Do you remember the first Edgar Allan Poe story you read? Mine was The Tell-Tale Heart, read in a dark corner of the old Salem Public Library. Large, musty chairs you sank deep into and creaky wooden floors provided the ambience. Familiar Oregon rain usually pattered on the windows. Jane Gwaltney’s stories revive those feelings for me.
Did you know there are demons, angels, and a few vampires lurking in a small Central Valley town just south of Fresno? If you don’t believe me, ask local author, James Garcia Jr. He’s the man responsible for these spooky residents. James is a writer of horror fiction, and the creatures in question inhabit his books, most of which take place in and around his hometown of Kingsburg.
This week I am reviewing two more mystery manga from Yen Press. There couldn’t be two more different manga mysteries to review at the same time—one is very dark and hard-boiled involving hit men, detectives, and cats; the other, while also dark, involves young adults moving to a new town, attending a new school, and discovering what might be a monster, or perhaps a ghost.
First came the swipe of something wet and warm on my eyes. Then I felt a puff of hot air on my face. It stank of rotten meat. A low roar pressed against my eardrums, pushed against the inside of my skull. Pain came and erased everything, and I slipped down a pit where there was no feeling at all.
Blame it on Uncle Joe. Local professor, playwright, and director of spooky spectacles, Maria Coon, credits this beloved family member with inspiring her love of horror literature and films. And just in time for Halloween, Maria will once again be sharing her favorite genre with a part audience-immersive, all scare-the-pants-off-you production, Red Fiend.
March 24, 2021. My family and I were enjoying dinner after a show. I was working two jobs at the time, plus making my first feature film. After years of planning, I had shot most of it with the best cast anyone could have asked for, and magic had been made. I had brought my laptop and hard drive with me, hoping I could get some more editing done in the three-and-a-half-hour drive both to and from the show, but we were all in the moment and enjoying each other's company, so no editing had been done thus far on the trip.
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.
