Gehenna & Hinnom Publishing - Call for Submissions: Visceral Horror Anthology, “Year’s Best Body Horror”

In September of last year I reviewed the debut novel, Plane Walker by American author C. P. Dunphey. It was my considered opinion that Plane Walker, clearly inspired by the likes of seminal Sci-fi authors such as Philip K. Dick, is a hugely enjoyable slice of Sci-fi/horror that will result in the reader thinking, contemplating, questioning, fearing, enjoying and confused in equal measure. And that in my book is no bad thing when it comes to literature.

Clearly, Mr Dunphey was not completely put off my usual self-indulgent ramblings (either that or he had exhausted every other blogging possibility on this and every other planet) because a few days ago he contacted me again.

The message he sent was regarding the call he currently has for submissions for the first anthology of horror from his company, Gehenna & Hinnom. The theme is body horror and they are aiming to have it published by November. He wanted to humbly ask (I had previously warned him that I require all my requests to talk to me while prostrate and not looking me in the eye) if there was any way I could reach out to your readers and followers (he forgot to mention the bulk on my readership - the captive audience that are the patients wearing straight jackets in their padded cells) about the anthology. He went on to say that he feels the themes and goals of the collection will be right up their ally and it would be an honour to be featured on the 5D website again. 

Hmmm, as if I would be swayed by such words as 'humbly' and 'honour'............... of course I bloody well would. You all should know by now that I'm anybody's for a flattering word and bottle of red wine. I never said I was classy, but I'm certainly cheap.

A passion project by author C.P. Dunphey, Gehenna & Hinnom started out as Gehenna Publishing House, eventually forming into its present state. As they transform and reach for larger, more grand pursuits, they hope that you will follow them and join them on this blasphemous, wicked journey into all things macabre and morbid.

Gehenna & Hinnom is a continuously evolving and adapting company with the hopes of bringing horror and science fiction fans everything they could ever desire. From articles, short stories, anthologies, and even novels, they want to make this site a home for the deranged and ingenious.

Sounds just like my type of horror degenerates. So here you go with the project.....

Call for Submissions — Visceral Horror Anthology, “Year’s Best Body Horror”

GREETINGS FROM THE ETHER,

The first anthology of Gehenna & Hinnom will be published in late-September of 2017. It will feature only the most disturbing and horrifying body horror tales readers have ever read. The challenge is up to you, the authors. How strange is your narrative capable of being? How morose is your prose? How in touch are you with the macabre?

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

We are seeking stories for this anthology that are of a Cronenberg-style theme. If you don’t know who David Cronenberg is, we suggest watching clips or the entire length of films such as Videodrome, The Fly, and Scanners. Genres can meld together. Science fiction, horror, weird fiction, cosmic horror, fantasy, all of these are acceptable as long as the stories don’t deviate from the body horror nature of the anthology.

As defined by Wikipedia - BODY HORROR, BIOLOGICAL HORROR, ORGANIC HORROR OR VISCERAL HORROR IS HORROR FICTION IN WHICH THE HORROR IS PRINCIPALLY DERIVED FROM THE GRAPHIC DESTRUCTION OR DEGENERATION OF THE BODY. SUCH WORKS MAY DEAL WITH DECAY, DISEASE, PARASITISM, MUTATION, OR MUTILATION.

WHAT WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR:

Absolutely no erotica. This is non-negotiable. Nothing political, unless it is satire. Uses of rape, necrophilia, bestiality, etc., are allowed though be very careful with these themes. If it is not integral to the plot, or if it is clearly gratuitous, your story will be rejected. We want to provide a certain amount of quality for our readers. This is an adult-aged anthology, but please be professional and technical with your writing.

Stories that are not proofread and have mistakes that would be avoidable with a single read-through WILL be rejected.

DEADLINE: AUGUST 15TH, 2017

PAYMENT: UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE UNABLE TO PAY OUR AUTHORS AT THIS TIME SINCE WE ARE A NEW, EVOLVING COMPANY. HOWEVER, A COMPLIMENTARY COPY OF THE FINISHED WORK WILL BE YOURS, FOR FREE. PUBLICITY AND ARTICLES BASED ON EACH AUTHOR WILL ALSO BE PUBLISHED FOR OUR READERS, HELPING YOU FURTHER DEVELOP YOUR PRESENCE AS A VOICE IN HORROR LITERATURE.

Minimum Words: 250 (Flash Fiction)

Maximum Words: 8000 (Short Fiction)

No novellas.

Short stories can be solicited AND unsolicited, though indie authors will be given higher priority as we hope to launch many unknown authors into the world.

Multiple Submissions: Accepted. Do not exceed 3 for each anthology.

Simultaneous Submissions: Generally, no. It depends on how good the story is. Please send a query concerning this if you plan on submitting to other publishers after or before you submit to us.

What to send:

 • Title Your Email as: Submission — Body Horror — Story Title

 • Author Name

 • Title of Work

 • A Short Description of the Work (2-3 Sentences)

 • A Short Author Bio

 • Attach the Entire Manuscript in either a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file. DO NOT PUT STORY IN BODY OF EMAIL (This is for Editing Purposes)

 • Format the Manuscript in Standard Manuscript Format. Reference here: Shunn’s Standard. STORY WILL BE REJECTED IF IT DOESN’T FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES.

 • Send All Submissions to gehennapublishinghouse (at) gmail (dot) com.

RESPONSE TIME: We will try to respond within 2-3 weeks (usually sooner) in regards to our decisions of the stories you submit. We understand that when a story is rejected, the normal immediate reaction is to submit elsewhere because time is very valuable. Because of this, we will do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.

RIGHTS: Exclusive global English first print and digital rights for one year, and nonexclusive print and digital rights for term of copyright.  All other rights are reserved to the author.

REPRINTS: We will accept reprints as long as you, the author, or agent, hold the rights to the work.

C. P. Dunphey was born in Staten Island, New York. He grew up in Southern Mississippi and had an interest in writing since he was very young. In 2015, he founded his own publishing company, Gehenna Publishing House. His first novel, Plane Walker, was released in 2016. He hopes to further his writing as well as offer authors opportunities to be heard and read, his dream being that Gehenna Publishing House becomes a household name. The sequel to his novel, Plane Walker, titled Heiron, is slated for release in early 2017.

Facebook | Twitter | Official Site

This article can also be found via the 5D website www.5d-blog.com. There you can find a veritable feast of blog articles, news items, pictures and and other mouth-watering salutations to the gods of the geeks and the nerds. We have now inherited the earth, you know.

The website currently gains in the region of 1500 hits per month and the blog articles separately receive in the region of 5000 page views each month. 

In addition the 5D website now has PayPal Donate button. Any donations kindly made will be fed directly back to help with a podcast materials, competition prizes and other general costs etc. If you wish to contribute to the exciting growth of the website & blog then we here at 5D headquarters would be eternally grateful. If you would like your contribution to be acknowledged publicly then simply send a message via the website’s contact section and we’ll send you some love!

If all that was enough to entice to 5D land, should any of you fine people out there wish to advertise on the 5D website then have a look at the offer below.

Inner Ghosts - Filming now complete & the Kickstarter begins soon!

Good grief! Was it really two years ago when I first wrote of my great pleasure in announcing that 5D was to be collaborating in helping to publicise the production of an Independent horror film from Portugal, INNER GHOSTS ? Well it seems that it was.

If I remember correctly,  part one of the grand 5D plan was that over the next days, weeks and months I would be bringing you information about the filming of INNER GHOSTS itself (which began in April 2015 in Lisbon). 

The second part of the 5D plan was that as time progressed it would hopefully see me being able to let loose some nuggets of interest and excitement about the post-production and subsequent release of the film. The final part of the 5D cunning plan would feature the subsequent crowdfunding campaign which would no doubt include some rather mouth-watering contribution incentives. 

But before I go any further let me push your way a short synopsis reminder of the plot;

"HELEN is a brain researcher trying to develop a revolutionary therapy to treat degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. To prove her theories, she needs to run cognitive tests on ghosts: beings who apparently can act and remember without the need of a physical brain suggesting that unresponsive patients whose brains are too damaged to function can be accessed, somehow, through their living souls. 

After the death of her mentor, Helen finds an apartment inhabited by benign ghosts who agree to be tested. The problem is Helen renounced her gift 15 years ago after the loss of her daughter when she made a vow never to contact the other side again. 

Things change when an artist called ELSA begs Helen for some spiritual training hoping to get rid of a demon who has been haunting her for many years. Helen reluctantly accepts it unaware of the demon's true goal: finding her.........triggering a set of events that will bring Helen face to face with the demon she has known all along. After so many years, two enemies are about to meet for the last time, showing us that revenge is a dish that’s still boiling hot........"

Well it seems that part one of the plan has been fully accomplished with the filming now complete and along the way a few snapshots of behind the scenes goodies and information provided by yours truly. Well, yes they were given to me first by the filmmakers - but in the time-honoured tradition of my desperately hanging onto to the coattails of more talented individuals than myself, I duly passed on the material and pretended that I was heavily involved in the process.

INNER GHOSTS is produced by Bad Behavior, a film company created by two self-confessed hardcore horror aficionados whose intention from the very beginning was to work to produce a body of work that would not only rival the classics of other European and American horror, but  would also see Portuguese horror at the forefront of a new vanguard of classic horror. The film makers in question are;

Paulo Leite, a Brazilian/Portuguese (writer and producer) trained at the prestigious European Producers Workshop from the EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs). Paulo has nearly 20 years experience in the TV and film industry. I also know that Paulo works some ungodly hours, a fact that I can testify to first hand after holding a Skype conversation with him at 1 in the morning this weekend!....... Slave driver.......

Gabriel Augusto (producer) has over 10 years of marketing and branding experience for a number of prestigious Portuguese companies. .

Joalo Alves (director) is a multi-talented writer, illustrator, designer, animator, and VFX artist. After four years working professionally in animation, he wrote, directed, and pretty much everything else, the short horror/western BATS IN THE BELFRY (2010). The animated short did a worldwide festival run that lasted four years, and won several awards (MOTELx, Fantasporto and others) and was sold to Fearnet.com before getting a theatrical release in 2013. INNER GHOSTS is João Alves' first feature. 

As yet I have no idea if Gabriel or Joalo also like to hold conversations with their team in the early hours of the morning. What I do know is that they are about as confident an anybody I've ever met in the Indie film world that they are into a winner with this film. Of that they are absolutely certain.

The confidence of which brings me on to the final part of the original 5D plan mentioned at the beginning of this piece, namely the crowdfunding campaign. The Kickstarter campaign starts very soon, for which 5D will do what little it can to help with the publicity and all round sharing of the love. In the meantime, let me share some of the words with you from the team themselves about the motives behind the crowdfunded;

WHY A CAMPAIGN?

"We wrote, developed and produced INNER GHOSTS because we love horror and we love the people who love horror films. Film is an expensive medium. It is much less expensive than it was 20 years ago, but still quite expensive if you really want to do it right. We are now in sound post and from the development until now, we were able to make every euro count. We took the project as far as we could go with what we had.

Now we are thrilled to bring the project to the best community in the world: horror fans! You are the reason why we are doing all this, and Kickstarter has some of the best horror fans in the world! That’s why we are asking for your support. That’s why we are opening our film and ourselves to you. 

Sound matters! The film turned out too good. We need a sound post that will make it justice. We will need real music. Real ADR. Real foley. Real sound mix. Real deliverables. So you will get not just the best horror story, you will experience the best film. We want you to experience INNER GHOSTS as true horror fans should!

Our campaign starts in April. 

Check the amazing rewards we’ll have and enjoy INNER GHOSTS."

The technical stuff..........

Title: INNER GHOSTS

Producing Countries: PORTUGAL / BRAZIL
Genre: SUPERNATURAL HORROR / DRAMA

Length: 90 MINUTES

Language: ENGLISH

Locations: LISBON / CASCAIS

Cast: CELIA WILLIAMS, ELIZABETH BOCHMANN 

IRIS CAYATTE, NORMAN MACCALLUM, AMANDA BOOTH 

ANA SOFIA LEITE, PATRÍCIA GODINHO, JOÃO BLÜMEL

Director of Photography: MIGUEL SALES LOPES A.I.P.

Digital VFX: ANIBRAIN (INDIA)

Written by PAULO LEITE

Produced by PAULO LEITE and GABRIEL AUGUSTO

Directed by JOÃO ALVES

PICTURE SPECS

Shot with: RED DRAGON 5K RAW

Lenses: ARRI / ZEISS ULTRA PRIME

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

© 2017 BAD BEHAVIOR ONE LDA

You can find out more information regarding Inner Ghosts at the following links;

The Inner Ghosts official website is RIGHT HERE 

The Bad Behavior Website

Check out their FaceBook page

Follow them on Twitter 

This article can also be found via the 5D website www.5d-blog.com. There you can find a veritable feast of blog articles, news items, pictures and and other mouth-watering salutations to the gods of the geeks and the nerds. We have now inherited the earth, you know.

The website currently gains in the region of 1500 hits per month and the blog articles separately receive in the region of 5000 page views each month. 

In addition the 5D website now has PayPal Donate button. Any donations kindly made will be fed directly back to help with a podcast materials, competition prizes and other general costs etc. If you wish to contribute to the exciting growth of the website & blog then we here at 5D headquarters would be eternally grateful. If you would like your contribution to be acknowledged publicly then simply send a message via the website’s contact section and we’ll send you some love!

If all that was enough to entice to 5D land, should any of you fine people out there wish to advertise on the 5D website then have a look at the offer below.

PGC studios and The Honeymoon Phase film.

A little while ago I was tweeted and asked by the good people at PGC Studios if I'd be interested in helping to share the love for their current movie project, The Honeymoon Phase. Well, I say that they're "good people", after all it's fair to say I don't know them very well, I'm just assuming. On looking at their website and digital network pages everything seemed all well and above board - just a new Philadelphia based multimedia production company with some grand and vibrant plans for the future. No signs of them belonging to secret Pennsylvanian Wicker man sects, no signs of ritual bathing in the still warm blood of their independent movie making enemies and no apparent affiliation to Russian mobsters/Russian plans to influence Government elections - what, too soon?

So in an effort to allay my fears that they could be Wicker-burning-blood-soaked-revolutionaries we at 5D decided that we would have a nice little chat to find out a little bit more about PGC studios.

Q) First of all, tell us a little bit about the people behind PGC studios.

We are a husband and wife team.

About Phillip G. Carroll Jr:

Phillip G. Carroll Jr. is an emerging independent filmmaker from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the founder of PGC Studios, LLC. Phillip studied Film & Media Arts at Temple University where his film, Words of Atonement, won Best Undergraduate Film his freshmen year. Phillip strives to tell meaningful stories that capture the truth of the human condition, challenge society’s views and beliefs, and most importantly are a joy to watch. Through the collaboration of many talented artists, Phillip’s award winning films have been screened at festivals around the world, along with four of his films having been streamed on Comcast OnDemand. Phillip's mission is to create movies that ultimately lift the human spirit, promote love, and encourage others to follow their dreams - all in an effort to help people realise that whether your life is like a drama, comedy, or horror film, you are never alone.

About Chloe Hendrickson:

Chloe Hendrickson is a U.K. trained actress and one of the CEOs here at PGC Studios. With her love of performing arts, Chloe runs the Casting Department where she enjoys matching actors to the perfect role. She loves interacting with fans through the PGC Studios social media streams and is your first contact upon reaching out to the company. She has been featured in multiple award winning films both domestic and abroad; including A Slice of Life, a short film that ranked in the top 200 for Season 4 of Project Greenlight. Though she can walk in the shoes of any character that she is cast, horror is her passion and she always tries to get involved with horror projects. Chloe has recently spearheaded the creation of Fear Crypt Productions which is now officially the horror wing of PGC Studios. Escapism drives Chloe’s love of film. Her mission as CEO at PGC Studios is to take you into a whole different reality to escape from your everyday life. But beware… if its a Fear Crypt Production, your reality may become a nightmare...

Q) What sets apart PGC from other film companies? Go on, sell yourself!!!!

PGC Studios is a multimedia production company that specialises in creating cinematic story driven content. Through the creation of our feature films, commercials, and corporate videos, our goal is to make you, the viewer, feel emotion. Whether that be through laughing until your sides hurt, screaming until you wake the neighbours, crying as you place yourself in someone else's shoes, or sitting on the edge of your seat as your hero faces off against the villain - we here at PGC Studios believe that the greatest gift you can give someone is to make them feel alive and connected to each other. Whether your life is like a drama, comedy, horror, or some genre bending mashup in between - you are never alone, because everyone has a story to tell.

Q) What are your thoughts on the current indie film industry and the changing nature in how we watch films?

The film industry as a whole has been changing since its beginning in the late 19th century. With video cameras and editing software being so readily available today, anyone can become a filmmaker. This is awesome! The slight downside is that their is an abundance of content. Though its harder to have your work noticed today, I’m a firm believer that the cream will always rise to the top. All of us indie filmmakers have to step up our game to tell the best, most unique stories possible. Theatrical distribution is increasingly becoming home to mainly blockbuster films. Indie films that are not festival darlings have a very hard time breaking out. Even on Netflix or Amazon Prime, unless people already know about you or your film, there’s probably very slim chance they will find your work. 

The good news is that because of smart phones and the Internet, people are also consuming more video content than ever before. Its up to us as filmmakers to also be marketers so that we can take advantage of all of the platforms at our disposal. We need to build communities online around our films and create buzz about our work on social media. There are so many different ways to have your work shown today, we just need to let people know where to view it, and more importantly, why they should watch our films.

Q) What are your personal movie obsessions?

Phillip:  Its funny, The Honeymoon Phase is psychological thriller, but my current movie obsession is La La Land. As an up and coming filmmaker trying to make it in the industry with my wife and creative partner, actress Chloe Hendrickson, I completely relate to the story of chasing your dreams alongside the person you love. I love the cinematography, creative use of lighting, production design, musical score and pure joy the film elicits. I think as a filmmaker your job is to breathe life into any project you work on through the lens of your own personal life experience. So where Damien Chazelle created a musical romantic comedy, Chloe and I are creating a psychological thriller with The Honeymoon Phase to explore the nature of relationships and identity.

Chloe: My favorite movie is 'Gone Girl' I love complex female villains and that's the best one I've seen on screen.

Q) I’m particularly interested in the ‘horror wing’ of the company, Fear Crypt Productions and particularly enjoyed 'Wicked Conclusions', the short film that features on your website - tell us a little about the philosophy and plans for this area of the company.

Chloe:I love watching horror shorts, and I had so many horror ideas that I thought would make great films, so I wanted to create a production company in order to do this. 'Fear Crypt Productions' is fairly new and we don't have a lot of content there yet but we canguarantee as our company and fans grow...so will the content. We will continue to create more and more scary shorts so our fans can pick and choose from a wide variety of horror sub genres and watch all the ones they are interested in.

Q) You're about to embark on your first full length feature - The Honeymoon Phase. Firstly, what is the premise of the film?

The Honeymoon Phase is a psychological thriller following struggling young lovers, Tom and Eve, who must endure a 30 day scientific study. Room, board, $50,000 and a month alone together in research facility housing.

What could possibly go wrong...

Q) Tell us about the cast & crew.

We are currently in the process of attaching people to the project - all that information will be released in the next few months. All of our social media will announce who is on board the project as they attach themselves to the film. 

Q) What sort of budget are we talking about and what are the challenges in terms of financing a film of this nature?

Our initial budget for The Honeymoon Phase is $25,000. We want to pay everyone in our cast and crew some form of compensation so that they do not have to struggle to get by while we are shooting. $25,000 allows us to compensate everyone, though I wish we could compensate them more! In terms of challenges, this will be our first time crowdfunding. We will be using Kickstarter as our platform, so its all or nothing. I think the greatest challenge for us will be expanding our Kickstarter supporters and viewers of the film past our circle of friends and family to reach a broader audience.

Chloe is already working to create a community of supporters through The Honeymoon Phase's social media pages. Our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have the username - @WhoYouMarriedTo. We’re hoping this unifying tag line will fuel the curiosity in people to want to know more about what happens in the film. 

Q) You plan to show all aspects of making this film from script to post production. What's the reasoning behind this and in what form will this take?

Ever since I saw the behind the scenes featurettes for Jurassic Park as a kid, I have loved watching how movies are made. I think its wonderful, especially for kids and teenagers, to see what goes into making a movie. Robert Rodriguez, the prolific indie filmmaker, kept extensive notes on everything he did while making his first feature, El Mariachi, with the intent on turning it into a book chronicling his experience - Rebel Without a Crew. I like to think if he did the same thing today, he’d use his iPhone and Facebook Live. Chloe and I want to throw open the curtain to reveal exactly what goes into making your first independent feature film. What better way to do it today than through vlogs and Facebook Live videos? Chloe and I’s goal is to create a community around the film of people not only interested in the story of The Honeymoon Phase, but of people who are also interested in learning about how to make your first feature film. I think there is something mythic about a director’s first film. I would love to share my own experience with other filmmakers - either by giving them tips on what worked for me or by warning them about what not to do when making your first film! Later this spring, in the run up to The Honeymoon Phase, I’ll be launching a podcast called Your First Time where I chat with directors about making their own first feature films. I figured one of the best ways for myself to prepare is to talk to other filmmakers about their first times. That and its therapeutic haha. If you’d like to check it out, please visit https://www.pgc-studios.com/yourfirsttimepodcast.

If anyone reading this has made a feature film before, I’d love to have you on the podcast to hear your story!!!

Q) Besides the feature film, what are your plans for the future?

While I am in post production on The Honeymoon Phase, I will begin writing the screenplay for my second feature film. Chloe and I will be heading out to L.A. as soon as the film is complete to shop it around and to use it to pitch our second feature film. The goal is to slowly build a film making career off of the success of each one of our films.

Thank you very much for taking the time to interview us. I hope you and your readers will enjoy The Honeymoon Phase when its complete! 

We’ll be launching the Kickstarter later this spring. To learn more please visit our website at www.TheHoneymoonPhaseFilm.com and follow one of our social media pages for the film:

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/whoyoumarriedto/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/whoyoumarriedto

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/whoyoumarriedto/

Thank you!

I'd like to thank Phillip & Chloe for giving me some of their valuable time to talk to 5D and I offer my genuine hope for their future success. Keep your eyes peeled for future collaborations between us and them!

This article can also be found via the 5D website www.5d-blog.com. There you can find a veritable feast of blog articles, news items, pictures and and other mouth-watering salutations to the gods of the geeks and the nerds. We have now inherited the earth, you know.

The website currently gains in the region of 1500 hits per month and the blog articles separately receive in the region of 5000 page views each month. 

In addition the 5D website now has PayPal Donate button. Any donations kindly made will be fed directly back to help with a podcast materials, competition prizes and other general costs etc. If you wish to contribute to the exciting growth of the website & blog then we here at 5D headquarters would be eternally grateful. If you would like your contribution to be acknowledged publicly then simply send a message via the website’s contact section and we’ll send you some love!

If all that was enough to entice to 5D land, should any of you fine people out there wish to advertise on the 5D website then have a look at the offer below.