Tag Archives: scary

My Recurring Nightmare

Me at age 11, plus my altered version (I had a thing for scary movies) My Real Memoir I’m guilty, I know, of giving the impression I led an idyllic childhood. It’s true that I was a proto-storyteller with a … Continue reading

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What to Do When Your Brother Falls off the Earth

Photo by Mason Kimbarovsky The Wishing Map is a full-length fantasy that is being posted episodically at this site. To read the previous episode, click here. To read the entire novel, begin here. One moment, Gina Dore was in her … Continue reading

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Falling Through the Bedroom Floor

Photo by Henry & Co. The Wishing Map is a full-length fantasy that is being posted episodically at this site. To read the previous episode, click here. To read the entire novel, begin here. The last thing Zack saw as … Continue reading

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Why Scary is Fun

When I was a kid, I loved being scared. Or rather, I loved having been scared. Why? Culinary experts say we love spicy-hot foods due to a secondary effect: when the active ingredient in chili peppers triggers pain, our brains … Continue reading

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The Tunnel of Doom

Source: urbexiam.com My Real Memoir When you’re eight, there are limits as to how far you’re allowed wander. In fact, “Don’t go past such-and-such street” was an annoyingly familiar refrain. And for the most part (except for that time I … Continue reading

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When Your World Changes

 My Real Memoir “We’ve sold our home!” Mommandad announced after sitting me down and numbing me with a hamburger and a chocolate shake. We’d walked—for the last time—to our favorite cozy little bistro just blocks away called, let me think… … Continue reading

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Attack of the Giant Spider and Other Tales from My Childhood

My Real Memoir As wonderful as my babysitter’s magical garden was, it clearly wasn’t up to OSHA standards.* But then I grew up in an era when kids were expected to fall out of trees, stub their toes, fall off … Continue reading

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Monsters in Our Midst!

We don’t always see them. Many are microscopic. Or live deep in the ocean. Or under our skin. Or inside of us! But–news flash, people–our world is full of alien beings! As a Halloween follow-up, here’s a sampling of some … Continue reading

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They Just Don’t Make Monsters the Way They Used To

When I was a kid, Halloween was a big deal. I loved monsters, and regularly built monster models: The Mummy (with real cloth!), Frankenstein’s monster, King Kong (with real fake fur), the Invisible Man (an empty stand with footprints). I … Continue reading

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Boom!

Autumn, 1962. The thermometer was climbing and so was the economy; Dad’s income had boomed. To celebrate we’d decided to shoehorn a swimming pool into our miniature suburban SoCal back yard. Visions of bikinied girls and all the spectacular dives … Continue reading

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