Have you ever been in an abandoned house? In 2001, This American Life told a fascinating story of a house whose family disappeared. And certainly, even if we don't venture inside, we've all seen houses that appear abandoned. Do you ever wonder what's inside? What happened? Why do people just leave so many things? Sometimes …
'Tis the spookiest weekend of the year! This morning I listened to some pieces on fear. We seem to live a lot in fear these days. Haven't we always? One of the segments talked about why we are attracted to horror. Google the question if you want! You'll find plenty of articles. I'm someone not …
I've finished NaNoWriMo! I have not, of course, finished the novel. It's a massive rewrite of a previous NaNo novel. I scrapped half the plot and took the story in a new direction. Now there's a ghost! No, it's not a horror story. The ghost has a lively (lively?) personality, but the story is really …
Things are changing in our house. (Though life is change, so when are things not changing?) I'll be starting my second job (losing time I've spent writing and making things) and our teen has started college. Then there are the outside forces, the Delta variant and the changes to our climate and whatever-in-the-all-the-levels-of-hell our rage-filled, …
I can't remember how much before my mother's death, I thought about death and dying. It's true that my mom had had a boyfriend who was a professor of death and dying. My 13-year-old self was very impressed by this. Just as I was impressed that my mom spent a night in a cemetery with …
Halloween It's hard to believe the friend I'm talking to in this photo is dead. She was 11 years younger than me. When she reached out to me several years ago after her cancer diagnosis, she took comfort in knowing that I'd had cancer and was doing well. I offered assurances her in her first …
I promised something creative everyday, and today that something is for death. Perhaps you haven't experienced this yet (and I love if you haven't), but I know many have had that moment when they walk outside, the world rushes about its business, and you want to shout, "Hey! But someone is missing today! How can …
I love the lake. The lake doesn't love me. Dad bought his house on the lake before I was born. The lake lives in my earliest memories. In childhood, dad would make me volcanoes in the beach sand. We had our best conversations on the dock. As a teen, I sat on the dock to …
The Civil War brought us death on a massive scale, and I've read how people turned to seances. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln held seances too. The Spiritualist movement was already in place by the time of the war, but certainly so much violent death spurred more people to try so-called spirit circles. (Aaron Mahnke's …
Continue reading There’s a Gaping Hole in the Livingroom Wall
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 