The Devils Playground Facebook page describes itself simply, as “a horror community for everyone who shares a love of all things horror.” They also inform visitors that the account is “not for the easily offended,” but despite their warnings, the page has become incredibly popular. Amassing over 319k followers over the past decade, this account is a favorite of Facebook users from all over the globe. Through sharing relatable memes and jokes about what it’s like to be an antisocial lover of spooky season, The Devils Playground has become a place for those who wish it was Halloween all year long to gather and bond.
To learn more about why so many people love spooky pages like this, we reached out to horror enthusiast and the woman behind Black Girl Horror, Kendra. She shared that she first got into horror at a young age, by watching films like People Under the Stairs, Tales from the Hood, and Child’s Play. “Horror comforts me,” Kendra says. “I love plot twists and jump scares. I get so lost in the world of horror!”
Kendra also shared that anyone can be a fan of spooky and scary things. “I think our love of horror brings us together, but there is no typical horror fan,” she noted.
We were also curious if there were any common misconceptions about horror enthusiasts she’d like to dispel. “I think a common misconception is you are a little weird if you like being scared. There is no one type of horror fan, so I think this is false!” Kendra added with a laugh.
We also asked Kendra for her recommendations of some of the best horror content to start checking out as spooky season approaches. “My favorite horror movies are Get Out, Insidious, and The Conjuring universe,” she told Bored Panda. “My favorite horror podcast is Urban Legends with the Ghost Brothers. My favorite horror book is Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson.”
And of course, if you’re interested in hearing more recommendations, be sure to visit Kendra’s blog Black Girl Horror!
For a previous Bored Panda article featuring photos from the Terrifying as [Heck] subreddit, we reached out to horror enthusiast and photographer Rick Jones to hear how he got into shooting frightening photos. “I've loved horror since I was very young (some might say too young),” he shared. “I recall being about 5 or 6 years old drawing monsters with blood-drenched fangs and chopped limbs, and I always watched any monster movie on TV that I could.”
“The horror photography grew from my lifelong passion for horror and my fine art background,” Rick explained. “It was a way to bring the two things together. I do most of my own makeup and sculpting, painting, and staging as well as lighting and photography so it's great that I get to smash all those practical skills into my genre passion!”
When it comes to what he decides to shoot, Rick says he’ll take pictures of anything he finds cool. “Sometimes that's a popular character such as Freddy Krueger or Valak the nun, and sometimes it's something original that came from my own head,” he explained. “My favorite themes are my own unique twist on a popular theme - for example, I once shot an art nude model as the Bride of Pinhead, and she was fully covered in pins all over her body. It was a wild idea, but fans loved it.”
Rick also previously shared that he finds real life things to be even scarier than fantasy horror. “Vampires, zombies, demons, etc. - I am utterly fearless. I don't actually believe in anything supernatural anyway,” the photographer admitted. “But real life crime, serial killers and that type of thing, is pretty scary because despite my passion for gory horror flicks, I don't actually like ‘real’ horror.”
“I have created a few shoots which depict murder victims and realistic gore, but when you are creating these images, you are so engaged in the art form, and detached from the reality that it doesn't feel disturbing,” Rick continued.
