#horror theory

[diaryofaphilosopher]

"The shift from the Afro-Caribbean zombie to the U.S. zombie is clear: in Caribbean folklore, people are scared of becoming zombies, whereas in U.S. narratives people are scared of zombies. This shift is significant because it maps the movement from the zombie as victim (Caribbean) to the zombie as an aggressive and terrifying monster who consumes human flesh (U.S.). In Haitian folklore, for instance, zombies do not physically threaten people; rather, the threat comes from the voduon practice whereby the sorcerer (master) subjugates the individual by robbing the victim of free will, language and cognition. The zombie is enslaved."

— Justin D. Edwards, "Mapping Tropical Gothic in the Americas" in Tropical Gothic in Literature and Culture.

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[poppiesbloodandgore]

"The Prototype will save us."

DEEP SLEEP 2024 | Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3

[queerslovehorror]

To be transgender is to be both creator and created; to strive for the power to surpass your biologically assigned limitations, to claim that which society deems impossible, while simultaneously being treated like a monstrous patchwork of parts, maligned by an unfounded essentialism and chased out by those who might, under other circumstances, have been your family. That which genders the Creature as visually Other is the scarring across his forehead and ‘prosthetics’ in the form of bolts through his neck; visual suturing. Halberstam’s Skin Shows extensively discusses the concept of suture. In film, suturing is intended to be invisible, the cuts between shots intended to mimic reality. Foregrounding this suturing can act as a visual representation of incompleteness or monstrosity – it attempts to make complete that which is not and in doing so acts as a marker drawing attention to this incompleteness. Suture also marks a space of liminality, of a boundary which has been crossed and thus threatens to cross that boundary again. It is interesting, here, to consider the way in which prosthesis use and visible suturing has, particularly recently, become a signifier of many transgender people’s (primarily but not exclusively transgender men’s) own ‘completeness’; instead of marking something absent or ‘incorrect’, suture and scarring are reclaimed as a mark of pride in the self-construction of a transgender body, and in the embracing of such a liminal position.

Transsexual Transylvania – An Exploration of Male-Bodied Births in Horror ( Aidan James)

[virgin-martyr]

This is the gothic irony of Jackson’s fiction: escape is an illusion for her heroines. Merricat destroys every vestige of patriarchal order, yet on that razed ground Constance is still a prisoner, perhaps more narrowly confined than before. Eleanor has already lived through the reality of giving up everything to nurture a dependent; this is the horror Constance faces as well. With more power than Eleanor, Merricat reshapes Blackwood Farm to fit her vision, starting the fire in her father’s room that guts the upper floor and front rooms so that the only livable space is the back kitchen opening out into the garden. Merricat destroys the patriarchal façade of the house, leaving the nurturing, matriarchal space behind. By the novel’s end she physically embodies Jackson’s idea of a picnic: her clothing ruined, she dresses in a checked tablecloth of which her sister Constance says, ‘I believe the one you are wearing now was used for summer breakfasts on the lawn many years ago. Red and white check would never be used in the dining room of course’ (Castle 200). The outfit, then, suggests the same opposition between inside and outside, hellish and heavenly, formal and informal eating that Jackson establishes in Hill House.

Jen Cadwallader, excerpt from “Picnicking at Hill House: Shirley Jackson’s Gothic Vision of Heaven”

[pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong]

people saying that its unrealistic for the kids in skinamarink to be so chill with all the weird shit going on but like. that's just how being a kid is. when you're 5 years old theres monsters under your bed and in your bedroom closet and in the deep end of the pool and under the slide and hiding in the bushes. you grow up believing that one wrong step will land you in the jaws of death, so you do your little rituals to keep the monsters at bay. can we sleep downstairs tonight? can we watch something happy?

[slothpoth]

I was rewatching poppy playtime videos and wanted to point out

In RESTRICTED_restoration.mp4 the guy who got turned into Bron gets attacked by a character off screen, all we see of them is their paw

I just realized that this was the first look at the new enemy in chap 3

At the very least the paws are around the same and it’d kinda make sense with the way the toys were acting.

Like if the chap 3 enemy is supposed to be like a leader type it’d make sense that in this system he’d attack first before everyone else descends upon bron.

(Also I think it’s interesting how each boss up to this point is going up in rank, from security guard still doing their job, to caretaker rebelling from their job but still not with the “flock”, now to leader of the flock)

[count-horror-xx]

⚠️ Spoilers for Pearl (2022) ⚠️

Tbh I felt so bad for Pearl's dad because he literally couldn't do anything to help his wife or daughter and the pain they had to deal with. Also It feels to me that if he could he would've supported Pearl's hobby of dancing and wanting to be famous unlike his wife but he couldn't verbalize that due to his disability, so he just had to sit with that inside him and witness his wife's death and his daughters declining mental health and insanity, feeling like if he could've done something maybe it would all have been avoided.

[third-world-punks]

Accusing immigrants of poisoning Americans’ blood is one of the most recent attacks by far-right politicians on populations of color in the United States. The disturbing accusation draws on historical processes of “monstrifying” immigrant groups from the global South.

- Gabriel Eljaiek-Rodríguez , August 1, 2024

[agirlnamedbone]

R.H.W. Dillard, "Night of the Living Dead: It's Not Like Just a Wind That's Passing Through," (Horror Films, 1976)

[kevlarcrack3d]

(TW: HORROR) UrbanSpook's Painter Analog horror theory: 2 Killers - "Bonnie" and "Clyde"

(Note: I am not glorifying or simping for serial killers. I am just bringing up notable examples. Also, this blog will touch the topic of criminal activities and scary stuff, so if you don't like that, click off)

So, I discovered this relatively new analog horror series by Urbanspook called "The Painter" which is about a string of murders with an artistic touch of paintings of the victims. It was not like any other analog horror I've seen because it contains mystery, thrills, and the use of "real fear" due to the fact that there REALLY are very messed up serial killers out there, and here's my theory based on the latest upload!

What am I getting from here? I am very confident that there are TWO PERPETRATORS, with initially one prime suspect, who I'll be calling "Bonnie" , and theres another, "Clyde".

BONNIE THE ARTIST

If we look at the previous videos, there are pictures of this person with long, dark, messy hair and sunken, paranoid looking eyes, one painting of them (titled "self-portrait") and two photos.

Judging by the title of that painting, this person, who I'll be calling "Bonnie," is the artist and what everyone thought to be the killer who also happens to make the artworks. However, Bonnie just sits in their cabin behind a crack and does art because "Fuck going outside, I love to draw." But, in "the Lighthouse", Bonnie has a photo alongside those of the family, so they occasionally go outside to paint alongside Clyde, who I'll talk about later.

I've seen others conclude that Bonnie painting themself is nan implication of suicide because everyone in the paintings is killed, but I think it's a case of simply wanting to paint one's self.

CLYDE THE KILLER

As shown in the latest video, there is a photo caught on Sean's CCTV of a person covered in the skin of a person (there are stitches at the side, a hint to the crappy sewing skills of the killer mentioned in "In the Walls"). Now, if we look harder, this person does not have the sunken, weary eyes of Bonnie. They look vibrant and alert. This is could be a different person.

In addition to that, Sean seems to have written the number 2 in his blood on the wall. He left a clue that there are two criminals on the loose and not just one. After all, I'm sure Sean, a private investigator, had time to fight back a little, remember the information gathered so far, and have a "Eureka" moment in the struggle finally knowing that there are two different sickos commiting these crimes; one who paints, Bonnie, and the other who kills, who I'll be calling "Clyde".

Clyde, in this case, is doing most the dirty work, finding subjects and references, tormenting them, killing them in creative ways, and giving them to Bonnie to paint. They also seem to have some artistic flair with the way they kill, such as covering people in wax (Tom Harris/Wax Doll Tom) and the like. Clyde also seems to wear the skins of some victims to cover up his identity.

DYNAMICS BETWEEN "BONNIE" AND "CLYDE" + INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS

Now, this is more headcanon and speculation on how these two criminals operate. Expect expectations to be subverted 😄.

Bonnie and Clyde are clearly very messed up individuals, distorting their victims, torturing them, and killing them just for art references, being extreme in their acts, and taking pictures of them to taunt the authorities in an act of "Wanna catch us, bitch? Here's what we can do!".

Bonnie is probably less discreet, having photographed themself in "The Lighthouse." Clyde seems to be the more cautious one, judging by how they tried to cover up the security cam in a panic. Either way, they both enjoy bluffing everybody with their art, grisly actions, and photos, which actually give lots of way, but hey! They view this as an art, so who cares? Art is 💥FLASHY💅 and ✨️CREATIVE🔥.

Clyde and Bonnie here also seem to not mind working together for this, showing a certain level of cooperation and passion for their craft, so, yeah, very fucked up.

To wrap this up,

TL;DR: I AM REALLY CONFIDENT THERE ARE TWO CRIMINALS WILLINGLY AND KNOWINGLY KILLING AND PAINTING THEIR VICTIMS FOR THE SAKE OF ART.

[diaryofaphilosopher]

"At first glance, the term 'Tropical Gothic' sounds a lot like an oxymoron, since in popular understanding the genre is often synonymous with its early settings of bleak European wildernesses battered by howling winds and tumultuous storms. In contrast, Tropical Gothic heroes and heroines have vacated traditional eerie castles and chilling wind-swept moors to take up residence in haunted plantation houses, overgrown bayous, mysterious jungles and exuberant tropical cities, where the horrific and the uncanny not only lurk in the shadows but occupy open, sun-drenched spaces alongside humans."

— Anita Lundberg, Katarzyna Ancuta & Agnieszka Stasiewicz-Bieńkowska, "Tropical Gothic: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences."

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[poppiesbloodandgore]

LITTLE NIGHTMARES 3 HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN ANNOUNCED!

In 2024, we‘ll be joining Low and Alone on their dangerous journey through the horrific world of the franchise. Are you excited?

Check out the announcement trailer here!

[queerslovehorror]

In a 1984 study of anti-homosexual attitudes, the investigators broke heterosexuals' fears of gay and lesbian sexuality into three topic areas: (1) Homosexuality as a threat to the individual - that someone you know (or you yourself) might be homosexual. (2) Homosexuality as a threat to others - homosexuals have been frequently linked in the media to child molestation, rape, and violence. (3) Homosexuality as a threat to the community and other components of culture - homosexuals supposedly represent the destruction of the procreative nuclear family, traditional gender roles, and (to use a buzz phrase) "family values." In short, for many people in our shared English-language culture, homosexuality is a monstrous condition.

Monsters In The Closet (Harry M Benshoff, 1997)

[virgin-martyr]

More often than not, the kitchen has been designated as a feminine space. Kitchen appliances, in turn, are often seen as extensions of the female body to which a range of temperatures and climatic conditions (ice cold, frigid, smoking hot, wet, dry, etc.) are disproportionately attributed. The colloquial expression for pregnancy “to have a bun in the oven,” though not complimentary insofar as it equates a pregnant woman with a household appliance, provides a telling example of a long-standing link between procreation, gestation, and kitchen technology. The phrase imagines the womb as an oven and, by the same logic, the oven as a womb, similar to “The Gingerbread Man” and other folktales of high-carb homunculi cooked up by women in the kitchen. Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession (1981), “a fairytale for grown-ups” according to the director, falls within that tradition, although instead of a bun in the oven, the story features a body in the refrigerator, and instead of piping-hot runaway baked goods, the woman of the house prepares a tentacular, glutinous golem through a miscarriage of groceries and bodily secretions expelled in the tunnels of the Berlin U-Bahn during an ecstatic trance. The aberrant offspring of a body in crisis disrupts a marriage, an affair, and two kitchens. When considered in relation to perishable food distribution, refrigerator-related household duties, and the desire of a woman to say “I” for herself, the miscarriage-birth emerges as an abject expression of identities both human and nonhuman, of a woman who runs hot and cold, and of refrigerators and their unspeakable contents.

Marc Oliver, excerpt from Household Horror: Cinematic Fear and the Secret Life of Everyday Objects

[flocklings]

kiss the creature into me please

[zoanzon]