#and the kitty essay haunts my dreams

[sneefsnorf]

hi i made a mini-essay about ANATOMY by kitty horrorshow that im submitting with my uni application so if anyone could give it a read and tell me what they think that would be appreciated :3

The house in Kitty Horrorshow’s ANATOMY is haunted. But not by a dead, outside force. The house is alive and haunting itself. The horror game developer’s magnum opus incites a deep-seeded dread, and fear of the familiar. It takes everything we know about the structure and function of a modern house and personifies it in the most terrifying way possible.

For a game where very little happens, and the gameplay itself is incredibly simple, ANATOMY tells its ghost story very effectively. You, a parasite inside this greater organism, invade the various organs, or rooms, finding cassette tapes you can play to listen to the house draw its comparisons between simple architecture and the human body.

Although incredibly sparse, ANATOMY uses its art direction and atmosphere to incite dread where lesser games would fill the space with jumpscares and beasts. The low-poly graphics fills the player with a nostalgia for the PS1 era, while the oppressive darkness evokes childhood fears of monsters out of sight. Throughout this gameplay, the story of an angry, abandoned, hungry house comes together, and you realise that ANATOMY doesn’t need a monster to put you in danger: the house itself wants you dead.

Perhaps the most terrifying part of the game is the basement. The tapes you collect reignite childhood fears of what lies in wait beneath, until the game demands you find the next tape down there. The basement is almost entirely empty, pitch black, and feels slightly too large. There is nothing you want to do less than go down there again. But as one tape finishes recounting the dream of a parasitic intruder falling down the basement staircase and dying horribly, you hear the door swing open behind you, and, with a cold, squirming stomach, you have no choice but to descend.

[tuiyla]

I’ve been thinking recently about how perfect season 1 Santana’s behavior matches with her sexuality storyline, yet she wasn’t even being written as a lesbian yet. It was probably the best accident to happen on the show IMO because fans picked up on it beyond the interactions with Brittany, and then Naya pushing the storyline forward was even better. Specifically after she sleeps with Finn, and the way she sits very cold and seemingly disconnected from her current situation, almost in a dissociated state I might say, which might’ve been her tactic when it came to sleeping with men since she clearly had no joy when it came to it. Makes me sad and also a bit uncomfortable to think about, because it comes off as dubious and weird, since it was coming from comphet and clearly not something she really wanted to do but I digress. But back to her with Finn, she deflects from the situation making a comment about wanting a burger. It’s just so perfect and I can’t believe it was by accident. Then the stuff with Puck; she’s got an on and off thing with him, is okay breaking up with him because of his shitty credit score (lol) and treats him as a boy toy that she’s keeping around for fun. She gets possessive when he shows interest in Mercedes, and I think because he was her safety net, meaning she could hold him around like a doll saying “look! I have a guy!” should anyone question her.. sexuality.. and when she saw that going away she got freaked out and went after him. Besides that, she also only uses him for popularity, making it so clear she couldn’t care less about him romantically. The signs were all there.. This is just an appreciation message for how well it turned out, and how even when she wasn’t explicitly being written as a lesbian it still worked so so well with her journey. Sorry, did not expect to type that much, guess that’s what happens when I talk about Santana, lol, but I’d love to maybe hear some of your thoughts on this?

Okay Anon so first things first, I need you to understand how much I love this and love you for sharing with me. I also need you to know that I have so, so many thoughts on this and I sadly won’t be able to pour them all out in response to this. BUT, your ask did bump a planned meta up on my list of to-dos so let’s say I’ll get back to you within, uhh, a week? Hopefully. But just to illustrate that I’m not bullshitting you, here’s a screenshot I took of my reddit drafts and then uploaded to drive:

Yeah, October. It’s been at least that long since basically everything you mentioned has been living rent free in my mind. I love you because this is exactly the motivation I needed to get this out into the world so really, I’m on it. It’s second (okay, third) on my list of fandom priorities so fingers crossed that does mean about a week.

But anyway, all that aside I do want to reflect on this at least briefly, even though you just summarized a lot of the things I want to elaborate on in this first half of the planned meta haha. Wholeheartedly agree with your observations aside, I think you’re so right that it was the best accident. Because while it is important to acknowledge that none of this was intentional in season 1, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. It lines up so perfectly it drives me a little insane to think about, tbh. Who cares about authorial intent when Santana’s interactions with Finn and Puck in season 1 scream comphet. I don’t know what writing gods blessed Glee with Santana’s story retroactively making so much sense but RIB are lucky bastards that’s for sure. And are we reading into it, sure, but does it make sense? Yes, yes it does. And I’m willing to dig.

So yes, thank you very much, don’t ever apologize for writing such accurate things about Santana haha and I’m making this promise right now that I’ll finish this cursed draft just for you. Well, and for my own sake too, one less unfinished draft.

[kayleerowena]

I love your art! Do you have any favorite movies/books about haunted houses?

aw thank you so much!!! and YES i absolutely do! here's a couple of my all time faves:

the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson (book) — my favorite book of all time honestly. THE haunted house book. follows a young woman named eleanor who participates in a paranormal investigation of a haunted house in the wake of her mother's death. the opening page to it is so incredibly iconic, and since it's a pretty old book (written in 1959) you can find pdfs of it easily online!

(the netflix show of the same name is also pretty good, but not a direct adaptation of the book in any way, and i think it loses a lot of what makes the book so incredible. it does play really directly with the relationship between trauma/ptsd and hauntings in a way i really like, though! i'd say watch it after reading the book, if you want to watch it.)

control, anatomy, and the legacy of the haunted house by jacob geller (video essay) — not really a movie but i've watched it probably at least two dozen times. seriously, go watch it, it's only 20 minutes long and changed my life, no joke. (geller's other stuff is also great; i recommend fear of depths and 4 short games about pain for more along these lines!) in it he discusses anatomy (a game by kitty horrorshow), haunting of hill house, house of leaves, and control, and all of those are absolutely recommendations in their own right, too!

crimson peak, dir. guillermo del toro (movie) — gothic romance! a woman moves into an old mansion with her new husband and his sister, and everything around her is very sinister. has the absolute best set design & costume design of any movie i've ever seen, and i highly recommend looking up what costume designer kate hawley has said about her work on the film — specifically, she made the costumes echo the architecture of the house in a way that i think is fascinating. (content warning for inc*st because some of the plot is, uh. questionable at best. but the movie overall is gorgeous.)

in the dream house by carmen maria machado (book) — this one isn't a haunted house in a literal sense, mostly. content warning for abuse; this memoir follows machado in her time living in a house with an abusive partner, as viewed through various tropes; dream house as haunted mansion being the chapter that's perhaps the most directly relevant here (and the way machado writes about hauntings is just *chefs kiss*) but the whole book is incredible and totally worth reading.

ghostland by colin dickey (book) — a nonfiction book! dickey goes at hauntings from a really interesting angle of examining the why behind them. what makes people in a specific city tell the ghost stories they do? what about the history of a place shapes the haunted houses that are talked about there?

i desperately need to watch more haunted house movies, so please feel free to send me any recommendations! i'm shamefully not very well versed in horror movies yet haha. i hope you enjoy these though, and please feel free to come back and tell me what you think!!

[sadslothsmiling]

20 Questions

1. What are three labels that you identify with? Female, Bisexual, Bipolar

2. What do you call something that is diagonally across from you? Kitty corner (is there another term? This is an odd question, but it was on the list, so...)

3. What is your happiest memory? My wedding day 💚

4. Tell the story of your first kiss. Ok, so I was sitting on the playground with my first boyfriend, telling him about a book I was reading on ancient burial practices. He interrupted me, said, "shut up and kiss me," and planted a peck on my lips.

5. What's the wierdest dream you've ever had? That's tough. The one that comes to mind is when I gave birth to, and breastfed, a duck.

6. Do you think aliens exist? I think it's statistically nearly impossible for there not to be other life on another planet. As far as UFO/X Files stuff, I doubt it, but it makes a great mystery, and I like mysteries.

7. What is your favorite thing about yourself? Physically, my eyes. Psychologically, the fact that I can enjoy bad puns and B movies.

8. What is your favorite physical feature of the person next to you? That would be my redbone hound dog, and I love how expressive her face is.

9. What was your favorite TV show as a child? X Files, hands down.

10. What do you feel most proud of? Eh, that's a hard one... I suppose it's my creative streak.

11. Who are the best and worst teachers you've ever had? Best was Mrs. Wiseman, high school English. She was so supportive of me when I really needed it. Worst would be my film studies professor from college. On the day a big paper was due, I got a flat tire on the way to class. I'd gone early to print my essay. When I got to the computer lab, I realized I didn't have the right disc. It was in my home computer from doing the final edit. I tried calling home to ask my mom to bring it, but I couldn't reach her. I couldn't run back home, even though I had time, because of my tire. So I sat in the back of the class while everyone else turned their papers in and cried. The syllabus said no late papers, ever. And it was such a huge part of my grade, I was going to fail the course, even though I did well on everything else. Next class, Prof accepted late papers from like five people. I didn't have mine printed. I asked him if he would please accept it if I printed it in front of him and turned it in right away. He said he'd only take it if I'd turned it in with the others and wouldn't let me explain what had happened. I failed the course. Dick.

12. What's your biggest irrational fear? Prehistoric aquatic reptiles and whales.

13. What's the best Halloween costume that you've had? I did some zombie makeup one year that was creepy enough that my boss was freaked out. I had to cover my face with my hands while we talked because she couldn't stand it.

14. What's your favorite lyric? Dang, some of these are really difficult. Right now, I'd say a line from the Pine Box Boys' song No Room Left for Barbara. It's about zombies and the line is, "Fuck the roses, stop and smell the fear." 😈

15. Would you want to have the ability to read minds? Not unless I could control it and listen to only who I wanted to and only when I wanted to.

16. What is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? My girlfriend, for the first time in person.

17. If money wasn't a factor, how would you spend the rest of your life? I'd live in an RV, hike in the mountains, eat whatever I wanted, spend time with my family, sit in a hot tub, go to all the museums, aquariums, theme parks and zoos, see all the movies in the theater, buy the full versions of all the games, self-publish my poetry and pay my parents' bills.

18. What social issue is most important to you? Ending violence

19. Do you believe in soulmates? I'm not sure, but if they exist I've found mine.

20. If you were invisible for a day, what would you do? I'd probably drive around and freak everyone out, sneak into the expensive places I've never been able to see, and make a bunch of "haunted" videos in my house so I can get rich giving ghost tours. Lol

[eskewcity]

Hello welcome to part whatever I figured I would add a few more things since it’s been a while so enjoy!

- this article about the psychology of what makes architecture terrifying

- another video essay by Jacob Geller talking about more Kitty Horrorshow’s work which is also included in the above links if you want to play her games yourself

- this wired article about the game The Space Between which you can get here

- the game Naissance which features the protagonist traveling through alien architecture that is openly hostile towards the players (also it’s free!)

- to be honest this isn’t even scary I just think looking at abandoned places is neat so here’s a whole gallery of images of them

- Zdzisław Becksiński’s work absolutely fascinates me especially when it comes to his depictions of architecture so here’s a list of just a few of his works and a video about his life and his art

- this series of 15 different articles discussing the relation between spaces and horror

Veronica! I'm creating a spatial horror story and in DESPERATE need for inspiration! you seem like the right person to ask.. do you have any movie/game/podcast suggestions other than the 'obvious' (ie anatomy hill house eskew Mabel etc)? thank u in advance!!

ahhh that’s so sweet thank you 🥺 I would love to read your story afterwards if you would be comfortable!! I’m only just getting into the meat of spatial horror myself so most of knowledge is just the basics but I’ll try my best of what I can think of off the top of my head!

- it’s an obvious one so I’ll briefly mention but it wasn’t on your list but house of leaves for sure!! I’m not done with it but the spatial horror of it is off the charts and the whole passage about the house as a labyrinth is just whew.

- I just remembered this video literally existed tonight but adult swim’s This House Has People In It. Technically the story is about a disease but I feel like the house does play enough of a major role to be consider spatial horror!

- I also recommend checking out kitty horrorshow’s other works besides anatomy including her haunted cities series which are all free. while they don’t necessarily have a linear story like anatomy, they are really cool to just explore throughout and get a feel for the atmosphere

- this might be a little basic as well because I see this video recommended all the time for this topic now but if you haven’t definitely check out Jacob Geller’s video essay Anatomy and Control: The Legacy of the Haunted House because it’s very informative and well-executed. He also included this article which I thought was a really good read.

that’s all I can really think of rn but I’ll probably add more when I can!! good luck on your story <3

—————————

also shoutout to kaylee @dykivist who I really credit to getting me into the concept to begin with and who has the best tag for spatial horror ( architectural hauntings) so i really recommend checking it out and following her 💖

[phoenixwrites]

30 Questions

@letmetellyouaboutmyfeels tagged me!

1)  Nicknames - Phoenix, of course.  Phi.  Kat, my real name, is a nickname.  Kitty Kat (which is reserved for brothers only)  

2.) Gender - Female

3.) Star sign - Virgo.  I used to think that I didn’t have any Virgo attributes when I was a kid.  How wrong I was.

4.) Height - 5′6

5.) Time – Afternoon.

6.) Birthday - September 9th.

7.) Favourite band – Death Cab for Cutie, Fleetwood Mac, Florence + the Machine, depends on my mood.

8.) Favourite solo artist – Kate Voegele, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Nat King Cole, Carly Simon, Stevie Nicks...

9.) Song stuck in my head – “Say Goodbye” by Katrina Rose Diderikson

10.) Last movie you watched – “Dark Water”, the original Japanese version.

11.) Last show you watched – “Law and Order: SVU”

12.) When did I create my blog – I think it was 2011.  I didn’t even want the damn thing, but @givemeunicorns insisted I get one.  All her fault.

13.) What do I post – There was a brief spot in 2015 where I attempted to clean up my blog and delete all the reblogs to limit it to purely meta essays, asks, and fiction.  Then I got bored and just started posting whatever I wanted.  I reblog, I do asks, meta, whatever new shiny focused interest grabs me.  

14) Last thing I googled – I googled “Say Goodbye” by Katrina Rose Diderikson so I could pull up the live performance and listen to it.

15.) Do you have other blogs – Well, you all know about my Phoenix Feather Quill blog, where I post fanfiction.  But I have several other side blogs too, for secret things.  

17.) Why did you choose your url – Phoenix has been a nickname/penname since I was 12 years old, so when I saw Phoenixwrites was an available username, I pounced.  

18.) Following – I follow 109 people.  I try to keep it under 100, but...

19.) Followers – 1,178 on my personal, 1,470 on my fanfic.  

20.) Favourite colours – Jewel tones.

21.) Average hours of sleep – 6-7, but I’ve been really bad at this lately.  

22.) Lucky number – 9.  It’s actually pretty nutty, how this number has haunted my life.  

23.) Instruments I played – Piano and guitar.  I’m out of practice at the guitar and am very basic at guitar.

24.) What am I wearing – Springsteen shirt, hoodie, jeans.

25.) How many blankets I sleep with – One in the summer, two in the winter.  I like to be cozy.  

26.) Dream job – I want to do lots of things.  Write books, write albums, write musicals, do research...I wanna be like Lin Manuel Miranda and just do a ton of different creative projects for the rest of my life.  

27.) Dream trip – Right now, I’d really love to visit the Holy Lands.  

28.) Favourite food – I never say no to pasta.  Or sushi.  

29.) Nationality – American, and I am so so sorry to the rest of the world.

30.) Favourite song – Right now...I really love the “Tavern Song” in the Hunchback of Notre Dame musical.