Spring Horror Collection: Spring Cleaning

Published

3 years ago

March 23, 2021

Court Court

As soon as one young couple tore down the yellow caution tape plastered across the front door, picked the locks and entered the abandoned house, the rest of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac followed suit. They were all curious about this two story colonial, for its owner was recently arrested for killing 15 elderly couples every Easter Sunday for the last six years.

“I always knew something was off about him,” one man said as he thumbed through a dusty collection of vinyl records. “Tony and I would invite him to our fishing trips and he never once accepted. Always had plans.”

“I always have plans when you invite me on your fishing trips.” Another man smirked as he tossed a broken digital camera on the sofa. “Does that make me a serial killer, too?”

Despite the cops leaving the home in disarray after searching for evidence, it was a rather unique, tidy place. The countertops were clean, the hardwood floors had a post-mop shine. The only thing discerning component was a rotten smell lingering from the spare bedroom, a stench no amount of cleaning product could mask.

“Innocent until proven guilty,” one woman rifling through the storage closet said.

“Edna, you’ve seen the news!” her husband yelled from the kitchen. “They literally found all the bodies that he stored in one of the bedrooms. The guy made no effort to hide them. Who knows what he did with them in there? Probably Ted Bundy and Ed Gein stuff going on in there.”

“Wouldn’t that be fucking something,” a young teenager muttered under her breath.

One man dropped a flower vase and frantically covered his child’s ears. “Hey! Maybe you want to not talk like that in front of my kid?”

“Dude, you literally brought your kid into a serial killer’s house. I think he can handle the fuck word.”

The conversations carried as they explored the rest of the house and found boxes of small glass eyes, a china tea set, an early 2000’s computer and monitor, little mirrors shaped like suns, a desk filled with crumpled papers and religious books, lightbulbs filled with dead succulents, bookshelves with DVD’s and action figures and video games. There were a couple rocking chairs, spoons, lamps, paintings of rabbits, a family of taxidermized rats, a starved Ficus, deer antlers, photo albums, a broken grandfather clock.

Everyone was in the kitchen now, their tote bags and purses filled with the serial killer’s belongings. Some put little sticky notes with their names on them on the bigger items. A group of teenagers discovered beer in the fridge and vodka in the freezer. The little break-in had turned into the essence of a neighborhood block party.

Edna was holding a framed polaroid of the serial killer when she said to herself, “He’s been to our house before. I met two of the victims, actually.”

The chatter came to a halt as everyone took in her words.

“Edna? What? When did that happen?” her husband asked.

“That one Easter a few years ago, when you decided to go on one of Tony’s fishing trips and leave me alone. He was the only one in the neighborhood who wasn’t busy, so I invited him over. It was the first and last time I ever talked to him. He said he had company and I asked him to bring them over. They were all sweet, he said they were his parents or something. I don’t know if they actually were. We went back here for dessert and ate right where I’m sitting.”

“What happened after that?” the young teenager asked.

Edna thought about it for a moment, tightening her grip on the frame, her hands shaking, her nose scrunching in disgust. Tears welled up in her eyes, she felt her cheeks burning. Suddenly she shook her head and smiled as she looked up at the audience of neighbors staring at her, eyes wide and mouths gaped. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I thanked him for the dessert, went home and never heard about the couple again. And now here we are.”

Original Series

AI journey: Little Red Riding Hood, Part 3 Final

Published

4 days ago

April 21, 2024

Jennifer Weigel

So here is our last installment of our AI journey exploring the idea of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad wolf being one and the same. All of these are based upon the AI generated art and prompts using NightCafe and then created as posters in Canva. Feel free to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this exploration if you missed them.

Forget this talk of sheep, it isn't helping..., Dark Fantasy style, Aug. 1, 2023 — Dark Fantasy style, Aug. 1, 2023

A non sequitur I know, but I couldn’t resist. If you picked up where we left off you’ll get it.

So what about Little Red Riding Hood as a wolf?, Dark Fantasy, Aug. 1, 2023 — Dark Fantasy, Aug. 1, 2023

Seriously?! Again with the cropped off head cop out…

Little Red Riding Hood as a wolf, seriously we want to see her face!, Artistic Portrait, Aug. 1, 2023 — Artistic Portrait, Aug. 1, 2023

Finally! That was a journey. And not even worth the result, in my opinion.

Anyway, here is a bonus montage I made out of a bunch of additional Red Riding Hood prompts for an article that never happened…

Little Red Riding Hood AI art montage, Nov. 4, 2023 — AI art generated Nov. 4, 2023

Prompts for Montage:

1.) What if Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf were one and the same being?
2.) Her wolf face peering out of her red cloak, fangs dripping with the blood of another victim, lost in the forest and never found.
3.) Little Red Riding Hood closes in for the kill, lunging from her red cloak, her wolf fangs dripping with blood.
4.) I am Little Red Riding Hood. I am the Big Bad Wolf. I am coming for you.
5.) Howling within, the rage sears forth from the red cloak, discarded in the deep woods. Red Riding Hood succumbs to the lycanthropy.
6.) Heaving breaths. Dripping blood. Red Riding Hood is not what she appears. She is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
7.) Her red cloak masks the fangs hidden below the surface.
8.) It starts with a long sighing breath. Waiting. The wolf within stirs.
9.) Red Riding Hood trembles. She succumbs to the lycanthropy.
10.) The wolf bursts forth from within. It takes over Little Red Riding Hood’s mind, her body, her being.
11.) Red Riding Hood howls. She is ravenous with hunger for blood. The wolf within has taken over. Mind, spirit, body. She feasts on the blood of the moon.
12.) Big Bad Wolf Red Riding Hood ravenous blood moon feast
13.) Blood moon beckons. I. Little Red Big Bad Riding Hood Wolf. Freedom howling night curse.
14.) Beware. Bewolf. BeRedRidingHood. Betwixt. Beyond.
15.) I pad quietly as the forest dissolves around me. Red Riding Hood and Wolf, one and the same.
16.) Wolf within howling dark recesses of the mind, Red Riding Hood lost
17.) Red Riding Hood HOWL wolf bane true existence polymorph within-and-without.
18.) Red howl Riding Wolf dark existence brooding within

So thank you for joining us on another AI art journey. You can still catch the last AI art journey on Haunted MTL here. To see more such devolutions into AI generated art, check out the Will the Real Jennifer Weigel Please Stand Up? blog.

Original Series

AI Journey: Little Red Riding Hood, Part 2

Published

2 weeks ago

April 14, 2024

Jennifer Weigel

Continuing our AI journey from last time exploring Little Red Riding Hood herself as the Big Bad Wolf… All of these are based upon the AI generated art and prompts using NightCafe and then created as posters in Canva.

Little Red Riding Hood as a wolf, Sinister style, Aug. 1, 2023 — Sinister style, Aug. 1, 2023

How very… Phantom of the Opera predatory… this is definitely not what I had in mind. Maybe something more cutesy?

Little Red Riding Hood woman with wolf head instead of her own, Anime V2 style, Aug. 1, 2023 — Anime V2 style, Aug. 1, 2023

Ugh. Maybe not.

Wolf face peering out of red hooded cape, Sinister style, Aug. 1, 2023 — Sinister style, Aug. 1, 2023

Wow, that seems like such a cop out, cropping off the head so you don’t have to depict it. And I don’t want to lose the Little Red Riding Hood reference completely.

Wolf in sheep's clothing as Little Red Riding Hood, Artistic Portrait style, Aug. 1, 2023 — Artistic Portrait style, Aug. 1, 2023

So no surprise there, I knew that was too many references to work.

And we continued to devolve, join us again next week for the final installment to see how this ended… And again, if you want to catch the last AI art journey, you can find it on Haunted MTL here. To see more such devolutions into AI generated art, check out the Will the Real Jennifer Weigel Please Stand Up? blog.

Original Series

AI Journey: Little Red Riding Hood, Part 1

Published

3 weeks ago

April 7, 2024

Jennifer Weigel

And as promised in Big Bad Poetry, we shall embark on our next AI journey, this time looking at Little Red Riding Hood. I had wanted to depict her as the Big Bad Wolf one and the same, although maybe not so big nor bad. But it just wasn’t happening quite as planned. All of these are based upon the AI generated art and prompts using NightCafe and then created as posters in Canva.

Little Red Riding Hood beautiful woman with red cape hiding her wolf face. Sinister style, July 29, 2023 — Sinister style, July 29, 2023

So I actually like this even better than my original vision, it is playful and even a bit serene (especially given the Sinister style). The wolf is just being a wolf. It’s quite lovely, really. But it wasn’t what I had in mind, so I revisited the idea later to see if I could get that result…

Little Red Riding Hood with wolf face, Artistic Portrait style, Aug. 1, 2023 — Artistic Portrait style, Aug. 1, 2023

Well, that’s not quite right…

Wolf face Little Red Riding Hood, Artistic Portrait style, Aug. 1, 2023 — Artistic Portrait style, Aug. 1, 2023

Yeah more of the same…

What part of wolf face don't you understand?, Hyperreal style, Aug. 1, 2023 — Hyperreal style, Aug. 1, 2023

And as you can see this is starting to devolve quickly. Join us again next week to see how this continued to develop… And if you want to catch the last AI art journey, you can find it on Haunted MTL here. To see more such devolutions into AI generated art, check out the Will the Real Jennifer Weigel Please Stand Up? blog.