ghost stories and awesome haunted places

The countdown for Halloween has begun. In roughly 48 hours, it will be time again for scary costumes, trick or treating, distant screams, eerie music and marathon horror binge-watching sessions. Many people are already sharing horror themed lawn decorations, but this Facebook group touches on the spirit of the uncanny, with posts ranging from haunted castles and mysterious photographs to personal ghost stories and unexplained nighttime security footage. See ghost hunters at work or discuss protective measures against the supernatural. Posts and media blur the lines between the elusive safety of the mundane world and the reality of a mysterious world we know so little of. 

Members: 15k, at the time of writing. 

Trigger warnings: Scary stuff

Go here to visit or join.

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Haunted dolls, teddies and more

Forever Fall and Halloween

S.A. HORRORFEST

Retro Horror Paperback Art

 Horror is not everyone's cup of blood. Even though I do read horror, I have to admit that I am also rightly cautious of it. But scrolling through the media of this Facebook group, which focuses on the retro cover art of horror paperbacks, was immensely interesting. The covers feature household names along with great unknowns. There are anthologies, pulp magazines, foreign-langeuage covers of well-known titles, franchises such as the Friday the 13th series and also rarities by authors better known for other fields (musician Serge Tankian) or other genres (George RR Martin). Although some are definitely cringe, I found it really interesting to look at the sheer diversity of the artwork - and to enjoy the viceral realness of the depictions. With many images you can see very clearly that someone drew this. Of particular interest, was the frequent use of surrealism, an art form that blends seamlessly with horror elements. If you have an appreciation for visual horror or are simply looking for obscure book recommendations in the genre, this group might be well worth your time.

Members: 59.5k, at the time of writing

Trigger warnings: Disturbing and/or violent images.

Go here to visit or join. 

Haunted dolls, teddys and more

Oh, cool, I thought when I spotted this one. A niche paranormal rabbit hole. Probably full of stories. And yes, this did turn out to be really interesting. A few posts featured super-creepy stories about thrift store finds, and there are horror themed dolls that will put Chucky to shame. I'm talking about that ultra realistic, fanged baby doll with the red eyes of course. Some dolls are hauntingly beautiful, but there are also unexpected rarities I've never seen before, such as the vintage magic skin baby doll and the grandpa and grandma doll that seemed to attract a lot of bad karma. There were also one-eyed franken-teddies that were surprisingly cute anyway. There are a few links to other haunted media, and also a few horror themed dolls and jewelry items posted for sale. 

Members: 12.4k, at the time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: horror themed media

Go here to visit or join. 

HARDCORE SCI-FI AND HORROR ART AND ARTISTS GROUP

If you still think fondly of the days of pulp fiction, when barbarian heroes (and sometimes heroines) took on fearsome monsters and then enjoyed trysts with sexy alien princesses with unworldly pets, you will certainly enjoy the vivid images that fill the news feed of this Facebook group. But that comprises only an inkling of the visual feast that awakes you. There are also robots, supernatural apparitions, vampires, Lovecraftian horrors, vintage black and white media, as well as gothic noire and psychedelic visions. I particularly enjoyed the jaw-dropping futuristic architecture of the German artist Thomas Thiemeyer.

Members 11k, at time of writing

Trigger Warnings: Monsters

Go here to visit or join. 

Forever Fall and Halloween

 If you love the smell of pumpkin spice and the sound of anything that goes bang or boo in the dark, then this Facebook Group is most definitely for you. There are many posts about horror movies to get you into the mood for Halloween. I also enjoyed several spooky art interpretations. Get ideas for porch decorations, costume design and other assorted accessories. Pay a virtual visit to some spooky places. For anyone who believes that Halloween should not be limited to one day or even one season. 

Members: 1.9 million at time of writing.

Trigger Warnings: Horror and all things witchy. Avoid if you are overly religious.

Go here to visit or join.

We Love Horror Movies

With Halloween coming up, time is ripe to explore a great resource for horror movies. Threads on the discussion board include 'The Worst Horror Movies Ever', 'Who is your favorite villian or slasher in the last 10 years?', 'Urban Legends Do You Believe?', 'The Future of American Horror', 'NAME YOUR FAVOURITE HORROR MOVIE TAGLINE', 'stupidest scene youve ever seen in a horror film', 'Top 10 based on true story horrors', 'WHAT'S THE GREATEST DEATH SCENE IN HORROR MOVIES', 'name your favourite horror movie quote', 'Favorite Horror Actors/Actresses' and many more. Also check out the various topics that share trivia from the making of certain horror classics as well as regular updates in the field of horror. There are over 1000 links in wall posts and almost 1500 images in the gallery

What's great about this group: It really aspires to inform on the subject of horror movies.

Update (28 October 2023)

There is a Facebook group called We Love Horror Movies, which has about 49,800 members. It is unlikely to be the one profiled here, though, because the group was only created in 2014. It is a private community, but you can go here to request access. 

Stephen King

We are more than halfway into NaNoWriMo, and I am not writing a novel. Some authors, of course, need no calendar occasions to get them to write and the subject of this group must serve as one of the most sterling examples. The information section lists his incredibly prolific output. The discussion board is fairly active, ranging from threads dealing with favorites such as 'What book got you hooked?', 'whats your favourite stephen king film?' and 'Scariest Stephen King story you've read?' to threads that discuss specific books such as 'CELL: Poor or Good', 'It vs Misery', 'The Tommyknockers', 'Is Lisey's Story Good?' and 'Best short story in Just After Sunset'. There is plenty of topics dealing with characters and aspects of Stephen King's work in general as well, such as 'Saddest Deaths in a Stephen King Story?', 'best child character?', 'Favorite Character In Any story', 'most annoying character?' and 'Worst real life scare due to a Stephen King book/story'. The gallery includes images of artwork and tattoos derived from Stephen King stories.

What's great about this group: When it comes to horror, Stephen King is the best.

Update (29 April 2024)

There are numerous groups for Stephen King fans. The largest (129.3k members) can be found here. 

S.A. HORRORFEST

I have in the past mostly avoided featuring groups that exist to promote certain products, groups, events or services. What interested me mainly, was how groups evolve spontaneously and develop a character and identity all of their own. The fact that many organizations and companies now use Facebook groups to promote their activities cannot be avoided, however and today's group might well serve as a good example of how to use a Facebook group to generate enthusiasm for a relatively niche interest event. The purpose of 'S.A. HORRORFEST' is to create awareness for an annual film festival devoted to classic horror movies which takes place in Cape Town, South Africa. The build-up to the festival, which begins two days before Halloween, includes a daily featurette by the organizers. There are links to interviews with participants, line-ups, details about specific films and sponsored prizes.

What's great about this group: It promotes a niche interest in a lively and informative manner.

Click here to go directly to 'S.A. HORRORFEST'.

You run up the stairs because you think something is gunna grab you!

Have you ever checked under the stairs, the bed or in the closet to see whether Chuckie, Freddy or Jason might be lurking in there to get you? Have you ever slept with the light on? Have you ever dreaded going to the bathroom in the middle of the night? If you said yes to any or all of the above (and who hasn't), you will be pleased to know that there is a Facebook group out there that has your number. Share your scary movie memories, your scary real life experiences and whatever silly superstition you might have clung to, once the lights went out. Threads on the discussion board - there are over 500 of them - include 'Whats the lamest thing that still scares you??', 'how do you imagine the monster below your bed physically is?', 'pool fears', 'Drain phobia' and, naturally 'Are you afraid of the dark?'

What's great about this group: Share your irrational fears with others.

A word of caution: Avoid, if you scare easily...

Click here to go directly to 'You run up the stairs because you think something is gunna grab you!'

The Hardest Part of a Zombie Apocalypse Will be Pretending I'm Not Excited

Zombies appear to be making some sort of comeback in popular culture. There are various new zombie zines and movies out or eminent. If this group, over 72,000 members strong, is anything to go by, a ready market exists to devour these. The discussion board is quite active, featuring threads such as 'mission essential equipment list', 'The zombie survival guide' and 'What would you say to a zombie before you put a bullet in his head?'. In debate about who group members would most like to see fed to the zombies, independent film maker Michael Moore and actor Tom Cruise are popular choices.

What's good about this group: It's really great to fantisize in gory detail about something that will most probably never happen. A must for horror fans.

A word of caution: If you hate B-movies, you probably won't enjoy the group either.

Update (29 October 2023)

There is a Facebook page with the same name, which has 1,100 followers and can be found here.