CIA brainwashing experiments helped make Outlast an iconic horror series

The Sleep Room in The Outlast Trials is named after a real-life space at McGill University’s Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal, where from 1957 to 1964, doctors conducted mind-control experiments on patients as part of the CIA’s MK-Ultra initiative. Led by Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron, these tests included electroshock therapy, sensory deprivation and heavy doses of psychedelic drugs. One patient, Linda MacDonald, went to McGill seeking help for symptoms of postpartum depression after giving birth to her fifth child. She was placed in a drug-induced coma for 86 days in the Sleep Room, and records show she was treated with 109 rounds of shock therapy. MacDonald lost her identity, memories and motor skills; she had to be toilet trained all over again. Another patient, Robert Logie, was 18 years old when he went to McGill with leg pain. He ended up in the Sleep Room, where he was injected with LSD every other day for weeks, his syringe sometimes spiked with sodium amytal — “truth serum” — and other drugs. A speaker positioned under his pillow played the phrase, “You killed your mother,” on a constant loop for 23 days. Meanwhile, his mom was alive and well. Logie left McGill with amnesia, insomnia and a painful leg. The old McGill hospital is just two miles away from the Red Barrels offices, where the Outlast games are made. “The name of the Sleep Room in Outlast Trials, we took that from McGill hospital,” Outlast series writer JT Petty said. “In the 1960s, they had the Sleep... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-08-14 19:50:55 UTC ]
News tagged with: #creative process #art director #graphic novel

Other news stories related to: "CIA brainwashing experiments helped make Outlast an iconic horror series"


A (dubious) suicide, a (possible) mole and an enduring CIA mystery

After his colleague's disappearance, a former CIA officer was driven to try to solve an even larger puzzle, Howard Blum recounts. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-22 12:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


10 New Full-Cast Audiobooks to Listen to for an Incredible Reading Experience

A full cast of narrators brings an audiobook to life in totally new and unexpected ways. Here are some of the latest you can't miss. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-07-21 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #audiobook #unexpected ways #full cast


“I Did Not Get Anywhere Until I Became a True Literary Citizen.” Courtney Maum on Making a Writing Career

I remember the first time I met Courtney Maum. It was nearly ten years ago, a spring or maybe summer day in Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens. We were both in our twenties, no books published yet, just a few free essays here and there, just starting our writing careers with the fierce intensity of Jack... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-18 08:52:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #writing careers #writing career #courtney maum


Kickstarter Campaign Makes 'Peculiar Tastes' a Broad Success

A six-book erotica series, launched by the hosts of the 'Bonkers Romance' podcast, has shattered its initial funding goals, raising roughly 35 times what its creators initially hoped, with weeks still to go in its campaign. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Brands can make Hollywood-level entertainment. This guy proved it

Jae Goodman has spent 16 years convincing brands like Nike, eBay, Doritos, and Chipotle to forgo ads and make content that entertains us instead. It all seemingly happened in a flash for Observatory CEO Jae Goodman. First, on June 9, Apple TV+ announced a multiyear deal with Nike’s Waffle Iron... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2022-07-16 07:00:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #best-selling book #hannah waddingham #ted lasso #multiyear deal


8 Mystery/Thriller Novels to Make You Ask When Libraries and Bookstores Got So Sus

We know and love the magic and power of the library and the bookstore. But...what happens when things go sideways in them? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-07-15 10:38:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #libraries


Walmart Live Book Club to Make Debut on TalkShopLive

Casey McQuiston's 'I Kissed Shara Wheeler' will be the first title featured in the Walmart Live Book Club, with McQuiston appearing on the TalkShopLive platform tonight. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #book club #casey mcquiston


Japanese creator of hit manga series Yu-Gi-Oh! dies aged 60

Kazuki Takahashi found in snorkelling gear floating in the sea off coast of Okinawa, reports sayA Japanese artist who created the hit manga comic series Yu-Gi-Oh!, which spawned a worldwide media franchise including a trading card game, has been found dead in the sea, according to media... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-07-07 09:37:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #manga #media reports #found dead


“I Won’t Be Misrepresenting Anybody’s Life Experience But My Own.” A Conversation with Cartoonist and Comedian Luke Healy

Cartoonist and comedian Luke Healy (The Con Artists, Americana) and actor Connor Ratliff (Dead Eyes) spoke to one another as part of D+Q Live, a spring event series by the graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly. The conversation revolved around Healy’s new book, The Con Artists, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-07 08:53:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #graphic novel #life experience


Audiobook Publisher RBmedia Makes Two Purchases

Audiobook publisher RBmedia has acquired the audiobook business of Upfront Books and the French company Éditions Thélème. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #audiobook #audiobook business


Paul Tremblay delivers another mind-bending horror novel

"The Pallbearers Club" is presented as a found memoir manuscript, complicated by the contradictory annotation of an enigmatic woman. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-04 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #memoir


Good historical fiction is not just about factual accuracy, but the details of human experience too

When it comes to writing historical fiction, one author finds that it’s the very human details that resonate with the reader. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2022-07-01 15:38:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #historical fiction #author finds #human experience #factual accuracy


Toronto Comic Arts Festival Makes In-Person Return

After a three year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, held June 17-19, welcomed in-person artists and fans to the Toronto Reference Library for an international presentation of new titles and artists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


New Kids’ Book Says It’s OK to Ask for Help—Even If You’re a Rabbi

Alice Blumenthal McGinty demonstrates how learning to ask for help can create a stronger community in her new children’s book, ‘A Synagogue Like Home’ (Candlewick, Aug.), which depicts a week in the life of a contemporary synagogue. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amazon promises to fix Comixology after making the service nearly unusable

Nearly four months after integrating Comixology into its other services, Amazon acknowledged the platform has been left worse off. “We understand that the current experience needs improvements, and want you to know that we’re working hard to get those out the door as quickly as possible,” the... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-06-19 19:56:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #kindle #manga #previous version #release date #non-fiction books #coming weeks


What Makes a Great Audiobook?

What makes an audiobook stand out? Is it true that narrators can make or break the story? Some experts offer perspectives. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-06-17 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #audiobook #great audiobook


Can we please make Banned Book Fairs the hot new nationwide trend?

As we’ve noted over and over again, the hottest new book trend sweeping the country is to ban them and/or burn them if they don’t align with your weird, paleoconservative, theocratic prejudices. Not great! But as ever is the case with this strange nation, when one group of Americans starts doing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-10 17:01:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #banned book


JJ Abrams’ sci-fi series that was to be filmed in Northern Ireland cancelled

Production of Demimonde halted due to dispute between network HBO and directorA blockbuster science fiction series that was to be filmed in Northern Ireland has been cancelled in a dispute between the US television network HBO and the Hollywood director JJ Abrams.Crews that had started... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-06-09 12:00:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #science fiction #film industry #northern ireland #sci-fi series


Frankfurter Buchmesse: ‘Making Democratic Values Visible’

Frankfurter Buchmesse reports that Hall 3 is almost sold out. This year, Frankfurt Audio and BookFest return, 4,000+ exhibitors expected. The post Frankfurter Buchmesse: ‘Making Democratic Values Visible’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-06-07 18:14:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #frankfurter buchmesse


Here are the guest editors for the Best American Series 2022.

Do you like the Best American series? Of course you do! Each book in the annual series showcases of best short fiction and nonfiction in a given year, from short stories to essays, travel writing, to food writing. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-06 14:51:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #short stories #food writing #travel writing #short fiction #american series #guest editors