moment when they’re sitting discussing what could be laying the eggs, they quickly come to the conclusion that it has to be something akin to a Queen.

You’re immediately filled with dread as to just how big and ugly this creature is going to be.

The regular Xenomorphs are bad enough, but a Queen? It isn’t long until our questions are answered… Ripley haphazardly walks into what looks to be a birthing chamber, and standing there in front of her, laying her eggs, is the one only Alien Queen.

H.R. Geiger who designed the Aliens did an incredible job with making them look terrifying.

But when it comes to the Queen, he exceeds himself on every front.

The final showdown between Ripley and The Queen is the stuff of legend…

“-GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH-”

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With two sensational films in its arsenal, you’d be expecting yet another masterful film to be delivered. When this film went into production with David Fincher directing, and Sigourney Weaver agreeing to do another movie, 20th Century Fox must have said to themselves… ”We’re so clever, there’s no way to we could mess this up”. *Spoiler Alert*, They did. The level of studio involvement was so bad, that the cast and crew went on strike, and set filming back 3 months.. Every day, scripts would change, whole parts of scenes that were shot were frankensteined together, and changed to the point that the movie they ended up with, was unrecognisable to the film they had set out to make.

For a film that had the potential to be something special, it was destroyed by studio executives who never even stepped foot on set.

This should have been the end of the punishment, and the end of the trilogy.

This should have been a wake up call for 20th Century Fox on what happens when you meddle in things you shouldn’t. This should have been a case of ‘Lessons Learned’. But sadly, this was not the case…

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It would be announced by 20th Century Fox, that they would once again be going back to the well to make another movie, this time called ‘Alien: Resurrection’.

On paper this had the makings of a film that should have been incredible. It is was written by Sci-Fi legend Joss Whedon, Sigourney Weaver returned, and it also starred Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, MIchael Wincott, Kim Flowers, Dan Hedaya, Brad Dourif, and Leland Orser.

On top of these fine ingredients, throwing an estimated budget of $75 million (US), and this should have been a return to form for the franchise after the disappointment of Alien 3.

Sadly, it was atrocious.

It was worse than its predecessor.

The story is set 200 years after the events Of Alien 3.

A blood sample from an infectected Ripley is found.

Military scientists are desperate to get their hands on the Queen that was growing inside of Ripley and decide to clone her. All sounds a bit naff doesn't it?

That’s because it is… But here is where things should have got interesting.

Ripley and the Queen have been grown as one, and because of that, Ripley has inherited traits of the alien, and the surgically removed Alien, has the traits of Ripley.

If done right, could have been so interesting… but it wasn’t. And by some margin.

What we got, was a dull bland story, really poor CGI, and a film that has the smell of ‘Cashing In’ written all over it and should never have been birthed into existence.

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A question that was a asked after the first Alien film, was ‘How did that ship get there?’.

In 2012, Ridley Scott would return to whence he came, to bring us what would be the first in a trilogy of prequels.

Prometheus, quite simply put, is beautiful, and everything one would expect from a modern Ridley Scott movie.

That said, it would end up being the most polarising piece of cinema in my lifetime. Hardcore fans of Alien films tell You that this isn’t an Alien movie, and I can understand their frustrations. We expected chest bursting aplenty, and lots of running and screaming. What we got instead was a film about black goop. The cast boasts such stars as Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, Charlize Theron, and Guy Pearce.

Fassbender plays the part of an android called David that becomes sentient, goes rogue, and in the process, rains havoc on the crew of the ship.

“Big Things, Have Small Beginnings”.

What happens from here on in kicks into gear and there is action and death galore… but still no aliens… The final 20 minutes is that of glorious chaos that you had been waiting for and would have expected from a movie like this. It’s spectacular. And right at the end... Just when you thought you weren’t gonna see one… You are rewarded for your patience… And it’s glorious.

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It would be five years after the 2012 release of Prometheus that the next prequel in the series would land in theatres, and was called ‘Alien: Covenant’.

Set 10 years after the disappearance of the ship Prometheus, The story follows a crew in space, that by accident, intercept a rogue human transmission of unknown origin, and decide to go explore the planetoid from where it was sent.

They don’t find the voice that sent the transmission, but what they do find is David... and Aliens… lots of them. We are introduced to the Alien known as the ‘back buster’, and truth be told, their arrival into the world is harder to watch than the chestburster.

Not only is this film scenic and stunning, its violent and the aliens are bloody scary. Again, Michael Fassbender steals the show in his role as David.

Now that he’s been set free and explore his quest for creation, the end results are terrifying.

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Welcome to the Nilbog General Store. You won't find any meat products here.

But we do have plenty of creamy Nilbog Milk for ya. Served up warm because refrigeration is for humans. What?! . . . Anyway, check out what we'll be pouring into the next issue.

We'll be delving into popular (and maybe some not so popular) ghost stories from around the world, focusing on how different cultures view the spirit world.

We'll take an in depth look at the Hell House LLC series and the haunted attraction where most of it was filmed.

Gary will be sifting through the ruins of Demon House and giving you some helpful pointers should you find yourself on a ghost hunt of your own.

We'll share our own personal ghost stories and maybe even some from a few unsuspecting victims we hogtie and throw a tape recorder at.

Steph will perform a dissection of the many incarnations of The Haunting of Hill House and also discuss the works of R.L. Stine for a recurring series.

Gary will take a trip down memory lane of his own to revisit Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

Of course Director's Cut, VHS Vault, and The Podcast Information Network will make another appearance, but we'll have some more darkly delectable delights for you as well. So keep your eyelids pinned open for our next issue and be sure to visit us on social media. And oh yeah, try the ice cream.

Brought to you by the fine residents of Nilbog. You just can't piss on our hospitality.

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