Life and Those Who Live it

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

One of my relatives (I'll find out on Christmas Eve) gave me a subscription to Weird Tales and I'm enjoying reading it immensely so far.

This month they are celebrating the 200th birthday of Edgar Allen Poe. There are several articles from various authors about how Poe affected them growing up. Very interesting.

I was reading some of the stories on my breaks during work today, let me tell you. There are some things that should not be read while eating... Weird Tales is one of them! Not that I let that stop me. Let me see if I can give you a taste of what I mean without giving away any plot points. How about "gut-locked stony constipation on one side, and fluid Lovecraftian bowel-horrors on the other." (From Twisted by Kevin Veale). Ok... that one didn't gross me out as much as make me laugh out loud. But in my defense I was running on four hours of sleep. I haven't finished your story yet Mr. Veale, but I'm working on it! You keep up the good work. : )

Another Magazine I try to keep track of (but fail miserably at) is Fantasy Magazine. It is run by Cat Rambo, who also helps out and has fiction for Podcastle, Pseudopod, and Escapepod. Three of my favorite podcasts... Anyway. I just finished reading The Raccoon's Daughter by Nicole Kornher-Stace. And I loved it! The mood it created was wonderful and surreal. I also really love when people tell me stories. I really didn't want it to end. Please go check out her fiction! I know I can't wait to see more. It says in her info that she has a collection of poetry, and I can see how she could be a poetess. Her words flow smoothly, even if the story is set up like a journal.

Well, I should get back to the real world. Nice talking to you!
Amy

Horror

When I was little, I terrified at the idea of being scared.

One of my first memories of the horror genre is of Dad and I, home alone. It was raining, hard. Dad was watching a movie on Tv. I think, it was The Mummy. It involved, of course, an ancient Egyptian mummy coming back to life and trying to kill the living. I remember being so scared and trapped. I was scared of the darkness, scared of being alone, and scared of watching the movie. I cowered next to Dad the whole time.

Probably one of the scariest things for me about Horror is the lack of control you feel in the events as they occur. I now have an appreciation for Horror, so much so, that I wanted to create a creepy environment to heighten it's effect. To do this my friend Superdestructivesheep and I walked silently to a graveyard late at night, listening to music created in an asylum. We wore dark colors and hoods to hide from infrequent oncoming traffic. Then we sat under a aged twisted tree, and listened to a Pseudopod episode called "The Sons of Carbon County".

All in all, it was quite a good experience. My friend left at one point to get something from the house, and I was able to sit alone in a graveyard, late at night. It was a bit frightening, simply being alone and waiting in such an open but shadowed space. It was soothing to have the light of the moon shining on the bleached gravestones.

I would like to do this again someday, someday soon.