#stories

Nov 1, 2019
4 min

The Tell Tale Heart with Josh T. Romero

My head was resting on the interior frame of a small SUV, behind the driver’s seat, parked outside an outlet mall in California. I held a book that I can say without a doubt, has influenced who I have become today. Not to say that I am mad… I was 15 years old when I read Poe’s short story, The Tell Tale Heart. It’s a quick-paced tale of terror that begins with the confession of a cold-blooded murder. I’d read various poems from Poe earlier on, and I could have honestly called

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THE SYSTEM OF DR. TARR AND PROF. FETHER with David Burchell

Josh T. Romero

Nov 1, 2019
5 min

THE SYSTEM OF DR. TARR AND PROF. FETHER with David Burchell

“Believe nothing you hear, and only one-half that you see.” Our protagonist here, whilst on a venture through the southern stretch of France, finds himself just miles away from a personally much-lauded location: the Maison de Sante. Private madhouse. A place flown famously throughout the airs of the medical community due to its unorthodox treatments, rehabilitations. The system of soothing. This system, although still strict at its parameters, acted as a better angel fo

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The Fall of the House of Usher with Dr. Casing

Josh T. Romero

Nov 1, 2019
3 min

The Fall of the House of Usher with Dr. Casing

The historical context of Edgar Allan Poe is always worth noting when discussing his work. The United States was plagued by Tuberculosis and chattel slavery. This comes across in his poetry through a variety of motifs. Do you remember reading Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher (or, perhaps, having it read to you)? I believe this particular poem is a not-so-subtle commentary on race, racial purity, and the transmission of property (among other things) within a tr

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Josh T. Romero

Oct 30, 2019
2 min

HAIL POE

Edgar Allan Poe. The Tomahawk Man. Progenitor of what some may deem as horror, the psychedelia and the psychosis and the wherewithal of the human condition, writ upon the pages of burgeoning, and troubling, times—whilst going through his own troubling times, mind you: rifling through the waning cupboards of poverty, circumstances orphaning, abandoning, coming to awful grips with the loss of both his Wife and Mother at the early hands of tuberculosis, struggling the th

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Josh T. Romero

Dec 31, 2018
3 min

2018 Noteworthy Horror: Pyewacket

Pyewacket dropped in Canada during the Toronto International Film Festival last year, followed by a limited release in December. As of March of this year, it hit the rest of the world and slipped under my radar until June when one of our local eclectic theaters announced their showing. The poster alone was enough to get me curious. The image of the bloody hand and strand of yarn mixed with the black metal font and subtle dead human lying in the background had me hooked. Metal

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2018 Noteworthy Horror: Haunting of Hill House

Josh T. Romero

Dec 29, 2018
3 min

2018 Noteworthy Horror: Haunting of Hill House

Adaptations always are tricky. They can sometimes hit the brunt of the mark – rarely, yes, but it does happen luckily from time to time, and usually with some unavoidable plot-point martyrdom. And sometimes they lie in a somewhere-in-between, existing as a wildly different story with no actual relations to the source material, but yet still managing its decency and enjoyability as whatever it is. But most often, they fall short and beyond, crippling the hopes and dreams of th

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Josh T. Romero

Dec 28, 2018
2 min

2018 Noteworthy Horror: Hereditary

I have had the pleasure of consuming great horror this year. I’ll gladly speak highly of The Haunting of Hill House. Annihilation checked all of my sci-fi/horror boxes while adding in plenty of Lovecraftian lore. And Mandy was the best kind of gruesome. However, nothing had quite the impact that Hereditary did. If you have not seen Hereditary, kindly remove yourself from the rock you’ve been living under. I saw it. It kicked my ass. I analyzed with friends. I saw it again.

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Josh T. Romero

Dec 27, 2018
1 min

Blood Booth 12/21/18 with Krampus

Dark Room Horror’s Blood Booth is a photo booth with a horror twist. Every time we set up at events or in studio, everybody gets free blood and prop weapons. This year, we brought in our first guest to shoot with, the infamous Christmas Demon, Krampus. If you’re unfamiliar, Krampus originated in Germanic folklore and is known for coming after the naughty boys and girls who received cole from Santa. He then proceeds to beat children with sticks until they’ve learned their les

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31 Days of Horror: Day 28 “Trick ‘r Treat”

Josh T. Romero

Oct 29, 2018
1 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 28 “Trick ‘r Treat”

Poison, Drowning, Claw, Or Knife. So Many Ways To Take A Life. If you don’t follow the rules tonight, you won’t live to see tomorrow. Trick ‘r Treat! I guess this is a movie about the underdog or outcast getting revenge on Halloween, making it a horror movie. I think the movie has some gaps in the story line which makes the movie unrealistic and therefore takes away from the scare factor. The scary scenes are really just quick flashes that don’t give the viewer a chance to re

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31 Days of Horror: Day 26 “Young Frankenstein”

Josh T. Romero

Oct 27, 2018
2 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 26 “Young Frankenstein”

Day 26: The scariest comedy of all time! Young Frankenstein. Young Frankenstein is a movie I will watch year after year. The jokes are obvious and silly but the pacing is excellent and I never feel like I miss out the punchline. But what amazes me here is the actual attention to detail placed on delivering a product that feels like it I was made way back when. The staging shots are all done in a similar slow pan and the lighting tricks are simple but work well with the black

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Josh T. Romero

Oct 26, 2018
3 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 25 “Hereditary”

Day 25: Every family tree hides a secret… Hereditary. This movie is a cinema masterpiece as far as combining great special effects with a believable horror storyline. There are very subtle special effects that are just done perfectly. The build up of mystery and suspense is really good. The characters evolve with the story line really well with great acting. The last 20-30 minutes of the movie pull everything together and really make the movie worthwhile. I felt like the movi

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31 Days of Horror: Day 22 “Let the Right One In”

Josh T. Romero

Oct 23, 2018
2 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 22 “Let the Right One In”

Day 22: Eli is 12 years old. She’s been 12 for over 200 years and, she just moved in next door. “Låt den rätte komma in” Let the Right One In. I’m not sure what to make of this movie. I felt like they wanted to make a horror movie with a purpose but they didn’t accomplish either in my opinion. The monsters in this movie are kids, which makes for a creepy story, but it could have been done much better instead it only gets creepy toward the end of the movie. The point I think t

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31 Days of Horror: Day 19 “The Babadook”

Josh T. Romero

Oct 19, 2018
2 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 19 “The Babadook”

Day 19: Where there is imagination, there is darkness and from within that darkness lurks a being of unfathomable terror … close to home. If it’s in a word. Or it’s in a look. You can’t get rid of … The Babadook I don’t have anything negative to say about The Babadook. I absolutely loved it. It’s dreary and tense from the start with little rest throughout. The creature’s design is unnerving but he is kept just enough in the dark that I was inescapably drawn to him. The mother

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31 Days of Horror: Day 17 “The House of the Devil”

Josh T. Romero

Oct 17, 2018
2 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 17 “The House of the Devil”

Day 17: Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch T.V. Die …in The House of the Devil. The House of the Devil is a slow, slow burn. Unfortunately, when it does pick up it has already been so long since anything exciting has happened the climax seems thrown in there at the end. As if the first hour and a half is one movie and the finale is separate. I wanted more build to that climax, there were honestly maybe only one or two clues before our Samantha is actually in dange

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Josh T. Romero

Oct 15, 2018
2 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 15 “Hocus Pocus”

Day 15: It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus. The Sanderson Sister’s may be responsible for my love of Salem, Mass and everything associated with it. Hocus Pocus came on the scene when I was three years old so naturally, I grew up with it. I get that there’s a heavy amount of nostalgia associated with this movie but nobody can deny that Bette Midler kills this role. This is one of those movies that gets me stoked for the season, even in March… the first time I watched it this yea

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Josh T. Romero

Oct 12, 2018
2 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 12 “Creep”

I thought I was a creep… this guy is on another level. From the producers of Paranormal Activity and The Purge, Creep! What did you think? I honestly didn’t like this movie very much. The movie was predicable and slow. There was a low budget feel to the movie which I wouldn’t mind if it was done better. I didn’t like the style of filming even though I understand why they filmed it like that. I didn’t find it scary at all, the “jump scenes” didn’t even have that effect. The ac

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31 Days of Horror: Day 3 “Sleepy Hollow”

Josh T. Romero

Oct 3, 2018
2 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 3 “Sleepy Hollow”

You can lock the doors. You can bolt the windows. But can you survive the night? Heads will roll in Tim Burton’s 1999 Sleepy Hollow! [Neeeiiiiggghhh] I love this movie and it’s perfect for early October viewings to get you in the Halloween mood. For me, it’s Tim Burton at his best with the bleak, eerie atmosphere while having plenty of charm throughout. It’s classic Halloween imagery is only broken during Crane’s brief flashback sequences which feel very “Burton” while never

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31 Days of Horror: Day 2 “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”

Josh T. Romero

Oct 2, 2018
3 min

31 Days of Horror: Day 2 “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”

The film which we are about to discuss is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them, an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the

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Josh T. Romero

Aug 24, 2018
3 min

The Haunting of Black Phillip

Contains light spoilers from The Witch (2015) I’d like to begin with a dream I had recently. In this dream, I was walking with my 2 year old daughter when a man approached us. I felt uneasy at his presence but did nothing. He then knelt down to my daughter’s level and reached out a long, thin finger. He touched her lip. As his finger left its place, I began to see a wart forming. It was growing fast. From that wart, a few others were beginning to emerge from her skin surround

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Josh T. Romero

May 26, 2017
5 min

Balancing Horror Addiction & Fatherhood

If you know me and my kids personally, you’ll know that my kids and I all share a love for the macabre! This is something that I’m super proud of. Maybe it’s because I can see the effects of parenting and I love the idea of molding these little minds to think the way I do, or maybe it’s because I love seeing other people’s reactions to my kids singing made up songs about severed heads while laughing hysterically. I don’t entirely know why their dark side makes me feel proud,

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