Happy Spooky Season, everyone! As always, I want to dedicate my posts in the month of October to a scarier-than-usual topic. A while back, I wrote about our collective fear … Continue reading Intro to Demons
Tag: scary
Haunted Elevators: Inverting the Sacred Vertical
Over the last few decades, haunted elevators have become a staple of theme park rides and seasonal haunted houses. This trope appears all over popular media too. From the haunted … Continue reading Haunted Elevators: Inverting the Sacred Vertical
Plague Doctors: Malevolent Medicine
As a child, I remember going to the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis, TN, and walking through the Civil War Medicine exhibit. It was gruesome to say the least. Dioramas … Continue reading Plague Doctors: Malevolent Medicine
Aliens: The Hostile Unknown
I’ve written about this before, but I’m fascinated by our relationship with aliens. In particular, there’s a whole sect of pseudoscientists who try to explain every phenomenon as caused by … Continue reading Aliens: The Hostile Unknown
Sea Monsters: Chaos in the Deep
Well, friends, it’s October again. Halloween decorations are creeping out onto porches, and the smell of pumpkin (spice lattes) is in the air. With my pandemic workload back in 2020, … Continue reading Sea Monsters: Chaos in the Deep
Serial Killers: Stigma, Stereotypes, and Mental Health (and also Joker)
He hides under a mask. He wields a chainsaw or knife or claw or hook (and he’s almost always a he for some reason). He might be undead, or he … Continue reading Serial Killers: Stigma, Stereotypes, and Mental Health (and also Joker)
Werewolves: The Fear of Losing Control
What if you lost control? What if, for a night, you found yourself coursing with unfamiliar emotion or perhaps emotions you thought long buried? What if you found your body … Continue reading Werewolves: The Fear of Losing Control
Creepy Dolls: Exploring the Uncanny Valley
Well, my friends, it’s October, and you know what that means over here on the Bar Chaplain blog: I’m bringing back “What Makes It Scary?” for another round. Last year, … Continue reading Creepy Dolls: Exploring the Uncanny Valley
Witches: Not as Scary as Puritans
Witches are a staple of Halloween, and donning a pointy hat to become a witch is the classic I-forgot-to-get-a-costume-for-this-party maneuver. Witches have been treated fairly kindly by comparison to other … Continue reading Witches: Not as Scary as Puritans
Ghost Stories
It happened eight years ago, but I remember it like yesterday. The wedding had been a busy one. Between helping out at the reception venue, getting the groom to the … Continue reading Ghost Stories