Misunderstood Monsters

Born from the mind of director Jacob Chase, Misunderstood Monsters is an ominous children’s storybook revolving around Larry, a creature that exists only within digital platforms, feeding off of the electricity surrounding it. I had the honor of illustrating the e-book for both Come Play (2020) and its preceding original short Larry (2017) .

Misunderstood Monsters is a project with a history that remains close to my heart. In August 2012 I was invited by my close childhood friend Jessica to help with a home haunt she was putting together with her boyfriend (now-husband) Jacob along with a small team of other young creatives. Thus Big Worm’s Sherwood Scare was born, a backyard haunt turned local sensation that ran for two weeks in October. Our 2013 finale monster, “The Man in the Lake,” would later become Jacob’s inspiration for Larry.

We had our final run during the Halloween season of 2014. The haunts became increasingly complex and time-consuming each year. The neighbors got angrier as the lines got longer. And with work schedules, new projects, and life in general, it was unfortunately time to say goodbye to Sherwood Scare, a labor of of love that genuinely transformed my life.

But thanks to Larry that was not the end of the story. I was beside myself with joy when I was asked to create artwork for the short film Larry, and exponentially so when I was taken on for Come Play. I am forever grateful to Jacob for keeping the haunt alive and inviting me to participate in one of its, hopefully many, reincarnations.