Evil Musical

Evil Dead the Musical has been around since 2003, ever since Canadian playwright George Reinblatt took a hard look at the Evil Dead trilogy and said to himself, what the franchise really needs is some song and dance numbers. And wow was he right. The musical has been performed around the country to sell out crowds ever since. Most productions will have what is called the splash zone (usually the first three rows) and if you have seen the films you know what those are for - think Galliger but with more crimson. 

So when my daughter told me that her high school was going to perform Evil Dead the Musical: High School edition, I didn't believe her. Turns out it was true. Four full performances of blood, gore, and singing! And when my daughter told me she had volunteered to work tech, cleaning up blood, moving around props - chainsaw, ax, Necronomicon, I couldn't have been more proud. I got to see three of the four performances and I have to say these kids really rolled up their sleeves, got their hands bloody, and put heart and unswallowed souls into this production. It was amazing. The final performance was my favorite as they were hellbent on exhausting their entire supply of blood. So much fun. 

If you are a horror fan, then experiencing Evil Dead the Musical should definitely make your bucket list. It pops up in several cities around the country and sells out fast, so keep an eye out. Here is a list of performances that are taking place in 2019. Evil Dead the Musical

My story, The Room, will be in the new horror anthology from Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. I believe the antho (which may be a short series of anthologies) is including stories inspired by the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series by Alvin Schwartz, with those haunting illustrations by Stephen Gammell.

Audio News

I have uploaded two new videos to my YouTube channel of some old episodes of the Drabblecast (an eclectic fiction podcast with genre stories and general weirdness) and the long gone Well Told Tales podcast. My story Momentum is read by Norm Sherman in Drabblecast episode 23, and my story Piercing the Dead (also titled Ink Spot) is read by Brandon Carpenter on Well Told Tales. As I mentioned Well Told Tales is long gone but the Drabblecast is back from the dead after a hiatus. It has that new podcast smell but with a touch of the past. Norm Sherman is still at the helm but it seems he has more help this time around, and I hope that means the Drabblecast is here to stay. 

Check them out at www.drabblecast.org. 

My YouTube channel Kevin David Anderson - YouTube

LINKS

My YouTube Channel

My Website

Playwright George Reinblatt website

The Drabblecast - ww.drabblecast.org

Chilling Tales for Dark Nights.

Me on Facebook

Me on Instagram (honestly, not much going on there)

Me on Goodreads

My Amazon Author page
Performances of Evil Dead the Musical for 2019

HauntX Southern CA, 2019

HauntX the Halloween and Haunter's Expo took place in mid-February at the Pomona Fairplex and was a small but fun little con. It caters to professional haunters, home haunters, and the DIY haunted house community. There were two full days of workshops and seminars on building props, designing scares, and even preparing for a visit from the fire marshal. The vendor room had about thirty vendors most of which was for the DIY haunter, but there were Halloween knick-knacks and collectibles, hard to find horror DVDs, and enough cosplayers and picture spots to keep most shutterbugs busy.

Unlike some other Southern California haunting expos like Midsummer Scream and ScareLA, there weren’t any haunted houses to go through, but there were some interactive booths. One of the most popular was the VR game called The Raft. It’s a four-player experience where teammates board a raft and defend the swamp against an infestation of supernatural creeps. Lots of fun for all ages.

Another popular area was occupied by the Decayed Brigade. The fantastic sliding monsters of the Decayed Brigade troupe are a collection of talented and athletic individuals who have elevated a haunt scare tactic into an art form, one that originated at Knotts Scary farms in the early eights. Many of the Brigade members are former or current sliding street monsters at Knotts. The group puts on shows at horror cons, and all kinds of events, birthdays, corporate gatherings. They even have a new show designed for elementary schools in which the dress up as literary characters to promote reading. They did not perform a show at HauntX but they did conduct two different seminars at their booth, one about sliding equipment and the other on techniques. If con goers brought their own slide equipment they were allowed to slide with the brigade and take lessons from some of the best in the business.

HauntX is currently under new management. It had been around for a few years moving from location to location, but it now seems with the new owners they will try to settle in at the Pomona Fairplex. This year it felt very much like a brand-new event, the kind that comes with growing pains. Midsummer Scream, a haunting expo that takes place in Long Beach in July brings in over 20, 000 visitors during its two days. Will HauntX ever grow to that size? I couldn’t say, but they are off to a really good start.

All photos by A. Anderson