It may not seem like a lot, but there is a fuck ton of work that goes behind the scenes to track every piece of content, every chapter, every review here on the Backstage Pass, above and beyond the actual development of original attractions. As such, we here at the Calamity must go to great lengths to ensure our wires do not get crossed as we assemble each edition. I mention this only because we almost dropped the summary for next week’s installment of A Vampire’s Vengeance, which would have been absolutely atrocious! But thanks to a management with an eye for detail—eh, most of the time anyway—we caught the error before this went to print. We had to make sure to include the right chapter, the right summary, the right links, as we are rolling full steam ahead with this attraction, baby!
And speaking of steam, in keeping with the steamy theme in classic horror, we feature Fog, by C. Franklin Miller. It is a moderately okay story, but we hope you enjoy it anyway.
House is here with a new installment. Our story’s just getting started, and Mr. Garcia is acclimating to the what may be an incredible effort on his part to rid the house of the dark presence dwelling there.
And speaking of House, our cinematic extravaganza features films whose locus is … you guessed it, a haunted house! Well isn’t that grand?
Top this all off with the lastest from Bus Driver, and you have yourself one solid Backstage Edition. Let’s get into it →
As mentioned in the editorial, this week saw some excellent progress in A Vampire’s Vengeance. Next edition’s installment is ready to go, and the following installments are currently in progress.
The original House has been updated with consolidated chapters and a different direction. If you happened to read any of it on Threads, you’ll notice the difference when you read the latest installment linked below.
Body Count is surfacing once again! More progress is being made with the novelette in progress, which we hope to see published before the close of the Backstage Pass Vol II. This is because Body Count: Vignettes will be featured in the Backstage Pass Vol III, so we gotta be ready by the time it arrives. Keep a look for more news on this story, as we expect to launch this attraction in the early new year.
And finally, Groundskeeper will begin going through the editing stages, bringing that much closer to a much more polished release than was brought to you here Backstage. Remember, we’re building out in the open here, so things will be a bit messy, dodgy, dusty, and loud. When an attraction is fully fleshed out, then we dissassemble it and rebuild it, improving it in the process, so as to unleash a positive powerhouse in the Carnival. We hope you are as excited for Groundskeeper as we are!
We are still in the Manor with Isabelle and Edgar! At least they’re all cleaned up. Let’s see what they’re getting into, with their continued prep before leaving the Manor:
How is Mr. Garcia faring? Is he taking his second dream walk? Find out how his explorations unfold in this edition’s installment of …
One way to celebrate bringing House home is by spending the weekend watching movies about fucked up houses. Come see this edition’s Calamity on Cinema on Letterboxd:
on sale now
A traveling merchant finds himself in quite the predicament when he manages to win a duel, leading him down a dark path. A tale from the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique.
When last we rode with the bus driver, they got a flat after narrowly escaping an evolved infected. What luck! You can catch up with Part XIV here. Now what will happen? Will they manage to swap out the tire before another swarm arrives? Or will they get eaten and the story come to an abrupt end? Read on to find out →
The scream they heard was echoed far and wide by other voices. The infected, it seemed, were all around them, though very far away. The bus driver looked at Anne with wide eyes; of all the ways he thought he might die, he never considered being torn apart while patching or changing a damned tire.
Anne slapped him on the shoulder.
"C'mon, we're not dead yet. You got a spare?"
The bus driver turned and looked at the cargo bay doors. Part of his mind moved mechanically--grab keys, unlock bay doors, retrieve spare--while the rest of his mind and his entire body remained fixated on the screams. He shook his head and let the shiver it started shake out the rest of his body. Feeling unlatched from reality, he moved to last bay door and kneeled. His hands refused to remain still as he drew out his key ring; he trembled so much, he had trouble lining the key up to insert it into the lock.
"Are you always this twitchy?" Anne dropped beside the bus driver and snatched the keys from him, burying the cargo key into the lock. She pushed him out of the way as she swung the door open, letting it rest on its hinges once she was sure they were secured in their extended position.
The bus driver landed on his ass a few feet from the bus. The screams were getting louder; did this mean they were getting closer? He vaguely heard more vehicles arriving; more footsteps; more voices. One of the passengers who exited for want of stretching their limbs came running over. They reached under the bus driver's arms and began dragging him to his feet. The bus driver acquiesced, allowing himself to be drawn up. He tottered once on his feet, but soon gained his balance. Once the passenger was sure the bus driver wasn't going to drop, they let him go.
The bus driver turned to thank the passenger, and his immediate surroundings came to his attention. By this time, other members of Anne's troop had joined her. Two had the spare out of the bay while another three were in the process of raising the bus and loosening the lug nuts on the flat. More vehicles continued to arrive as the soldiers set up a perimeter this side of the highway around the bus. Some of the other passengers had gathered at the front of the bus and were staring off across the highway. He felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.
"You alright there, champ? Sorry for pushing you out of the way."
The bus driver turned to face Anne and stumbled over his words, saying:
"No, I'm sorry. I'm scared shitless."
"It's a good man who can admit his feelings." Anne swept her gaze over the ongoing efforts to replace the tire. The flat was off the bus and two soldiers were lining up the spare to settle onto the bolts. One of the soldiers called to another for an air compressor. "We'll take care of the tire," she said with an air of reassurance. "Just make sure your passengers are on board and ready to go once this is ready."
The bus driver looked at the passengers standing at the front of the bus.
"I'm afraid to find out what they're looking at," he said to Anne.
What were the passengers looking at? Their doom? Everyone’s doom? A cat meme? Who knows! There’s really only one way to find out! You can read Part XVI here!
This here is a whole lot of prep for what’s coming! First, with the Isabelle and Edgar in A Vampire’s Vengeance: shooting range you say? What does Edgar anticipate finding outside? Then with Bus Driver: what lies on the horizon that has everyone spooked? And what about Body Count, with Vignettes planned while the main attraction remains in development?
I hope you are as excited about what’s coming as we are! Remember to stay on top of your inbox so you don’t miss an issue. And please please please, do let us know what you think about what you’re reading! You can reply to this email or use any of the links below. We look forward to hearing from you!
Cordially,
Mad Alex
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