Tis the season for murder most foul and mayhem at FORT CLATSOP. On film, anyway. PELT: Darkness Wears Many Skins (www.pelt-the-film.com), which was directed and written by Portland Art Institute student ROWAN SPIERS-FLOYD for his senior thesis project, was shot almost entirely at the fort in February 2012.

The cast and crew toiled night and day, the young director wrote of his supernatural period thriller, to create a spine-chilling tale of suspense, mixing the themes of desire, jealousy and guilt, with a dark fairytale feel.

The student crew put in 15-hour days, said park staff member WILL GEORGE confirmed, and shot dozens of scenes in the rain, in the cold, in the forest and at the fort. The Ear is shivering at the thought.

Now Pelt, which is about 12 minutes long, is available online. You can see it at http://tinyurl.com/peltfilm

After its screening at the fort last year, the film went on its festival run, where it won the Gold award in the Student Film Category in the Oregon Film Awards, Rowan wrote. He is working to build his directors portfolio, and is working on a script for a possible feature (movie) adaptation of Pelt.

The Ear will keep you posted.

Elleda Wilson