Dec 1, 2015 | Scary True Stories
When little Olga Chardymova was just ten years old, she insisted on being able to leave the apartment by herself for the first time. She wanted to show she was a “big girl” by walking to Grandma’s house on her own. She never made it. A drug dealer...
Nov 27, 2015 | The Life Less Ordinary
November 27th and 28th are grim anniversaries for me–on both days, a wonderful person I loved lost his battle with depression. I initially wrote this post for my friend Stan Mak, who passed away on November 27th, 2013, but I’m sharing it again in...
Nov 24, 2015 | Mysterious Places, Scary True Stories
Aside from wars and natural disasters, it was the greatest loss of life in modern times. This month marks the 37th anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre, when over 900 men, women and children swallowed cyanide-laced juice at the behest of their deranged leader, Jim...
Nov 18, 2015 | Unsolved Mysteries
The statistics are horrifying. One million people go missing in the United States each year. Over eight million children go missing worldwide. A single person vanishing is disturbing enough. Three people who vanish at once is even harder to understand. But what about...
Nov 10, 2015 | The Writing Life
Usually I limit myself to one writing-related post per month. But something has been irritating the living hell out of me for years, and the more time that passes, the angrier I get. So, lest I morph into some female version of The Incredible Hulk, I’ll expel...
Nov 4, 2015 | The Writing Life
Yesterday I received a most upsetting email. It was from my editor Don D’Auria, explaining that he had been let go from Samhain Publishing. Samhain’s community of horror authors were in shock for the rest of the day, reeling from a complex mix of emotions...
Nov 3, 2015 | Scary True Stories, Unsolved Mysteries
An isolated farmhouse in Bavarian Germany. It is winter, 1922. Six months before the Gruber family was murdered, their maid quit. Not an unusual event itself, except for the reason. She was terrified of the house, claiming it was haunted. Before you write her off as...
Oct 27, 2015 | Bloody Book Club
The talk always turns to scary movies around this time of year. Freddie, Jason and Michael crawl out from under their respective rocks for the one month they are remembered and celebrated. But what about books? Sure, they’re not the best for quick scares, but a...
Oct 14, 2015 | Bloody Book Club, Scary True Stories
I wonder whose brilliant idea it was to have clowns entertain children. Is there a child alive who actually likes them? Clowns have always made me uncomfortable (as have mascots, but that’s a different story). When I was little, I’d cry if one got too...
Oct 7, 2015 | The Writing Life
Oops, I’ve done it again. I’ve double-booked myself. I’ve been sitting here all day, racking my brain, wondering how on earth I was ever going to combine an “Insecure Writers Support Group” post with an “October Frights Blog...
