Tag: fall

Something spooky this way comes

Fall in Massachusetts

I’m from Massachusetts and fall is by far my favorite time of year. There’s something about the beautiful red and yellow foliage and the changing of the light that turns everything gold. I love going apple picking and getting some many apples that you’re “forced” to make all kinds of apple treats–pies, bread, applesauce, baked apples, apple crisp, you get the idea. It’s the time of year to start hunkering down and getting ready for the long winter to come. There’s hot apple cider and pumpkins and hayrides and, of course, Halloween.

There’s a kind of magic in the air during fall, and particularly in October. You can almost feel like the walls between the worlds are growing thin and anything is possible. It’s a good time of year to get out the spooky stories. I recently read Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes as part of a group read on Goodreads. He’s a brilliant writer and he does creepy and psychological horror very well. I highly recommend it. Of course, almost as soon as I started the book our local carnival arrived. Yikes. I’m sure it was perfectly harmless, but I did not attend. Bradbuy’s October Country, the first book of his that I read,  is a collection of deliciously eerie stories that are also perfect for this time of year.

I much prefer psychological horror to the gory kind. My imagination can scare me quite well. Authors like M.R. James, H.P. Lovecraft, and Algernon Blackwood have written some terrifying short stories. And “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs made me want to turn on all the lights after reading it (although there was a brilliant spoof on The Simpsons that takes away from some of the original’s power when I picture Homer holding the monkey’s paw to make a wish).

What are some of your favorite fall activities? And what do you read when you’re looking for a good scare?

Renaissance festival geek

I’m from New England, and fall is my favorite time of year. The crisp autumn air, the beautiful foliage, the way the light changes and turns everything gold in the late afternoon. Apple picking (apple pie, apple crisp, applesauce, apple bread…) and pumpkins. It’s the time when I miss new England the most.

Fall is also renaissance festival time here in Maryland. Yes, I am a ren faire geek. I’ve been going to the Maryland Renaissance Festival for almost 20 years now (dating myself, I know). Even when I didn’t live here I’d always make a point to come back and visit in the fall. It helps that many of my friends are ren faire geeks also. What’s not to love? Steak on a stake! Fried mac and cheese! Heck, food just tastes better when it’s ON A STICK. Jousting, singing pirates, and many great performers. The people watching is sometimes as much fun as watching the actual performers. And yes, we do often go in costume. I’ve acquired some pieces over the years. It’s fun to get “wenched out,” and I’m modest compared to some people! Being strapped into a bodice all day really does improve your posture. And make you appreciate not having to wear one all the time.

I also love the ren faire because I feel like it’s the closest I may come to experiencing the kind of fantasy world I write about. It’s not quite as gritty–there’s no open sewage and most people there have bathed recently–but the dirt streets and wooden shops do remind me of how I’ve envisioned my book. I sometimes envy people who write realistic fiction. If they want to research a place, they can read about it or go there and experience it themselves. Us fantasy writers don’t have that luxury.

One thing the ren faire has that my book does not: men in kilts. And that’s another reason to keep going back. 🙂