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Scary Irish Legends for A Spooky St. Patrick’s Day

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Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a day to drink green beer and everyone is Irish for a day, right? Well, kinda. The holiday’s origins are much more pious (albeit still mythical) but thanks to Irish soldiers with the English army in America in 1762, we have the glorious celebration with a taste of the Emerald Isle.

If you would like to learn more about the history of St. Patrick’s Day, click this link. It’s pretty interesting in itself. But, that’s not why we’re here. No, I like my green wrapped in something scary. Let’s talk Irish creatures and demons.

Ireland has a rich culture steeped in the supernatural and otherworldly. Even faeries can get dangerous. Here is a list of some of the most noteworthy Irish baddies.

The Dubhlachan/ Dubhlachain

https://www.theirishplace.com/

Often pronounced as Dullahan in English, this headless rider foretells of death. He carries his phosphorescent head under his arm which glows with a sickly smile. He is able to use his head as a lantern to light the countryside and find the home of the dying.

In some legends, he actively seeks out victims but in most, he just plays the part as an omen. Not one to be watched working if he sees you looking at him, he will throw a bucket of blood on you marking you or he might blind you in one eye.

Ban Sidhe/ Banshee

https://www.theirishplace.com/

This one we all know and I have, on multiple occasions, accused family members of screeching like one of these. Across the board, sidhe is the word for faerie, so you will see it a lot in Irish legends. Faeries can come in good or bad flavors, this one being the latter.

Another bad omen, this faerie woman is known for her eerie and earsplitting scream. It is said that if a Banshee’s scream is heard three times, someone will die. She is portrayed as both an old hag and a beautiful woman. She is sometimes known to hang around the Dullahan and does their work together.

The Morrigan

https://mythologysource.com/badb-irish-goddess-morrigan/

The Morrigan is a trinity of sisters that come together to make a great queen and foretells of fate and war. The team differs from legend to legend, but most say The Morrigan is made up of Babd, Macha, and Nemain.

With their hands in war, they are often linked to Viking and Norse mythology. Babd can also take the form of a crow (crows are often seen as bad omens as well). They are also the antagonists of the novel A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore.

Leanan Sidhe

Leanan sidhe by raevynewings

There’s that sidhe word again. She is a muse that creates some of the most talented artists and inspired works of art. At the same time, she slowly drains the life from her victims meaning they die young but leave a beautiful legacy behind.

She can be described as an energy or life force vampire.

Sluagh Sidhe

https://ferrebeekeeper.files.wordpress.com/

Another member of the faerie realm, this army of spirits is made up of those who were evil in life. Depraved even in death, they search from the sky for victims, shooting beim sidhe (evil spells) at them. They target the dying to take their souls with them to join them

There is so much more mythology and supernatural stories that it would be impossible to cover them all. This year while you’re out celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, keep your eye on the night sky, look for unknown lights and keep your ears open for screams. You never know what might be out there.

Are St. Patrick’s Day Leprechauns more your style? Check out some of the best Leprechaun kills in the franchise.

 

(Featured image courtesy of demonhunterscompendium.blogspot.com)

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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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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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