#animals and nature horror

[ultimate-horror-genre]

tournament listings: first round

psychological:

phobia vs. madness and phobia

home invasion & survival vs. arthouse

killer:

slasher vs. backwoods horror

gore & disturbing:

torture vs. body horror

splatter vs. cannibal

extreme vs. cosmic horror (miscellaneous plug-in because there's an uneven number of subgenres in this genre)

monster:

zombies vs. virus

vampire vs. werewolf

classic & mythological vs. neo-monsters

animals & nature vs. giant creatures

small creatures vs. sci-fi & aliens

paranormal:

ghosts & spirits vs. haunted house

possession vs. devils, demons, & hell

witches & occult vs. supernatural power

miscellaneous:

comedy horror vs. parody horror

gothic horror vs. found footage

folk horror vs. post-apocalyptic

i will be updating this list with links to the posts!

[daily-spooky]

[ichimakesart]

Did you know, when you stand by the water basin you can see someone from your future?

~☆◇Prints◇☆~▪︎~☆◇Commissions◇☆~▪︎~☆◇Kofi◇☆~▪︎~☆◇For inquiries: ichimakes@gmail.com◇☆~

[bunnieswithknives]

Gore, Violence and Blood under the cut

What a mess

[oliviarampaige]

“El-Ahrairah”

Day 22 - Scratchy

All the world will be your enemy.

[drawing-kitty-ckristal]

Oh god ever since i read nyoomerr's ficlet about OctoBinghe it's been stuck in my mind and i just had to draw it!

Nyoomerr's post

[affectionatecorpse]

I'm once again getting overly philosophical over horror movies, so here's a study of the death angels from A Quiet Place as observed by a very enthusiastic animal loving veterinarian.

Every time people talk about death angels, it is, understandably, about how violent they are. These creatures are brutal and merciless, and will tear apart anything that makes too much noise. Hence the title of the movie.

Death angels are frankly terrifying, and show no empathy towards the creatures of the planet they invaded. No living thing is safe from them.

... so here's why they COULD be--

Look. Death angels are simply not suited for our planet. It's a noisy, chaotic place full of noisy, chaotic animals. From humans, to raccoons, to birds, to cats, nearly everything in our world is a potential trigger for a noise sensitive animal such as these.

But that's exactly what they are. Animals. And no one seems to remember that fact. People talk about them as though they themselves are sentient, anthropomorphic monsters, but the way these creatures act mimic many real life animals. Animals that don't belong here, but are trying to survive here. On a noisy planet covered in water, which they despise and cannot swim in.

Death angels are completely blind by nature, as seen in many other creatures such as cavefish, moles, and my personal favourite, the olm. Due to a lack of sight, they very clearly use echolocation in the film, to scan their surroundings and... well, not get dead. But echolocation is far from their only tool, as their ears are the strongest asset they have.

Their ears are INCREDIBLY sensitive. Just the slight ticking of an egg timer when heard from their perspective in the first film, is like a pounding drum in their ear. This is fine in a naturally quiet planet, but if a very subtle tick is that loud, then imagine the rest of the noise. Screaming. Explosions. Crashing. Little toy planes. Holy CRAP, that's gotta hurt.

Sounds that loud would definitely cause extreme hearing problems from pressure over time, and easily result in lifelong illnesses and disabilities such as deafness, infection, and so forth, if not stopped. It's going to be painful. It's literally bursting their ear drums inside their heads, and you can't explain to an animal why it hurts. You cannot rationalise with wildlife about treatment and self care. An injured and scared animal is always going to turn hostile, no matter how docile they may be normally. You can't explain to a lion with a knife in it's belly that you can stop the pain if it just doesn't attack you. You can't explain to a death angel that it needs to go somewhere more isolated instead of just destroying the source of the noise to shut it up.

Going to backtrack here a sec. Remember how I mentioned echolocation being another asset this creature has? Which means the slightest movement, the tiniest breath, can immediately allow you to be seen by it. With ears that good, too? It can see you from ages away. It knows you're there. Which means they DON'T attack for sport.

'Evil' is a concept rarely seen in nature. Yes, a lot of humans can be evil. And yes, many creatures can be too. Animals hunt for sport as well. Cats, for example! Although even then, I wouldn't describe it as evil. Calling the death angels evil implies they're attacking out of malicious intent, which just isn't true. In moments of panic, they'll destroy. But they are fully aware of humans around them.

Humans need to breathe, and can't stay perfectly still very easily. The death angels would be able to see our main cast at several points, even when they're being quiet. They don't attack whenever they locate a sign of life. For example, the scene in the basement. Being that close, whether the water was running or not, that alien absolutely would've heard Evelyn and the baby's sharp breaths. It didn't care. It was clicking at them almost curiously before it heard the bang of the silo, to which it ditched them to stop the sound.

This scene is a great example of why they don't kill for sport. Injured and young animals are especially easy prey for a creature built so strong and nimble. Evelyn is shown to be terrified of the mere presence of this thing, but it never actually does anything in the scene. It moves about. Ignores her movements in the flooding water. Investigates the baby. Clicks curiously at her while she backs away. It moves slowly and on all fours, when we know while aggressive, they will stand up on their hind legs (unless sprinting) and move very fast.

This implies it was in... well, not a submissive position, but a nonthreatening one. It wasn't baring it's teeth (as best it could), it had it's claws tucked up and unused, and was in no way in a primed-to-attack mentality. Until the silo made a loud bang. And even then, it could've quickly sliced up the two in the basement before running off, but it DIDN'T. It just left, without a moment of hesitation.

Let's also acknowledge the anatomy.

This is a carnivore. With sharp teeth for ripping apart prey, sharp claws for defence, and thick armour for protection from it's natural climate, as well as strong, long legs for running, this is absolutely a meat eater. The fact it's so well equipped makes me wonder if their natural prey is just as dangerous as them, which is why they have such tough skin. Or if they themselves have something above them in the food chain.

They seem to be pack animals, as usually others aren't far behind when one is about. Such as the trio by the Abbott house, the few at the docks, the ones by Emet's hideout, and even that group sliding down the building in the Day One clip I keep seeing as a gif. With their knack for running included, I wonder if they function like lions? Blending into their environment back home, clicking to hear prey, then the whole pack going on the chase when their target is vulnerable, in a way.

I got distracted. My point was, in a year, all the bodies from past victims vanished. All those people in the town who were swiped left and right just vanished from the town. They couldn't have decomposed in such short time, which means something moved them when it was safe. Something like a carnivore needing food after it felt comfortable in the silent aftermath. The argument that they do it for sport is one I see all the time, and it's just not true.

Everything needs to eat. Carnivores need to eat. Animals need to protect themselves from suspected danger. They never eat on screen because whenever they're on screen, they're surrounded by noise and are DISTRESSED. Have you ever had a sick pet? Most of the time, it won't eat when it's ill because it's too stressed, uncomfortable or in too much pain. When having their ear drums assaulted, a death angel isn't going to sit down with a cup of tea and a grilled cheese. Also, I won't add it because there's blood, but in the scene with the old man screaming in the woods, after it attacks, you can actually see it go back on all fours and sniff about the aftermath, like a hungry predator catching prey to eat. This was probably the first and currently only on screen proof of my claim.

By all means, not all animals are meant to be tamed. Jordan Peele's Nope said that best. Yet I can't help but wonder about the individual. Every animal is completely unique. Some will tolerate more than others. Due to their realistic nature and the similarities to actual animals, in specific circumstances, could they be befriended?

Anyway keep an eye out for A Quiet Place 4 where someone has a pet one that wears doggy ear protectors and accepts meat in exchange for pets-- /j

[foldingfittedsheets]

Some experiences just blaze themselves across your soul forever. Even if you don’t want them to. My memory is often spotty but I remember some things I’d rather not with perfect clarity.

Like the morning I was walking to my car to go to work. It was a chilly fall morning, mist and fog clung to the treetops, the thin light was grey and damp. It was early enough that no one else was stirring, it was like I had the world to myself.

My car sits right beside the dumpster, which is enclosed by a paltry wooden fence for propriety. As I got within a few feet of my car I heard a bizarre wet sound. I paused and looked toward the dumpster.

Two squirrels were darting away up a nearby tree, startled from their pillaging of trash. The sound I’d heard was haunting me. Something small but heavy, something damp and limp. Almost against my will I looked around the corner of the fence.

There, splayed on the cold wet concrete, was a dead parakeet. Dropped unceremoniously into the dumpster, it had been found and feasted upon by squirrels, then abandoned with a splat into my still misty morning.

I was so distressed. I’d never met this bird but seeing it’s little body left so carelessly with the accumulated rubbish hurt my heart. It hadn’t been cherished enough to be disposed of with care. It’s body had been left to scavengers.

All day I would remember it and shudder but I couldn’t convey to any of my coworkers how awful it had been.

I’ve never been able to see the neighborhood squirrels the same. Rodents are omnivores and it’s just a fact of life, but the ones by us are cursed for me now. I can still hear the sad wet sound of that bird hitting the ground.

[tubbytarchia]

Some blood/gore trafficblr inspired animal things. uh

[guillotineman]

Queueing round the block to see

JAWS (1975, dir. Steven Spielberg)

[gravemud]

natural

[daily-spooky]

[stitchy-face]

"... Frayed are not born in a way we would define birth...at their core they are a monster. Though some circumstances leading to a Frayed's creation may be sympathetic or tragic they will gradually disrupt the ecological balance in the area and push many creatures- not just sentient beings- out....

The Fabric of the Universe is fickle and all of the worlds creatures are subjected to the whims of an ever shifting cloth."

[ichimakesart]

Be wary of little treasures.

There is always a price.

~☆◇Prints◇☆~▪︎~☆◇Commissions◇☆~▪︎~☆◇Kofi◇☆~▪︎~☆◇For inquiries: ichimakes@gmail.com◇☆~

[markscherz]

Hello, do you have a favorite north American lizarb?

I am a big fan of Phrynosoma! I have only ever seen one in the wild, a tiny juvenile, but I'm a great appreciator of their remarkable anatomy and blood-squirting eyeballs.

[oliviarampaige]

“Umbra”

Day 7 - Drip

The forest felt sour that day.