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Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

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

Urban Legendsto keepYou Up at Night

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 amount of rooms. Anyways, the parents are going out for a late dinner/movie. The father tells the babysitter that once the children are in bed she should go into this specific room (he doesn’t really want her wandering around the house) and watch TV there.

The parents take off and soon she gets the kids into bed and goes to the room to watch TV. She tries watching TV, but she is disturbed by a clown statue in the corner of the room. She tries to ignore it for as long as possible, but it starts freaking her out so much that she can’t handle it.

She resorts to calling the father and asks, “Hey, the kids are in bed, but is it okay if I switch rooms? This clown statue is really creeping me out.”

The father says seriously, “Get the kids, go next door and call 911.”

She asks, “What’s going on?”

He responds, “Just go next door and once you call the police, call me back.”

She gets the kids, goes next door, and calls the police. When the police are on the way, she calls the father back and asks, “So, really, what’s going on?”

He responds, “We don’t HAVE a clown statue.” He then further explains that the children have been complaining about a clown watching them as they sleep. He and his wife had just blown it off, assuming that they were having nightmares.

The police arrive and apprehend the “clown,” who turns out to be a midget. A midget clown! I guess he was some homeless person dressed as a clown, who somehow got into the house and had been living there for several weeks. He would come into the kids’ rooms at nights and watch them while they slept. As the house was so large, he was able to avoid detection, surviving off their food, etc. He had been in the TV room right before the babysitter right came in there. When she entered he didn’t have enough time to hide, so he just froze in place and pretended to be a statue.

Yeah.  As I said earlier on a discussion group, between IT and John Wayne Gacy, I don’t have any time for clowns.

And another to make your hair stand on end.  This is an oldie but a still a goodie:

The Killer in the Backseat….

One night a woman went out for drinks with her girlfriends. She left the bar fairly late at night, got in her car and onto the deserted highway. After a few minutes she noticed a lone pair of headlights in her rear-view mirror, approaching at a pace just slightly quicker than hers. As the car pulled up behind her she glanced and saw the turn signal on — the car was going to pass — when suddenly it swerved back behind her, pulled up dangerously close to her tailgate and the brights flashed.

Now she was getting nervous. The lights dimmed for a moment and then the brights came back on and the car behind her surged forward. The frightened woman struggled to keep her eyes on the road and fought the urge to look at the car behind her. Finally, her exit approached but the car continued to follow, flashing the brights periodically.

Through every stoplight and turn, it followed her until she pulled into her driveway. She figured her only hope was to make a mad dash into the house and call the police. As she flew from the car, so did the driver of the car behind her — and he screamed, “Lock the door and call the police! Call 911!”

When the police arrived the horrible truth was finally revealed to the woman. The man in the car had been trying to save her. As he pulled up behind her and his headlights illuminated her car, he saw the silhouette of a man with a butcher knife rising up from the back seat to stab her, so he flashed his brights and the figure crouched back down.

The moral of the story: Always check the back seat!

Yes, they’re (mostly) not true, but don’t they give you a shiver?

Pleasant Dreams!

 

Dahlia

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Uncategorized Tagged: black girl nerds, blerd, campfire stories, dahlia dewinters, geek girl, halloween, Halloween fun, horror, quirky romance, scary stories, urban legends

Blogtoberfest – Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Good Lord.
Good Lord.

In another life, I was an elementary school teacher, which meant nearly every holiday was a par-tay.  Valentine’s Day parties were the most stressful, because, as a teacher, you really had to sit on the “who likes whom” bit and keep it all nice and friendly.  Christmas was nice, but the overabundance of cookies was a little much.  The party that hit the perfect spot (besides the end of school party) was Halloween.

Between the Halloween-themed worksheets, coloring sheets, Halloween parade and Charlie Brown, the whole day was a whirlwind of costumes and candy.  The best part for me, and I hope the class, was when I read from Scary Stories to Read in the Dark.  First of all, take a look at this cover.  It’s the stuff of nightmares, sorry.  I’d keep the book face down on the desk if I had a softcover, and remove the dustjacket if I were using a hardcover that year.

Jeez.
Jeez.

Note.  Yes, I do write about zombies, but only before 2 pm. I’ll tell you a little story – when I was editing Loving Among the Dead, my first zombie book, I stayed up late at night, making sure everything was super scary and ended up giving myself nightmares!  So now, yeah, early afternoon is as far as I”ll go with working, watching or reading scary stuff!

Back to the the main story.  There is a story in the book called “The Big Toe” and it ends with a jump scare.  The story goes like this:  A boy digs in the garden and finds a big toe. He takes it to his father and the father cuts the toe up into three pieces so the family can have something to eat.  Later in the evening, a voice comes ’round saying “Who’s got my toooooooe?  Who’s got my tooooooooe?”

 

 

I would walk around the classroom repeating Who’s got my toooooooe? in a spooky voice until I jumped at one child and yell:  “YOU’VE GOT IT!”  The resounding screams, well, now I know a little of how satisfied Alfred Hitchcock felt when audience screamed during the shower scene in Psycho.

So, pick up the book.  There are three of them, but the first one has the best stories and weirdest drawings.  Like this one:

 

scary-stories-to-tell-in-the-dark-3
She cut off her nose to….SPIDERFACE!!!

 

Pleasant dreams!

 

D


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Uncategorized Tagged: black geek girls, black girl nerd, blerd, blogtoberfest, dahlia dewinters, fall harvest, geek girl, halloween, scary stories, writer

5 Fandom Friday: Five Songs that Changed my Life

Hey, it’s Fandom Friday again!  Let me to a shout out to fellow geek bloggers Super Space Chick and The Nerdy Girle for organizing this, as always.  It certainly helps me stay on the blogging bandwagon.

 

fandom.5.friday

 

Any posts that have something to do with music, I’m there.

 

5 Songs That  Changed my life

Let’s get to it, shall we? Five songs that changed my life.

 

1.  Roxanne – The Police

Where can I start with this?  The spare, stripped musical arrangement?  The high, plaintive tenor of Sting?  Or the fact that this was a love song to “a lady of the night”.  I never knew what “red light district” meant before this song. i have every Police album.  Love them!

2.  In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel

I had never heard of Peter Gabriel until his album “So”.  What remarkable album!  From the soulful Superstition-esque Sledgehammer to the slow, dreamy melodies of Mercy Street, it was a great listen.  But In Your Eyes was the cherry on that music cake.  I still love the song to this day, and I’ve never seen Say Anything.

3.  Flashlight

I first heard this at a party in college, and just wow.  Nothing like George Clinton and the Funkadelics!

4.  Mc Lyte – Cha Cha Cha

Yeah, there’s Salt n Pepa, Queen Latifah, Yo-Yo, Roxanne Shante, but Mc Lyte is the “dopest female you’ve heard thus far’.

5.  Sweet Dreams – Eurythmics

How I love Annie Lennox’s hair and her androgynous look.  And her voice, a lovely alto that has lasted through the years.

 

I hope you enjoyed!

 

Dahlia
@bohowriterchick

 


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: 5 fandom friday, black geek girls, blerd, dahlia dewinters, female geek bloggers, five fandom Friday, holiday songs, winter, writer

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Things about Winter

Hey, it’s Fandom Friday again!  Let me to a shout out to fellow geek bloggers Super Space Chick and The Nerdy Girle for organizing this, as always.  It certainly helps me stay on the blogging bandwagon.

 

fandom.5.friday

It is January! Where did all the time go?  A couple of years ago, we’d all be complaining that we’re still putting 2014 on our checks….but who writes checks anymore?

 

bird-winter PD

 

Let’s get to it, shall we?  Five things I absolutely love about Winter.

 

1.  Getting snowed in.

As a stay at home mom, sometimes my only reason to get up early and to leave the house is to take the kiddies to school.  I am as eager as they are waiting for the phone call that will tell me that I don’t have to drive through unplowed streets, squeezing the wheel in my hands because other folks don’t know how to drive in the snow.  Plus, it’s a great impromptu vacation day supplement with movies, cocoa, and fun.  Usually the little ones let me get a little work done too.

2.  Hot Drinks

Yes, I love my coffee, but winter is the time I like to try out other hot drinks too!  I have recently discovered the love of Chai Latte without going to Dunkin’ Donuts!  The magic contained in that K-cup is far beyond Merlin could have ever imagined. There are more sample packs of flavorlicious coffee and teas offered this time of year, natch, than any other.  Love it!

3.  Cuddling Up!

My husband works for a school system, so when it snows, he usually gets  snow day too.  If we’re lucky, we get the call the night before and are then able to cuddle up, watching movies and chatting long after the little ones have gone to sleep.

4.  Scarves and Hats

If you have to go out in the cold, there’s nothing like snuggling into a warm hat and/or scarf.  I’m a compulsive crocheter and knitter, so if you reach out your hand in my house, you will come back with a hat or scarf or both.  It’s nice to know that the family–including the dog–is putting these things to good use!

5.  Sounds of Silence

There’s nothing like winter silence.  It’s that dark moment right before the cold winter sunrise that nothing is stirring, except maybe the wind.  It’s quite peaceful and fulfilling.


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: 5 fandom friday, black geek girls, blerd, dahlia dewinters, female geek bloggers, five fandom Friday, holiday songs, winter, writer

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Holiday Songs to Spread Cheer

Hey, it’s Fandom Friday again!  Let me to a shout out to fellow geek bloggers Super Space Chick and The Nerdy Girle for organizing this, as always.  It certainly helps me stay on the blogging bandwagon.

 

fandom.5.friday

It’s December!  It’s the holiday season.  Did you miss my post over at the Luscious Literaries about Five Things I Love about Winter?  If so, take a peek over there to see what I’m talking about.

But now it’s time to dust off the old Christmas playing list and get in the mood for snow, Santa and Christmas!

Santa girl with presents

 

Coming from a totally musical family, I was both a band geek and a chorus nerd.  Let me put it perspective – I have a clarinet in the basement somewhere and my own personal copy of Handel’s Messiah.  I guess you could say that I’m all about the Christmas music, in several keys and various languages.

The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole

Super classic.  Everytime I hear this one, I want to look out of the window to see if it is snowing. If it is, score 110 on Christmas!  Nat’s voice is so smooth and mellow on this song and is such melted butter to the ears.  Just wonderful to listen to sitting in front of the fire with a cup of hot…spiked…cocoa.

 

Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt

Come on, it’s Eartha!  Who else can be coy and sexy at absolutely the same time.  I mean, I’m a huge fan of Madonna, but her version doesn’t touch this one.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

This song makes the choral nerd in me just fly free.  The perfection of the melodies, the balance of the voices and the overall lovely arrangement….it’s  great listening.

O, Holy Night  – Luciano Pavarotti

 

Mario Lanza, Placido Domingo….I love my tenors, but Pavaratti takes the cake.  The purity and clarity of his voice, and the way he can hit those high notes with barely an effort – simply divine – see what I did there?

Do You Hear What I Hear? – Whitney Houston

I just love this song.  When it comes on, I stop whatever I’m doing, turn it up and listen. Despite all her other problem, Whitney had a voice of the ages and she does this classic tune justice.

 

 

Come back at me….name some of your favorite Christmas songs and leave ’em in the comments!

D


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: 5 fandom friday, black geek girls, blerd, Christmas, Christmas songs, dahlia dewinters, female geek bloggers, five fandom Friday, holiday songs, writer

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