Monthly Archives

November 2014

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Write Like Scrooge

We all know of Scrooge from Dickens' ghost story, A Christmas Carol, but how many of you have actually read it? If nothing, you've heard it retold, but I want you to write like Scrooge, not a scrooge. A scrooge is stingy. He sits on piles of wealth, but exercises thrift in handing it out, even when he knows the dire circumstances of those around him. In the story, even Scrooge lives a modest life in spite of his wealth. He doesn't live like Scrooge McDuck. At all. Unlike the retellings, Scrooge has depth. There are clear reasons why he's afraid to invest in pe[...]

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Happy Thanksgiving Midnighters!

There are three things in the world that I love. 1. Dean Winchester 2. Horror anything 3. Turkey And well, today I can celebrate with all three! I want to take a moment as well, to tell you all what I'm thankful for (in addition to these three things). I'm thankful for Amy, Jennifer, T.A., Kira, Faith, Suzy, and Nicole, the fabulous members of The Midnight Society. I'm grateful for all of our readers and followers, who celebrate the wonderful darkness that dwells between the cracks of everyday life. I'm thankful for storytellers, illustrators, and authors[...]

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The Creepiest Most Beautiful Thing of All: Your Heart

Maybe it's that I read The Tell-Tale Heart a few too many times. Maybe it's that I watched every episode of ER repeatedly. Or my love of Cristina Yang. Or maybe it's that my parents were really into skulls, and this is the next logical progression. Whatever it is, if I had one horror "thing", it would be hearts. “Villains!' I shrieked. 'Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!” ― Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart Probably not the show you expect to hear about on a horror blog, the episode[...]

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What I’m Thankful for: Horror Edition Part 2

It's almost my favorite day of the year...Thanksgiving. Not all of the family will be at the house this year. We'll be missing my sister and brother-in-law, but I'll still have 16 of my loved ones all under the same roof. Cooking for this many is a lot of work, but I still love hosting this celebration. Last week, the planning of this huge dinner was just a label for a new board on Pinterest. Today I type Part 2 of my thankful post with the aroma of pecan pie swirling in the air. Yum! What I'm Thankful for: 6.  The CW I know last week I gave a shout out for the[...]

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The Babadook

Now in theaters (and as of today also on DirecTV VOD), The Babadook is one scary looking film. The plot: A widow and her troubled son are terrorized by a creature summoned from a children's book titled Mister Babadook.   http://youtu.be/k5WQZzDRVtw While the film looks very promising (I haven't yet seen it), the thing I am most excited about is... ...wait for it... YOU CAN ORDER AN ACTUAL POP-UP BOOK OF MISTER BABADOOK. EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE FROM THE FRICKIN MOVIE. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU CAN SUMMON YOUR OWN MONSTER. Or just own a really cool book. I love[...]

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Real Life Creepy Places: Poveglia

Hi everyone. I'm back to Real Life Creepy Places, after having two papers due today that I just sent off (talk about real life horror). Ladies and gentlemen, good news! Today's Real Life Creepy Place is for sale! Everyone get their credit cards ready, the starting bid is just under $500, 000 US (or the price of a modest duplex in a moderately crappy Montreal neighborhood.) And this is no duplex, this is a paradisaical island in Italy. Check out this view! So what gives? Well, it might be the thousands and thousands of dead bodies that make up half the island[...]

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What I’m Thankful For A Horror Edition

I am so in the right mood for Thanksgiving. After seeing a recent post by Brooks Benjamin I decided to follow his lead with a post all my own. And as always with us here at the Midnight Society, my focus will be what horror am I thankful for. 1.  American Horror Story As a long-time fan of the show AHS, I am most thankful for this season. First of all, I'm happy to know that there are others out there with crazier ideas than I have. I also adore Jessica Lange. I mean, can any actress out there beat all of the characters she's played over the last few years? AND[...]

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Reclaim Horror: The Road

Last month I introduced my new series, Reclaim Horror. Today we'll be looking at one of my favorite books, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The Road is set in the post-apocalyptic Eastern United States. It centers on a father and his boy who was born just as the world was ending. He is now 9 or 10. They are trying to head south for the winter and must survive the evils they encounter along the way. According to IMDB, the movie adaptation is adventure/drama. According to Wikipedia, it is post-apocalyptic fiction, which is considered a sub-genre of science fiction that[...]

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My Phobia

Here at The Midnight Society we talk a lot about fear. Some of us are afraid of clown, while others fear moving doll parts. What we haven't talked about are phobias. First of all, what exactly is the difference? A fear is the response to a real and true threat. Fear is something you can overcome. Phobias are more intense, anxiety causing, and sometimes a extreme irrational fear of something that poses very little actual threat. These little buggers aren't so easy to get over. I have a phobia and it's called Lilapsophobia--fear of tornadoes/storms. While my hus[...]

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There and back again: Facing fear in real life

I write horror. This is the usual response I give people (delivered in a flat tone, because it's hard to gauge how they'll respond) when people ask what floats my boat. I've been met with a variety of reactions, but the most frequently recurring are the following: You must watch a lot of horror movies. I do, but I'm a chicken. I often won't watch them alone, and I would prefer to have someone burly next to me whose shoulder I can cram my face against during the scary parts. I often have trouble sleeping for weeks afterwards. You must have some strange stuff in yo[...]