Introductions

"Run-of-the-mill" seems like a modestly accurate way to describe myself in terms of horror fandom. In certain respects I find that valuable, since ideally I can make an appeal to those like myself, to those who may be testing the waters, and hopefully to the hardcore horror fans as well. (And I sincerely encourage feedback, especially from the latter.) It wasn't until several years ago, the present time of this writing being December of '09 to give perspective, that the genre genuinely appealed to me and I owe all that to the film adaptation of Stephen King's 'IT'. After that, it was a slow and steady progression that grew into watching more Stephen King film adaptations, then into watching general horror films. In more recent years it's branched from solely films into different mediums, namely: comics (comic books, manga, graphic novels, webcomics, etc.), purely written literature, and different games.

But let's get to the point, shall we? The Darkley Niche is something I've constructed after the comic-in-progress that a friend and myself plan on self-publishing, an anthology of short horror stories much in the same vein as 'Tales from the Crypt' and similar titles. The series centers around a faceless persona we've affectionately dubbed Alan Darkley, the Niche's namesake, and a cast of storytellers whose tales fall within particular subgenres and sister genres of horror. This site is the drawing board, if you will, where everything posted is either a form of research or a roughing out of ideas. It's all relevant in some fashion. By exploring these different horror stories and their mediums a better understanding and influence of the genre, as well as inspiration, can be put into the comic. Even if you have no personal interest in the project, perhaps you can glean something from the reviews and the like. And if nothing else, the Niche will work to serve my own purposes.

Be sure to browse over the column of banners below if you're looking for posts on a particular topic. (And at the very bottom of the blog, if you would like to consult the complete listing of post labels.) Otherwise, scroll down past them to get to the most recent articles. Likewise, refer to the right side for our latest tweets.

Meet The Darkley Storytellers

Meet The Darkley Storytellers

About Myself

My photo
Well, here's yours truly. The name's Drew, in case you were wondering. The Niche is my personal site, while the comic-in-progress is a partnered effort with Don, a lifelong friend of mine. We collaborate on the stories, but my partner's the writer in the outfit while I am the illustrator. This is currently little more than a side project, but we hope to make something of it.

artwork by yours truly

artwork by yours truly

artwork and artist features

artwork and artist features

movies, short films, TV, webisodes, etc.

movies, short films, TV, webisodes, etc.

frightful films for your year-round festivities

frightful films for your year-round festivities

book reviews: consult the niche's necronomicon

book reviews: consult the niche's necronomicon

comic-related news and reviews

comic-related news and reviews

zed in the head randomness

zed in the head randomness

Sunday, September 19, 2010

holiday addition: National Train Day

While watching an episode of TLC's 'Cake Boss' this weekend, we learned about a rather young holiday, National Train Day, which was begun by Amtrak back in 2008. Held on the Saturday closest to May 10th, National Train Day was intentionally set near the anniversary of the Golden Spike driving in Promontory, Utah, which marked the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. With that in mind, we're making National Train Day our latest addition to the Darkley Niche's Seasonal Horror Calendar.

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Saturday nearest May 10th - NATIONAL TRAIN DAY

'Night Train' (2009)
When a mysterious man dies aboard a night train cabin in the midst of two other passengers, as well as a soon-to-retire conductor, the three strangers find themselves spiraling ever downward in a conspiracy to cover up the death and keep the contents of an enigmatic box.

Additional Train Day suggestions:
- 'Horror Express' (1972; frozen, missing link and murders aboard train)
- 'Raw Meat' (1972; cannibal descendants of Victorian railway workers in the London Underground)
- 'Terror Train' (1989; Groucho Marx-masked murderer, also aboard train)
- 'Hey Arnold!' season one, episode eight, "Ghost Train" (1996; urban legend of a psychopomp locomotive)
- 'Redeu-ai', 'Redeye' (2005; supernatural horror aboard train)
- 'Otoshimono', 'Ghost Train' (2006; another supernatural horror aboard train)
- 'Mononoke', episodes ten through twelve, "Bakeneko" (2007; yet another supernatural horror aboard train)
- 'The Midnight Meat Train' (2008; train murders inspired by Clive Barker story)
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