Listen, last week I mentioned the absurdity in wrangling tasks and projects of a literary circus and this week I want to say that it has not gotten any easier. The monkeys are monkeying around and the acrobats—well, they aren’t acrobatting enough for the sheer amount of content we are producing! All of that to say that this beloved edition has been borne out of the tireless efforts of the goblins who goblin like no other goblins, and we in Calamity Management are so very grateful for them.
side-eyes for the acrobats
Now then, thanks to the goblins goblinning like no other goblins, we have the next chapter of Vampire’s Vengeance, a disturbing tale of an eccentric doctor, a review of an exceptionally bipolar film, and a new chapter of Bus Driver!
As a bonus—yes, bonus; even though we include it every week, we receive their updates with extreme gratitude and indelible pleasure—we share this weeks issue of the Necropolitan Gazette, coming straight from our own wonderful Groundskeeper!
Let’s get into it →
Will you look at that, almost all concurrent projects have been completed in their redesign! All that remains is Last Resort, which, quite honestly, is not a high priority, as it is the sequel to Bus Driver, but will be overhauled this coming week nevertheless. We cannot have any remaining red dots, what with our completion of this set of tasks in such close proximity!
🟢 Body Count
🟢 The Groundskeeper
🟢 Rise of the Warlock Queen
🔴 Last Resort
Children of the Damned:
🟢 CYB3RPVNKCVNT
🟢 Unholy Requiem
🟢 Irreverent Eulogy
🟢 Shrine of Radiance
🟢 Dark Father
🟢 Archivist
With the overhaul of Archivist and Dark Father complete, the current inception of the Children of the Damned franchise is ready to move forward. This is an incredible milestone, as Children of the Damned is fast becoming a story of epic proportions, and Shrine of Radiance will prove to be the Magnus Opus of the Calamity in its entirety … so far. Who knows what evolution the Calamity will take in the far future? For now, our narrator in Unholy Requiem holds the keys to the carnival.
Did you catch this week’s Necropolitan Gazette? No? Well what are you waiting for?! The Groundskeeper shares with us the inner workings of the Necropolis:
Do you recall the penny dreadfuls of London in the 19th century? I would expect not, as that would mean you are some kind of immortal. Like a vampire, perhaps? Are you a vampire? A Vampire’s Vengeance continues, in much the same style as the penny dreadfuls of old: in serial. Come see what our elder vampire has in store for himself this week.
What is it with doctors in classic tales of terror always turning out to be the villain? Seems our dear writers had some wary ideas about these curious professionals. We visit one such doctor in this week’s tromp through horror of old.
How does a film manage to be a tale of restrictive and fascist terror when perceived from one standpoint, and a psycho-religio cautionary tale when viewed from another? We dive into Camp Hell in this weekend’s cinematic list. View the list here:
on sale now
The gift of time is, for many, an incredible gift indeed. Unless, of course, it is not a gift at all and arrives with a cost in excess of what one may be willing to pay …A tale from the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique.
Welcome back to another chapter of Bus Driver! We have arrived at the gates, the council has finished running their mouths, the passengers are loaded and locked (yes, in that order), and our bus driver is just about shitting his pants. Need to catch up? You will find Part III here. Now, let’s see if he actually shits his pants, shall we?
The bus driver turned the ignition and listened to the engine come to life. It was a whir more than a roar, almost as quiet as an electric car. Electricity being scarce, as renewable methods were being improved and grids were being rebuilt, anything requiring a high amount of electricity to operate had been relegated to nothing more than a brick, and there were some very fancy bricks out in the great wide wild. For this little venture--one which everyone was hoping would become commonplace--an team was assembled, tasked with designing an engine capable of moving heavy weight while being light and silent itself. This bus was the result of that work, with the engine being modified for other uses. The bus driver didn't know how much the new engine weighed, but he could attest to its quietness. It still hummed, and that might attract the infected, but it would only attract those within range of its sound; gone were the louder engines that would bring infected running from miles around. Still, the silent motor wasn't enough to calm the man's bristling anxiety. It helped, but terror remained, clinging to the inside of his chest and working to claw its way out.
The gates began to open, and his fear spiked, though it was tempered with a dose of relief: it was finally happening; he could let go of the anticipation attached to the waiting. He was leaving the compound he had spent his entire adult life--which wasn't saying much, maybe ten years or so--but it was all he knew after the epidemic. A big part of his fear came from imagining a life without the security of these walls.
He announced to the passengers to buckle up, and then gave the accelerator a little weight. The bus began to crawl forward, creeping toward the yawning gates, crossing their threshold and coming to a stop behind another set of gates. This was "The Trap," where embassies, visitors, and others could be checked for infection before gaining access to the compound, and a secondary line of defense in case of a breach. He watched in the rearview mirror as the gates behind him came to a close, then turned his attention forward to watch the second set of gates begin to open. He began to pull forward when the signal was given from the watchtower, and a moment later, they were through the gates and out of the compound.
A small cheer went up from a few passengers, celebrating the start of their venture. This was not well-received by all, but neither did it do any harm. The bus driver felt his terror pause a little as the half-hearted whoops and clapping rose, and it remained muted as the cheering subsided, even as he watched the gates close behind him.
With a long exhale, he let go of the compound and all of its perceived safety and security. He had a new compound now: this bus. This was his anchor, his protection, as he moved from one part of Southern California to another, and then on to Nevada. It felt sturdy and strong; in repeating the walkthrough in his mind, he considered that only in the worst situations would their security fail. Maybe if he kept moving, he could bypass those kinds of situations altogether. Hope overcame his anxiety one little piece at a time, until he believed they might actually make all the way to Las Vegas without a hitch.
He was mostly right.
Mostly.
Well well well, not only did the bus driver not shit his pants, it appears that perhaps he may have become, dare we say, excited? Terror and excitement make for quite a powerful emotional combination. This is, of course, part of the basis of the popularity of horror, is it not?
Anyway, what awaits our bus driver? What is this “mostly” business? Only one way to find out! You can read Part V here.
What a grand set of stories and announcements! The vampires are not yet vampiring but are on their way to vampire, the horrorverse is horroring, and the bus driver is driving! AND many of the other attractions are well on their way to being completed now that their foundations have been rebuilt to better support their planned awesomeness. We here at the Calamity are very excited about all of this, and we hope you are too!
Please, I beg of you below, and I’ll beg of you here, and it’s the only other time I’ll beg of you when I am not begging of you to purchase access to the attractions at the Calamity, but PLEASE take a moment to pop into one of the survey links below and give me your opinions! You have an opportunity to shape the future of the Calamity! After all, all of this is being created for your displeasure.
Now that I have sufficiently released any last shred of dignity I maintained, I bid you adieu. Until next week, my beloved Backstage guests!
Cordially,
Mad Alex
Please, for the love of all that is unholy and calamitous in this world, please let us know what you think of this content! The buttons below will each take you to a respective survey consisting of two to three questions. Your opinions will help shape the future of Backstage at the Calamity.