This week, I’m spending a few days writing in a mostly empty house on a bluff above a lake. People have passed in this house. I walk the halls with my laptop, listening for them. But all I hear are the waves lapping on the shore. Sounds magical, like the perfect writing spot, doesn’t it? … Continue reading Disciplined Porch Writing – Day 6 of NaNoWriMo
There were heavy trunks full of old records in the work shop, the oldest from the 1930's. They were stored in newspapers that tracked with their eras, or the eras that my parents collected the albums. Amongst them, I found an old Halloween ad for the Harvest House Cafeteria. Details on Harvest House Cafeteria are … Continue reading Throwback Thursday from 1963 – 2 Days Until Halloween
Florida huntsman spiders hide behind curtains and boxes pushed against the wall. They're velvety brown and large, nearly the size of your hand. Their legs tickle if you let them crawl over your fingers. You'll see them when you pull back the shower curtain or move something from under your bed. But they'll skitter away, shy … Continue reading #Arachtober – 5 Days Until Halloween
I grew up reading Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, and I still adore them. Some day their language is overblown, but I love how their lavish descriptions overwhelm me. Their stories are more horrifying for how they make me feel crushed beneath moldering walls and surrounded by alien angles. Something monstrous is usually threatening to overtake … Continue reading Quiet Horror – 12 Days Until Halloween
When I was a teenager, my family lived in a farmhouse built before the Civil War. Rooms had been added on as the family grew and the kitchen was moved inside. It was a large and simple - the opposite of an antebellum manse - with a few oddly offset rooms. It was a perfect house to … Continue reading Throwback Thursday – 16 Days Until Halloween
Last year, a little girl in a princess costume walked down my driveway on Halloween with her mom trailing behind her. The little girl was transfixed by the orange lights and spooky decorations. Her mom was looking around nervously. "Nothing here will jump out at her," I told the mom from the candy table. "Really?" My skull … Continue reading Haunting The Yard – 19 Days Until Halloween
The dark hides all sorts of monsters. The boldest monsters show themselves in the daylight, too.
We have cats. We also have animals skulls, mink skins, a preserved alligator head and piranha, and vials of insects. I have a coin purse made out of a Bufo marinus, complete with head, front legs and googly eyes, but she's at work. Now that it's Halloween time, there are all sorts of additional creatures … Continue reading Creatures In The House – 21 Days Until Halloween
I listened to Sounds To Make You Shiver over and over as a kid. Blowing wind and hooting owls made me imagine empty places. Frankenstein's monster breaking loose was the very sound of havoc. But, goodness, look at that album cover! So. Many. Monsters. They are tumbling out of that castle! Frankenstein's monster is stomping towards … Continue reading Throwback Thursday – 23 Days Until Halloween
Time to pull out the Halloween decorations!
Victoria Nations 