C L Raven are identical twins and mistresses of the macabre from Cardiff. They’re horror writers, as ‘bringers of nightmares’ isn’t a recognised job title. They write short stories, novels, comics and articles for Haunted Magazine and Living Paranormal Magazine and have been published in various anthologies and horror magazines. They’ve been working on indie horror film, Clownface and will soon be writing and directing their first short horror film, The Black Kiss. Every Friday night, they host The Graveyard Shift on Vitalize Radio. Along with their friend Neen, they prowl the country hunting for ghosts for their YouTube show, Calamityville Horror and can also be found urb exing in places they shouldn’t be. They also gracefully fall off poles as they learn PoleFit, and ungracefully faceplant as they learn gymnastics.
C L Raven were kind enough to allow us to interview them. You can read that here
Where did the idea to start Anatomy of a Scream come from?
I’ve always been pretty fascinated with the darker side of life. My mother loved horror, and I have vivid memories of both hiding from the films she used to watch and sneakily trying to see them for myself. I grew up obsessed with Stephen King novels, 90s teen horror and slashers, ghost stories, and the paranormal. AOAS began as just a quiet, personal blog, where I could practice non-academic writing and have an excuse to watch movies. It kind of grew from there, as I wanted to start featuring the work of other writers who could offer feminist takes on genre film, as well as highlighting the work of women in the industry. Another goal of mine is to promote Canadian film, so we tend to cover indie Canadian productions and filmmakers as well.
AOAS also launched during a low time in my life – I’d just graduated, was having trouble finding a job right away, and was in an unhealthy relationship that was taking a toll on my self-worth. Creative projects have always been a soothing balm for my soul at times like that – at all times, really. I’m not genuinely happy unless I’m working on something.
How long has the website been around for?
We’re coming up on the second anniversary of Anatomy of a Scream this May. For the first year or so, I was the sole writer for the site. I asked Suri Parmar and CC Stapleton to join the site last summer, and then added Michelle Swope to the roster. The solo blog became more of a team effort in terms of content, and I picked up the editing duties in addition to my writing. I also started accepting pitches from guest contributors. As we’ve added new writers and expanded the content, we’ve started to really build an audience, which is very exciting. It’s wonderful to know that there are horror fans looking for different voices and perspectives, who are seeking us out.
What are your plans for the future of the website?
I’d like for the site to continue to grow and to build up a community of readers who value the perspectives we offer. We actually just brought on two very talented new writers, Alejandra Gonzalez and Joe Lipsett. They’ve pitched a few intriguing ideas already. I’m excited to see how their involvement and contributions will shape the future of the site.
You also started Grim Magazine. I had the pleasure of reading an early edition of the first issue and enjoy where you’re taking it. What was the inspiration behind starting the magazine?
The way that I pitched it initially was the same way that I pitched Anatomy of a Scream; a cross between Bitch and Fangoria. I wanted to have a horror focus, but take a more critical, intersectional feminist approach to it. To that end, I made it a goal to seek out and feature a diverse group of voices and perspectives. I wanted to offer content that looked at horror in a way that differed from a lot of the mainstream horror coverage, giving space to viewpoints and opinions that aren’t often showcased.
I think that representation is really important. If some horror fans are able to find content in Grim that they’re able to really relate to and can’t find anywhere else, that’s wonderful. If others find content that makes them look at certain films, tropes, or even costuming choices in a new way and opens them up to new ideas, that’s also great.
I think another reason for starting Grim was the fact that I was too nervous to pitch pieces to magazines like Rue Morgue, so starting my own magazine seemed like the easier path! <laughs>
Can you tell us about some of the hardships that come with running a website/magazine that exists to put the emphasis onto Women, LGBTQ and People of Colour? I’ve done promotions and themed events in the past through this website and although they were well received by the general community, there was some backlash from people who felt they were being excluded.
Just this morning I was called racist and sexist by a man who believes that, by putting a focus on underrepresented voices, I’m promoting “segregation and alienation of half of the population”. He was angry because I declined to accept copies of his self-published book to review. (We actually don’t even review fiction in Grim, just film and horror theory texts. Ironically, our book reviewer is actually a white man.) There are always going to be people who feel entitled to space on every platform, because society has socialized them to believe that they belong everywhere. Generally, arguing with these people leads nowhere, particularly because many of the people espousing these views don’t actually respect women at all. I’m trying to develop a thicker skin and a certain level of insouciance when these situations come up.
One thing I enjoyed about Grim was the layout, as a web developer I can kind of understand the work and frustration that goes along with formatting and presenting something. How difficult was it to get everything looking the way you wanted?
On one hand, it was a labour of love, so I cherished every minute of it. On another hand — don’t get me started. I actually had to design the digital and print versions on two separate programs from scratch, because the proprietary software for the publishing site wouldn’t export high-quality PDFs. So, all of the work that you imagine went into the magazine? Multiply that by two. I was also a little limited by the fact that I’m not skilled at creating graphics from scratch, so the magazine had to do without the added flourishes of custom graphics. Instead, I tried to create a clean, pleasing aesthetic using the tools at my disposal: colour, spacing, fonts, and images. This goal would have been better reached if I’d been able to plan out the editorial content logistics a little bit better, but it’s a learning experience. I’m excited to continue building these skills in future issues.
What can we expect in future issues of Grim?
Well, our next issue is going to be slasher-themed, and I’ve already received (and accepted) a few pitches that I’m rather stoked about. You can expect us to continue featuring content that applies different gazes to the genre that we all love.
Any rituals or superstitions you have before you begin writing? Need a special chair? Can’t start until x amount of seconds into a certain song?
Obviously, there is the stereotypical writer ritual – the ever-present cup of coffee. I also really prefer a tidy workspace. Maybe it’s because I write better when not surrounded by clutter, or maybe I just enjoy the ten minutes of procrastination that I get from cleaning. Oh, and I always write while wearing Mark Duplass’s Peachfuzz mask from Creep. That’s important.
Any advice for our readers who may be thinking about starting their own horror website or magazine?
Yes!
Focus on the things that you do best and outsource the things that you need to outsource. Bringing on Joe Lipsett as a copy editor for Grim was the smartest thing that I did, especially once I stopped pre-editing the pieces before sending them to him and just trusted him to do his thing. Not only did he do an amazing job, but it allowed me to focus on the billion other tasks that I had to do, like following up with sponsors and other writers, researching licence-free fonts, working on social media marketing, and the enormous task of layout.
Research all vendors before committing. Don’t make the same mistake I did with the aforementioned design software. If you’re self-publishing, research the different avenues available. Research digital subscription services. Research hosting. Make sure that your bases are covered before you commit any amount of time or money.
Network, network, network. Even if you have social anxiety.
Valeska Griffiths – Anatomy of a Scream and Grim Magazine
Kate Bosworth stars as grieving Mum Jessie, alongside husband Mark. Following the tragic and untimely death of their young son, the couple decide to foster a troubled, but cute little boy called Cody.
Enter Cody…possibly the cutest little thing since puss in boots made those eyes at Shrek!! Cody is sweet, polite and has…a gift! One that opens up experiences that the couple cannot quite believe, and emotions run high.
Codys dreams seemingly become real, the good ones…and the not so good ones. You may be thinking this sounds like the start of a Disney film, but there is an emphasis on the not so good dreams and we soon realise that Cody will do anything to prevent himself from falling asleep.
This film is genuinely chilling, I hadn’t heard of it before and gave it a go, and have to say I enjoyed every bit. It’s thought provoking, full of suspense and has a great twist to an emotional conclusion.
Paranormal suspense is the running theme, if you like a good ‘ghost’ film and are happy with watching a sugar sweet family going through supernatural torment, then this is a great pick for you.
I don’t believe in ghosts. I’ve never witnessed anything paranormal in my life, bar the weird noises my cats make at night. Yet still, I lie there in bed some nights, covers pulled tight, imagining all manner of nasty things. Not necessarily things that can hurt me, but things I wouldn’t want to see. Visuals that would scar me forever.
That has never happened, thankfully, and I eventually go to sleep and then wake up for work, and life goes on. But it has happened in fiction, in ways that terrify me in otherwise banal films, books and video games.
I scare easily. I’ve stopped watching films because of jumps-scares, and the night was a little too dark. I got about five minutes into Silent Hill 2 before switching it off (it was too full of dread, and unbearably sad). I have enormous respect for the creators and artists of these works, who can affect us in awful ways. I think one of the reasons I’m always drawn to horror is because it does affect me. If it’s meant to be scary, it will probably make me cower. And I may not make it all the way through.
One of my favorite scary movies is The Haunted. Not the 1999 version with Liam Neeson, but a more obscure 1991 made-for-TV film that I caught by accident late one night as a teenager. It’s based on a true ghost story; a family in Pennsylvania that claimed to have been haunted by a demon. I will never claim it’s an amazing film, and the special effects are cheap and not-entirely convincing, but somehow the filmmakers managed to create images that have stuck with me for decades.
If you like haunted house stories, you’ll find nothing in the film that surprises you, apart from a scene where the father of the family is sexually assaulted by the entity. The acting is fine, but nothing to write home about. The ending, from what I remember, feels unsatisfactory, and it relies on genre clichés a little too much. But the ghost/demon itself is what gets into your mind.
We see it quite early in the film, when the mother (and main character) is doing laundry. The soundtrack changes and a bass rumble fills the speakers. The atmosphere has changed, so we know something ominous is about to happen. Strange occurrences have already unnerved us. We’re ghost story aficionados, ready for the next level. She looks up, and stares at a black shape floating through her living room. There’s no form to it, nothing that looks remotely human or recognizable. It sounds like squealing pigs as it drifts along, and we know it is pure malevolence.
Maybe people who’ve actually seen ghosts will correct me, but The Haunted frightens me because it looks like how I imagine a haunting to be. The rest of the film is well-made, but nothing special. It accomplishes what it sets out to do, and does it pretty well. However, I keep coming back to that ghostly, demonic shape. I’ve seen more terrifying films, for sure, and better stories about haunted houses. But I love how the entity in this film is presented. I love the lack of comprehension we get when we witness it floating through the house, its lack of humanity and even shape meaning there will be no easy reckoning. Other ghosts have stories, tragic pasts, human frailties. This is simply an amorphous thing—it exists only to scare, and make us think of the other. It’s the kind of thing I dread seeing at night. Even though I know I probably never will, I can still imagine it happening, just like I can imagine every creak and bang after midnight is actually done with malicious, otherworldly intent.
I don’t know how much thought went into the film, or if anyone else was affected by it like I was at sixteen. I’ve had a love of weirdness in fiction as far as I can remember, and there are better examples of it out there in books (such as House of Leaves, or the awful “funhole” in Kathe Koja’s The Cipher.) But I think it’s important to remember that some of the most effective horror out there works because it defies our understanding. Even before Lovecraft, we enjoyed exploring worlds and situations that made no sense, that defied all laws of physics, and that left us reeling with their lack of explanations.
And sometimes cheaply-made TV movies can be surprisingly effective in creating images that delight, surprise and scare.
Condemned is a first person survival horror game released in 2005 by Monolith Productions. I have been excited to play this game ever since I found out Monolith was the developers: they have a pretty good track record with horror games, having developed the F.E.A.R. series as well as the criminally underrated 2.5D FPS BLOOD. Needless to say I was wielding a hefty bar of expectations going into this.
You play a member of the FBI’s Serial Crime Unit named Ethan Thomas. Throughout the game it is noted that Ethan has “gifted” investigative abilities and near-superhuman durability. These act mostly as plot convenience to explain why you seem to be much more adept at taking a 2X4 to the face than most people. The game is played in a first person perspective only breaking from that for cut scenes. Condemned opens with you and a few other law enforcement officials arriving in a seedy part of the fictional city of Metro to investigate the crime scene of a notorious serial killer. The games notes early on that violent crime and psychotic behavior have recently been on an increase all over the city for reasons that slowly get revealed over the course of the game. The first 20 minutes or so serve as a tutorial of sorts for the games various mechanics. Movement on PC is typical for a first person game, simple and intuitive WASD to move and mouse to look around. You are shown how to use your flashlight for finding your way through poorly lit areas, which is the entire game. Luckily, your flashlight was not made from cardboard and congealed sadness so it has a charge time of more than three and half minutes(Im looking at you Outlast clones). After fumbling around in an condemned building (get it?) you arrive to find the latest victim of a killer known as “The Matchmaker.” Here you are introduced to one of the central game-play mechanics: investigating stuff.
Ethan comes equipped with a variety of investigative tools that I am sure were the talk of town in 2005. You get to take photographs, scan and collect samples in order to piece together what is happening around you. All of this gets transferred digitally with what looks to be a Nokia flip-phone. Did I mention this game is about twelve years old? Your correspondent who process the clues is a genuinely delightful woman named Rosa. Most of your interactions with her will be over that dinosaur of a cell-phone you carry around until a late-game level where you actually meet up with her for some clue hunting and hobo beating. The investigative parts themselves are never any kind of mind-bending puzzle or a desperate hunt for obscure clues. You get a prompt that something intriguing is nearby, then you pull out an appropriate tool and collect some samples. It makes for a nice breather in between taking a gas pipe to the mouth and crushing un-medicated psychopaths with a sledgehammer. These moments usually serve to forward the plot and character interactions between Ethan and Rosa who begins to feel like your only friend in a world going mad.
I mentioned beating up homeless people and the mentally ill a few times earlier so let me explain that before you begin thinking Condemned is basically Se7en with a lot more murdering of the underclass. I mean, it kind of is in a sense… Early on in the game you get the notion that there is something far bigger, and supernatural, going on behind all the serial killer investigative stuff which is affecting all the crazy people who are trying to beat you to death. While the story itself is not some mind-blowing narrative that will shake you to your very core, the way it is told is admirable at the very least.
As you progress through the game, titillating tid-bits of an otherworldly horror are doled out for you to unravel. Soon after “The Matchmaker” scene, another killer crashes the party, kills your two cops buddies with your gun, then disappears. Ethan is left taking the fall for the murdering of two police officers. This sets up the bulk of the story with Ethan trying to stop this mystery killer and clear his own name with the FBI. The game itself is level based, with Ethan traveling through a variety of run-down and derelict libraries, sewers, farmhouses, warehouses, subway systems and mannequin shops- more on that later. In fact 99% of the game is you just trudging through crumbling, decaying shit-holes. The levels themselves are relatively non-linear while not devolving into abstract labyrinths. Most levels will contain a few special melee weapons like shovels, fire axes, sledgehammers and crowbars. Aside from being powerful ways of defending yourself, they will give you access to areas you could not get to otherwise. It is a pretty novel way of implementing a key system, as a lot of the times these weapons will function as such. The fire axe is especially fun because you hack down doors ala Jack Nicholson in The Shining. (Side note, I said ‘Here’s Johnny!’ out loud EVERY SINGLE TIME I chopped a door down in this game). Other times you will need to investigate a crime scene before you can continue through the level.
There are two types of collectibles to be found throughout the game. Yea, only two. It seems so minimalist compared to today games that can have their playtime padded out by an additional 50 hours or so. Simpler times, I guess. Also, they are actually tied to the plot. The more numerous ones are dead/dying birds. It is stated the birds are also being affected by whatever is driving the people mad. Only instead of becoming violent, their brains simply dissolve into mush and then they die; It’s pretty sad. The other type are these strange metal bars you can find. Not much is said about them, but they will almost be found with drawings of eyes surrounding them so I think they are important.
Now some people have taken offense to the perceived repetitiveness of the levels (See above: crumbling shit-holes) and while that would be a valid argument if this was a different style of game, since similar accusations were thrown at horror games such as Doom 3 or Quake I, it is my humble opinion that Horror is one of the few genres that can actually benefit from a more slow-burning uniform imagery or color palette. As a huge fan of dark ambient music I can say that a tense, atmosphere can be sufficiently achieved when you get the notion that it is unending, droning and oppressive.
The steak and potatoes of Condemned, and one of it’s biggest selling points, is the combat. Condemned is a bit of an oddity in that while it is a first person perspective game and guns do exist in it, it is not an FPS. The few guns you find are far and few between with no extra ammo; what you find in the clip is what you get. Most of the combat will be melee-based and ohh boy is it brutal. Time and technology may have rendered Condemned a bit aged, but the depressive, visceral nature of the combat is still second to none. It is the polar opposite of stylish fast-paced combat seen in games like Devil May Cry or even a Soulsborne game. It is deliberately slow with a white knuckle sense of tension. You can block, kick, or take a swing. On higher difficulties one or two wrong moves will end with you getting a hunk of rebar cracking your skull like a soft walnut. You do get a taser as a trump card to stun enemies and even steal their weapons. The taser has a cooldown so don’t think you can be happy-go-lucky with it. Also, enemies take no shit in this game.
AI in this game is actually pretty impressive. Most enemies in other video games are of two flavors. They will be tactical and hide behind cover taking pot-shots and verbal-vomiting chunks of random military jargon. The other type run in a straight line and beat your head like they have not eaten in three days and someone told them your skull was hiding the last bag of chips. On top of that, you have a stamina bar and no regenerating health. So woe be to those who think they can flake out on a fight and hide behind a dumpster so their plot-armor can mend itself. The enemies in this game are a cut above the rest: they will skulk in the shadows, flank you, and hide in wait for an ambush waiting for your oh so smash-able body to get within range of their gym door locker. Enemies will also block, kick, or even feign attacks to get an opening on you. If you take their weapon they will even retreat and seek out another piece of random debris to pound on you with. Some enemies will have guns; they are a top priority, because they have a gun and odds are you won’t. Another good reason to run into a hail of gunfire is enemies in Condemned do not have magic infinite ammo like most games, so if you kill them quick you could get a fully-loaded gun to wreak havoc with.
Enemies come in all shapes and sizes. Random bearded hobos, relatively clean-shaven hobos, female hobos, but unfortunately no bearded female hobos. You even come across emaciated sewer junkies who crawl around on all fours and generally give you the creeps. Eventually, you come across guys that P90-X professionally and can easily break you in half if you’re not careful. Towards the end of the game I even saw a guy who looked like the Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 got really, really, fat. Those guys could throw some serious hands. The single most interesting enemy encounter took place in the mannequin shop I mentioned earlier. Here you come across people wearing the mannequin pieces like armor over their skin and will pose as mannequins in order to catch you off guard. It is exactly as creepy as you would expect. At one point I turned a corner, saw a mannequin in a real aloof pose and leaning on a cane. I looked away, then turned back to see the “mannequin” was staring at me. He then grabbed the cane and started swinging. It was an incredible and unique moment of horror for me. Now I
won’t spoil too much end game content, other than to tell it eventually cranks the supernatural aspect up to a solid 7 and gives a rather fun final boss who looks like kind of like a Cenobite.
The graphics are not cutting edge by any stretch even for that time still, they do get the job done and it does not take away from the story or gameplay. While the character models are a bit blocky, the animations for them are quite varied and fluid. While Condemned may not have reached the iconic status of other horror games from that era, it is still a great game you should not pass up on playing.
It is currently 14.95$ on Steam in case 5 pennies is a deal breaker for you, because I got it on sale so it totally was for me.
