The Gibbering Horror of Howard Ghormley
April 24th, 2010 by John WolfeIn this awesome short, a man stumbles upon a key that unlocks something terrifying. Shot in creepy Super-8 format, “The Gibbering Horror of Howard Ghormley” is my kind of horror/suspense film–it plays with your mind to achieve its scares instead of using violence or gore. Many consider this piece to be in the style of H.P. Lovecraft (link takes you to Wikipedia), but it also has a strong Rod Serling-Twilight Zone feel to it.
“The Gibbering Horror” is an award winning film and has been featured on Fangoria Magazine’s site.
Source: YT user, stevedaniels5
April 24th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
That was a great find! Reminds me of some the 70s horror from Britain.
April 24th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
This was an excellent horror/suspense film!! In the second video, I was on the edge of my seat. This short film really sucked me in and the ending was perfect. Whoa….ya know? What if that were you frantically searching for the way out only to find YOURSELF as the second person in the home? Trippy for sure and delightful find John. As always my friend, nicely done
April 25th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Wow, I love everything about this film. I like the music and the mood of it the best. What a trip. It is like a nightmare forced on you in the light of day. We have a lot of old houses around here and some are abandoned. This is the abstract type of horror I always felt you would find in them when I was a kid. Something you couldn’t even describe if you tried but that would always be with you if you ever made it out at all. Creepy stuff. Thanks for finding it and posting it for us.
April 25th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
autumnforest,
Oh yeah, you’re absolutely right! Until you mentioned that, I had totally forgotten about a British film I saw, must have been made during the late ’60s or early ’70s, about a man who finds some type of flute/recorder in a cemetery. He then takes the instrument back to his hotel room and plays it. The sound of the notes draw a ghost to his room where all sorts of things happen! It does have some similarities in style to The Gibbering Horror. I wish I could remember what the film was called.
Goldie,
Glad you liked it! The premise reminds me of that line in the old Eagles’ song, “I’m Already Gone:” ‘So often times it happens that we find ourselves in chains, and we never even know we hold the key.’
Good ole Howard Ghormley was pretty much a prisoner in his own mind… at least, that’s how I interpreted it. Of course, I can relate to him in a lot of ways, that’s what made this film even more fascinating for me.
I agree 100% that it would be so bizarre to find yourself on the other end of all of this. I think an ending like the one found in this film is far scarier than finding something external from yourself being the cause.
Ethan,
I like your description of it being a nightmare forced on you in the light of day–that’s such a good assessment because it has so many overwhelming moments–almost like a giant panic attack from start to finish. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been in any of the abandoned homes in your area, but that would be a gold mine when it comes to spooky atmosphere, plus, it excites the paranormal enthusiast in me as I think of the potential.
Thanks for watching and commenting, Ethan–I appreciate it.
April 27th, 2010 at 3:24 am
I have been in some of them. I think the ones that still have furniture and curtains are the creepiest. I found a mummified opossum in one once and have been in one that was packed full of junk and had a few rooms of nothing but news paper. The real estate company that owned it said it was all going to go and to take what we wanted. I found an old slave chain and a few old lanterns. I also took this life size statue of a dog. I just thought it was funny. Most of the houses that are like this around here are not safe to enter because the buildings are about to cave in.
April 27th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
I could totally see why it would creep you out when finding homes that essentially appear to be left as they were when someone was living there–full of old items and furniture. Do you know how far back the homes go, Ethan, in terms of age?
May 1st, 2010 at 4:10 am
Some ore around a hundred or more, but the furniture and stuff isn’t all that old and is rarely in any kind of condition for use.
May 1st, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Wow! That’s very cool to have easy access to homes that are nearly a century old. I’d love to film in those types of places as well as run my digital recorders there.
May 2nd, 2010 at 9:32 am
We have some cool places here. Then of course, we have the Bell witch. She is a lot more frightening than that lame “American Haunting” movie. So bad.
May 2nd, 2010 at 1:35 pm
I never saw American Haunting, but I have heard about the Bell witch. Was American Haunting sort of like a “Blair Witch Project,” only for the Bell witch?
May 3rd, 2010 at 8:17 am
No, it is more of a twisting of the history and disregards most of the real events. There is a cave on the Bell family land and the owner has guided tours. I would love to video it, but he will not let anyone. The farm was sadly allowed to rot away to nothing. I wish that the people of Adams TN would have more of a Halloween vibe in the fall and promote the town, but a lot of them are afraid of her and anything paranormal. The town is VERY religious as is much of the south. They could make so much money off of that stuff if they wanted.
May 3rd, 2010 at 1:52 pm
It’s such a shame to see any historical location be demolished or fall into disrepair when someone has the means to preserve it, but chooses not to do so. It does sound like there’s a perfect cottage industry in the making for the town of Adams regarding the Bell witch during October if they wanted to pursue it. Reminds me of how many towns known for paranormal creatures and cryptozoological stuff have embraced that potential and sell every item under the sun in their gift shops, restaurants, gas stations etc., promoting their little aliens, devils, Nessie-like monsters or Sasquatch guys.
May 5th, 2010 at 7:15 am
I wish Adams would do that. I could make a lot of money.