Dear Readers,
Boo!
Spooky Season has descended upon us, and we couldn’t be more frightfully excited! To start off with, Allison W. spooks us with paranormal happenings and an unsolved mystery (1-3), and Priya N. invites us to enter (if you dare) into the haunted mansion of the spooky yet glamorous Tamil horror classic Chandramukhi (4). If you’re brave enough, don’t miss out on Ross T.’s illustrated horror film suggestions (5), and plot your route to the graveyard alongside hiking historian Lauren M. (CW: death, corpses) (6). Aislin L.S. takes her advice and strolls along the shoreline in a poem contemplating the living dead. (7). We also present Nerissa W.’s poem, inspired by the Soucouyant, a Caribbean folklore character (8). Betsy reviews the ever-relevant, decade-old cult classic Jennifer’s Body and revisits it with a modern feminist retrospect (9). Sienna closes the issue with an illustrated commentary on catcalling (CW: sexual harassment).
Although Halloween this year will not include the usual festivities, we hope this issue of the Grail frightens you to the bone and leaves you with a few tasty treats to take home. For Issue IV, my, my, Miss American Pie! It’s the Americana issue! Submit your work relating to American history, culture, and nostalgia by November 11th. Yeehaw!
In honor of NaNoWriMo, we are calling all writers of prose and creators of fiction to submit to the Grail Short Story Contest! Admissions will be accepted until November 9th, and all submissions will be published in a special issue following the Americana Issue. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites here, starting the 10th!
And of course, keep the tunes rolling down a dirt road by contributing to the Gritty Grail playlist.
May the treats outweigh the tricks!
Warmly,
Sophie, most likely to request Toxic by Britney Spears as a Halloween bop
Nerissa, most likely to bounce back from having her lantern smashed by mean neighbors
Lauren, most likely to hold ur hand in a haunted house <3
Erik, most likely to whip out a cowboy hat and let out a stray “Yeehaw” in a meeting
Dan, most likely to bargain with the murderer and still die first in a horror flick
and Aislin, most likely to lovingly rescuing a creepy crawly by chucking it most unceremoniously out their window
Art by Ross Tidwell and Sienna Otero
Reviews by Priya NArain and Betsy Wight
Writing by Lauren Mondroski and Allison Wallace
Poetry by Aislin Lighter Steill and NErissa WrighT
Playlist by Grail & Friends
Playlist: Ghastly Grail
Add your spine-shivering songs to our Halloween playlist, brimming with bone-rattling, teeth-chattering, blood-chilling bops & bangers for the whole freaky family.
The dramatization of every action in Chandramukhi (2005) captures the very essence of Tamil cinema. With the exception of other South Indian language films, there is nothing like it.