Morginal
Posted: 2024 Updated: 2024-12-31
The debut episode of Spirits Show draws inspiration from several references, including nods to Tales from the Crypt.
- The interactive web version
- The color version is available on my new YouTube channel
- The black-and-white version is on my Instagram
Plot of the Pilot Episode
Hel, from Metropolis (1927), reimagined in my vision as Marilyn Monroe, visits a beauty salon located in a crypt. Meanwhile, a spark ignites between her and the worker… and not just one! Her feet are polished with a circular saw.
Inspiration: Sonne by Skold and a New Take on Metropolis
Previously, after listening to the Rammstein Tribute Album, particularly Sonne in Skold’s rendition, I was inspired to create a sort of fan fiction dedicated to the Sole Survivor from Fallout 4 and the Automatron add-on.
A Tribute to Rammstein:
This fan fiction remains unfinished, but here’s the premise:
The Sole Survivor, after completing the game’s storyline (as we know, it's extremely challenging), loses their mind. They set off for Vault 111, crack open the cryogenic chamber containing their spouse, and begin experimenting with mechanized resurrection. Simultaneously, they build a fortress on Spectacle Island, capturing and torturing members of various factions. Ultimately, the Sole Survivor becomes such a significant threat that the factions band together to eliminate this new enemy of humanity’s remnants.
Back then, I became seriously captivated by the concept of a “maniac Survivor” and meticulously developed the base, essentially transforming Spectacle Island into a fully built fortress. I’ll share the video of this build later, but I’ll hint that it includes many references to Germanic-Scandinavian epics. Given that the Survivor is a person from the past, it’s plausible they would have knowledge of Norse mythology—even assuming all copies of the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda were lost. However, this is speculative, and unsurprisingly, I never finished the fan fiction, focusing instead on an epic build in Fallout.
Music Reference
The music was AI-generated, drawing from the intro of Komet by Megaherz.
Art Prompts
Of course, I’m also sharing the prompts used for the artwork. Generated with ChatGPT, the images include:
Prompt: A dark fantasy setting featuring an old cemetery with a crypt turned into a beauty salon for undead creatures. The crypt resembles a mysterious and magical shack, with a blank sign for future customization. Instead of a door, the entrance is a reflective mirror, creating an eerie yet glamorous feel. The overall atmosphere combines gothic and pin-up art styles, with a whimsical yet dark tone, blending the macabre with elements of glamour. The image should show the crypt from a front angle, with a more detailed view of the mirror entrance and the surroundings, keeping the spooky yet humorous feel.
Prompt: A detailed close-up of an old bell in motion, ringing, attached to a stone wall. The setting is dark fantasy with a pin-up style twist. The bell is vintage, possibly made of copper or iron, adorned with a skull and a vibrant pink ribbon. The focus is solely on the bell and the wall, with no additional elements. The bell is in dynamic motion, with visible motion lines or traces to emphasize the ringing. The wall is textured stone, adding a rustic look. The overall style is more illustrated, with a touch of whimsy, fitting a Halloween pin-up theme.
Prompt: A gothic beauty salon for the undead. The mirror is now completely empty, with no female cyborg character visible. The mirror-portal is embedded in the wall, creating a mysterious, fog-like effect, but the rest of the scene remains intact. The setting is dark, gothic, and glamorous, with a pink bench and intricate surroundings, but the focus is now on the empty mirror.
Prompt: Close-up of a woman's feet walking forward, viewed from behind in a dark crypt. Her right foot is human, wearing a high pink matte stiletto, and her left leg, which is mechanized, shows only the back of her heel with mechanical toes visible, including an elegant sixth mechanical toe, slightly bent and pressing against the ground. The dark atmosphere of the crypt is emphasized by the stone walls surrounding her. Far ahead in the distance is a blurred stone table, barely visible due to the distance and slight blur, adding mystery to the crypt setting. The pink dress extends over both the human and mechanical leg, creating a seamless appearance. The woman has a curvier figure, with legs that are not too slender, creating a balanced contrast between human softness and robotic power.
Prompt: In a gothic, old cemetery, there is a crypt converted into a beauty salon for the undead. The counter is a massive stone sarcophagus, and behind it stands a muscular man with a bald, slightly younger, and more handsome elongated villainous face, with a narrower face and a more predatory gaze, leaning thoughtfully on the sarcophagus, staring intently at Death, who has come in for a pedicure, creating a tense yet absurd atmosphere. Behind him are various bottles and tools, including large scissors and an angle grinder, adding to the dark humor. The setting is dark fantasy with glamorous elements, such as flickering chandeliers and luxurious decor, drawn in a pin-up art style. The man stands behind the sarcophagus counter. The scene is viewed from the front, focusing on the man behind the sarcophagus counter, with a sense of tension and evaluation in the air.
Prompt: In a gothic, old cemetery, there is a crypt converted into a beauty salon for the undead. The counter is a massive stone sarcophagus, with glamorous beauty tools inside, including a stylish angle grinder, soldering wires, spare faces, and extra eyes, along with a book titled 'All About Frankensteins Beauty' in English. The sarcophagus is glowing from the inside, creating an eerie yet glamorous atmosphere, blending elements of pin-up and dark fantasy. The focus is on the sarcophagus interior and the man's hands as he opens the lid slightly from the side. The tools inside are polished and fancy, with a prominent angle grinder and other beauty tools. The scene is viewed from above, emphasizing the beauty tools, spare faces and eyes, and the glowing sarcophagus case.
Prompt: A close-up of a bald, muscular male character in a gothic, dark fantasy setting, as he puts on fully white protective goggles, resembling ordinary work goggles for chainsaw use. He is now wearing a white shirt, and any extra elements have been removed. His hands are bare, actively adjusting and putting the goggles onto his face. The lenses are joined as a single piece, and the goggles have a simple design without extra elements. The background features gothic arches with an eerie atmosphere, combining dark fantasy and a hint of glamour. The focus is on his confident and precise action of putting on the white goggles, with shadows and subtle lighting enhancing the mysterious and elegant tone of the scene.
Prompt: A scene set in a gothic, dark fantasy cemetery where a crypt has been transformed into a glamorous beauty salon for supernatural beings. Death, portrayed as a female character with a body split vertically: her right half is a robotic cyborg with metallic details, and her left half is human with soft, feminine features. She sits in a pedicure chair wearing a Marilyn Monroe-style pink dress with pink high heels. She has an hourglass figure with a narrow waist, large bust, and curvy hips. Her right leg, including the knee, is covered in a mechanized, metallic coating. Death's face is now also split, with the entire right half transformed into a robotic, cyborg face, while her left half remains human. Her hair is now blonde, with curlers added. A man resembling a classic Hammer Studio actor (inspired by Vincent Price) is seated in front of her, his back facing us, using an angle grinder on her foot, causing sparks to fly. He appears slightly puzzled. The scene is depicted from a top-down view, capturing gothic, eerie lighting, gravestones, and the mechanical elements with sparks flying in a pin-up art style. The setting combines dark gothic elements with glamor and absurdity.
Prompt: A scene set in a gothic, dark fantasy cemetery where a crypt has been transformed into a glamorous beauty salon for supernatural beings. The perspective is from Death's point of view, looking directly at the bald man as if seen through her eyes. The focus is on the man's face and Death's mechanical left leg pressed against his chest. The man's features are detailed, showing his solid, muscular build, and he is working with a grinder tool on her leg. The scene captures an intimate interaction, with the mechanical leg's metallic details prominently displayed. Gothic lighting enhances the eerie atmosphere, while the crypt and salon background is subtly blurred to keep the focus on the man and the leg. The angle conveys a dramatic, immersive experience, as if the viewer is literally looking through Death's eyes at the man in front of her.
This is a brief overview of the first episode of Spirits Show. I invite you to participate in a poll to select the idea for the next installment.
Thank you to everyone who shares their thoughts! A quick note: Spirits Show is a periodic project, so I can’t give an exact release date for the next episode. However, here’s a clarification:
super natural monsters in post apocalypse senario
This sparks some ideas about creating something in the style of the Stand Still. Stay Silent. comic.
Let me know if you want further details or adjustments!
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Categories: My projects