Tales from the Inner Crypt: A "Creepshow"

-

 Monologue

They say you can lose yourself in thought—but what happens when thought finds you first?

This morning, a voice I didn’t recognize spoke to me—not at me. Smooth, confident, polite, but with an edge that made my skin crawl. It whispered questions only I should’ve known the answers to… and yet, it already knew them.

“You’re a storyteller, aren’t you?” it murmured. “But who’s telling the story?”

I tried to ignore it, but it wove itself into my mind like a spider spinning its web. It started small—a snide critique of my coffee—then expanded to comment on everything around me. And there it was when I put on my favorite movie, a film I know by heart: Creepshow.

Watching it with that uninvited narrator inside my head was a strange experience. His gory play-by-play wasn’t exactly welcome.


---

Movie Review: Creepshow (1982)

If comic books, gallows humor, and a bucket of campy horror had a baby, Creepshow would be its glorious, rotting child. Directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King, this anthology delivers five eerie tales wrapped in the macabre charm of an EC Comics-style frame narrative.

My inner voice, however, had its own take.

“Ah, the vengeful corpse. Classic. But really, he should’ve used a shovel.”

In “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” Stephen King gives a cartoonish, over-the-top performance as a hapless farmer infected by alien plant goo. The voice in my head just snorted, “He got what he deserved.”

Then there’s “Something to Tide You Over,” where Leslie Nielsen steps away from comedy to play a cold-blooded villain who buries his victims neck-deep in sand as the tide rises. It’s genuinely chilling—a revenge story done right.

And “The Crate,” featuring a monstrous surprise nicknamed “Fluffy,” brought to grotesque life by the legendary Tom Savini’s practical effects. Classic monster-in-the-box mayhem with a splash of gore.

Creepshow is a loving homage to the horror comics of the 1950s, full of vibrant colors and comic book-style panel transitions. It masterfully balances unsettling horror with absurd comedy, keeping one foot in the grave and the other firmly in slapstick territory.

It’s a horror comfort watch—like being told a scary story by your sarcastic older cousin who owns way too many glow-in-the-dark posters.


---

Behind the Scenes: Gory Details & Fun Facts

The comic book in the film’s intro and outro wasn’t just a prop—it was a fully illustrated book created by Jack Kamen, one of EC Comics’ original artists. This wasn’t a mock-up; it was a real piece of gruesome art.

Stephen King committed fully to his role as Jordy Verrill, embracing the absurdity by going “full Looney Tunes” to capture the character’s doomed innocence.

And Tom Savini’s “Fluffy” wasn’t just a monster puppet; it was a masterpiece of practical effects that remains iconic decades later.


---

Nightly Storyteller Chronicles

The voice wouldn’t stop whispering—offering not just commentary, but strategy.

When I saw the Threxil looming, everything clicked.

“Val, aim for the knees, elbows, and wrist rivets. Hit those, and it’ll slow.” My voice barely felt like my own.

Val nodded sharply, eyes locked on the towering beast.

“Clatchi, grab the ruin stone. Seraphine and I will distract it.” It sounded rehearsed, like we’d drilled this in some fevered dream.

I glanced at Nyra—her breathing ragged, blood matting her side.

“Protect Val.” It was a command, not a plea. She wanted to argue but clenched her jaw instead.

The Threxil roared, shaking the ground. Deep inside my skull, the voice chuckled.

“See? This is how a real story’s told.”

The line between my own narrative and the stories I consume blurs more each day. So I ask myself—who’s the guest, and who’s the landlord here?


Stick around. Subscribe. Share.

• X (Twitter): @NightlyStoryTel

• Threads / Instagram: @NightlyStoryteller

• Bluesky:nightlystoryteller.bsky.social

thenightlystoryteller.blogspot.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

🕯️ The Gold Coin Chronicles Presents: “The Draw”

-
Image
🎙️ Intro — The Whisper Between Worlds > The rain has a voice, you know. Not the soft lullaby poets talk about, but something older… lonelier. It speaks in patterns — the rhythm of regret against a windowpane, the sigh of wind slipping through an open crack. When I was younger, I used to listen to it. But that was before I learned that some knocks shouldn’t be answered. And yet, we always do. We open the door — hoping for closure, or forgiveness, or maybe just a sign that we’re not alone. Tonight’s story begins with a knock like that… and a coin that should’ve stayed in the rain. --- 🌧️ Scene One: “The Draw” Cary, Illinois. A neighborhood where every house looks like it’s waiting for something — blinds half-closed, porch lights flickering like they’re afraid of the dark. Inside one of those houses, three friends gathered as rain lashed the windows. The air smelled like damp carpet, burnt popcorn, and stale beer. Somewhere, a fridge hummed with a tired rattle. The heater...
Read more

🕰️ Five Minute Fright: “The Watcher’s Gift”

-
Image
🎩 The Nightly Storyteller > “Time is the cruelest of currencies. We spend it without thought, we beg for more, and we always lose it in the end. But every so often… time gives something back. A second chance. A warning. Or, in this case—one final act of gratitude.” --- The rain had finally stopped by the time Evan left the funeral. He stood at the edge of the cemetery, hands in his coat pockets, watching as the groundskeeper lowered the last bouquet onto the fresh soil. His elderly neighbor, Mr. Harker, had lived alone for years—quiet, kind, and always ready with a story about “the good old days.” When the two became neighbors, Evan often helped with groceries, yard work, and fixing things around the house. Harker didn’t have much, but he always said, “You’ve given me the one thing no one else has, son—your time.” Two days later, a small box arrived in the mail. The return label: H. Harker. Inside, wrapped in soft cloth, was an old pocket watch—its gold casing aged, the...
Read more

🕯️ The Nightly Storyteller Presents: “The Price of Luck”(A Tale from The Gold Coin Chronicles)

-
Image
🎙️ Intro — The Weight of a Debt “Fortune’s currency is paid in shadow,” they whisper. Elias didn’t know he’d signed. The fine print is written in whispers only the debtor hears—an invisible ledger of repayment inked in the parts of ourselves we forget we gave up. The Collector came anyway. 🌙 The Coin and the Cold Elm and Willow, late afternoon. The air clung to skin like damp silk, heavy with the scent of wet asphalt and fresh-cut grass. Elias sat on the curb, elbows on his knees, watching cars drift by in lazy procession. The sun was setting, casting long shadows that stretched like skeletal fingers. Not waiting. Just existing. That’s when she walked by. A woman in a long gray coat, despite the sweltering heat, her steps quiet, deliberate. She didn’t look at him, but the air shifted when she passed—colder, carrying the faint scent of lavender and rain before it had fallen. Something slipped from her hand as she went. A coin. It landed in the gutter wi...
Read more