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The Horrify Me photo that stormed the world! |
Back in November 2016, as part of my “Icons of Horror” photo sets, I created a shoot of Valak the demon nun.
At the time, the character had only been in The Conjuring 2 film. Her own film The Nun hadn’t been released yet. Valak was fast becoming a solid favourite, hitting all the right notes with horror movie fans and cosplayers alike and becoming a new icon of horror.
For my own shoot I invited a buddy of mine, Cheryle Yeo, to be the nun because she bore a decent resemblance to the film actress Bonnie Aarons. She’s by no means the spitting image but she does have a close enough resemblance that under the heavy makeup it would be fairly easy to fool the eye.
Cheryle did a great job modelling as Valak, despite all the involuntary drooling and inability to speak thanks to the ridiculous set of teeth I made for her (which now resides in her home, in a little cabinet of curiosities). The shoot went well, the photos looked great, and as usual, I posted them online for people to see. People liked them. People shared them. All the usual stuff happened and everything was good.
Quite often I find that someone has made a “fan art” drawing or painting of my photos, and quite a few of my photos end up as tattoos on people. Personally I always find it incredibly flattering, that someone thinks my images are good enough to reproduce artistically or wear on their skin forever. It’s always a nice little treat for both myself and the model, who usually enjoys this little act of tribute by a total stranger. It wasn’t long before my new Valak was inked onto someone’s skin. It was a very nice tattoo. Cheryle was pleased, and I was pleased that yet another photo was regarded as good enough for a tattoo.
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Soon, another Valak tattoo appeared based on the same photo. And then another. And another. And they kept appearing. Tattoo studios all over the world were using my Valak photo as the basis for amazing art. Soon, the fan art started, including some stunning paintings, pencil drawings, digital art, and even a sculpture. All the while, more and more tattoos kept showing up. And then merchadise started appearing.
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It eventually became obvious that my photo was going viral in the horror fan and tattoo art communities. The image was gaining a life of its own. I wasn’t sure if the photo was inspiring people, or simply fooling people who mistook it for a real movie still (to be fair, it’s probably a bit of both). The Nun film was released in 2018 to a rather flat response from disappointed horror fans, but despite the poor reception of the movie, the character of Valak stayed in high regard. The film gave a new impetus on the use of my photo too, which was now being used as the thumbnail on countless YouTube videos about the film, and even more fan art and tattoos. The image was being used on a range of other things, including surf boards, novelty knives, drink mats, greeting cards, soft cushions, and T shirts. Several film media websites were using the photo regularly to accompany articles about the film, including Dread Central, The Wrap, MovieWeb, and many others. My photo was even being used on video tutorials by the Airbrush Academy. This photo was literally everywhere.
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My little Valak photo, which to this date has never earned me a single lonely dime, has been used and abused by everyone. It’s use on commercial websites and apps has been abundant, most of which are professional sites that generate revenue. Artists have created and sold paintings of my photo, and one company sells cushions and prints based on my photo. I know that I haven’t found every instance of the Valak tattoos, but many thousands of dollars of total business has been done using my image. I’ve had to issue a few legal takedown notices on websites that were blatantly selling my photo as poster prints and T shirts. The Valak photo has gone wild out in the world, living a life of its own. As I don’t have huge financial resources, I wasn't able to legally protect the image properly.
Eventually I accepted the viral nature of this photo and just relaxed about it (except where there is financial commercial use of the photo). I am happy to support its use as a tattoo, and I enjoy the artistic projects that now emerge from its use. It's impossible to plan for or predict an outcome like this. As far as I was concerned, my Valak shoot was just another little project that would get a few shares and likes and then move on. It's incredible how these things just happen so organically on the internet sometimes, and it still blows my mind that one of my photos got so widely enjoyed in this manner.
At this moment there's currently 1050 tattoos (that I know of) and 123 pieces of fan art (that I know of).
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In September 2023 I decided, if you can't beat them, join them!
Year after year, my Valak photo has continued to be used as tattoo reference. Eventually I decided, what the hell... I may as well join this club! I started this trend, I may as well participate in it. So I paid a visit to Maverick Tattoos in Southampton and had my own tattoo done. And I must say, I absolutely love it.
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Why is this photo of Valak so popular and inspirational?
by Stu Mackintosh (a fan)
Every year, thousands of horror photos are captured by various photographers and creatives. Of their individual photos, very few truly capture the imagination and rise in status the way Horrify Me’s portrait of Valak did, and still does. This is a viral masterpiece. Every photographer wants a piece of work like this in their portfolio but so few actually achieve anything close. Over the years, this photo has become widely recognised among the horror community and inspired huge numbers of artists, tattooists, and horror fans. But what is it about this photo that makes it so effective and popular?
Why this particular photo? As a bit of an arty type myself, I will attempt to explain why I think this photo has been so succesful by studying it closely.
I’ve been a fan of Rick’s work for years now and this is actually the first image I saw of his, back when he used Facebook. I didn’t know what Horrify Me was back then but finding this photo led me to his page and consequently I now follow his work. All of his work is incredible, with great makeup, lighting, and staging of his portrait subjects, but this nun photo really has something unusually powerful about it that gives it a highly influential edge.
One of the key elements that makes it so effective is its atmospheric quality. The pale, ghostly face draped in a black robe, set against a black shadowy backdrop, makes it appear like the eerie face is emerging from pure darkness. The surrounding shadow swallows the frame, with the nun’s face and habit creating a strong contrast that generates an immediate sense of dread. The lack of background detail refuses the viewer to place the nun in any safe environment, she is literally just emerging from darkness. It's a nightmare. The portrait is shot with close framing making use of subtle lens distortion, making it feel confrontational and a little uncomfortable. Valak's eyes gaze right at you in what is known as a "predator stare". With the head tilted very slightly, and the bright contacts she is wearing leaping from the image, it creates a sense that she is studying you, triggering the brain to sense a real threat. The pose, though simple, is actually full of menace in the most subtle ways.
The composition is extremely simple and symmetrical. The triangular nature of the subject naturally draws the eye to the face and, particularly, to that monstrous mouth. The portrait focuses on the face, and the expression of the character, allowing the viewer to easily study the details of the unsettling makeup, the dark eyes, and those disturbing teeth. The mouth is actually the main visual focus of the photo which itself is very unusual, as normally in portraiture the eyes are the main focus. With the wide open mouth, full of blood and horrifc teeth, being the central feature of the picture, it immediately strikes a psychological note in our brain, like a wild animal about to bite us. The fake dentures that Rick made for his model to wear were reportedly large and difficult to use, because they forced the lips to draw back unnaturally making the snarl so much more inhuman. Given how there is no symmetry in the teeth, they look biologically incorrect, mutant in nature, and thus adding to the uncanny nature of the image.
There is a technique in photography called triangular composition which is very powerful at leading the eye into the picture. Triangles have directional force (this is why triangles are used as arrows) and our brains are very good at recognizing them, even when they are subtle in an image. The Valak portrait actually has two triangular forces at work, the first being the three points between the eyes and the mouth, but also the surrounding habit robe. The triangle in the face drawns the eye downwards towards the mouth, whereas the triangle in the robe clearly points upwards. This is a very strong piece of visual contrast that makes the image feel so much more than the sum of its parts.
Because the subject is framed so cleanly, the photo communicates with absolute ease. It is effortless to look at, making its impact so much stronger.
The lighting is also doing a lot of the work in making this image so creepy. Horrify Me images have their own style thanks to Rick's use of blue backlights and dark contrasts, and is one of the main reasons his work is so popular with tattooists. In this photo the blue lighting adds a subtle coldness to the face. The main keylight is set above the subject's face, creating more shadow in the eye sockets and emphasising the skull-like appearance more prominently.
Like most of Rick’s work, the photo also has cinematic qualities. It doesn’t look like a staged studio portrait, it actually feels like a still taken from the movie itself (a common error that many have actually made including many high profile movie websites who have mistakenly used it in their features).
It has an authenticity that elevates it above standard fan work or cosplay, even though in reality that's exactly what it is.
I believe that timing also played a role in the popularity of this photo. As Valak gained popularity in modern horror, fans were actively seeking images and media to celebrate the character. In my humble opinion, Valak has fallen into the same category as the golden age figures such as Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, Leatherface etc in that a lot of their movies were actually trashy, yet the characters transcended their own movies and became popular icons regardless. Valak is the same. Her movies are not exactly masterpieces by any means, but the character herself is very beloved. Rick’s photo arrived at the perfect moment and quickly circulated across social media, being shared more and discovered more, and eventually becoming a kind of iconic photo in its own right.
This photo continues to resonate with fans because it captures something quite important that is really only appreciated by fans of horror: the beauty of fear. Despite the terror and darkness being portrayed here, there is something weirdly beautiful about this photo. It balances a certain elegance with pure terror in a way that feels powerful and shocking, making it memorable and inspiring. It’s really no surprise that so many artists and tattooists around the world continue to draw so much from this piece of work. This photo is more than just a horror photo, it appears to be a visual blueprint of horror artistry and one that continues to influence people profoundly, year after year.
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