Chills final pages

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FEATURES // LOCATIONS, PEOPLE, MOVIES

OCTOBER // WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?

CHILLS HORROR ENTHUSIAST MAG


JULY 9, 1943


When I was in eighth grade I went on a school trip that was called the Louisiana Tour. It was mostly going around to significant sights in south Louisiana. One of the places we went was Myrtles Plantation, which is considered to be one of the most haunted places in the country. There are all kinds of stories about the place, but at one point we were standing in a room as a part of a larger group and the tour guide was talking about something, I don’t remember what. As I’m standing there I start to hear what sounds like someone hitting a piano key. After I heard it a couple of times I started to look around for the source of the noise. I didn’t see a piano, but I kept hearing it. So I asked my friends who were standing near me if they heard it, they said no. When I heard it again I said there is it again and that they must have heard it. They thought I was crazy. noise. I didn’t see a piano, but I

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SOMEWHERE SO HAUNTED UNTIL I EXPERIENCED IT FOR MYSELF. too and I nodded.At this point the tour guide starts telling a story about a soldier who had died there and that he played the piano and multiple guests had reported hearing him playing in the night.

I honestly didn’t know what to think, I guess I still don’t. I talked to the woman as we were all leaving the room and she had heard the exact same thing as me, but her husband and son had not heard it. Editor in Chief Vincent Mazzaro


OF

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Editors LETTER

A Horror Letter from the Editor

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BEHIND THE SCREAMS

Free Pass Behind the Scenes

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Ohio State Reformatory Man

The Shining

HAUNTED SPOT OF THE MONTH

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FRIGHT NIGHT

Collection of Haunted Hot Spots

Horror FILM OF THE MONTH

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Fear the unexpected

A Horror Game or Tool of the Devil?


TABLE


REFORMARY MAN

REFORMARY MAN One of the most haunted locations in the world.

OHIO REFORM PRISONERS More than 4,000 soldiers were trained for action in the Civil War at a camp which stood on the present site of the Mansfield Reformatory. Opened in August 1861,the training center was known as Camp Mordecai Bartley. It was named in honor of thee Mansfield man who served as governor of Ohio in the 1840’s. The camp was established on rolling land just north of the present main reformatory building and near the Tingley family home. A large spring at the site probably accounted for the selection of that spot as a training center since fresh water supply was a big time necessity. The spring has since been covered. The 32nd Regiment under Col. T.H. Ford was the first outfit to train at Camp Bartley. Seven hundred and 50 men had arrived here by late August 1861, and when the unit left for Camp Dennison in southern Ohio it took 16 railroad cars to transport the men.

Most Haunted Sites at Reformary: 1. Solitary Confinement 2. Cell blocks (East and West) 3. Admin Basement 4. West Attic 5. Chapel 6. SubBasement 7. Third Floor 8. East Wing (Toilet Room)

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Stone walls and iron bars they’re still here, but what of the humanity, if you can call it that, of the old Ohio State Reformatory at Mansfield. What of the 154,000 inmates who passed through it’s gates in it’s 94 years as a working prison. Not to mention their keepers, the Wardens, and the Guards, the gravediggers, and the rest, what of them remains? As it turns out, more than you might think. No matter what their crime, some sent to Mansfield have never left. They rest unclaimed in a cheerless graveyard just outside the fence. 215 numbered markers laid out row on row. Most were victims of disease, influenza, tuberculosis, but some died of less natural causes; From the violence, that is all to common inside any prison and was far from unknown in this one. And the worst of it occurred well away from the main cell block with their rows of cages stacked tier on tier,

WILLIAM PORTER Indicted in 1896 for embezzling bank funds (actually a result of technical mismanagement), Porter fled to a reporting job in New Orleans, then to Honduras. When news of his wife's serious illness reached him, he returned to Texas. After her death William Sydney Porter was imprisoned in Columbus, Ohio. During his three-year incarceration, he wrote adventure stories set in Texas and Central America that quickly became popular and were collected in Cabbages and Kings in the (1904). The camp was established on rolling land just north of the present main reformatory building and near the Tingley family home. A large spring at the site probably accounted for the selection of that spot as a training center since fresh water supply was a big time necessity.


SHAW SHANK AE PRISON

Ohio Penitentiary, Columbus, Ohio 1834

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Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison Prison

our Shawshank Trail begins at the famous Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. This building is one of the top five castle resembling structures in the country! The Reformatory is home to the world’s tallest freestanding steel cell block, consisting of six tiers, 12 ranges, and 600 cells. Four major motion pictures have been filmed here including Tango and Cash, Harry and Walter Go To New York, Air Force One, and of course The Shawshank Redemption. The building lives as a grand architectural achievement with large granite pillars and elegant construction within over 250,000 square feet. With its variety of architectural styles like Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Queen Anne, The Ohio State Reformatory is something you have to see to believe! Four major motion pictures have been filmed here including Tango and Cash, Harry and Walter Go To New York, Air Force One, and of course the big The Shawshank Redemption. The Reformatory is home to the world’s tallest freestanding steel cell block, consisting of six tiers, 12 ranges, and 600 cells. Four major motion pictures have been filmed here including Tango and Cash, Harry and Walter Go To New York, Air Force One, and of course The Shawshank Redemption.

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FRIGHT Collection of Haunted Hot Spots

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NIGHT 2


5900 W Midlothian Turnpike, Midlothian, IL 60445

Bachelor’s GROVE

C

emetery is Bachelor’s Grove and

There have been no new burials here for many years and as a place of rest for the departed, it is largely forgotten. But if you should ask any ghost hunter just where to go to find a haunting, Bachelor’s Grove is usually the first place in Chicago to be mentioned later!

located. In 1855, it was changed again to “Bachelder’s Grove” by postmaster Robert Patrick but the post office closed down just three years later. Officially, the settlement There have also have been many sightings of ghosts and apparitions within Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery itself. The most frequently reported spirit, though, is known by a variety of names from the “Madonna of Bachelor’s Grove” to the “White Lady” to the affectionate name of “Mrs. Rogers”. Legend has it that she is the ghost of a woman who was buried in the cemetery next to the grave of her young child. She is reported to wander the cemetery on nights of the full moon with an infant wrapped in her arms.

The history of Bachelor’s Grove has been somewhat shadowy over the years but most historians agree that it was started in the early part of the 1800s. Legends has it that the cemetery got its name because only men were buried here but it actually came from the name of a family who settled in the area. A nearby settlement from the 1820s consisted of mostly German immigrants from New York, Vermont and Connecticut.

The history of Bachelor’s Grove has been somewhat shadowy over the years but most historians agree that it was started in the early part of the 1800s. Legends has it that the cemetery got its name because only men were buried here but it actually came from the name of a family who settled in the area. A nearby settlement from the 1820s consisted of mostly German immigrants from New York, Vermont and Connecticut.

this ramshackle burial ground may be infested with more ghosts than most can imagine. Over the years, the place has been cursed with more than 100 documented reports of paranormal phenomena, from actual apparitions to glowing balls of light that appeared.

One family that moved into the area was called ‘Batchelder’ and their name was given to the timberland where they settled. The settlement continued for some years as Batchelor’s Grove, until 1850, when it was changed to “Bremen” by postmaster Samuel Everden in recognition of the new township name where the post office was

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There have been no new burials here for many years and as a place of rest for the departed, it is largely forgotten. But if you should ask any ghost hunter just where to go to find a haunting, Bachelor’s Grove is usually the first place in Chicago to be mentioned later!


The house was built in the early 1860’s and was purchased by William Lemp both as a residence and a place where his brewery could continue to grow and thrive. The home was stately with 33 rooms, a Victorian look, and a basement as well as three floors and an attic room, which had been made into two very large open bedrooms. Said to be one of the ten most haunted places in America, the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri, continues to play host to the tragic Lemp family. Over the years, the mansion was transformed from the stately home of millionaires, to office space, decaying into a run-down boarding house, and finally

3322 Demenil Pl, St. Louis, MO 63118

Is one of the most haunted houses in all of the United States with one of the most tragic pasts imaginable.

restored to its current state as a fine dinner theatre, restaurant and bed and breakfast. The Lemp family enjoyed success from their brewery and at one point controlled all the beer in the Midwest. They were charming and lived in the house grandly. But their lives were also full of tragedy. In 1901, William Lemp’s favorite son Frederick died and with him the dreams that he might take over the business. His death sent William Lemp Sr. spiraling. Eventually he killed himself in the home in 1904. A few years later, William Lemp’s wife died of cancer in the William Lemp Suite.

LEMP MANSION

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THE AMITYVILLE HORROR

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR T

hirty miles outside of New York City, nestled in the Long Island town of Amityville, stands the house forever linked to the Amityville Horror phenomenon. On November 13, 1974 the estate was the scene of a mass murder. Using a .35 Marlin rifle, 23-yearold Ronald J. DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family while they were asleep, which included his parents and four siblings. Thirteen months later, the Lutz Family purchased the 5-bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home at a drastically reduced price of $80,000 (due to the murders) but only lasted 28 days before leaving it. Their spine-tingling tales of paranormal activity is what propelled the legend of the Amityville Horror, “America’s most haunted house,” and spawned a torrent of books, documentaries, and films — the latest being the horror/thriller Amityville: The Awakening, which stars Bella Thorne and Jennifer Jason Leigh, opening this weekend.. Stepfather George Lutz had a history of dabbling in the occult.Lutz was said to wake up at 3:15am every morning, which was around the time Ron DeFeo carried out his murders. The Lutz Family claimed to smell strange odors, see green slime oozing out of the walls and keyholes, and experience cold spots in certain areas of the house.When a priest came to bless theallegedly heard a voice scream “Get out!” He told the Lutzes to never sleep in a particular room in the house. Other paranormal activity:

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A nearby garage door opening and closing; an invisible spirit knocking a knife down in the kitchen; a pig-like creature with red eyes staring down at George Lutz and his son Daniel from a window; George waking up to wife Kathy levitating off their bed; sons Daniel and Christopher also levitating together in their new frame beds. After telling their story, George and Kathy took a lie detector test to prove their innocence. They passed. The couple were bogged down in legal and financial issues, which prompted skeptics to believe they had motive to create a fantastical story to sell to the public.The Lutz’s former lawyer William Weber — who fell out with them over money issues — came out in 1979, claiming the three of them came up with the horror story “over many bottles of wine.”Son Daniel Lutz, who lives a quiet life in Queens, New York, as a stonemason, claims the house ruined his life and that he continues to have nightmares to this day. Murderer Ron DeFeo, claimed he heard voices urging him to kill his family.


The jury rejected that THE defense and sentenced him to six life terms.

Meeting the Murderer Paranormal contacted them. Two months after the Lutzes moved out, reporter Laura Didio assembled a group of psychic researchers to evaluate the family’s claims. The investigators spent a night in the house, walking from room to room trying to pick up ghostly vibrations. “It was like a psychic slumber party,” Didio remembers. One of the researchers, Lorraine Warren, remembers an “overwhelming feeling” of “horri-

ble depression” in the house. The team also took a series of time-lapse

photos of the upstairs landing. None of the photographs showed anything out of the ordinary except one, which had what Didio describes as “the face of what appeared to be a little boy, peering out from one of the two main bedrooms.” The investigators spent a night in the house, walking from room to room trying to pick up ghostly vibrations. “It was like a psychic


BEHIN THE SCREA Horror History Through Film.


ND

AMS


orror films, when done well and with less reliance on horrifying special effects, can be extremely potent film forms, tapping into our dream states and the horror of the irrational and unknown, and the horror within man himself. (The best horror films only imply or suggest the horror in subtle ways, rather than blatantly displaying it, i.e., Val Lewton’s horror films.) In horror films, the irrational forces of chaos or horror invariably need to be defeated, and often these films end with a return to normalcy and victory over the monstrous. Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over a 100 years ago. From our earliest days, we use our vivid imaginations to see ghosts in shadowy shapes, to be emotionally connected to the unknown and to fear things that are improbable. Watching a horror film gives an opening into that scary world, into an outlet for the essence of fear itself, without actually being in danger. Weird as it sounds, there’s a very real thrill and fun factor in being scared or watching disturbing, horrificvery scay images. There are three essential things you need to do to make a movie scary. The first is to situate the narrative in the theme of some inherent, universal fear: the dark, death, monsters, the unknown, various phobias, the supernatural, and so on. The second is to establish an emotional baseline that will allow the audience to project themselves into the story, and the third (and most important part) is to build tension and subvert expectations. Atmosphere creates suspense, suspense is ratcheted into dread, and then you choose how to exploit that dread: was it just the cat making that noise? Or was it something worse? If all else fails, you can just go for the Jump Scare.

Writing Techniques Originality and depth should be your watchwords. Horror is a well-trodden genre with conventions that have been bent, broken, and reconstructed a million times over. Think carefully about what’s going to make your ghost/monster/slasher/vampire/ zombie story different. Horror audiences know the cliches of the genre like the backs of their hands, so use this against them. If you can lead the audience down a path where they think they know what’s coming and then successfully subvert that expectation, you’ve achieved the ultimate horror coup.mera can be just as unnerving as the content of the story, and isn’t just a matter of filling your shots with mist and

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HORROR FILMS

HORROR FILMS

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How horror movies are made.

Aural Techniques Try watching the above clip from The Shining with volume turned off. Not as effective, is it? People can be just as perturbed by strange or jarring noises as they are by disturbing imagery – both play on the primordial parts of our brains that are kicked into overdrive during the experience of watching a horror film. Notice how even the increasingly discordant score that plays over the shot amplifies ou

EDIT Techniques Try watching the above clip from The Shining with volume turned off. Not as effective, is it? People can be just as perturbed by strange or jarring noises as they are by disturbing imagery – both play on the primordial parts of our brains that are kicked into overdrive during the experience of watching a horror film. Notice how even the increasingly discordant score that plays over the shot amplifies out.

The story, and the third (and most important part) is to build tension and subvert expectations. Atmosphere creates suspense, suspense is ratcheted into dread, and then you choose how to exploit that dread: was it just the cat making that noise? Or was it something worse? If all else fails, you can just go for the Jump Scare.


There are three essential things you need to do to make a movie scary. The first is to situate the narrative in the theme of some inherent, universal fear: the dark, death, monsters, the unknown, various phobias, the supernatural, and so on. The second is to establish an emotional baseline that will allow the audience to project themselves into the story, and the third (and most important part) is to build tension and subvert expectations. Atmosphere creates suspense, suspense is ratcheted into dread, and then you choose how to exploit that dread: was it just the cat making that noise? Or was it something worse? Try watching the above clip from The Shining with volume turned off. Not as effective, is it? People can be just as perturbed by strange or jarring noises as they are by disturbing imagery – both play on the primordial parts of our brains that are kicked into overdrive during the experience of watching a horror film. Notice how even the increasingly discordant score that plays over the shot amplifies ou r the shot amplifies out. The second is to establish an emotional baseline that will allow the audience to project themselves into the story, and the third (and most important part) is to build tension and subvert expectations.

3322 Demenil Pl, St. Louis, MO 63118

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HORROR FILMS GO BACK OVER A 100 YEARS AGO.

Horror films, when done well and with less reliance on horrifying special effects, can be extremely potent film forms, tapping into our dream states and the horror of the irrational and unknown, and the horror within man himself. Horror films, when done well and with less reliance on horrifying special effects, can be extremely potent film forms, tapping into our dream states and the horror of the irrational and unknown, and the horror within man himself. Horror films, when done well and with less reliance on horrifying special effects, can be extremely potent film forms, tapping into our dream states and the horror of the irrational and unknown, and the horror within man himself.

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THE

A board game or tool of the devil?


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Communicating with the dead was common, it wasn’t seen as bizarre or weird.

Spiritualism worked for Americans: it was compatible with Christian dogma, meaning one could hold a séance on Saturday night and have no qualms about going to church the next day. It was an acceptable, even wholesome activity to contact spirits at séances, through automatic writing, or table turning parties, in which participants would place their hands on a small table and watch it begin shake and rattle, while they all declared that they weren’t moving it.

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Ouija BOARD

he Ouija board, in fact, came straight out of the American 19th century obsession with spiritualism, the belief that the dead are able to communicate with the living. Spiritualism, which had been around for years in Europe, hit America hard in 1848 with the sudden prominence of the Fox sisters of upstate New York; the Foxes claimed to receive messages from spirits who rapped on the walls in answer to questions, recreating this feat of channeling in parlors across the state. Aided by the stories about the celebrity sisters and other spiritualists in the new national press, spiritualism reached millions of adherents at its peak in the second half of the 19th century. Spiritualism worked for Americans: it was compatible with Christian dogma, meaning one could hold a séance on Saturday night and have no qualms about going to church the next day. It was an acceptable, even wholesome activity to contact spirits at séances, through automatic writing, or table turning parties, in which participants would place their hands on a small table and watch it begin shake and rattle, while they all declared that they weren’t moving it.

Ouija BOARD

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Aided by the stories about the celebrity sisters and other spiritualists in the new national press, spiritualism reached millions of adherents at its peak in the second half of the 19th century. Spiritualism worked for Americans: it was compatible with Christian dogma, meaning one could hold a séance on Saturday night and have no qualms about going to church the next day. It was an acceptable, even wholesome activity to contact spirits at séances, through automatic writing, or table turning parties, in which participants would place their hands on a small table and watch it begin shake and rattle, while they all declared that they weren’t moving it.


BLOODY MARY Bloody Mary is a folklore legend consisting of a ghost, phantom, or spirit conjured to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is called three times. The Bloody Mary apparition may be benign or malevolent, depending on historic variations of the legend. The Bloody Mary appearances are mostly "witnessed" in group participation play. Historically, the ritual encouraged young women to walk up a flight of stairs backwards holding a candle and a hand mirror, in a darkened house. As they gazed into the mirror, they were supposed to be able to catch a view of their future husband’s face.[1] There was, however, a chance that they would see a skull (or the face of the Grim Reaper) instead, indicating that they were destined to die before they would have the chance to marry just once. Bloody Mary apparition may be benign or malevolent, depending on historic variations of the legend. The Bloody Mary appearances are mostly “witnessed” in group participation play. Historically, the ritual encouraged young women to walk up a flight of stairs backwards holding a candle and a hand mirror, in a darkened house. As they gazed into the mirror, they were supposed to be able to catch a view of their future husband’s face.[1] There was, however, a chance that they would see a skull (or the face of the Grim Reaper) instead, indicating that they were destined to die before they would have the chance to marry.


THE SHINING

THE SHINING Horror movies play to our greatest fears and phobias. Which elements of horror movies scare us, and EXPLAIN why? 1. Fear of Death 2. Scary Places 3. Suspense 4. Spooky Music 5. Fear of the Unusual

The Shining

STANLEY KUBRICK

The Shining is a 1980 horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the book with the same title. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) arrives at the Overlook Hotel to interview for the open position of winter caretaker. The hotel itself is built on the site of an Indian burial ground and becomes completely snowbound during the long winters. Manager Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson) warns him that a previous caretaker got cabin fever and killed his family and himself. Jack’s son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), has ESP and has had a terrifying premonition about the hotel. Jack’s wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), tells a visiting doctor about Danny’s imaginary friend Tony and that Jack had given up drinking because he had physically abused Danny after a binge of attacking.

Kubrick also utilizes the movement of the

camera to convey the emotional state of the character it is following or to intentionally disorient the viewer. This type of subjective camera movement is particularly noticeable during the confrontation between Wendy and Jack on the stairs near the end of the film and during the film’s climax when Jack is chasing Danny [Danny Lloyd] through the hedge maze. The camera movement often seems unhinged and slightly off balance, giving the viewer the same uneasy sense that the characters are feeling. Kubrick further manipulates the editing and camera movement to increase viewer tension by intentionally limiting the scope of a shot to only what the character can see, particularly with the knife. Kubrick further manipulates the editing and camera.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Hallorann gets a premonition that something is wrong at the hotel and takes a flight back to Colorado to investigate. Danny starts calling out the word “redrum” frantically and goes into a trance, now referring to himself as “Tony.” Wendy discovers Jack’s typewriter and that he has been typing endless pages of a repetitive manuscript “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” formatted in various styles. Horrified, she confronts Jack, but he attacks her before she knocks him unconscious with a baseball bat and locks him in a kitchen pantry. Jack converses

Jack Nicholson plays Jack Torrance in the “Shining.

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FAMOUS QUOTES I like you, Lloyd. I always liked you. You were always the best of them. Best goddamned bartender from Timbuktu to Portland, Maine. The Portland, Oregon, for that matter. Mr. Grady. You were the caretaker here. I recognize ya. He saw your picture in the newspapers. You, uh, chopped your wife and daughters up into little bits. And then you blew your brains out. I’m awfully glad you asked me that, Lloyd. Because I just happen to have to twentys and two tens right here in my wallet. And I was afraif there were gonna be there until net April. So, here’s what: You slip me a bottle of bourbon, a cool glass and some ice. You can do that, can’t you, Lloyd? You’re not too busy, are you laughs at him very sarcastically.

HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s HERE’s

HERE’s JOHNNY. HERE’s JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. HERE’s JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. JOHNNY. HERE’s JOHNNY JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. JOHNNY. HERE’s JOHNNY JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. JOHNNY. HERE’s JOHNNY JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. HERE’s JOHNNY. JOHNNY.HERE’s JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. JOHNNY.HERE’s JOHNNY JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. JOHNNY.HERE’s JOHNNY JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. HERE’s JOHNNY HERE’s JOHNNY. HERE’s JOHNNY

THE SHINING AXE

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he significance of the axe as a symbol of murder isn’t lost on Jack Torrance either. When he first runs into the ghost of Delbert Grady, the axe is one of the first details he remembers about the Grady murders. As he tells the ghost, “You chopped your wife and daughters up into little bits.” Little does Jack know that he’s going to try to do the same thing in the very, very near future. As we watch Jack’s spiraling mental state, all we can think about is how brutal it would be to be killed with an axe. Oh yeah, and we get to witness how awful it would be when we see Jack kill poor old Mr. Hallorann with one.

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