From Coven to Grave

The witch's mark is an intimate marker that warns of an unholy alliance. Very few will have opportunity to see that nipple from which the familiar suckles blood. Those who need to discover a witch before it is too late must look for more external signs. Some are very blatant and others more subtle. When the witch is discovered then he or she must be captured, a job best left to the witch hunters. That requires special equipment if the witch is very powerful, and sometimes even when not. After that there is the trial, which has its own equipment needs. The capture in many ways is the easy part thanks to the skill of the hunters. The confession is paramount but not easy to attain. These are the devotees of the Adversary (the Devil) after all--lies come to them naturally. The last step, passing sentence on a confessed witch has the simplest parts requirement.

In the dead of the night they gather. Travel out to the woods, away from prying eyes. Around the fire they dance and cavort. No special garments denote them for they must be skyclad, their nakedness full and complete beyond mere skin, their wicked souls fully on display. The nudity strips them of rank and importance; they are all supplicants to their evil Master. The rituals of which they partake are dark and ominous, many of them in stark contrast to proper behaviour, such as the Witch's Sabbath. Their vileness knows no bounds as exemplified by the Unholy Water--made in a hole in the ground from the urine of the Master and the members of the coven. They fornicate with all abandon at these gatherings. Yet by day their wantonness remains hidden just as the rest of their fiendishness. No, they must be caught in small lies and tiny sick acts.

The hunt begins once a witch is discovered. Oddly enough holy water doesn't play into our hunter's bag of tricks, due to these hunters not being Catholic--though they have their share of hunters--think instead Protestants, Quakers, or perhaps for a change of pace, Mormons. Other holy items are used. Some of them are not your run of the mill crosses. They include pieces of the cross from Calvary and in the same vein nails from the crucifixion, perhaps even the famed missing fourth nail. There may be other reliquary of more esoteric history. The equipment of the trial includes dunking devices, stocks and legs irons among other painful bindings, and different torture chairs such as the pyramidal Judas Cradle. In the field all it may take is a length of rope and a stream. When it's all done it's off to the stake to burn in the soul cleansing fire.

Mood: judgemental.

Music: One by Metallica and Let Me Hear You Scream by Ozzy Osbourne.

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The Witch Hunter General Rides In

Witches are only one part of the equation for many stories. Out there lays the one thing that even the forces of evil fear, the Witch Hunter General and his men. These men are both stalwart champions of good and scourges of evil. Turmoil and death follow in their wake to a degree only paralleled by the most fiendish witch. Their arsenal is vast, their knowledge of their prey complete, their interrogation skills consummate. None dare to stand against the General and his cadre. There is no hiding. There is no pleading--except to plead guilty. There is nowhere that their influence and power does not reach. Wicked, beware. Who are these enigmatic paragons? How frequent are they encountered? How many are there? Most importantly, how do they impact the horror expressed and demanded by witches, singularly or even by the coven? All will be revealed for goodness' sake.

The question of how many will depend on your setting. More witches mean more witch hunters in only some cases. More hunters could mean lesser skills or more dangerous witch powers. It is important that the hunters do not overpower the setting and dissipate the horror. They can be so powerful and unstoppable that witches have no chance against them when push really comes to shove, but this might be mitigated by the wait for the Witch Hunter General and his men to come to the rescue or the level of collateral damage created by the conflict between the two sides. Do not forget the flip side that where the hunters go the innocent fall prey to them as well over hysteria, jealousy, and other general finger pointing. They are feared by all who do not feel they measure up to that level of righteousness. Pride comes before the fall as well, be warned.

Secrecy is one of the weapons in the witch hunter's arsenal. Fear of the unknown extends to the wicked just as much as the virtuous. Stories from the witches' perspective doing away with hunters are possible if not mainstream. Extended stories of the witch hunter's training and seminaries will tend toward a more fantasy than horror feel, especially with the hunters working from such a strong base position. Even with a story from a hunter's perspective--regardless of whether high or low in rank--less is more to maintain the mystique. The line between folklore surrounding the hunters and their true power can be revealed, but benefits from being unleashed little by little--much as the most spectacular part of any story must be the climax. Come back next time for a look at the signs of witchery, witch's habits, and the tools of the witch hunter's trade.

Mood: seasoned.

Music: Fear Is The Key by Iron Maiden and Catch Me If You Can by Alice Cooper.

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13 Nights of Hallowe'en 2009: Night #1 Strangeland

Hello, and welcome to the first of the thirteen nights of Hallowe’en.

What we do with these thirteen nights is we watch a horror movie or other kind of movie fitting to the festive spirit of All Hallows Eve. The full list of this years movies is available at WraithStop™. Tonight is the first night running to Hallowe’en, which is the thirteenth night. Come back to this blog every day for a heads up about that night’s movie.

Tonight’s movie is "Strangeland" which was written by and stars Dee Snider who is most famously known for the glam metal band Twisted Sister. Yes, a twisted movie from Twisted Sister, including even a song from a briefly re-united Twisted Sister. It's not just being cute to call this a twisted movie. Strangeland is about Captain Howdy, a cyber-stalker looking to help people by providing them the physical trials and pain of primitive cultures. The movie made the circuit of tradeshows revolving around tattoos, piercings, and body modification, rather than the film festivals. One thing you may notice is that Genevieve is played by Linda Cardellini from the last seasons of ER. Also included in the cast is Robert Englund, the original man of your nightmare, Freddy Krueger, in a role that really surprises.

By now some might be wondering from where they know that name, Captain Howdy. In the Exorcist, Regan MacNeil (played by Linda Blair) said with her Ouija board that she spoke to someone named Captain Howdy. Similarly that name is a song title from Twisted Sister's album "Stay Hungry" and the remixed "Still Hungry". While still on the topic of music, Strangeland has an awesome soundtrack available that is just full of great songs from a number of great bands. As for the movie itself, don't worry it's not gorno, though it could be easy to imagine as a step in that direction, this was 1998 after all. No instead it's a horror in the thriller vein and it certainly has its twists and turns. It is not your run of the mill retread plot. Enjoy, like all of this year's movies it's one of my favourites.

Mood: excited.

Music: Captain Howdy by Twisted Sister off of Still Hungry.

Anatomy of a Horror Setting #9: Waking Nightmares

For the psychic that wants to torment someone in a long-standing manner there are a number of avenues to be explored. The subjects to be tortured can be evil people who deserves everything they get, either because of the severity of their crimes, or because of the inability of conventional law efforts to deal with them safely, securely, and long term enough to cover their sentenced disciplinary action--without them breaking free--ensuring that justice is met. Likewise, the subjects of these indignities can be regular and good people who are actually the victim of a psychic, whether for sport, out of anger, or for blackmail purposes. Either way the methodologies are the same, as are the psychic abilities used to impose these afflictions. There are two classes into which these miseries fall.

The first class of these infirmities--a perfect word for these torments--is physical. This category's lesser method is to cause the loss of one or more senses; sight is the most common, the next is hearing. The sense could be altered instead of blocked as well; such as everything the victim eats tastes like ashes. The loss of a sense is a loss of freedom. Taking this further the psychic can induce a permanent paralysis of a limb or the entire body, including the ability to move the head and speak. Full paralysis caused by a psychic might preclude breathing trouble. This means the timeframe of the punishment won't be shortened due to that complication. This makes for an effective affliction because the subject is fully aware of every thing around them but unable to interact in any way.

The second class of waking nightmares is of a mental kind. These afflictions can be purely psychological or physiologically rooted. Primary to this category are hallucinations of different types. They can be transitory such as persistent suddenly appearing apparitions and monsters, or a constant phantom figure that nags, mocks and cajoles, as well as makes lewd or self-destructive suggestions. This figure need only be a voice, not a full-blown visual hallucination. The victim could also see everyone around them appearing as if they were dead, usually of gruesome demises. Or they may see shadows moving everywhere as if alive. These unreal visions can lead to insanity, or the psychic may just begin with implanting insane states like schizophrenia, phobias, or acute paranoia.

Mood: antsy.
Music: Bleak by Opeth and Coma by Guns 'N' Roses.

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Anatomy of a Horror Setting #7: Psychic Interrogation Techniques

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first Horror on Hump Day of 2008.

Back in part #5 the topic of a psychic as a lie detector came up. There is more to be said on this topic, but also there are other ways that psychic powers can be used in the interrogation of a subject. As with regular interrogating there are questions, and determining the truth from the lies, which carries on up to more questionable methods of information extraction like torture and the myriad forms that that can take, even by conventional methods. Since this is a horror setting it may be more pertinent to focus on the possible torturous applications of psychic abilities. Of course torture comes in two distinct and encompassing formats--physical and psychological. Each of these formats will require the use of different powers as well as a different mental skill set.

The mental skill set required for physical torture is fairly low for the psychic interrogator due to the limited array of applicable powers. The conventional torturer works with different instruments and styles of which money and imagination are the only obstacles. Likewise a psychic cannot design new drugs unless they possess that knowledge. A psychic can use pyrokinesis for the application of fire. A psychic can inflict pain directly or instead of cutting, beating, and pulling out things like teeth and fingernails or can do those via telekinesis. The best, most horrific tortures stem from permanent, unforgettable damages that are only a glance away for the rest of their lives. The downfall of physical torture though is that it affects the heart and can lead to accidental death.

A psychic with powers used for psychological torture techniques can require much more skill and imagination in their interrogations. The options available to such psychics are very open ended. Techniques can include phantom pain--less stressful on the heart--false memories of torments visited upon them, and being trapped in long drawn out nightmare scenarios. There are also subtle, gentler methods, which are not torture and may be just as successful. Beyond straight mind probing for answers there are dreams and hallucinations that make the subject think they are passing the information onto trusted comrades or people who need the data for good purposes. As with all torture and falsity there are moral implications, for those with morals, which leads us to next week's topic.

Mood: refreshed.
Music: Wildest Dreams by Iron Maiden and Prophet of the Last Eclipse by Luca Turilli.

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