Monthly Archives

November 2017

/

Over the River and Through the Wood

I grew up celebrating Thanksgiving on the edge of a Florida swamp. Our cabin was perched in the crook of a bend of the Little Withlacoochee River. It stood on eight-foot posts because sometimes the blackwater river would come out of its banks and spread through the swamp. You’d have to wade to the cabin then, shuffling to find the hidden logs, your legs lost in the dark water. It was pretty great. Thanksgiving Day was spent fishing, exploring the woods and making holiday crafts my mother devised. One year, we traced each other’s outlines on butcher paper. E[...]

/

CHANNEL ZERO: NO-END HOUSE Is Disturbingly Great

I really, really enjoyed the first season of SyFy's Channel Zero series, Candle Cove. While it had its rough spots, the premise of a super creepy kids' show coupled with some great imagery carried the season. Season two of the Creepypasta-inspired series is not short on frightening imagery either, but it's so much deeper and consistently disturbing that it surpasses the first season in almost every way. https://youtu.be/LW7zWck0VAQ Titled "No-End House," this season's story begins with the legend of a haunted house that appears in a random location once per[...]

/

Blog Tour: Monsterland by Michael Okon

Hello boys and ghouls, Welcome to Monsterland, the scariest place on earth. When I first heard of this book, I had some serious RL Stine vibes in my head. One Day at Horrorland, anyone? Which was exciting for me because I freaking love RL Stine and I was pumped that someone else was writing a story about a dangerous theme park filled with monsters... Seriously, that would be like a dream date. This concept has been done with Jurassic Park or Westworld, but it hasn't really been done in YA before, with vampires and werewolves. I was super excited about this book[...]

/

Spooky Empire Creators Track

Wednesday Addams, the Headless Horseman, and Velma from Scooby Doo walked into a horror convention. They walked with me from the parking garage to Spooky Empire, along with gender-swapped Beetlejuice and more than one Pennywise. Sam from Trick r Treat greeted me when I walked in. I love Sam, and Halloween was only a few days away, but I had a writing panel to catch. Spooky Empire started in 2003, and it’s grown to be one of the largest horror conventions in the nation. The self-proclaimed ‘dark side of Comic Con’ is held in Orlando, Florida nowadays[...]

/

Halloween…A Love Story, A Sad Story

Another Halloween has come and gone. Another season of skulls and horror movies and carving pumpkins. Another night of becoming something else, of facing that which scares us. The crunch of leaves underfoot. The colors of fall. The chill in the air. There's nothing like Halloween. As a kid, I couldn't wait for my dad to get home so we could go trick-or-treating. Always proudly wearing my costume to school that day. Always ready for a bag full of candy that never lasted until Christmas like I hoped. When we moved to this big old house with a front porch...and his[...]