Chicago Horror Punk Tapes – 2022
This was the year it all clicked. DIY horror, punk venues, glitch zines — and too many games about cursed apartments. You sent us your ghosts, and we filed the tapes. Here’s what stuck with us.
[See full 2022 review blocks — 12 months — already live in Blogger canvas]
Chicago Horror Punk Tapes – 2022
This was the year it all clicked. DIY horror, punk venues, glitch zines — and too many games about cursed apartments. You sent us your ghosts, and we filed the tapes. Here’s what stuck with us.
[See full 2022 review blocks — 12 months — already live in Blogger canvas]
Other Reviews
This is where all the misfits go. Zines, indie games, short films, outsider art, analog horror, and tech experiments — if it’s punk, sci-fi, creepy, strange, or handmade, it might show up here. All reviews by Brandon Mooster.
★ Otherworldly Finds (2020–2025):
JUNE 2025:
"Space Tape #2" (Zine) – Duct-taped from the edge of the moon and Xeroxed in pure paranoia. Reads like someone channeling Lovecraft through a malfunctioning ham radio. Alien abduction manifestos, ink blot UFOs, and a recipe for lunar chili. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"BitMutant" (Indie Game) – An 8-bit survival sim where you die of radiation before understanding the plot. Feels like playing Fallout inside a haunted CRT. The soundtrack is killer — jagged synths and static hisses like ghost transmissions. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
MAY 2025:
"Flesh Circuit #4" (Zine) – A techno-occult horror zine stapled with wires and illustrated with stitched ink. Reads like a user manual for haunted prosthetics. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Darklink" (Indie Game) – A lo-fi VR demo that pretends to be a ghost story, then becomes one. Jumpscares delivered through corrupted text. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
APRIL 2025:
"Glitchcore Manifesto" (Short Film) – A 14-minute feedback loop of punk footage, corrupted code, and chanting AI ghosts. Grainy, cursed, and deeply unsettling — like found footage left on a government laptop. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Splice Crate #17" (Street Art) – Discovered behind a scrapyard: stenciled circuitry and strobing rat eyes painted with battery acid. Urban cyberfolk horror at its weirdest. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
MARCH 2025:
"The Cell Tower Watch" (Zine) – Conspiracies, static, and surveillance fever. Like reading The X-Files through broken headphones. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Eyes of the Machine" (Browser Game) – A point-and-click ghost story through cracked security footage. Bleeds dread through pixels. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
JANUARY 2025:
"Exit Wound Radio" (Analog Broadcast) – Picked up on a modified CB rig: horror soundscapes, junkyard sermons, and pirate station screams. No ID tags, no frequency repeats. Chills with every static surge. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Gutterdream" (Horror RPG Zine) – A one-session RPG where you crawl through a dying cybercity haunted by tech-ghosts. Bleeds punk, grime, and trauma. One player reportedly cried. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
JANUARY 2022:
"Subway Mass" (Short Film) – Shot in Chicago’s abandoned tunnels, this lo-fi horror flick mashes punk nihilism with found-footage panic. One of the best DIY screamfests we’ve seen this year. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Rotten Tapes #9" (Zine) – A photocopied scream from the South Side — record reviews, horror doodles, and an interview with a band that only plays under bridges. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
FEBRUARY 2022:
"VHS Ghoul" (Browser Game) – You play as a glitch-hunting punk in a haunted video rental store. Surprisingly moving. Mostly terrifying. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Dead Batteries #3" (Zine) – Imagine a Black Flag show reviewed by a haunted answering machine. That's this zine. Chicago-centric, gritty, and loud on the page. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
MARCH 2022:
"Tenement Thirteen" (Indie Horror Doc) – Grimy doc tracing Chicago squat houses used for DIY horror filmmaking in the ’90s. Punk ghosts and peeling paint. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Noisebox" (Analog Card Game) – A punk-themed horror card game that simulates life in a cursed basement venue. Loud, clever, and cursed. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
APRIL 2022:
"Maggot Motel" (Short Film) – Shot guerrilla-style in a condemned Chicago inn, this oozes punk sleaze and analog dread. Smells like mildew and bad dreams. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Ashtrays & Witches #2" (Zine) – Horror punk rituals in the form of handwritten spells, Polaroid decay, and tape hiss poetry. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
MAY 2022:
"Alley Altar" (Installation) – Found between dumpsters in Pilsen: melted cassettes arranged in a shrine to forgotten bands and horror VHS. Part art, part urban séance. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Dead Loop" (Interactive Fiction) – You’re a punk trapped in a cursed house party. Every choice leads to new gore and fewer limbs. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
JUNE 2022:
"Scream Crate" (Micro Doc) – Archive footage of Chicago punks building horror-themed mail-order art boxes. VHS-tinted joy. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Junk Rituals #5" (Zine) – A chaotic review zine of horror noise tapes, some of which may be cursed. Smells like melted plastic. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
JULY 2022:
"Skullshift" (Indie Horror Game) – A sidescroller where you’re chased by a skeletal landlord in a haunted Chicago tenement. Punk as hell. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Stairwell Screams #6" (Zine) – Notes from a punk show gone wrong — ghosts, power failures, and someone swallowed a glowstick. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
AUGUST 2022:
"Grime Angel" (Graffiti Installation) – Spray-painted horror angel murals under the Blue Line. Eyes follow you, wings decay daily. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Blood Suburbia" (Short Film) – A punk girl fights suburbia with knives and zines. Retro splatter and anti-capitalist gore. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
SEPTEMBER 2022:
"TV Rot #7" (Zine) – Reviews of haunted TV pilots and one recipe for VHS stew. A fever dream in staples. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"FleshWires" (Body Horror Game) – You hack your body like old tech. Equal parts Cronenberg and punk riot. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
OCTOBER 2022:
"The Chicago Haunt" (Found Footage) – Unearthed camcorder tapes of an illegal horror-themed warehouse show in 1998. Music, blood, and blackout panic. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"PolterPrints" (Art Zine) – Ghost photos reprinted on Chicago punk show flyers. Haunted Xerox at its best. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
NOVEMBER 2022:
"SpecterPop" (Music Game) – Rhythm horror where each beat is a scream. Best played on headphones in total darkness. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Freakflame #10" (Zine) – Personal horror-punk essays, DIY fire safety tips, and a spooky comic drawn entirely in eyeliner. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
DECEMBER 2022:
"SnowHex" (Winter Horror Short) – Snowed-in punks battle supernatural squatter spirits on the North Side. One of the best endings of the year. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
"Holidaze #1" (Zine) – A punk holiday zine with horror film gift guides, cold weather rants, and photocopied dread. – Reviewed by Brandon Mooster
Want to Submit Something Weird?
Send us your favorite zines, micro horror games, films, or cursed objects. Email Brandon at: moosterblog@gmail.com