Horror isn’t just a genre; it’s an amalgamation of pop culture, cozy traditions, and things that go bump in the night. This year, we're taking our 31 Days of Horror across the entire cultural spectrum. We’ll be taking a look at movies that scare us, games that kept us paranoid, scary books we cozy up with under blankets, music that sets that spooky tone and seasonal food we’re craving–or strange food you’d have to tie us up and force feed us. Whether you’re looking for something truly terrifying or a cozy autumn haunt, come back every day this month for a new bite-sized review or spooky adjacent list. Star Trek isn’t necessarily known for being scary, but there are a few episodes that are genuinely creepy. I mean, the first aired episode of Star Trek was “The Man Trap” which was a creature feature about a salt vampire that can appear as different people while stalking and killing Enterprise crew members. The Original Series even had an overt horror episode in “Catspaw” which featured a gothic mansion, a giant cat, and ghosts–with Kirk using his masculine wiles to get the upper hand, of course. But I wanted to figure out what the scariest Star Trek episodes were. And I’m not talking about “Sub Rosa” and its sexually charged ghost–a ghost that went on to play Shakaar in Deep Space Nine, by the way. These are the 5 scariest Star Trek episodes. Screenshot: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 5: “All Those who Wander” Strange New Worlds. While Voyager attempted an Aliens-like story with “Macrocosm,” it was miles behind “All Those Who Wander.” Trapped on a frozen disabled ship the crew of the Enterprise have to survive mutating Gorn hatchlings in a visceral survival thriller. Its high production values help drive home the scares–and how terrifying the Gorn can be. It’s also an episode that taught us that not all of the Enterprise crew and/or cast regulars are safe. Screenshot: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 4. “Empok Nor” Deep Space Nine I don’t always like the trope where a character is forced to do bad things because of mind control or some other mind altering reason, but despite that being a main plot point for “Empok Nor” there are a few reasons it works here. For one: the person affected is (alleged) Cardassian Spy Garak, who uses all of his knowledge he acquired in the Obsidian Order to play a deadly cat and mouse game with Miles O’Brien and the other Starfleet offiders. It shows Andrew Robinson’s range, and how scary he can be as the “simple tailor” Garak. Screenshot: Star Trek: The Next Generation 3. “Schisms” The Next Generation This is an episode that lives in my head, rent free. This episode leans heavily into the alien abduction vibes. Several crew members have a shared, traumatic memory that they have to piece together to discover the disturbing truth. There are a few freaky moments in episodes of The Next Generation, but none are quite as unsettling as “Schisms.” Its most famous scene has affected crew members trying to recreate their memory using the holodeck, blindly recreating a cold, clicking alien surgical theater based on their shared subconscious trauma. Screenshot: Star Trek: Enterprise 2. “Impulse” Enterprise “Impulse” is probably remembered for being Star Trek’s take on the zombie genre, and that’s why it’s on this list. The Enterprise crew board a drifting Vulcan ship only to discover the entire crew has been driven into a state of rabid, violent psychosis. Seeing hordes of normally stoic, logical Vulcans reduced to screaming monsters is genuinely scary. Screenshot: Star Trek: Voyager 1. “The Thaw” Voyager. When lists of scariest Star Trek episodes come up, “The Thaw” is usually on it. And for good reason. THe crew of the USS Voyager come across a planet where there are a few colonists in hibernation, but their minds are kept active by a program. It turns out the program has warped into a living nightmare, with “The Clown”--an embodiment of fear played brilliantly by Michael McKean has to match wits against a mostly helpless Voyager crew trying to free their crewmates now trapped in the nightmare. It’s a terrifying premise with an incredibly satisfying (but terrifying in its own way) ending. Star Trek may be built on a foundation of optimism and scientific exploration, but as these episodes prove, the franchise isn't afraid to turn off the lights and lean into pure terror when the story demands it. Whether it's psychological thrillers, haunted space stations, or visceral survival horror, Trek handles the genre surprisingly well. But with over 900 episodes across the franchise, there are bound to be some creepy moments left off this list. Did I miss a genuinely terrifying episode? Does the clicking from "Schisms" still keep you up at night? Let me know your pick for the scariest Star Trek episode in the comments below.

Horror isn’t just a genre; it’s an amalgamation of pop culture, cozy traditions, and things that go bump in the night. This year, we're taking our 31 Days of Horror across the entire cultural spectrum. We’ll be taking a look at movies that scare us, games that kept us paranoid, scary books we cozy up with under blankets, music that sets that spooky tone and seasonal food we’re craving–or strange food you’d have to tie us up and force feed us. Whether you’re looking for something truly terrifying or a cozy autumn haunt, come back every day this month for a new bite-sized review or spooky adjacent list. Slow burn horror movies aren't for everyone. Sometimes that sneaking suspicion that something is gonna happen and it never actually does plays as annoying rather that harrowing. It's hard to find that balance between being withholding and actually making your skin crawl. Watcher is a movie that I had little to no expectations for outside of its star Maika Monroe, whose acting in the incredible It Follows still resonates with me. She portrays Julia, a young American woman who has reallocated to Bucharest, where a serial killer of young woman called "The Spider" roams the streets. What an unfortunate coincidence. With in minutes of starting the film, I was immediately vibing with the look of the film and everyone's fantastic acting. If there is any trope that really bothers me in film, it's people not believing a character. Whether it's their fears, their knowledge, what have you, it's just so annoying to me. Especially when it goes beyond accidental gaslighting. And that is ALL that this movie is about. The anxiety a woman feels walking the street at night alone or being in a subway station with seemingly no one around; further amplified by the isolation of being in a new country where you barely know the language, only to have no one believe you when you feel like you're being stalked. The film plays with all those emotions perfectly, never really getting grating and instead making you feel the isolation of Julia throughout the perfect 96 minute runtime as personally as possible. Another big issue with slow burn horror is that there is a chance that the ultimate moment doesn't live up to all the waiting. And while I can't guarantee everyone will love the film's resolutions, I can say with certainty that it fit the films themes. It's an ending that could have gone overboard or been completely unrealistic, but instead opts for the most satisfying end. If you need something more creepy for your viewing pleasure, Watcher is free at a bunch of places on line.

Horror isn’t just a genre; it’s an amalgamation of pop culture, cozy traditions, and things that go bump in the night. This year, we're taking our 31 Days of Horror across the entire cultural spectrum. We’ll be taking a look at movies that scare us, games that kept us paranoid, scary books we cozy up with under blankets, music that sets that spooky tone and seasonal food we’re craving–or strange food you’d have to tie us up and force feed us. Whether you’re looking for something truly terrifying or a cozy autumn haunt, come back every day this month for a new bite-sized review or spooky adjacent list. Ok, so this is a weird one I know, but bare with me. Viy is a Soviet era gothic horror that is as surreal and liminal as you can get. A trio of seminary students get lost in the countryside and one of them, Khoma, becomes the target of witch. The film follows the student as he escapes the clutches of the witch (who shape shifts between an old hag and a young woman) , seemingly kills her, and is then tasked with praying over her body for 3 days. Seems simple enough, but this is a spooky movie baby! Those three days are filled with some of the craziest imagery you'll ever see. While the film was made in the 60s, so much of it feels uniquely modern. The visual effects are wonderfully odd and well done, really sucking you into the madness this dead, dying, tricking witch subjects Khoma to. Wild composite shots that look as clean and realistic as possible, disgusting hellish creatures, and just plain old kooky insanity. There isn't much plot to grab on to beyond that, so if logical progression or complex story is what you're after this one may not be for you. But if you want beautiful thrill ride that feels like a stage play gone awry, then this might be your bag. It runs just shy of 80 minutes and is pure madness, soviet style. Get your mind in the right place and jump into the Viy madness! The film is avialable to stream plenty of places for free on Tubi, YouTube and more on Just Watch

Horror isn’t just a genre; it’s an amalgamation of pop culture, cozy traditions, and things that go bump in the night. So this year, we're taking our 31 Days of Horror across the entire cultural spectrum. We aren't just talking about movies—we're talking about the video games that kept us up till 3 AM, the books that gave us chills, the music that sets the perfect eerie vibe, and the seasonal food we're craving—or the strange food you’d have to tie us up and force feed us. Whether you're looking for absolute terror or just a cozy autumn mash-up, come back every day this month for a new bite-sized review or spooky adjacent list. At some point, David Cronenberg took a weird left turn with his directing. That's saying something for the man whose name is synonymous with body horror and surrealistic imagery. However strange and gross his films got, there was a balance in his early films, particularly when it came to the acting. There was a very, for lack of a better word, mainstream acting style throughout his films with small dalliances into much stranger, maybe stiffer, choices. That balance seemingly when out the window around this film, Existenz. Existenz centers around Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Lea), a video game developer embarking on a new release that promises to be a singular immersive experience. During a demonstration of the game an assassination attempt by anti-video game extremists causes damage to her game console, which just so happens to be an organic based machine, sending Allegra and one of the event security guards Ted Pikul (Jude Law) on the run in search of sanctuary. Right off the bat, the film is not a satire. Existenz is riffing on ideas of video games =bad, like how they take over peoples lives, desensitization of people via video game violence, and toxic fandom well before these themes became well worn territory. But instead of harping on these ideas, it's more concerned with being a disorienting rollercoaster of blood and guts. All the best Cronenberg trademarks are all here! Gross organic guns, disgusting insect like monstrosities, a complete dissolve between what's real and what's not, and lets not for get the guns made of bones! Oh, did I mention that already? Well they're there and they are fucked up! (seriously though Cronenberg loves his biological weapons) The film came out in 1999, a major year in film history. Had Existenz come out later it would be seen as inspired by The Matrix, another film that plays with reality. Had it come out early it would have been ahead of its time, setting the stage for the Wachowski's film. Instead it came out a couple weeks after The Matrix, overshadowed by it completely. Which is a shame, but honestly I don;'t think there exists a reality where Existenz gets the credit it deserves. Back to my thoughts on the acting, everyone in Existenz feels like they're NPCs, which I guess is kinda the point. But that can be off putting to people who aren't used to stylistic choices that can be alienating. However as a fan of directors Yorgos Lanthimos and Wes Anderson, whose acting directions is often well beyond the "realistic" edge people are comfortable with nowadays, Existenz feels like another weird slice of outlandish presentation. Head over to Just Watch to see where this fantastic mind fuck of a movie is streaming! Vinegar Syndrome recently released a 4K copy of it, but it is insanely OOP . Off to eBay i suppose (don't actually do that).

Horror isn’t just a genre; it’s an amalgamation of pop culture, cozy traditions, and things that go bump in the night. This year, we're taking our 31 Days of Horror across the entire cultural spectrum. We’ll be taking a look at movies that scare us, games that kept us paranoid, scary books we cozy up with under blankets, music that sets that spooky tone and seasonal food we’re craving–or strange food you’d have to tie us up and force feed us. Whether you’re looking for something truly terrifying or a cozy autumn haunt, come back every day this month for a new bite-sized review or spooky adjacent list. When I first saw Ready or Not, I was completely entranced by its completely absurd brand of horror comedy that follows Samara Weaving as Grace, a young woman on her wedding day as she married into the wealthy Le Domas family. Once the night comes she must play a traditional family game that surprisingly turns into a The Most Dangerous Game riff full of spoilery stuff I won't go into just yet. So, yeah fun!! Ready or Not is downright goofy at times, but maintains it's overarching tone so well throughout. A character may deliver their line in the most over the top campy way but the Radio Silence, the production team behind the film, grounds it with a fantastic dark cinematography and level headed direction. That's pretty much directors y Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett entire MO: make the audience laugh at horrific shit happening on screen. Ready Or Not is filled with plenty of interesting set pieces for fans of very bloody and fun deaths, but never crosses the line into blatantly absurd...til the end where all your shreds of realism you may have had (which you shouldn't have given the insane beating certain characters take) is thrown out the window in wonderful fashion. What makes the film stand tall is that it never eschews the heart of the story: Grace and her resilience. Attempted kill after attempted kill, she mages to weave (pun intended) in and out of every scenario and her magnificent wail will be lauded with the best horror final girls. Go watch it now before I dig into it's sequel later this month! You can see where Ready or Not is streaming over at JustWatch or pick up a physical copy at your preferred retailer (or where you can find it since its kinda hard to find for a reasonable price)

Alright: I'm gonna say something controversial. I don't love hating on things. In fact, I think if you're a good reviewer/critic/journalist, you should be able, most of the time, to find the good in something. I also don't like to yuck someone's yum. Art is objective. Things I hate you might like. After all, a lot of people in Britain don't get peanut butter and jelly. While I think it's insane they'd think the combination would be overly sweet and gross, they think it's insane it wouldn't be. And honestly? For some it might be. I like almost every vegetable and I just don't really get into sweet potatoes. But I'm trying. Sweet potato fries? West African Ground Nut Stew? Two things I really like that feature your friend and maybe mine, the yam. Anyway, this took a rather foodish turn when I didn't mean it to. The point of Hate Watch isn't to watch something TO hate it, it's to examine the reasons why I thought I'd hate it and see if they hold true. I envision this as a sort of "try a thing for a little bit and THEN you can say you hate it or not." And I figure most of the time, I'll end up at least seeing what other people see. And I'm starting with Dancing With the Stars. That's the controversial part, because so many people adore this show. 6.67 million for this season's premiere. That's Friends numbers, friends. To start us off on this journey, here's my limited experience with the show: My mom and grandma loved it, and sometimes I'd sit in the same room and watch a little bit with them. Some seasons, some parts. Mostly not though. So why was I hating? 10 Things (I Think) I Hate About Dancing With The Stars: Shitty covers - Listen, I get the need for covers. I can appreciate the talent of the band. However...I really, really hated the covers in early years. The stars - I don't hate the actual stars, mind you. I just prefer a competition be among people in the field. We'll get to that more later in this list Cheesy hosts - Stupid puns, I love. Sometimes. Cheesy hosts, I tolerate. Less times. Boomer coded - Why have I always felt like this show was not for me? I'm not sure. It's just felt boomer coded the whole time, and I can't exactly put my finger on why I felt that way. Dancing as sport / lack of diverse genres - I love ballroom as much as the next person, but I also love ballet, hip-hop, tap, and a host of other genres. We don't really get that here. And I know, it's not the point, but the point is, I wish it was. Character judges - Ok, lots of shows have that one judge with the catchphrase or the stupid gesture (or all of the above) that's practically a pre-packaged cringe meme, but DWTS? I feel like they're aiming for it. Cheese. So much cheese. Ugh. Yes, ballroom is glitter and glamour and yes, these are celebrities and this is primetime TV for all ages, but holy cheeseballs, Batman. The fall of Alfonso Ribiero. I think they've done him dirty in both this host role and the one on AFV. He could be so much funnier and more personable without the scripted one-liners. Feeling old - either because I don't know who TF some of these people are or because I really do. Or because there's a 90s theme, but it's not a 90s theme, it's "music from the year you were born" theme and MOST OF THEM WERE BORN IN THE 90s." I'm so sorry, pass the Geritol. My parents like it. I am petty. Popularity contest potential : AKA America votes. I don't like that. Cuz it has nothing to do with skill and everything to do with popularity. Unless it doesn't. I have to trust the whole nation for that one though and I have trust issues. So You Think You Can Dance was so much better. There. I said it - But hear me out. Diverse genres. Expert Judges (Ok, Mary Murphy was the meme/character judge but she knew of what she spoke.) Everyone had to dance outside their genre. They were all actually dancers. Was that 10? Oh wow. It's actually 12. It was almost 13 Reasons Why in here. What’s Not Fair: I haven’t actually watched a single season all the way through, and I certainly pretended to watch a season or two with my mom and grandma and scrolled instead. Most of what I hate is assumptions that are based on passing observations and checking in and out of a show that was on in a room whose TV I didn’t control or a YouTube video I was watching. What I’m Gonna Do About It: I’m going to watch the whole damn season. It’s on streaming, so I don’t have to DVR it or be on my couch at a certain time. I have no excuse. Then What: Is it a redemption story or was I right all along? I guess we all find out at the same time. Here’s the thing. I think Bruno isn’t a personality hire. I think he knows a lot more about all the things than the edits imply he does. Kinda like Mary Murphy on SYTYCD or Paula Abdul on American Idol. All actually brilliant, all reduced to memes and catchphrases or oversized gestures. Also - we’ve got Giada De Laurentis and Julia Stiles, and I already missed Danielle Fishel last year. I just…I gotta see if she gets into Julliard. (Yes, I know. She didn’t even go there.)

Now, we could go back and cover the premiere but a premiere is a premiere and to be honest, I hate two night premieres. I hated them with SYTYCD and I hate them with this. Mostly because it’s a lot of filler for a format that’s already got that in spades. On to the first actual week of the competition, after meeting everyone and eliminating Conner Leavitt and Sarah Jane Nader, who I didn’t know before and had not yet formed an attachment to, though it is a bummer that the same-sex pairing was only there for the premiere. Now that we’re in the meat of things, let’s separate the critique into two categories, Hates and Greats. It’s what it sounds like. I’ll list what I’m liking and what I’m still not jiving with. (That is, in fact, a dance joke.) Let’s go! Hates: I do not enjoy Julianne Hough in this role. I also think the wardrobe they choose for her is odd. She feels like a placeholder, and I don’t think that’s on her as a person, but she definitely isn’t winning me over, we’ll put it that way. Vague Themes: I had to look up what viral hits night actually implied. Like, I get the concept of a viral hit, but was this a nod to something each star went viral for, a viral moment on the show, or….something else? Turns out it was something else - though actually kind of all of the above. According to my research, it’s just a nod to trending audio, dance moves, etc. Ok then. As much as I’m a doomscroller I only caught a few of the references. Maybe I am getting old. Host banter: I can appreciate that ballroom is over the top glitz and glamour. In a world covered in sequins and fringe, it’s easy to get a little crazy with it. But the WRITING FOR THE HOSTS. I just wish they’d lay off the cheese even a little bit. Filler: There’s lots of it. I appreciate getting behind the scenes a little bit, but sometimes I feel like it gets to be a little too much. Caricatures: He plays baseball, guys. She’s Italian! I mean, we know who these people are, or they wouldn’t be Stars, right? (Ostensibly, because see above, I am old, and don’t know who everyone is). Still, I feel like we fall back on the big picture of these folks a lot instead of just letting them be people learning dance. Greats: Realistic performances: I mean, the performances are real, but because of some of the hype around the show, I always felt like people were raving about how amaaaazing everyone was right out of the gates. Truth is, for the most part, they’re not. And that’s cool, because it makes you root for them week by week and it really makes it more exciting when they do level up. Levelling up: To expand on that last part - seeing people improve is actually a lot of fun. While I really enjoyed shows like So You Think You Can Dance because everyone was already dancers, it’s nice to see people push beyond their boundaries. Some of these folks really, really never did anything close to ballroom and it shows, but they’re (for the most part) improving. Sorry, Giada. Interesting Special Skills: It’s also kinda fun to see the “stars” inject their personality into it in a non caricatured way - we’ve got models who are great at posing, athletes who can pull off power moves, and even funny folks who can inject humor and levity into what they’re doing. Real Reactions: For all the showbiz of the thing, I do really appreciate seeing the real reactions celebrities have to their performances, even if it’s a little sad sometimes when you know someone knows they didn’t do their best (Sorry again, Giada). These people are in the spotlight for something they DON’T necessarily excel at, and it’s interesting to see them grapple with that. It makes the highs higher and the lows lower. Reframes: I think Bruno is now my favorite judge, weird meme energy aside. His knowledge is obvious and he seems to judge really fairly. Flip side - I think Carrie Ann Inaba might be the easy judge, though I don’t think she’s too bad. Not sure how I feel about all the added content. I guess I’m not in deep enough to want an after party, behind the scenes, and full gamut of social media stuff that tie in. Well, there we go! On a scale of hatin’ to I’m lovin’ it, I’m neutral with a chance of enjoying it. Notable moments: I think Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach killed it with their routine to “Low” which is a sentence I didn’t expect to ever be typing. The thing is though, they figured out how to work with Ezra’s prosthetic in the context of the dance and make him shine for his athleticism and the end result was a really, really great performance. While inclined not to love Jackson Olson because all the banana cheese, he’s growing on me because he’s so into it. I think he’s got a really good ballroom spirit, and he loves to be in the spotlight, and those are two things that lend themself to IRL ballroom goodness. We’ll see what happens for Yacht Rock Week. Yikes.

Screenshot: False Hero My first playthroughs of Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls were special experiences. I never quite knew what was waiting for me behind any given corner. The worlds in both of these games were enigmatic, compelling in a way I hadn't quite experienced in the medium before or since. I didn’t want to keep playing through those brutal challenges just to be a badass hero fighting for whatever the game’s version of “right” was. Instead, I fought through as blindly as my protagonist, trying to discover the nature of the world while entirely misunderstanding—or understanding too late—what “right” and “wrong” even meant. It wasn’t a scripted narrative trick like the twists in Planescape:Torment or Knights of the Old Republic. It was a slow realization born from discovering the truth of the world through my own hard-won battles. Dark Souls condensed discovery and knowledge into a video game, literally translating philosophy into world design and gameplay. False Hero, more than any other Souls game that came after it, has achieved that exact same feeling for me. Screenshot: False Hero False Hero is an action role-playing game. Stepping into this lineage, False Hero casts you as a mysterious figure who discovers a legendary mask—an artifact that allows you to steal enemies’ combat abilities. A spreading eldritch evil known as Death is corrupting the world–spreading literal death across the Kingdom of Wisdom. It’s the perfect bed of narrative ambiguity with the choice of the player to retain the status quo, or allow Death to have its way. Developed over the last 6 years by solo developer ‘Florian’ of Torchlight Games, he is behind the art, music, and game code–without the help of AI. An impressive feat for any game developer, but even more so considering the behemoth of an IP that Torchlight Games pitted themselves against: the Souls series. There have been many imitators that have come before, and those who pick and choose mechanics to create a more soulslike feeling. False Hero is not just a souls inspired game, it is a soulslike–though, like any good homage, developer Torchlight Games takes the formula and plays with it just enough to make it compelling, and unique. Screenshot: False Hero Some of the hallmarks of a soulslike are the risk reward nature. Rest at bonfires, enemies respawn, healing items replenish, etc. It’s all the same here, even down to dodging with i-frames. Bosses sit behind fog walls. And the entire world has a mysterious, dreamlike feeling that no soulslike has quite captured since Demon’s Souls–some of which was even missing in Bluepoint Games’ brilliant remaster. There are some notable differences: if you die, there’s no bloodstain waiting so you can retrieve your body. Instead, you just lose your accumulated upgrade points. These points also aren’t used to upgrade your character so you can manipulate their stats. You, instead, can choose to upgrade abilities and spells you collect from killing monsters. Abilities also replace traditional weapons. You start with a sword attack, and any other attack you gain is from defeating creatures and stealing their weapon arts. Screenshot: False Hero While a lot of games slap a player into a soulslike environment and call it “good enough” developer Torchlight Games has a great sense of what makes a soulslike game good. Enemy placement is difficult, but never feels overly unfair. Bosses are not only difficult, but they are often hinted at through audio, visual or environmental clues–something a lot of soulslike games don’t accomplish as aptly as is done here. Outwardly, False Hero’s biggest departure from the soulslike genre is its art style. Made with a “sort of” fifth generation low fidelity style, it looks like a game I could have played on my PlayStation growing up. This works heavily in the game’s favor. I argue that low res horror games are great because it forces the brain to fill in the blanks where fidelity comes short. I’m not saying that False Hero is a horror game, but it accomplishes a lot of the same effect here, also enhancing the game’s mysterious, dreamlike quality. Enemy design and environments are top notch. Just as the narrative forces you to piece together the truth of the world, the retro aesthetics force your imagination to fill in the visual gaps, deepening the overall sense of ambiguity Screenshot: False Hero False Hero isn’t perfect, as much as I wish it was. It suffers from controls that feel a tiny bit floatier and stiff compared to a true souls title–but only barely. I can tell a lot of work went into making the character’s hits and movement feel just right, and while it’s a game that is great to play, it never feels quite as mechanically satisfying as a Miyazaki directed game. There is also no multiplayer, so if you’re having trouble with a certain boss, all you can do is “git gud.” There are a lot of surprising options, however, like a gauntlet mode and a mode that allows you to fight bosses that you’ve already defeated. I’m going to be keeping an eye on anything Torchlight Games does in the future, because False Hero is a brilliant game. It’s easily in my top games of the year list, and made me feel that sense of wonder that Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls did all those years ago.

Horror isn’t just a genre; it’s an amalgamation of pop culture, cozy traditions, and things that go bump in the night. This year, we're taking our 31 Days of Horror across the entire cultural spectrum. We’ll be taking a look at movies that scare us, games that kept us paranoid, scary books we cozy up with under blankets, music that sets that spooky tone and seasonal food we’re craving–or strange food you’d have to tie us up and force feed us. Whether you’re looking for something truly terrifying or a cozy autumn haunt, come back every day this month for a new bite-sized review or spooky adjacent list. A Night in the Lonesome October isn't just recommended by us - it's also recommended by George R. R. Martin himself! As you might have gathered, during the spooky season we tend to go a little hard here at Culture Combine. I would personally argue that horror itself is an amalgamation of cultural elements and genres. It’s not so much a single category as an “I’ll know it when I see it” sort of thing. But not all horror is inherently terrifying, and there can even be some cozy traditions to be made beyond the usual pumpkin-spiced lattes and curling up under blankets to watch horror-themed baking shows. Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October is not only a book that goes along with the season perfectly, it’s also a culture mash-up of its own—which, you know, goes perfectly with the whole “Culture Combine” thing. It features a cast of characters spanning across fiction and non-fiction, serving as a massive love letter to Gothic literature, Universal Monsters, and Hammer Horror films. What makes this novel extra special is how it plays out from day to day, with each chapter corresponding to a specific day of the month. If you read it daily (or nightly), you actually watch the story progress in real-time as the characters vie for control over a mysterious ritual that could lead to the end of the world. But if you’re looking for genuine terror, look elsewhere. Despite its apocalyptic stakes and cast of horror heavy-hitters, the book is surprisingly cozy. It’s full of charm and wit, most of which is delivered by the canine narrator named Snuff. While the famous masters plot and scheme, most of the real work is done by their familiars—animal companions that can talk to each other. These animals spy on one another, form alliances, trade secrets, and sometimes have their own agendas. It creates a brilliant mystery where you have to figure out not only who is who, but where their allegiances lie. A Night In the Lonesome October was Zelazny’s last book before his passing, serving as a bittersweet capstone to a career full of sci-fi standards and stand-outs. It’s one of my absolute favorite books, and a yearly tradition. A Night in the Lonesome October is available at online booksellers, and there’s even a fantastic audiobook version available on Audible.

Screenshot: Toem 2 Low-stakes picture puzzler and adventure game Toem is back with a sequel, Toem 2. Once again, you take control of the young photographer as you travel from location to location, meeting characters and accomplishing tasks. It’s more of the same, but it’s hard to complain when the result is so damn wholesome—and oddly satisfying. In Toem 2, you’ll be making the journey through an expanded world with brand new biomes to witness the Whirling Birch Bloom. While that familiar gameplay returns, there are a few added mechanics to change things up. You can now jump and climb in Toem 2, introducing new vertical challenges. The game's biggest hook for me wasn’t just its visual style, but how this new movement felt. While the new jumping puzzles require slightly more hand-eye coordination than the first game, they remain incredibly forgiving in true cozy game fashion. Moving around the world feels genuinely fun, and the platforming adds a refreshing layer to your traversal. Screenshot: Toem 2 Your main objectives often revolve around your camera, which can do much more this time around. While the controls remain familiar and intuitive for snapping great photos, the device now functions as a sort of multitool. You'll use it in wildly untraditional ways—like cutting or hammering—which opens up far more environmental interaction than the original game allowed. Of course, there are lots of little secrets to discover around every corner, and each of Toem’s characters is uniquely charming. Puzzles aren’t just fetch quests (though fetch quests certainly abound); they often require a little more creative thought. Tasks never feel like busywork, and the solutions can be surprising and gratifying. The Photo Challenge Guild even returns to add an extra layer of difficulty to the mix for each area you’ll travel through. Like its predecessor, Toem 2 highly encourages thorough exploration. While you don’t have to complete every quest in an area to move on, you’ll probably want to. After all, who wants to leave a startled bear without his jam, or refuse to help a worm control the growth of strange vines that make her sneeze? The sequel includes larger areas with different themes than the original, making for even more joy in discovery. Screenshot: Toem 2 The world is full of life and personality, even without being in full color. The hand-drawn style is unique, whimsical, and satisfying to play. This is further elevated by fantastic sound design that constantly reinforces a "you’re doing a good job!" feedback loop. From the little clicks and beeps that let you know you're on the right track, to the collectible soundtrack cassettes you can find along the way, the audio design shines. This is all in addition to the stamps you collect to access new areas and the new outfits hidden in gift boxes strewn about the world. Toem 2 is chock full of the charm of the original, with even more to do and see. It’s extremely rewarding to get to know the world around you and interact with everything you can through the familiar lens of your trusty camera. When you do, you’ll find that there’s a lot more magic in its world than simply making it to the end. Toem 2’s magic is in its simple, satisfying journey of breezy exploration. It’s pure joy. Toem 2 is out tomorrow on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Alrighty friends. It's time for another edition of Tik Tok Tawk, where we dredge up some of the hottest topics to hit the 'Tok. Let's start a little lighthearted with one for the horse girls and guys among us. Yep, we're talking about Katie Van Slyke, whose life on the farm garners her 5.6 followers, and whose goat Bella, is so very, very pregnant. If you're not a regular of her page, Katie Van Slyke runs a farm called Running Springs, and has a host of animals. She's known for breeding horses, but also has mini horses, donkeys, goats, barn cats, dogs...you name it. If you're an animal lover and kinda always wanted to have a farm, this is the content you watch before bed to calm down. UNLESS one of the goats is as wide as she is tall, past due, and hasn't produced her babies yet. But hey, here's some good news. Since this edition went up late tonight, I can report that Bella had her babies. Unless you subscribe, you won't see til tomorrow, but at least you can rest easy that they're happy and healthy. Let's move on to something a little more on the nose for us as journalists : the press pool boycott of White House coverage in solidarity with CNN, Politico and MS NOW. PBS, CBS, ABC and NBC joined the boycott and, in a surprise twist, so did Fox News, who represents the chair of the press pool and put out a statement saying they would not cover "any event designated as pool coverage of the president." Since September 21, 2026, it's gotten a lot more dicey for Trump and his administration to be able to broadcast absolutely anything and have it get out there. Notably, and passing through the For You page of almost everyone, was a press event in which there was absolutely no audio without press pool mics there to capture it. Welp. We'll see what develops. And in case it wasn't obvious, though we in no way have access to a White House press pool, we absolutely stand with the journalists from CNN, Politico and MS NOW. Moving on: Coffee much? Most of us do, and a lot of us might consider it up there with doomscrolling as a bad habit. Caffeine is addictive, after all, and there's that headache you get when you missed a cup. Good news if you're a java monster like some of us though. According to the American Heart Association, the safe amount of coffee per day for adults is FIVE cups. That's a little crazy coming from a health organization but like, it's better news than poop lettuce. So yeah. Go get you some. (There are some extra things you should know, so check out the details first) I feel like that rounds out the tawk, but if we missed anything, hit the comments!

Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim I’m a bit of a sucker for simulation games. It allows me to put myself in the professional shoes of those whose jobs I’ll probably never have. I don’t think I’ll ever be a pilot, nor will I ever be a train conductor. I will definitely never be the captain of a large seafaring cargo ship. And while I appreciate games that really lean on the simulation aspect, I don’t mind the option to have some helpful tools that take the ease off the mechanics a bit through player assists and automations. On paper, Seafarer: The Ship Sim is exactly the type of sim I could sink hours into: exploring the wide open ocean, moving freight, and just enjoying the sea spray. Unfortunately, this ship sim is dead in the water. Seafarer: The Ship Sim (lest you confuse it with another “seafarer” i guess) is a ship simulation game played from a first person perspective. And what better way to have a sim than to have actual sea legs that allow you to walk around these large vessels. I was immediately excited at the possibilities that lay in front of me as I started up a campaign. There’s some strange dialogue, sure, but it’s not the first time I’ve played a game with what seems like AI generated or badly translated dialogue. But what really matters is how the actual simulation is, and that means developer Astragon Development really put some effort into making it the best ship simulation that they could make. Right? Guys? Sadly, the answer is that they did not. Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim Ship handling isn’t great. Since the entire game centers around ships and, you know, actually piloting those ships, having poor ship handling is a non-starter. Despite billing itself as a sim, and even touting Nvidia’s Waveworks water simulation technology, the ships in Seafarer don’t handle like large vessels. Though I think the Waterworks 2.0 technology that is employed mostly deals with how the water looks, rather than how ships handle in it. I’ve never crewed a large ship like this before, so I took to the Steam comments and reviews to see if I was off the mark. According to random internet users, my suspicions are confirmed: this game does not approximate the feeling of operating a large maritime vehicle. Which is a major bummer, and instantly makes the rest of the game feel like slop. Well, at least I can still walk around some massive ships and check them out in their detailed glory. But it turns out, ships are a bit empty and boring. The first person view really helps with the immersion, but despite these big ships having some attention to detail put into their creation, they’re still big mostly empty metal boxes with not much to do in them besides be immersed–which is about as exciting as it sounds. Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim I mean, there are entire rooms that exist with one or no interactable objects, and instead exist purely for flavor. I’m not opposed to that, but again, it needs to be balanced with fun and capable components to make it worthwhile. I mean, you can add all the flavor to garbage you want, and it still tastes bad. And there are only 8 vessels to explore, which doesn’t make the ship selection feel overly robust. It’s not like there’s a lack of available activities, though. You can load/unload cargo, as well as bring it to its destination. You can also do non-freight activities like engage in patrols, or even fight fires using on-ship water cannons–which is probably my favorite activity. It gives you immediate feedback, it doesn’t feel as tedious as loading/unloading does–and you get to use a giant water cannon. Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim There’s also a story campaign that involves uncovering dark secrets while performing many of the tasks in Seafarer across several campaign missions. My attempts to play through the campaign kept getting stalled on objectives that just wouldn’t complete, even after I changed to the 1.0 press review build. While I appreciate the effort, the hokey presentation and strange voice acting combined with the odd dialogue made continuing through the campaign burdensome. If you ever dreamed of crewing a ship with your friends, Seafarer does help make that a reality with its multiplayer component. Up to four players can play together simultaneously, which helps ease the burden of some of the tedious loading/unloading of cargo–tasks that should go to AI crewmates, but inexplicably don’t. Despite being given a key to test the multiplayer component, my coworkers and friends declined. Screenshot: Seafarer: The Ship Sim I would love more than anything to come in and say that the reviews have it all wrong. That the Steam Early Access reviewers don’t know what they’re talking about. But the “Mixed” average review score for the Early Access product tells a lot of what you need to know about the game itself. My friends were right to pass on crewing this vessel. When the most enjoyable part of a game is spraying a water cannon to break up the monotony of manual labor that the AI refuses to do, the simulation has failed. Seafarer: The Ship Sim might look good on paper, but out on the water, it sinks under the weight of its own unpolished ambition.