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The Real Santa Claus’ Tomb Discovered

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This may not be horror news per se, but anything involving a 1,700-year-old undisturbed crypt that may contain our favorite Yuletide toymaker Santa Claus conjures up all sorts of interesting visions.

People tout the spirit of Christmas is dead and with this latest news they might be right.

Researchers claim they have discovered St. Nicholas’ aka Santa’s, tomb in Turkey, underneath a church that bears his name near the Mediterranean Sea.

Turkish experts thought they found Santa’s tomb once before (below), but now they suspect that was the grave of an anonymous priest.

Newsweek

The legend of the gift-giving Saint Nicholas of Myra (now Demre) began from stories of his generosity, he was originally a monk who came into a large inheritance.

Instead of spending the money on himself, he decided to share it with the less fortunate. He, of course, had an appropriate fondness for children.

So popular was this jolly elf that his image survived the Protestant Reformation when the “veneration of saints began to be discouraged.”

In America, Santa’s visage is now synonymous with Christmas maybe even moreso than Christ’s.

His celebrity was formalized when Clement Clarke wrote the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” or as you may know it, ”’Twas the night before Christmas.”

The Washington Post reports that Archaeologists doing surveys of the church found some gaps directly below it.

They claim a St. Nicholas shrine is encapsulated there and has remained untouched for nearly 2,000 years.

“We believe this shrine has not been damaged at all, but it is quite difficult to get to it as there are mosaics on the floor,” Cemil Karabayram, the head of Antalya’s Monument Authority, told the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News.

However, Archeologists are certain they can reach the tomb and therefore allow Santa to give one last gift to the world.

At one point in the horror world, Santa Claus was taboo as subject matter.

It wasn’t until 1984 when the film Silent Night Deadly Night was released that the sanctity of Santa had been compromised. Catholic officials were not happy with the subject matter and went way beyond calling it morally offensive instead saying it was, “a little abomination of the slash and bash genre.”

Journalists even bashed the film. John Schorg of the Kokomo Tribune wrote that kids only had previously only to hear threats of reports to Santa to behave, but when Silent Night Deadly Night came out parents could take a different approach.

If Junior doesn’t stop being so ornery,” he wrote,” they can tell him Santa will bury the claw end of a hammer into his skull. Such is the wisdom proffered by this disgusting display of cinematic sludge. It’s been a while since there was an all-out assault on movie going senses of this type.

Little did they know the negative press would give the low-budget slasher the push it needed to do surprisingly well at the box office, earning nearly $2.5M in its short run. Once it hit the VHS rental market a cult favorite was born.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

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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