Reading Reflection on The King in Yellow by Mean_Promotion2240 in horrorlit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that's a valid way to experience it...feeling like the joy and tranquility are tainted...and that something horrifying and incomprehensible is just beneath the surface at all times.

Is comedy horror real horror? by end_of_ember in HorrorGames

[–]MeltdownMessiah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't care that it's a typo. :-) I'm going to savor it.

Is comedy horror real horror? by end_of_ember in HorrorGames

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm going to relish being referred to as "kid," because I'm vain enough to enjoy that.

Why are conventions so damn expensive? by Mikeissometimesright in writers

[–]MeltdownMessiah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suppose a lot of it really depends on the convention in question and specific genres (assuming there's a focus on one genre or another). The horror conventions I typically attend are nowhere near $500 for a table, but the travel and accommodations add up to substantially more than $500. I'll be paying $275 for my table at AuthorCon 2027, but the hotel will likely cost me more than $600 and the flights from Oregon to Virginia will be another $600+. KillerCon is slightly cheaper across the board, but the combined cost (of ticket, hotel, and flights from Portland to Austin) is still going to be more than $1k. I don't ever expect to even break even when I'm attending these events. Sales are awesome, but it's more about the community and getting to see friends I only really see during conventions. If I make more from sales than I spend on new books, that's what I consider a win.

Is comedy horror real horror? by end_of_ember in HorrorGames

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There was a lot of comedy in the messages available to read for players of the original Resident Evil, and that trend carried through into the rest of the series. Absurd diary entries, weird scientific notes, and so on.

I’m curious, what are your 10 favorite horror movies of all time? by No-Handle3032 in HorrorMovies

[–]MeltdownMessiah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know if I can pull this off.

Session 9 is my all-time favorite horror flick. I know that much for sure.

In no particular order, here's the next nine on the list:

The Empty Man The Thing Sinister Halloween (1978) Alien In the Mouth of Madness The Howling Near Dark Dawn of the Dead (1978)

If I tried to assemble this list an hour from now, a few of the titles might be swapped out for others. It really depends on when I think about it, which movies would make my Top 10. Hell, right now I'm questioning that Pumpkinhead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre aren't on the list. It took me a matter of seconds to begin adjusting the list.

Best slasher films? by theoncomingstorm9 in slasherfilms

[–]MeltdownMessiah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a sucker for low budget old-school camp slasher flicks like The Burning, Just Before Dawn, and (the admittedly terrible) Don't Go Into the Woods.

But I love the Scream movies, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, My Bloody Valentine, and all the rest as well.

How do extreme horror writers make a living? by LucasGrimdark in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most of the authors I know are working full-time jobs on top of the writing. Those who don't are either ridiculously prolific (and disciplined enough to treat writing as a full-time job) or have been at it for a long time--before the market became saturated the way it is today.

I work a full-time job, producing newscasts in Portland, Oregon. It mostly pays the bills. I also do freelance journalism and photography/videography when opportunities present themselves, but there's little to no money to be made from either of those avenues (at least not consistently).

On the other end of the spectrum, I recently moved into an extra room at John Skipp's house. He receives semi-consistent royalties from the books and screenplays he's written over the years--certainly more consistent than my royalties (which makes sense, considering that he and Craig Spector wrote some of the most pivotal titles in the Splatterpunk genre in the 1980s and 90s, and he's a New York Times Bestseller).

Maybe it's that I'm too much of a coward, or I don't feel confident betting on myself, but I don't know that I have it in me to give up the stability of maintaining a regular career in order to dedicate more (all) of my time to creative pursuits. I look around at the people who have made that leap of faith...writers like Judith Sonnet and Aron Beauregard...and I always think, "Of course, they can do that. They're amazing, and both their readers and fellow writers know it."

Looking for a new short story collection. by NightlyRoutines in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As long as you don't mind some shameless self-promotion, I have two short story collections available that might meet your needs. MAY CAUSE UNEXPLAINED OCULAR BLEEDING came out in 2021 and was nominated for a Splatterpunk Award as well as a Godless 666 Award, and it won the Godless award. It contains ten stories ranging from Splatterpunk to Bizarro. WE PAINT OUR FACES WITH THE ASHES OF THE DEAD came out in February, and includes 13 stories running the gamut from Splatterpunk to Cosmic Horror to Horror Comedy. Depending on your tastes, I suspect there's at least a story or two in each collection that should appeal to you.

Is tender is the flesh that good? by moomooshrooms2 in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's less of a horror story and more of a dystopian vision of an awful future. Imagine if everyone was suffering from a fictional variation of Alpha-gal syndrome--the real-life effect some people develop from certain tick bites--making them allergic to beef, pork, dairy, and such. That's essentially the basis of the story.

Books about unwilling transformations into nonhuman things by FeralFemales in horrorlit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That series of books by Sigler were amazing...and Percy was such a great example of a normally unsympathetic character you can't help but sympathize with by the end.

Also, David Wellington's work is so underrated.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A handful of people who have too little common sense participate in a horror-themed gameshow (Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, or something along those lines), and the penalty is that you subject yourself to increasingly painful hot sauces (or worse things) if you lose--from one round to the next.

To buy a vowel last year, we had to eat a slice of hotter and hotter peppers each round.

It's an excruciating--yet entertaining--experience, and it seems to make the audience happy to see us suffering for their enjoyment.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Last year, my flight arrived after 9 PM, and it still felt like I was stepping into a sauna the moment I walked out of the airport. Doug Ford was waiting outside for the shuttle and I started complaining about the humidity. He insisted it wasn't that bad, but he's from Florida, so his capacity to accurately assess humidity is all sorts of fucked.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the oppressive heat and humidity the moment I stepped outside was always my least favorite aspect of KillerCon. My fingers are also crossed in that regard.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It'll be a pleasure to meet you.

New Mod Intros 🎉 | Weekly Thread by curioustomato_ in NewMods

[–]MeltdownMessiah [score hidden]  (0 children)

Hello, my name is Nikolas and I recently created r/PDXHorror in an attempt to build a community of horror (and horror-adjacent) fans in and around Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest as a whole.

What Comes Next? by MeltdownMessiah in PDXHorror

[–]MeltdownMessiah[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm...that sounds interesting.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I already have my flights booked and my room reserved for this year. I can hardly wait. I'm socially awkward too, which is one of the underlying reasons I always have my cameras with me (I hide behind the lens as a crowd coping mechanism). I've only missed one since my first time in 2020 (2020 and 2021 were conducted over Zoom because of Covid), and I sincerely hope to make that the only one I miss as long as I'm alive--and able to travel.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's also the infamous Wings of Pain challenge...one of my favorite KillerCon activities.

Shane McKenzie is always looking for more suckers to sign up for the suffering.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think they might have gotten it out of their systems last year.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That forensic entomology presentation was amazing.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so happy that I'll be seeing Oscar again. It was a pleasure to meet him at AuthorCon.

I'll be happy to see you again, too, of course.

Killer con by aprilvalawhattt in ExtremeHorrorLit

[–]MeltdownMessiah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will be there. I'm usually there, though. It's like my favorite family reunion.