Lately...

So many things have happened since I stopped updating this blog. I seriously wish I could catch you all up on everything but that would honestly take forever, I wouldn't even know where to start. So I guess I'll just give you a little rundown on some things that have happened in the past few months.

1. Summer has been rough. I seem to always forget how hot and miserable Arizona summers can be, I'm so happy that we are reaching the end and hopefully it'll start cooling down very soon!

2. I spent a weekend in Disneyland at the end of July and I'll be posting all about it in my next blog post. 

3. I broke my lease on the last apartment I was living in, so I've been paying that off for the past 6-7 months and now it's finally paid off! I can't even tell you the relief of having that debt off my shoulders. 

4. Ollie is still happy and healthy. She's a crazy little cat that definitely can have an attitude but she's the most important thing to me and I can't believe we've moved to so many different places and been through so much together. 

5. I've been trying to make more time for my friends, which sounds like an easy task but when you're as introverted as me it can definitely be difficult at times. 

6. I saw the movie Hereditary and I really loved it. It's one of those movies that is super eerie and you have to really pick up on all the hints in the dialogue and story to understand whats happening. If you like psychological horror, I would definitely recommend checking it out.

7. I started working 4 days a week instead of 5 at my job. At first I was a little hesitant because obviously the money is nice working a full 40 hours a week, but having 3 days off has been really nice and has given my time to relax a little more and focus on myself and things I want to do. This is the first time in 2 years that I've had the ability to be off for 3 days a week and not worry about money. 

8. I really want to make a point to start traveling more, whether it's out of state or in state. I've lived in Arizona for almost 3 years and there is still so much I haven't seen. I've never even been to the Grand Canyon!

9. I started occasionally streaming video games on Twitch. I mostly stream horror games so if that's something you're into you can check it out here.

10. I'm really going to make it a goal to post more on here, as well as Instagram. Social Media and content creation was something I used to enjoy so much and have a lot of fun with and then once I moved I completely abandoned it. I will *try* to post on here at least once a week to start out.

Thank you all for reading and continuing to follow this blog. I hope to talk to you all soon!

Top Horror Video Games

If you didn't know this already, I am a HUGE video game fan. I don't know what it is about them that I adore so much more than TV and movies but I just find so much more joy in playing them. Combining Horror and Video Games are basically putting my two favorite things together! Here are 5 video games that I love and that also REALLY creep me out.

Outlast

Miles Upshore is a journalist who has come to Mount Massive Asylum to uncover the filth and inhumane experiments that are seemingly happening in the asylum. Once inside, he realizes he is locked in, leading him on a terrible journey meeting many of the insane patients and uncovering the truth that is held inside. With only a camera you are expected to maneuver and survive throughout Mount Massive.

Outlast is the only horror game I have ever played that I can only beat once, and it's a miracle I even did that! I don't know why this game makes me so nervous, maybe the random jump scares, the scary chasing scenes in the dark, or that you have no weapons and can't fight back, just run and hide? Either way, this game makes me SO nervous. But it's also such a captivating story and the graphics are beautiful. It's so interesting and creepy exploring an old asylum (I'm slightly obsessed with asylums so this fits right in to my interests). Although it makes me anxious I love this game and would recommend it to any horror lover.

I believe it is only available for PC and a PS4/Xbox One download!

Silent Hill 2

James Sunderland receives a letter that seems to be sent by his deceased wife, asking him to meet her at their "special place" in Silent Hill. He returns to Silent Hill and realizes that it's much different than the last time he remembered. It is a haunting and eerie place filled with strange creatures he has to fight through to hopefully find out the mystery of exactly what this letter means.

I have posted about Silent Hill 2 before, which you can read here. Silent Hill 2 really doesn't contain any jump scares and is a relatively easy game to get through. The atmosphere and the town itself is really what makes this game so incredibly creepy to me. It's so eerie walking through a foggy town filled with creatures. I've been in love with the story of Silent Hill ever since I can remember but the story of Silent Hill 2 is by far my favorite. This game does have riddles and puzzles that you have to solve and it is kind of difficult at points because if you don't do something exactly right, it won't work. So you have to make sure you pick up all of the clues the game is leaving you! It's really an amazing game and if you have the time you should definitely try it out.

 Siren

Siren takes place in a small village in Japan that mysteriously disappears during the blaring of a Siren. The village becomes surrounded by a red sea that the once villagers emerge from now as some time of zombie creatures.

Siren is one of those classic horror games that I used to play when I got my PS2. I remember how scared I was when I first played and it still creeps me out to this day! It was released in 2004, so the graphics aren't as great as they are in present day but it still manages to be a very creepy and eerie game that really takes you into their terrifying world.

 Fatal Frame Series

The first Fatal Frame was released in 2001 but has many other games in the Fatal Frame series. Since all of the stories are a bit different I'm just going to loosely explain the first, since it's my favorite. Your character is exploring a huge mansion that is infested with tons of vicious spirits that are terrifying. 

I love these games and I think they are all unique and definitely scary. I'm not a big fan of the newer releases but the first few are definitely a must have in any horror gamers collection. They deliver an eerie atmosphere while encountering scary creatures and spirits. One of the first horror games I ever really experienced!

Dead Space

You play a character known as Isaac Clarke who seems to be an engineer who was aboard a ship that was traveling to save another that had been lost. All of the crew had been slaughtered and transformed into crazy monsters known as Necromorphs.

The reason I added Dead Space on this list is because I remember the first time I played and how scary it was! I was a bit younger and I'm used to it more now, but it's still an incredibly creepy game where you never feel safe! It contains lots of jump scares and you really don't know when a monster is going to pop out at you. Plus, they move very fast and are just incredibly scary looking so that doesn't help when you're trying to aim to shoot them! It's a fun, fast-paced game but if you don't like jump scares then steer clear.

Do you like horror video games? What are your favorites? 

Overlooked Horror on Netflix

Netflix is great for TV series but after having it for a long time it can be hard to find good quality, entertaining movies. A lot of good/decent films can definitely be overlooked because lets be honest, sometimes Netflix is pretty hit and miss. I'm going to tell you about the 5 horror movies that I almost didn't watch, but glad that I did!

American Mary

A medical student who's piling up debt jumps at the chance when she's offered a lucrative opportunity to perform extreme body-modification surgeries.

This is probably one of the more well-known films of this group. Surprisingly I had never really heard anything about it before Netflix. One night as I was trying to find a movie that could serve as decent background noise I chose this one and went about my business. However, I noticed I kept stopping to watch the movie. It's a pretty dark and gory movie but I find it pretty unique concept for a film. If you enjoy gore and weird movies I think you would probably like this!
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Dead End

Deadly consequences arise when Frank and his wife opt for an unfamiliar route through the forest and stop to pick up a mysterious hitchhiker.

I had actually never heard of this movie until a few months ago. Someone said it was a very creepy movie that is way underrated. I didn't really expect it to be scary but after watching it I was pleasantly surprised. Dead End is an EXTREMELY eerie movie in my opinion. There aren't really any jump scares or monsters, the atmosphere and the characters really make it quite terrifying. Even though it is horror and a lot of awful things happen it's not 100% serious either, but I like that it's still pretty creepy. The only place I can really find it is on Netflix, I definitely recommend checking it out!

V/H/S

When a group of petty crooks goes in search of a rare VHS tape, they come upon a corpse surrounded by stacks of horrific and bizarre videos.

I had heard a LOT about this movie online, mostly on Tumblr. Everyone was saying how scary it was and after seeing tons of screen shots I had to finally see it! I'm not a big fan of the whole "filming with a home video camera" that a lot of horror movies are doing these days but I thought I'd give it a chance anyway. I thought it was going to be one long story, but it's actually split up into multiple different stories containing multiple creatures and murders. It's a very eerie and creepy film that I actually really enjoyed. It's not a movie that I could watch multiple times but I think it's definitely worth watching.

Grave Encounters

The stars of a paranormal-investigation TV show spend the night in a derelict hospital, hoping to uncover what's been going bump in the night.

This was another movie I had heard a lot about online. But it was, once again, a movie filmed on video cameras and I wasn't too eager to watch. Boredom got the best of me one night so I clicked on it and I ended up really enjoying it! It was pretty scary movie! There was a couple of jump-worthy moments and overall was definitely an interesting movie to watch.

 Absentia

Seven years after her husband goes missing, Tricia almost has him declared dead -- but now she suspects a sinister force caused his disappearance. 

Absentia was probably my least favorite on the list but I still feel like it's worth mentioning. It was a very odd movie and the way the filmed it was pretty different to me and I'm not sure that I really liked it. But it was definitely creepy at times and had an eerie "alien abduction" feel to it. I thought it was a pretty decent horror film though overall!

Have you seen any of these films? What did you think about them? What are some of your favorite overlooked horror movies on Netflix?

My Favorite Foreign Horror Movies

Foreign horror is sometimes my favorite. Often I feel like they are so much more scary and absurd than American horror films. I especially have a liking towards Japanese Horror. If you know anything about me, you'd know I already love everything to do with Japanese culture and my love for Japan actually started with watching one of the Ju-on's with I was about 8. (An odd thing to make me fall in love with Japan, but I guess it's what you'd expect from a horror lover like me!)

So I decided it would be fun and interesting to list some of my favorite Foreign horror films. They are listed in no particular order, so I guess lets get into it!

Ju-on

If any of you have seen The Grudge that came out in 2004 starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ju-on: The Grudge is actually the original version! It follows the same basic storyline. It revolves around a house that seems to be possessed by an evil curse from the past murders of a family and whoever enters the home or property will die in a terrible way. The second one just continues the original story of the first film and is definitely worth checking out if you watch the first.

It's one of the more popular Japanese horror movies franchises that I've found. Whenever I seem to mention anything about Japanese horror this one ALWAYS comes up. It's a very good story that is definitely a lot scarier than the American version!

 A Tale of Two Sisters

A Tale of Two Sisters is a South Korean horror film that was released in 2003. The two main characters are sisters Su-Mi and Su-Yeon who recently just got released from a mental institution. They return home to their father and step-mother.

The girls begin to have violent and terrifying nightmares and experience eerie things happening around them and it seems that their family and home are haunted by past tragedies.

This is one I actually haven't heard much about. I've always really liked this film but I wouldn't consider it one of the mainstream ones. But I feel like this may be one of the best films on this list. It's more of a psychological horror movie so if you're into that kind of thing I definitely think you should check it out! The more Americanized version of this would be The Uninvited with Emily Browning!

The Eye

The Eye is a Hong-Kong-Singaporean horror film that was released in 2002. It follows a 20-year old girl called Mun who has been blind since she was a child. She undergoes surgery to receive a new pair of eyes from a donor. She is happy to finally have her sight back but then she starts seeing odd figures and seem to foretell deaths.

The Eye is definitely a favorite of mine (obviously). This movie is always so creepy to me. Unfortunately the second movie doesn't really follow the first at all, but the first one is definitely worth a watch.

Ringu

Ringu is a 1998 Japanese horror movie. It follows a videotape that is apparently cursed and seven days after you view the tape it's said you will receive a phone call and will die. The only way to save yourself after watching the tape is to get someone else to watch it and then apparently the curse will be broken and go after the other person who viewed it.

A woman named, Reiko Asakawa's niece and three of her friends seemed to have watched the tape and were killed. She and her ex-husband try to investigate the tape and find out the curse behind it in time to break the curse completely.

I'm sure this story sounds extremely familiar as it's the original version of The Ring! The American remakes were very good and definitely scary, but you can't beat the original in my opinion.

Dark Water

Dark Water is a 2002 Japanese horror film directed by the same person who directed the Ring 1 & 2.

Yoshimi Matsubara moves to a small, run-down apartment with her daughter while she is in the middle of a nasty divorce. The ceiling of her apartment has a leak which becomes worse every day. She then starts experiencing odd things happening around the building and sometimes she will see a glimpse of a mysterious, long-haired girl. Yoshimi starts to uncover the horrible truth of what happened to the young girl in her apartment building.

This was remade into an American film in 2005. It was a good remake the the original is definitely a LOT creepier!

Do you enjoy watching Foreign horror movies?

Top 5 Horror Reads

My favorite genre of books, graphic novels, manga, etc. is always horror or science fiction! I think it's a real talent if you can creep me out just by reading a story or looking at drawings. That's why, I feel like it's only appropriate at this time of year to list some of my favorites!

The Walking Dead

Rick Grimes, shot in the line of duty, awakes from a coma to find that he is now in the middle of an apocalyptic world surround by zombies! He meets many friendly, and not so friendly faces along his journey to survive in this new world and he soon discovers that the living dead aren't the biggest problem he has to face.

I'm sure all of you are familiar or at least have heard of the hit TV show, The Walking Dead. It's definitely one of my top TV shows as well as one of my top graphic novels. The writer is Robert Kirkman who also works on the show. Although the television series is much different than the novel, it loosely follows it and it does follow the same characters. One of the more popular characters in the show, Daryl, actually isn't included in the novel at all! The novel is much farther ahead than the TV series as well but reading it won't really spoil anything for you!

Uzumaki

Uzumaki takes place in a small town on the coast of Japan. The main character, Kirie Goshima, starts to notice how the residents of the town are starting to become fixated on spirals and how it's affecting them to such lengths that make them go crazy because they become so obsessed. 

This manga is written and illustrated by Junji Ito. I actually did an in-depth review of Uzumaki here! Just simply explaining this manga really does it no justice. You can't understand how creepy and well written/illustrated it is until you see it or read it in person. It really is a one of a kind story that I am completely in love with. It's so haunting and unique.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories is a 3-book series by Alvin Schwartz that contains many scary stories (obviously!) with creepy illustrations. I actually didn't know how popular these books were until rather recently! I remember when I was younger I found one at a thrift store and read the whole book in one sitting. I thought it was so scary and captivating. I eventually collected them all and I still read them once in awhile today! Some of the stories are pretty far fetched but I definitely think that they all are very unique and the illustrations just add that extra kick to the story-telling. I grew up around these and they were always the scariest books I owned growing up. 

I really think if you haven't checked them out you really should! They are quite interesting and I'm pretty sure you could get them for very cheap now!

Edgar Allan Poe

Now for one of the most classic horror writers known! I own a lot of his books and poetry and I just really find they are the perfect books to settle down and read on a rainy, October day. His well known stories include "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Raven", and "The Pit and the Pendulum". If you want a horror story that isn't as fast paced and terrifying as some, I would really recommend some of his. 

Today is actually the anniversary of his death, what a weird coincidence! 

Goosebumps

This is a major step back into my elementary school days! I used to be obsessed with Goosebumps books, as many kids were. I loved how there were so many different stories and at my young age I always thought they were so scary! Of course looking back now they don't seem nearly as intimidating! I actually found my stash from when I was younger not too long ago so I've been going through them lately and it brought back a ton of memories. I feel like this is such a classic series for so many kids growing up!

My Top 5 Horror Classics

October is upon us and what's a better time to start watching horror movies then right now! Horror is definitely my favorite genre so I wanted to share my favorite classics with you!

Halloween

Halloween focuses on a young boy named Michael Myers who gets sent to a sanitarium for the murder of his older sister on Halloween night. Fifteen years later he escapes the asylum and returns to his hometown to create havoc and revenge on the people of the town.

I feel like Halloween is an overly cliche pick but it's honestly one of my favorites. I love throwing this in the DVD player during fall days and cleaning, just hanging out and catching bits and pieces or sitting down and just re-watching the whole thing. The atmosphere of this movie is perfect for that classic Halloween feeling. Throughout the year I'll even put this in if I'm missing autumn and it'll satisfy my love for fall for awhile.

Obviously this is the John Carpenter version and I'm sure you all have seen it. If for some reason you haven't, I definitely recommend it! It's really not scary, but it definitely is creepy and it does contain violence. But I'm a huge fan of horror so maybe that just doesn't effect me as much. But regardless, this is just a great, well-made movie.

Fun Fact: When I was younger I actually had a crush on Michael Myers. Why? I have no idea, I was a weird kid!

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Nightmare on Elm Street revolves around young teens who start becoming stalked and killed while dreaming by a terrible, burnt man known as Freddy Krueger. Little did they know that the parents of the children know who Freddy is all along and have a dark secret from their past that's coming back to haunt them.

The original Nightmare on Elm Street is always a good pick if you want to watch a good, slasher flick. The first one is by far the best. I remember the first time I watched this and I became obsessed! I bought the whole box set. Of course, they do get a little bit crazy and ridiculous after the second one, but the first one will always be a great, creepy movie to watch during the Halloween season!

Pet Sematary

The Creed family move from Chicago to a small country town in Maine. They meet a friendly old neighbor across the road who takes the family up a path close to their new home that leads to an old pet cemetery. But beyond the cemetery is another burial ground that contains powers that the family ha no idea the consequences. 

My family is a huge fan of Stephen King. He is my mothers favorite author and we own almost all of his books & movies. So it's only natural that one of his movies gets on the list considering I've basically grown up watching his movies. Pet Sematary is by far one of my favorite movies of his. I'm not sure why I like it so much. Maybe it brings back memories when I was young and got such a thrill out of staying up late watching horror movies? Who knows. But it honestly is just such a good movie and story. It's tragic and terrifying and I also just really like how the movie is set up and filmed.

The Shining

A man and his family become responsible of tending to a huge, beautiful hotel during the winter months while it is closed. He was informed beforehand that the caretakers before him had become insane and killed themselves along with their families. After being in the hotel the same thing begins to happen to him as he starts seeing things and plotting to hurt his family.

The Shining is another King story that I just love! I love the setting of the whole film. How it's so secluded in this magnificent hotel in the middle of winter. It would become pretty creepy and you would definitely become a bit stir crazy after awhile! But I just really love the good old concept of a haunted hotel and I feel this film does it wonderfully.

The Exorcist

A young girl named Regan seems to have become possessed by an evil entity and her mother seeks the help of two priests who try to exorcise the violent demon from the girl.

The Exorcist (otherwise known as the scariest movie ever made according to my mom) was definitely a new generation for horror. I feel like it broke so many barriers and I can definitely understand why so many people were terrified when it came out! However, watching it now a days it doesn't seem too intimidating because of all the technology and special effects we have. But take into consideration all of the groundbreaking things this film did back in the 70's! It's such a great film with a creepy story. Probably one of my favorite "possession" movies.

Fun Fact: I actually got to see Linda Blair (Regan) last year at Comic Con! My mom wanted to meet her to "confront her fears"! She was definitely a sweet lady and a huge animal rights activist, pretty cool!


If you aren't a fan of horror movies I apologize, you might not be too keen on the content on my blog this month! However if you are a fan of horror let me know what your favorite classics are down below! I will be doing a few more of my favorite movie posts later on for this month!

20 Things in October

Thought I would start October off with a simple list of my favorite things this month has to offer and things that make me happy! Whether that means exploring creepy places or getting comfy by a fireplace and watching scary movies. Make sure to take full advantage of all of these this month! I know I will be.

If I left out some of your favorite October things on this list tell me them down in the comments!

Horror Manga Review: Uzumaki

Hi everyone! This is something that I've wanted to talk about for awhile, I really enjoy creepy/horror stories, comics, manga, movies, books, etc.  One of my favorite reads isn't a novel, but a manga titled Uzumaki. It's by the author Junji Ito which happens to also be the artist of the manga as well! He has some other manga that he has written/illustrated but I'm just going to focus on this one for the time being. Uzumaki is a series of 3 books, you can also buy the version that contains all 3 of them in one book, which is what I have. 

Uzumaki takes place in a small town on the coast of Japan called Kurozu-cho. It is told in the view of a young girl named Kirie Goshima. The town is haunted by a demonic presence that manifests into the pattern of spirals everywhere! First slowly, like small patterns in nature like whirlpools or the shell of a snail,  but soon finds other ways that lead Kirie and her boyfriend Shuichi on a terrible journey as they try to discover why everyone in their town start's developing such crazy obsessions with the pattern.

When I first picked up this manga I was a bit hesitant when I read what it was about. Spirals? How can a pattern be so haunting and scary? However, I started reading this and I honestly finished it within 6 hours. It really caught my attention and kept me guessing and wanting more throughout the whole book. The art is amazing and beautifully done, it really does take you through such a visual, terrifying journey that I won't forget. Some of a pictures are quite graphic so if you aren't into that type of stuff then you probably wouldn't like this. However I really enjoy that part. It's not often you get to see such beautiful artwork and detail go into a scene that is so horrific. I think it makes it that much better. I honestly think people that don't even regularly read manga and just enjoy horror/gore would like this. It's really a one of a kind story. I can read it over and over again. I really really enjoyed this horror manga and I definitely plan on picking up more by this author.

I plan on doing more reviews on books I read and enjoy in the future because I really want to widen the interests on my blog to fit me as a person! I hope you all would take an interest in that! Have a wonderful day!