Never Seen Again, in Ontario?

The words “never seen again” are the creepiest phrase I’ve ever heard. They show up in childhood fantasy tales, as well as horror stories. So any story, fiction or fact, with those words haunts me. They are creepy and fascinating and a mystery usually not solved. I’ve heard stories, reports and tall tales about people … Read more

Speculative Fiction merging Non-fiction, History and Horror

Create a story, with some element of horror. An even that would give you nightmares, if it happened to you. Don’t start with a family photograph. I think that would be a bit creepy, for you and your family. Find an old photograph, black and white works well for the dramatic effect. Also, anyone in … Read more

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark Movie Macabre

I started typing in this post and then the Internet decided to die. Usually, the post would manage to be saved as a draft, this one didn’t make it. So, although it only matters to me, this post is being written a second time around. Kind of right when thinking of Cassandra Peterson, better known … Read more

Fes Up Challenge from Facebook

This was posted by Bev. Here are my answers. ‘Fess up challenge! -bath or shower? Shower -straight or curly hair? Curly -favorite movie? Not really. -favorite holiday? St. Patrick’s Day -Android or iPhone? Landline only. – texting or calling? Email. -Facebook or Twitter? Twitter – favorite type of food? Mexican but not spicy and no … Read more

Resources for Horror Writers on the Web

The Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA)  Cafe Doom  Dark Markets.com   Fiona’s Fear and Loathing  Hellnotes   Horror Tree  Horror Writers Association  International Horror Guild   Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror This list comes from the dmoz directory. I’m an editor there.

From Fred, the Missing Strange Traveler

The following is cut and pasted from an abandoned site, on Tripod. I would have reposted more newsletters, but I only found two.

Welcome, to The STRANGE TRAVELER

Hi. I’m Fred, the Robin Leach of haunted castles, alien landing fields, mystical monoliths and really cool bars. You have just stumbled into the only travel Website on the Internet that takes a “Twilight Zone” approach to vacation planning.

This is how it works: First, dim the lights.

Stare deeply into your computer screen.

Then imagine you are in the black-and-white world of early 1960s television, sitting in a AAA travel office filled with happy brochures on Disneyland, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.

Suddenly, you realize that the terse, thin-lipped agent marking up your TripTik is actually Rod Serling, host of “The Twilight Zone” and one of modern society’s first supernatural tour guides.

In your head, you hear his clipped, dramatically inflected words offering guidance in your search for vacation ideas that don’t center on theme parks, relatives or all-inclusive resorts:

“You’re traveling through another dimension – a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead. Your next stop …Alton, Illinois.”

Or Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Or Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Paris, Roswell, Loch Ness, the Nazca Plain, Stonehenge, Area 51, The Queen Mary or that spooky old house everyone whispered about in the neighborhood you grew up in.

The Strange Traveler thinks vacations should be more than sunscreen and lengthy discussions about where to eat dinner. Your travel tales should make jaws drop around the office water cooler, and widen the eyes of fellow parents on the T-ball sidelines.

You see, the world is filled with Strange Travel possibilities: destinations reputed to be haunted, cursed, charmed, visited by aliens, inhabited by monsters, worshiped by strange cults, or infested by vampires, faeries and zombies. Some of these places are the doorways to true mysteries. Others are heavily hyped tourist traps. Most have overnight accommodations, lots of local color, and at least one decent bar.

That’s where The Strange Traveler comes in.

This Website and its newsletter are your tour guides to bizarre, out-of-the-way destinations. This e-zine both guides readers to strange places they can visit, and advises them of the supernatural undercurrents flowing beneath traditional getaways.

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The Horror of Being Possessed

5. You have been possessed by the devil! How do you deal with this and how do you make every effort to keep your soul possible? Feel free to go in a different direction from other possession movies. via Free Creative Writing Prompts #66: Horror. I don’t watch horror so I don’t know about the … Read more