Halloween is our favorite holiday here at Flames Rising headquarters. We wound up with an orange and a black cat, our house is often decorated in September, and we enjoy coming up with new concoctions year after year. Although we really enjoy the holiday, it wouldn’t be as much fun without all of you.

Last year Flames Rising celebrated Halloween with you by offering 31 days of Monster Madness. For this year, we started with the horror plot generator to help you get those creative juices flowing. Since we offered flash fiction (in the form of mini-monsters) last year, we decided to take a more gaming-related approach for Halloween.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year over at “One Geek to Another”, and so I was thrilled when the great folks at Flames Rising asked me to do a guest blog on etiquette for the spooky holiday this month! From my desk to yours, here’s 13 ways to have an awesome (and polite!) Halloween!

1. Be a Good Ghoul-guest! – If you’re invited to a Halloween party, regardless of the age group, bring a little something for the host. Flowers in a Halloween arrangement are always appropriate, as are small gift baskets (especially things the host can save for after the party!) Bringing something to share at the party can also be fun!

Tired of your rights as a member of the living dead being violated? Sick of people putting you down or worse, screaming and trying to smash your head with a cricket bat? We don’t deserve to be treated like this! We will no longer stand for being viewed as lesser citizens. We need to fight for our rights and demand equal treatment.

The Coalition Of the Living Dead (COLD) will gather on Saturday October 24th at 2:00 pm at the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, and lurch for our rights as zombies. COLD encourages zombies and zombie supporters to come equipped with signs and slogans to make our point. We will raise our voices and we will not be ignored. We will lurch from the capitol down State Street to the Memorial Union.

My experience watching Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 was similar to how I imagine it must have been when George Foreman discovered he was as adept at selling grills as he was putting people to sleep with his fists. In other words, it was not what I expected. In fact I expected to hate it. I was so disgusted with Zombie’s unfortunate stab at remaking, re-imagining, and regurgitating John Carpenter’s 1978 seminal slasher that for a while I became the elderly curmudgeon of horror movie journalism. I may have even yelled at some kids to stay the hell off my lawn.

However, this time it wasn’t long before I came to the slightly confusing realization that I wasn’t hating this dreaded sequel, an emotion I felt specifically entitled to given the majority of films I’ve suffered through lately, but rather I was riveted by Rob Zombie’s brutal, gritty, and most importantly, original chapter in one of horror’s most important and longest running series.

What do a deep sea beast, a lizardman and a flying cat have in common? Well, if you say they are all monsters you’d be right!

Dubbed the “Monsters Magnetic Action Figures,” this set of over forty magnets and four background scenes is perfect for the monster lover in you. Illustrated by Justin Parpan, these Monsters magnets come in a decorated tin with two, reversible backgrounds. I really enjoy the artwork of these magnets because it’s a nice blend of traditional Halloween monsters with new, more imaginative beasties like the two-horned, one-eyed furry redhead. The technique used is pretty interesting because the Monsters body language is very cheery, but there’s just enough creepy to make it work without appearing overly “campy.”

Today’s new monster in the Halloween Horror series is brought to us by author and game designer Matt Forbeck (Mutant Chronicles, Ghost Stories). Matt knows a thing or two about little “trick-or-treaters” and adds a twist to a common Halloween night activity. Artist Aaron Acevedo adds a bit of gruesome horror to this entry in his own style.

Just what kind of horror is under the cute little costume?

The Hollow Wee ’Un

Created By Matt Forbeck

“Trick or treat!”

“Oh! Don’t you just look incredible! What a wonderful costume!”

“Trick or treat!”

“Hold a moment, honey. I don’t see your parents. Aren’t you a little young to be wandering around out here on your own?”

“Trick or treat!”

Flames Rising got a sneak peak at an upcoming Halloween surprise release from one of our small press publisher fiends, but we’re not going to tell you what the game is…yet. We have uncovered a few teaser images from artist extraordinaire Jeff Preston hinting at this new, spooky RPG product just in time to scare your friends.

In the true spirit of trick-or-treating, this small press publisher has a copy of this brand new horror RPG sitting on their desk for one of you, our loyal fans and followers of Flames Rising to celebrate the product’s release.

Update! – Its seems she just couldn’t wait for Halloween, The Death-Mother has emerged from the Shroud to spread a little more evil into the world…

The Contest has ended and the winner has been sent a free copy of the Horrors of the Shroud: The Death-Mother from the folks at One Bad Egg.

Halloween is upon us. Are you ready?

We’ve got you covered for Halloween. Four respected names in RPG digital publishing have teamed up to offer the Horror Helper Bundle. This set of downloadable products includes everything you need to add a little spice to your horror gaming and make it easier to cook up Halloween adventures. It’s available only until the end of October, so muster the courage to try one now.

The Horror Helper Bundle is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

Freelance writer and reviewer Bill Bodden has taken a classic Halloween entity and given a new twisted presence in our Halloween Horror series. Artist Jeff Preston helped bring this creature to life with some of his darkest art.

Scarecrows are a staple image of Halloween, but when was the last time you found a scarecrow even slightly scary?

Scarecrows

Created by Bill Bodden

Scarecrows are merely discarded clothing stuffed with straw and stuck on a pole to simulate a human presence in farm fields to keep larger pests, like deer and crows, away from food crops. Ancient ritual demands that the scarecrows be ceremonially burned just after the harvest — around the time of Samhain, or Halloween – and added to celebratory bonfires as an offering to traditions we no longer remember. If the scarecrows aren’t burned, wandering spirits might decide to move into one, animating it and causing all sorts of mischief. Some spirits just like to play pranks, while others have a less well-developed sense of humor….

Our new addition to the Halloween Horror series is brought to use by game designer Eddy Webb (Mind’s Eye Theatre: The Awakening).

Eddy brings us a tale of desperation and horror, just what is a Quisivore? Is it coming for you next?

The Quisivore

Created by Eddy Webb

Eyewitness Transcript: January 24. Cincinnati, Ohio.
“The name ‘quisivore’ is something I made up, just a name to give it. I’m not even sure if the creature has a proper name, or if he’s part of a species. The one I met called himself Claude.”

“Claude looks human enough on the surface. He’s got a long, diamond-shaped scar on his face, but since I saw him over the rim of a burning oil drum late at night, I couldn’t get a really good look at him. As we talked, I started to realize that the scar wasn’t the only unusual thing about him. Everything he said was a statement. Everything. He never once asked a question, not even a rhetorical one. He didn’t ask me my name. He said ‘I don’t know your name,’ and let me fill in the gaps.

FEAR THE NIGHT… BUT DO NOT FEAR THE SAVINGS!

In celebration of All Hallows Eve, the Flames Rising RPG Store is happy to guide you down the dark, dangerous path towards terrifying savings on the creepiest of products.

Save big on products from White Wolf Publishing, 12 to Midnight, Precis Intermedia, Postemortem Studios and more!

Not a Secret Crisis! Not a Final Invasion! On October 15th, it’s Cassie Hack versus Solomon Hitch in the brawl to end it all! Get ready for Hackoween!

Tim Seeley’s Spike TV Scream Award nominated Hack/Slash is teaming up with the cult favourite web comic Halloween Man for a special Halloween crossover!

See! Cassie and Vlad’s rampage through Solar City!

Tremble! As alien sex gods rip the universe in half!

Buy! Into our shameless hyperbole!

And it’s all for free on www.halloweenman.com! The only cost will be your immortal soul!

A new twist on one of our favorite monsters is brought to us by author Jeff LaSala (Darkwood Mask) with art from Bradley K. McDevitt (Blood!).

Watch the rooftops, you never who, or what, may be watching you…

Glaring Hunter

Created by Jeff LaSala
With Art by Brad McDevitt

Everyone knows what gargoyles are, but very few legends have survived the ages concerning these gruesome stone antiquities. One such story that has endured in some circles is that of the anomalous statue known as the Glaring Hunter. Though it is far less famous than its Notre Dame brethren, the Hunter is the only gargoyle said to appear, without explanation, in more than one place.

The earliest confirmed account of its existence came from a 14th Century anchorite in the north of England who described its perch upon an old abbey wall. An ancient scroll rumored to be one of the lost Gospels also made reference to “the Staring Demon” whose presence Biblical scholars say follows the steps of the Devil.

Like the origin of the number 666 in our pop culture, Halloween conjures claims that it’s a satanic, violent holiday. Horror movies like the Halloween series with Michael Myers have fictionalized this view for decades. Recently, Rob Zombie offered his version of the Halloween remake review which happened almost thirty years after the Halloween movie debuted in 1978. With many myths and urban legends circulating about the safety of Halloween night — you may remember your parents warning you about the razor blade in the apple — is it any wonder that in some circles Halloween has gotten a bad rap?

Today’s monster is brought to us by author Jess Hartley (Hunter: the Vigil) and artist Jeff Preston (Key20 Games). This tale brings us a new twist on the legend of the succubus.

She just might steal your heart…

Falling for Her

Created by Jess Hartley
With Art by Jeff Preston

“Call it a birth defect,” she’d said, the first night they’d been together. He’d not stopped to ask more, too hungry for what she offered. And in the morning, she was gone.

Every night, he tried to ask her about it, that raw-tipped stub at the base of her spine. It seemed somehow important that he ask. But, although he knew everything else about her, every time he raised that topic she managed to change it, so swiftly and gracefully that it was the next morning before he realized he’d once again been distracted.

Hands down, the worst trend in the relatively recent horror movie resurgence is the incessant green lighting of unnecessary and bad remakes. It’s indicative of a larger financial problem plaguing the entire industry and while remakes may guarantee a built-in audience for the short term, they will erode the genre over time. So needless to say, I was none too pleased when Dimension Films first announced that the next classic in line for a rebuild would be John Carpenter’s seminal slasher flick, Halloween (1978). But a funny thing happened upon my learning about Rob Zombie’s involvement – not only did my steadfast opposition to the remake disappear, but I became down right excited to see the movie being made by a film maker who takes his horror very seriously.

Fresh from the grave, here are some horror movie releases that will be sure to check under your bed at night. Whether you’re traveling to the theatre or renting from your local video store, grab some popcorn and prepare to scream.

For those who weren’t aware, Masters of Horror is a show that debuted on Showtime in October of 2005. The premise of the show was to round up some of the best horror directors in the genre, and get each of them to make a one-hour movie. The directors were pretty much given free reign to tell whatever story they wanted, however they wanted (blood, guts and all). The only real limitation that was put upon the directors was they had to complete their movie in ten days.

Weighing in at a hefty ninety-five pages (excluding an appendix of various maps and player handouts) and retailing for a reasonable $18.99 (US), What Lurks Beyond is a fantasy horror adventure module published by Cutter’s Guild Games (best known for their Deathstalkers RPG). So, what are you getting for that investment? First the good news….

Billed as an adventure module, the product reminds more of a mini campaign, due largely to its scope and length – it is heavy on the meat. The basic plot of What Lurks Beyond is both well thought out and engaging, if somewhat hampered by the product’s presentation. And that’s it for the good news. Now for the bad news….