interview
Interviews with authors, film directors and horror snobs of all kinds; conversations that will unsettle, and shed light on all things dark and mysterious.
The Man in the Window
It was a chilly November evening in the small town of Alder Creek. The streets were quiet, cloaked under a fog so thick it felt like breathing through cotton. Inside a modest two-story house, 28-year-old Daniel Mercer sat by the fireplace, sipping black coffee and trying to calm his nerves.
By huzaifa khanabout a year ago in Horror
Haunted Octopus House Bandung: The True Story Behind Indonesia's "Devil's Church"
Menacingly looming over Jalan Cipedes Selatan No. 6 in Bandung, West Java, the Octopus House (Rumah Gurita) is Indonesia's one of the most strikingly visual and perpetually haunted places. The building's past and ghostly reputation have been tormenting local nightmares for decades, merging architectural peculiarity with supernatural lore.
By Kyrol Mojikalabout a year ago in Horror
The Lantern Bride
In the village of Sablewick, where the fog never truly lifted and the trees whispered to one another in the dark, there stood a lonely manor called Briar Hollow. It sat on a cliff overlooking the sea, its windows always dim, its doors always closed, and its gate held shut by rust and old regrets. But each night—just after sunset and just before the first owl called—a lantern would appear in the highest window. And in that flickering light, villagers swore they saw a woman in white. She was known as The Lantern Bride, and her story had been told a hundred different ways over the years. Children whispered her name during dares. Lovers carved it into trees, promising not to end like her. And no one—not even the bravest—stepped near the manor after dark. But the truth of her story was far more tragic… and far more terrifying. Long ago, before the sea had turned cold and the village silent, Briar Hollow was a place of music and roses. It belonged to a young woman named Alira Wren, the daughter of a silk merchant and the brightest soul in all of Sablewick. Her laughter filled the halls. Her hair shimmered like starlight. And her love story was the envy of the coast. She was engaged to Thomas Hale, a shipwright with kind eyes and clever hands. They were to be married in the spring beneath the old willow tree that watched over the cliff. But Thomas never came home. He had taken one last journey before the wedding, a voyage across the Blackwater Sea to deliver his finest ship to a nobleman. Days passed, then weeks, and then… silence. No letter. No sails on the horizon. Just the cold wind and the sea’s cruel song. Alira refused to believe he was gone. Every night, she lit her lantern and stood at the tallest window of Briar Hollow, searching the dark waters for his return. “The sea takes, but it also gives,” she whispered to the fog. But the sea gave nothing. Until the 40th night. That’s when the villagers heard a knock on the gate of Briar Hollow. Not a storm. Not a stranger. A knock. When they came to see, the gate was wide open… but no one was there. Only wet footprints leading up the path to the house. And that night, they saw the lantern glowing red. The next morning, Alira was never seen again. Some say she went mad and wandered into the sea. Others claimed she had found Thomas’s body washed ashore and buried herself beside him. But the strangest part… was the wedding dress. For days after her disappearance, villagers said they saw a dress—soaked and trailing saltwater—hanging from the willow tree. When they tried to retrieve it, it vanished. All that remained was the legend. And the lantern. Years passed. The house grew dark. The roses turned to brambles. But the lantern never stopped glowing. Every night, it returned—soft at first, then brighter, like a heartbeat. And with it… strange things began to happen. Newlyweds disappeared on rainy nights. Windows shattered when the tide rose. And if you stood too long at the edge of the cliff… you heard a voice whispering your name. That brings us to Lena, a young historian who had no time for fairy tales. She arrived in Sablewick with books in her suitcase and a thesis to finish. She had heard the stories. She laughed at the warnings. But when she saw the manor—when she saw that single glowing light in the dead of night—something ancient stirred in her bones. She felt it even in her dreams. A voice calling. A woman weeping. A love left unfinished. So, against every warning… Lena entered Briar Hollow. Inside, the manor was still and cold, covered in cobwebs and grief. But in the ballroom, the air shimmered. A breeze carried the scent of roses long dead. And upstairs, the lantern room waited. Lena climbed slowly, her flashlight flickering with every step. When she reached the top floor, she found a room untouched by time. The lantern sat on a windowsill. Unlit. Cold. But when Lena reached out to touch it… It lit itself. A sudden warmth flooded the room. And in the glow of the lantern, Alira appeared. She stood barefoot, her gown torn and soaked, her eyes vast and hollow—but beautiful. She didn’t scream. She didn’t move. She simply pointed… to the floor. There, beneath the boards, Lena found a trunk. And inside it: a journal, a ring, and a letter addressed in trembling ink. “To Alira, from Thomas.” It was never delivered. In it, Thomas confessed that his ship had been cursed—taken by a jealous rival, sunk with dark magic. He had survived but been bound to the sea, his soul cursed to drift until Alira could read his final words. Lena, with shaking hands, read the letter aloud. The room trembled. Outside, the waves crashed harder. And then… silence. When Lena looked up, Alira was smiling. Her form shimmered, soft as moonlight, and then faded like mist at dawn. The lantern dimmed. The next morning, the manor’s windows were open. Birdsong returned to the cliff. And the light in the tower never shone again. But if you visit Briar Hollow during the right kind of rain—when the fog is thick and the sea sings—you might still see two shapes dancing beneath the willow tree: a bride with salt in her veil, and a groom with stars in his smile. They say she waited too long to live. He wandered too long to rest. But in the end… love lit the way. The End.
By Lucien Hollow about a year ago in Horror
The Midnight Dressmaker
In the quiet village of Gallowmere, where the moon always seemed just a little too full and the air always smelled faintly of roses and ash, there was once a woman named Elara. She was known far and wide as The Midnight Dressmaker. She wasn’t called that because she worked late. No—Elara only opened her boutique at midnight. That was when her shop lit up with soft candlelight, and she’d welcome anyone who knocked on her tall, black wooden door. By dawn, the shop would vanish into darkness again—shutters closed, windows covered, as if it had never opened. Elara was beautiful. Not in a warm, friendly way, but in the kind of beauty that made your heart skip—icy and elegant, like snow that had never been touched. Her eyes were grey, like storm clouds, and her voice was soft as silk. But what truly made her famous were her dresses. People claimed her gowns could make anyone breathtaking. If you wore one of Elara’s creations, you’d be the center of any room, the dream of every eye. Brides came from miles away. Actors begged for her designs. No matter how rich or poor you were, if she accepted your request… she never charged a coin. She only asked for something personal—something that "held a memory." A necklace, a diary, even a single teardrop on a handkerchief. And people always gave it. They said she worked with shadows and lace, with whispers and dreams. But those who wore her dresses never talked about them afterward. Not even once. That would’ve been the end of the story—just an eerie village rumor—if not for Maera, a curious 17-year-old girl who lived down the lane from Elara’s shop. Maera loved fairy tales, especially the ones that ended badly. She had a heart full of wonder and just enough foolish bravery to think she could solve any mystery. One night, when the air was thick with summer and the stars blinked like watchful eyes, Maera did something nobody else had dared: she snuck into Elara’s shop. She waited until the bell chimed midnight and the shop’s windows glowed golden. Then, wearing her father’s dark coat and her own trembling courage, she slipped through the side door that Elara had forgotten to lock. Inside, the boutique was like a dream stitched together by nightmares. Mannequins stood frozen like statues, all wearing half-finished gowns. Some dresses shimmered with golden thread, others were made of dark, feathery silk that seemed to breathe. There were mirrors—tall, warped, and dusty—lining the walls. None of them showed her reflection. At the center of the room, Elara stood with her back turned, humming a lullaby no one had heard in years. On a pedestal was her latest work: a gown so beautiful it almost made Maera cry. It glittered like midnight waves and smelled like old flowers and ink. But then Maera saw something that made her knees shake. The hem of the dress—dripping. Not with paint. Not with dye. With something darker, thicker. Blood. Elara turned slowly, her fingers still holding a silver needle threaded with red. “You shouldn’t be here,” she said, her voice as soft as snow. Maera tried to run, but her feet were rooted. Her voice didn’t come. Elara smiled—not cruelly, but with a sadness that filled the room like fog. “You’re just like I was,” she whispered. “Curious. Bright. Foolish.” Then she told Maera the truth—the truth that stitched everything together like seams no one ever saw. Elara had once been a simple girl too. Many, many years ago. She was in love. But her village had burned during a war, and she lost everything—her home, her family, her love. In her grief, she cried by the ruins until a stranger approached her. He was cloaked in black, with eyes like coals. He offered her a gift: The Needle of Remembrance. With it, she could sew beauty from pain, create gowns that captured memory, desire, sorrow… even life. But magic always comes at a cost. For every dress she made, a little piece of her soul was stitched inside. And for each masterpiece, someone had to pay—in blood, or in time. The dress would steal something from its wearer: their voice, their dreams, sometimes even their shadow. That’s why they never spoke afterward. And now, the needle had begun to whisper. It was hungry again. Tired of old memories. It wanted new ones. Maera’s. Elara pleaded with the needle to spare the girl. But the needle had rules. Only one way out: if Elara gave herself entirely to the final stitch. And she did. In front of Maera, Elara pricked her finger, whispering an ancient word. The thread blazed red, and the dress curled around her like vines. Her body shimmered, then folded into the fabric. She vanished—forever sewn into her last creation. The dress fell limp. Still beautiful, but empty now. Quiet. Maera dropped to her knees, breathless. The next morning, the boutique was gone. Just an old, boarded-up house, filled with cobwebs and dust. People say Maera was never the same after that. She stopped speaking for a year. But then one day, she began to sew. Just simple things at first. Scarves. Ribbons. Shawls. But with every stitch, her hands moved like they’d done it a thousand times before. She never used red thread. She never sewed at night. And if anyone asked why she kept a silver needle locked in a glass case on her shelf, she’d only smile and say: “Some dresses are too beautiful to wear. And some beauty... is better left unfinished.” The End.
By Silas Blackwoodabout a year ago in Horror
Season 3 - The Bone-Light: How an Orphaned Village Became a Mouth for Something Older
CHAPTER 9: The Child Who Sang With No Mouth : How The Orphanage Fire Left Three Survivors With a God’s Song April 4th, 1980 - Borsk Regional Hospital (Secure Burn Ward, Room 12-C)
By Tales That Breathe at Nightabout a year ago in Horror
Meet Me - Lucien V. Crow
Welcome, dear wanderer, to the dim-lit corridor that is my mind. My name is Lucien V. Crow, and if you’ve stumbled here, chances are something inside you itches for the eerie—the flicker of candlelight down a long-forgotten hall, the creak of a rocking chair no one remembers owning, the soft thud of footsteps in an attic long sealed. You’re among kin now.
By Lucien v. Crowabout a year ago in Horror
Whispers in the Jungle. AI-Generated.
It was supposed to be the perfect getaway. Three friends, Ayaan, Bilal, and Usman, had been planning their jungle adventure for months. The idea was simple: to escape the busy city life, explore the unknown, and challenge themselves to survive in the wilderness. Ayaan had heard stories of a forgotten jungle, nestled deep in the mountains — untouched, mysterious, and waiting to be explored.
By nasir shahabout a year ago in Horror
"Beneath the Silence"
In the stillness of the night, when the world around us is hushed and quiet, we often find ourselves lost in thought. Our minds wander, and we begin to reflect on our lives, our choices, and our desires. It is in these moments of silence that we can tap into the voice beneath the silence – the voice of our inner self.
By subhan ullahabout a year ago in Horror
