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The Running Lady of Beeford

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Along the road in the English town, the ghost of a lady on the run haunts the area, allegedly causing accidents, and even deaths. This is the legend of the running lady of Beeford.

Beeford, East Yorkshire in England doesn’t sound like the most haunted place on earth. With the red bricked houses it looks like a classical quaint English town, never changing, dormant. Perhaps like the set of Midsummer Murders or the location of an Agatha Christie novel. Perhaps it indeed look a bit haunted, after all. Truth is, this place has been there even before England came to be. Mention in the Domesday Book, it has been there for a thousand years. Perhaps it will last a thousand more?

Read More: Check out all of our ghost stories from England and the UK like Ghost of Nan Tuck Haunting the English Countryside or The Ghost on the Moor.

And everyone knows that old towns must have their own local ghosts. And here, they have the legend of the running lady of Beeford that is haunting the roads leading in and out of the town.

Causing Accidents and Deaths

This particular ghost is a ghost on the road. On a stretch of road between Beeford and Brandenburton, a ghost of a lady has been seen roaming around late at night. The ghost lady is also called the Running Lady as she is seen running across the Beeford Straight toward the North Frodingham junction.

Tales of her ghost causing accidents have been told over the years in the more modern area, as it’s usually involves cars. Not only is the ghost reported on being seen, but the running lady of Beeford has also been the one to blame for several accidents on this particular road.

The Running Lady of Beeford: There is a local legend that people have seen the Runnin Lady of Beeford, haunting the road. Some of the stories about her, even hints that she was the cause of a deadly car crash.

One of these stories details the curse she has supposedly put on this place made a car crash into a three, killing six people. What made the crash? An accident caused by witnessing the running lady of Beeford, or something more sinister as some of the version of the legend hints at?

Read more: Have a look at all of our ghost stories about Haunted Roads from all over the world like The Highwayman Robbed of his Life or The Hitchhiking Woman in White in Palavas-les-Flots

There is also an anecdote about a motorcyclist picking up a female on the stretch on that road, only to find her gone when he turned around after a few miles. This story collides a bit with her habit of being on the run, but falls in line of the urban legend of a hitchhiker wanting a lift, but disappearing.

Read the urban legend of the vanishing hitchiker:

The Vanishing Hitchhiker

The Vanishing Hitchhiker is a well known urban legend throughout the world. Here is a Moonmausoleum original writings based on the Urban Legend – The Vanishing Hitchhiker

Keep reading

What’s the Truth Behind the Running Lady of Beeford?

This ghost story falls right into the White Lady legend from Europe we can read about in so many of the classic ghost stories. Also, stories about ghosts along the road is also a well documented phenomenon across the world by now. But what about this particular legend of the running lady of Beeford? How much does it ring true?

Considering that Beeford is such a small place there would be more documented that six people actually died in a car crash around that area. But as per now, we have found no such proof.

And the description of her appearance is so vague and non existing that it’s hard to make out what type of lady we are seeing. Well that is, if we see anything at all.

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Games to Play in the Dark: Part 2

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There are certain games that makes you laugh, that are just for fun. Then there are the games that makes your skin crawl, that makes your blood pumps. If you haven’t already, head over and have a look at part one of this series:

For Games to Play in the Dark: Part 1

Games to play in the dark

A collection of five games to play in the dark. Or not, depending how in touch with the spirits one feels.

This is a list of games that have been played for a long time, or new. Some are old in its new form. Many of these games are best played in the dark in the middle of the night, far from any other sounds. Some you are tired of, as we do with old games, some are always a welcomed suggestion to do.

Darumasan or The Bath Game

Darumasan ga Koronda is an equivalent to the American Red light/Green light game or the British Grandmother’s Footsteps. It literary means ‘the daruma fell over’. And like the weeping angels version on this child’s game, the Japanese version also has a more sinister version.

Traditional Toy: A Daruma doll (達磨, daruma)

A Daruma doll is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll. Though considered a toy by some, Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. It also holds some spiritual symbolism as well. Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement.

The Darumesan or today known more as ‘The Bath Game’, is a sort of ritual game of summoning evil. It is said it is summoning a girl that slipped in the tub and poked her eye out. That is why the ghost of her only has one eye. It was difficult finding an original source as it is a game supposedly old, but of Japanese origin. The oldest mention on this was on certain Japanese forums from the 2011/2012 that talked about it as an urban legend. Seems like the game evolved as a sort of protection against it.

What follows here however, is how the game has been played in later years.

It is a one player game and only require on thing: A bathtub.

Part One

Before you go to bed, take a bath with the light turned off. Face the tap, close your eyes and begin to wash your hair.

While washing, repeat the words, Daruma-san fell down. Continue to wash your hair, chanting this and do not open your eyes.

This is when you will start getting a mental image of the woman in the tub, slipping ang falling face into the tap and poke her eye out. Do not turn around if you hear a noise behind you, do not open your eyes to check if you feel movement in the tub. But ask out loud: “Why did you fall in the bathtub?”

After this, get out of the tub without opening your eyes. Without draining the water, leave the bathroom, shutting the door behind you.

Now go to sleep.

Part two

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The minute you open your eyes, the game has begun. Throughout the day, you will feel a constant presence behind you. Turning to look at her will not work, but you might catch the occasional glimpses of her lingering over your right shoulder, her hair black and tangled, her eye socket empty and hollow.

As the day press on, she will etch closer and gloser to you. If she is too close shout Tomare, meaning stop and run. However, for each time you shout this at her, the less effective it will be.

Part Three

At the end of the day, it is time to end the game. Look directly at her over your right shoulder, sever the bond you have created between you two.

Shout: Kitta, meaning something along the lines of ‘I cut you loose’. While saying this, swing your arm in a chopping motion. You must have her in sight while doing this.

Done correctly, the game is now over. If not, well… it is recommended to run away.

Also:

Some claim to avoid dark and places with a lot of water.

The ending mus be done before midnight, or else, you are granting her permission to stay and enter your dreams.

When doing the game a second time, it is said she will start were you left her off. Hopefully, she was far enough away from you. It will not be as easy to escape her otherwise.

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11 Miles Game

Photo by Kaique Rocha on Pexels.com

This is also a game, of online presence and can be traced back to username Emeryy on creepypasta. The original creepypasta story has now been deleted in 2018 on the authors request. It is however narrated by a Youtube Narrator and is probably pretty close to the original creepypasta which is writte as a sort of instruction to a game.

It is a bit different game as it is clearly a work of fiction. However, there is something about the classical mythical journey that will reward all of your desires if you just stick to the rules that keeps the appeal, still after the story itself is deleted.

The game is suppose to help you get a prize after following a set of rules on a road that isn’t technically there. It is a magical story game and balances the fine line of thrilling adventure to creepy nightmares.

Before you Begin

There is some things to consider before starting the game. First, the game is about desire and finding something you are looking for. So you are suppose to have a goal or a wish before you start.

It is a game of solitude and can only be played alone. Oh, and by the way, you will be needing a car. It was specified in the creepypasta it shouldn’t be a very noticeable car.

Then there is the list of stuff you can’t do. If you do it, you will fail the test and can’t claim the prize. Besides, there is something lurking outside your car. You won’t find out what happens with those if you break the rules. They are as follows:
– Do not turn on the radio or cellphone
– Do not open the windows or try to leave your car
– Do not drive over thirty miles per hour

The Game

Fuel up your car and start driving when night falls and few people are around.

Finding the road is difficult, it isn’t on any maps, shouldn’t exist and can’t be located by asking around. You will only find it when aimlessly driving around, preferably near a forest. It will appear different for everyone.

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Once you’ve found the road, take a turn and drive it. This is were the test comes in. The air will appear colder and figures will appear in the darkness. Ignore them and keep your eyes on the road.

When you reach the dirt path of the road voices will begin whispering. Ignore them as well. When reaching a clearing you will find an endless lake with a bright moon hovering over it. Do not look at the moon.

Now the radio will start acting up, the headlights will start to fail. Ignore it all don’t look in the mirror. Eyes on the road, remember the speed limit.

When you have driven around nine miles, your car will fail. This is not something you can fix. The only thing to do is close your eyes and restart the car. Figures will surround your car, but don’t look. Just restart the car. When reaching ten miles, all will go back to normal.

Photo by Gabriel Hohol on Pexels.com

On the eleventh mile however, your car will stop again. But it will still move. Move towards a red light. Close them again, and cover your ears. The once cold air will become hot.

But don’t worry, it will end. You will reach a dead end. Then take a minute, relax, imagine what you desired, perhaps it changed during the journey. It will then appear before your eyes or happen soon enough.

After the Game

If you follow all of the rules, you will be fine, your journey will end. And you’ve overcome the tests, making you worthy of the prize.

From then on, you will suffer from terrible dreams, but it will be worth it. Or… will it?

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Books for Children on Halloween

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If you are a part of the horror community, Halloween is definitely the time of the year. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to think that it actually is mainly focused on children, and well… I say MAINLY. But if you are a child, there is nothing more exiting than Halloween, but it can also be a bit scary. And if you are an adult into hardcore horror suddenly in charge of a child’s experience and in need for some child-friendly Halloween content, look no further than to this list right here. It is also for the adult with a bit of Halloween nostalgia.

Harry Potter

By J.K Rowling

Yes, the Harry Potter series is on the list. But have you ever thought of how perfect it is to read it out loud to children at Halloween? If just for a quick revisit, how about reading the part of the troll at Halloween in the first one, being in the Mystery Chamber in the second or how about when they have the tri-wizard tournament trial in the maze form the forth one? Perfection!

Synopsis: Escape to Hogwarts with the unmissable series that has sparked a lifelong reading journey for children and families all over the world. The magic starts here.
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The magic starts here!

Read it here

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The Worst Witch

By Jill Murphy

Before Harry Potter, there was the Worst Witch. And equally fun. For some reason though I always watched the TV-series in Easter, and don’t now why. But anyway, it works year round for my part.

Synopsis: ‘Mildred Hubble was in her first year at the school. She was one of those people who always seemed be in trouble.’

Hold on to your broomstick for magical mayhem with Jill Murphy’s much-loved classic The Worst Witch- the original story of life at a magical boarding school.

Mildred Hubble is a trainee at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, but she’s making an awful mess of it.

She keeps getting her spells wrong and crashing her broomstick. And when she turns Ethel, the teacher’s pet into her worst enemy, chaos ensues…

Read it here

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The Witches

By Roald Dahl

Yeah, nope! This is just. I know it’s for kids, I just…. Well, I suppose I am still recovering for the sleep I lost when I first read this book. Not again. I need my sleep. But anyway. Everything from Roald Dahl will work on Halloween.

Synopsis: Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There’s nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma’s stories–but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face-to-face with The Grand High Witch herself!

Read it here

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The Chronicles of Narnia

By C. S. Lewis 

This is sort of a long one, but for the particular Halloween parts, I find that the first book were Narnia was created is a good Halloween story. It is sort of creepy and we get some origin for the witch as well as some Victorian England. I also think the Island parts in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader were they visit the different islands are good Halloween content.

Synopsis: Epic battles between good and evil, fantastic creatures, betrayals, heroic deeds, and friendships won and lost all come together in this unforgettable world, which has been enchanting readers of all ages for over sixty years.

Read it here

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Kiki’s Delivery Service

By: Eiko Kadano

You might have watched the anime movie, but have you read the book from the 80s? A glorious nostalgia clash with wondrous witchy vibes.

Synopsis: Nostalgic fans of the Hiyao Miyazaki film and newcomers alike–soar into the modern classic about a young witch and her clever cat that started it all! Half-witch Kiki never runs from a challenge. So when her thirteenth birthday arrives, she’s eager to follow a witch’s tradition: choose a new town to call home for one year. Brimming with confidence, Kiki flies to the seaside village of Koriko and expects that her powers will easily bring happiness to the townspeople. But gaining the trust of the locals is trickier than she expected. With her faithful, wise-cracking black cat, Jiji, by her side, Kiki forges new friendships and builds her inner strength, ultimately realizing that magic can be found in even the most ordinary places. Blending fantasy with the charm of everyday life, this enchanting new translation will inspire both new readers and dedicated fans.

Read it here

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The Evil Bishop Against the Maiden in Love – The Ghost of Haapsalu Castle

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There is a ghost story that a Lady in White is haunting Haapsalu Castle in Estonia. According to the legend, she was walled up alive inside of the walls when the Bishop discovered her true identity. Her crime? She fell in love.

The ghost of the Lady in White is a wide spread thing in Europe. Every country and even region have their own local version on it. Many are haunting the old castles, cathedrals and mansions scattered across the universe. Some are haunting the waterfalls, some haunts whole families. Estonia is no exception and according to legend, their White Lady is found in Haapsalu Castle.

Sitting in the midst at the cusp of the eastern Europe Baltic heritage as well as so far north, the culture of Estonia is somewhat of a mix of the two. Many consider themselves more Nordic than Baltic, being so influenced by both Sweden and Finland, they have a rich and varied lore still alive and well today.

The Haunted Haapsalu Castle

On the western shore, the sleepy seaside town of Haapsalu is best known for its warm seawater, curative mud and peaceful atmosphere facing the Vaiinameri Sea. Salt mud spas frequented by the Russian Romanov family still operate. Everything is made for a relaxing weekend and a nice holiday for sunny days. Just don’t go to the Haapsalu Castle, it’s haunted.

Read More: Check out all of our ghost stories from Haunted Castles around the world

In the 13th century in the coastal city of Haapsalu, a castle and a cathedral was built from 1279 and it’s the only one of its kind preserved today. It was also known as Haapsalu piiskopilinnus, or more simply Bishop’s Castle. It was to be the new seat of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, were God’s law was the lands law. So it was a sort of royal as well as godly position, and the design of the castle was as well.

The Haapsalu Castle by night: The castle in Haapsalu is said to be haunted by a lady in white that still lingers long after her death. She is perhaps the most well known ghost in Estonia. Here is a picture from Haapsalu Castle in the dark, or, at least what is left, is still there. Photo:Sergei Gussev/

It was not a particular popular way of ruling as the last seat they had ruled from in Perona, where the Lithuanians burned his home down to the ground. Although he needed the place quick as his previous residence had been burned down, the whole castle took around 300 years to complete with the attached cathedral and monastery to it.

The position of Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek changed hands all up to the 1500s, and in 1279, the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek was Hermann of Buxhoeveden. It was also then he founded the castle and probably the bishop who is talked about in the legend of the Lady in White in Haapsalu Castle.

The life there, especially in the episcopal castle, was a strict one. Every canon working and living there in the monasteries were meant to live a chaste and virtuous life according to the monastery rules.

Read Also: Check out our ghost stories from all of the churches and monasteries from around the world.

Meeting women in the Haapsalu Castle was therefore strictly forbidden and punishable by death. The castle forbade all access for women and the monks rarely ventured outside to test their vows. But all of these rules is useless, love will always find a way.

The Maiden and the Canon in Love

The Forbidden Love inside of the Castle Walls: One of the monks was on a walk outside of the castle walls when he fell in love with a woman he brought back to the castle with him.

As legend of the White Lady Haapsalu Castle tells, one of the canon working there fell in love with a girl when he was outside of the castle walls. When it was clear they had to be together no matter what, he brought her with him to the Haapsalu Castle.

As there was a strict no women allowed policy, they had to disguise her so that no one would now her true identity. She went undercover and was working as a choirboy for a while to be able to meet and have a relationship with him.

They were then able to meet and talk and be in each others lives as long as they were able to pass her off as a boy to the rest of the men living there. They had no other choice if they wanted to be together. He had taken a vow to god that couldn’t be broken, and she had no way of following him with being herself.

Read Also: Check out more ghost stories about love that goes wrong with The Lady Nak of Phra Khanong — Thailand’s Famous Ghost Mae Nak, The Hauntings of the Chute de la Dame Blanche or Botan Dōrō – Tales of the Peony Lantern.

Their little scheme worked for a while. That is, until the bishop came back to the castle and their whole world came crashing down.

The bishop had been away for some time while this was going on and when he returned, a young choirboy caught his eye. Something was off, and even though they had been able to fool the rest he caught on to the deceit.

Perhaps he wasn’t the only one who knew, but everyone else had left them in peace as long as it was discreet. These details we’ll never know for sure. The bishop however couldn’t be fooled and he ordered an investigation, finding out the singer’s gender and found her to be a woman.

Starving to Death inside of Haapsalu Castle Walls

Sightings of the White Lady: The ghost of the Lady in White in Haapsalu Castle has been spotted in the chapel for a long time. Photo: Sander Säde

When the girl was found out, the bishop summoned his council to decide on their punishment. The boy was sentenced to prison were he was going to starve to death. But the girl got the worst end of the deal according to some.

She was to be put immured inside of the walls of Haapsalu Castle. The chapel was under construction at the time and they made a space where they could wall her up. They gave her a single piece of bread and mug of water before they closed up the wall with her inside and left her to die.

Read Also: This was a crime that happened from time to time. To hear more ghost stories about women being buried alive inside the walls, have a look at The Finnish Maiden of Olavinlinna Castle or Dracula and Ghost Nuns in Whitby Abbey

For several days her cries for help, her banging on the walls rung throughout the castle. No one came to her aid and everyone just passed the wall in silence, ignoring the screams that grew fainter and fainter.

Who know what she must have been thinking. She probably didn’t know she would die the way that she had been living since she arrived at Haapsalu castle, hidden inside of the castle walls.

Eventually, she died. But her soul, according to legend, remained and came back as a ghost.

Haunting the Chapel During Full Moon

Now the White Lady can move through the walls. In Haapsalu Castle there was built a chapel still standing today, and this girl is always seen at the inner wall of it, or standing by the Baptistery window around the place she is said to have been walled up.

Read Also: Check out the ghost story of the old Japanese practice of walling people up inside of walls of buildings in O-shizu, Hitobashira — The Human Sacrifice of Maruoka Castle

Whether some have actually done some digging and looked if there actually is a walled up skeleton inside of the chapel wall, is unknown.

The sightseeing of this Lady in White are always around full moons, particularly in August, when it is said is when the Bishop returned to Haapsalu Castle and she was walled up inside of the walls. Why full moon? Did it all happen during a full moon? Perhaps because of the legends that strange things happen during full moons? Or perhaps it was the imagination of the writer Carl Russwurn who popularized the legend, or perhaps even made it up?

Full Moon Haunting: It is said that the ghost of the Lady in White comes out and shows herself during the hot August full moons. Photo by Ben Mack on Pexels.com

The Lady in White is not said to do anything in particular other than to mourn her lost love and life that were taken from her because of the verdic of one man.

Coincidentally, the sightings of her in Haapsalu Castle happens during full moon in the hot August nights. This sightings is also said to happen when a music festival is held in her honor, called: The White Lady Days.

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Anime Horror Anthology Series

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Sometimes you just need a bite size story to get your filling of dread and horror, and therefore these horror anime in anthology format is just perfect for that. Here are some of them. Some are listed as stand alone episode with nothing connecting the episodes together but the genre, and some have more of a red thread, but still have that episodic feel to it. Here are some of the anime horror stories in anthology series.

Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories | 闇芝居

Aired: 2013-2019
Episodes: Nine seasons with 13 episodes each.

This long running anime horror story anthology series covered a lot. Every week at 5 p.m. an old man in a yellow mask shows up at a children’s playground and tells them ghost stories based on myths and urban legends of Japanese origin. The man tells the stories on the back of his bicycle using a traditional kamishibai (Paper Drama) method and features a new tale each week.

A series of short horror stories, Yami Shibai begins with a bachelor who, after moving into a new apartment, immediately starts sensing a malevolent glare being pressed into him. A single talisman rests on his ceiling, but he has no way of knowing it is one of the few safeguards that separate him from a bottomless pit of suffering. Each story is more terrifying, more appalling, and more sickening than the last as the Storyteller’s audience find themselves being sucked into the vicious world of his words.

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Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari: Requiem from the Darkness |  京極夏彦　巷説百物語

Aired: 2003
Episodes: 13

One of the anime horror story anthology series that goes a little meta is the Requiem From The Darkness series. It is about Yamaoka Momosuke, a writer that usually writes riddles for children. However, he’s tired of it and want something with a bit more action to it. He wants to write an anthology series called Hyakumonogatari (“One Hundred Tales”) of scary and macabre stories. When he goes into the world to gather these stories he encounters a strange trio that are called: the Ongyou. They are also chasing the same stories and legends, but not to write about them, but to bring justice. This is the set up for Momosuke who must face horrible truths and fight with and against his own morals each time he meets the trio of detectives.

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Junji Ito Collection |  伊藤潤二「コレクション」

Aired: 2018
Episodes: 12

A collection of animated horror stories based on the works of Japanese artist Junji Ito. And although his fans rather preferred his manga work, this is a quick way to digest his work like Tomie, an immortal girl. And don’t worry, if this adaptation is not to your liking, his work has been adapted to live action and anime series several times.

In the light of day and in the dead of night, mysterious horrors await in the darkest shadows of every corner. They are unexplainable, inescapable, and undefeatable. Be prepared, or you may become their next victim.

Sit back in terror as traumatizing tales of unparalleled terror unfold. Tales, such as that of a cursed jade carving that opens holes all over its victims’ bodies; deep nightmares that span decades; an attractive spirit at a misty crossroad that grants cursed advice; and a slug that grows inside a girl’s mouth.

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Hell Girl | 地獄少女

Aired: 2005-2006
Episodes: 26

This anime horror story series continued with four additional seasons, but the beginning is perhaps the ones with the more episodic feels. When someone wants revenge, they post about it on a special website at midnight. Then Hell Girl appears to do their bidding. Those with a powerful grudge may only access this mysterious website at midnight, allowing them to enter anyone’s name and have that person be ferried straight to hell.

Ai Enma, the Hell Girl, will not judge whether or not the chosen target deserves punishment; she will merely exact revenge on them for you. Not much is known about this young girl other than that she swiftly carries out her tasks with the help of three straw dolls. There is just one catch, however—as payment for carrying out such a request, the user must condemn themselves to an afterlife in hell.

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Mushi-shi | 蟲師

Aired: 2005-2006
Episodes: 26

This anime horror story series started out as a manga from the mangaka Yuki Urushibara. This is the adaption of the award winning manga with 26 episodes based on the chapters of the manga. The episodes of the anime aired differently than what order they were published in the manga, wich says some about how episodic it all is. One episode sequel Mushishi: Hihamukage and a ten episode series called Mushishi Zoku Shou in 2014.

Ginko is a so called Mushishi, those who research the thing called Mushi. It is a mysterious entity of ‘beings’. They are removed from good and evil, but inhabits the earth by manifesting in things like plants, animals and diseases to just mention a few things they appear as. Ginko wonders about the reason behind their existence, and in doing so, perhaps finding the reason for life itself.

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When They Cry: Higurashi | ひぐらしのなく頃に

Aired: 2006
Episodes:

This anime horror story was originally a game with several storyline and outcomes, the anime solved it by resetting the timeline again and again, it also have countless sequels, sidequels, specials, OVA’s and so on. So for this reason, let’s call it an anthology.

Keiichi Maebara has just moved to the quiet little village of Hinamizawa in the summer of 1983, and quickly becomes inseparable friends with schoolmates Rena Ryuuguu, Mion Sonozaki, Satoko Houjou, and Rika Furude. However, darkness lurks underneath the seemingly idyllic life they lead.

As the village prepares for its annual festival, Keiichi learns about the local legends surrounding it. To his horror, he discovers that there have been several murders and disappearances in the village in the recent years, and that they all seem to be connected to the festival and the village’s patron god, Oyashiro. Keiichi tries to ask his new friends about these incidents, but they are suspiciously silent and refuse to give him the answers he needs. As more and more bizarre events occur, he wonders just what else his friends might be keeping from him, and if he can even trust them at all.

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xxxHOLiC | ホリック

Aired: 2006
Episodes: 24

This one season anime horror story series centers around Kimihiro Watanuki, a boy that can see spirits and other supernatural creatures. One day he encounters a woman named Yuuko he finds in a house he can’t help but enter. She is a woman claiming to be able to help him stop seeing spirits, which is something he hates. But to help him he must work for her in her shop that grants peoples wishes, and horror ensues.

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Petshop of Horrors (ペットショップ・オブ・ホラーズ)

Aired: 1999
Episodes: 4

This short, but scary anime horror story series centers around Count D, not to be confused with Dracula. He is a pet shot owner in Chinatown that sells rare, but special pets. They come with a strict contract that the owners must follow. If they do, they’ll be fine, and if they break the rules of the contract… well, the pet shop cannot be held responsible for anything that happens. In this anime horror series The episodes leads a homicide detective called Leon Orcot, to the shop. He is following a string of strange deaths and they all seems to point to Count D and his shop.

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Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales | 怪

Aired: 11
Episodes: 2006

In this anime horror anthology series we find a fine selection of three classic Japanese horror stories: “Yotsuya Kaidan“, the story of a wife betrayed by her husband who seeks vengeance even in death. “Tenshu Monogatari”, the story of forbidden love between a goddess and a human, and “Bakeneko”, the story of a mysterious cat monster with a vendetta against a certain family.

Mononoke | モノノ怪

Aired: 2007
Episodes: 12

This anime horror story is a sequel to the Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror anthology series, were we meet Kusuriuri in the Bakano episode. He is a traveller called The Medicine Seller, a master of the occult in search of evil spirits called Mononoke to kill. But one day he encounters a spirit he cannot kill. His journey to find a way to defeat the monster, he meets Shino, a pregnant woman in an inn. There she encounters the Zashiki Warashi, the monster he is hunting down. And so the hunt begins.

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The Anson Lights Highway Ghost

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In the quiet Texan town of Anson, a local legend has taken form after small lights no one could explain appeared. Is it the lantern of a ghost or is the Anson lights simply the lights from the cars on the highway?

There is something about the highway, especially along those monotone dusty roads that goes on for hours. The highway can make the mind wander, it takes you down a road, not only geographically, but something happens with the mind as well on long stretches of nothingness. Time passes differently when you are behind the wheel. Perhaps that is what happens along the highway in Anson? Where does the ghostly lights come from then?

Near Abilene, Texas is the quaint town of Anson, that may or may not have been the inspiration for the movie Footloose as they too had an actual no dancing law in the 80s. And although living in that movie sounds cool, living in the real town before Kevin Bacon, does not.

The Anson Lights: According to the local legend, If you drive by the cemetery and flick your light, supposedly the Anson lights will flick back. Is it a ghost? Is the strange light phenomenon because it’s a haunted place? Photo: Paul Cameron on Pexels.com

The landscape around this ghost town by the highway is flat and dusty. Nothing in the horizon except blue sky, red if the dust swirls in the air. The few growing things there is sparse, revealing everything in a spartanic landscape.

Read Also: Check out all of our ghost stories from USA

They don’t really like the fuzz down there, and they certainly don’t like the fuzz the legend the highway ghost had provided them with. “For a long time people were embarrassed by the Anson light,” then mayor (2000) Tom Isbell said in a great article in the Texas Monthly. “Anson has stories to tell, but for some reason we just don’t tell them.”

And for the time being, the town of Anson, is known for the Anson lights.

Where to See the Anson Lights?

The Anson lights have attracted many curious spectators, paranormal investigators and mediums to this town. But perhaps mostly, it is high school students with nothing to do in this no dance town on a Saturday evening. It can be a pretty scary sight in the dead of night, with only nearby coyotes howling and screaming.

Read also: Check out The Palatine Light and the Ghost Ship Behind it for another ghost story behind a strange light phenomenon.

To see the Anson lights, you must drive by the local cemetery, Mount Hope, just outside of the town. Then you follow a dirt road along the graveyard until you reach a crossroad. There you turn, facing the road again and stop your car and flash your lights at the end of the road. If you are lucky, you will see them, something will shine a light back. From the other side at an distance a flickering light can be seen.

The Lantern of a Grieving Mother

But what really is the Anson lights? Surely they are there as numerous Youtube videos and pictures have showed us them, so we do know the phenomenon is a real one, but is it a paranormal one as well? One of the most appealing explanation is of course the supernatural ones. Because a ghost town has its ghost stories as well.

The Haunted Lantern: Many of the ghost stories claim that the Anson Lights are actually the light of a ghost carrying a lantern.

One of the local legend behind the strange lights is the story of a grieving mother looking for her son on winter night. According to the story the mother went out looking for her son with a small lantern in her hand. It was a cold night in the snowy Texas winter and the wind was howling, the night grew darker. She never found him. Or… she hasn’t found him, yet.

It is said that even after her death, she kept on looking for her long lost son who disappeared that one cold fateful night.

This is what is told in The Big Book of Texas Ghost Stories by Alan Brown and in this book there is more than one legend of just who is flickering the lights back by the graveyard.

Read Also: Check out all of our stories about Haunted Cemeteries

In another version of the legend, the mother told her two sons to run to the store to pick up a few things. The mother gave them a lantern that they would flash three times with, if they got into trouble. And they did.

According to this story, the two little boys were killed by an oncoming train on their way home. They are now roaming the nearby area as ghosts, still flashing their light, trying to signal their mother for help.

Debunking the Legend of the Haunted Anson Lights

Who is to say that this ghost story didn’t happen? Perhaps no historic records in any case that we have found. And with every unconfirmed record, there is this voice saying, well… doesn’t really prove it didn’t happen though. What is proven though, is that there is a more logical than paranormal explanation to it.

At Abilene Christian University, a professor brought along his students to prove that the lights were actually coming from traffic lights from a nearby highway than from a ghostly mother with a lantern. With GPS trackers and binoculars, his students were able to document that the light were just lights from cars going south on a nearby road. A thing the Southwestern Ghost Hunters Association had already claimed a long time ago as they didn’t find anything paranormal about the Anson lights either.

Read Also: Another ghost story that got debunked was the hauntings in The Haunted H House

So, everyone happy then? Perhaps not the kids of Anson. The professor issued an apology for the reveal and to the locals of the town felt this was the story they could have fun with. What now? What now for fun?

The Anson lights is the approaching car lights from southbound traffic on US-277. Perhaps that is the true haunting, the cars going away. As the little town of Anson is closing up, boarding up their shops and the cars are streaming passed our out of the town, perhaps that is the true ghost of Anson.

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Cursed and Haunted Paintings

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What is art is perhaps just as difficult as explaining what is a haunting. And haunted art? How can that be? Several paintings have strange occurrences, history and tragedy attached to them and many people that some of them is haunted paintings. From people dying to people feeling a certain way when looking at the paintings, these are some work of art that are claimed to be haunted paintings.

The Crying Boy by Giovanni Bragolin

In 1985, there were reports in the papers in England that the firefighter claimed they kept finding undamaged paintings in burnt down ruins. The paintings were all of the crying boy series, a mass produced scenario from the 1950s and onwards.

The original idea of the paintings was from the Italian painter Giovanni Bragolin that sold over 60 of them to tourists. So many rumours surrounded the painter. Like that he painted the crying boys at an orphanage after fleeing to Spain after the war. The orphanage burnt down.

After the reports from the firefighters printed in the news by tabloid newspaper, the Sun, they organized bonfires to burn the haunted paintings.

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The Hands Resist Him by Bill Stoneham

In February in 2000, a new listing on ebay appeared of a strange haunted painting. An elderly couple in California tried to get rid of a painting from their brewery. But the painting had a disclaimer on it. It was said it carried some sort of curse or was haunted.

The characters in the paintings apparently had a habit of moving during the night. And occasionally, they completely left the picture as well, crossing the frame. It sold for so much more than what it was listed for.

The haunted picture was purchased by the Perception gallery that tracked down the artist, Bill Stoneham that painted the picture in 1972. It was originally purchased by John Marley, most known for his role in The Godfather. And the strange travels of the painting and the mystery surrounding it, still lingers, even so many decades after the paint dried.

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Man Proposes, God Disposes by Edwin Landseer

At Royal Holloway University, there hangs a haunted painting. The picture must be covered every year. Or else…

It is an 1864 oil-on-canvas painting by Edwin Landseer. The haunted painting was inspired by the search for Franklin’s lost expedition which disappeared in the Arctic after 1845.

According to an urban myth a student in the 1920 or 30s. He was taking his exam when he suddendly stabbed a pencil into his eye, writing “The polar bears made me do it” on to their exam paper. He then killed himself. From this alleged incident, another legend sprung out in the 60s, claiming that anyone sitting in front of the painting during an exam would fail.

That is why everytime an exam is on, there is a college tradition of covering the haunted painting with a Union Jack flag after a student refused to take the exam until the painting was covered.

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The Rain Woman by Svetlana Telets

Ukrainian artist, Svetlana Telets painted this haunted picture in 1996, the same year she graduated from Odessa Art University. For six months after graduating art school, she always had this feeling of someone watching her.

When Svetlana Telets one day suddenly had the image of The Rain Woman in her head, she started to paint almost without thinking. She herself claimed that something or someone took over her, like drawing through her. The haunted painting was done in five hours, and the result, well… It was this strange and surreal looking woman.

The painting was bought, then returned, then sold, then resold again. The buyers didn’t want it in their homes. They complained that the painting was causing them to experience insomnia and anxiety. And there was always a feeling of being watched. One even rang to Svetlana Telets and complained to her about The Rain Woman:

“Please pick her up. I can not sleep. It seems that there is someone in the apartment besides me. I even took it off the wall and hid it behind the closet. ”

The Rain Woman used to hang in a furniture salon in Vinnitsa trying to sell it. Customers of the shop claim to be dreaming about the woman in the picture and claim to sort of know her, but are unable to place her.

Read More: Read the full story about the The Rain Woman in MoonMausoleum.

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The Dead Mother by Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch was an artist known for his inner demons, something we can see in a lot of his paintings like Scream, The Vampire and all off his paintings depicting sickness. This is the case of The Dead Mother, depicting a little child in front of her dead mother, hands up in anguish much like in Scream.

The haunted painting that he painted is probably based on his own mother’s death. Edvard Munch’s mother died of tuberculosis when he was only 5 years old and this trauma lingered with him for all off his life together with the death of his sister as well.

The haunted painting is said to be cursed, or even haunted by some that have seen it. There are several version of the painting though, but the legend never specifies which version of the motief is the cursed one. Perhaps all of them.

The eyes of the little girl is said to follow you wherever you go, and some even go as far as to claim that she sometimes disappear from the frame altogether. There are also those that claim you can hear the sheet in the mother’s bed rustling, as if someone is moving it.

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Untitled by Laura P.

This haunted painting was based on a photograph by James Kidd from 1994. A picture believed to have a headless figure some claiming to be a ghost. According to Laura P, she started painting the painting, not knowing why she did so, as if being under some possession.

After the painting was done, she herself told of things surrounding the painting that were, strange. Incidents happening to the artist, possessions missing, and objects falling and breaking are just some of them. This has led to some people claiming the painting is haunted by the spirit from the original photo.

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Картина одержимая злым духом преследует свою хозяйку 11 лет – Новости на KP.UA

book, horror, Review

Witching Hour – 5 Books About Witches

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Witches have been around as long as women have been around. At times, they have been cursed, at times, praised. Depending on the time, it is always about power though, and how to use it among the rest of the human population.

Even if they are after you we are still fascinated by witches, the power within seemingly normal people. And perhaps that is one of the things we are drawn to. Because if people posses this great power within, why not you as well?.

This is a reading list of some of the books containing witches that we love.

Witch Child

By Celia Rees (2009)

This book was one of the books that got this writer into books about witches. More than an adventure of the witch myth and legend it is an exploration about the consequences of it. It is also dealing with a lot of issues just from one story, with women, religion and Native Americans. I also loved the next book, Sorceress

Synopsis: Welcome to the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary’s startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared?

Read it here

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The Bear and the Nightingale

By Katherine Arden

This first book of the Winternight Trilogy, was recommended to me by my creative writing lecturer. And, yes, thank you for that. This is sort of fantasy that is rare and witches that claimed their way to the throne so fast.

Synopsis: Beware the evil in the woods. . . In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church. But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods. . .

Read it here

The Witching Hour

By Ann Rice

She changed the world’s view on vampires, and she didn’t shy away from writing about the witches either. In the series Lives of the Mayfair witches. It centers on a family of witches whose fortunes have been guided for generations by a spirit named Lasher. The series began in 1990 with The Witching Hour, which was followed by the sequels Lasher (1993) and Taltos (1994). All three novels debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list. Cool fun fact: Even some of her character cross over to the Vampire universe of hers.

Synopsis: It begins in our time with a rescue at sea.  Rowan Mayfair, a beautiful woman, a brilliant practitioner of neurosurgery—aware that she has special powers but unaware that she comes from an ancient line of witches—finds the drowned body of a man off the coast of California and brings him to life. 

As these two, fiercely drawn to each other, fall in love and—in passionate alliance—set out to solve the mystery of her past and his unwelcome gift, the novel moves backward and forward in time from today’s New Orleans and San Francisco to long-ago Amsterdam and a château in the France of Louis XIV.  An intricate tale of evil unfolds—an evil unleashed in seventeenth-century Scotland, where the first “witch,” Suzanne of the Mayfair, conjures up the spirit she names Lasher… a creation that spells her own destruction and torments each of her descendants in turn.

Read it here

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The House of the Seven Gables

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

A classic one. it more suggest and hint at the supernatural to highlight the drama that enfolds, but nonetheless creates the same atmosphere many horror and supernatural writers strive all their life for.

Synopsis: This enduring novel of crime and retribution vividly reflects the social and moral values of New England in the 1840s. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s gripping psychological drama concerns the Pyncheon family, a dynasty founded on pious theft, who live for generations under a dead man’s curse until their house is finally exorcised by love. Hawthorne, by birth and education, was instilled with the Puritan belief in America’s limitless promise. Yet – in part because of blemishes on his own family history – he also saw the darker side of the young nation. Like his twentieth-century heirs William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hawthorne peered behind propriety’s facade and exposed the true human condition.

Read it here

Witch of Portobello

By Paulo Coelho

A Paulo Coelho book is always filled with heart, thoughts and love. But do be careful of reading his work. There is always a danger of becoming “deep”.

Synopsis: How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves-even if we are unsure of who we are?That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho’s profound new work, The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well-or hardly at all. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice.

Read it here

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creepypastas, pop-culture

The Creepy Side of Youtube from Back in the Day

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Before the internet became a mix of streaming platform, influencer’s paradise, music streamer, podcast heaven, news broadcaster, gossip channel and a gold mine for those wanting to live of doing crazy stunts or cry into the camera – before all this, it was this weird place of the worlds weirdest home videos and the place were urban legends were in making. This is some of them.

Sonee – The Scariest Picture on the Internet

When it hit Youtube in 2006, it was already a thriving legend in China. It told the story of Sonee, the artist of this picture which she uploaded before killing herself. Now, the picture is haunted, altering if you stare at it long enough to see the changes. This was an excellent way to spend five minutes, just sitting, staring into the screen for five minutes, waiting for something to happen. The story never really died though, as it kept popping up as creepypastas, chain mails, forum threads, and even on the New York Times as well.

In reality the picture is another example of how art is stolen, never credited, but still popular. It was originally made by Robert Chang, an artist, and the name of the character was princess Ruu, an original character of his story Tellurian Sky. And according to a blog, the fact that someone stole his character like that, kind of bugs him a lot.

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Dining Room or There is Nothing

In 2006, a great year for weird videos, this trip of a movie hit the page. Surreal art was perhaps not that well known for being on Youtube at the time and the viewers didn’t really know how to place it. Of course, this clip had to be curse. Since then, the video has topped so many lists of creepy videos.

The video is actually made by David Earle, and on his web page he explains the bizarre concept. “When looped, there is no actual beginning or end, and no real sense of where the beginning and end actually are. This piece was inspired by a personal paradoxical desire for empirical proof that there is nothing on the ‘other’ side of life. I wanted to blur the distinction between the two states, and to state the paradox by showing someone who is coming back from life (or death), and denies its existence, thereby fulfilling the paradox.”

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A Curva – Teresa Fidalgo

This one still pops up from time to time, either as a clip, a screenshot on Snapchat, a chain mail (which actually still goes around i suppose.) Still, no one has managed to actually debunk this found footage clip, as the first search results of Teresa Fidalgo is stuff like: Is it true that Teresa Fidalgo will sleep by your side?, How did Teresa Fidalgo Die?

In reality the idea was conceived by Portuguese film maker David Rebordão when he went around promoting another movie. Today, the world is perhaps a bit too saturated with the found footage clip, but back in the day, this was the bomb.

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Ghost Girl

Still popping up on videos compiling: ‘unexplained videos’, the clip is up and thriving. The simple shot of an amateur shot of a silhouette of a girl in a dark hallway, is more effective than the most expensive movie set could give. It is still something that flashes before many peoples eyes every time they open a door to a dark hallway.

The user that uploaded this years ago, had some other clips along the lines of: ‘crazy ghost video’ style, but even more strangely, there has never been a big reveal like with the other videos. Nothing of the likes of: ‘this was a great prank by me and my daughter’ or anything. Makes it… Well. Scary.

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The Swedish Rhapsody

A weird sound, a cute ice cream car music and a German girl counting. Creepy as hell. And this was found when browsing the radio. And when it hit the digital world, it became a case study of all kinds of conspiracies. A polish radio haunted by the ghost of a German girl from the war, you name it.

However, perhaps this is the one video, were the truth could be seen as more sinister or scary than a ghost haunting a radio station ever could. Because the thing with number stations, is that they are completely real, and most likely, used by intelligence agencies. The sounds are codes or messages trying to reach spies, warning them, or keeping them up to date.

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Review, horror, listicle, movies

5 Vampire Movies Twisting the Genre

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The vampire genre is one that has been intertwined in our storytelling, perhaps the longest. From folklore, mythology, classic tales and modern ones. High cultured to the lowest, the vampire walks among them all. So how to keep it fresh? Is there really such a thing as ‘a generic vampire movie’? Or is it all about choosing the one fitting our personal taste?

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This is a list of five vampire movie, telling all very different parts about the human experience and the life and desires we have.

Only Lovers Left Alive – The Deep One

2013

Director: Jim Jarmusch
Starring:  Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska

Premise: A depressed musician reunites with his lover. Though their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.

What Kind of Vampire Story: This is one of these moody movies capturing the brooding boredom of vampiric lore and were the vampires are an instrument of showing the human spirit throughout the ages. The instruments are vintage, the music and literature talked about are classics, the clothes are mouth eaten. More than a scary action story that are common for the modern vampire, it is more a discussion about the very human questions. What keeps us going on? What is the point of it all? For more philosophical discussions from Shakespearean theater actors, this is the Vampire movie for you.

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Bram Stoker’s Dracula – The Classic

1992

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Stars: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves

Premise: This movie version is one of those Dracula adaptations that are following the plot of the original novel pretty close. A young man travels to eastern Europe and are captured by the vampire Dracula. He goes to London after seeing a picture of the man’s betrothed, Mina Murray. From there on, the streets of London are victim to the reign of horror caused by the undead.

What Kind of Vampire Story: A love it or hate it movie, this is one that divide vampire fans all over. The over the top costumes, the stiff acting, the cliche dialogue, it is certainly an acquired taste. But even though it can get to cute for some, no one can deny this movie was a game changer for vampires in movies. It stripped away the black cloak, introduced us to retractable fangs among other things. It is a movie for those that love the campy and gothic feeling of flowing dresses with long hair and in all seriousness loves the used and tested gothic horror tropes.

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What we do in the Shadows – The Funny one

2014

Directors: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi

Stars: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer

Premise: Viago, Deacon and Vladislav are vampires who are finding that modern life has them struggling with the mundane – like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs and overcoming flatmate conflicts.

What Kind of Vampire Story: Now a household name in Hollywood, the world was perhaps introduced to Taika Waititi though this low budget mockumentary. It was what the vampire lore needed. Something fun, something that didn’t need to take itself so serious and some dark humor to laugh at. At that time, a great fresh breath of air combining both the vampire genre as well as the found footage horror genre, it is still today used to satire and honor the vampire lore. With an american TV-series adaptation from the original New Zealand movie, this is the movie for those that want to have a laugh, but still uphold the gothic horror aesthetic.

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Thirst – The Uncomfortable One

2009

Director: Chan-wook Park (as Park Chan-wook)

Stars: Kang-ho Song, Ok-bin Kim, Hee-jin Choi

Premise: Through a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.

What Kind of Vampire Story: It is a very dark look at life and the human nature, inspired by the very bleak naturalist novel, Thérèse Raquin. By making the main character a catholic priest in celibate, the contrast the flesh thirsty for intimacy and warm blood makes an eerie watch. Also, did we mention it is loosely based on the bleakest novel of all time?

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Let the Right One In – The Endearing One

2008

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar

Premise: Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.

What Kind of Vampire Story: This takes the outsider perspective to the max, showcasing a very humane story about being an outcast, both in the broader society as well as in the more social settings. The cold and sterile Scandinavian pessimistic social democratic onlook on vampires contrasts the steamy and sensual stereotype.

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