A.R. Braun-Author Interview (2020) Extreme Horror

Hello everyone! Just your Horrormadam here to bring you another astounding horror author, A.R. Braun. I enjoyed Grimoire so much that I started reading up on him and he is not only extremely talented as a writer but I also read about him on Amazon and found out that he is also diverse in all of his endeavors.  As well as his many writings he has taken Okinawan and Shotokan karate, kung fu, krav maga, and taekwondo and practices self-defense once a week, along with boxing and wrestling, which he’s also studied. He works out like a football player every other day when he’s not working out with the medicine ball or jogging. You can reach him on Twitter as @ARBraun and on Instagram as a.r._braun.  So let me ask him some questions so you can get to know him and get started reading his work!

1. Can you tell my readers a little bit about yourself?

I’ve been a full-time horror author for almost thirteen years. I’ve been a horror-movie fan since I was five—The Blob with Steve McQueen on Creature Feature—and I got inspired to write when I had to read “The Telltale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe at high school when I was sixteen. I was never the same. When I was seventeen, I bought every issue of Chillers mag, which had articles of horror movies, as well as horror short stories by up-and-coming authors. By the time I was eighteen, I had the whole Stephen King collection. I want to say I’m an extreme-horror author, but then again I don’t, because I think regular horror is scarier than extreme- or bizarro horror.

I’m also a one-man-band. I overdub the guitars with the vocals, bass, and drums so it sounds like a group. The main project is black-death metal, but I have side projects: power metal, traditional heavy metal that’s thrashy, and speed metal/thrash.

2. When and why did you get into writing?

I was writing stories for my friends to read by the time I was eighteen. I got into it seriously when I read On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. I realized I could really do this professionally.

3. Why horror?

Because it’s fun. It’s a rush when a horror story or movie actually scares you.

4. What authors inspired you?

So many. King, Koontz, Ira Levin is my favorite author, Shirley Jackson, Gary A. Braunbeck, Jack Ketchum. The Not is my Coffin County by Gary Braunbeck, and Only Women in Hell is my The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, both with an original spin, of course. Only Women in Hell is based on the case of Joseph and Elisabeth Fritzl from Austria, like Jack‘s The Girl Next Door, which is based on reality.

5. What scares you?

The Devil. Demons: a black mass is a black smoke that’s demons, and if you ingest it, you kill people. Bouncing on my bed because I’m possessed. Seeing things out of the corner of my eye, then I turn, and nothing’s there. A feeling of being watched. Cops, bedbugs, ghosts, insane women. I prefer to write about people who go insane, or ghosts or demons because they’re real, and it’s scarier. No one is scared that vampires are going to come after them in real life.

6. Music plays heavily in your writing, favorite artists, styles, influences?

I like black metal/death metal, and power metal. There’s a new thing where you can be both black metal and death metal like Behemoth, Belphegor, and God Dethroned—it’s a thing—and I am that. Heavily influenced by Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Nile, Marduk, Immortal, and Nocturnal Rites.

7. Where do you get your ideas?

I got my ideas for “Cryptid” and “Dark Web” from videos on YouTube. This has given me some of my best ideas. It’s a great place to research. Dybbuk boxes, MK Ultra mind-control glitches, what the best weapons were in medieval times, you name it, it’s on there. Also, with “Cryptid,” I’ve been reading a lot of books and watching a lot of movies about cryptozoology—the study of hidden or unsubstantiated animals. I’ve released Dogman of Illinois, my new novel about a cryptid. And, of course, “You Can’t Go Anywhere” was influenced by the news. I tried to go too far with that one so Grimoire would be a banned book. Getting banned, or having people faint or run out of the room or have a heart attack while reading my tales, it’s a dream.

8. If you weren’t a writer what else would you pursue?

Well, I worked regular jobs for twenty-one years, but I can’t imagine doing anything else than writing horror (and metal music). And you don’t have to retire. You can write books at a desk ‘til you die.

9. Do you have any favorite horror films and or tropes?

Yes. I actually have two lists: my 101 Scariest Moments like on the Bravo Channel, and my top 400. Right now my favorite movie is Doctor Sleep, but if you asked me what my all-time favorite is, it’s probably Fulci’s The Beyond.

Paperback cover for Grimoire, as one with a golden pentagram, is the ebook.

I want to thank A.R. so much for taking his time to answer my questions and introduce me to such an amazing and fear-inducing author! Make sure and get his books now, just don’t expect to sleep for a while after. Here are a few of the links!

The Tattooist- A Micro-Short Horror Film By Michael Wong- Review

Hello, horror fans! Just your friendly and frightening Horrormadam here to bring you the best Micro-Short Horror film I have ever seen. Because I have 28 tattoos I was extremely interested in Michael Wong’s “The Tattooist” and it did not disappoint. The only thing that was disconcerting to me is that it is not a feature-length film …yet (she says hopefully.) It is so intriguing and well done it would be a monstrous shame to not see more of it. Great characters and cinematography, Michael has an amazing grip on the horror genre and I so look forward to more of his work!. But first, let me tell you a little bit more about this innovative director.

Michael Wong is currently working as an independent film director, after having spent 16 years as an ad agency art director and creative director. In the late 90s, he left his native Malaysia and arrived in China, where he’s worked at such leading agencies as Ogilvy, BBDO, TBWA, Grey and Saatchi & Saatchi. After more than a decade and has won over 50 creative awards, Michael decided to move onto the filmmaking scene as a writer/director with his directorial debut for Lenovo; a viral video campaign that was to be used in such markets as India, Russia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Turkey, South Africa, South East Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Since then, Michael has been making the truth appealing for brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Citroën, Foton Daimler, Unilever, IDO Jewelry, Johnson & Johnson, JD.com, Microsoft, China Petroleum, Mengniu, Yili Dairy, Celcom and CloudMinds, just to name a few. He is the kind of collaborative thinker who’s especially good at expanding on little thoughts and turning them into big ideas, with a strong and steady eye on making the work look and feel fresh.
His directorial debut short film ‘The Story of 90 Coins’ picked up 60+ accolades from international film festivals; which includes the Best Direction and Best Cinematography at Malta Short Film Festival, Rising Star Awards at Canada International Film Festival, Best Foreign Short Film at Ukrainian International Short Film Festival, Best Drama and Best Cinematography at Los Angeles Film Awards, Best Foreign Short at Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards, among others. His most recent micro-short film ‘The Tattooist’ has been awarded Best Trailer at HorrorHaus Film Festival, Best Gore, Best Editing and multiple nominations at Independent Horror Movie Awards, Most Terrifying award and multiple nominations at Top Indie Film Awards, Best Trailer at Terror In The Bay Film Festival, Best Director at Diabolical Horror Film Festival, Winners at Calcutta International Cult Film Festival and Cult Critic Movie Awards, among others. Michael’s works have been featured in Shots, Trendwatching, and Graphis magazine. He has judged at the New York Festivals International Advertising Awards and Ad Stars Festival.

This is the tagline for the film-Behind the acclaimed work of a renowned tattoo studio lurks an unimaginable evil.

Really gets your attention doesn’t it?

SYNOPSIS ‘The Tattooist’ follows the dark obsessions of a tattooist whose studio is acclaimed for its exceptional and intricately crafted tattoos. Those who receive his prized masterpiece are drugged, imprisoned, and then forced to fight their fears in a race against the clock to escape. Can they escape or will they become victims of The Tattooist?

TECHNICAL DETAILS The Tattooist English Micro Short Horror 01:20 2.35:1, Color, HD 25fps Arri Alexa Mini China 9th June 2018
http://www.vimeo.com/michaelwong/thetattooist/ http://www.facebook.com/thetattooistmovie/

Like I said I love my tattoos, but like Jaws did for swimming, I might hold off on getting anymore 🙂 for awhile. Find out more here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt9020554/

https://www.facebook.com/TheTattooistFilm/

Nightmares Film Festival 2020 Announcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW “SHUT-IN SHORTS” TO CELEBRATE FILMS MADE IN PANDEMIC Special Nightmares Film Festival 2020 Category Will Celebrate Housebound Horror Films COLUMBUS, OH – Nightmares Film Festival (Oct. 22-25) wants to expose you to the twisted fever dreams of entombed genre filmmakers through its new 2020 program, Shut-In Shorts. The new category – unique to this year’s festival – is for horror, thriller, and midnight shorts of five minutes or less shot under the restrictions of social distancing and shelter in place orders during this year’s COVID-19 pandemic.

“We created Shut-In Shorts in response to the indomitable spirit genre creators have shown throughout the pandemic,” said NFF Co-founder and Programmer Jason Tostevin. “We want to celebrate their ability to disturb and delight us by getting creative under remarkable constraints.” Top films in the category will be official selections of Nightmares Film Festival, regularly ranked among the top genre fests in the world. They will also be rewarded with live online screenings by Bloody Disgusting’s digital showcase, World of Death, during which WOD founder and host Tony Wash and Nightmares directors will join the filmmaker for discussion and Q&A with the audience. In addition, to honor many filmmakers’ challenging circumstances, Tostevin said the submission fee for Shut-In Shorts will be $5, and will not go up with future deadlines.

“Encouraging creativity and production among genre makers is a big part of why Nightmares exists,” said Tostevin. “So while traditional shoots are suspended, we wanted to give our film family an avenue to be recognized for continuing to tell stories even in very difficult times.”

Submissions for the new category, as well as all other Nightmares programs, are being accepted through FilmFreeway at https://filmfreeway.com/NightmaresFilmFest . Regarding NFF 20, Tostevin and Chris Hamel, co-founders, have said they will make a determination at the end of the summer about whether “the most welcoming genre networking event in the world” (Film Coterie), will be held live this year.

CONTACT: Jason Tostevin, co-founder and programmer nightmaresfilmfest@gmail.com

Dark Divinations-Horror Anthology Review

Hello everyone! This is your Horrormadam here bringing you a great new Anthology of short horror stories called Dark Divinations. This was brought to me by Jon O’Bergh the amazing author who brought us “The Shatter Point.”

I really enjoyed every one of the stories and was fascinated to see how each gave me insight into my own writing which also deals with fortune-telling and how any prophetic warning usually has two sides to it. The stories are extremely well written and very engaging, though I will say that Jon O’Berghs short “The Bell” was the most disturbing to me. The book was edited by the amazing Naching T. Kassa. Naching T. Kassa is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Head of Publishing for Horroraddicts.net, and an Intern for Crystal Lake Publishing with a slew of great writings available here on her Amazon page

https://www.amazon.com/Naching-T-Kassa

So read on and get excited to read a collection of unnerving, captivating, and spine-tingling horror short stories!

It’s the height of Queen Victoria’s rule. Fog swirls in the gas-lit streets, while in the parlor, hands are linked. Pale and expectant faces gaze upon a woman, her eyes closed and shoulders slumped. The medium speaks, her tone hollow and inhuman. The séance has begun.
Can the reading of tea leaves influence the future? Can dreams keep a soldier from death in the Crimea? Can a pocket watch foretell a deadly family curse? From entrail reading and fortunetelling machines to prophetic spiders and voodoo spells, sometimes the future is better-left unknown.
Choose your fate. Choose your DARK DIVINATION.

 

Join us as we explore fourteen frightening tales of Victorian horror, each centered around a method of divination.

“Power and Shadow” by Hannah Hulbert A young woman, with the power to manipulate the future using tea leaves, teaches her friend a lesson at her mother’s behest.
“Copper and Cordite” by Ash Hartwell On the eve of her fiance’s departure for the Crimea, a young Englishwoman discovers the power which lies in dreams. Can she use it to save him?
“Damnation in Venice” by Joe L. Murr When a roguish fortuneteller counsels an aging writer, he ends up in danger of damning his own soul.
“The Pocket Watch” by Emerian Rich When a young American bride returns to her husband’s English estate, she receives a present from his deceased mother that can foretell a deadly family curse.
“They Wound Like Worms” by Naching T. Kassa A man writes his sister concerning a method of divination which reveals his true love. But, as his obsession grows, the method grows bloodier.
“Miroir de Vaugnac” by Michael Fassbender A widowed seer, augmenting her skills through an antique scrying bowl, faces grim choices when she learns she is not fully in control of its power.
“The Bell” by Jon O’Bergh A physical medium, who earned his fortune faking necromancy, finds he’s buried in a coffin and must call upon his powers to save himself.
“Romany Rose” by Stephanie Ellis A penny gaff mysteriously appears outside a London shop, awaking a spirit with a terrible agenda.
“Miss Mae’s Prayers” by H.R.R. Gorman A preacher seeks to rebuke an Appalachian witch for her use of the Bible to divine the future but ignoring her warnings leads to dire consequences
“Broken Crystal” by Rie Sheridan Rose A young, Irish fortuneteller discovers her true fate when she reads for a dangerous man who won’t accept her prophecy.
“Breaking Bread” by R.L. Merrill A wife, suspecting her husband of infidelity, tests him with a magic loaf of bread, but her quest for knowledge might be more trouble than she asked for.
“The Ghost of St. John Lane” by Daphne Strasert While conducting a seance to contact her dead husband, a woman discovers a girl with strange gifts and provokes a man who seeks to destroy her.
“The Moat House Cob” by Alan Fisher In a tower of fortune-telling animals, a spider spins a web over London. What ominous force may be headed their way?
“Of Blood and Bones” by Jeremy Megargee When a woman throws the bones in search of her sister’s murderer, she finds an unimaginable evil. Will she avenge her sister’s death? Or share her fate?
Available now at Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087LBPBNS
Or order the special edition, signed copy with hand-painted tarot cards at HorrorAddicts.net

http://horroraddicts.net/

Jax In Love- Vimeo Release!

Hey everyone! This is your Horrormadam just letting you know that my pal Rakefet Abergel is finally getting her award-winning horror short film Jax In Love shown on Vimeo and I wanted to let you all know! I really loved it and I hope that all of you would check it out!

Los Angeles, CA Release Date: April 17, 2020 – For Immediate Release
The award-winning short horror film Jax in Love will be having its official online premiere this Monday, April 20th on Vimeo on Demand. Viewers will be able to rent or buy the film with access to features like a Behind the Scenes documentary, as well as the original IndieGoGo pitch video. The film stars Rakefet Abergel (Superbad, New Girl, Shameless) as Jax, a lonely wanderer searching for a human connection.

“I’m really proud of this film and proud of the recognition I received for my performance in it,” said Rakefet Abergel, who also wrote and produced the film. “I’m excited that it’s finally going to be available for online viewers and I hope you’ll buy it and watch it over and over like you REALLY like it! Share your 4/20 with Jax!”
Jax in Love is the first film from Rakefet Abergel’s production company, Cyclamen Films. It was directed by Oscar-nominee Colin Campbell. The second film, Boo, which Abergel wrote, produced, starred in, and also directed, has garnered several Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Female Filmmaker awards this past year and screened at the Oscar-qualifying festival, HollyShorts in Hollywood, CA. Jax in Love is now playing on ShortsTV in the U.S. and Latin American territories.

Jax in Love features a cameo performance by Laura Slade Wiggins (Shameless, Rings), and in a 180-turn from his goofy boyfriend character on ABC’s The Middle, John Gammon shows us a whole other side. Ben Kacsandi (Please Tell Me I’m Adopted) brings an easy charm to the role of Jake and the film also stars talented newcomers Devi Veysey and Lia Mariella Russo, (Avengers: Endgame).

The film will be available to buy or rent on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/jaxinlove starting Monday morning, April 20, 2020. You can also watch a trailer there as well. Rakefet will be doing a live Q&A on the Jax in Love Facebook page with some of the cast on Friday, April 24th. Check the page for updates.

https://www.facebook.com/rakefetabergel/

https://www.facebook.com/JaxInLove/

Twitter: @rakefet27

 

Merrill David- Author Interview (2020)

Hello everybody! Sorry, I have been gone for a while, life is crazy. And as we all find ourselves in this crazy time of the Corona Virus where we need to hunker down and wait for it to slowly dissipate what better time to give you some authors to read! This newest installment is about the book Wicked Awake by the fabulous Merrill David! Firstly, I will let Merrill tell you himself about his great new creation…

My literary Sci-Fi / Horror Fiction titled WICKED AWAKE has
approximately 120,000 words. I applied a great amount of detail,
science, and research in my tale. I believe it will hold your interest
with a brisk paced, clever storyline that I would compare to Max
Brooks’ “World War Z” crossed with Michael Crichton’s “The Andromeda
Strain” (but with humor). WICKED AWAKE is horrifying at times yet very
funny in places.

In my novel, WICKED AWAKE, Dallas Police Sergeant Jake Hathaway is on
duty one February afternoon when he parks his patrol vehicle in front
of his brother’s middle-classed house. He leaves his K9 partner Roscoe
in the marked police sport utility vehicle and walks inside to wish
his one-year-old nephew a happy birthday. What should be a joyous
occasion quickly sours as Hathaway is attacked by two creatures that
were once his brother and sister-in-law. No longer recognizable, their
faces do not appear human. Their eyes are saggy and swollen, with
dilated tiny pupils. These THINGS are not dead, nor fully alive, but
somewhere in-between. This would be just the beginning of an
“Infection Armageddon.

But Unbeknownst to Hathaway, he himself was
partially responsible for this contagion. Years earlier he allowed a
group of Federal Government scientists to conduct top-secret
experiments on a few of the soldiers in his U.S Marine Corp unit. Now,
Jake must find a way to end the outbreak before THEY end HIM, along
with all of humanity.

Doesn’t that just sound amazing and might I add very timely? Let’s get to my questions to learn more about this fantastic horror writer…

1. Why Horror and Sci-Fy?

Growing up, I loved watching horror and Sci-Fi type programs on TV and going to the theater or renting movies (again aging myself! For those who remember Blockbuster). I was also very into Marvel Comics (never got into DC for some reason) and horror novels. Some of my favorite television programs were the Incredible Hulk (with Bill Bixby and, of course, Ferrigno) and The Twilight Zone, as well as reruns of the original Planet of the Apes movies (not really feeling the re-makes). Some of my favorite movies were the Friday the 13th series (until Jason went into outer space, then they lost me), Halloween, Freddy vs Jason was greatness! I also loved Nightmare on Elm Street, The Fly with Jeff Goldblum, Fire in the Sky (an alien abduction film that was supposedly based on true events), those bizarre Faces of Death films. I also dug the People Under the Stairs, the Ring, the Strangers, the Saw movies, the Hellraisers, The Exorcist, Jeepers Creepers, Joyride. And of course everything zombie; Evil Dead, World War Z, Zombie Land, Shaun of the Dead, I Am Legend, Army of Darkness.
2. How did the idea for this particular book come to you?

I knew I wanted to start with a zombie novel but always loved horror shows and movies. And my favorite horror flavor has always been zombie. I would load up on Walking Dead and the movies, always telling my wife and kids how those stories could have been better (like the zombies in World War Z were way too fast, everyone knows the real DEAD are slow! Ask George Romero). So my wife suggested that since I was such an expert, I should write my own novel. At first, I thought she was joking, but she wasn’t- so I did it!
3. When did you start writing and how did you get into it?

It was actually about 5 ½ years ago that my wife encouraged me to start this project. But there were a couple of major setbacks along the way that slowed me down. I had a brain tumor removed a few years back (maybe that’s why I had, and still have, some of these deranged thoughts?). Just a year later my wife, having no prior medical issues or warnings, suddenly passed away from a heart attack. I went through some very dark and blurry times since then. For awhile I was getting drunk just about any time I wasn’t having to work. My writing was replaced by depression and destruction for quite some time. But I finally found some peace and got back on track, so here I am!
4. Who are some of your favorite authors and or influences?

Some of the novels I have enjoyed the most are The Strand, Andromeda Strain, Max Brooks’ World War Z and Zombie Survival Guide, Bird Box, The Amityville Horror, The Shining. I just started to read Mark Tufo’s Zombie Fallout and enjoying it greatly! And of course, I like Steven King’s stuff. But who doesn’t, right? I really find myself digging those writers who combine action with some portions of humor mixed into their stories. So I emulated those writers and that style. I believe I injected a good amount of humor into my story. I tried to write a zombie story that was smart but also funny (maybe that’s why I love the Dead Pool movie so much!) One person who read my book so far commented that it is “extremely clever and brisk-paced. The narrative is witty, even when horrifying.” I like that he chose those two words WITTY and HORRIFYING to describe my work, as this is exactly what I was aiming for. If I was a rock group instead of an author, I might be compared to the band Tragedy, a metal band that put their own spin on Bee Gees songs. Or better yet, I might be more like that Death Metal Band that plays Weird Al Yankovic tunes. Is there such a band? There should be! But I also attempted to make WICKED AWAKE smarter than the average zombie book by applying a great level of detail, science, and research into it. Hopefully, I have succeeded!
5. If it isn’t too personal, why did you get out of Law Enforcement?

I retired with over twenty-five years on the job as a cop in North Texas. It was a great career but I am ready for it to be over. Being a police officer has changed over the years. Right after the 9/11 tragedy, cops and firemen were considered to be heroes. Parents encouraged their kids to wave at us and be friendly with us. Nowadays cops are hated and targeted. Firemen are still loved (apparently I chose the wrong career), but not the police. Kids are told to question all authority, especially Law Enforcement. And I get it, I think politics and some of our past leaders are partly to blame, although I’m not going to act like I don’t realize there are some very bad officers out there who have done some really fucked up things. In my book, I mention one seasoned training officer in particular who acts as if he is untouchable, above the law. But for every bad cop like that exists, I would say there’s another nine who are honest and professional. Also, keep in mind that even the cop haters are the first to call 9-1-1 for help when their house is being burglarized or their car is getting jacked.
6. You are a fan of Marvel Comics. Which ones are your favorites and if you could have superpowers, what would they be?
Growing up I was very much into SpiderMan, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and PowerMan, but my favorite character was the Punisher. That character has been somewhat of an influence in the way I portrayed my protagonist, Jake Hathaway. Hathaway was a Marine and then goes on to become a Dallas Police Officer. He promotes to be a Sergeant and is also a training officer, then a K9 handler.
He goes from being a standup military and police figure to someone who does some very dark things. He does these things for the overall good, but they still appear somewhat tainted to someone from the outside looking in.

7. Just for fun, if they make a movie of your book, who would you picture starring in it?

Maybe Rob Gronkowski could make his acting debut in this role. But he may be too busy wrasslin’. It would have to be someone about his size- 6’5’’ and up, in his late 20’s to early 30’s. The guy would have to be built like a damn Mack truck. Or maybe some newcomer who looks like a brunette version of Rocky 3’s evil Russian boxer guy, played by Dolph Lungdren. But he would need to have darker hair and simulating more of a New York accent than that fake Russian one. Anyone remember Dolph Lungdren? Is that dude still alive? He would be 62 now… Dolph- if you’re reading this; are you available?

8. What else are you working on, or what can we expect from in your writing future?

I’m already about halfway through with WICKED AWAKE part 2 and I’ve also been throwing around the idea of writing a book about my experiences in writing a book. And about my struggle to figure out this social media stuff. I’m not sure which of those two reads will be scarier…

I want to thank Merrill for taking his time to answer my questions! And after you are done reading this, go to some of his links to find out more or just connect!

email- 1merrilldavid@gmail.com
Twitter- https://twitter.com/merrill19673060
Website – https://1merrilldavid.wixsite.com/wickedawake

 

Revenant

The revenant is like a tenebrous red rose

It wilts, it dies, losing its color to the darkness

It almost welcomes the literal and cerebral decomposition

Of its spectral resonance 

Departing this mortal coil and venturing unto the veil

Valedictory

Nightmares Film Festival Release (2019)

Hey, horror fans! I just wanted to share with you the announcement of the 2019 Nightmares Film Festival! Brought to us by writer, producer, director, actor JasonTostevin. Check it out! Looks like it is gonna be a great year for great horror!

NIGHTMARES FILM FESTIVAL REVEALS KILLER 2019 PROGRAM
Four-Day “Better Horror” Lineup Brimming with Premieres, Coveted Films from Around the World

Columbus, OH – If this is a Nightmare, horror fans won’t want to wake up.

Closely-watched Nightmares Film Festival has outdone even its most legendary stuffed-to-bursting programs with 2019’s lineup, which will pack 190 of the world’s best features and shorts from around the world into this year’s four-day event, Oct. 24 to 27.

“We are so honored the world’s best genre creators trust us to present their work,” said co-founder and programmer Jason Tostevin. “This year, we have assembled more ‘better horror’ for our Nightmares audience than ever before.”

Leading the lineup are 24 features from both beloved horror filmmakers and important new voices in genre film. Included are Hammer Films’s The Lodge, from the makers of Goodnight Mommy; Daniel Isn’t Real, from the producers of Mandy and The Greasy Strangler; VFW, from the director of Almost Human; Eat Brains Love, adapted from the popular novel; and closing night film Z, from the creators of It Stains the Sand Red and Still/Born.

The fest will also present a screening of Jörg Buttgereit‘s infamously banned necrophilic exploitation film Nekromantik … brand new horror-comedy anthology Scare Package … She Never Died, the sequel to the 2015 Henry Rollins action-horror film He Never Died … the Carpenter Brut-scored Blood Machines … the world premiere of FX artist Marcus Koch (We Are Still Here)’s doc on the history of extreme cinema, Beyond Horror … and the world premiere of Tommy Faircloth (Dollface)’s newest film, A Nun’s Curse.

One of the Nightmares’ best-known traditions, the Late Night Mind Fuck — called “one of the most dangerous and challenging blocks of programming at any festival” (The Film Coterie), returns this year with two world premieres. First, is The Obsessed from Italian extreme director Domiziano Christopharo (previous NFF winner Torment), a body horror freak-out based on the manic descent of Bjork’s stalker. And at 2 a.m. is the dark, harrowing and sexually explicit 29 Needles.

The festival’s reputation for presenting the best-curated shorts blocks on the planet continues with a lineup of 150+ horror, thriller, midnight and horror-comedy short films, including dozens of world premieres. Its Recurring Nightmares blocks are also back, highlighting NFF audience favorites returning with new work, and its Ohio shorts blocks will offer up some of the best locally-made films.

Nightmares have also named the 13 finalists in its short and feature screenplay contests. These screenwriters will be given the chance to connect with selected filmmakers to explore the production of their scripts through the NFF FinaLIST matching service.

All selected competition films and screenplays vie for a coveted Night Mare statuette, representing the dark horses of the genre. The Night Mare is sculpted and painted by the renowned toy and figure creator Tony Simione (Marvel, Star Wars, Godzilla, Alien).

 

A complete list of features, shorts and screenplay finalists follows below.

Want to make the pilgrimage to Nightmares this year? Some passes are still available, though they always sell out.

Nightmares Film Festival has been called one of the world’s best horror film festivals by every major genre outlet. It has maintained its position as the world’s top-rated genre festival on the submission platform FilmFreeway for 35 consecutive months.

NIGHTMARES FILM FESTIVAL 2019 PROGRAM

FEATURE FILMS
The Lodge
Swallow
The Girl on the Third Floor
VFW
Nekromantik
Eat, Brains, Love
Daniel Isn’t Real
She Never Died
Blood Machines
A Nun’s Curse
Reckoning
Antrum
1BR
To Your Last Death
Making Monsters
Z
Beyond Horror
Slaughterhouse Slumber Party
Ghost Killers vs Bloody Mary
The Obsessed
Scare Package
29 Needles
Puppet Killer
Lake Michigan Monster

SHORT SCREENPLAY FINALISTS
Bathwater – Kevin Talley
Demon Inside Me – Brandon Rutherford
Gender Reveal Party – Alison Parker
Hush Little Baby – Ricardo Bravo
Cave of Tits – Stephen Stull
Vuorwro – Ron Riekki
Boogeyman Bait – Kay Phillips
Field Test – Chris Hicks
Love as a Practice for Dying – Shayna Connellly
Mary, Dispossessed – Kristy Walsh
The Garden – Guillermo Ortiz
The Squirrels in the Attic – Rachel Thomas-Medwid
Who Wants Dessert? – Venita Ozols-Graham

FEATURE SCREENPLAY FINALISTS
Night People – Søren Budge
Mom Died – Michael Klug
The Chamber – Sergio Pinheiro
Timmy Cooke: A Cannibal Love Story – Aaron Barrocas
Persona – Jeffrey Howe
The Mothman – Jackson Murray
No Overnight Parking – Meg Swertlow
Serial Killers Anonymous – Robert Forsberg
Daughters of Virtue – Michael Escobedo, Greg Sisco
Third Date – Avishai Weinberger
He Brings The Night – Kevin Donner
Monger – David Axe
Girl Trouble – Devi Snively

HORROR SHORTS
Boo
Trust Me
Melody
In Sound, We Live Forever
The Tattooist
To Enter You Must
Off Fleek
Atomic Ed
Steve And The Dead Girl
Creaker
She Must Vanish
Inferno
Piggy
Lippy
A-Symmetry
The Burden
Destroyer of Worlds
Room 106
The Vicious
Water Horse
How To Be Alone
Night Crawl
Nest
Plainsong
Tick
Twig
Portraits of Fright
Z-GOAT: First Bleat
Asian She – Competitive Mourning
The Third Hand
She Fell
Songs My Mother Taught Me
Attention
MJ
Tagged
Ferine
A Doll Distorted
I Learned How to Drive at the End of the World
Limbo
Headcleaner
Check
The Orchestra

THRILLER SHORTS
Feeder
Nineteen Ninety Nine
Cassandra
Lili
Gaslight
The Taste of Blood
A Clown’s Tale
Man in the Corner
Prefigured
It Came Nameless in Spring
Mutiny
The Housesitters
We Die Alone
September
Maggie May
Communication is Key
Broadside
SICK
Chickens
One Bad Night
The Automaton
A Noise That Carries
Lock and Key
Buffalo & Trout
The Itch
Playtime’s over
Catfight
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
VR Food
Adams
Hot Dog
Existential Donut
Bennifer
Valerio’s Day Out
Demons
Cured
Together
Malacostraca
The Program
Herman
Mannequins
Changeling
Stucco
Little Willy
The Outsider
Farsight
Five Course Meal
The Animator
Imagine a World
Sasquatch
Breathe
The Guy
The Contract
Unholy ‘Mole
Diddie Wa Diddie
Daughter of Dismay
I See Through You
A Night Without
Dad
Jackie

HORROR COMEDY SHORTS
Killer Date
Dead Teenager Séance
Bad Fun
OverKill
Exhibit Man
NeckFace
Inflatio
Possessions
Zebra
We Got a Monkey’s Paw
Half-Cocked
We Follow You
Ghost Turd
Reunion
SHHHH
Blow Out
Scary Stories: Bloody Mary
Sleep Tight

OHIO SHORTS
Winter’s Blood
Forgive Me
Look Twice
Where The Shadows Fall
Drainage
Unknown Number
Madness’ by Black Liquid
Tea Time for Lions
Wake Up Mark
The Coffin
Benito’s Brew
The End of the World: An Update
Tethered
Weight
The Things With The Glowing Green Eyes

http://www.nightmaresfest.com/

 

Jeremy C Shipp-Author Interview (2019)

Hey readers! Just your Horrormadam here to bring you another amazing author Jeremy C Shipp! He is a writer of weird horror, adventurous fantasy, and idiosyncratic science fiction all combined into this wildly visceral and blood-curdling works of fiction. I was so glad he introduced himself and his works to me will always be a fan. Now let’s get to the questions!

Can you please tell my readers little about yourself?

My name’s Jeremy C. Shipp, and I’m an author of weird horror tales. My short stories have appeared in various publications such as ChiZine, Cemetery Dance, and Apex Magazine. My books include the Bram Stoker-nominated novel Cursed and the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated novella The Atrocities.

When I’m not writing, I’m butlering for cats in a semi-haunted Victorian farmhouse. The ghosts took the phrase “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” to heart, so they spend much of their time napping and rarely perform.

The main question I always want to know about, why horror? What drew you to the genre?

I have always been a fiend for horror. As a kid, I would play pretend with my brothers, and we would imagine ourselves as vampires and werewolves and grim reapers. I grew up watching dark and bizarre films like The Dark Crystal, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and House II. I’ve always been fascinated by monsters and magic and the darker mysteries of the universe. I can’t say why exactly. But, for me, writing horror feels right.

What are some of your favorite horror films and or books?

As far as horror and gothic books go, I love The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, Hell House by Richard Matheson, Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. And some of my favorite horror films are The Witch, Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, A Dark Song, The Love Witch, The Shining, The House of the Devil, Evil Dead II, Dead Alive, Audition, Trick ‘r Treat, Psycho, Ringu, Ju-on, The Happiness of the Katakuris, The Funhouse, The Thing, The Descent. I could probably go on forever, but I suppose I shouldn’t. Eternity is a long time.

What actually scares you?

I’m afraid of sadism and bigotry and death. I’m afraid that humans won’t do enough to stop climate change. I’m afraid of heights. I’m afraid of mimes with sharpened teeth. I’m afraid of the man with translucent skin who lives under my floorboards because he keeps spoiling the ending of movies that I haven’t seen yet.

If you could have a dinner or poker game with your favorite authors alive or dead, who would it be and what would you like to discuss with them?

For my dinner guests, I would invite Charlotte Brontë, Kazuo Ishiguro, Kurt Vonnegut, Arundhati Roy, and Shirley Jackson. At first, we would discuss world events, and the writing process, and the human soul. But rather quickly I’d realize that we were all a bit stressed about the state of the world and our fast-approaching deadlines. And so, during dinner, we would decide to play Santa Claus Conquers the Martians on the TV, and we would make fun of the film MST3K-style while we ate. It would be a good night.

Indeed!

As an author, do you have a writer‘s kryptonite?

The entire writing process feels a bit like kryptonite to me. Everything is hard and frustrating, and I really wouldn’t have it any other way. I suppose my most potent kryptonite is my tendency to hyperfocus on one particular sentence or word. I can spend way too much time trying to compose the perfect sentence when I should simply move forward with the story and come back later. When will I ever learn? Probably never.

How much of yourself do you include in your writings?

I tend to only include some small bits of myself here and there. Perhaps a fingernail clipping or a pint of blood or a chunk of the spleen. In Bedfellow, for example, Tomas likes to hang out in a secret, leafy, magical space that exists between his neighbors’ fences. In reality, my brothers and I truly did play in such a gap. Vampires and werewolves and grim reapers crept among those fallen leaves.

What would you tell your younger self as a writer?

I first started writing short stories in 4th grade, so I would tell my elementary school self to invest all his birthday and yard work money in Apple stock.

When I was a teenager, I first started getting stories published, and I would tell my teenage self not to sell the Apple stocks, no matter how tempted he was to buy an electric guitar and a car with air conditioning.

I would also tell him that rejection letters are a normal part of a writer’s life and not to take them too personally. I would tell him that he shouldn’t stop himself from reaching out to other writers for advice and for help

When they make the movie of your life, would it be drama/comedy/horror and who would star as you?

I’d like a Jeremy C. Shipp character to appear in a Bill & Ted reboot in the distant future. In the movie, monsters overrun the Earth, and Bill and Ted travel back in time to get a monster expert to help them. They assume that I, as a horror writer, would somehow be able to deal with the vampires, werewolves, and other creatures. Ultimately, we end up befriending the monsters, and the world is saved. Jeremy C. Shipp would be played by a descendent of Sam Rockwell, because he’s an amazing actor, and he looks a bit like me, I think.

What do you do for fun or relaxation?

I enjoy watching great movies and excruciatingly terrible movies. I’m not much interested in mediocre films that exist somewhere in between.

I read books as if my life depended on it, and it probably does.

I like trivia games, even though I don’t have the mind for it. Ask me when the War of 1812 started, and I’d probably get it wrong.

One of my favorite things in the world to do is to watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise with my partner. Hard as I try, I still haven’t written a horror story as terrifying as those shows

What are you working on next or whatever other projects you are on that we should look out for?

I’m working on a currently untitled novel that will be published by Meerkat Press in 2021. Here are some details:

In Shipp’s newest novel, we will follow Seraphina Ramon into a once-abandoned amusement park now populated by a community of cultists. To our left, a dragon-themed roller coaster rests on the blackened earth, curled up like a dead snake. To our right, an animatronic Humpty Dumpty falls off a concrete castle and shatters on the ground, only to reform itself moments later. Up ahead, cultists giggle as they meditate in a hall of cracked mirrors. This is the last place in the world Seraphina wants to be, but at the same time, she will stop at nothing to investigate the cult that almost killed her sister. And the best way to find out the truth about this bizarre cult is to join them.

Also, I finished writing a horror screenplay a couple of weeks ago, and I’m hard at work on another.

In addition to all this, in my secret lab, I’m genetically engineering a miniature version of Cthulhu about the size of a dachshund. I’m hoping to create a couple hundred of them in my first batch. Gods, goddesses, and various other ethereal beings keep warning me not to do it, but I’m sure they’re just overreacting.

I would like to thank Jeremy very much for taking the time to answer my questions and for his amazing storytelling talent! If you want to learn more I have included some links for you to check out!

http://www.jeremycshipp.com

and you can find him on Twitter @JeremyCShipp

 

Edward “Blackie” Williamson- Author Interview (2019)

It brings me great pleasure to introduce a new book out called The Vampire and the Black of Night by my pal Blackie. We met in the horror community on Twitter and he has fast become a great influencer. It was really great to find out about his book and wanted to make sure other people got to know him and his writing. The book is evocative, bringing back stories reminiscent of Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight and A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest with a great blending of fear, intrigue, and romance. So let us get to his illuminating answers to my questions:

 

1. When did you first realize that you were a fan of horror?

When I was five-years-old. The Blob played on Creature Feature, put on by the Acri Company in the Quad Cities, then years later I worked for the Acri Company in Peoria, Illinois: meant to be. My love of horror grew from there as I continued to watch brutal horror as a little boy—my sick parents let me—Trilogy of Terror with the killer voodoo doll, The Legend of Boggy Creek, Carrie, Salem’s Lot. I can still remember jumping when Carrie’s hand came out of the grave, what a rush! It just grew from there.

2. What are some of your favorite horror films?

All Hallow’s Eve with Art the Clown, which went there with extreme horror—SPOILER ALERT!—beheading the kids. Hereditary, which revived American horror (for the longest time only other countries were doing horror), and the usuals: The Exorcist, The Shining, Jaws.

3. When did you get the writing bug?

I knew when I watched The Ring that I wanted my first monster to be a little girl. I was up half the night thinking that creepy kid was going to come out of my TV. I came up with the idea for a Wiccan horror novel with a sadistic little girl who’d been through the mill, losing her parents who were killed gorily, and she was becoming a Hedge Wiccan—Hedgers can hurt people, no “harm none, do what thou wilt”—and going after a man, this Christian at her church. It demanded to be written. Of course, I gave it the ax because it was my first novel, so I put it under the bed and wrote another one, a horror novella called Under the Bed, in the Closet, Dread, which was a little better. I’ll provide that at the end of one of my novels, for the other two are around 50,000 words, not 90,000 like my current one. From there it just infested me and took over my life.

4. Favorite authors and or books that inspire you?

Everything from Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, to The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith and iZombie by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, the latter a series of graphic novels. It just has to interest me and not have sparkling vampires or other twinkly monsters. Then I can put up with the romance.

5. This book is a little different themed, what made you want to write about it?

I don’t consider it different themed at all. Dracula by Bram Stoker had romance as well as terror. For me, it’s just natural. In real life, we have fears, but we also fall in love, have sex, get married. Also, it was a challenge to write about romance as a guy, and I rose to it.

6. What is it about vampire lore that you think find so interesting?
Honestly, I think it’s because Nosferatu lore and vampire-and-human hookups are sexy. I saw this vampire skin flick on Skinemax, and it was just so fucking hot I can’t tell you. Just burnt me up on my couch. The Hammer films knew this.

7. What did you find difficult about the writing and publishing aspects of this book?

I embraced everything difficult. I think it’s better to rise to the occasion then bitch and whine that it’s too hard. The hardest was writing 80,000 words of this stuff. I had to go through things too quickly, the protagonist’s marriage and child, which shouldn’t have happened till the sequels, but it’s also cool that there’s so much going on. Vampire ancients from other countries were tricky too. I had to learn other languages. No agents would touch it, but that doesn’t bother me. So many great books had to be self-published. I’m thinking of Ania Ahlborn and Seed, as well as her other novels. I’m going to see the challenges though.

8. What are some of your hobbies?

Fitness: eating right, martial arts, weightlifting, jogging. I just became a black belt in Kung Fu, and I’ve been taking Karate forever. Extreme metal. Right now, I’m listening to tons of Malevolent Creation and God Dethroned. I’m a musician too, a one-man band. I have guitars, a bass and drums.

9. What are your next projects we should look out for?

I wrote a rough draft of a werewolf novel and another one of a zombie novel. The zombie book is the best, in my opinion. Both have plenty of romance and agony. I’m going to take on sci-fi at NANO in November, and I’m reading sci-fi right now to learn how to do it. Next year at NANO, fantasy. I have two erotica short stories I’m going to put out as eBooks.

I want to thank Blackie so much for taking the time to answer my questions! I hope you will enjoy his work and keep a look out for new projects. Have included the link to his site and his Twitter handle so you can explore and learn more!

https://blackynosferatu.livejournal.com/

@BlackieWFangs