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‘Haunting Ground’ Turns 10 Today
Whatever your opinion is of Capcom now, there’s no denying how significant their influence on the horror genre has been. Our favorite genre would be unrecognizable without their games, including the Dino Crisis, Resident Evil and Dead Rising franchises. I can’t think of another publisher that has had as monumental an impact on this genre as the mansion Resident Evil built.
But this isn’t about their hits. We’re here to honor a game that went unnoticed by most folks. Ten years ago today, between the releases of Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 and Dead Rising, Haunting Ground made its debut. It was a survival horror game about a woman named Fiona, and her dog, Hewie. This game dropped players in an unfamiliar castle for a game of cat and mouse, in which the player was essentially unarmed. This is long before the trend would become popular.
Haunting Ground didn’t have a lasting impact, it wasn’t critically acclaimed or even commercially successful. What the game did do was take a page or two from the book I’m pretty sure Silent Hill wrote. This game wasn’t afraid to dump some seriously disturbing content on players, because back then, psychological horror had two definitions: one being the meaning we all attribute to it, and another that basically meant psychological warfare, against the player.
It’s unfortunate how safe this genre has become. Taboo subjects are often left untouched, even by series like Silent Hill, which fearlessly tackled everything from rape to incest, infanticide, suicide, the occult and a host of other topics that usually get neglected by developers only a few years prior. Haunting Ground released not long after Silent Hill 4, around the time when that series was beginning to lose its edge, in the twilight years of the “golden age” of survival horror, but none of that influenced its approach to what many would label “objectionable content.”
I only got around to playing the game a few years ago after I had written about it enough times to make me feel weird for not having played it. I wish I could say it changed me, or at the very least, that it left a lasting impression. I remember it, but suffice to say it didn’t resonate with me as deeply as I wanted it to.
All of the above is just my long-winded way of paying tribute to a survival horror classic, because you don’t need to love a game to admire what it achieved, whether that entails the creation of a brand new genre, or simply telling a story that needs to be told.
Oh, and before we disperse, I’d like to leave you with this creepy cinematic, in which a man with a broken face does bad things to a sleeping Fiona. Don’t say I never gave you anything.
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‘Hellraiser: Resurrections’ – BOOM! Studios Event Unleashes Five Brand New One-Shot Comics [Exclusive]
BOOM! Studios recently announced that three classic Clive Barker Hellraiser comic books are coming back to shelves, and we’ve got another exciting exclusive for you today.
Bloody Disgusting can exclusively report that BOOM! Studios will return to the labyrinthine horrors of Clive Barker’s legendary Hellraiser universe with five all-new one-shots this Fall!
A brand new generation of creators will explore the untold corners of Clive Barker’s infernal mythology, revisiting iconic Cenobites while introducing terrifying new stories that expand the boundaries of the Hellscape itself with Hellraiser: Resurrections.
Each week through the month of September, a new chapter of damnation arrives, revealing the forces gathering in the shadows. The descent begins with HELLRAISER: RESURRECTIONS – NEW WOUNDS #1 from writer Mike Costa and artist Paco Camallonga as they draw readers into the hedonistic world of Hellraiser.
When an investigation into the mysterious Puzzle Box goes sideways, the gateways to Hell open anew.
Then, hear the unmistakable chattering of death itself in HELLRAISER: RESURRECTIONS – THE ONANISTIC RITUAL #1 from writer Zac Thompson and artist Gavin Mitchell.
The Chatterer bares his teeth for a brand-new mission. His goal? To reclaim his rightful place as the right hand of the Hell Priest himself!
Next, venture deeper into the hierarchy of Hell with HELLRAISER: RESURRECTIONS – THE DEEP GOSPEL #1 from writer Tini Howard and artist Jenna Cha.
The Female Cenobite was dead. Or close to it…until the Engineer found her. But when she rejects the Engineer’s plans for her remaking, she’s cast down into the harrowing Nidus: the place where the larval stage of Cenobites fight to survive. She’s been here before and made it out alive—and she’ll do it again.
The horrors continue in HELLRAISER: RESURRECTIONS – HELL’S COUNCIL #1 from writer Nero Villagallos O’Reilly and artist Francesca Ciregia.
We saw the fall of Butterball at the end of Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Now we’ll witness his rise as the wounded Cenobite is taken in by a mysterious do-gooder who slowly nurses him back to health, all while worming her way into his brain…and maybe even his heart?
Finally, the event culminates with HELLRAISER: RESURRECTIONS – THE RETURN OF THE PRIEST #1 from writer Sarah Gailey and artist Alessio Avallone.
Caught in the sensory deprivation of Middle Hell, Elliot Spencer suffers the worst fate: no feeling at all. When the glory of Leviathan’s light finally sears through him, granting him the gift of pain—it’s revelatory. The Hell Priest must journey to remake himself and gather his Gash once more to bring the cherished blessing of pain to all that deserve it.
From fresh visions of beloved Cenobites to horrifying new revelations hidden within the depths of Hell, Hellraiser: Resurrections serves as both a celebration of Clive Barker’s enduring mythology and the first chapter of an exciting new era for the franchise. The series kicks off a new publishing initiative that will bring a new Hellraiser ongoing series and miniseries to life through 2027.
Hellraiser: Resurrections begins this September with five weekly one-shots from BOOM! and distributed by Penguin Random House. You can preorder the series at your local comic shops and digitally through major content providers, including Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play.
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