GHOST HUNTERS

The party is only hours away, but I have to admit that while I was putting my bathroom together, I had a great idea for a wonderful Halloween bathroom setup. Put crime scene tape around the door and when people enter and turn on the light, it's a black light. There would be splatters, blood handprints, and other clues to show the kind of crime and how it went down. I just love that idea. Wish I had thought of it sooner! Well, we have the party pretty much all set up now and I'm chilling out before the next group of people come to help with more prep. I finally get to put my feet up for a few minutes. I can't wait to photograph and film it! Weather is perfect and my tree even dropped leaves in a wind storm and I threw them around for a crunch pathway.

( Tomorrow is my last Halloween Short devoted to Samhain. I hope you enjoy today's. It was a subject that's been on my mind a lot lately, and I think it needs expressing .) Those moments when a person thinks, “ this probably isn’t a good idea ,” should be heeded. Ray wasn’t a particularly uptight man, nor was he a loudly aggressive no-neck with a braggart tendency. Unfortunately, the latter is exactly what made up the Eastern West Virginia Ghost Chasing Team. This bunch of yahoo’s came complete with matching t-shirts, large beer guts, booming voices, and goatees that somehow were supposed to make up for the fact they shaved their balding middle-aged heads. The team was thrilled to have him along. He’d certainly made a name for himself in Philly and had written several books that were well received, and more often than not was called up on for lectures and conventions to talk about ghost hunting. If he didn’t want so much to go to this untouched location, he would never have nor

( Okay, ya’all, after today’s Halloween short story, there’ll be just one more and then Samhain’s promises to be one of my favorites. In fact, when this is all said and done, I’ll tell you my very favorite ones I wrote. Today’s was inspired by getting what you wish for. Oh, and beware—it’s EROTIC. I figured since I write erotic horror, it would be silly not to give you one of my shorts in my style . This traditional theme should suit that means well. ) He never ventured out after dark. It wasn’t that he feared it. No, Holger’s reasons were ever so practical; he had poor night vision. If he even tried to drive on the roads, headlights from oncoming cars looked like sunbursts, absolutely blinding and gigantic in size. He cringed when he recalled the last time he drove at night four years ago. The things you do for love. Accepting that he’d have to meet a woman in the daytime, but that was when he worked, he adopted a dog and called it quits. It wasn’t like Jenny Lee had just up and take

They put up the Ghost Adventures Live site and to the right you'll see they have a link to my short story winning entry. Yahoo! You can find mention of it on their Facebook page and Twitter too.

( Today's short was fun to write. I usually fall for my characters and the location first and then the suspense element comes to me. This one was inspired by the "alien baby" finds in Mexico and Chile. Enjoy! ) Two of the three backpackers entered the mouth of the cave and studied the thick walls and the dripping ceiling. The third remained back in the sliver of sunlight coming through the canopy of yellow and red leaves above. “You want to check it out?” Elizabeth asked her sister. Katie shook her head briskly. “I’ll wait here.” Elizabeth’s boyfriend chuckled in that infuriating no-neck way that mocked everything around him as being weaker and easily dominated. He didn’t have the brain capacity to realize the cave’s mouth had been covered by a door of interwoven limbs for a reason. Nature didn’t just happen to braid limbs together and make a camouflage and place it smack dab in front of a cave. Someone obviously didn’t want them there. Katie realized if it were a serious

I admit I was thrilled when “Destination Truth” rushed to Chile to look at some mines that were supposedly inhabited by little alien creatures and the strange lights seen around the area. They did have some interesting occurrences involving lights and the possible finding of a chicken skeleton wrapped in cloth ( sans its head ) which was probably some kind of ritual offering to ward of bad things. I’m interested in Chile because it has the largest copper mines in the world. It is also part of the world that has an enormous amount of UFO sightings. Whether mining and lights go hand-in-hand, I can’t prove, but I do think there is definitely a connection. I also can’t say if they’re UFO lights or they’re spooklights created by the awesome earth composition there. In searching for what’s up with the supposed “Mexican alien baby” (much touted on “Monsterquests” episode about flying humanoids), I got diverted by the possibility of another “alien baby” in Chile in 2002. The article on this si

( I’d like to thank Jeff from Histories, Mysteries, and Strangeness who did a great post on the exciting news that one of our favorite shows “UFO Hunters” is coming back on for some special episodes including one on Men in Black. This phenomenon associated with UFO sightings gave me a great idea to do a short story based on one of my theories of Men in Black. Oh, and Jeff, I'm borrowing your first name. Hope you like your namesake. ) The eight people outside the diner in Midland, Texas studied the huge open sky above. “I’m telling you, I saw something when I was drivin’ up.” Izzy Harkins pleaded. “We’re not sayin’ we don’t believe you. It must be gone now.” The cook shrugged, his hands tucked into his pockets, his apron splattered with oil. The waitresses and a couple of patrons came over and patted him on the back. Just as they turned to go, the cook screamed out. “Would ya look at that!” They turned as one and studied the dark open sky. To the west a group of 5 lights moved slo

I'm totally surprised and excited that I won the "Ghost Adventures" Travel Channel Short Story Contest! My entry was the short story " Evil Walks the Halls " on my October 19th posting. I'll keep you posted when they put it on their site. Thanks for your support in my writing. I have to admit, I've been hesitant to share my writing with family and friends, but having my peers review it has really boosted my confidence. Can't wait until I tell you about the publishing of my first horror novel-- soon, I hope !

( My latest poll influenced the subject of this story. The majority of people said they feared driving in a bad part of town alone. This story takes it to a higher level. Enjoy! ) Dominick knew it was time to take the dreaded trip to see his father. They had almost nothing in common and with the man barely being involved in his childhood, it seemed insincere to suddenly take an interest in his only child. But, the man was reaching his 60th birthday and in critical condition following some sort of assault. One didn’t just overlook the deathbed request. Not even if there was anger and resentment intermixed with sincere regret. His father somehow ended up back in West Virginia, only 50 miles away. It wasn’t a part of the state Dominick ever ventured into because he was so close to the border with Virginia that he spent his time in Roanoke and not up north. But, Dominick managed to find something good to come of it. He wanted to get some photographs of the changing colors and he figured du

I just have to do this to you on our last Monday before Halloween. Enjoy the torment of some of the most scary clowns ever in a compilation that pegs my fear-factor meter! The first film "It" was a miniseries based on a Stephen King story. Admittedly, the coaxing evil clown preying on innocent children is just about as scary as it gets. It was actually a fun ensemble story ( my favorite kind ) and, although it gets weak in the end with the final conflict ( like most movies based on Stephen King stories ), it is definitely worth seeing. It will haunt you long afterwards--just for the clown who torments the likable characters. The second group of clowns is from "Killer Clowns from Outer Space." If you want to see something trippy that leaves you feeling like you took a psychedelic clown trip, this is the movie. I was extremely surprised how much I enjoyed this movie. I expected it to be like the killer tomatoes film. It is tongue-in-cheek but the sinister clowns make

( Sorry, today's short took longer than expected to post. My dryer died on me and I ended up having to set up a clothesline. Thankfully, it's in the 90s and dry here--you'll never hear me say those words ever again! Luckily, it's going to be nice and chilly for the Halloween party. I even got a little fire pit just in case people get chilled. We tested out the lighting last night and it was creeping me out! I can't wait to get the video on YouTube of the party. The film showing against the shed with the dolls is the most brilliant thing I've ever concocted. The effect is truly grizzly. The dolls are lit by it and a strip of the movie casts on the wall of the house up to the peak of the roof with the dark outline of the dolls against it and some of the dolls have the movie flashing on them, so they become part of the Brothers Quay film about dolls dissecting dolls apart. Feels like a post-apocalyptic cobbled together theater outdoors. I ended up changing my costu