Friday, September 28, 2012

Speaking at Paracon Tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 29th


I will be speaking at Paracon, tomorrow, Saturday, 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. The whole conference itself is free and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at The Exchange Hotel Museum, 400 South Main Street, Gordonsville, Virginia. Check out the website: Paracon Though I will only be there on Saturday, the conference is also on Sunday, September 30th. The schedule for all of us speakers: http://is.gd/QfwpY0

I will be selling and signing all four of my nonfiction ghost books at the conference, too. That's by cash, check and credit. By credit it will be an extra 2.75% extra to price of the book/books, as the bank takes that as their cut. Cash or check is just the price of the book.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Supernatural Friday: Eleven Scary Horror Films





October will be here in a couple of days and at the end of October is Halloween. At this time of year there are those who will read scary fiction or nonfiction ghost books, or watch scary movies. Personally, I watch the movies all year round or read the books the same. But today, on this last Supernatural Friday of September, I will start with what I think are eleven films to rent or buy on DVD, and watch.(Yeah-right, only I could make it an uneven number. . . )


1. Cabin the Woods (2011). This film just came out on DVD last week and I have watched it twice already. With Joss Whelon’s name as producer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity and The Avengers) attached to this film, I knew I had to have it, even though I didn’t catch it in the theaters this past spring. I heard it was worth the price of admission. And I will say, that is so true. Definitely a Whelon trademark, with some familiar faces too. The premise sounds old hat in horror films: “Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.” But honestly, there is a surprisingly difference. I loved it. Watch the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/



2. The Haunting (1963). Don’t rent the 90s stinkero remake. Get this one.  It is based on the novel, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Premise: Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity. With him are the skeptical young Luke, who stands to inherit the house, the mysterious and clairvoyant Theodora and the insecure Eleanor, whose psychic abilities make her feel somehow attuned to whatever spirits inhabit the old mansion. As time goes by it becomes obvious that they have gotten more than they bargained for as the ghostly presence in the house manifests itself in horrific and deadly ways. The film doesn’t need special effects to scare you. So grab this film, turn off the lights, huddle on the couch or your favorite chair, and be prepared to be frightened.
3.  Dog Soldiers (2002). No this is not a military film, though there are English soldiers in it. Plus a pack of werewolves they end up battling for their lives. And all set in the Scottish wilderness. Intense, this is one of the best werewolf horror films I have seen in a while. 

4.  An American Werewolf in London (1981). A horror film with werewolves that will make you think twice about traveling to English and hiking through it with your buddy at night and during a full moon.

5.  30 Days of Night (2007). This is a vampire film that is intense from beginning to end. If you are looking for those breaks in humor, forget it, this movie won’t give it to you. If you’re looking for vampires that sparkle, forget it. These vamps are vicious and out for one thing you can give them, and it’s not love!

6.   Psycho (1960). Premise: a young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother. Though black and white, this Alfred Hitchcock film will scare you as only Hitchcock can. Famous for the shower scene.

7.  The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II (1981 and 1987–both by Sam Raimi). First one is more grade-B horror, while the second one, a kind of remake has humor in it. The second one is the movie that made Bruce Campbell a B-movie icon and won Sam Raimi a whole lot more directing gigs. This films has equal parts humor and gore, but when the frights happen, they happen on a grand scale. Ever wondered what it would be like to fight your own hand? You won't have to wonder anymore after watching this movie. But still I thought I point out the first one, too.

8.  28 Days Later (2002). Undead, or zombies as they are calling the ghouls of these films these days, this is a good one. Many movies have tried to recreate what a major city could look like after an apocalypse, but not many do it as hauntingly well as Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later." The terrifyingly fast zombie-like creatures roaming the landscape proved to be so effectively scary that the movie spawned a wave of movies featuring fast-paced zombies. And the zombies don’t have to die to change and are logical in why they act the way they do.

9.   The Descent (2005). This movie will terrify you if:  1) You’re claustrophobic. 2) You’re scared of the dark. 3) You have a fear of being trapped under the earth.  4) You have a fear of being trapped under the earth with vampire-like creatures that can see you but you can’t see them.

10. Trick 'r Treat (2007). Premise: Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband. Perfect Halloween horror tales that will make you nervous about answering the door to trick-or-treaters.

11.  Alien (1979) and John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). Since both are about creepy, monstrous aliens, then I think both should share equal billing, don’t you? In Alien, “no one can hear you scream,” as stuck on a spaceship not near Earth, the crew of the mining spacecraft, Nostromo battle something that proves ET is not so friendly. Same for The Thing, based on the short story, “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell that I had read back in college, it is a more faithful adaptation than the 50s version with James Arness. It will make you question if your friends are really your friend, or something that may want to take over the Earth. You can even download the short story here: http://www.whogoesthere.info/download.php

There are many more films I loved, but could only put down ten. Other scary films included Poltergeist (1982), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dracula (1931-with Bela Lugosi), The Wolfman (1941-Lon Chaney Jr.), The Grudge (2004), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The House on Haunted Hill (1999), The Woman in Black (2012), The House of Wax (1953—with Vincent Price), Salem’s Lot (1979 and 2004), Rosemary’s Baby, so many more. What are your favorites?


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Writer's Wednesday: Hooking Your Reader; Hook, Line and Sinker



I’ve always been told it starts the first line up to the first paragraph to hook your readers’ interest to continue reading your short story or novel. And it’s so true. It’s like going fishing, you throw out the hook and snatch the reader, but if you don’t intrigue them right then and there, they’ll get away. And by the way, hooking your readers can work for your nonfiction book or memoir too.

A hook line takes a story full of complex plotlines and ideas, making it into simple sentence that can be quickly and easily conveyed to a wide range of people. The hook line is your first pitch in getting someone interested in your book. It can also be used as the first line in your query letter, hooking the agent or editor to read the rest of the letter and requesting information. When a prospective agent or editor asks you what your book is about, your hook line is your answer. It also makes it simple for when people asked you what your book is about.


Elements of a hook line can be about your main character and what is his/her main goal or interest. It can start off with conflict—like what is the conflict your character faces or maybe who’s the villain. Or distinction, with what makes your book different then all the rest, or what unique element of your story that makes it stand out? Then you can use setting, letting the reader know right off the bat that something is happening in Victorian England or down in Hell. Last but definitely not least, action. Action always draws the reader in.

Some hook lines, including from some from my own works:

 "Bottled Spirits" (published in Buzzymag): The trapped souls always cried loudest at night.
"Spectre Dreams and Visitations" from Spectre Nightmares and Visitations: The perfume of old books rose up in the air from the volumes on a table at the yard sale.
Haunted Richmond II: It is said you can't go home again. 

Virginia's Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations: History has a way of causing hauntings.

Night Calls by Katherine Eliska Kimbriel: I wasn't there when Papa killed the wolf.
The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason: His footsteps were soundless, but Victoria felt him moving.
Deadtown by Nancy Holzner: TWO RULES I LIVE BY: NEVER ADMIT TO BEING A SHAPESHIFTER on a first, second, or third date with a human. And never, ever bring along a zombie apprentice wannabe on a demon kill. (Sorry, but had to add the second great hooking second in!)
Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt: "There are two courses open to a gentlewoman when she finds herself in penurious circumstances," my Aunt Adelaide had said.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: In a holr in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
The Ridge by Michael Koryta: Kevin Kimble made the drive to the prison before dawn, as he always did, the mountains falling away as dark silhouettes in the rearview mirror.
"The Lone Death of the Last Ranger" by David Ulanski in Werewolves: Dead Moon Rising anthology: They ate 'em. They ate my friends."
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon: A screaming comes across the sky.
1984 by George Orwell:  It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
City of Glass by Paul Auster:  It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not. 
Neuromancer by William Gibson: The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: All this happened, more or less.
The Crow Road by Iain M. Banks: It was the day my grandmother exploded.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson: Diaries are kept by men: strong brushstrokes on smooth mulberry paper, gathered into sheaves and tied with ribbon and placed in a lacquered box.
The Dunwich Horror by H.P. Lovecraft: When a traveller in north central Massachusetts takes the wrong fork at the junction of Aylesbury Pike just beyond Dean's Corners he comes upon a lonely and curious country.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: It was a pleasure to burn.
Blood Rites by Jim Butcher: The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King: The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie: All children, except one, grow up.
Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles : I come from a family with a lot of dead people.
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury: The seller of the lightening rods arrived just ahead of the storm.

What are your favorite hook first lines of a book or short story?

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Supernatural Friday: Ghoul or Zombie: It's All How You Look at It


"They are neither man nor woman
They are neither brute nor human
They are Ghouls"
Edgar Allan Poe

When George Romero's Night of the Living Dead came out, the press called the undead zombies. Except Romero never coined them that term. Instead he had called them ghouls. Which would be the right term, as zombies are connected to voodoo and are people drugged and controlled, not flesh eating monsters.

What are ghouls? A ghoul is a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses.  It is one who shows morbid interest in things considered shocking or repulsive and supposedly lives in burial grounds. In Arabic folklore, ghouls are a type of jinn that could change their shapes but had one unchanging feature: donkey's hooves for feet. Even more horrible, it kills young children and even can lure unwary folk into abandoned places. By extension, the word ghoul is also used derogatorily to refer to a person who delights in the macabre, or whose profession is linked directly to death, such as a gravedigger.
Ghoul is from the Arabic ghul, from ghala "to seize." It is even thought to come from Gallu, a Mesopotamian demon. In Sumerian and Akkadian  mythology, the Gallus (also called gallu demons or gallas [Akkadian: gallĂ»]) were great demons/devils of the underworld. Their job was to haul off unfortunate victims to the underworld and even accompanied Istar when she headed down to the underworld.
The ghul is a fiendish type of jinn believed to be sired by Iblis, known to the Devil in Islam. A ghoul is a desert-dwelling shapeshifting demon that can assume the guise of an animal especially a hyena. It lures unwary people into the desert wastes or abandoned places to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children, drinks blood, steals coins, and eats the dead, taking the form of the person most recently eaten. In the Arabic language, the female form is given as ghouleh and the plural is ghilan. In colloquial Arabic, the term is sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.
In stories and films, I think Gollum as closest to the idea of a ghoul, and wouldn't be surprised this is what Tolkien had in mind when he wrote him into The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. What other beings in books or TV or film, do you believe they are ghouls?


Haunted Richmond II Reviewed

Haunted Richmond II received five stars as it was reviewed at Richmond Psychic & Paranormal Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/review/haunted-richmond-ii-by-pamela-k-kinney?cid=db_articles

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Writer’s Wednesday: Urban Fantasies






As of today, this will be Writer’s Wednesday. If you’re an author of horror, science fiction, fantasy, nonfiction ghost books, poetry, thriller and mysteries, you can contact me to do a guest blog about writing on one of the Wednesdays.

What is it about urban fantasies that people are reading these days? Urban fantasy is supposed to mean fantasy happening in city landscapes. That is usually with fairies and other creatures of a fantastical bent. Actually the name implies throwing fantasy elements into our urban society. Though the last few years, publishers have even added ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies and creatures considered to belong in the horror genre. An author I read, Laura K. Hamilton, was considered under horror when I first began her Anita Blake series, but later was called urban fantasy. Now there's even romance added to the mix. Not that horror and fantasy can’t have romance in the storyline.



My first urban fantasy read was Emma Bull's War for the Oaks, back in 1987. I've read others since then, though they were termed fantasies then. But by the twenty-first century, the name, urban fantasy, was coined. It's one of my favorites to read. I have even finished one myself that I am now shopping around. Under my pseudonym for paranormal romance, Sapphire Phelan, I have written two books in a series, that first came out as eBooks, Being Familiar With a Witch and A Familiar Tangle With Hell, and now is out in print together in one book, The Witch And The Familiar. Of course, none these are for anyone under 18, being erotic. LOL.



One of my favorite authors who write in this genre is Jim Butcher. Which authors of this genre you read?


Monday, September 17, 2012

Invite to Haunted Richmond II Book Release Party September 23rd at Book People in Richmond



Come join me at my book release party for my new nonfiction ghost book release, Haunted Richmond II this upcoming Sunday, September 23--3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The bookstore hosting the event is Book People, 536 Granite Ave. Richmond, Virginia. 23226. For directions to find this little indie bookstore: 804-288-43456.  I will be doing a giveaway-a basket of goodies and a gift card to you can use at Book People another time. http://www.bookpeoplerichmond.com/

So come, have some ghost cookies and pumpkin spice chocolate candy kisses, and let me signing a copy of my book for you.

Review of Wolf Song



I expected another book of vampires (the baddies) versus werewolves (the side of good) as seems to be the norm these days from the Twilight books and more. Many spots in this book by Frank W. Smith beautifully written, and though enjoyed it, I didn't get into it until mid-way. The title is based on the song werewolves chosen by God to sing, to defeat evil and calm down werewolves who lost themselves and remained in beast form. Though the old man is an interesting mix of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Van Helsing, it is Jon, the unsure, lost soul werewolf of the piece that the who book should be mostly about. It was when it became his story after the death of his mentor and friend the book became alive for me. This is why it earned four stars out of five for me. That, and the fact the vampires were scary enough. Next book, Mr. Smith, let go and let evil be evil.

4 didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it (my current rating)

Friday, September 14, 2012

Supernatural Friday: A Friendly Warning

The poem below is copyrighted to me, as the poem is my own original one, so please enjoy the poem and share the link to this blog so others may enjoy, but not take the poem itself off and put on your blog, forum, or wherever else. Thank you.






“A Friendly Warning”

By Pamela K. Kinney




Cool breeze of autumn
Darkness coming earlier,
October is just around the corner
With Halloween not far behind.
With this time come things,
Things unmentionable;
Scary and haunting too.
White and gray wisps,
Fluttering in the night
Leering grins from darkened areas
Hear that howl?
Is it the neighbor’s dog,
Or something else?
Blood-chilling;
Down right frightening.
Phantoms, werewolves, ghouls,
Many other kinds of fiends. . .
RUN! HIDE! SAVE YOURSELVES!
Or welcome these harbingers of fall,
After all, what’s a little fear among friends?
 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Weird Wednesday: Strange Facts You Never Knew


Sometimes some facts are useful knowledge. But then again, there are facts that might be considered strange and true, but not useful at all. Like the state of Alaska is 429 times larger than the state of Rhode Island is.  But Rhode Island has a significantly larger population than Alaska does. Or Montana has three times as many cows as it does people. Would any of this be useful to you? And yet, weird as it may seem, someone might find this information interesting.
Do we really need to know that the United States has 845 motor vehicles for every 1,000 people?  Or that Japan only has 593 for every 1,000 people and Germany only has 540 for every 1,000 people? All that means is a lot of smog to me. 
Other maybe useless, but maybe not weird facts:
Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to have been born in a hospital.
One survey found that 25 percent of all employees that have Internet access in the United States visit pornography websites while they are at work. (Really? I don't even want to know what they might be doing in their cubicles while looking at the sites!)
There are three towns in the United States that have the name "Santa Claus".
In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes!
There are 18 different animal shapes in the Animal Crackers cookie zoo!
The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache on a standard playing card!
There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos!
Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is considered an insult!
Until the nineteenth century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia!
The two-foot long bird called a Kea that lives in New Zealand likes to eat the strips of rubber around car windows!
It's illegal to drink beer out of a bucket while you're sitting on a curb in St. Louis!
A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle, a group of geese in the air is a skein!
Clinophobia is the fear of beds!
A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second!
The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." uses every letter of the alphabet!
Cat urine glows under a black-light! (I wonder how someone determined this?)
Ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone!
Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie!
In Natoma, Kansas, it's illegal to throw knives at men wearing striped suits.
It was once against the law to have a pet dog in a city in Iceland!
Do you know any possibly useless strange facts that might maybe not be as useless as you thought? Leave a comment if you do.


Thursday, September 06, 2012

Supernatural Friday: Cigarettes

 
This an original short story by me and so please, copyrighted. Don't take it off to share elsewhere, but do share the link, so that others may come and read. Thank you.
 
 
 
"Cigarettes"

The breathing in his lungs grew harsher as he ran and ran. Damn it, it hurt to suck in air. He didn’t dare look over his should to see if it still pursued him. After all, he might stumble over something and fall and the thing would be able to get him. The night being so dark he wouldn’t see it, not until it was in clawing distance anyway.

They warned his wife, Tillie and him, that some beast prowled the area at night, mainly when the crescent moon hung low in the sky. For months whatever it was, bayed long into the night as it prowled. Hearing it for so long, he hated it. Hated that it kept him indoors at night. Hated that fear of it ruled his and the town’s nights.  Tillie went to bed early those nights, but he stayed up until late, after the sound had died away. When he came to bed, Tillie seem to have a sexual appetite that rivaled none she had any other time during their marriage of one year. She appeared to pay no heed that he obviously spent the night smoking. The only time he applauded the creature stalking the woods nearby. It made his wife even more . . . sensual.

The past month, there had been nothing. And he needed some cigarettes. Bad enough that the shakes came over him and the craving dug deep into him. He grew sharp at Tillie, who started to give him angry looks. Looks she never had before. She bit back at him, like PMs had gotten control of her. She told him not to go. After all, he could get the damned pack in the morning. But he didn’t listen to her. After their worse argument ever, he stomped out the door and to their car.

It hadn’t taken him long—just a half hour to drive to town to the only gas station that stayed open until six at least. By the clock in the dashboard, it was six.

The owner of the place was locking up when he screeched the car to a stop. Would have locked the door and gotten into his own vehicle to drive away if Jim hadn’t paid him an extra twenty just to remain open for five more minutes to get his pack of cigarettes and pay for them. The man then closed the place and zoomed out into the street and down it. Normally, a cop would catch and ticket him, but since the killings, the police had more things to worry about then some speeder. Which was why Jim himself could stamp on the pedal for home. The only good thing; lack of cops and oh yeah, his horny wife. Though the way they been duking it out, he doubted he get some tonight.

He had made about halfway home when the car broke down. He cranked the engine. Nothing. Tried again. It didn’t even give a cough.

The ‘bitch’ finally gave up the ghost on him. He couldn’t understand what the problem could be and it was too dark, with only a crescent moon and a few straggling stars as his light, as he couldn’t find the flashlight he swore he had put in the glove compartment anywhere in the vehicle. He climbed out, kicked the door shut, and not even bothering to lock it, trudged home.

There had been nothing for the first fifteen minutes of him tramping on the road. Whatever had haunted the woods must have left after the last death. A crescent moon mocked him from the sky and there’d always been that kind of moon during the killings. He heard not one peep from the woods on either side of him. The silence reassured him.

Jim remembered the terror that had filled the tiny town. That some beast had caught and ravished, even partially eating, some pets, a horse in a pasture, and fifteen people. . .  What was that? He paused, and stared at all the trees. Minutes before the night appeared harmless. Now the hulking shadows that lined the road on both sides of the road had his heart hammering. Though nothing moved.

Suddenly, the stillness bothered him. Sweat beaded on his forehead and under his armpits, despite the chill in the air. Heart pounding, he began walking faster. No, make that he began to jog.  Not much for exercising, his legs protested it.

A low growl came from the left of him.

Jim didn’t stop moving, but he turned to peer at the forest that way. Nothing.  A shadow detached from the trees and stepped onto the road.

Shit!

He broke into a run. His legs screamed, but he ignored them as a howl rent the air.  An answering prissy girl screams in his own ears.

God, was that him?

Yes, it was. He belted out into a flat-out run for his life. For that was what he was doing; saving his skin. 

He caught sight of a light. His house! The light glinted from behind the curtain at one of the front room windows.

Thank God, if he got inside and locked the door behind him, he’d be safe. Of course, he would give a call to the police and let them know the thing that been killed all those people and pets wasn’t gone. Tomorrow, he would tell his wife they need to love into town. Forget it, move some—

SMACK!

“Hell,” he cursed, “that hurts.” Hurt? He felt sure that he’d broken his nose, running right into his front door. He wondered why Tillie hadn’t opened the door and hissed at him to get inside. But she hadn’t. What a time for her to go to bed. She had nagged about him going out, that it was not safe to do so, but then, she doesn’t even remain up until he made it back home, safe and sound.

Fumbling in his pockets, he found the pack of cigarettes that had foolishly drawn him out tonight, a lighter, and nothing else. No wallet, no keys.

Damn it—he must have left all his keys dangling from the ignition in his dead car and the wallet on the seat. Dead car? If he didn’t get inside, he might be dead as it. With a frantic hitch in his breathing, he tried the door knob, but the door refused to open. A dumb idiot to boot, he didn’t leave a key hidden outside, just in case. He darted over to the front room windows, fumbling with them, but none would lift up so he could climb inside. He got all way to the back. Put his hand on the knob of the back door, knowing it was futile as the howling grew closer. Twisted. . .

The door creaked open.

Oh God, oh God! Jim bolted in and slammed the door shut behind him, locking it and sliding the deadbolt home.  He backed away from the door, waiting for something to ram against it. When nothing did and the howling cut off, he backpedaled through the doorway into his living room. A light glowed from a lamp by the window and he switched it off. No need to alert the thing outside of any presence in the home as it was.

God, Tillie. He crept down the hallway, not turning on the light, and pushed open the bedroom door.

He stood in the doorway. Strange. Even when she’d gotten mad as soaked bear, she never shut the bedroom door on him. After what his life had been like earlier, he needed a cigarette. He took one out of the pack and lit it. Drew the taste into his mouth, then blew out a ring or two. Tillie would kill him for smoking in their bedroom. Oh well. With a shrug, he stepped inside. Heard a sound behind him and turned to see a shadow. The door slammed shut.

“Tillie?”

A low growl that sounded familiar. His heart thumped like a rabbit pursued by a fox as he sweated. He reached over to the lamp on the bedstead near him. The light flooded the room, washing over what stood by the closed door.

It looked like Tillie and yet, it didn’t.  A mouth full of fangs too big for it, red eyes and a flat nose, with Neanderthal brows hung over the features like a hanging cliff. Claws like knives sprouted from her fingers and toes. Nude, she felt no sexual want at her form, for raggedy fur scattered over her skin.

“I told you to stay home, but no, you had to feed your addiction for smokes.” Her voice and yet, not, more growly and deep, and he admitted it, downright frightening. “Mother said not to marry a human, but did I listen? No. She said they were filthy, with their drinking and smoking, but in the beginning, I thought you were different. I fought my old urges. Even when I heard Mother’s howls at night. Calling to me to come join her.” She shook her head and for a minute, despite her horrible visage, she almost looked like the old Tillie he had married. But only for a second as her face hardened. “Guess you can’t change a human and not even a troll either. I am finding I can’t control my need for raw human flesh just as you can’t stop smoking those nauseous cigarettes.

Mother was right. Humans are only good for one thing; food.”

Jim screamed, the sound growing shriller as she leapt onto him and bit his throat. His blood flowing and his fingers numbing, the burning butt dropped from them into the rug below.

A fire lit in the fibers. It raged as she dragged him outside to where another troll waited beneath a giant tree. Jim heard the screams of a fire engine in the distance as both started gnawing on him. Or was that his own waning screams?

His last thoughts as his life ebbed; Tillie always said smoking would kill me.

 



 

 

 

Haunted Richmond II Reviewed

Haunted Richmond II got a super review and five stars at Haunted Places EXAMINER.com. http://is.gd/eG17Dw

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Weird Wednesday: What is Weird To You?


Today, I am going to ask what you think weird is? What do you think is weird, and have you ever seen something weird? Tell me the strangest thing you ever saw or the most peculiar event you attended.