Friday 29 November 2013

Dark Fiction - Razor

Razor

By Casey Douglass

for #fridayflash


 
The neon tube overhead shuddered as a train rumbled past somewhere to the left, the small subway toilet quiet and unminding. The rough looking man stood alone, the only denizen of the grimy smelly pit. A wan and drawn face stared back at him from the smudged mirror, the dark rings under its eyes and poking cheekbones looking even more ghoulish under the artificial lighting.
He hadn’t wanted to do it here, but with his ticket lost and no money, why bother arguing his way out of the station above. What difference did “where” make in the long run anyway. Better to do it now and save some hassle.
He rolled up his right sleeve with a dirty hand, twisting the stiff jacket material so that it stayed behind his bent elbow. He pushed up his jumper sleeve next, then undoing his shirt cuff, he forced that up with the others.
His forearm throbbed and shook with his pulse; the veins and muscles pushing up against the paper-thin skin. He looked in the mirror one last time before reaching down for the razor blade that was propped up against the cold tap.
The icy metal chilled his thumb and index finger but in the smoothest motion he could manage, he brought it to rest an inch above his exposed right wrist.
His eyes locked onto the mirror almost against his will, and he noted that they looked calmer now, more relaxed. He smiled and his double smiled back.
‘I wont make the same mistakes next time,’ he said to the glass.
With one swift motion, he spun the razor blade around his wrist, it never fully dipping to actually touch the skin. Blue sparks fizzed and sputtered from the sharp edge, ghostly worm like tendrils momentarily appearing and fading as the razor severed them.
The lights above flickered and buzzed as another train rattled past, failing totally for a few dark seconds. When they recovered and blazed once more into the tiled space, the man was gone. The only sound heard over the still vibrating train line was the quiet gurgle of the urinals as they entered their scheduled flushing cycle.

--THE END--

Not some of my best writing by any means, but I have been stuck in such a poor state that I felt I just needed to get something out and start the ball rolling again.Thanks for reading.


Friday 22 November 2013

Dark Review - Atrium Carceri - The Untold

Review of Atrium Carceri "The Untold"

By Casey Douglass

 


Atrium Carceri’s albums are my absolute favourite to kick back and relax to. I used to listen to so called “new age” music for that purpose, and while I did find it relaxing, the airy-fairy lightness was so saccharine, it made me feel at risk of becoming diabetic.

I first stumbled across Atrium Carceri on last.fm, having searched for some dark ambient stuff. One of the tracks immediately reminded me of the music from the Silent Hill film which I adored. I quickly bought his first three albums and the love affair began.

That doesn’t mean that I have taken to all of his albums. I bounced off some of them and really became attached to others like Phrenitis. I view that as a good thing. It shows that there is some variety to what he produces, rather than them all being the same.

The Untold is his latest release, and certainly follows in the same vein. Eerie footsteps mingle with deep white-sound rumbling. Vague voices speaking strange languages argue in the distance, but in the most unjarring way. The sounds of slithering and rustling as the music ebbs and flows, the odd piano sounds adding to the dark undertones of the unknown vistas conjured in the mind.

That is what I truly enjoy about his work. With his horror soundtracks, I have mentally journeyed through abandoned cities, across desolate landscapes, and ventured deep into the earth with something unseen and gurgling accompanying me. I have also fallen asleep, which might mark me as some kind of psychopath. I don’t know.

The Untold is well worth a purchase if you are already familiar with his work, or other dark ambient artists like Lustmord. If you haven’t heard anything in that genre, Atrium Carceri is the best place to start, in my humble opinion. I did.

Rating: 5/5

Atrium Carceri's Website can be found here.




Sunday 17 November 2013

Dark Pondering - Update

I just wanted to thank Kat and Jamie at Generic Movie and Tv for giving me the chance to write for them at the start of this year. I have decided to part company with them after around ten months of contributing movie reviews, as my time is being taken up with other writing projects and I don't feel I can have my attention divided in that way at the moment. I wish them all the best and hope to see Generic move on to bigger and better things.

This month also saw me sign up for NaNoWrMo but it has turned into a bit of a tool to berate myself with. I have continued to write, but just cannot get into the right headspace for a longer work, partly due to a few bad events in other areas of my life. I am getting there but I am sad that I couldn't make the best of Nano this year.

Thursday 14 November 2013

Dark Review - Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal

My review of Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal, is now up on Geek Syndicate. A great little indie game with a fluid enemy and a lot of complexity. I really enjoyed it. Find the review here.