Tag: horror
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Little Darlings Review: Postpartum Horror
Sometimes a story stays with you. Not because of the story or the characters or the surprise ending, though. Sometimes a story just stays with you because you recognize it. I recognized this story. Well, it’s more accurate to say that I recognized myself in this story. Little Darlings, by Melanie Golding, tells the story…
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“Skinamarink” Review
I mean, yeah, I’m gonna talk about this movie. Writing a “Skinamarink” review is how I’m going to process what I just saw. You’ve probably already seen it. Right? That’s why you’re here in the first place. It’s called “confirmation bias.” You’re looking for stuff that agrees with you. It’s ok. We all do it.…
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Gateway Horror: Return to Oz
Coming to theaters this June (of 1985). You’ve seen it, right? Have I profiled you correctly? It’s gateway horror. Starter horror. Horror wrapped up in fantasy to be presented to children–not at all hard to believe if you have read any fairy tales. The Snow Queen, anyone? Goblins going around, breaking the devil’s custom mirror,…
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Giving Birth to Postpartum Anxiety
Sometimes something follows you home. Let me first say something to all of the pregnant, anxious, near-term moms out there who found this post while doom-scrolling. I am alive and my babies are alive. So it’s not really a horror story. More like one of those slow-burn Shirley Jackson stories I wrote about in my…
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Real-life Horror: Pregnancy and Childbirth
Can we be honest about pregnancy and childbirth? It’s horrifying. In my first post, I promised (or threatened) to explore the horror of postpartum depression in the pages of this blog. But I think we need to start with square one: the horrifying miracle of birth. In my day job, I teach fiction to undergraduates…
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Mirrors: Scaring Children for Generations
What is it about mirrors? I would venture to say that even the most evidence-driven person on this planet gets unnerved standing before a mirror in a mostly dark room, in that one second before she can reach the light switch. It’s creepy. It doesn’t take much for your reflection to change, to shift, to…
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More Demonic Infestation, Writing Hurdles and a Recommendation
That’s quite an agenda for a Friday, now, isn’t it? Hi readers! I hope the two of you are having a great day today. Guess what? My last post mentioned the phenomenon of demonic infestation, and wouldn’t you know it, one of my favorite podcasts, Southern Demonology, recently released a two-part episode that discusses this…
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This is What Scares me Most
Several years ago, my daughter was having bad dreams. Totally normal, right? Right. She was seven or so, and I sat with her before she went to bed and asked her to tell me about the dream she’d been having. Regardless of our parental talents and abilities, I think most of us want to help…
Scaring the Kids 