It was once said that in an unknown location, there is a mental institution that sits atop a hill and the atrocities that reside within are reserved for a special place in Hell. When one of the inmates gets 'out of sorts', they are placed in the 'quiet room'. Nobody really knows what goes on inside that room. When the inmates come out, they come out with less of a soul, and a design for something...horrific. It is within these walls, the 'Quiet Room Bears' are born.

Staff member, Annie Minervini caught up with the Dr. Frankenstein of the teddy bear world himself, Lee Howard of QuiET RoOM BeARs.

Horror News Network: How did the idea for QuiET RoOM BeARs come to life? 

Lee Howard: The idea for the BeARs began about 10 years ago when my brother and his wife were having a themed Halloween party. They had this little prop demon-baby in a crib, and the theme was Rosemary’s Baby Shower, and they were running a contest where whoever brought the best gift for the baby would win. So I figured that every baby needs a teddy bear, so the son of Satan is going to need a teddy bear that looks like the most horrible thing imaginable. So I just tried to think of what would disturb me to look at, and made it. And while they didn’t end up actually doing the contest, I still brought the BeAR with me, and the reaction was crazy enough that I thought ‘maybe I should try and make more’! So I had made 2 more and sold them on eBay, but then didn’t really do anything with them for a few years. Then for some reason one day I had just decided to start it up again, created the name ‘Quiet Room Bears’ (the name of the ‘quiet room’ comes from, for me, Nightmare on Elm Street 3, the room where they dope the kids up and stick them in there when they flip out – I’m a huge Freddy fan), and created an entire back story for them, including the fact that they have no names, only numbers. (‘When each inmate has a session in the Quiet Room, nobody REALLY knows what happens in there, but when and IF they come out, so does a new BeAR’). So each BeAR is called ‘session 1’, ‘session 2’, and so on.

Horror News Network: Your debut of these morbidly cuddly creations was at an arts and crafts festival in 2010.  This typically isn't where you would think your intended audience would shop.  Did your bears raise any eyebrows in that setting?

Lee Howard: Did they ever! I had 2 art shows that I was a part of that day, and the morning one was a very arts and crafts type show, and for obvious reasons, the BeARs really stood out. (I think the table across from me was selling knitted apparel and to the left of me were baked goods). But the reaction was still very positive, even from people I didn’t think would really like them (some kids, the elderly, haha). Looking back, it just wasn’t the right venue for them, but I also had some of my art work on display. They stood out well enough that the local college in town did an article on me, and one of the BeARs even got to make it on a small piece of the cover! The show I did that night was a little more geared towards ‘darker art’ and they went over very well there, and I, in fact, sold two of the BeARs there.

Horror News Network: How many bears have you completed to date?

Lee Howard: The last BeAR I made was Session 27, but there are a few numbers I have purposefully skipped. I skipped ‘Session 9” (which is the name of a fantastic, underrated horror movie, and was the obvious inspiration for the Bears. If you haven’t seen it, do it right away. And don’t let the fact that David Caruso is in it, sway you. It’s a very creepy and well made horror movie), “Session 11” and “Session 22”. One day, when they BeARs reach, say, a GLOBAL audience (fingers crossed!), and they really do become something that people are collecting and love, I feel like I WILL make those ‘lost sessions’, but I have to make sure the designs are something REALLY terrifying. I’m also going to try and be a little creepier with those ones by adding pieces of myself into them. (My mom, for some unknown weirdo reason, saved 3 of my baby teeth, which I still have, and will be used in the ‘lost sessions’, when they do eventually get made. Along with hair and whatever else I can put in that will be people feel uncomfortable.)

Horror News Network: Do you have a favorite design?

Lee Howard: I’m always going to love “Session 1”, just because he was my first one, and I just think everything about him, from the size and shape of the Bear is creepy and great. He is the only one I’ll never sell. I was really happy with “Session 24” which I sold to a really nice guy at a horror convention – this one actually moved and made noises, and I was really happy with the creep-factor on this one. The more uncomfortable people seem to get when they are looking at the BeARs, the better a job I’ve done. (You can see a short video I made of ‘Session 24 on YouTube right here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxlTNCmCHm0 ) – The funny thing is, sometimes even when I’m not 100% happy with a BeAR, or feel like I could have done something scarier or whatnot, someone else will come along and say ‘I LOVE this one!” So I suppose, like with any art, different things will appeal to different people.

Horror News Network: When creating the bears do you start with an idea and develop a way to bring it to life, or do you start experimenting on the the teddy until an idea manifests?

Lee Howard: It can go both ways, really. Sometimes I will think of an idea or design and see if I can actually make that happen, and other times I will basically look at all the supplies in front of me and think ‘what going to look the worst? What is going to look the most unnatural or out of place?’ and then just make it happen. I basically try and make each BeAR look like an inmate has pieced it together. So I try and keep them ‘unprofessional’ looking as I can. The stitching will always be messy, the paint will never be perfect. I think that’s a big part of why they look as disturbing as they usually do.

Horror News Network: How long does it typically take to create a bear once you have an idea in mind?

Lee Howard: Some BeARs can take up to a week to make, depending on what I’m putting into it or what I’m doing with it. Sometimes it takes a while for the latex to dry completely before I can paint it, sometimes the stitching will take a long time. I’ll usually try and make 3 or 4 at a time, so when I start cutting open and latexing one, while it dries and whatnot, I’ll jump to another one. There’s always fur and paws, bones and eyeballs all over my apartment. It looks like a plush version of the Texas Chainsaw house, usually.

Horror News Network: Where do you find your materials to bring your creations to life?

Lee Howard: A lot of the stuff I buy will come from second hand stores. The majority of the teddy bears I buy, as well as the dolls and Barbies I’ll use all come from there. Which pretty much ALWAYS makes me look like a gigantic pervert when I’m standing in line with an arm-full of teddy bears on one side of me and a huge bag of naked Barbie dolls and baby dolls in the other hand. I always feel compelled to tell them ‘no, it’s okay!...it’s for ART!”. Whether or not they buy my story is unknown. Luckily, they’re starting to kind of know me now. (wipes brow. Phew!) Sometimes I’ll have to turn to eBay to get things I need that I can’t find in stores, however, such as realistic human teeth. I bought a HUGE batch of them from a dental office. They’re not real, they’re porcelain, but for the sake of the creepy-factor, let’s pretend some real ones slip in there from time to time.

Horror News Network: What are some of the techniques you use to alter the bears?

Lee Howard: Again, it’s usually the case of ‘the messier the better’. There is already a bunch of ‘scary teddies’ on the market, but they’re mass produced items, so they’re obviously very store-friendly. I always want people to feel pretty uncomfortable when they see the BeARs, especially for their first time, and the crazier I can make them look, the better. Lots and lots of liquid latex and TONS of Crazy Glue go into each one. I probably spend an average of $25 in Crazy Glue alone per BeAR.

Horror News Network: Is it a constant learning process as you continue to make new bears? 

Lee Howard: Absolutely. Sometimes I won’t really know what will and won’t work, functionally speaking. One BeAr in particular (“Session 16’) had moss in his face, behind this emotionless black-human-face mask, and in my mind, it looked great, but in reality, it kept falling out and I couldn’t really keep it in there looking the way I wanted it to without spraying a metric-ton of spray adhesive on it, just to keep it in place. I did actually end up selling that one, too! But I’m constantly thinking of how far I can maybe push the look of the BeARs, and how far I can push the limit of horror. I much prefer ‘scary and disturbing’ versus ‘gross and bloody’. It’s like choosing between The Shining and SAW. Shining, for me, wins every time.

Horror News Network: What types of techniques are you hoping to incorporate into the process of making future bears?

Lee Howard: I did two bears based on horror icons Freddy and Jason, to bring to a horror convention, and I want to do a lot more horror movie/character-inspired bears in the future, since those ones went over so well! I also really love when they have motion and/or sound in them, so I really want to incorporate as much of that as I can. In the Freddy-inspired BeAr, I went to the ‘Build-A-Bear’ store in my local mall and bought this little ‘sound-chip’ thing where you can record anything you want into it and then place it into a bear, so that when it’s done, you can squeeze its hand and it’ll play the sound. So for this one, I recorded the sound of a bunch of babies crying and screaming. I think when you can incorporate sound to the visual aspect of it, then you get to attack 2 senses at once.

Horror News Network: Do you look for ways to top your last bear design in regards to the twisted and grotesque?

Lee Howard: I’m always trying to think of ways to up the ante for each one. And it really depends on what supplies I happen to come across. Sometimes I’ll just wander around various stores and if something really odd jumps out at me, I know I can use it. For example, I was in a dollar store and saw this little round glass ornament with a picture of Jesus in it, and thought ‘Yup! I can use this!”, and I had it for months, but didn’t really know where to use it, until I found a REALLY deep red BeAR, in which my first thought was “woah!! Holy crap, this thing looks like the Devil! Oh…Oh…waitaminute!...Yes! The Jesus ornament!!” That became Session 23, and it also sold at the same horror convention. (side note: if anyone who came up to my table seemed to be offended that I put a picture of Jesus into one of my BeArs, I decided I would tell them that it was, in fact, NOT Jesus, but rather Chad Kroeger from Nickleback. Which in my opinion, is the scariest thing of all.)

Horror News Network: All of your teddy bears are one of a kind, and once it's sold a replica will not be made to take its place.  Is this the case even if someone specially requests one you have already previously made and sold?

Lee Howard: For sure. Every once and a while, I’ll have similarities in the BeArs, like, say, a baby-face in the belly, but the rest of it will be different. When I made ‘session 21’, it was a kind of throw-back to ‘session 1’, but I decided to do almost a mirror-image of it, so it would still stand on it’s own as an individual. If someone does want me to remake an old one, I’ll just tell them the same thing – I’ll make it similar, I’ll maybe use some of the same materials, but I just can’t repeat it.

Horror News Network: Has your one of a kind teddy rule been challenging?

Lee Howard: Not really, actually. Because I’ve never bought the same teddy bear, they’ll look different either way. Sometimes it does seem hard, like there are only so many combinations of things I can do with each one, but I’ve been lucky enough so far that they’ve all looked so different from each other. Maybe that won’t be the same once I’ve hit ‘session 500’, but holy god, I can’t wait to find out.

Horror News Network: Do you take requests for themed Quiet Room Bears?

Lee Howard: I’ve actually had a couple requests so far! One person I met asked me if they could send me some items in the mail and have me incorporate them into a bear. Another person asked me to make a ‘boogey man’ version of a Bear for a short film they are making, and just today, I had someone I have done a couple paintings based on scenes from Scream for, to make a ‘Billy Loomis’ inspired Bear. I’ve already got the ideas flowing, and I think it could be a really cool idea.

Horror News Network: What is the most common reactions from horror fans when they see your bears?

Lee Howard: They’ve gone over fantastically, so far. Honestly, from tiny kids to older folk, it’s generally been really great. People have really been kind and telling me that they’ve never seen anything like this before, which is super encouraging. One of my sisters, on the other hand, has told me ‘I like that you DO art…I just don’t like the art that you DO’. Hahahahaha. Pretty great. I also recently showed the BeARs to my Mom for the first time, and her reaction was hilarious. I told her to be kind, because they’re practically her grandbabies.

Horror News Network: I think it's safe to say you are a fan of the horror genre.  Which horror movie got you into the genre?

Lee Howard: When I was 10 years old, I had always been scared of horror movies before then, but one Sunday afternoon, my older brother Bill said ‘we’re gonna watch this’, and it was Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. I was super iffy on it and in typical older brother fashion was like ‘it’s the middle of the day, calm down, it’s fine’, and that movie flipped a switch in me. From that day on, until now, I LOVE horror. Freddy was such an obsession with me, it actually became a problem in grade school. My dad came home from a parent-teacher meeting one time, and while I was nervous that they told him my grades were crap, he came home, sat down, sighed, and said ‘Just leave Freddy at home, ok’? (side note : I didn’t.)

Horror News Network: When your friends see these Quiet Room Bears, are they surprised they are your brain children?

Lee Howard: Not at all, hahaha. For strangers, it’s a little more confusing. They’ll look at the Bears, then up at me, then back to the bears, then back at me. And usually will say “…you won’t look like the type of person to make these.” And once I almost said ‘well, they didn’t think Ted Bundy looked like a killer!” but thought that was just…weird. And then a nice older lady actually said that exact thing to me. Still weird.

Horror News Network: Has this creative outlet opened any doors for you?

Lee Howard: For sure!! Unbelievably, through Facebook, I became friends with Mark Patton, who played the lead ‘Jesse’ in Nightmare on Elm Street 2, a little while ago. He is an artist himself and lives in Mexico. Anyone who is a big Nightmare fan knows he had quit acting in the 80’s and had basically become MIA until a documentary called Never Sleep Again (a must watch, by the way) was made, he was found and kind of thrust back into the horror world. So we became friends, talked quiet often, and he became a big fan of the Quiet Room Bears (he now owns ‘session 7’). So during the summer, I was amazingly lucky enough for Mark to invite me down to the Rock n’ Shock horror convention in Worcester, Mass, to sit at his table with him and be his ‘Featured Artist’. I brought down 15 BeArs with me, a bunch of the t-shirts I had made up with the logo I recently made, and the reception was mind-blowing. I had always kind of known that horror conventions were really the place and market for these guys, and it was honestly, the best weekend ever. I cannot say enough good things about Mark Patton. He is honestly, one of the nicest, most encouraging and supportive humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, and it kind of blows my mind that Nightmare 2 was such a key movie in my life, and now I’m actually friends with him. Life is pretty crazy sometimes, and I feel pretty damn lucky.

Horror News Network: Do you have any other outlets for your creativity?

Lee Howard: I do a lot of painting, actually. Most of my work has been commissioned pieces of the non-horror variety. I do tons of portraits for people of their relatives and pets, and I do a lot of movie-themed paintings as well. In the new year, I’m scaling back on the commissioned stuff to really focus on my own work. I really want to get the BeARs into gallery showings, which I think is the next stage of evolution for them. I’m also currently working on a screenplay called The Quiet Room, which will show the origins of the hospital where the BeArs are created, and kind of have 2 intersecting timelines, and I’m hoping will be something really new and original in the world of horror movies. I’m really trying to think outside the box for it, in terms of how the storylines jump back and forth and would be edited together. I basically want anything that is associated with the BeARs to be like the BeArs themselves – two things from different worlds, that shouldn’t exist together, fused together to form a new kind of monster. Uncomfortable to look at, but impossible not to stare at. I’m also going to be doing a series of sculptures based on human Fears. No matter who you are, rich or poor, strong or weak, it’s something every single one of us has in common, from birth to death.

Horror News Network: Where can our readers find more information about your Quiet Room Bears and other projects?

Lee Howard: While I’m still working on my website, I’m hoping it will be up very soon. Right now, it’s a crappy-looking ‘Coming Soon’ page, but it’s at www.quietroombears.com. Until then, I’m really encouraging people to find us on our Facebook Fan page, (http://www.facebook.com/pages/QuiET-RoOM-BeARs-by-Lee-Howard/160537263959458)  which is growing in numbers all the time, thanks to the exposure at Rock n Shock (we do little give-aways there, every time we hit a certain amount of ‘Likes’ on the page). Right now, that’s the best source for all things Quiet Room Bears – all the new BeArs and news is posted there, as well as all the previous BeArs. You can BUY a BeAR on my etsy page at www.etsy.com/shop/quietroombear - On the Facebook page, I’ll always post the news of the new BeArs for sale there. People can also see the rest of my paintings on my Deviant Art page at www.johnnyfilmmaker.deviantart.com or they can simply add me to Facebook. I love meeting fans and talking to people about them, and anyone who buys a BeAr or a shirt, or creates fan art, I post the pics on the Facebook page. As soon as you’re added there, you’re one of my inmates for life. Once the Quiet Room becomes a part of your life, and specifically if you OWN one, you can look forward to a lifetime of nightmares, cold sweats, hallucinations, and crippling panic attacks. Plus they’re great for kids!!

Horror News Network: Thanks for your time, Lee. Comment on this interview here.

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Published on: 2011-11-20 (733 reads)