The Subliminal and the Sublime: An Interaction in Four Evolutionary Scenarios

by Jetse de Vries Art by Arnold T. Blumberg Subliminal:  A sublime liminality   of intent, a di- chotomy of  trial and error  turned into the   survival of the fittest    The prokaryote swims in the primordial soup. It arises from a mix of chiral chemistry: right-handed chirality for nucleotides and sugars,

A Personal History of Horror Films in 101 Quirky Objects #21: The bag of marshmallows in The Blair Witch Project (1999)

by Vince Stadon “I see why you like this video camera so much… It’s not quite reality. It’s like a totally filtered reality… it’s like you can pretend everything’s not quite the way it is.” – Josh If made today, The Blair Witch Project would end with

The Echo Gardener

by Demakatso May Art by Arnold T. Blumberg When the first echo bloom appeared in Clara’s garden, she mistook it for a weed. Its stem was knotted and gray, and its petals were translucent like moth wings. She nearly uprooted it, but something—a flicker of movement in the

A Personal History of Horror Films in 101 Quirky Objects #19: Dr Van Straaten’s broken spectacles in Dead of Night (1945)

by Vince Stadon “You see, everybody in this room is part of my dream. Everybody.” – Walter Craig Walter wakes up. Dr Van Straaten breaks his spectacles. July 1969: The Beatles are working on their final album. Paul McCartney is sat at a piano in Abbey Road Studio 2 picking out

Training Day in the Blackdeep Dungeon

by Michael M. Jones Art by Arnold T. Blumberg “First day on the job, huh?” the elder kobold growled, looking down his crooked green nose at the visibly nervous rookie standing before him.  “Yes, sir,” came the reply. “Chim the Extremely Lesser, of Clan Coaleater.”  “Another Chim. I swear, every

A Personal History of Horror Films in 101 Quirky Objects #70 - Rear-view mirror in The Devil Rides Out (1968)

by Vince Stadon “I'd rather see you dead than meddling with Black Magic!” – Duc de Richleau  It’s England in 1929. George V sits on the throne. Stern-jawed, stiff-upper-lip Englishmen are racing fast cars—and single-handedly flying light aircraft—around the leafy, sun-kissed countryside, speeding from one impressive

Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo

by Sam Logan Art by Arnold T. Blumberg You have started a conversation.   Chatbot: Hi! I’m your employer-provided mental health coach. How are you feeling today?  Employee: Well, I’m NOT thrilled to discuss my mental state with an artificial intelligence chatbot. This is a mandated session after I

A Personal History of Horror Films in 101 Quirky Objects #79 Theo’s pendant in The Haunting (1963) “Suppose the haunting is all in my mind.” – Eleanor

by Vince Stadon I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson back-to-back with The Shining by Stephen King. I was fourteen. In both cases, I wondered how filmmakers had made Hill House and the Overlook Hotel as scary and unnerving and as alive as they are depicted so

ART of the Solar System #3

By Cody Schell

Otherworld Management

By Jack Morton Art by Arnold T. Blumberg Gran shuffles over from the stove, a thick, home-knit cloth protecting her hand from the black iron handle of the kettle. She pours over the dried brown leaves, and a thick, musty, homey smell rises with the steam. It smells like a

A Personal History of Horror Films in 101 Quirky Objects #31 - Flaming torch in Frankenstein (1931)

by Vince Stadon “Have you never wanted to do anything that was dangerous?” – Henry Frankenstein  Henry Frankenstein is an asshole. He’s not the worst asshole in Frankenstein, a film populated by assholes, but he’s up there near the top. Before we look at this gallery of jerks, I’

Ghosts of My Daughter

by Malda Marlys Artwork by Doan Trang My daughter haunts me.   Her shadow lingers in doorways that are empty when I look. The cat, older than dirt, wakes only to yowl for her attention. Books tumble, sensible books she bought me for Christmas that I never read. They fall from