SUMMARY:  When Henry returns home from college to visit his parents, he is shocked to find that Barry, the monster under his bed from his childhood, is still there, and very real.  Barry and Henry had been pals - Barry wasn't a very good monster and preferred to befriend his young charge.  For breaking the rules, he's been stuck in Henry's room ever since instead of moving on to a new child.  Still, adults aren't supposed to be able to see Barry... unless they're bad people.  As Henry insists he's not a bad person, a terrifying creature comes to take him away into the Darkness, but Barry fights him off.  Still, there's no avoiding destiny.  Barry takes a terrified and confused Henry's hand as they are unavoidably spirited off into the Darkness.

Photos by Aaron Francis

SUMMARY:  Upon arrival in the Darkness, Henry is again attacked by the creature, but is saved by Barry's old monster friends Calugula, Mal and Fred.  Barry's been banished ever since he made friends with Henry as a child instead of scaring him, and is now considered a hero by his old peers.  He showed them that in all evil, there is a little good... but conversely, in all good, there is a little evil.  They can't believe Barry bought a human with him.  They think he must be a bad person - only bad people ever seen the Darkness, and then they're taken to the Tearhouse, where their insides are ripped out to turn them into monsters.  Henry still denies being a bad person... though in private, he admits that as a soldier, he did terrible things.  The monsters want to make the Darkness a better place... but it's an uphill battle, and the terrible Ivan has other ideas.

Photos by Joshua Benton