If you're new to the IWSG, it's all about connecting and supporting other writers. Here is the official mission statement of the IWSG.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
October 2 question - Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.
I have to admit, I don't really like scary stories. But there are a couple stories that have never left my mind after I was exposed to them.
The Tell-Tale Heart and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe have always totally creeped me out. I'll never forget reading them in my 6th grade English class.
In both of these stories, the narrator murders someone and hides the body in their house. In the Tell-Tale Heart, the body is dismembered and hidden under the floor boards. The narrator's wife, in The Black Cat, is hidden behind the brick wall. Both of these murders seem to have happened not because of any specific injury against the narrator but because of some type of mental illness that the narrator is battling. In the end of both stories, the subconscious guilt that each character struggles with pushes them further over the edge of sanity and they end up revealing themselves as the perpetrators of the crimes.
As a 6th grader, the thought of a body being hidden behind a wall or under the floor was horrifying enough but then, the paranormal aspects of the narrator "hearing" the beating heart of the dead man under the floor in Tell-Tale Heart and the white noose forming in the fur of the black cat and the constant scratching sound behind the wall in The Back Cat, really freaked me out! Anytime I was alone in the house and heard "weird" creaking or other sounds, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I wondered if something paranormal was occurring!
Even today, the movies that freak me out the most are combinations of paranormal and psychological horrors. They just get stuck in my head and I dream about them for weeks afterward!
So when my husband watches spooky stories with our kids in October, I hide under the blankets with my ears plugged!!
What spooks you the most? Do you watch scary movies every October?
In other news:
It's been a crazy year so far. Our daughter Jess got married this June and we had such a wonderful time hosting so much of our family and friends. It was a beautiful day full of love and blessings!
When the festivities were over, I finally had a little time to get back to normal life and start writing more. I've been working on a couple of picture books and I'm also in the process of writing a cookbook. I'll be posting a bunch of recipes here that I'd love feedback on if you try them!
Hope all of you are doing great and having a good year so far! Can't believe we're at the tail end of 2024 already!
Love,
Kathy :)
Yeah, Edgar Allen Poe did like walling people up and hiding them in different parts of the house.I'm also thinking of "The Cask of Amontillado."
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