This is my second book review this week. I suppose that probably says a lot about my week. It is cold outside and there has been snow on the roads. The children have been sick and a sense of Christmas quiet has taken hold of my house. This has given me excessive amounts of time to read. ...
It took me quite a while to make it through this unusual book. I've grown accustomed to reading books that are high on action and low on art. Sometimes I find myself wondering if the art behind the written word is lost in horror and fantasy. This book definitely rediscovers the art of words. It...
Christmas is one of the most ironic holidays. Although it has been embraced by Christians around the world as the celebration of the birth of Christ, its antecedents are murky and deeply embedded in pagan tradition. Christmas isn't the day Christ was actually born. In fact, most scholars believe...
My Anniversary has come and gone and the winners of my contest were Dave of the Dead and LaughtingWolf. I'll be getting in touch with both of you to get your addresses etc. so I can mail your prizes. I used the well tested inny minny miny moe technique to chose my winners. I'm sure this was much better than the best random number generator.Before I begin with another year of ghost...
I have been blogging for one year now. Today is my blogs birthday! Last year, the night before my birthday was the winter solstice and it felt like a night to make changes. I was frustrated with my writing career and had just been moved by my publisher from an 18 month contract to a 3...
I was getting a bit worried. Things were starting to slow down here. I had discontinued my listing with lawyers dot com and martindale dot com. That was where a bulk of my phishy emails were coming from. Lucky me! The phishermen (phisherpersons?) have moved past this old-school advertising model and onto the new kid on the block. And, of course, Avvo is a much better resource, given they have every...
Haunted Bridges are a common thing in ghost lore. Throughout the South, stories of cry baby hollows and bridges that lead to hell can be found in every other town. As a collector of ghost stories, I've heard so many of these stories they begin to blend together in my head so I can't remember which town and...
The Vicious Circle is a group of writers that shaped the literature of their time. This group was also known as the Algonquin Round Table and consisted of such notable wits as Franklin Pierce Adams, Robert Benchley, Heywood Broun, Marc Connelly, George S. Kaufman, Dorothy Parker, Harold Ross, Robert E. Sherwood,...
From: Mike Hammer Subject: That is 10% of funds received out of court and 30% of funds received after trial Date: December 13, 2010 9:53:40 PM PST To: info@seattlelgbt.orgI am an interpreter with a Chinese Manufacturing Company and I am from Channel Island in British Island Territory. The Company supplies goods to some companies in your country.Unfortunately these companies are debtors and have...
This is a horror story of a different sort. There are no ghosts, but I certainly felt haunted. I wasn't alone in my haunting. Yesterday, it seemed like every single person who set foot in New York Lagaurdia Airport was being chased by a demon with a violent disposition. The demon, in this...
I haven't blogged here for a few weeks. I've been trying to leave a few inane comments around just to let you know I haven't died, emigrated or been arrested.There are several reasons for this. First of all I haven't had anything interesting to say (nothing unusual there). Also, both of the writers' groups I'm in have broken up until the new year so nothing to report on that. In addition I've actually...
I skipped my list today. I was far too tired to travel to far from home to chase fog and specters. So instead I stayed close to home and went to Grand Central Station, one of the most famous haunted locations in the city. Grand Central Station is an imposing structure that is embedded into the corner of 42nd...
I am travelling again. This time I'm going to New York for the rest of the week. It will be a long, cold trip, but I will be bundled up in many layers of clothing and their are many secret haunted places in Manhattan to keep me company during the long, dark nights after my conference ends. At the...
While exploring the Burritt Museum and the many historic cabins within it last night, I came upon an old witch bottle sitting atop a shelf in a cabin from 1825. The witch bottle was a hideous and fearsome thing that reminded me of my love of folklore and folk remedies. I especially love...
Burritt Museum is a living history museum on the top of scenic Monte Sano Mountain. It is a breathtakingly beautiful location. It sits perched atop the mountain lost in the clouds. The view from its steps is awe inspiring. The museum began with the Burritt Museum which is a mansion once owned by a local...
Next week I will embark on a journey that is completely ill advised. I am going to New York to attend one of the Algonquin Writer's Conferences. This trip is ill advised because I don't have the money to waste on a trip to New York, I am leaving my children during a time when they need me, and the probability...
In America, we embrace all cultures and pull their traditions into our own culture and make it our own. I believe we should do the same for Krampus Day. It is time to begin our Krampus Day Celebrations! According to Wikipedia, "Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks...
