Persecution in Connecticut: The Horror of Yellow Journalism, Fear Mongering and Outright Cowardice of The Moongoyle Entertainment Controversy

Being a journalist for Horror Society, Living Dead Magazine and host of other genre themed mediums, as well as being the owner of my own FX company (Slit of the Wrist FX), a producer and actor in the genre for over a dozen years, I have seen and worked on projects that would curl the toes of those that do not have the tolerance or understanding of what the genre provides. Being a journalist and working in the genre brings a level of responsibility that sometimes has to surpass your own personal feelings and views on certain subjects. A great deal of time, effort, research and sacrifice goes into the work I put my name on, and at times I know that the general masses (and even those that are fans of the genre) are not going to agree with what I write and cover. These are things that I accept and deal with every time I sit down and write a review, interview or editorial piece, but having that freedom to cover the genre I love makes that all worth the while. I will always bring the truth to light and when I see someone railroad not only the industry and genre I love, but try to ruin the lives and careers of the people who share their visions with us as film makers is nothing short of yellow journalism, fear mongering and outright cowardice. That is where “reporter” Matthew Kauffman and his “article” for The Hartford Courant comes into play…

Yellow Journalism: A type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism. By extension, the term yellow journalism is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical fashion.

On October 3rd, Mr. Kauffman wrote a piece entitled “Two Educators Behind Violence And Nudity In Slasher Flicks” where he tells us about Dr. Mark D. Foley and Aaron Vnuk, who are the creative force behind such Moongoyle Entertainment films such as Mind Morgue (2008), The Limb Collector (2009), The Demon of Castlebury (2011) and the upcoming Tobacco Jack (2015). It would appear that Mr. Kauffman’s beef with these two gentleman is the fact that both used “the names Mark Daniel and Aaron Thomas Howell — pseudonyms derived from the men’s first and middle names”* on their films. The reason they used pseudonyms for their films is because they both work in the education field in Connecticut, Foley as principal of a middle school and Vnuk as a guidance counselor. Per the article, Foley states “he kept his connection with Moongoyle entirely separate from his life as a school administrator”* and “Put in the context of a school, then it’s not appropriate, but there is no overlap there, that’s the thing to keep in mind. This is not being done at school or anything.”

While Mr. Kauffman has an impressive resume (reporter at The Hartford Courant since 1986 and is assigned to the paper’s investigative desk, specializes in computer-assisted reporting and his blog, The Scoop, covers investigative and data-driven journalism. In 2007, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for a series he co-authored on mentally ill troops sent to war, received a Polk Award, the Selden Ring Award, the Worth Bingham Prize and the Heywood Broun Award. He was also named a “Master Reporter” by the New England Society of Newspaper Editors and teaches college courses in investigative reporting and computer-assisted reporting)*, I really fail to see what the purpose was of his article. There are no crimes listed here, no use of school property or students in the films mentioned in the article. To further cement the point, Foley also states in the article that “he and Vnuk adopted the pseudonyms to clearly separate their educator positions from their filmmaker roles” and “It was more to kind of underline the lack of connection between regular profession and that kind of hobby thing. Although it’s completely separate from work, it can be misconstrued as somehow being connected and not being appropriate — which it wouldn’t be — and that’s why it’s completely separate and has nothing to do with the workplace.”* Again, what is the point of the article?

Fear Mongering: The use of fear to influence the opinions and actions of others towards some specific end. The feared object or subject is sometimes exaggerated, and the pattern of fear mongering is usually one of repetition, in order to continuously reinforce the intended effects of this tactic, sometimes in the form of a vicious circle.

We begin to face a slippery slope when we begin to judge people outside of the chosen professions they work in. While the thought that the films they make are not for the general public, what they are doing is not breaking any laws or endangering the lives or well being of their students. The use of pseudonyms is a very common practice in the industry (horror or otherwise) and include such famous names as Steven Soderbergh, Sergio Leone, Joel & Ethan Coen and a host of others. While the argument can be made that these are more famous people, why should that even matter? Foley and Vnuk should be commended for keeping their professional and artistic sides separate from one another with no conflict of interest. Sadly, this appears to not be enough as a second article from Kauffman entitled “Educators Who Made Erotic Horror Films Placed On Leave” where he seemingly gleefully announces Foley and Vnuk’s suspensions at the hands of the school board: “The actions came in response to a story in Thursday’s Courant focusing on Mark D. Foley, principal of Granby Memorial Middle School, and Aaron Vnuk, a seventh-grade guidance counselor at Windsor’s Sage Park Middle School. The story reported that Foley and Vnuk, using pseudonyms, produced horror movies with nude scenes and ran a sexually charged website that included images of scantily clad women and references to ‘hot babes’ and ‘lustful babes.’ “*

Granby Superintendent Alan Addley is quoted in the article saying “Principal Dr. Mark Foley has been involved under a pseudonym in making horror genre movies that have allegedly included nudity. The administration and [Board of Education] are concerned about the judgment used to be engaged in such activities while serving as an educational leader. Accordingly, we are looking into this matter to obtain all the facts.” He goes on further to say “The investigation will begin immediately and is expected to conclude promptly. As always, the security and well-being of our students will be foremost in our response to this report.” Addley said there was no indication that Foley had engaged in any illegal activity. Furthermore, Windsor Superintendent Craig A. Cooke notified parents that Vnuk also had been placed on leave while the district investigates his involvement with Moongoyle Entertainment. “The movies produced by this firm contain, in my opinion, inappropriate content and is certainly not something Windsor Public Schools would condone,” Cooke wrote in a letter to families. “While it is difficult to comment on an on-going investigation, I want to assure the Windsor community that at the current time I have no information that would lead me to believe Windsor students were at risk.”* So again I ask, what was the point of Kauffman’s article and why have these men been suspended from their jobs as educators?

Cowardice: A trait wherein fear and excess self-concern override doing or saying what is right, good and of help to others or oneself in a time of need—it is the opposite of courage. As a label, “cowardice” indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge.

Kauffman has not yet mentioned or stated any reason in his article for his research and subsequent outing of the two educators and film makers. With no crime being present, was it just a slow news day? Kauffman surely could have covered real news that is going on in his state, like Connecticut state Rep. Christina “Tita” Ayala being arrested for 19 counts of voter fraud, maybe the story of Connecticut state trooper that was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to stealing from a dying accident victim or how about the 31-year-old man that died on Saturday morning after a stun gun was used on him twice in less than eight hours by New London police officers. These all seem to be newsworthy stories that a “journalist” of Kauffman’s caliber should be covering instead of trying to ruin two men that make their living as educators. Maybe the schools should be more worried about stories like varsity girls’ soccer coach Jeffrey Sirois (E.O. Smith High School) for sending an “improper video” to a number of teens, including 14- and 16-year-olds or maybe give us the missing details of what really happened at the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting instead of harassing two men that, as far as I have been able to research, did nothing wrong other than make horror films IN THEIR OWN SPARE TIME…

Both of Foley and Vnduk are looking at the possibility of losing their jobs over shoddy and unnecessary journalism at the hands of a man, by all accounts, has never seen or reviewed a horror film before. To call the films made by Moongoyle Entertainment “erotic horror” is laughable at best and certainly shoddy and irresponsible at worst. I would certainly hope that if these men lose their jobs because a “journalist” has nothing better to do than spout off at the mouth about something he has no knowledge about that we will see some kind of litigation, for slander and the unnecessary invasion of privacy. Furthermore, the school board should really take a long look at itself and its other employees, because I am sure if we did some digging, we could find plenty of skeletons hanging in many of the other teachers and administrators closets. If no criminal element is found to be involved, how long will it be before you can lose your job as an educator for being seen at a bar or for reading a book that others may not like? Scoff if you like, but that is where things are headed. You should be able to do what you want in your off time if you are not breaking any laws. So what can we do? I can do this: I am formally calling out “journalist” Matthew Kauffman, Granby Superintendent Alan Addley and Windsor Superintendent Craig A. Cooke to come on The Calling Hours Horror Podcast to discuss this matter and show us that there is and was a valid reason for dragging these two men through the mud. Trust me, I will do my research on you before you show up on my show. Show some backbone and gumption boys. Name the time and place…

*Quotes and background info can be found at the links provided above…