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Celebrate Banned Books Week with these 7 Banned Horror Books

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Banned books

Banned Books Week is Sept. 24–30.  To celebrate your right to read the creepiest, darkest and most controversial books you can find, check out these books which have been banned or challenged at one time or another.

1. ‘American Psycho’ by Bret Easton Ellis

The story of Patrick Bateman and his grisly double life had a tough road to publication. The novel was so controversial that Simon & Schuster backed out before going to press with it, and it was eventually published by Vintage. “American Psycho” was outright banned in the Australian state of Queensland, and restricted to readers 18 and older in other Australian states as well as Germany and New Zealand.

The graphic violence earned Ellis hate mail, and even death threats. Of course, that didn’t stop it from being a major hit and spawning an iconic film adaptation with Christian Bale.

2. ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ Series by Alvin Schwartz

According to the American Library Association (ALA), this dark folklore series was the most banned book in the US during the ’90s, and remained at No. 7 from 2000–2009. Despite this, these gruesome tales have still been traumatizing children for a generation. I have to imagine that Stephen Gammell’s beautifully disturbing illustrations played a part in this.

3. ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding

William Golding’s tale of schoolboys stranded on a desert island may not be a traditional horror story, but it’s dark and disturbing all the same. “Lord of the Flies” has been banned in many US states for its violence, language, sexuality, attacks on religion and more.

4. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood

Another story that might not be considered a traditional horror tale, this dystopian novel is still damn scary. It’s set in a future where people are facing an infertility epidemic and the US government has been replaced by an oppressive religious regime that makes sex slaves out of the remaining fertile women.

Naturally, it’s been challenged and banned since its publication. Time reported on one notable case in 2006, in which a Texas school superintendent removed it from the AP English curriculum for being offensive to Christians. However, that was overruled by the school board. Today, it’s more popular than ever thanks to the TV adaptation.

Banned Books Week

Frankenstein

5. ‘Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus’ by Mary Shelley

When it was first published in 1818, the world wasn’t ready for Mary Shelley’s masterpiece. Shelley originally published it anonymously — partially because fiction writing wasn’t considered an appropriate profession for women at the time, and partially because it was such a grotesque, horrific story.

A book about a mad scientist stitching together body parts to create new life set a whole new bar for scary stories at the time. Like Frankenstein’s monster himself, the book was originally viewed as nothing but an abomination to many. Shelley’s name was added when it was republished in 1823.

The novel was banned during Apartheid in South Africa for having “indecent” and “obscene” material. It’s also been banned or challenged by Christian groups in the US. Today, “Frankenstein” is known as a gothic horror classic and a predecessor to science fiction.

6. ‘Goosebumps’ Series by R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series was wildly popular with young adults in the ’90s. It wasn’t so popular with parents and school boards in the US, which made it the fifteen-most banned book in that time period. PEN reports that parents feared stories such as “Night of the Living Dummy” and “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” were too scary for kids, and even Satanic. I’ll have you know that I ready plenty of Goosebumps books as a kid, and I never summoned any evil spirits because a kids book told me to. I did that because I just wanted to, damn it.

In addition to spawning a TV adaptation, the Goosebumps series also inspired a recent film starring Jack Black, with a sequel set for 2018.

7. ‘Bumps in the Night’ by Harry Allard

Allard’s short children’s book is about Dudley the Stork and his animal friends dealing with a haunted house. It was written for early readers so it’s much tamer than anything else on this list. However, it was still one of the 100 most banned books according to the ALA. Why was it banned? Banned Library reports it was for “occult and various supernatural issues, description of families in a derogatory manner and encouraging disrespectful language and disobedience to parents.”

No matter what bumps in the night, there’s nothing more terrifying than censorship. Enjoy Banned Books Week and celebrate your freedom to read whatever you want!

 

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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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