Diane

Diane,

I’m sorry for contacting you this way. I know I should have talked to you after we had our falling out. I’m sorry I hounded you when we lived together. I did want the best for you, but I think I ended up sounding like a troll. I should have called you when I found out he died. I wanted to, but I was scared of what you would say to me. I didn’t really know what to think when I heard the news myself. We should have gone out for a drink when I got the call from his lawyer saying our father, Clarence Willis, had passed away.

It was a few weeks ago, when I got the call and flew out to the old farm house we grew up in. I wish I hadn’t taken the lawyer’s advice to collect any of his personal affects for “memories”. I didn’t want of them. However, I thought I could get some closure and maybe get a few bucks out of his junk laying around the house.

I was in the attic. It hadn’t seen attention in years, which made me wonder how long the lawyer waited to inform everyone of dad’s passing. Made me think he picked the place clean of anything of value. Everything in the room was hidden away in cardboard boxes or covered in a thick layer of dust. So, I spent the majority of my day splitting open boxes to find old sketchbooks, notebooks, and dozens of glass jars and vials. It was like something out of Frankenstein’s laboratory. He had jars of organs tucked away in different boxes. Others contained small vials filled amber liquid with tendrils of red or black pieces of flesh in them. I shudder to think the contents of these containers were attached something that was once alive.

Half of my day was spent looking through this stuff. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It felt like looking through a stranger’s life. I had no idea whose life I’d been digging through for the past day but it didn’t look like the neglectful alcoholic we’d grown up with together… Like it was a final “fuck you” from Dad. I still can’t fathom how we didn’t notice any of this. Was this after we left? Or was he drinking away some kind of insane obsession?

It wasn’t until late at night that I made it toward the back of the attic. It was the white powder on the ground forming a circle around the mirror what caught my attention. It was so odd that this was still here after who knows how long. This section of the attic had dozens of books in a language I didn’t understand or recognize. After closer inspection of the books, the covers just felt… strange. Like the book covers were made out of old leathered flesh stitched together. Seeing how old and how strange the books appeared, I thought they might be worth something… same with the mirror. I pulled the sheet off of the mirror to get a better look at the frame and the quality of the glass. The frame was painted a golden colored with runes or something etched into the wood. It barely looked like it was touched at all, but what bothered me was my own reflection staring back. It ebbed like it was made of water, like I could touch it and wet my fingertips. I felt so uneasy looking at myself, but I felt like I was cemented into place. That’s where I saw him, Diane. I saw Dad.

It felt like he was right beside me, but I after a quick glance to the side I still found myself alone. The image of Clarence Willis wasn’t the picture of life. It was a skeletal perversion of him. His smooth skin melted away to sickly ecru bone. His hair stayed the same bristled and thick with grime. There’s a whiskey bottle in his hand, but I doubt he can taste the burn of liquor down his throat. Even without his baby blues resting comfortably in his sockets, I know he could see me. I stare at the reflection of myself beside him. I can see the horror in my face. I can hear his voice calling out my name from a mouth with no tongue. The more I gape into the mirror the more I see myself becoming like him. In the mirror, my skin was fading away like his and I swear I could taste the dust of the attic through the open slits of my cheek.

I don’t remember screaming, but I’m sure I was. He kept repeating my name with a voice that shouldn’t exist through bone alone. His free hand reached out to me in the mirror image. I shoved the mirror back against the wall and ran. I heard a shriek of a man’s voice and the loud clatter of the antique crashing to the floor as I ran to the front door. I peeled out from the house and didn’t look back. The image still haunts me and has since gnawed at the back of my mind.

I’m so sorry, Diane. I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to go there. If the lawyer calls you, hang up. He’s been calling me daily since I left the house, asking why I didn’t take anything or stay in the house. He keeps calling and leaving messages and calling again. He won’t leave me be. Do me a favor. Just one last favor. Change your phone number; shred your mail from this lawyer; move if you have to. There was something very wrong about that house and everything connected to it. There was something wrong with our father and it’s safe to say we probably knew nothing about him. I pray that I’m just crazy and I’m imaging all this nonsense. Imagining it in my head as I dream, I can’t shake the image I saw in the mirror. I don’t want this to be real. I hope it’s not real.

Megan

Top Five Favorite Horror Games

I consider myself to be a pretty big fan of horror games and the horror genre in general. It is a hobby of mine to collect survival horror games and play through them. The following is a list of my top five personal favorites from the horror games I've played.

Note: This list is subject to change.

5. Parasite Eve (Playstation)

Parasite Eve is an interesting hybrid of the RPG and horror genres, combining some of the best elements from both to create a unique, refreshing mix. I particularly love the creepy, unnerving atmosphere and the modern-day New York setting in addition to the storyline, which manages to be quite interesting and well-written. Another feature of Parasite Eve worth mentioning is the impeccable soundtrack; I'd even go so far as to say that Parasite Eve's game soundtrack ranks as my personal favorite of all time. The music has a very ambient, atmospheric quality to it and I find it quite pleasing to listen to.

4. Resident Evil (GameCube)

The Gamecube edition of Resident Evil is a remake of the Playstation classic. It completely revamps the graphics, dialogue and voice acting in addition to introducing new puzzles, enemies and areas, and the result is an experience that is almost completely different from the original. While the original was a highly entertaining, campy game reminiscent of B-horror movies, the remake is actually genuinely terrifying and creepy. In my opinion, it has by far the creepiest atmosphere of all the Resident Evil games and actually managed to make me jump out of my seat quite a few times. It ranks as my favorite installment in the Resident Evil series and one of my favorite horror games in general for its dark, creepy atmosphere and ingenius, excellently-designed enemies (Crimson Heads, Lisa Trevor).

3. Siren (Playstation 2)

Siren is a very unique, unconventional type of survival horror game. The stealth-oriented gameplay is quite a bit more challenging than your typical survival horror fare, and I must admit that at times I found it to be rather on the frustrating side; however, I feel that the game's excellent storyline and atmosphere more than make up for the gameplay flaws. The storyline is told in an out-of-chronological order from the perspective of ten characters, which, in my opinion, gives it an unusual and almost surreal sort of feel. The atmosphere and setting are both very dark, creepy and unsettling with a hopeless, dreary feel at times. I also found the game to be one of the scariest I've ever played. All in all, I found Siren to be a very unique, unusual survival horror game that is a different experience from your usual survival horror game and is definitely worth experiencing.

2. Rule of Rose (Playstation 2)

Rule of Rose is a very interesting, underrated title. It received some negative feedback and criticism due to its clunky combat and awkward controls. While I admit that there are some flaws in the gameplay, I still love Rule of Rose in spite of that. The reason why I love Rule of Rose so much is due to its excellent and memorable storyline. I love how it contrasts childhood innocence and an almost fairy tale-like feel with some very dark, disturbing and adult elements. The story is also very psychological, intricate and beautifully told, and even manages to be very poignant and moving in parts. I also feel that the game does an impeccable job of immersing you into its atmosphere, which, while not as creepy or scary compared to other horror games, gives off a very surreal, bizarre and dream-like feel and ambience instead. Overall, I feel that it's a game worth playing for its wonderful story and atmosphere, even if the gameplay may be flawed in parts.

1. Silent Hill 2 (Playstation 2, XBox)

Silent Hill 2 ranks as my favorite horror game of all-time. It was my introduction to the survival horror genre of gaming and a huge part of why I'm such a big fan of it to this day. The game excels in storyline, characters, music, atmosphere, graphics, and scare factor. It also features one of the most prominent and recognizable icons of horror gaming -- Pyramid Head.