At first just the kitchen phone filled with static. This is a difficult phone, frequently running low on batteries and occasionally not dialing. It was not surprising that it was not working. But as we went around the house it was obvious none of the phones were working. And now they were clicking dead after a few seconds of static. It was early evening but late October so it was dark, very dark. The pounding on the door made us jump. We weren’t expecting anyone and it was an odd time for someone to stop by. Cue the spooky music….
A very tall policeman was at the front door to respond to our 911 call. Only we hadn’t called. What do our phones know? I have seen just enough horror films to know this is a bad sign. He suggested we check our phone lines. Last year we had squirrels get into the lines and cut off service. Sounds like it may have happened again. Only this time the phones sent out a distress signal.
What is the scariest story you have ever read? Stephen King is the king of creepy. Some of the Jonathon Kellerman and Thomas Harris novels could keep me up for a few nights. But for me the scariest, the one that still gives me the willies is the short story, The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs written in 1902. Read the whole thing here and then be careful what you wish for.
Scariest Books I have read:
Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)
The original is amazing. Well written, compelling and creepy.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Hard to believe she was so young when she wrote this. I found the book excellent better than any story of Frankenstein I have ever heard. The layers of awareness and guilt and secrecy make it a much richer (and sadder) story than just a monster brought to life during a thunderstorm.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (Little Brown, 2005)
A modern and scholarly approach to vampire lore. I found the history of Transylvania and Turkey fascinating. It is over 600 pages and I was done in two days!
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