School is Hell
Your field trip this week includes missing schoolchildren, the best popcorn teen horror movies, some pro tips on writing YA horror, and real horror in the high school, courtesy of....drones.
You thought the mystery meat in the cafeteria was bad. At least your classmates didn’t, well, eat you. Almost makes you nostalgic for an ’80s serial supernatural killer (hey, let’s split up because we can cover more ground that way).
Nightmare Fuel
Where the Real Horror Is High School (Reactor) — Author Lily Anderson argues that adolescence has “all of the hallmarks of a good horror story” and ya know, she has a point. Check out her list that spotlights five YA novels where killers, witches, werewolves and telekinetic vengeance make you grateful you only suffered through chemistry.
Yellowjackets Season 4 update (Marie Claire) — Our favorite team of cannibalistic soccer players will be back for another season, following Season 3’s April 2025 finale that left a trail of corpses, answered a few questions and raised a few. Strong as hell female actors across the board (likeable? who needs likable) and Christina Ricci slays in every episode.
30 Best Teen Horror Movies (ScreenRant) — Teen horror flicks may seem formulaic, but it’s not a formula you can argue with judging by the box office and endless sequels. This list has some of our favorites but also a few lesser-known greats in case you want to call in sick for the week leading up to Halloween. We won’t tell, we swear.
Weapons (NPR) — If you’ve been wondering what all the buzz is about, NPR has a great review. “Cregger stages action with exuberant flair, and he's good at making you cackle in between jolts and screams. He shows how horror manifests not just in dark hallways and creaky basements, but out in public, in the bright light of day.” And you’ll be able to stream it starting Sept. 9.
Writer’s Brew
I mean, if you’re going to write YA horror why not learn from the best? This article on Medium distills the top 13 tips from his Master Class (of course there’d be 13), and if you’d like a webcast with the legend himself, check out How to Write Horror where he talks about overcoming that dread monster, writer’s block, and how to build suspense.
Don’t Look Behind You
What Abandoned Schools Can Teach Us (Atlas Obscura) — Photographer Matthew Christopher sneaks into boarded‑up middle and high schools to find moss‑carpeted hallways, shattered display cases and locker rooms frozen in time. His images are haunting, dystopian and atmospheric.
Florida Deploys Armed Drones to Fight School Shooters (Futurism) — Speaking of dystopian, Florida has decided to combat school shooters by outfitting schools with drones that can respond within 15 seconds of a silent alarm with pepper spray. Are we making this up? No, we are not.
Subscribe so you never miss your next descent into The Vault. We can’t promise you’ll come back unchanged.
P.S. What’s the one room from your school you’d never enter after dark?