Brilliant Acting Elevates Common Tropes That Possess ‘Nefarious’

Despite clichéd characters and worn dialogue, this horror film from God’s Not Dead producers proves surprisingly good.
— Josiah DeGraaf —

Yes, The Twilight Saga Vampires Are Scary—But For All the Wrong Reasons

What’s scarier than blood-sucking vampires? Abuse and obsession presented as a desirable ideal.
— Amy Timco —

Christian-Made Fantasy Can Shine Light in the Grimdark

Believers debate whether our stories should embrace dark elements or stay “clean,” but J. R. R. Tolkien suggests a third option.
— Tim Pietz —

Christian Publisher Bethany House Defends ‘At Love’s Command’ From Outraged Critics

Plot twist: a Christian historical romance novel shows brutal reality, and secular readers respond by calling for its censorship.
— Mike Duran —

The Beauty of Short Horror Films

Short horror films use a bare bones approach to storytelling to craft films to send chills down your spine.
— Parker J. Cole in March 2021 —

How God Uses Story Villains for Our Good

We can love villains when they reveal our brokenness and lead us to God’s grace.
— Zackary Russell —

What Tolkien Taught About Fighting Evil

Some of the most epic battles of fantasy fiction were penned by J. R. R. Tolkien. So what did Tolkien show us in his fiction about fighting Evil?
— Travis Perry in January 2021 —

Stargate SG-1 Season One–Making Weak Ideas Into a Better Story

Stargate SG-1 is new for me. I didn’t think the Stargate movie was great–this post details how the series started off with weak ideas but made good stories anyway.
— Travis Perry in December 2020 —

Prospect: Why I Like Nobledark or Grimbright Better than Cheerful and Corrupt

Prospect is a movie I’d recommend over Rim of the World. I both review Prospect and say why I like its type of tale better.
— Travis Perry in November 2020 —

Shields Among Us

Our “shields” can be necessary but also harmful, guarding us from enemies but also our own good.
— Laura VanArendonk Baugh in November 2019 —

How ‘It: Chapter Two’ Defeats Its Devilish Clown

“We must realize that our enemy is just a clown. He’s a loser.”
— Daniel Whyte IV in October 2019 —

Are We Part of the Problem?

What is our responsibility as authors? Do we share any of the blame if our words put ideas into people’s heads or ignite the brittle underbrush that already exists in depraved minds and is just waiting for the spark?
— Mark Carver in August 2019 —

From the Archives: How Dark is Too Dark?

How dark is too dark? Is it permissible to include horrific and explicit elements in a story intended for the Christian market?
— Mark Carver in July 2019 —

Against the Tragic Villain Backstory

I’m mostly against the tragic villain backstory as a storytelling device. Let me tell you why.
— Travis Perry in June 2019 —

What Does it Mean for a Story to be “Christian”?

There are at lease nine different ways to define a story’s relationship or lack thereof to Christianity (we’re counting 🙂 ). And that’s not all.
— Travis Perry in May 2019 —

Bad Seed

Why are the origins of evil so fascinating? Why do we crave stories about corruption?
— Mark Carver in May 2019 —

Why Batman Can’t Save Gotham

What Gotham needs is not a dark knight, but a hero who operates by a different code.
— Daniel Whyte IV in January 2019 —
  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9

Lorehaven epilogue sponsors