Connect with us

News

‘Nightmare Soup’ Is A Clever ‘Scary Stories’ For Nostalgic Adults

Published

on

Written by Patti Pauley

As a loyal fan from the age of seven of  Alvin Shwartz’s Scary Stories trilogy of books, that I happened to fall into courtesy of my second grade library book fair,  it’s almost blasphemy to even think anything could come close to the nostalgic feel those tales of terror and revised urban legends those paperbacks bring us. Well, Author Jake Tri and partner illustrator Andy Sciakzo have hit all the right fuzzies with their book Nightmare Soup. To put it simply for 90’s kids everywhere- if Are You Afraid of the Dark and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark had a twisted relationship, with an occasional appearance of Tales From the Crypt trying to hop in the bed, the beautiful result you would get is Nightmare Soup.

 

nightmare soup

 

Not to say this collection of tales isn’t for young horror readers as well. As a matter of fact, my two kids ages seven and twelve, who HATE to read, fought over who’s turn it was to peruse the 30 tales of frights and were enthralled at the mind-warping illustrations that takes your imagination right into the segments you’re reading.

 

While the illustrations and layout of the tales do indeed seem to be heavily inspired by Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, the Nightmare Soup stories themselves hold their own kind of magic that completely separates them into their own entity of nightmarish illusions that I feel many young and older horror readers will cherish for years to come.

 

As I sat reading these two-three page tales of horror, while the stories themselves are unique, my horror movie mind horn was blowing harder than the cheap Vegas hooker down the street. Many of the little stories inside the book for me personally, seem to give nod to a few classic horror films and TV shows. A good example would be the very first piece of nightmare fuel in the book entitled “I Hate Clowns”. The short throws a reminiscent smell towards Eli Roth’s Clown, while another segment titled “Woman in the Window”, felt like something off an Unsolved Mysteries program. And you’re correct when assuming I read that passage in Robert Stack’s voice.

 

 

 

Just like the novella’s inspiration “Scary Stories”, the book doesn’t just limit itself to creepy passages. There’s a few funny as hell tales in there that will most likely make you laugh out loud; so be wary if you’re reading in public to avoid the awkward WTF stare. Passages such as “Mr. Wilson” and “The Troll” are definitely one-of-kind, truly funny stories with of course a horror touch, that serve as a breath of fresh air that is much-needed after getting the MASSIVE skeevies from tales such as the intertwined stories of the “The Fly” and “The Tongue” . I’m not kidding, you may want to take a shower after reading those two gems.

 

I absolutely encourage any horror lover to pick up this book up for your household coffee table and literally just leave it there. You, and if you have kids, are going to want to pick it up multiple times to revisit these future nostalgic tales for the next generation. So it’s best to just keep it off the bookshelf. If you’re interested in investing in your own copy, visit Nightmare Soup’s website by clicking here to pick up this little treasure trove of horror delight.

 

Just stay away from eating any seed-bearing fruit while you’re reading this book. Trust me. You’ll thank me later.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

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.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

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

Published

on

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.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

Published

on

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.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading