As Halloween approaches in a flurry of fiery leaves and gathering gloom, the cold air crackles in the shivery wake of Autumn and her restless spirits. The Season of the Ghost is upon us, and Central Valley podcast Ghosthropology, hosted by folklorist Matthew Armstrong and produced by his wife Kaylia Metcalfe, is here to tell you a ghost story.
Isla Larsen Sanchez was eight years old, in 1970, when her mother Elena took her to stay with her maternal relatives in Puerto Rico. It was the first time she would be left alone for an entire summer even though she begged to stay in New Jersey to help take care of her ailing father. She cried in the arms of her Tia Alma, her grandmother’s sister, asking her to tell her a story to help alleviate her sadness, but she’s met with “…I don’t tell stories. Abeula tells stories.”
Halloween is my favorite time of year. I have always loved creating and wearing the best costume, marathoning Halloween TV episodes, and enjoying the chilly fall weather with a nice cup of coffee in a Halloween-themed mug. So, in honor of the Halloween season, we are taking a pause from the news and instead are discussing my favorite horror games that have been released in the last few years.
2021 has been a strange year for video games as the pandemic is finally starting to catch up with game studios. Many highly anticipated games have been delayed to next year, and there have been many lulls in new games to play. I have found myself replaying many of my favorite games as I have nothing new to play. Hope is not lost, however, because Playstation surprised all of us by hosting a State of Play showcase earlier this month.
It’s October, which means it’s time to play some spooky games. Horror is a genre in video games I have grown to love over the years. It allows the player to be fully immersed and participate in them instead of just being a bystander watching it all happen. While that might seem terrifying to many, it is an exhilarating feeling.
October means Halloween which means a lot of horror games to play. Horror games are not all that are released in October but that is the majority. Let’s players have horror-thons of indie horror games and big release horror games. This October has been a mix of horror and games set in the past, as well as some fun cartoon adventures.
In 2013, I read about the misadventures of a self-absorbed, teen Latina whose skin turns gray (and she wants to eat raw flesh) in Girl Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, which introduced me to the unusual world of C. A. Verstraete.
Even with the media blitzes, special glasses, and astronomer’s preparations, there’s no denying that the sun going completely dark during a solar eclipse could be terrifying. It shouldn’t be surprising that throughout the centuries, every culture has had a different myth or legend for a seemingly inexplicable event. In preparation for the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, Kaye George gathered a diverse collection of short stories all surrounding this extraordinary event.
Local filmmaker Matt Sconce's new film Altar will have its red carpet premiere on May 13 at the Crest Theatre in Fresno. We took a moment to chat with him about his film.
Since the dawn of time, Lucifer has been portrayed in endless forms and blamed for every conceivable evil in the world. He is called, among others, the Devil, Satan, Beelzebub, and the Prince of Darkness. Without going into any deep theological discussions, Lucifer is what is known as the original fallen angel. Lucifer was created by God and was considered to be “a perfect being.”
