Horror

**Horror** (occasionally stylized in all caps) was Meow Wolf's first installation to be built up of "individual projects centered around a community theme." There were about 15 rooms, made by 20 artists. It ran from October 12th, 2008 through November 6th.

## Official Description

*Horror was Meow Wolf’s first try at compartmentalizing a larger space into smaller spaces within which artists could represent themselves and their artwork; the theme, horror.*

*Eerie bedrooms, butcher shops and more completed this disturbing, but creative exhibition.*

*It stood as a milestone in the evolution of Meow Wolf as a collective as it focused on individual artist projects centered around a shared theme. The result was community spaces and a heightened sense of shared process*.

## Locations

### Cannibal Kitchen

A dark room, lit with dramatic red lighting. Various kitchenware was strewn about the floor. Its walls and plates were splattered with black and red paint. A table had a mixer, jars of seasoning, and a bowl full of doll heads. It was by the entrance of the exhibit, and had a dinning seat looking out the window. The table had two candles, silverware, and a plate of fake body parts. Joe, Caley, Shae, Corvis, Katherine, and Caity were credited for this room.

### Gift Shop

A room resembling a cross between a gas station and basement. There were packets of candy, liquid, and other memorabilia attached to the walls on peg boards and hangers. Taxidermy was kept in drawers, along with a red wig. Plastic bugs clung onto wads of chewy candy. There were Mardi Gras-style necklaces unraveled and tied together to make a door curtain. It's unclear if items were actually sold here or if it was for art purposes only. Sean was credited for this room, while Matt King was credited for specific objects in it.

### Monkey Shrine

The room's items were arranged to make the face of a monkey. It was framed by two cloth monkeys who sat on top of piles of wood and bricks, forming the eyes of the room. The striped monkey with a red face was the "heart" monkey. The white monkey with a yellow face was the "brain" monkey. Both monkeys' plastic eyes glowed by catching the light, although this was not intentional.

In the room's center, there was a painting of a monkey nose that could be opened to reveal a photograph of a pyramid and a pile of dirt. Below it were several stones, creating the teeth. Monkey Shrine appeared to have dirt flooring, and its walls were painted with geometric patterns in red, blue, yellow, purple, and green- considered to be the tail. A large greenish-gray mural covered the ceiling, acting as the hair. There was also a cracked door next to a red button labeled "open me." The door led to the Jenkinson's Bedroom. Safe Room could be seen near the floor, and it was separated from Mediation Room by a window. Caity was credited for this room.

Everything was built by Meow Wolf, except for the metal building. It was mostly made out of found and donated materials, and one side of the room was taller than the other.

### Safe Room

A small hole in the wall, filled with a stuffing-like material. It was accessed from Monkey Shrine. It was Caity's idea, but executed by Meghan and Katherine.

### Meditation Room

At the center of the room was framed art, with some rocks and bones below it. The right side had two horned masks mounted onto the wall with wood. The left side had paintings of a muscular and skeletal system arm, and an exploding skeleton with an eye popping out. There was framed artwork of man with an open mouth. Purple painting on the wall read, "pronator teres, flexar [flexor] carpi, extensor digitorum." All walls were splattered or dripped with red and yellow paint. Quinn was credited for this room.

### TV Room

A collection of over 28 televisions stacked upon each other. The walls behind it was graffitied with red, blue, and black spray paint. There were also piles of VCRs and VHS tapes. Matt King was credited for this room. It likely inspired the TV Tunnel at House of Eternal Return several years later.

### Arnold/Albert Jenkinson's Bedroom

There were pictures on the walls and writing on the door, with small keychains hanging above it. A bed had brown blankets and a white canopy, next to a stand with a cluster of baseball caps on it. There was a desk with a magic 8 ball, papers, a telephone, and an abundance of 90s Furbys on it. A large eye was painted on the wall above the desk. An orange light lit up a cardboard box diorama full of My Little Pony figures. The figures were drawn on with a marker, having stitch marks, lengthy eyelashes, and phrases including "get it!" and "SLUT." Corvas was credited for this room.

It's unclear if the room was divided up and shared by two characters, or if the room was was named twice by mistake.

### Bug Hall/Albert Jenkinson's Closet

A hallway hidden in the closet of Albert Jenkinson's room. Objects hung from the ceiling. Diana and Meghan were credited for this room.

### Burn Room

Burn Room was centered around a chair covered in debris and surrounded by wood. A vinyl record was on the floor. Other objects in this room included an old fan, a lamp with a turquoise lightbulb, and a large bucket. This turquoise bulb dimly lit most of the Burn Room, and it could be entered from Bug Hall. Amanda was credited for this room.

### Shadow

Shadow was a lit-up panel with silhouettes of birds flying. Guests' silhouettes may have appeared on the panel as they walked by. Emily was credited for this room.

### Library

One of the room's most notable feature was a desk. Its bottom shelves were lined with books, while the top was lined with objects. Some of these objects included a plastic army man stuck into candles melted down to stubs, a block with flowers poked into it, a mug, a mirror, and an oil lamp. The phrases "close your eyes to forget where you are" and "blink and forget" were written in cursive on chalkboards. The former had chalk lines that branched out to photographs taped to a wall. Most of the Library's walls were lined with framed pictures and a few crossword puzzles. Red string decorated quite a bit of the room; It hung from most of the ceiling and was draped across a wall, connecting images of animals and printed media in a "conspiracy board" style. There was also a bird cage hanging in the corner. Maddie was credited for this room.

### Alchemy

Its walls were painted to resemble a brick texture. There was a cauldron of liquid with a man's face projected onto it. Next to the cauldron were some brooms and large sticks. A red cabinet and shelf held bottles of liquid, potions, and ingredients. There were two medieval-styled posters on the wall, and an old mirror. Benji was credited for this room.

### Voodoo

Its walls were painted with patterns inspired by traditional African patterns. There was a plastic skull with a cigarette, surrounded by two bottles of alcohol. Above it were an axe and a gun, and a box with a larger plastic skull lit by Christmas lights. Its walls were decorated with red fake flowers and a mask. There was a stand covered in coins and trinkets, and in its center was an image or video of a person smiling with a bird statute. Next to it was a nightstand covered in rocks, with some animal skulls and skulls on it. Antony was credited for this room.

## Trivia

* It's the earliest project to be listed on Meow Wolf's "projects" section of their website, although the opening dating is incorrectly listed as October 1st.
* Most of the exhibit was archived on Flickr.
* It may have been demolished on November 9, judging by the date that the earliest demolition photo was taken.

## References

1. ↑ Jasmon, Dave. "History of Meow Wolf: Providing Access to Creativity" *Meow Wolf*, 7 December 2018,

https://meowwolf.com/blob/access-to-creativity
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/albums/72157608649981472
3. ↑ https://meowwolf.com/projects/horror
4. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2955945946/
5. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2970122093/
6. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/caitykennedy/2952744634/
7. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/caitykennedy/2970294321/
8. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2970965708/in/album-72157608649981472/
9. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/caitykennedy/2924844961/
10. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/caitykennedy/2952741576/
11. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/caitykennedy/2971140270/
12. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2958978523/in/album-72157608649981472/
13. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2955101221/
14. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2970118495/in/album-72157608649981472/
15. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2970115871/
16. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2955101109/
17. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2970120157/in/album-72157608649981472/
18. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2970120473/in/album-72157608649981472/
19. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2955100899/
20. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/meowwolf/2970122721/in/album-72157608649981472/
21. ↑ https://meowwolf.com/about/projects
22. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/caitykennedy/3031384838/