Nightmares Made to Order

By Craig Lindberg

One look at Eric Jernstrom and one thing becomes abundantly and immediately clear…something just isn’t right. The brains and brawn behind Boxed Brutality, custom made masks and Halloween props, spends his days as Shipping Manager of Mackie/EAW speaker and audio gear in Whitinsville, MA and spends his nights…in a much darker place.

Boxed Brutality has been making a name for itself over the last two years, providing high quality Halloween props including guillotines, stocks, and a fully functional faux electric chair that you don’t just see, you experience, to haunted houses and festivals all over New England. The aforementioned electric chair made an appearance at the annual Rock and Shock festival at the DCU Center and was a huge hit.

Boxed Brutality also specializes in custom-made masks. These aren’t your average, run of the mill Mickey Mouse or Ghost-Face masks. These are custom made, dead skin masks, painstakingly crafted with all the care of a true artisan…with a seriously demented mind.

I sat down with Eric, in broad daylight and in a very public location, to discuss the past, present and future of Boxed Brutality.

Pulse: What inspired you to create such abominations?
Eric: A love of all things horror. Movies, books, collectibles you name it, I’ve always been attracted to the darker side of things.

Pulse: So, why masks?
Eric: Masks are true horror. We all wear masks, every day, and the thought of peeling that mask off and exposing what’s beneath can be a profoundly frightening. The remnants of that facade, the skin, that is the ultimate horror.

Pulse: Give us a little insight into the madness ~ how much thought goes into one of your creations?
Eric: About 30 hours give or take. Each mask is sketched out up to 10 different times before it’s ready for production. Each mask tells its own story, and every detail in the masks…hair, bruises, scars, and expression…are chapters. Together, the details bring the story to life.

Pulse: What about someone else’s story? Do you do custom or commission work?
Eric: I’ve sent masks as far as Sweden and have done custom work for Gunnar Hansen, the original Leatherface’s, personal artist as well as random, specialized requests on-line.

Pulse: What sort of larger scale productions do you specialize in?
Eric: I love to do Halloween parties. Most people would like to throw a kick-ass Halloween party, but don’t have the resources to pull it off. That’s where I come in. I set up themes and scenes that most people couldn’t fathom, from electric chairs and gallows poles to butcher shops and cemeteries. Let my twisted imagination bring your vision to life.

Pulse: Do you get a lot of requests?
Eric: I’m only able to do 4 parties per season, and, yeah…I get a lot of requests so the earlier people can get ahold of me the better.

Pulse: OK, Mr. Horror Aficionado, give us your top 5 horror movies.
Eric: {laughs} Putting me on the spot, huh? OK.

5. Saving Private Ryan. I don’t care what you think, THAT is a scary movie.
4. Dawn of the Dead
3. The Shining
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2

Chainsaw obviously heavily influences me. Using someone else’s face to hide your own…that’s true horror. Nothing else even comes close.

Eric can be reached at eric.jernstrom@gmail.com.