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Episode 24 - The Purrinton Massacre and the Evolution of Slashers
10 Plays3 days ago
It's a pretty dark week in the cottage. Nylene covers the very intense early 19th century Purrinton Massacre. Nym sheepishly follows with her exploration of the evolution of slasher films over the decades.
Enter the Nightmare for show notes, sources, transcripts, and more!
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Transcript
Introduction to Nightmare Cottage
00:00:29
Speaker
Welcome to Nim and Nyleen's Nightmare Cottage, where we discuss dark locations, sinister media, and other tales of the macabre. I'm Nim. And I'm Nyleen. Let the nightmare begin.
00:00:48
Speaker
Follow into the nightmare, if you dare.
The Surprise Adoption of Fern
00:00:54
Speaker
We have a new nightmare puppy! e Oh, shit. We probably should have had her in here for this. No. No. no No. no ah So what a happened was... Yes.
00:01:08
Speaker
I just want to first real quick say, this is not Nim's new nightmare puppy. Yes. No, this is Nyleen's new nightmare puppy. That is correct. Nyleen... Mistakes were made, but she's so cute.
00:01:20
Speaker
I don't think any mistakes were made. She's so sweet. and real Well, there's a lot of very upset creatures right now. So. I'm not one of them, so I'm okay. That's correct. Yes. I'm one of them. um did You did this. Yes. So what happened was, I was trying to get Ace a present for Father's Day. Yeah.
00:01:43
Speaker
And I was trying to give him a day off too. It was the worst. It was on so it was on Saturday. on And I went to go get him a present, you know, left him to sit and play Doom with the speakers on by himself. And he even sent me a message. He was so, so thankful that he had some peace and quiet.
00:02:01
Speaker
And so my answer to that was um there was a pet store right next door to where I got Ace's present. And my three-year-old really wanted to see what was over there.
00:02:17
Speaker
And they had an adoption event going on And there was this um little massive puppy named Fern. ah She's a red healer.
00:02:28
Speaker
And she looks like a red healer, black mouth caramix. She's so cute. She is so hyper. She's 30-something pounds. But she's sweet.
00:02:40
Speaker
And is five months old. So she is massive. I have never had big dogs. um My other dog is a Chihuahua Schnauzer. But I just, like, fell in love with her immediately. Like, she is so sweet. She's mostly good with my kid. But, um like, she doesn't hurt him or anything. She just, like, her biggest problem is that she wants...
00:03:00
Speaker
everyone to love her and she wants to love everyone and she's so curious and she put literally physically puts her nose everywhere and she's so great she's a derp is what she is oh i love it she has the sweetest face there of course will be pictures posted but uh and i need to add her to the the pet you know footer that i have on our pet cemetery i don't like that well they're not dead i know but you're right We could make it look like a little graveyard. and They're just walking around.
00:03:36
Speaker
Yeah. They're protecting stuff. Yes. They do protect. They do big protect. Yeah. So Fern's pretty great. She sniffed in my backpack as soon as I arrived to the cottage. And she knew. She knew that I had a toy for her. She knew. she had to have known. I pulled it out and she instantly knew it was hers. And she had so much fun playing with her little dinosaur. Yeah. She was out there playing with it earlier too when I went out there.
00:04:00
Speaker
But yeah, she's super excited about that. The other creatures in the house are trying to decide how they feel as they do. And I'm the bad person that brought a yeah very large dog in on Father's Day and ruined my husband's peace.
00:04:15
Speaker
But it's fine. He loves her. It's just she's a lot because she's a five month old 30 pound puppy. It's like having two tornadoes with a toddler around as well. So.
00:04:26
Speaker
She's so cute. it Says the one who doesn't have to take of her. Oh, I know. Your house is so quiet compared to mine. So how are
Mystery of the Paint Canvases
00:04:36
Speaker
you? I've been good. i had a weird surprise I had delivered to my door. I like to do paint by numbers, you know.
00:04:44
Speaker
It's a super chill hobby, but I have So many canvases just everywhere. So I don't really need more, but I like to do them. So I keep getting them. yeah But I haven't bought any in a while because I actually had taken ah a break for a bit. And the other day, there was a package on my front door that was about the size of three of those canvases stacked together.
00:05:05
Speaker
And Monkey didn't do it. monkey Monkey did not order them for me. I didn't order them for me. My mother didn't. You didn't. no No, nobody is owning up to it.
00:05:17
Speaker
These aren't cheap ones. Like they're the ones that are already fitted to the frame. So like somebody spoiled me like this is these are like 50 ish dollar canvases each. And they're like, I don't know, they're very cute. They're all like kind of surreally looking ah Halloween things that are cute.
00:05:33
Speaker
So but I don't know if I bet you bought them for yourself on accident. I had never seen these designs and it's not from, there's like two main places that I've seen that I like to generally order from, but I i order from the other one more than this other one. And I don't, I've got it. So what happened was monkey fell asleep um at his laptop really late at night playing a game and Grim saw that. And so he got onto monkey's phone and he went and picked some out because he wanted you to paint them for the house.
00:06:06
Speaker
Yeah. I'll ah present that theory to monkey when I get home. We'll see how that goes. But yeah, so that was, that's a current mystery. And anybody who loves me enough to spend that kind of money on me has not fessed up to it. So yeah you're probably right. It has to have been me, but like,
00:06:24
Speaker
there it's i didn't do it logged in it's not under my purchase history it's weird and i don't have any charges from them in the last like i know i've done it on amazon on accident because like i'll be scrolling and i'll like be like try to add it to a list but i accidentally do is it like one click buy or something yeah and i'm like wait a minute i've done that a few times just reckless with our yeah with our tens of dollars um yeah no now you're gonna have to you're gonna have to paint them and yeah i know on my life is so hard the site sure
00:07:01
Speaker
do it. Sure. I guess I could take a picture and show everybody my, I mean, okay. So I have no delusions. They're paint by numbers. I'm not like, you know, whatever, but they're cute. No, they are difficult to do though.
00:07:13
Speaker
Like, yeah, you're not like creating the picture and, and picking the color. Like you are following a pattern, but just like any other thing that follows a pattern, you still have to do it because you have to be able to like blood nose correctly for it to not look like a jumbled mess of dumb.
00:07:30
Speaker
I will tell you right now that the ones that you've done that you have not completed only feel like a jumbled mess of dumb because you're not done with them. Mine look like a jumbled mess of dumb until they're completely done.
00:07:41
Speaker
Every time. I guess. But it's really just filling in the little things. it's It's just a Zen thing. I put on either an audiobook or, you know, The Office or Always Sunny or whatever. sewn out and paint. Yeah, I've been doing that with Legos. It's fun. Love that.
00:07:56
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, and I got, i think, I don't know if I already told you, but i did a Mothman one that I got while I was. You were supposed to send me pictures. I forgot.
00:08:06
Speaker
Yes, I did a Mothman Lego thing that I got when I was in West Virginia in Point Pleasant. And I got um a Flatwoods Monster one too that I did. So they're both really cool. I like them.
00:08:18
Speaker
I almost want to get a few more just because like, I don't know. They're fun. They're cute. Because they're fun. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, if anyone has ideas of like where to get like cool kind of like Lego type situations. Buildable. Yeah.
00:08:30
Speaker
Or even paint by the numbers that are like, you know, cryptid or creepy. Like that would be really cool. Let us know, please. Nightmare Cottage at gmail.com. Please. Because we'll do them and we'll post them on the site and we'll call you out and be like, you did this.
00:08:44
Speaker
I feel like one day I'm going to like have to have ah garage sale gallery and just that would be cool. Sell them all for like $5 each or I like that.
00:08:54
Speaker
That's, you know, my hallway can only handle so many canvases. That's a good idea. That's a really good idea.
Content Warning & New Story Introduction
00:09:08
Speaker
Warning, this episode discusses episodes of physical violence towards children. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please seek help. You can reach out to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988 or chatting at
00:09:29
Speaker
So what is your nightmare? Today, actually, I'm not even going tell you what it's called because I just want to tell you about it. And then you can find out what happened afterwards when I say the words.
00:09:40
Speaker
Okay. I know how to read stories. Anyways, so a lot of the quotes that I'm actually going to talk about today, and they come from a pamphlet.
00:09:51
Speaker
That was published at the time of the incident. And it was titled Horrid Massacre. um It was printed and sold by Peter Edges in 1805. 1805. 1805. Yeah. So this one is a little bit of a blast of the past um But I'll link it in this in the source list and on on the website. So if you want to read the entire thing for yourself, it is like really interesting.
00:10:14
Speaker
i think I showed you like some of the grammatical stuff. like Yes. And the way that things are like written. It has the use of like the long S. So it was like a little difficult to read at first because your brain keeps saying F, not S. But yeah, it was really cool.
00:10:28
Speaker
Little pamphlet. which I imagine was like a newspaper before newspaper. Right. Zines before zines. Oh my God.
James Purrington's Despair
00:10:36
Speaker
Our story begins with James Purrington.
00:10:39
Speaker
James is a veteran captain the Revolutionary War. He married his wife, Betsy Clifford, at age 20 in 1780, which seems insane. This is the beginning of the American dream. Oh my goodness.
00:10:49
Speaker
oh wo Oh, no. Oh, you're going regret that. He was a humble farmer and with Betsy grew their family to 12 children. Yes, I know. Like I can barely handle one. Three of these children ah did pass from natural causes at a young age is kind of and was par for the course at the time.
00:11:08
Speaker
James was described as, quote, he was a man of middle size, rather dark complexion, grave countenance, and reserved in company.
00:11:19
Speaker
It has also been remarked of him that he never looked the person in the face he was addressing. He was obstinately tenacious of his opinion, and it was very difficult to convince him he was an error.
00:11:30
Speaker
He has frequently, however, voluntarily changed his religious sentiments, and And he died a firm and decided believer in the doctrine of universal salvation. When surrounded by his family, he has been often heard to express his fond anticipations of the moment when they would all be happy and has sometimes added how greatly it would enhance his happiness if they could all die at once.
00:11:54
Speaker
Oof. This was also so sweet until you said that. Oh, wow. Yes, I felt that was best quoted because it was quite a description. He really was described by those who knew him to be very loving with his family.
00:12:10
Speaker
He did seem a bit odd to people at the time, but no more than anyone else. Like, you know, like... everyone's just kind of weird at that time. His mood did seem to be easily affected by his situation though. We now call that being in your feels, but you know, he just kind of took every blow as a roller coaster.
00:12:30
Speaker
James's father was a very successful farmer and left James quite a bit of money when he passed. As you can assume, he was pretty thrilled about this. um In August of 1805, he moved his family out from Bowdoinham, Maine,
00:12:45
Speaker
to Augusta, Maine, and he settled a new farm about a mile from the Maine village. Everything seemed to be going well, and James was in good spirits about their new situation. But as they settled into their first summer, his mood quickly started to change.
00:13:00
Speaker
The area was plagued with an unusual drought, and James started mentioning to his neighbors how concerned he was about the survival of his farm, his family, his animals, all the whole season. He just didn't think they were going to quite make it.
00:13:15
Speaker
He just seemed like he was getting more and more depressed about their lack of success on the new farm in general. So things started getting weird when James's 15-year-old daughter, Martha, stated that one Sunday she had found her father hastily writing a letter.
00:13:31
Speaker
When he realized she was there, he quickly put it away. She asked him what he was writing and he replied, nothing, and immediately asked her to fetch his butcher's knife, stating he wanted to sharpen it.
00:13:43
Speaker
Nope. She gave it to him. um And he proceeded to sharpen it very sharp. He then stood in front of the mirror and with his left hand pulled at his throat, preparing to slice his own throat right there in front of his child. Oh, my God.
00:13:57
Speaker
Martha, of course, is terrified at this point, realizing what's about to happen. And she screams out, quote, Dada, what are you doing? end quote. He calmly said nothing and then put the knife away.
00:14:11
Speaker
When her mother Betsy came back from running errands, Martha told her about what she had seen her father doing. This prompts Betsy to dig around his desk the next day to see if she can find the letter.
00:14:23
Speaker
She does find the letter and sees it is addressed to his brother. And it says this, quote, Augusta, July 1806. Dear brother, these lines is to let you know that I am going a long journey, and I would have you sell what I have, and put it out to interest, and put out my boys to trades, or send them to sea.
00:14:44
Speaker
I cannot see the distress of my family. God only knows my distress. I would have put Nathaniel to Uncle Purrington to a Tanner's trade. I want James to go to school, until sufficient to attend in a store.
00:14:56
Speaker
Benjamin to a blacksmith's trade, or to what you think is best. but be sure to give them learning. If it takes all, divide what is left, for I am no more. James Purrington.
00:15:08
Speaker
End quote. So this letter obviously concerned Betsy, pretty but yeah pretty pretty bad it's 1806 she's pregnant female living in rural Maine with eight kids and her husband their only source of income this farm is not doing so great and it sounds like her husband's making a lot of plans for her and like maybe he's not going to be around much longer paired with what Martha states she saw Betsy starts panicking and around dinner time James finds Betsy sitting in the barn crying Of course, he would wait until dinner time to go looking for her.
00:15:41
Speaker
Right. oh yeah. So she tells him what she's found out and how concerning this all looks. But he assures her that he has no plans to kill himself. He just had a bad feeling that his end was near and he really wanted to be sure the family would be taken care of. And he just so happened to meet his demise.
00:15:58
Speaker
So. It's thought that this interaction with his wife and the previous one with his daughter is when he decided that he was going to do this. He was, he was just going to take his whole family with him instead.
The Tragic Purrington Incident
00:16:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:16:13
Speaker
Quote, this is what the jury ended up saying, believing they would thus lose their sorrows, suffer, but, but a momentary paying and be with him eternally happy. on the of 1806,
00:16:26
Speaker
eighteen oh six Around 2 a.m., one of Captain James Purrington's neighbors, Mr. Dean Wyham, was awakened by James's oldest son, also named James.
00:16:37
Speaker
James seemed to be very panicked and was incoherently trying to explain that something horrible was going on at his house and he needed help. Mr. Wyham immediately called another neighbor, Mr. Jonathan Ballard, to come and check out the house with him.
00:16:52
Speaker
So together, the two neighbors headed over to the house to see if they could make any sense of what James Jr. is freaking out about. They light a candle and they head in through the front door and they're greeted by a Bible laid open on the table to Ezekiel chapter nine.
00:17:06
Speaker
It is said that James senior was up most of the night reading his Bible before the event that proceeds in reading back where he left the Bible open. They were concerned that he may have been inspired to take action when he got to this point in the Bible.
00:17:19
Speaker
It talks about being inspired by God to take up arms and slay the wicked people of Jerusalem for their idolatry and wickedness. A direct quote from the section of the Bible states, quote, And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city and smite.
00:17:36
Speaker
Let not your eyes spare, neither have ye pity. Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children and women. But come not near any man whom is the mark and begin my at my sanctuary.
00:17:49
Speaker
Then they began at ancient men, which were before the house. And he said unto them, defile the house and fill the courts with the slain. Go ye forth. And they went forth and slew in the city.
00:18:00
Speaker
ah This is a quote from chapter nine, line stanzas five through seven for Ezekiel. So that's dark. Yes. That's really, that's why I'm afraid of religion.
00:18:13
Speaker
I feel that a lot of words that can be interpreted a lot of ways, a lot of ways. So upon entering this house, they see the Bible laid to this passage and notice that there is blood and gore and everywhere, all over the house.
00:18:27
Speaker
I will have some quotes from the pamphlet I cited earlier peppered into here. Warning, this is where it starts to get really graphic and we really get into some gnarling stuff involving children. So if that is a problem for you, please skip ahead.
00:18:42
Speaker
I don't know how long, just skip, just keep going. So in the outer room lay prostrate on his face and weltering in his gore, the perpetrator of the dreadful deed, his throat cut in the most shocking manner and the bloody razor lying on the table by his side.
00:18:56
Speaker
Next to James Sr. was the other weapon he used on his family, a bloody axe. And in the room with him were his two youngest son, Nathaniel, aged eight, and Nathan, aged six, in bed with their throats cut.
00:19:07
Speaker
Oh my god. In the adjoining bedroom was his pregnant wife, Betsy, laid out on her bed. Her head was almost severed completely from her body. And near her on the floor, her 10-year-old daughter, Anna, was found to be dead as well.
00:19:20
Speaker
It's believed she likely heard what was happening in there and went in to try to help her mother. In the other room, in one bed, three of the girls were found. Polly, age 19, Martha, age 15, and Louisa, age 18 months.
00:19:32
Speaker
and lua aged eighteen months Oh, Paulie, the oldest of the girls was, quote, most dreadfully butchered. Martha was found to be severely wounded and reclining her head on the body of her now deceased infant sister, Luisa, and quote, in a state of indescribable horror and almost total insensibility, end quote. She unfortunately did later pass from her injuries.
00:19:59
Speaker
But because of her ah survival, we know a lot of what happened in the house when the son had left. Is she the only one who survived-ish? Until... Well, the son who went to get help.
00:20:11
Speaker
But yeah, she ended up passing. In the final room by the fireplace was Benjamin, age 12, in a horrible state. He had fallen with his trousers under one arm as he was trying to escape and left a bloody handprint on the fireplace where he attempted to catch himself.
00:20:26
Speaker
From the appearance of the wounds on most of the family, it is believed James Sr. initially intended on severing the heads from all of the bodies, except for the two youngest and the infant whose throats he cut with a razor, the same one he used on himself.
00:20:39
Speaker
The oldest daughter, Polly, and second son, Benjamin, received many wounds in various parts of the body, which are assumed to have been caused by resistance to the attack, so they were awake when it happened.
00:20:51
Speaker
James, age 17, the son who escaped, says, quote, He was awakened by the distressing and piercing cries of his mother and involuntarily shrieking himself. He leapt from his bed and ran towards the door of his apartment.
00:21:05
Speaker
Here he was met by his father with an axe in hand. The moon shone bright who struck him and he was so near him that the axe passed over his shoulder and one corner of it entered his back making a slight wound.
00:21:19
Speaker
His father then struck at him once, twice, missed him. And this moment, the younger brother, who slept in the same bed with him, jumped from it and attempted to get out the door. To prevent this, the father immediately attacked him and the eldest son then escaped through the back door.
00:21:34
Speaker
During this dreadful conflict, not one word was uttered. Oh my God. End quote.
00:21:42
Speaker
Martha, aged 15, who I mentioned was severely wounded and later ended up passing from her injuries, recounted the following, quote, she was awakened by the blows on her sister, which extremely terrified her. And she instantly endeavored to shield her head with the bedclothes and immediately after received a blow on the side of her head, winding up herself still more in the bedclothes and turning her head. She received another blow on the back of it, which was followed by a third on her arm.
00:22:09
Speaker
Her father then left her. though at the time she did not know or suspect who it was. She remembers laying her head over the edge of the bed and hearing, to use her own expression, the blood run like a brook upon the floor, that she felt the blood from her sister's wounds and was convinced she was dead, and that she scarcely dared breathe for fear that she should be killed.
00:22:31
Speaker
She recollects nothing more till she heard the voices of her neighbors who found her, and as they came closer, she exclaimed, Glory to God, and added, Do kill me again. End quote.
00:22:44
Speaker
I told you it was Tark. I'm so sorry. You were a face right now. It's a lot.
Community's Response to the Tragedy
00:22:50
Speaker
Wow. So even though it was apparent that James Sr. had committed all the murders, there was still a jury trial that convicted him of the murder of his wife and his children.
00:23:01
Speaker
And he was convicted of the felony of killing himself as well, which I feel like was overkill. Not like that. Yeah. I mean, after this conviction, the selectmen took charge of the bodies. They placed the bodies of Betsy and her children in the meeting house and the body of James senior was left on the porch.
00:23:21
Speaker
Just on the porch. Yes. The next day, the funeral procession was held with many people in attendance. The bodies of Betsy and her children were carried by Paul bears to the graveside and proceeded by the surviving son and other relatives.
00:23:34
Speaker
At the end of the procession in a cart was the body of captain Purrington with the bloody ax and razor laid on his coffin. The bodies of Betsy and her children were buried in the common burying grounds while Captain Partington was buried outside of the cemetery and on the other side of the bridge. yeah With him, they buried his instruments of death, the axe and razor that he used to murder his family.
00:23:54
Speaker
Okay, so that's how you get an armed zombie. Oh, yeah, that's not a good idea. Fair enough. I think it's poetic that he was buried with his weapons. Yeah, i do think it's weird that he was buried with his weapons.
00:24:08
Speaker
But yeah, they haven't seen enough zombie movies. I mean, it was 1806. I don't think they saw any movies. Right, right. Yes. Probably. So that's the end of that. Oh.
00:24:21
Speaker
You just don't think... I mean, 1805. I mean, honestly, like, I could see someone getting really, really fed up with things at that time. Like, I mean, now, but like...
00:24:33
Speaker
Well, and I suppose it's easier to cover stuff up. But also, if you're taking yourself out with them, that's just insane to me. Well, it seemed like he was ready to do it on his own and just, you know, but in front of his daughter, like, that's crazy.
00:24:46
Speaker
Well, obviously, he did seem a little bit unwell. Yeah. Yes. Yes, he did seem unwell. And so there's there's no I mean, obviously, 1805. It's not 1806, 7.
00:24:57
Speaker
Mental health care is not. Yeah, no, I really i don't. an Established or anything that is um there's there's not a lot of positive there yet. I did also find it odd that in like the letter, he was like, do all this for my sons and divide the rest. But like, what about his pregnant wife?
00:25:15
Speaker
Or maybe he was planning on taking her with him the whole time. Well, and a no, not if he killed himself right there and then. Females are property at that point, especially. I mean, it's not... they They can't own shit in most cases, so I mean, if that's if that's the worst of the things he did.
00:25:34
Speaker
i mean, obviously, I feel it's obvious that he was mentally unwell. And how else can you justify taking everybody with you when you're at your wits end? Yeah, especially as like a way of like, well, they won't suffer as much if I take them with me now. Like that that's quite a decision to make. That's awfully...
00:25:55
Speaker
That is like the most narcissistic. yeah I don't want them to mourn me, so I'm going to murder them instead. yeah Fucking asshole.
00:26:09
Speaker
So your story kind of makes mine really inappropriate. Why?
Evolution of Slasher Films
00:26:14
Speaker
We're going to be talking about the evolution of slasher movies today. Okay. I can see that being a dude The timing is not great. If you require...
00:26:25
Speaker
A break. A palate cleanser, if you will. and Now's a good time to pause it and come back here in a bit and and then listen to ah fictional amount of slashing. So my horror consumption has primarily been slashers lately.
00:26:39
Speaker
It started as a plan to write a podcast episode about something slasher adjacent. That shockingly will be another episode later. Oh my god. From the early horror movies that inspired classic slashers through the 80s golden era, when Scream changed everything, and so many that have come out since the turn of the century, I've just been watching more and more and have been having the best time.
00:27:01
Speaker
Have you seen all the Screams or just... I have seen all of the Screams. I only saw one, the first one. I have a lot to talk about with Scream, but not today in a different episode where we can talk afterwards.
00:27:12
Speaker
Horror and comedy is to me like peanut butter and jelly. And slashers almost always have some camp and humor to them. So i don't like peanut butter and jelly. I like i like butter and jelly. It's like butter and jelly.
00:27:25
Speaker
but They go perfect. oh yeah The camp that goes into the slashers is usually what draws me to them anyways. ah oh like the trip and fall and like the tropes. yeah So many things. So many things about them, whether they're, i mean, usually they're intentionally hilarious, even if they aren't comedy. I don't know. There's there's a lot of laughs to be had in messed up, fucked up ways.
00:27:48
Speaker
And then especially with slashers from the 70s and 80s, the practical effects, I just live for them. This may seem morbid as hell, but seeing the creative slasher kills is so much fun to me. And I feel so gross saying that after everything you just said.
00:28:02
Speaker
and But I know it's fake. I know no one's getting hurt. But the creativity and ingenuity involved with the practical effects just astounds me. I love seeing just any examples of of stuff that was just done with things and not CG. It's one of my favorite things.
00:28:15
Speaker
Oh yeah, i love looking at sound effects too. Yes! Oh my god, the things that they do to make sounds. it's it that's That's an episode on its own. And like with most other horror, obviously there's parts that are just plain bad, but they always do at least one thing really well. Anyways, I'll stop trying to convince everyone I'm not a psychopath for loving slasher movies.
00:28:35
Speaker
And just take a stab at exploring how slashers have evolved over the years. Okay. So the proto slasher era is where the seeds of the slasher genre were planted before it had a name, before Michael Myers put on the mask, before teens were slaughtered for partying in the woods.
00:28:51
Speaker
These early films weren't slashers in the strictest sense, but they laid the stylistic, thematic and structural foundation for what the slasher would eventually become. Think of them as the creepy ancestors of Jason, Freddy, and Ghostface.
00:29:05
Speaker
Quieter, sometimes classier, but no less sinister. Alfred Hitchcock, one of the most influential figures in modern horror, gave us Psycho in 1960. It was horror that focused on the psychological instead of the supernatural.
00:29:18
Speaker
It gave us the troubled villain with mommy issues and a knife. The lack of a supernatural element made it all the more terrifying. The movie Peeping Tom, also from 1960, gave us the mechanic of the camera showing he was filming his victim's death, but it was our first view of the POV of the killer, yeah like the killer cam. And that was obviously a staple of classic slashers.
00:29:39
Speaker
Terrified from 1962, Blood and Black Lace from 1962, and Night of Violence all also featured masked killers. Is Chucky considered Yes.
00:29:50
Speaker
Chucky is a slasher. Well, okay. Because it's not a masked killer. This is true. But a slasher. Yeah, I can see that. Yeah, yeah, for sure. So proto-slasher weren't yet following the rules, because the rules didn't really exist yet.
00:30:02
Speaker
But they invented the language that slashers would eventually speak. They gave us the voyeuristic camera. Mm-hmm. The repressed killer, the vulnerable heroine, and the suspenseful personal violence.
00:30:15
Speaker
Think of proto-slashers as the genre's haunted blueprint. Classy, experimental, a little unsettling, even before the body count really started to climb. Moving into the 70s, Italian giallo horror movies added their own innovation to the mix. didn't even think about that.
00:30:30
Speaker
Yeah, it was not even on my radar as slasher situation, and my research into this just... unlocked a lot of really cool movies. Giallo films are often overlooked by casual fans, but like me, well, I guess, whatever.
00:30:44
Speaker
Whatever casual. Are often overlooked by casual fans, but are essential to understanding how the genre evolved. So Giallo is yellow in Italian, originally referred to the yellow covered pulp crime novels published in Italy starting in the Hmm.
00:31:00
Speaker
These books featured mysteries filled with murder, sex, and suspense, essentially Italian pulp fiction. By the 60s and 70s, the term giallo had been adopted to describe a distinct style of Italian thriller horror film that drew from those novels.
00:31:14
Speaker
These weren't traditional detective stories. They were bloody, stylish, and surreal nightmares that fused mystery with graphic violence and erotic imagery. Typical giallo film elements included a master gloved killer, typically a mystery until near the end,
00:31:30
Speaker
elaborate murder set pieces often using sharp close-range weapons a whodunit structure where a protagonist often an outsider or amateur sleuth is trying to uncover the killer's identity which is that's usually where you get a lot of the funny stuff because you're like really that's how we're that's where we're discovering this okay right right or just stumbling on a thing A striking visual style, including bold color palettes, dramatic lighting, and ah unusual camera angles. Oh, yeah.
00:31:57
Speaker
And then psychosexual themes with twisted motives tied to trauma, obsession, or repressed desires. Mario Bava's Bay of Blood from 1971 took the proto slasher and made it stylish and kind of artsy.
00:32:08
Speaker
The plot was overshadowed by the elaborate kills, one of which was copied directly in Friday the 13th, the first one. American filmmakers were influenced by this. They took the style and added more violence and gore.
00:32:20
Speaker
Friday of the 13th, Halloween, and Scream all took elements of GLO movies and set the standard for them being employed with abandoned and American slashers. Here's a image of the Bay of Blood and Friday the 13th.
00:32:32
Speaker
Oh yeah. Murder that was copied. Yes. Bay of Blood was that fucking rad. I haven't seen that one. I had not either. And it's a new favorite. It's really cool. It'll come up again at Nightmare Fuel.
00:32:43
Speaker
So many will credit Black Christmas from 1974 with being the first modern slasher. Fun fact, this movie was directed by Bob Clark, who also directed A Christmas Story. ah That's funny. got range. Yeah.
00:32:56
Speaker
Black Christmas featured a sorority house during winter holiday where the residents were getting picked off one by one. This was the first time that element was really added to the the rule list for slashers. So now we shall follow this bloody trail to the eighties and the golden age of the slasher full of carnage and camp.
00:33:13
Speaker
If the seventies were about style and suspense, the eighties were about kills. Yeah. The slasher genre exploded like a blood filled pinata, giving rise to an avalanche of franchises, masked murderers and scream queens.
00:33:25
Speaker
It really kicked off with John Carpenter's Halloween from 1978. This is the film that codified the slasher formula. ah Michael Myers, with his emotionless white mask and heavy breathing, became the boogeyman for a generation. but We add in Jamie Lee Curtis as the ultimate final girl, add an amazingly haunting synth score,
00:33:43
Speaker
And Carpenter's use of suspense over or gore, and you have a masterpiece that inspired a thousand imitators. And imitate they did. Friday the 13th from 1980 doubled down on the violence and added the summer camp setting.
00:33:56
Speaker
Nothing says murder like marshmallows and hormonal counselors. A Nightmare on Elm Street from 1984 brought in Freddy Krueger. We've discussed him quite a bit on the pod. A wisecracking demon who has made the genre weirdly fun again.
00:34:09
Speaker
It was cheesy and terrifying in equal measure. 80s slashers were formulated, but they were also creative playgrounds for special effects artists and low-budget directors. Did you happen to watch Cheaper's Creepers for your...
00:34:21
Speaker
I had did not rewatch that one, but I have seen It's just been a lot of years. Like I saw it in the theater. and i I don't know. Well, I guess that one isn't masked. He just looks weird. Well, the masked bit is not necessary. it's It's masked or mysterious somehow.
00:34:38
Speaker
So the main tropes associated with the genre are the final girl, who is usually virginal or morally pure. The expendable best friend, who's usually either comic relief or really easy to hate.
00:34:50
Speaker
A high kill count. And the morality play. Have you had sex? Die. Have you done drugs? Die. Well, were you a virgin? Then you'd die sometimes, too. Well, usually as long you- Actually, you're right. The virgins were usually saved. Yeah.
00:35:04
Speaker
They were pure of heart. Yeah. Yeah. I have a whole thing about that, too, but that's another episode. By the mid-80s, slashers were so successful that they essentially burned themselves out. Mm-hmm.
00:35:17
Speaker
Sequels, rip-offs, and parody-level ridiculousness, such as Sleepaway Camp, led to audience fatigue. By the early 90s, the genre was gasping for air until Wes Craven brought it all back.
00:35:28
Speaker
So now we're going to talk about Scream from 1996.
Scream's Influence on the Genre
00:35:31
Speaker
You're familiar you with Scream? Yes. You said you've watched the first one. Okay. So Scream was a slasher movie that knew it was a slasher movie.
00:35:39
Speaker
And that opened up slashers and horror in general. The characters were aware of slasher tropes. They had seen horror movies and they understood the rules, but they got murdered anyways, because knowing the rules doesn't mean you beat the game.
00:35:51
Speaker
Ghostface, the film's masked killer became an instant icon. The movie's solid dialogue, inventive scares and genuine mystery reinvigorated the genre and launched a new wave of self-aware slashers. Like I know what you did last summer, urban legend and cherry falls. Yeah.
00:36:08
Speaker
I loved urban legend. That was one I wanted to watch before I did this. Urban Legend and Disturbing Behavior, which I don't think was... I think that one was... It was not the Slasher. I think that one was Aliens or something. I don't know. I don't remember, but I wanted to rewatch. I'd forgotten all about these like late 90s, early 2000s horror movies that came out.
00:36:26
Speaker
But yeah, good stuff there. Things got pretty dark in the 2000s. Gritty remakes and reboots of the big three. Halloween, Friday of the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Along with the torture porn um of the likes of Hostel and Saw, pushed traditional slashers to the side for a bit.
00:36:42
Speaker
There were still some hidden gems that landed in the slasher genre, such as High Tension from 2003, Behind the Mask, The Rise of Leslie Vernon from 2006, and one of my personal favorites, Trick or Treat from 2007.
00:36:54
Speaker
It's also worth mentioning that zombies had a chokehold on mainstream horror movement in the 2000s, so a lot of the talent was busy elsewhere. Yeah, lots and lots of lots of zombie movies from that time.
00:37:05
Speaker
Modern slashers, roughly from the mid 2010s to the present, take the familiar tropes of masked killers, final girls, isolated setting and update them for contemporary audiences.
Modern Slasher Films and Representation
00:37:16
Speaker
These movies reflect our current anxieties, identity, trauma, toxic fandom, social media, generational divides. And crucially, they often push for greater representation in gender, race, sexuality, and class.
00:37:29
Speaker
The focus on trauma is very clear. For example, in the 2018 requel of Halloween picks up 40 years after the original. Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis still, is no longer just a survivor. She is a damaged, gun-toting recluse survivor.
00:37:46
Speaker
preparing for Michael Myers return. The film is as much about PTSD and survivalism as it is about stabbing. Horror comedy is on the rise. Happy Death Day from 2017 is a mashup of Groundhog Day and a college campus slasher. And it's somehow funny and charming.
00:38:02
Speaker
Freaky from 2020. It's like a body swap. It's like a a mix between Freaky Friday and Friday the 13th. It's a body swap of a teen girl with a serial killer played by Vince Vaughn. I've never seen that one.
00:38:14
Speaker
It's super cute. I recommend it. They're clever and fun. and And, you know, they kind of have their own twist, which is is fun. Then there's X, Pearl, and Maxine. We've talked about a bit. Ty West's art house meets grindhouse films.
00:38:28
Speaker
They explore fame, aging, and the American dream, all while delivering some gnarly kills. Fear Street, which was originally a YA horror series of novels that I adored as a kid, brought the retro anthology vibe to Netflix.
00:38:41
Speaker
They have actually four Fear Street movies Netflix know what? think did see Fear Street. You had asked me about that the other day and I said no, but I was like, you know what? I think I did. But I had asked you if you had read the books when you were a kid. Oh, got it. But I think we had talked about the movies at some point too.
00:38:54
Speaker
Yeah. Still haven't seen Jawbreaker. I still haven't seen Jawbreaker. You're correct. You know what? I'm on such a kick of watching movies. I will, ah I'll try to run into that before we hang out next.
00:39:05
Speaker
Some slashers, like The Rental from 2020, show as horrors baked into our modern world. If you wanted to add terror to your vacation booking process, you should check that one out. Yep, that's why I don't stay at Airbnbs.
00:39:18
Speaker
Me and Monkey are working. We're trying to plan our anniversary trip right now. And usually the first thing I do is I go and check all those out and look for something cool. But we'll see. We'll see how things go.
00:39:32
Speaker
And of course, Scream made yet another comeback with Scream 2022 and Scream 6 from 2023. Now commenting on requels and franchise fatigue. It's the snake eating its own tail, but with a butcher's knife.
00:39:46
Speaker
Modern slashers are diverse, self-aware, and often more inclusive than their predecessors. Final girls can now be final guys. Killers are no longer one size fits all. The genre is it's still evolving.
00:39:57
Speaker
So why do slasher films still endure? It's because they're primal. They tap into our deepest fears. Being hunted, being punished, being alone. but they also give a structure.
00:40:09
Speaker
We know someone will die. We know someone will survive. And somewhere along the way, we'll get a good scream or laugh out of it. Slashers evolve with us. From Hitchcock's suspense to Giallo's flair, from the 80s bloodbath to the 90s meta commentary, from the gritty reboots to the stylings of indies today, slashers reflect our anxieties, our taboos, our changing values.
00:40:31
Speaker
Also, let's be honest, it's really fun to watch people make terrible decisions in really oddly specific scenarios. Yes. And that's the evolution of the slasher.
Closing Remarks and Contact Info
00:40:41
Speaker
love that.
00:40:42
Speaker
That was a good one. I tried really hard to not just make it a list of watch all of these things. Yeah. So i've I've been watching a ton of slashers for this and it's been just awesome.
00:40:54
Speaker
I think it's interesting because I mean, i feel like the idea of what is slasher is evolving on its own as well. Like you said, 100%. Yeah. Do you have nightmare field today?
00:41:06
Speaker
I do not. I do because I watched 900 billion movies. So I narrowed it down to two movies and one book. Okay. Which is a trilogy, but whatever. so books.
00:41:20
Speaker
The first movie I am recommending is Bay of Blood. i I had not seen this. It was not at all what I was expecting, but it it it was so clever with its mystery and the kills were really interesting. And I don't want to say too much about it because it like the the mystery is definitely a thing within it, but it it it was very cool, very watchable.
00:41:43
Speaker
The dubbing is okay. It's an Italian movie, of course. Yeah. So... um But I think I watched it on Prime. I don't think I paid for it. I think it was like on my with my subscription. The next one I'm going to recommend is Ready or Not.
00:41:56
Speaker
That one is a modern one. It's about this woman who's getting married. She's getting married into like a really crazy rich family. And her husband tries to convince her not to do it.
00:42:09
Speaker
Like, let's just run away and elope. It's whatever. but she's like, no, I want to do this. And so she gets married and they have to play a game the night anybody comes into the family.
00:42:20
Speaker
And that might be chess or checkers or whatever, but it might also be hide and seek. And if it's hide and seek, the family thinks that they have to murder her before the end of the day or in the end of the night by sunrise.
00:42:32
Speaker
And why is it specifically hide and seek? You have to watch the movie to see, but it was, it was a lot of fun. It was a really smart slasher and I recommended a lot.
00:42:44
Speaker
And then the book I recommend, um I'm actually, I'll just recommend the first of the series. I won't, ah you know, it's My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones. I've recommended his books already before, but it's about a girl who kind of, she she is fixated on slashers and the rules of slashers. And she was expecting a slasher to hit her small mountain town at any time. And it's everything that kind of goes with that.
00:43:08
Speaker
But it's a trilogy, which means the first, second and third follow the rules of trilogies, right? You know, the the sequel has certain rules and the the final movie of the trilogy has certain rules. So it it really, it kind of follows the Scream rules for that. So...
00:43:29
Speaker
you have a palate cleanser? I have palate cleanser. Oh look at you. Come in prepared. I know, so unlike me.
00:43:37
Speaker
So I have a few would you rathers and they are slasher focused. Okay. Would you rather? No. Okay.
00:43:49
Speaker
Sweet dreams. Okay. Would you rather be trapped in a cabin in the woods with a masked killer outside? Okay, you're a bitch because I'm literally about to go to a cabin in the woods in three days.
00:44:03
Speaker
Love you, mean it. be stuck in a high school during detention with a killer hiding outside. Oh, definitely the high school during detention. He's outside. if The killer's hiding outside. Okay.
00:44:19
Speaker
Would you rather be the final girl but lose all of your friends along the way or be the first to die but have the most iconic kill scene in horror history?
00:44:30
Speaker
and feel like I know how you're going answer this one. Yeah, I want to live. So you're going to... I'm going to be the final girl. Everyone else can die. Yeah. ah Sorry about you.
00:44:42
Speaker
but That means I'm going to move up the last question to now. Okay. Would you rather face a supernatural serial killer who can't be stopped like Freddie or Jason or face a totally normal human killer, but it turns out to be me?
00:44:55
Speaker
Yeah, that one. Because you can take me. I don't know if I could take you, but I think it would be really dramatic. Yeah. Yes, it would be. We should write this. all right Our final kill scene.
00:45:06
Speaker
And last one. Would you rather have to unmask the killer Scooby-Doo style before they get you? Yes. Or know exactly who the killer is, but no one believes you? No, the Scooby-Doo thing. The Scooby-Doo thing. Definitely. Because that's, I always thought that was so funny.
00:45:21
Speaker
Who did a parody of that? I think there's been a couple of parodies. Oh, I'm sure. Yeah. But it's so funny. Like they try and it's just like, it's their hair and they're trying to like rip off their hair and they're like, bro. Yeah.
00:45:34
Speaker
That's all I brought you today. and love it Yeah, no, that one was really good. I like the the evolution of the slasher. But yeah, you're right. There's so many movies I haven't thought about in such a long time.
00:45:46
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So I'm going to be continuing this trend because there's still 11 billion of them either haven't seen or would love to rewatch. So I'm sure that my nightmare fuel will be very full for the next little while. We'll see you again ah on the next one.
00:46:03
Speaker
Sweet dreams. If you have topic requests, book or movie recommendations, or just want to say hi, email us at nightmarecottage at gmail.com or visit our website at nightmarecottage.com.
00:46:15
Speaker
Sweet dreams.
00:46:19
Speaker
Bye-bye.