How this journal is made
A note on personal reviews, assisted editorials, sources, spoilers, and corrections in the Whimsical Woes horror journal.
The horror diary
Classic and niche horror films, books and games, occult horror, and the art of making ordinary things unsettling.
Let the monster keep a secret
A mythology can be fascinating. It can also explain away the very thing that made a story frightening.
How to make an ordinary room unsettling
Start with a room that works. Then give it one small reason not to.
Instructions for the house sitter
The house is easy to look after, provided you do not mistake politeness for permission.
Undertone: the sound is the invitation
The strongest part of this pitch is the ordinary habit it turns against us: listening again.
Backrooms: please leave some rooms unexplained
The doorway is the hook. Explaining everything behind it could be the mistake.
Mazywood’s opening: a wish with dirt on its shoes
The opening works because its enchanted wood is still a place a child has to get home from.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter: the archive has an appetite
Before the vampire arrives, the opening has already made ambition uncomfortable.
Requiem: vulnerability should get the last word
Two kinds of control are a good idea. The handover between them is where the risk lives.
Silent Hill f: let beauty become inconvenient
Beautiful horror works best when looking closer becomes a mistake.
Horror belongs in the sketchbook.
What a drawing and a good horror story have in common: the part they leave you to finish.
A room that feels wrong.
Why a hallway, a half-open door, or an ordinary kitchen can be enough.
Leave some space.
A small drawing exercise in deciding what deserves attention.
You don’t need a perfect brief.
A few useful things to send when you have an idea for a custom piece.
The Yellow Wallpaper: the room is the trap.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman turns decoration into something almost unbearable to look at.