Rocky Colavito, aka Dr. Damned, hails from Butler University and occupies his own space in Taboo Studies. His scholarship flits between horror and cultural studies; he teaches everything from first year writing courses to graduate seminars in horror literature. He is in his last career reinvention, transitioning into horror writing, and has stories in Dark Dossier and Caveman magazine. He has a wrestling theme horror story entitled Hell’s Belles in process, a story entitled “His Gimmick” under review, and the wrestling flavored horror collection Squared Circles of Hellin process. He favors old school regional wrestling (Mid-South, Memphis, and CCW), and uses the “oxidized Iron Claw” as his finisher.

Though I cannot speak for everyone I can say that one thing that the pandemic has done for me is reignite my creative fires, and, to quote the cliché, I have spent my “staycation” writing fiction, and the time has allowed me to revisit a group of stories I had worked on in fits and starts in the past few years. These stories are set in the world of professional wrestling, with the aim of coming into a collection called Squared Circles of Hell. Running the gamut of revenge, Faustian bargains, and demonic possession, the stories center on all kinds of grapplers who find themselves enmeshed in the supernatural, with usually horrible consequences.

After providing some foundation in fiction devoted to wrestling (e.g. “The Masked Marvel’s Last Toe Hold”), I humbly submit for your consideration a tale of an unsuccessful luchador whose family tree has eschewed the wearing of masks. In an effort to escape the burdens of his successful father and brother, he accepts a mask that has special qualities, and these qualities do bring him success, but at a cost. Will the luchador be able to overcome the influence of the mask, or is the success that it brings too persuasive? You’ll find out, at Wrestleposium III!