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Howling Unicorn Press to Debut Ouija Inspired Anthology on Friday the 13th!

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It wasn’t so long ago that I was writing about Rob E. Boley’s Scary Tales series, and while the author continue his epic fairy tale, zombie, monster saga, he and his new collaborator, Megan Hart have a project that will make its debut Friday the 13th of January, 2017.  The collaboration is called Howling Unicorn Press and its first release, Intersections: Six Tales of Ouija Horror, is looking like a hell of a debut.

I sat down with Rob and Megan to chat about the Howling Unicorn and how it all came to be.  Their excitement was palpable even over a Skype call.

Rob and Megan initially met over a mutual respect for each other’s work.  Megan had been a fan of the Scary Tales and when Rob read her compendium The Resurrected for a review, he admits to being blown away by her style.

“It was one of the best zombie stories I’ve ever read,” Boley explained.  “It had crazy, visceral detail and it was just amazing stuff.”

Before long, the two were comparing notes as writers on a regular basis and becoming friends along the way.  At Christmas, Rob posted on Facebook that he had gotten his daughter a a Ouija board for Christmas, and that sparked a conversation between the two about the Ouija and all the stories and warnings associated with the game.  Somewhere in the midst of all their discussion, Megan suggested that it would make a great theme for an anthology.

“It was kind of off the cuff, but I had been wanting to write more horror,” Hart, who has primarily written in the romance/erotic fiction genre, clarified.  “And then I asked if he really wanted to do this.”

As the two authors jotted notes back and forth, the idea of an anthology cemented itself.  All they needed were more writers.  Luckily for them, they were both headed for Stoker Con, the premiere annual convention sponsored by the Horror Writers Association and attended by some of the most talented voices in horror and dark fiction.

Hart and Boley used their considerable networking skills at the convention and cemented commitments from four other writers to contribute to the project.

“The only real requirement was that the Ouija board had to appear somewhere in the story,” Hart explained.  “Beyond that, it was completely open.  We have a futuristic story, one that takes place in the 20s, and a couple of contemporary stories.  The one thing that really stands out is that not a single one of the stories is about a person who brings home the Ouija board, uses it, and a demon pops out to attack.  Not a single story has that stereotypical angle to it.”

All in all, they pulled together six original novella length stories built around the Ouija theme that weighs in at an impressive 450 pages.  Aside from Boley and Hart, Sephera Giron, Chris Marrs, Brad C. Hodson, and Kerry Lipp filled out the impressive roster of talent.

But what about that name?  Howling Unicorn Press?

Utter simplicity:  Boley’s all about wolves and Hart loves unicorns so they put the two together.  Both insist, however, that they really aren’t trying to establish a publishing house or anything of the sort.  It really all comes down to collaboration between themselves and a plethora of other authors in the genre.

“It really all comes down to a love of horror,”  Boley told me.  “We both love horror and that’s what brought us and the other authors together.  It’s fun to scare people.  This has been a labor of love combined with a huge leap of faith.  We all put our stories together with no cash advances and we’re going to split the profits and see how it all comes together.”

So what comes next for the Howling Unicorn Press?

Well, Boley and Hart have plans for a novel collaboration and a few other anthology ideas in the making.  One thing is for certain, though, neither one of them is dreading the next Friday the 13th.

You can pre-order copies of Intersections: Six Tales of Ouija Horror on Amazon in both digital and hard copy formats, and you can follow Howling Unicorn Press on their Facebook page to keep up with all the latest news and updates for upcoming projects.

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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