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Velma, dear reader, has always been a lesbian. Yes, its true that the news officially broke this week, via viral clips from the new animated film Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!, but fans, particularly sapphic ones, have known this for decades. Thats how things go when youre queer: If you dont see yourself in what youre watching, you find the character that feels closest to your sensibilities and identify with them. When enough people do the same thing, those characters become queer icons whether they were intended to or not. Fandom manifests it, so it is.

Except in the case with Velma. Scooby creators have been trying to out her for years. Even back in 2001, when James Gunn was making his live-action Scooby movie, he was trying to write Velma as gay, but the studio just kept watering it down and watering it down. Then, in 2020, Tony Cervone, supervising producer on the Mystery Incorporated series, posted an image of Velma in front of a Pride flag. We made our intentions as clear as we could ten years ago, he wrote in the Instagram caption, Most of our fans got it. To those that didnt, I suggest you look closer.

Look closer. Interesting thing, that. It points to the differences between what was happening one, two, or three decades ago and whats happening now. Perhaps its the calls for greater inclusion of LGTBQ+ characters, perhaps its just that streaming is giving directors and showrunners more room to develop stories, but this current moment is all about re-queering old narratives. Not necessarily turning formerly cishet characters queer, but taking ones formerly coded as LGBTQ+ and making their identity explicit.

Consider, if you will, Interview with the Vampire, the latest adaptation of Anne Rices iconic 1976 book, which launched this week on AMC and AMC+. (Thats pronounced AMC-positive in this context because blood. Dont argue with me.) Vampires have always been queer, very much so; thats basically the whole point of the metaphortheyre like X-Men. Yet rarely is the subtext made explicit. True Blood did it. First Kill tried to. (RIP, First Kill.) But with Interview, not only are Louis de Pointe du Lac (Game of Thrones Jacob Anderson) and Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) actual lovers in an actual relationship, they also speak earnestly about the realities of being queer in New Orleans in 1910. Rices novel never directly addressed queer identity, but it was definitely a romance. The 1994 film adaptationyou know, the one where Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Kirsten Dunst put a macabre twist on My Two Dadswas campy, but balked at depicting actual homosexuality. AMCs Interview is just as campy, and Louis and Lestat bone before the end of the pilot.

See also: A League of Their Own. Queer people have loved Penny Marshalls 1992 film about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) for decades, despite the fact that it has no LGBTQ+ characters. Amazons new series about the AAGPBL, cocreated by and starring Broad Citys Abbi Jacobson, has almost too many to count. While none of its characters are the same as those in Marshalls film, each one feels like the manifestation of what fans wished her ballplayers were. Ideas that were simply coded into the 1992 film, or projected on to it, are made real in its new incarnation.

The new show also rewrites a previous erasure. This past June, Maybelle Blair, who played in the AAGPBL and served as a consultant on Amazons A League of Their Own, showed up at the series premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. It was there that she came out publicly for the first time. Blair, who is 95, said shed been hiding for 75, 85 years. The League that played in 1992 didnt reflect her story; the one in 2022 does. Velma would be proud.

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Velma, Vampires, and Viewers: Streaming Is Re-Queering the Past - WIRED

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What are the rules? When a new vampire franchise begins, they are a good thing to know. Are fangs a thing, or are they not? How can the vampires die? Do they burn in the sun, or do they become sparkly and gorgeous?

The latest SYFY original series, Reginald the Vampire, comes complete with it's own vampire mythos. For maximum enjoyment of the series, it is worth looking into what the rules of the world are. Reginald (Jacob Batalon) is new to everything, but thankfully he has a mentor. We learn as he learns.

We learn a lot in the premiere episode, and though many of these tenets of Reginald aren't new vampire concepts, it's good to know what Reggie is going to be dealing with.

What are the rules? Time to lay them all out.

***WARNING: This article will spoil a lot of things that are discovered in the premiere of Reginald the Vampire. Reading this after you've watched the episode would be a fantastic idea.***

What consequences will Reginald and his maker face? We don't know yet, but we'll be sure to update these rules as we find out more.

New episodes of Reginald the Vampire gush on to SYFY every Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern.

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Rules of Reginald: Breaking down the vampire rules in the world of 'Reginald the Vampire' - Syfy

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'Let the Right One In' Team Talks Movie Changes & Child Vampires at NYCC (VIDEO) - Henry Herald

People dont seem especially interested in joining a club or group these days. Or so thats the school of thought.

Ive heard that lament with great frequency from probably every organization that I come in contact with, many of them concerned that their membership numbers are down, and that puts their present in a quandary and their future in potential jeopardy.

How to get more people interested is the million-dollar question with an elusive $500,000-times-two answer.

This recurring topic about being a part of a group or being a member of something made me think of my own experiences or lack of especially since Ive considered myself more of an observer than a joiner. If I joined everything I observed through my job at the newspaper, Id need another job just to pay annual dues.

In my own defense, Ive tried to be part of something bigger than myself.

During my grade school years, for example, I gave 4-H a shot, but it was short-lived. I was with the Snappy Needle Pushers, which in retrospect seems like a strange name for a youth group, but our mission to sew was so not right for me. Even doing a simple hem on a tee-towel was a struggle.

I quit and thought Id never recover, never have my confidence restored, be forever humiliated by my lack of thread-and-needle know-how.

But later I would meet my Better Half, a Cub Scout dropout after one meeting. A Popsicle stick project could no way hold the interest of a kid who just wanted to be outside playing baseball.

I wasnt in any groups as a teenager either, unless gym class counts, and that fosters bad memories about ugly uniforms that did little for the self-esteem of self-conscious teens such as myself.

The Crew House Museum in Richmond has a second floor devoted to Jefferson Union High School memorabilia, and its no surprise to me that no one donated a gym class uniform from the 1970s for display. If someone had, visitors surely would turn their heads away in horror. You had to wear that?

Ironically, the historical society is one group that I am a member of along with another Richmond-based group, but not initially of my own doing. Its because my mother as a member of both organizations herself signed me up for membership and paid my dues.

Now theres an effective strategy! A parent orchestrating a daughters participation.

So I do belong to a few things other than my family, in which I have a lifetime membership and have paid my dues and have voting privileges.

Belonging to something can be a scary proposition, and I dont mean just my family.

Theres a bit of a fear factor involved here, and this seems like an appropriate analogy given its the month in which Halloween falls.

Imagine yourself a human being full of fresh blood in the midst of vampires a little on the thirsty side. Welcome, prospective member!

Ive had conversations where people have said they dont mind maybe joining something, but they dont want to do anything.

And they surely dont want to come to meetings and then miss one or two only to discover theyve been nominated for the presidency.

Better to be named to a committee, which in some cases are now called teams, a word not as intimidating or foreboding, so the thinking goes.

Im not much for group sports or different ways to basically define the same thing.

You say potato, I say spud either way future french fries.

And its all food for thought.

Hope to see you next week that youll consider joining me.

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Being a human in the midst of thirsty vampires - The Steubenville Herald-Star

The Midnight Club is not a sequel, despite what you may think.

Mike Flanagans forthcoming spooky anthology series geared toward teens based on a Christopher Pike novel, which comes out later this week on Netflix, has nothing to do with his previous work despite some similarities in their names.

All of Flanagans titles for Netflix produced under his multiyear deal with the streamer (The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Haunting of Hill House, and Geralds Game) are worth a watch, but if you had to choose one to start with, it should be Midnight Mass.

Midnight Mass is what happens when you throw monsters into the population of a teeny-tiny island with fervent Catholic convictions. The story is heavily inspired by Stephen Kings novel Salems Lot, and loosely inspired by Flanagans childhood days as an altar boy, along with his struggles overcoming addiction. The combination results in a haunting tale with more frightening monologues than jumpscares.

Heres this long scene I had written about atheism. Let me look at that a few years later and rebut it. Let me try to honestly come in and challenge my own idea. Heres a long scene about alcoholism. Let me really try to come in and talk about recovery, Flanagan recalled in an interview with Entertainment Weekly last year. Being in conversation with my various selves over the last 11 years, that have all dipped into this story, thats what makes it so personal for me. I dont know that Ill ever be lucky enough to have that experience again with another piece of work.

The work is a continuous and unflinching look at grief, remorse, and militant faith, the kind of show youll want to close your eyes for but wont be able to look away from. The ideas at the root of this show scare me to my core, Flanagan posted on Twitter before Midnight Mass release, acknowledging that just because there isnt a demonic flesh-eating angel lurking in the shadows every minute, that doesnt mean Midnight Mass isnt bone-chilling.

Hamish Linklater won a Critics Choice Super Award for his nuanced portrayal of Father Paul Hill in Midnight Mass. Netflix

Midnight Mass starts with the murder of a young teenage girl by a man asleep at the wheel. Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), a former startup investor and finance bro, cant shake the guilt he feels over leaving the gruesome car accident with only a hangover and a scratch. He winds up serving time for the crime, but after a relatively short sentence he heads back home to a fishing town with less than 100 people surrounded by miles of water. Rileys reintegration tasks are daunting, but not supernatural: He must repair his relationship with his parents, brother, and ex-girlfriend Erin (Kate Siegel), avoid the bottle, and find purpose through the pain.

Things get more complicated for Riley and the rest of Crockett Island when handsome and charismatic Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater) takes over the duties of the frail Monsignor John Michael Pruitt, who has mysteriously fallen ill after a spiritual retreat to Israel. With the priests arrival comes inexplicable, but very tangible, miracles. A resurgence of interest in Catholicism pulls even the most unlikely of churchgoers into St. Patricks. Hiding underneath the gilded vestments and heartfelt prayers, however, is an unsettling plan to spread the word of God by any means necessary.

The not-so-angelic angel in Midnight Mass is played by Quinton Boisclair, who has extensive experience portraying monstrous creatures on screen.Netflix

Riley, who trusts few people and trusts God less, is not wooed by Father Pauls charms or wowed by the blessings brought about by his mere presence. Soon he finds that not only is his hunch right but that his new purpose in life is to save those he loves from a hellish fate.

Gilford, Linklater, and Siegel are joined by a memorable ensemble cast that includes Samantha Sloyan as the detestable and hypercritical Bev Keane, Rahul Kohli as the cynical Crock Pot sheriff, Alex Essoe and Annabeth Gish as mother-daughter power-duo Mildred and Dr. Sarah Gunning, and Robert Longstreet as subverted town boozehound stereotype Joe Collie. Collectively, they provide a diverse group of sinners and saints to the hamlet, and make you care about the fate of Crockett Island as Riley unravels its mysteries.

Flanagan is still building his horror empire on Netflix, which just added The Midnight Club and will expand to include The Fall of the House of Usher next. But Midnight Mass may be his greatest work yet, and its the perfect scary binge to get you up to speed on his style.

Midnight Mass is streaming on Netflix.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY.

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You need to watch the best vampire thriller of the decade on Netflix ASAP - Inverse

My kids favorite show is Disneys animated cult-classic Gravity Falls. It features Dipper and Mabel Pines, a brother and sister duo who spend their summer in the fictional town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, with their Great Uncle (Grunkle) Stan.

All the monsters arent real, my 10-year-old tells me as we sit down to watch the show, I think in an effort to reassure me I wont be too scared. She explains that at the end of every episode it is revealed that whatever mythical and terrifying creature has been tormenting Dipper and Mabel for the preceding 24 minutes is usually the creation of a bored townsperson a la Scooby Doo.

I am disappointed to hear this. Its well-documented that I want the monsters to be real. And theres a not insignificant part of me that believes some of them are, especially in the land to the north and west.

Of all the regions of the United States, there is none more mysterious to me than the Pacific Northwest. And none where I believe it is more likely that the creatures of lore might actually exist.

So much of my U.S. history education was focused on the original 13 colonies, the wars Revolutionary, Civil, and World and various social-political movements through the centuries. I had all of a single days instruction and one textbook chapter devoted to Lewis and Clark and the settlement of our neighbors in the upper-left corner of the map.

My postschool understanding of the area has been enhanced only by a quick trip to Seattle, the majority of which was spent in Pikes Place market and on a tour boat that passed the Space Needle and Frasiers apartment. During the brief window when I wasnt buying cheese and saying Niles in a deep, sort-of British voice, I hiked Little Si Peak and was struck by how different the landscape felt from my arid home.

In Utah, our mountains are sharp and jagged and demand to be seen from anywhere in the valley. We have a month or two of green before everything turns brown and every prayer includes pleas for moisture.

Oregon, Washington and the surrounding areas seem to be in a perpetual state of dampness, with fog covering the rolling hills and dense woods. The lack of visibility creates a sense of mystery, and dare I say spookiness. Bigfoot, a werewolf, or even Edward Cullin could be hiding behind any tree.

This opinion is, of course, colored by depictions of the Pacific Northwest, or as locals call it, the PNW, in modern media.

Gravity Falls is just one of many programs and movies set or filmed in the region. Twin Peaks, Twilight, and Harry and the Hendersons all have the area as a backdrop for their tale of murder, vampirism and overgrown family pets, respectively.

And sure, it might be because Vancouver, British Columbia Washingtons northern neighbor is one of the worlds most prolific filming locations. It could even be because overcast and rainy days, of which there are many in the PNW, make for the best filming conditions.

And yes, it could be because many in the PNW seem to want to be perceived as offbeat and maybe even a little spooky.

But I believe that where theres dense fog theres fire, and these stories all work best in the region because of its inherent mysticism.

In the spirit of spooky season, I turned to some of the Pacific Northwests supernatural experts for insight into whether PNW is objectively more mystical than my desert home.

Psychic medium Stacy Mitchell of Bend, Oregon, believes the area is saturated with energy from otherworldly entities. Many of these entities have unresolved conflicts from their personal lives, she claims, and others are stirred to anger by the debaucherous actions of residents in the area who disrespect the land with developments and destruction of natural space.

And paranormal vortex detective Dan Shaw, tells me the saturation of paranormal energy in the area can in part be explained by the number of different geological features and their various electromagnetic energies. Volcanoes in the Ring of Fire region spew magma, which hardens to lava and magnetic minerals.

Hes convinced being near the lava rock affects the magnetism of our bodies and our minds.

And while scientists are far more interested in how lava rocks actually retain a magnetic memory capturing the magnetic field of the earth at the time the rocks harden for the purposes of this entirely authoritative article Im much more interested in what mystics have to say on the matter.

And, Shaw believes, justifiably or not, that changes in an electromagnetic field can cause sensations of electricity and tingling, a racing heart or feelings of elation. He says hes heard reports of UFO, Bigfoot, and ghost sightings from people in areas of increased electromagnetic activity.

He tells me about his belief in vortexes, or areas of spinning energy. I ask him if he believes that its because theres a high concentration of vortices in the Pacific Northwest there seems to be an outsized amount of paranormal activity.

He tells me to exercise some caution in jumping to wild conclusions. Fair enough. But, in the same reassuring tone my daughter used to tell me the childrens program we were about to watch wouldnt keep me up at night, Shaw says:

People often ask me, wheres the most powerful vortex on the planet? And I sincerely believe that it is your heart.

This powerful vortex heart of mine believes there really might be shiny vampires and bigfoots (bigfeet?) and werewolves in the Pacific Northwest. Or at least it wants to.

To my disappointment, neither Mitchell nor Shaw was willing to concede that their place of residence is any more mystical, magical or spooky than the rest of the country. So maybe the reason for the outsized amount of paranormal stories and pop culture coming out of the region is as prosaic as Hollywood budgets and proximity to a filming hub, or a product of the Keep Portland Weird attitude, and gamesmanship among locals to play into the general unknown of their place.

But still, I wouldnt walk into those foggy woods alone.

Link:
Vortices, vampires and volcanoes: My fascination with the Pacific Northwest - Deseret News

Photos: Marvel Studios/Disney+, Hulu, Discovery+, AMC/Primetimer Illustration

This Halloween, TV is offering thrills and chills galore: Hulu serves up a Solar Opposites Halloween Special, and Bite Size Halloween is back for a third season with 20 short films blending terror, comedy, and science fiction.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe expands its reach with the premiere of Disney+'s Werewolf by Night, a black-and-white feature that introduces Jack Russell (Gael Garca Bernal), who is the descendant of a family of werewolves. Elsewhere, Shudder's docuseries Queer For Fear: The History of Queer Horror takes viewers on a journey tracking the history of queerness within the horror genre, dating back to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

There's a bonanza of horror programming on streaming alone, but we've compiled a list of this year's best Halloween TV, from standalone specials to binge watches.

Solar Opposites Halloween SpecialStreaming on Hulu Your favorite alien family is back to celebrate their first Halloween on Earth. Terry and their replicant Jesse are getting in the holiday spirit, ready to decorate their home for Halloween, which Korvo and Yumyulack aren't excited about. Terry and Jesse decide to spice up Halloween by exhuming a dead body and reanimating the corpse using dark magic to turn it into the Crypt Keeper (John Kassir returns to voice the iconic character from HBO's Tales from the Crypt).

Werewolf by NightPremieres October 7 on Disney+ Gael Garca Bernal stars as Jack Russell, who is part of a secret group of monster hunters competing for a powerful relic, while also going up against a dangerous creature. What the other hunters don'tknow is Russell is hiding his own dark secret he's a lycanthrope who fights evil using the abilities given to him by a curse brought on by his bloodline. Oscar-winning music composer Michael Giacchino (Up, The Incredibles) directs the black-and-white creature feature, which is the first Marvel Studios Special Presentation in the MCU.

Hocus Pocus 2Now streaming on Disney+Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy are back as the comedic trio of witches from the original 1993 film. Almost 30 years after the Sanderson sisters were resurrected, two Salem teenagers, Becca and Izzy, bring the witches to the present day when Becca receives the Black Flame candle as a birthday gift. Now it is up to a group of high-school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow's Eve. Read our review.

Interview with the VampireNew episodes Sundays on AMC and AMC+Adapting Anne Rice's best-selling novel, creator Rolin Jones (Boardwalk Empire, Weeds, Friday Night Lights) has reimagined one of literature's most haunted and immortal love stories. Set in 1910, thisInterview with the Vampirefollows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), nowa Creole Black man who runs a chain of brothels in Storyville, a red-light district in New Orleans. Louis crosses paths with mysterious Frenchman Lestat de Lioncourt, who soon puts Louis under his seductive spell. Eric Bogosian plays an older version of journalist Daniel Molloy. Read our review.

Jack Osbourne's Haunted HomecomingStreaming on Discovery+, new episodes Sundays through October 16 Jack Osbourne returns to the United Kingdom to visit his childhood home and past haunts. The reality TV star exploresthe county of Buckinghamshire, seeking the dark truth behind terrifying, unexplained mysteries and experiences he had there as a young boy. On his journey, Osbourne makes stops at the family home where he spent his formative years, as well as a local theater, ancient pub, andMissenden Abbey, a notoriously haunted locale that was the scene of regular childhood school trips.

Halloween WarsNew episodes Sundays at 10:00 PM ET on Food NetworkFive teams of cake decorators, candy makers, and amazing pumpkin carvers will compete to prove they're the best, walk home with a big cash prize, and scare our pants off with some of the most-amazing horror tales all made from sweets and gourds. Grab onto someone you love and bring your appetite. Challenges include "Monsters of London,""Escape from Alcatraz," and "A Coven of Confections."

Queer For Fear: The History of Queer HorrorStreaming on Shudder; new episodes on Fridays through October 21This four-part documentary series tracks the evolution of horror through a queer lens, starting with the genre's literary origins in the works of queer authors Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, and Oscar Wilde. It then winds its way through Universal Classic Monsters and Hitchcock, the "lavenderscare" alien invasion films of the mid-20th century, and the dangerous queer women inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla. The series comes from executive producers and horror veterans Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) and Steak House (By Hook or by Crook). Read our previous coverage.

Bite Size HalloweenComplete third season streaming on Hulu This horror anthology features a series of standalone horror shorts ranging from the terrifying to the comical. Episodes for Season 3 include "The Heritage," in which a man makes a gargantuan discovery when meeting his biological father for the first time; a timid woman finally stands up to her cruel, elderly mother with encouragement from a deranged friend in "Bad Rabbit"; and in "Alone With Him,"a pregnant woman struggles to free herself when she's trapped in a catastrophic car accident during a snowstorm.

The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!Premieres October 17 on HuluJustin Roiland scored two big animation hits in the last decade with Rick and Morty and Solar Opposites. But in 2009, he pitched an animated series to Fox, titled The Paloni Family Comedy Show, that failed to pass muster. That series finds new life on Hulu with the Halloween Special! Leroy, Reggie, and Cheruce Paloni have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be the hosts of an unforgettable Halloween special full of spooky shorts from a group of up-and-coming animators. Voice talent includes Roiland, Zach Hadel, Pamela Adlon, Vatche Panos, and Kari Wahlgren.

The Devil's HourComplete first season available October 28 on Prime Video Lucy (Jessica Raine) wakes every night at 3:33 AM, the Devil's Hour. When Lucy's name is inexplicably connected to a string of brutal murders in the area, the answers that have evaded her all these years will finally come into focus. Peter Capaldi plays a reclusive nomad, driven by a murderous obsession. He becomes the prime target of a police manhunt led by compassionate detective Ravi Dhillon, played by Starstruck's Nikesh Patel.

Rebecca Theodore-Vachon is a tv and film critic whose work has been featured in Harpers Bazaar, Shondaland Magazine and Indiewire.Follow her on Twitter atFilmFatale_NYC.

Excerpt from:
Vampires, Werewolves, and Jack Osbourne: Our Guide to the Best of Halloween TV 2022 - PRIMETIMER

The U.S. military has done some strange things in its existence. It created fake armies full of inflatable tanks. It trained soldiers to read minds. It has footage of UFOs. And then there was that time it faked a series of vampire attacks as part of a counterinsurgency strategy.

Seriously.

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States found itself as one end of a reorganized geopolitical fight. The U.S. and its allies were on one end, the Soviet Unions sphere was the second world and then there was the third world, the post-colonial states.

In the recently independent Philippines, there was also one of those struggles. The anti-Japanese rebel group the Hukbalahap, also known as the Huks, had been reformed by communists to fight against the central government. And the United States has no interest in letting the Huks insurgency take hold, even though they had been on the same side during World War II. And thats where the then-relatively new Central Intelligence Agency got involved.

Edward G. Lansdale was an Air Force officer who worked with the CIAs precursor the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. He had served in the Philippines and with the Huks insurgency on the rise, he was called back to help fight it. He and the CIA started to develop a plan to not just fight the Huks, but sway Filipinos from joining them.

The solution Lansdale came up with was vampires. Well, technically an aswang. In the Philippines, an aswang is a kind of catch-all term for various monsters in folklore, such as werewolves and vampires. But for Lansdale, it was clearly the vampiric take on aswang that was the plan.

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A psychological warfare squad was brought in. The squad went around to villages, spreading rumors that an aswang was in the countryside actually where the Huks were based. Then they started hunting the Huks. The squad would kidnap the end person of a Huk patrol. Then they killed the person by puncturing the next, hanging the corpses upside down and letting the blood drain. The Huks would come back and think an aswang had got their comrades. And so would the villagers, the CIA figured.

This was paired with other attempts to bring supernatural horror to warfare. Lansdale had his psyops squad paint the eye of god on buildings during the night, targeting people assumed to be allied with or aiding the Huks.

And somehow, against all odds, the plan to fake a vampire attack using corpses of kidnapped Filipino rebels sort of worked. Over several months from 1952 to 1954, the Huks lost ground and their rebellion was put down. Lansdale, meanwhile, continued his work there, before CIA Director Alan Dulles had him take his anti-communist counterinsurgency plans to Vietnam in 1954.

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That time the military faked a vampire massacre to fight rebels - Task & Purpose

Being buried alive with blood-sucking vampires isn't really my ideal choice of entertainment for a Saturday evening, but it's the kind of routine occurrence you come to expect when you attend the annual Alton Towers Scarefest event.

When I received an 'Invitation' to celebrate 15 years of Scarefest at the Staffordshire theme park, I expected canapes, maybe a spooky cocktail or two. I didn't expect to be led into a lift by a creepy undertaker, plunged deep into the bowels of a mausoleum, and stuck in a burial chamber.

Before I could tell them there had been a terrible error, I was led to a seat in the said crypt, surrounded by bones, cages, and a pair of headphones.

READ:The best ever Scarefest mazes

That's when the darkness came, and the disorientation, just myself and my thoughts for company, or at least that's what I thought until the whispering began. Then came the rather disturbing noises and sounds of the blood-sucking torture of my fellow tomb inhabitants.

We were warned we wouldn't be alone, and they weren't kidding. The inhabitants of the tomb tormented their victims, all in your ears, and all in that enveloping blackness.

Unlike those poor unfortunates, I escaped, and I couldn't see daylight quick enough.

The Invitation is the newest scare attraction at the resort, and it's undoubtedly the most unusual one I have encountered.

Scrambling the senses with the audio and darkness is really quite unnerving and will be a very different experience for fans of the scary attractions.

It's a sensory experience designed to unsettle you, and it does that pretty well.

The resort's Halloween fun and frights is a popular date on the calendar for thrill seekers and families and offer an array of live shows, rides in the dark, and of course - scare mazes.

A spokesperson from Alton Towers described the new attraction, saying: "The Invitation is a brand-new scare attraction that has never been seen or heard at Scarefest before. This horrifyingly unique and immersive attraction is an audio experience, most of which takes place in complete darkness.

"Guests are invited to visit the Lakeside Cemetery mausoleum where the friendly funeral director is dying to meet you. Enter the vault to choose your final resting place, but proceed with caution - you will not be alone; some caskets have already been filled and their occupants are keen to meet you."

We are excited to bring a brand-new terrifying scare attraction to the event, as well as the return of our hugely popular scare mazes and family attractions. We remain committed to creating a much-needed form of escapism for families and thrill-seekers across the UK and beyond.

"We are so excited to welcome guests to the Resort and to share our incredible line-up of seasonal entertainment, which were sure our guests will love.

The frights don't end there though and this year's event sees the return of a trio of great mazes, some perhaps for the last time.

Chris Carter, Events and Entertainments Director at Alton Towers Resort, said: We are thrilled to be celebrating 15 years of our award-winning Scarefest and to celebrate, we have got a host of fun and thrills for families and thrill-seekers."

The brilliantly creepy The Attic: Terror of the Towers thrusts wary guests into the haunted eaves of the famous stately home. It's a chilling walk through the lair of The Governess - a malevolent spirit looking to claim her next victim. Expect creepy dolls and toys, what more could you want on a Saturday evening in October?

The grotesque Legend of the Skin Snatchers has been a staple part of the festival for the last seven years, and it still holds plenty of jump scares from the bloodstained hillbilly residents.

As you tentatively step through the abandoned mine, the eerie tagline that "beauty is only skin deep", soon becomes very clear.

My favourite ride this year was The Darkest Depths, a pirate-themed scare maze now in I think its fourth year at the park. It seems to get stronger each year, and after starting as a family fright maze, it's now a fully blown maze only for the bravest of visitors. Join the crew and brave the mythical sea beast the Kraken.

Returning for a second year is Trick O' Treat Town, a beautifully designed family-friendly maze based around the classic American tradition of door-knocking for sweets. There are some wacky characters and crazy neighbourhoods.

All the mazes carry an extra cost with combination packages available, you can find out more on the link at the bottom of the page.

If you love your rollercoasters, there is no doubt that the real highlight of the festival is the chance to ride iconic coasters in the dark, including the iconic Nemesis which closes in November for an overhaul.

Don't think it's just thrills and frights - this event is always really well balanced with loads to do for all ages.

A quick walk to the lawns in the middle of the resort and you will find a huge stage with some brilliant entertainment from the resident spooky Scarefest characters.

CBeebies Land is home to lots of shows for the really small visitors, and everywhere you look there are pumpkins and decorations to really set the mood.

Don't miss the gardens either, they are lit up for the occasion, and they look breathtaking.

Scarefest is about that Halloween carnival atmosphere and for all the sinister overtones of the mazes, it really is just about people having fun.

Scarefest will take place at Alton Towers Resort from Friday, October 14, to Monday, October 31. Tickets are available here.

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I went to Alton Towers Scarefest for an evening with blood-sucking vampires - Coventry Live

Though she's credited as an executive producer, Anne Rice sadly didn't live to see her 1976 novel "Interview with the Vampire" realized as a television series. As of this writing, the first two (of seven) episodes of the series are available to stream on AMC+, so although it was renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere, you can still get in on the ground floor.

Jacob Anderson is quite charismatic as Louis, reimagined here as a hale and hearty hero with a higher pulse and without the morose inclinations of Brad Pitt's version of the character. Before he receives the Dark Gift, Louis is a well-dressed pimp in Storyville, which sounds like a euphemism for a showbiz entertainer. The series itself has a tap-dancing verve, and it's cognizant that it's peddling a "do-over."

It almost starts out like a sequel to the 1994 film, with Eric Bogosian's older, world-weary journalist Daniel Molloy having botched an interview with Louis decades earlier. References to MasterClass and the pandemic, cosmopolitan shots of Dubai, the use of vampire telepathy, a hot and heavy threesome, a floating, butt-naked vampire kiss between men, and a different last sunrise all set this modern update apart, even as it resurrects abandoned threads from Rice's book like Louis's religious brother and the church confession-turned-bloodbath.

Un petit coup, "the little drink" (as opposed to la petit mort, the little death, or orgasm), awakens feelings of intimacy within Louis. As French flows from his lips, Lestat (Sam Reid) holds a hypnotic power over him. Maybe I'm just in the vampire's thrall like the guys at the poker table, but after one episode of AMC's "Interview with the Vampire," I was all-in. Give it a chance, and you, too, might experience love at first bite.

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Year Of The Vampire: 9 TV Miniseries And Standalone Episodes That Don't Require An Eternal Bloody Commitment - /Film