Haunters of the Silence (2025) [Movie Review]

Bones and roots adorn the walls of their dimly lit home. A mjölnir necklace hangs around K.’s neck as he hand carves incense into a small cauldron burner and a breathy soundtrack begins to play. This is a couple that is in tune—with themselves, with the natural world, and, as we will soon see, the supernatural world, as well. 

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[Book Review] ‘The House of Silence; Ghost Stories, 1887–1920’

“They talk about death being cold. It’s life that’s the cold thing.”

If it were possible to sum up Edith Nesbit’s horror fiction in a single line then this quote from one of her final tales would be as good an attempt as any. As Melissa Edmundson tells us in her introduction “[Nesbit’s] characters are always hiding something … whether it be a disappointment, a regret, a fear, a screen, or a crime.” The gaps these acts of hiding create become, inevitably, filled with the chill of ghosts but Nesbit’s unexpected statement that life, not death, is cold also indicates some of the contradictions at the heart of her own life.

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Ghosts & Hauntings Ande Thomas Ghosts & Hauntings Ande Thomas

How ‘Crimson Peak’ Might Inform Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’

Guillermo del Toro is no stranger to sending audiences back in time with his films. The Devil’s Backbone (2001) takes place during the Spanish Civil War, while both Hellboy (2004) and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) are set during World War II—not to mention the 60s-set The Shape of Water (2017) and post-depression era Nightmare Alley (2021)…

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Ghosts & Hauntings, Events Ande Thomas Ghosts & Hauntings, Events Ande Thomas

Vigilance Theater Returns with ‘Campfire Stories’

Vigilance Theater, the immersive theater group that recently brought Mac Beth to local theatergoers, is already back in time for the thinning veil of autumn—the perfect time for telling Campfire Stories. This time, Vigilance takes us to Camp Guyasuta, a Scouting America camp in Sharpsburg, PA, where the counselors at Camp Moonside are preparing for their annual Scary Story Competition.

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Presence (2025) [Movie Review]

Presence follows the Payne family as they settle into their new suburban home, and almost immediately, cracks begin to show in the family dynamics. When Chloe senses the presence in her bedroom, Rebekah and Tyler dismiss her as attention-seeking and disruptive, but soon enough, they all witness the poltergeist-like activities firsthand.

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Revisiting the Old Haunts

As we find ourselves in the midst of the years’ most frigid days, we are also at our most reflective. Seasonal solitude coinciding with holiday festivities creates a space to contemplate relationships past and present. Do you traipse around your house in the shadows of early nightfall? Catch a glimpse of a specter of the previous you? Or maybe, someone you used to know? Film grants us the opportunity to explore these experiences of isolation, contemplation, and fear of someone near and dear not being exactly the same as you remember.

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