Kathryn Hemmann
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kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Kathryn Hemmann
@kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
970 followers 210 following 830 posts
Reader of books and player of games. College professor and pokémon trainer. Writes about media and society. In love with monsters and magic.
🌿 https://digitalfantasydiary.com/ 🌿
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kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
I really enjoyed writing a review of Karenza Sparks’s debut graphic novel The Corus Wave, a cozy science mystery about a grad student who inadvertently tumbles down a research rabbit hole while writing her thesis about a potentially supernatural fossil. #booksky 📚 www.comicsbeat.com/graphic-nove...
An excerpt from page 49 of The Corus Wave that depicts two grad students walking into a beautiful nineteenth-century library.
November 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Dorotea is a short narrative adventure game about an archivist who enters a strange door at the back of a museum storage area. Transported to the 1600s, she finds that the local aristocracy aren't the only monsters threatening the town. My #indiehorror review: digitalfantasydiary.com/2025/11/22/d...
A screencap of the opening section of Dorotea. An archivist examines objects on the table of a neglected storage room in a museum in Conversano, a medieval castle town in southeast Italy. The onscreen text reads: Two ancient books are written in a strong dialect.
November 22, 2025 at 2:27 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
My queer Lovecraftian romance, "The Annotated Kitab al-Azif," was published in the latest issue of Black Sheep, a fun magazine for weird fiction. This story treats the gnostic origins of the Necronomicon with respect while being slightly silly about grad students. 📖 www.amazon.com/dp/B0G25R82TY
The top half of the front cover of Black Sheep magazine, Issue 30.
November 18, 2025 at 2:48 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Hornet pets a creature 🌿 #Silksong #illustration
A digital illustration of Ms. Hornet from Silksong petting an adorable little mossgrub. I think these fluffy moss puppies might enjoy being scratched under their sweet tiny chins. 💚
November 8, 2025 at 2:29 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Dreaming Mary is a 2D narrative adventure game about the terrible nightmare underlying a gorgeously pink dreamworld. Should Mary survive the shadows of her psyche and manage to wake up… That’s when the story becomes truly grim. 💖 A short #indiehorror review: digitalfantasydiary.com/2025/11/07/d...
A screenshot of the pastel pink opening screen of Dreaming Mary. A screenshot of one of the dark nightmare segments of Dreaming Mary.
November 7, 2025 at 2:30 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
The good girl after a solid hour chasing leaves
A photo of a happy sleeping Pomeranian puppy
November 5, 2025 at 1:22 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Happy autumn 🍂 #illustration
A digital illustration of a cute and round and fluffy Pomeranian surrounded by fall leaves 🍂
November 5, 2025 at 1:21 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Mimikyu loves you ❤️ #pokemon #illustration
A sweet baby pikachu <3
October 31, 2025 at 9:38 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
In his manga adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Gou Tanabe delights in the architecture of the rotting Massachusetts town. The detailed cityscapes that sprawl across the pages invite full immersion into the horror of social decay. 🐸 japaneselit.net/2025/10/24/t...
A full-page panel from Gou Tanabe's manga adaptation of The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The narrator stands on a tidal mudflat and looks to the sea with alarm.
October 31, 2025 at 12:10 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Let's go to the corn maze, they said. It will be fun, they said. You will definitely not lose your way in a rustling sea of dead leaves as the light fails. Nothing is following you, they said
A normal day in Pennsylvania
October 30, 2025 at 8:55 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
This morning I put out the body... I mean!! the Halloween decorations
A spooky skeleton hand that is 100% plastic and not actual human bones, as there are no human bones on my property I promise. I am normal and can be trusted
October 30, 2025 at 1:14 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Maybe it's because Halloween is approaching, and maybe it's the general state of the world, but I've been in a Dark Souls kind of mood these days. #illustration
A digital drawing of a ruined castle under a dark sky.
October 29, 2025 at 9:41 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
If you’re a fan of simple but atmospheric walking sims, Vartio is an intriguing combination of retro graphics and precision sound design that allows you to immerse yourself in the spookiness of a starlit sea of trees. 🌲 A short #indiehorror review: digitalfantasydiary.com/2025/10/29/v...
A screenshot from Vartio showing an 8-bit forest of trees under a starry sky.
October 29, 2025 at 2:06 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
South Philly backyard fall foliage 🍂
Okay, buckle up for this one. I live in an up-and-coming (maybe) neighborhood of South Philly called Point Breeze that has a lot of abandoned properties. I myself happen to live next to an abandoned funeral home that's so decrepit it's become a small forest. There aren't any ghosts (unfortunately), but plenty of small animals live in the building and its trees, which is sometimes a problem. When the raccoons get hungry in the middle of the night and pry open my windows so they can eat my garbage. For example. But I don't mind, because living next to an abandoned building is probably as close to "nature" as I'm ever going to get. And it's really nice sometimes! Such as in this photo, which shows the lovely fall colors of the vines spilling over the concrete wall around my tiny concrete backyard.
October 28, 2025 at 3:17 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Cozy autumn reading 📚 #illustration
A digital drawing of a cartoon fox sitting in a moss-green chair and reading an oversized book.
October 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
I'd like to share the #callforsubmissions for Bloodletter, a literary horror magazine that welcomes female, nonbinary, and transgender writers. The theme of their upcoming issue is "Play," and they're actively seeking pitches for nonfiction essays. Shoutout to #FanStudies and video game writers!
A screencap from the call for submissions posted on Bloodletter Magazine's website. The text reads: Issue Six Theme: Play Submission Deadline: November 1, 2025
October 22, 2025 at 6:24 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
I got to write about Sadako Yamamura (my beloved) for a listicle on horror movie final girls for CherryPicks, a cinema and television site with a gender-positive twist. I appreciate that, despite abuse and exorcism and apocalypse, Sadako's spirit survives! 💀 www.thecherrypicks.com/stories/movi...
A soft and relaxing digital illustration of Sadako arriving to claim the last living human on earth, an elderly Okinawan woman. This illustration was created on commission by an artist who goes by Vanity Gothcores.
October 21, 2025 at 3:29 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
My annual list of free-to-play retro horror games is live on @sidequestzone.bsky.social. There's a gritty mix of fresh blood and decayed favorites in this year's creepypixel harvest: sidequest.zone/2025/10/15/r...
Dreamcore pixel art of an old computer abandoned in the woods. A text box reads: "Play game? >Yes / No." This art was created by teller-of-tragedies on Tumblr.
October 17, 2025 at 1:15 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
A preview of the Lovecraftian short story I'm contributing to @huntersmarkzine.bsky.social, a Bloodborne fanzine free to download on November 20. It may or may not be based on my own experiences in academia...
A gothic-themed story preview graphic. The text reads: “You do not see, dear Rom, but you will,” Micolash countered. “It’s a pity you weren’t able to accompany us to Innsmouth. Do you know what we found inside the skulls of those benighted villagers? Eyes, Rom. A veritable feast of eyes. With such insight, even the most inbred and illiterate among the poor fools were able to commune with the Great Kosm. Think of what scholars such as you and I could accomplish.” Micolash rested the bloodless tips of his fingers on the cherrywood seal of the flask on his desk. The severed eyes preserved in the pale medium continued to float, sightless and unconcerned.
October 16, 2025 at 10:24 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
I wrote an essay for @shelfdust.bsky.social about the gentle anti-capitalist use of cultural nostalgia in the French graphic novel Onibi, an autobiographical account of a summer in rural northern Japan. Degrowth might feel uncanny, but it's also warm and beautiful. 🍂 shelfdust.com/2025/10/15/a...
Three panels from page 62 of the graphic novel Onibi. The artists sit outside a café and enjoy hand-cooked desserts while basking in the late afternoon sunlight streaming through the trees of a mountain forest. A few locals sit with them and joke about how the place is filled with yokai after dark.
October 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
Setzer ♠️ #FinalFantasy #illustration
A digital drawing of Setzer Gabbiani from Final Fantasy VI. You never forget your middle-school crush
October 12, 2025 at 9:21 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
I had a great time with @palposak.bsky.social's minicomic FOUR, in which an accountant notices a computing error with reality-bending implications. Posak's brilliant coloring gets the late-nite fluorescent glare of corporate liminal spaces exactly right. 🖥️ www.shortboxcomicsfair.com/shop-sq4wj/p...
A few panels from Pal Posak's minicomic FOUR. An overzealous accountant claims that "It's too late... We need to eject him from the system." The 'it' in question, a cute and fluffy black crow-thing, squarks at him while perched on a piece of machinery. Some days at work are just like that, you know?
October 10, 2025 at 6:48 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
I love the stylish gothic fantasy of @narrenstrich.bsky.social's minicomic Asunder, especially as it plays in the visual dichotomy between sunlit open spaces and nighttime intimacies bounded by heavy stone walls. The tragic yuri is impeccable. 👑 www.shortboxcomicsfair.com/shop-sq4wj/p...
Panels from Narrenstitch's minicomic Asunder. On waking in the night, the teenage companion to a queen overhears a secret conversation in the courtyard below her castle window.
October 9, 2025 at 5:20 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
I love the Bell Beast from Silksong so much that I made a vinyl sticker for myself. I have a small number of extras, and I put them on Etsy for basically the price of shipping if you'd like one. 🌿 www.etsy.com/listing/4384...
A photo of a vinyl sticker of Hornet and the Bell Beast from Silksong. The art of this brave lady knight and her faithful steed was drawn by me!
October 9, 2025 at 2:49 PM
kathrynthehuman.bsky.social
I adore @paperflan.bsky.social's minicomic A Box Full of Darkness, in which a young mage attempts necromancy to bring back the spirit of her cat familiar. Losing a companion is difficult, but the artist handles the theme of grief with care and grace. 🔮 www.shortboxcomicsfair.com/shop-sq4wj/p...
A panel from Gina Nguyen's minicomic A Box Full of Darkness. A young woman speaks to the spirit of her cat familiar, telling it, "Thank you, and... I'm sorry." I won't lie, I teared up a little at this scene.
October 6, 2025 at 12:47 PM