Duskmourn: House of Horror/Trivia

==MaRo's Duskmourn Teaser==
Mark Rosewater gave his traditional teaser with the following hints.
===First up, here are some things you can expect:===
*A component of the set with a frame using technology first designed for an Un-set Room enchantments are split cards (originally a mechanic designed for Unglued 2: The Obligatory Sequel) and utilize the illustration as a physical divider for the mechanical function of the card (similar to the metal bar running vertically through the art of Host creatures in Unstable).
*A tweak on an ability word that first appeared in the third set of a block Eerie (a variation of Constellation, which first appeared in the third set of Theros block Journey into Nyx)
*Counters used in the set: +1/+1, -1/-1, finality, flying, lifelink, lore, loyalty, nest, possession, rev, stun, and time
*The first ability word to reference “second main phase” Survival
*A 10/1 creature for 
*A variant on a mechanic that itself was a variant of another mechanic Manifest Dread (a variation of Manifest, which itself was a twist on Morph)
*A modal three mana white mass removal spell 
*A character returns as a legendary creature that first appeared in flavor text in Alpha Norin ()
*A new ability word that cares about a card type and a (new) keyword action Eerie (triggers when you unlock a Room)
*Creature tokens: 1/1 white Toy, 1/1 white Glimmer, 2/1 white Insect, 3/1 white Spirit, 4/4 white Beast, blue token copy, X/X blue Spirit, 2/2 black Horror, 6/6 black Demon, 1/1 red Gremlin, 1/1 red Balloon, 2/2 green Spider, 1/1 black and green Insect, and 0/0 green and blue Fractal See Tokens and markers
===Here are snippets of rules text you’ll see:===
*“unlock a locked door” 
*“Search your library for a Demon card,” 
*“where X is the number of creatures you control with power 2 or less.” 
*“Exile any number of target instant, sorcery, and/or Tamiyo planeswalker cards from your graveyard.” 
*“The same is true for creature spells you control and creature cards you own that aren’t on the battlefield.” 
*“You have no maximum hand size and don’t lose the game for having 0 or less life.” 
*“Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only a single creature you control, copy that spell.” 
*“Shards you control become copies of it until the beginning of the next end step.” 
*“of creatures you control that don’t have the same name as this creature.” 
*“(2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, and 31 are prime numbers.)” 
===Here are some creature type lines from the set:===
*Creature – Human Doctor 
*Creature – Kor Survivor 
*Creature – Goat 
*Creature – Shark 
*Creature – Eye , 
*Creature – Fish Insect 
*Artifact Creature – Monkey Toy 
*Creature – Human Clown Berserker 
*Legendary Creature – Elder Demon 
*Legendary Creature – Rat Ninja Wizard 
===Finally, here are some names in the set:===
* Human Survivor
* Instant
* Sorcery
* Spirit
* Instant
* Sorcery
* Legendary Enchantment
* Human
* Sorcery
* Human
==Gavin's Duskmourn commander teaser==
Gavin Verhey released a teaser with the following hints about the new cards in the Commander decks. Cards from the Jump Scare! deck were not hinted at, as that deck had been previewed before the release of Gavin's teaser.
#There is a legend that grants all of your enchantments a specific keyword (escape)
#There is a card with miracle that mirrors a seven-mana sorcery ()
#There is a card with an ability that begins, "You may cast spells from the top of your library by..." 
#There is a card that makes you choose between the modes "Believe" or "Doubt" 
#There is a black creature with miracle 
#There is a card that has an ability which begins, "Whenever you cast a spell, if the amount of mana spent to cast it was less than its mana value..." 
#There is a card called that begins, "Starting with the next opponent in turn order..." Sorcery
#There is a new kindred card that has changeling 
#There is a card named "Séance Board" 
#There is a card that begins with, "All creatures get -X/-X until end of turn, where X is..." 
#There is a new Room that has a similar effect to a popular hybrid enchantment ()
#There is a card with the ability, "Each spell you cast that's a Demon, Horror or Nightmare costs less to cast." 
#There is a card that combines two Alpha enchantments together (, )
===Guess the art of some reprints:===
File:DSC teaser GV1.png|
File:DSC teaser GV2.png|
File:DSC teaser GV3.png|
File:DSC teaser GV4.png|
==Cultural references==
Duskmourn: House of Horror references many horror tropes and classic horror movies. The following is a list of cards within the set that reference specific works within the genre.
Card(s)	Reference 	Notes
 	Beetlejuice (1988)Candyman (1992) 	Popular urban legend invocation of repeating the name of a spirit multiple times, applicable to Bloody Mary, Beetlejuice, or Candyman.
 	The Human Centipede (2009) 	The card's name references The Human Centipede, though the creature itself resembles a massive insect with unsettling human-like features.
 	Annabelle (2014) 	A haunted doll who is a recurring antagonist in the The Conjuring Universe which is based off of the stories of Warrens as well as it's real life counterpart.
 	Search and Rescue Woods (2015) 	The card's artwork possibly references the "Search and Rescue Woods" series of posts on r/NoSleep, which describe mysterious stairs found in the middle of the woods.
 	The Shining (1980) 	A movie about a writer, Jack Torrance, who travels to a haunted hotel with his family, who he tries to kill when the spirits of the hotel drive him mad. The former card references the famous scene where Jack smashes a bathroom door with an axe, while the latter references his recurring hallucination of ghostly twins.
 	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) 	A movie about a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead.
 	The Devil's Gift (1984) 	The film's plot is similar to that of the Stephen King short story "The Monkey", featuring a Cymbal-Banging Monkey as the antagonist.
 	The Evil Dead (1981)Pet Sematary (1989)Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)	Dead people returning as possessed empty husks are a common Horror trope. The term itself likely originates from a 2001 episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer titled "Smashed".
 	Ringu (1998) 	A movie about a cursed videotape that dooms whoever watches it to die in seven days.
 	Jaws (1975)Megalodon (2004) 	Movies about terrifying sharks.
 	Blade (1998) 	A movie about the titular character, a half-vampire who hunts creatures of the night. The card's art resembles Wesley Snipes' appearance in the film.
 	Hellraiser (1987) 	A movie about concerns a mystical puzzle box that summons the Cenobites, a group of extra-dimensional, sadomasochistic beings. The depicted character is reminiscent of Pinhead, their leader.
 	They Live (1988) 	The borderless card variation illustrated by Jarel Threat mirrors the film poster of They Live. The film follows a drifter who discovers through special sunglasses that the ruling class are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to consume, breed, and conform to the status quo via subliminal messages in mass media.
 	Signs (2002) 	A former priest named discovers that a series of crop circles in his cornfield is a result of extraterrestrial life.
 	The Exorcist (1973) 	A movie that follows the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests.
 	Communion (1989) 	A story of a family that experiences an extraterrestrial phenomenon while on vacation at a remote home in the wilderness during which the father is abducted by aliens.
 	Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 	A movie about alien creatures that grow from pods and mimic humans to supplant them entirely.
 	The Blair Witch Project (1999) 	A movie about three student filmmakers who hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland, to film a documentary about a local myth known as the Blair Witch. It popularized the found footage technique, in which a movie is presented as having been recorded by the characters in the story.
 	Ghostbusters (1984) 	A movie about three eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City. They catch ghosts with ghost traps.
 	Toy Story (1995) 	Specifically references Babyface, the leader of the Mutant Toys.
 	Poltergeist (1982) 	A film in which a young child inexplicably converses with the family's television set while it displays post-broadcast static, inducing a Poltergeist invasion.
 	Gremlins (1984) 	A movie that draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions. In the film, the normally-kind creatures known as Mogwai transform into destructive Gremlins when fed past midnight.
 	It (1990)The Hanging Balloons (1998) 	It is a 1990 psychological horror drama adapted from Stephen King's 1986 novel of the same name. The story revolves around a predatory monster that can transform itself into its prey's worst fears to devour them. It mostly takes the humanoid form of Pennywise, a demonic clown. The card's mechanics reference the floating red balloons that Pennywise uses.The Hanging Balloons is a short manga by Junji Ito, about killer balloons shaped like human heads. The balloons in the Jolly Balloon Man's primary artwork resemble those in the comic.
 	Friday the 13th (1980) 	Masked psycho killers are a standard in horror movies. This one is reminiscent of the one worn by Jason Voorhees.
 	The Cabin in the Woods (2012) 	The plot follows a group of college students who retreat to a remote cabin in the woods where they fall victim to a variety of monsters while technicians manipulate events from an underground facility.
 	Saw (2004) 	A film revolving around the Jigsaw killer, who tests his victims' will to live by putting them through deadly "games" where they must inflict great physical pain upon themselves to survive. "I want to play a game" is one of Jigsaw's most iconic quotes.
 	Child's Play (1988) 	A movie following a widowed mother who gives a doll to her son, unaware that the doll, Chucky, is possessed by the soul of a serial killer.
 	Escape Room (2019) 	A movie about a deadly escape room. The card grants enchantments (including Rooms) the escape keyword.
 	Psycho (1960) 	A movie about a murder that takes place at a motel. The card's art references the famous shower scene.
 	Little Shop of Horrors (1986) 	A musical film that centers on a floral shop worker who discovers a sentient carnivorous plant that feeds on human blood.
 	Children of the Corn (1984) 	A film telling the story of a malevolent entity called "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" enticing the town's children to ritually murder all the town's adults to ensure a successful corn harvest.
 	Anaconda (1997) 	A movie focusing on a documentary film crew in the Amazon rainforest that is led by a snake hunter who is hunting down a giant, legendary green anaconda.
 	The Lighthouse (2019) 	A movie about two lighthouse keepers who are driven mad by their surroundings.
 	The X-Files (1993) 	A television show about two FBI agents who investigate paranormal occurrences. One is a conspiracy theorist who attributes everything to the supernatural, and the other is a skeptic who tries to find rational explanations, which is reflected in the two modes.
 	Piranha II (1982) 	A movie about genetically modified piranhas with the ability to fly. Most notable as the directorial debut of James Cameron.
 	The Witch (2015) 	A movie about a Puritan family tormented by demonic forces, which are revealed to dwell inside their goat, Black Phillip.
 	Final Destination 3 (2006) 	A movie about high schoolers who are hunted by Death after surviving a roller-coaster accident in which they had been fated to die.
 	Matango (1963)The Last of Us (2021) 	A movie about a group of castaways on an island who are unwittingly altered by a local species of mutagenic mushrooms. A similar fungal infection is also featured in the TV series based on a video game franchise.
 	Thirteen Ghosts (2001) 	This film features the use of spectral glasses that allow the wearer to see the supernatural realm to avoid the ghosts.
 	The Thing (1982) 	A film about the eponymous "Thing", an extraterrestrial life-form that assimilates, then imitates, other organisms. The card's art is similar to a scene where a victim's chest transforms into a large mouth.
 	I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1967) 	A story where a sentient supercomputer eradicates humanity except for five individuals, who have been rendered virtually immortal and unable to die by suicide.
 	Annihilation (2018) 	A movie about scientists investigating a zone where living things mutate uncontrollably. They are attacked several times by a horrific mutant bear.
 	Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)Clownhouse (1989) 	Movies featuring sinister, murderous clowns, a trope also found in numerous other horror films.
==Common horror tropes==
*Duskmourn is the Haunted House.
*Razorkin (e.g. ) are inspired by the main antagonists of slasher films, seemingly unkillable and/or undead murderers like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees or Leatherface.
*The rescue party features several character archetypes common to Horror movies.
**Niko Aris is The Leader.
**Tyvar Kell fills the role of Lovable Jock.
**Zimone Wola is the Stereotypical Nerd.
**Kaito Shizuki is the Grizzled Veteran.
**The Wanderer is the Final Girl.
**Winter is the Psycho Goth.
*Valgavoth resembles "the Darkness" in the movie House on Haunted Hill (1999).
*The origin of Marina Vendrell as a malcontented goth girl is inspired by characters like Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice.
*Toys at large are a send-up of possessed dolls such as Chucky from Child's Play.
*Wickerfolk are likely a reference to The Wicker Man, especially the Swarmweaver, a wickerfolk hosting a swarm of man-eating bees.
*<c>Jump Scare</c> is a cinematic technique used often enough to be considered cliched but can nonetheless be effective.
==Miscellaneous==
*Betrayal at House on the Hill, a board game published by Avalon Hill in 2004, was one of the inspirations for the set.
**At PAX West, attendees were given a handout that was a haunt card for Betrayal at House on the Hill with a Duskmourn theme.
* is a callback to .
*The only text on is to Manifest Dread, making it the first card whose name matches its rules text.
* is, of course, a callback to the first . It spoofs the numbered sequels of many horror movies. It also costs exactly twice as much mana as the original.
**In the same vein, is stab at superfluous reboots.
*Despite the name, is not a Lair.
*<c>The Tale of Tamiyo</c> is the first legendary saga.
*One of the books that the <c>Creeping Peeper</c> is sitting on reads Elesh Norn in the Phyrexian language.
*<c>Jump Scare</c> is the first card since <c>Soul Sculptor</c> to add the enchantment type to arbitrary creature targets and is nearly trinket text, given eerie is an entry effect and delirium doesn't look at the battlefield.
*<c>Haunted Screen</c> can produce all five colors, but it costs life to produce , or : this is because black and white static is "free" but RGB colored television would cost more.
* depicts a grey alien.
*The art of mirrors the art of , both depicting Kaito and The Wanderer. Each card also shares the same primary color as the planeswalker depicted falling victim to its effect.
==References==
Category:Magic set trivia