31 Days of Spooky!

“There is something haunting in the light of the moon.” —Joseph Conrad

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I’ve never really been able to pinpoint why. Maybe it’s because I love horror movies.

When I was younger, I loved the classic slasher films, but as I got older I started leaning toward Suspense, Thrillers, and Mysteries.

Every year a film company called ‘After Dark Films’ sponsored a film festival, by the same name, showcasing independent horror films. I think this was around 2008. They’d choose so many cities around the U.S. and I was grateful that San Diego was chosen each year in Southern California. I think only one year the film festival was held in Oceanside, which is about 3 hours north of San Diego on The Coaster, a commuter train similar to Amtrak, except it only went from San Diego to Oceanside. Not having a car and not even knowing how to drive, it was a nightmare to get there, but worth it in the end.

While attending my first film festival, I had befriended someone who also lived in San Diego. Every September we’d map out where the festival was going to be held and work out how long it would take to get there. We had such fun planning these annual excursions. Sadly, our friendship ended and I stopped attending those film festivals.

I still watched my fair share of horror movies on TV, but the older I got I started developing a distaste for them. Mainly, I think, because of the lack of good roles and good dialogue for women. Eventually, I stopped watching them altogether.

Then, around 2017 I was reintroduced to Old Time Radio and had joined a few groups on Facebook. In one group I asked if there were any companies that still made these radio shows. In other words, current productions, not old ones in syndication. That’s when someone introduced me to a director who was (still is) creating 15 minute Old Time Radio Mystery Theatres and puts them out on YouTube most Saturdays.

Before the pandemic he worked as a director of films, but during the pandemic he started a parent company called ‘Troupe of Lost Souls’, which produces ‘Radio Vault Mystery Theatre’. He lives in Los Angeles. The producer of the show lives in New York City. The various actors who take part in these productions live in different areas of the U.S. Some even come from other countries.

I got to know the director and producer to a degree and even hosted a listening party with both the director and producer. Good people. A few of the actors who were involved in the production on that particular Saturday while I was hosting, joined us. After listening to the show, we had a 15 minute Q&A session. That was definitely different. I had never done anything like that before. We had fun!

I’m still very much into Old Time Radio, and will listen to the Radio Vault Mystery Theatre, but I’ve not stayed in touch with the director and producer of the shows. That’s okay. Life keeps moving forward.

Now, Halloween is coming up again and there’s one thing I really miss. Sitting at the door with all the trick or treaters coming up and shouting, “Trick or Treat!” As I handed out the candy I’d tell all the little princesses and fairies how beautiful they looked, and show the appropriate fear and disgust when the Darth Vaders, hideous monsters and frightening goblins approached.

Because I’ve lived all of my adult life in apartments, there isn’t much opportunity to get these little visitors at my door anymore. *Sigh*

What I thought would be fun is if each of us put a short horror or suspense story on this page. We could keep it going for 30 days. Anyone can come in as many times as you’d like, multiple times a day, to publish a short yarn to put us all in the spooky mood. They don’t even have to be yours. I will start. Here is a short piece I wrote.

Helpless

She hurried off before he had a chance to let her know not to enter the house. She was deaf, you see, so it wouldn’t have done any good to call after her. Nor could he run after her, because he was tied up – literally.

He knew the creature that restrained him was also waiting for her inside the house. All he could do was helplessly watch her slowly recede into the murky mist.

~The End~

©Kelly Jeanne 2021

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Now, show me what you got….

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