About

The Lovecraft eZine and Alien Jungle Bug Productions are proud to present Whispers From The Shadows. This live-action Lovecraft-inspired anthology web series adapts short stories from the popular Lovecraft eZine into standalone short film episodes. The series stars Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) & Katie Parker (Absentia). We also have great talents behind the camera like music composer Troy Sterling Nies (Call of Cthulhu, The Whisperer in Darkness), language consultant Britton Watkins (Star Trek Into Darkness), and of course the whole team at Alien Jungle Bug Productions.

It is our love of Lovecraftian stories that has brought us together to bring these tales to life.

H. P. Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author who achieved fame after his death through his influential works of horror which have influenced many creators over the years, including author Stephen King, comic book writer Alan Moore, director Guillermo del Toro, director John Carpenter and many more. King actually called Lovecraft "the twentieth century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale."



In life, Lovecraft encouraged others to borrow ideas from his stories and many other writers have referenced his creations, such as the Necronomicon, Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, Arkham and many more. Between that and the fact that much of his work is now in the public domain, Lovecraft's creations have far outlived him and have garnered a huge fan following, which has only grown exponentially with the growth of the Internet. Now there are a number of film festivals and conventions just for Lovecraftian films and references of Lovecraft's work are in countless books, graphic novels, games and films.

The Lovecraft eZine grew out of this fan base and has become a hub for new original Lovecraftian short stories, poetry, essays, artwork, audio stories, weekly video chats with authors and filmmakers... and now film. Founded over three years ago by Mike Davis, The Lovecraft eZine has grown tremendously in that time, publishing great Lovecraftian short stories, written by some of the best authors working today. In fact, nine of the stories made Ellen Datlow’s “Honorable Mentions” list in The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 5. It has become so popular that it caught the attention and approval of literary critic S.T. Joshi, considered by many to be the leading expert on H.P. Lovecraft.

Our initial goal is for the first three episodes, which are:

Jar of Mist (based on the short story Jar of Mist by Jeffrey Thomas) - An estranged father coming to grips with his daughter's suicide discovers a mystery surrounding her death. His search for the truth will uncover her secret life and a mysterious place called Sesqua Valley.

Storyboards drawn by Jeremy Hale Bronaugh

The Treatment Room (based on the short story The Treatment Room by Kevin Crisp) - A pre-medical student frustrated by being unable to move forward in her career, becomes obsessed with a door that no one talks about. But when curiosity takes hold will she be able to handle what she discovers in The Treatment Room?

Storyboards drawn by Jeremy Hale Bronaugh



I Am The Key (based on the short story I Am The Key by Mike Davis) - A chance encounter with a mysterious man at a bar will introduce an everyday family man to a shadowy world where what he learns will change him forever.

Storyboards drawn by Jeremy Hale Bronaugh

And, once we reach our stretch goals, we will also film three other excellent episodes. See the section on the stretch goals to learn more about them.

But who are some of the faces that will bring these characters to life? A few you may recognize.

Doug Jones - This actor has not only been in a lot of hit movies, but also many Lovecraftian films. He wears many faces including Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movies, the alien Cochise on the TV series Falling Skies, one of the Gentlemen on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and of course his starring role on Pan's Labyrinth. imdb link

Katie Parker

Katie Parker - We are thrilled to have Katie Parker in the cast. This actress starred in the Lovecraftian film Absentia. She is an up-and-coming actress who has shown she can play a strong lead character in a horrifying tale. imdb link

This Kickstarter campaign is more than just about these great stories, it is also about the great and talented people who want to bring it to life. We love Lovecraftian stories and are truly obsessed... I mean... eager to bring you these stories.

Here is our pre-production team, soon to become far larger for actual filming once we get the funding needed.

Mike Davis (Producer) - Mike Davis is the creator of "The Lovecraft eZine." In addition to editing the magazine, he hosts a web series in which he interviews Lovecraftian authors, editors, and more. He is frequently a guest at Lovecraft conventions. He lives with his wife and son in Texas, and is currently at work on his first fiction collection.

Marx Hernandez Pyle (Executive Producer/Writer) - Since graduating from Vancouver Film School, Marx has been working on a wide range of projects in different roles: over a dozen short films, nearly a dozen feature length films, over a dozen Reality TV shows (don’t judge him…), and has been a highly active web series creator. Some of his webseries credits include co-writer/director/producer Reality on Demand, co-director/co-producer Book of Dallas, cinematographer for multiple episodes of Star Trek Phase II (once known as Star Trek New Voyages), and has been the fight choreographer & camera operator for the second season of Aidan 5. He is also a proud member of the International Academy of Web Television and was judge for the 2014 IAWTV awards & 2013 Geekie Awards. In addition, he has been interviewing and writing about all things scifi/fantasy/horror for various news websites since 2007. He has interviewed hundreds of writers, producers, director, actors, and game designers.

Troy Sterling Nies (Music Composer) - Troy is probably best known for composing the films The Call of Cthulhu (2005) and The Whisperer in Darkness (2011). He also composes music for the very popular HP Lovecraft Historical Society radio dramas. He composes for many genres, focusing on modern or avant-garde styles. He enjoys combining art, theatre and literature with his compositions and performances. He is particularly interested in creating music that provides a 'soundtrack' for interdisciplinary performances/activities.

Britton Watkins (Language Consultant) - Never one to follow the normal path — received a BA in East Asian Studies at the University of South Carolina including a year at the University of Hawaii. Shortly thereafter he took off for Japan where he converted his hobby of computers into his career in training and product management in high tech in Japanese. An enthusiastic armchair linguist, Britton speaks several languages which in addition to English and Japanese include Spanish, Thai, un peu de français, and he dabbles in others like Mandarin and Cherokee. He even knows a few from various sci-fi franchises like Na’vi and Vulcan. Recently his portfolio career expanded into movie-making and xenolinguistics proper including Klingon dialect coaching for Zoë Saldana and other denizens of Kronons on Star Trek Into Darkness. Britton also created languages for his 2014 feature film Senn, which he co-wrote and produced with his husband, Josh Feldman.

Julie Hernandez Seaton (Producer/Assistant Director) - Julie attended the University of Southern Indiana where she majored in Print Journalism/Computer Publishing. She is the co-host of the GenreTainment podcast and is a talented writer & actress who co-wrote the scifi/action/comedy web series Reality on Demand and has acted in multiple films.

Jarrod Moschner (Producer/Writer/Editor) - Jarrod is an exceptional producer and post-production asset. With a background in both science and art he brings a wide range of skills from the set to the edit booth. Besides his work on the short film Silence of the Belle and web series Reality on Demand, he has years of experiencing editing for live television news. Lately he has been dabbling in animation and has a series of animated shorts premiering soon.

Jason Brasier (Co-producer) - Jason is a proud graduate of Missouri State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Media Production and the Screenwriters Certificate. An award winning writer/director/producer, Jason is also co-owner of American Wasteland Entertainment, LLC., a production company focusing on online media entertainment and film (Drifter: Broken Road, Stage Fright). A Missouri native, originally from Willow Springs, Jason developed a passion for film at an early age, but has his roots in live theater. Most recently, before diving into season two of DrifterSeries.com, Jason directed episode one of the critically acclaimed Lovecraftian web series, Shadow Bound.



Brittney Greer (Co-producer) - Brittney is an award-winning producer, extremely talented writer, and makeup effects artist. She is also a proud graduate of Missouri State University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Film Studies and the Screenwriters Certificate. Brittney is co-owner of American Wasteland Entertainment, LLC. Hailing from Dexter, Missouri, Brittney has been an avid movie lover since childhood.

Brittney also recently worked as a casting associate and second assistant director on episode one of the Lovecraftian web series, Shadow Bound.

And lets not forget the authors of the core three short stories.

Jeffrey Thomas - Jeffrey is an American author of weird fiction, the creator of the acclaimed milieu Punktown. He was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for his 2003 novel Monstrocity, and a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for his 2007 novel Deadstock. He has published 17 novels and his short stories are in 13 collections.

Kevin Crisp - Kevin teaches college biology and lives in Minnesota. He has published numerous scientific articles and textbook chapters, as well as short stories in the horror and western genres. He recently published his first novel, a western called Trouble at Timber Ridge.

Mike Davis - Besides being the editor & creator of The Lovecraft eZine, he is also one of the authors. He lives in a small town in Texas with the best wife and son on the planet, four cats, one dog, and a lot of books. He leaves it to you to guess which parts of I Am the Key are autobiographical.

Most of us are volunteering our time and some of us are putting our own money into the production because we believe so strongly in this project. But filmmaking isn't cheap and there are still plenty of costs. The money primarily goes toward expenses to fly in talent, hotel costs, catering costs (got to feed everyone), visual effects, and art department costs (props, costumes, special effects make-up, etc). You can look at the chart below for a rough breakdown. Our goal isn't to make money from you, but to offer the Lovecraftian fan-base and horror fans in general fantastic stories that may otherwise go unnoticed. All Kickstarter funds will be used to make the production stronger. If by some miracle we end up with more money than we use, those funds will be saved for a second season.

We have many excellent and fun rewards.

HD Downloads.

Special limited editions of the DVDs or Blu-rays of season 1.

Digital copies of Whispers from the Shadows music.

music. Signed copies of the scripts.

Ways for you to become part of the series.

And many more fun rewards.

$20,000 - THE SECRET BOOK: You unlock the Secrets of Whispers from the Shadows ebook for all contributors that pledged $5 or more. This ebook will republish the short stories, the adapted scripts, the writers telling the stories behind the stories, a lesson on the Aklo language, stories from the set by the cast & crew, and it is packed with set pictures. The funds from this stretch goal will be used to upgrade our equipment and increase our Art Department budget so we can make the first three episodes that much better.

$25,000 - EPISODE UNLOCKED: Drive She Said (based on a story by Tracie McBride) - A taxi driver gives a passenger a ride that will take him on a bizarre trip which changes the course of his life.

$32,000 - EPISODE UNLOCKED: Inheritance (based on a story by Patricia Correll) - A disgraced former cop is forced to take on a dirty job that will either bless him or curse him. This episode will be directed by Ben Bays, the executive producer and director of the award winning scifi noir web series Aidan 5.

$38,000 - EPISODE UNLOCKED: Wind Walker (based on a story by Neil John Buchanan) - A family trip to a remote wooded area takes a terrifying turn. Will this family survive the creatures hunting them or the terrible truth they uncover?

Back us on Kickstarter and don't wait to do so! Any amount gets us one step closer to our goal and adds momentum to the campaign.

Spread the word! Share the campaign on your Twitter, Facebook, and any other of your favorite social media tools. Tell bloggers, podcasters, and journalists about the campaign. Post about the campaign in your favorite forums.

Talk to us! Follow us on Twitter and Facebook (use #WhispersSeries). Tell us what you are looking forward to seeing. Share with us what you want to see for season 1 and future seasons. We are fans making this for fans, and we love chatting with fellow fans.

You can find us and ask us questions at the sites listed below. Plus, you can ask us a question with the “Ask A Question” button at the bottom of the FAQ. We are happy to answer any questions!