Uncategorized – Page 23 – Dahlia DeWinters

Blogtoberfest – Scary Stories – Pet Sematary

Horror is different for everyone. I don’t think the “experts” can agree on what horror is and thus there are tons of movies and books that represent the horror genre, as it should be. I also believe that horror is different depending on where you are in your life. What’s represents horror for a twenty-year-old might be old-hat to a forty year old. Books that resounded for me in my twenties are just “eh” now that I’m a lovely seasoned woman of a certain age. But Stephen King’s Pet Semetary broke that mold. It’s just as frightening now as when I first read it many years ago. Here’s the blurb “Sometimes dead is better….”When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son — and now an idyllic home. As… Continued

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Blogtoberfest – Urban Legends to Keep You Up at Night – Part 2

The Thousand Steps Behind a rusty, broken gate at the top of the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi in Eagle Point Park (Clinton, Iowa) is an ancient set of steps plagued with tragedy and wrought with mysteries and fables. Locals call them the “Thousand Steps”, and they were built in the 1930’s along with the rest of the neighboring park to allow access from the top of the bluffs to the beach below. Although originally used frequently by families and other people looking for a scenic hike, the stairs soon fell into disuse and began to decay- becoming filled with holes, structural cracks, and covered in slippery moss, making them very dangerous to use. But of course, nothing compels children to do something more than being told not to do it. In the 1960’s, it soon became a right of passage to descend the stairs and live- which many children and

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Blogtoberfest – Urban Legends to Keep You Up at Night – Part 1

We all know ’em, don’t we? The friend of a friend of my cousin who….they all start out that way and always end badly for that sort-of person we kinda know. They even made a movie (or three) about it, then there was that television series that acted them out (badly) for you. Let’s talk about a few of these, shall we? And remember to leave the light on…. The Clown Statue Murderer: An Urban Legend The story of the clown statue murderer is an urban legend. It is not a true story but can spark fear in anyone who reads it. It has been passed around as a chain letter online since 2004. Here is the story: “A girl in her teens is babysitting for a family in Newport Beach, Ca. The family is wealthy and has a very large house – you know the sort, with a ridiculous

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Blogtoberfest – American Gothic Roots Music – Rachel Brooke

Welcome to today’s Blogtoberfest post! It’s another dark country/roots song by artist Rachel Brooke. “Take everything you think you know about country music and throw it out the window. That pop rock crap y’all call country is nothing compared to what Rachel Brooke is laying down. She’s an old soul in the way Hank Williams and Memphis Minnie were, culling together both country and country blues into an album that is easily digestible for anyone who gets scared off by real country music. Etta James once said that the blues and country music were kissing cousins. Rachel Brooke is their love child.” -Chip McCabe and “Producing and playing most of the instruments herself, Rachel demonstrates her immense talent and diversity on this album. (Down in the Barnyard 2011) The song writing is top notch, her voice is eerily old-time-authentic, and the whole album has the ability to

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Blogtoberfest- Five Halloween Movies that Creeped Me Out

Magic (not the Mike kind) This is a movie that scared the mess out of me when I was a teenager. First of all, I am no fan of ventriloquist dummies. I can’t stand them, they scare the heck out of me. Give me a movie with a dummy and you’ve got me scared. A looooooong time ago, back in 1978, there was this movie trailer that ran on television. Mind you, this was back in the fun 70s where the cars waiting in line for gas would queue in front of my parents’ house. This trailer wasn’t anything NEAR Silent Hill 3d (which by the way also frightens me with its grotesqueness) but was creepy just in the fact that it featured a dummy. The movie was directed by Richard Attenborough, the kindly old John Hammond in Jurassic Park. You’ll also find Burgess Meredith, Ann-Margaret, and Here’s the

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Blogtoberfest – Dark Country Songs – The Legend of Wooley Swamp

More Dark Country for your October. Who doesn’t like a good ghost story? The South carries a rich history of legends and tales of the supernatural and revenge. Charlie Daniels tells one such tale in this song, “The Legend of Wooley Swamp.” “Well, if you ever go back into Wooley Swamp Well, you better not go at night There’s things out there in the middle of them woods That make a strong man die from fright…” The song is set to a great southern rock groove that sets the scene for a scary story from the swamp. As always, Charlie’s voice gives you the chills as he narrates the story of a greedy hermit who loves nothing but money and the robbers who try to take his stash.