Name the most drastic thing you did for something horror-related.

Bill Cunningham - DisContent

I ate ramen noodles for a month in order to go to a convention in Atlanta (The old Atlanta comics and Fantasy Fair).
I rode the bus to Atlanta from little Clinton, SC — a 4 hr.trip.
Hooked up with a girl at the convention so I’d have a place to stay that first night, then met friends that next day and stayed with them.

Gary Wintle

Using spirit gum for any Halloween costume

That stuff is so painful to get off, but so worth it.

Nathan - MicroHorror

Great question, Steven. I’ve got a few different answers for various interpretations of “drastic.” First, easily the most elaborate and labor-intensive thing I’ve ever done in the name of horror stems from one day early last year, when I was bored at the office and looking for some online distraction before getting back to work. My thoughts went something like this: “I like reading horror stories. I want to read some horror stories. I don’t have a lot of time, so they need to be short. I like reading short-short horror stories. I think I’ll read some short-short horror stories. … Why can’t I find a website with a big archive devoted exclusively to short-short horror stories?” The rest, as they say (as they say), is history: MicroHorror.com.

If it’s physically grueling you’re looking for, that would be the several all-night shoots I spent on Gary Ugarek’s “Deadlands: The Rising.” There’s a lot of hurry-up-and-wait on a movie set, even when it’s indy. You just have to sit around in makeup and stay awake and alert for hours, waiting for the call. No pay, of course. Lots of fun, though, and I hope I get to work with Gary again.

Finally, the most money I’ve ever dropped at once on anything horror was the first time I met Batton Lash at the Small Press Expo. Batton’s the creator of the terrific comic “Supernatural Law.” I hadn’t read any of it, but I’d heard great word-of-mouth, so on an impulse I told him that I’d buy the whole thing. You should have seen the look on his face. Good times.

Tim - Mondo Schlocko

Nothing too drastic, but I once gave up a car payment to buy an arm’s load of DVDs from a convention.

Dave - Rue Morgue’s The Abbatoir

Several years ago I drove three hours, from Edmonton to Calgary, in the winter, to check out a (totally crappy) horror festival in the hopes that it would be my first freelancing assignment for Rue Morgue. It wasn’t, but the trip wasn’t a total waste of time, as I used it to guilt Rod into letting me write a news story a short while later. I’ve been in every issue of the magazine since then, and, of course, it eventually led to a sweet job at the House of Horror.

Kimberly - Cinebeats

I regret paying ridiculous amounts of money for uncut Laser Disc versions of many horror films - often Japanese imports of Argento & Bava flicks - before LDs become extinct and the movies became easily available in the US on DVD The LDs are now worthless and I still feel like a sucker even though I was happy to see them films when I did.

Sean T. Collins - Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat

I drove in Los Angeles so that I could visit Clive Barker’s three-house office/art studio/home complex in Beverly Hills. This was a horror experience in and of itself.

But far more horrifying was my internship at Troma Studios. It’s a wonderful thing to have done, but a nightmarish experience while doing it. Don’t get me wrong, Lloyd Kaufman is delightful and I have just as many hilarious memories as you might expect, but the annual turnover rate is something like 90% there, for good reason–the pressure is unbelievable. It got to the point where when I’d have to make innocuous decisions outside of the internship, like where to eat dinner, I’d be so wracked with indecision that I’d literally have a miniature nervous breakdown and start crying in the Applebee’s parking lot. It was like in Arkham Asylum when they wean Two-Face off the coin and onto a Tarot deck and he can’t make simple decisions about things like going to the bathroom before he pisses his pants. Tromatized indeed.

I was hoping this week’s responses would make me feel better about all the miles I clock travelling to and from various screenings, festivals and conventions, but it’s just not working. Thanks to all this week’s Knights of the Round, and while you’re here please feel free to relate your own tales of madness and obsession in the comments below.

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