RUE MORGUE Issue 205 Mar/Apr 2022

I don’t miss being forced to attend church, but I sometimes wonder if people who never went are aware of the macabre pageantry they might be missing out on. I was raised Roman Catholic until my parents gave up on my eternal soul, and I used to dread giving up Sunday morning cartoons for masses held in my elementary school gym – bad enough to make me go to church but it was literally school on a Sunday! For the bigger religious holidays, however, we’d pack up our Chrysler New Yorker to spend the weekend in Montreal with my wider family, and on those occasions, we’d attend mass in Italian at a fancy basilica. And lemme tell ya, Italian mass on Easter weekend was a trip. You see, even at a…

ONE OF THE many great things I enjoy about Rue Morgue is the thrill of discovering new and older films, books, items, music, and all things horror. Your article about Kaelan Mikla, the black metal trio from Iceland, made my whole winter! Immediately after finishing it, I watched all of their videos and live performances on YouTube and have been listening to their new album, Undir Köldum Noroumjósum (Under the Cold Northern Lights), on Spotify. This album along with their earlier work is perfect for cold winter days when the sun sets early and the wind whips up against the windows. Their synth, bass, and vocals are both haunting and inspiring. I can’t wait to see them perform live someday down the road. Thank you for once again opening a…

ISSUE #205 WEIRD STATS & MORBID FACTS The physical appearance of Caligari in 1920’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was inspired by portraits of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Film storyboards for Alejandro Jodorowsky’s doomed 1970s version of the movie Dune recently sold for $3 million at auction, about 100 times the expected price. On June 4, 1923, New York horse jockey Frank Hayes, 22, died of a heart attack mid-race and collapsed on his horse, which nonetheless crossed the finish line first, still carrying his body. The debut episode of the long-running TV series Doctor Who was created in 1963 as “An Unearthly Child” but series creator Sydney Newman ordered that it be reshot in its entirety. The original footage did not see the light of day until almost 30 years later, on June…

In 1988’s The Serpent and the Rainbow, Wes Craven delves into the world of zombies and voodoo in Haiti. The film pulls loosely from Wade Davis’ book of the same name that accounts his time in the country, and upon its release Roger Ebert praised the film for exploring voodoo as more than just a gimmick. But given the depth of cultural and socio-political exploration possible on the topic, there’s something lost in making a straightforward horror movie out of a premise where horror elements aren’t really the most interesting part of the story. On one hand, The Serpent and the Rainbow faithfully follows some of Davis’ exploits through his alter ego, Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman). Davis, like Alan, travelled to Haiti to investigate the story of a man who returned…

Classically trained stage actress Sandra Peabody had a number of critically acclaimed theatre roles under her belt before she auditioned for a supporting role in Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left in her early twenties. She landed the lead role of Mari Collingwood, but didn’t exactly receive prima donna treatment on set – in addition to shooting gruelling outdoor scenes on a tight timeline, co-stars David Hess and Marc Sheffler remained in character between shots, bullying her and even going so far as threatening to actually harm her to get good footage. She reportedly walked out of the cast screening of the film, horrified by what she saw. Peabody continued her career with a few film and theatre roles before retiring from acting, but not from show-biz –…

1 TOXIC AVENGER PLUSH CUSHION $29.99 USD Fully licensed by Troma and endorsed by the leisure specialists here at Rue Morgue, Creepy Company’s plush Toxic Avenger cushion is the perfect snuggle buddy for between moppings! Measuring 16 inches in height, the reverse side is covered with nuclear green nubbins, fit for the toxic waste that is your living room. Creepycompany.com 2 JAWS 2-PIN SET $15 USD You’re gonna need a bigger lapel for this pin set from Mondo! Inspired by the original theatrical poster, this soft enamel pin duo by designer Oliver Barrett features the titular shark and his first victim so you can recreate the iconic scene from the movie. Mondoshop.com 3 THE EVIL LURKER BOOKMARK $29.99 USD Who says your bookshelf needs to be boring? Keep your fiction collection looking as creepy as its contents with these resin…