Confronting the killer head-on or running in fear, Piers Mucklejohn considers the joys of horror gaming
Hallowe'en
An Ode To Ghostwatch
Almost 30 years later, the BBC’s Ghostwatch Halloween special remains controversial. Amber Hogan sheds light on the impact of the show.
Halloween Fights Plastic
Paige Insalaco advises us on how to have a sustainable Halloween I think we can all agree that Halloween is one of the most entertaining holidays we partake in, however, the sustainability of the tradition is being called into question given the current climate crisis we’re in. One of the most iconic elements of Halloween, […]
The unconventional horror of The Lobster
When it comes to horror movies, you either love them or hate them. Although it embarrasses me to admit it, I fall into the latter, ‘less-cool’ category. It truly astounds me that some people enjoy the feeling of being afraid… I can’t stand it! After watching The Woman in Black (which I was told multiple times “is […]
‘Ebony Eve’
Inky darkness ebbed and creeped, Black and cold and deeply steeped, In auburn fire of Sun’s rebirth, Pale moon above the ebony Earth. Leaves twist and writhe upon the ground, Taken from the tree, they found, The wind to be their greatest foe, Torment is torn with every blow. With Autumn comes a masquerade, A […]
Halloween (2018) – Review
It’s been forty years since the first Halloween, directed by John Carpenter, premiered; forty years since Michael Myers haunted, hunted, killed, and terrorised a handful of young people at a small suburban town in the US on October 31, 1978. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who managed to fight off Michael Myers that night, who […]
The highlights of Halloween
It’s October. The air’s getting colder, the days are shorter, and what’s left of my summer tan has all but faded away. It’s safe to say I look like a zombie, dragging myself up Forum Hill for an 8:30 lecture. With sunken eyes, alabaster skin, and just a bit of glitter from the night before, […]
What to wear: the misogyny of Halloween
As a guy, I’m in the lucky position of costume-freedom around Halloween. I feel no pressure to go as anything ‘sexy’ or ‘adult’. I could go as anything from a Comida! wrap to drunken Gandalf the Grey; from an ablaze Royal Clarence Hotel to Yoda’s mother; from Donald Trump to a North Korean ICBM. No […]
No Laughing Matter
We all have those crazy irrational fears. Some people are scared of enclosed spaces, others are left petrified at the concept of public speaking, there’s even a fear of long words – ironically referred to as hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. Yet one of the most well-known phobias is that of clowns. Logically, coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) makes […]
Appreciation or Appropriation: When Halloween costumes cross the line
As Exeter University dresses up for Halloween, the significant debate over what is culturally acceptable resurges. Universities across America and the UK are warning their students against appropriating cultures they don’t belong to by dressing up in certain costumes. Universities argue that repeated offenders such as those who dress up as ‘Cowboys and Indians’ misrepresent […]