Of Love of Horror 2.0

I am staring to write this blogpost while waiting for someone at 7Eleven at South Station Alabang. On my way here, I saw some vendors peddling Christmasy stuff. Although it is sunny, the heat isn't as brutal as it was last month. October is upon us and Christmas is less than three months away.

But first comes my favorite holiday: Halloween. This pagan holiday is a time for remembering the dead, for candles and solemn prayers (for some), for out of town trips, and, of course, for spooks.

As many of you know, I'm a horror fan. While other girls devour romance stories, I am always eager to read or watch stuff that are terrifically fantastic, or just plain terrifying. Here is my 2014 recommendations of horror finds: short films, creepypastas, make-up tutorials.

Short Films

I love horror movies, especially well-made ones. Here are some of my the recommendations for Halloween night. These are short-films and full-length ones. Warning: I won't be featuring mainstreamed stuff, since they have enough marketing and advertising 

1. Camera Obscura by Daywalt Horror. This is a short film series that follows the "adventure" of a girl who finds her demon hunter grandfather's camera obscura. The costumes here are the best part. I have always appreciated fantasy/horror make-up. Plus, the story is well-executed. This is quite a challenge to do, since short films don't have hours to build up a story - only minutes. Check out the series through the link. 

2. Still Life by Jon Knautz. I watched with my best friend while pigging out on donut and popcorn, but despite the sugar rush, I would still say that this is one of the best short films I've watched. This is not really horror, but it is horrifying. The dreary atmosphere of the film slowly brings in the creeps, but it is really the plot twist which got to me. 

3. X for XXL (from the ABCs of Death series). Let's just say that whenever I feel desperate to lose weight fast I just go back to this film. Gory and a slap-in-the-face statement against fat shaming, this is one of shorts from the series which really got to me. 

4. Mockingbird by FEWDIO Horror. This has got to be the shortest of the shorts I will be featuring. Simply-made, but with a plot twist that is a kick in the gut, this  film is real life horror at its finest.

Creepypastas

As many horror junkies probably know, creepypastas are short internet horror stories. Some of the more popular ones are Jeff the Killer, Slenderman, Squidwart's Suicide and Pokemon-themed pastas. Of course, I won't talk about these anymore. I'll be sharing to you some of my favorites. They may be less popular, but they are definitely worth the read.

1. The Harlequin Series. Horror fans may be familiar with Stephen King's penchant for small town horror. This is exactly what the Harlequin series is about. It kind of reminds me of King's The Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher. A mix of an almost alien foe and amazing characterization, The Harlequin Series is one of the more satisfying pastas I've ever had the pleasure to sample.

Excerpt: "I knew that he knew something but I didn’t know what he knew. Had I figured out what it was earlier, I would have murdered him right there in the Burnswick lobby."

2. You're Not Afraid. This one is a ritual pasta, which means it's more of a series of instructions intertwined with a narrative. I love that the pasta starts in a relatively relaxed pace. At least, as relaxed as a character in a creepypasta can be. In the beginning, character is given a sense of false safety, an uneasy stillness. The action picks up the pace in the middle of the pasta, making the reader pick up the pace of reading. The pasta ends satisfyingly, with a nice little plot twist and, if you're like me, a hammering heart.

Excerpt: "At the corner of Winter and Broad there is an abandoned house. Go into that house. The front door is closed but unlocked. Nobody lives inside, not even homeless people would dare stay in a place like that for more than a night." 

3. Survival Guide. I'm not a fan of comedy-horror, but I enjoyed this one so much that I couldn't stop laughing even when I've finished it. I love it when stories  overlap, one of the reasons why I enjoy King's work so much. The number references to other pastas in The Survival Guide is too damn high! Warning: People new to creepypasta may not completely appreciate this.

Excerpt: "With the help of this guide you too can be the catatonic, traumatised wreck as opposed to the guy currently being worn as a coat by some dude who roams a lot."

4. "Higher Powers" Addiction to drugs or is it to power? I really love this pasta, 

Excerpt: They joke about how people get addicted to meetings instead of drugs. Langston didn’t mind the trade off. At least meetings didn’t send you to the emergency room with abscesses. Or into jail for the weekend, sick and detoxing. They don’t kill you and swallow you whole like addictions do.

5. The Sandman. This is one creepypasta with a heart. Many people commented that this wasn't even really scary. It certainly gave me the creeps, but really, it's more sad than terrifying. When a father starts losing his son bit by bit and has to battle a repulsive  creature haunting their home, sanity seems slip away so easily.

Excerpt: "He was losing his mind, he knew. The only thing that helped him cling to sanity was that Daniel seemed undisturbed. Other than his muteness, his behavior was perfectly normal. And whenever he seemed to sense that his father was troubled he would hug him, or squeeze his hand, or even smile. Sometimes, when he left the room, James cried."

I've read The Sandman in creepypasta.com (click on the link) but you may want to listen to the story instead. 

Make-up Tutorials

1. Double Face Clown Makeup Tutorial from MadeYewLook. MadeYewLook is definitely one of my new favorite make-up artist and face-painter. What I love about her is that she can make awesome looks with just paint and with very little prosthetic. Although minimalist in materials, her creations are still quite intricate. 

One of my favorite looks is this Double Face Clown Make-up, particularly because clowns scare the heck out of me (I still remember the sleepless nights when I was reading Stephen King's It). This look is a cross of funny and disturbing, especially since there's another clown face on the side, like a parasitic evil twin. 

Freeaaky. 

2. Leather Face and Texas Chainsaw Massacre Make-up by Pinkstylist. Oh Charlie aka Pinkstylist, you're so fabulous, I love you <3 nbsp="">

One of his best looks is this Leather Face make-up from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. If you're a horror fan, you'd know that Leather Face stitches together facial skin from his victims and uses this as a mask. You can imagine the work that went on this look, which I absolutely appreciate and enjoy. This look was made with a combination of prosthetic, liquid latex and tissue paper, paint and fake blood, and pure and simple awesomeness. 

A couple of my other faves:

• The Smiler. This look reminds me of an insane inmate in a mental asylum. 
• Burned Alive. The personification of my fear of heat and fire. 

3. Four Horseman: Death by Klairedelys. Of course, Klaire is going to be here. She has always been one of my favorite artists. This year, she's gone for more wearable look (check out her Real Life Disney series), but my favorite will always be her artistic make-up. This look is from her Four Horseman series. A very different interpretation of Death, this elegant is characteristic of Klair's simple, clean, and elegant make-up.

Isn't this beautiful? 

And just because I was inspired (and I had time to kill), I made a couple of looks for Halloween as well. 

 This first look was inspired by the Joker. Unfortunately, I only had Johnson;s Baby Powder to make the white base, and a cheap eye shadow pallet and a rarely-used red lipstick. I think it's still cool though, but I wish I had better make-up. 

This second look is something I've been dying to try - the sugar skull. I blocked out my eyebrows using a glue stick. Again, I lack the kind of make-up to make this look work, but in making this look, I think learned something: Beauty UK pallets are more pigmented than Elf. I'm so glad I got hold of one of their eye shadow pallets ^_^.

I hope you enjoy my recommendations. Happy Halloween!