I’ve been thinking about this sculpture which inspired my deal with the devil noveland its final, grotesque scene. In this artwork, Lucifer, the Morning Star, is a profane but dominating presence, dwarfing all of the other art and iconography in the chapel. A black hole demanding attention. But he’s also completely bound by power lines. Trapped in that corrupted form for eternity.
He was beautiful once, or so the book says. Considered himself above all.
Now look at him.
Nightmare Fuel
The Ninth Gate (Fangoria) – Other than the fact that Johnny Depp was a bit young for the role of jaded antiquarian book dealer (that gray seemed painted on), it’s a perfect horror/thriller where even the devil wanted to be a published author—relatable. If you haven’t seen it, this re-posted Fangoria review offers a good overview and if you’re into rabbit holes/tarot cards, this deep dive is cool too.
Mothers, Martyrs and Witches: Women’s Divine Suffering in Horror (The Pale Horse) -L. Binnie explores her Catholic upbringing, the meaning of suffering in horror and in particular, the suffering of women through the lens of The Witch (2015), Martyrs (2008) and Saint Maud (2019). Her Substack, The Pale Horse, always has thought-provoking stuff.
Mike Flanagan Explores His Private Horrors in ‘Midnight Mass’ (New York Times) -Until reading this NYT article I never realized that the series was so personal to him, and that maybe one of the reasons it resonated with me so much was that I also was raised Catholic (as a person ‘born out of wedlock’ Deuteronomy 23:2 was deeply troubling). At the same time, the show captures the things that I appreciated and still try to carry with me. Plus, it’s got vampires.
The "angel" of 'Midnight Mass'
“There is no time. There is no death. Life is a dream. It's a wish. Made again and again and again and again and again and again and on into eternity.”
Midnight Mass, Book VII: Revelation
Writer’s Brew
Angels, Devils, and Falling From Grace into Fiction (LitHub): The Possessions author Sara Flannery Murphy examines how her Catholic background created a bridge into horror writing—dreaming of demons, haunted by the stories of angels that made them seem like ghosts. But she struggled with it too, thinking that if she didn’t infuse her supernatural work with skepticism, it’d be less ‘literary.’ It’s a great exploration about making peace with the forces that shaped us, and instead, allow them to form our artistic choices.
Stripping away the ambiguity only meant that the plot grew richer, brighter, and deeper, that certain moments became more intense. Without the baggage of uncertainty, the idea revealed its truer, sharper silhouette.
Sara Flannery Murphy
Don’t Look Behind You
The 11 Most Nightmarish Depictions of Hell in Art History (Artsy.net) – Thanks Artsy for giving us “a tour of the most chilling interpretations of hell from Dante’s time to today. Some are macabre, others delightfully absurd—but all explore a heady mix of human fear, guilt, and suffering.” We didn’t want to sleep anyway.
Nine Possession and Demon Novels (CrimeReads.com) – Some standards here but also a few I’ve been meaning to read, not that my TBR list can take much more. Nine’s not that bad, though, right? And seriously, A Head Full of Ghosts needs to be made into a movie.
The video game ‘Blasphemous’ fits into this quite well
Also reminds me of YouTube short director Dylan Clark’s “Portrait of God”