News
Five Terrifying Holiday Monsters to Give Krampus a Run for His Money
Let’s face it, parents will do just about anything to get their children to behave, but few, especially this time of year, are as effective as the threat of no gifts from Santa. However, there have been cultures that took that threat one step further by creating holiday monsters that stalk the night ready to whip, kidnap, and devour naughty children.
Everyone’s heard of Krampus thanks to his resurgence in popularity following the film that was released just a few years ago, but the list below contains holiday monsters far worse than the old Christmas devil.
#1 JÓLAKÖTTURINN
The Icelandic Yule cat, Jólakötturinn, is said to stalk the snowy countryside of the small island nation seeking out those who have not received new clothes as a gift by Christmas Eve night. The only way to receive new clothes was by finishing all of one’s chores!
How’s that for passive aggressive?
Get your work done, or the Yule cat will eat you! That’s right, Jólakötturinn won’t just scare you; he fully intends to eat the lazy kids who don’t obey their parents and do their chores.
#2 Hans Trapp
Leave it to the French to come up with a nightmarish scarecrow!
Legend says that Hans Trapp was a greedy, rich Devil-worshipper who was banished to the forests upon his excommunication from the Catholic Church. He disguised himself as a scarecrow and set about terrifying the local children.
He captured a young boy and was just about to eat him when he was struck by lightning and killed, but that didn’t stop Hans for long.
As Christmas approaches each year, Hans Trapp appears as a Scarecrow and stalks certain regions of France in order to frighten children into good behavior!
#3 Gryla
Gryla is an evil ogress said to live in the mountains of Iceland. She had three different husbands and bore 72 children in all.
Gryla’s legends are far older than modern celebrations of Christmas, and in fact, she only became associated with the holiday sometime in the 17th century. Before that time, she was more commonly associated with Yule, the celebration of the Winter Solstice and the longest night of the year.
Gryla, who by the way is the mistress of the Yule cat Jólakötturinn, has a bad habit of boiling and eating disobedient children, and her name definitely gets thrown around during the holidays to keep Icelandic children in line.
#4 Pere Fouettard
This guy’s name translates to “Father Whipper”. Need we say more?
Another French legend, Pere Fouettard was a butcher who developed a taste for the flesh of children. (What is it with all this cannibalism?!) He once captured three boys, and butchered and salted their flesh to preserve them for later.
When St. Nicholas discovered what he had done, he burst into Fouettard’s shop, resurrected the boys, and took the cannibal as his prisoner.
From that time on, Pere Fouettard worked for St. Nicholas punishing bad children.
Frau Perchta
Frau Perchta is the legendary witch of Germany and Austria who hands out both presents and punishment during the 12 Days of Christmas.
It’s her particular method of punishment that bought her place on this list, however. Upon finding a sinful, disobedient child, she’ll rip out their insides and fill them with garbage!
Gross, right?
You definitely do not want to be on Frau Perchta’s naughty list!
Have you heard of these fascinating holiday monsters before? Have one you think should be on the list? Tell us your stories in the comments below!
Header image is taken from Historycollection.com
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News
Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role
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
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)
Ghostface (2021)
Ghost Face (2023)
Don’t Scream (2022)
Scream: A Fan Film (2023)
The Scream (2023)
A Scream Fan Film (2023)
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Movies
Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month
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.
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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