J.G. Faherty's Blog

 

Deadlines have always fascinated me as a writer. Not theconcept of them, but the idea that someone can write, and write well, with oneof them hanging over their head like a guillotine. 

I know me. I would succumb to the pressure. Not that I wouldmiss my deadline, but I’d be a nervous wreck and undoubtably suffer from a lossof appetite and lack of sleep. 

That’s not how I ever wanted my writing career to be. 

I enjoy writing, and I’ve always wanted to keep it that way. 

Back before I was a professional writer, I still did lots ofwriting. Technical stuff, mostly. Procedure manuals, reports, term papers, thatsort of thing. I did it for school, I did it for the various jobs I had inmedical technology, laboratory management, and biomedical research. There wereusually deadlines associated with them, but it was okay, because thepapers/documents/etc. weren’t long. We’re talking no more than 10 pages. Easystuff; back in college I learned I could wait until something was almost dueand then still produce a pretty good paper. When I got out into the workingworld, I found out I couldn’t wait until the last moment of the deadlinebecause there were always multiple deadlines to handle, but having honed theability to write fast helped me meet all of them. 

The thing is, technical documents don’t require a lot ofimagination. You have your data and you just have to phrase it in ways thatusers or readers will understand. 

Fiction, for me at least, was different. 

Having a deadline looming over me seemed to set up all sortsof roadblocks for creativity. I would keep second-guessing what I’d written. Orworse, not come up with anything at all. 

I learned this about myself during a job I had before Istarted writing horror. I’d just left a laboratory management job and decidedto try and make a go of being self-employed. Picked up a gig with The PrincetonReview, writing test prep guides for 3rd, 4th, and 5th-gradelanguage arts. Part of that required writing 1-page reading passages and theassociated questions. 

And I had deadlines / milestones for each week. 

I was also just starting my resume business at the time, andthose first few days I put off doing the reading passages to focus on writingthe resumes, which I believed would be harder and take longer. 

Next thing I know, it’s the night before due date and I’mstaying up late working, because I’m hitting a creative roadblock. 

After that, I always made sure to get the fiction writingdone before anything. 

Now, as the years have gone by, I’ve gotten a lot better. I’vewritten dozens of short stories to deadline (submit between this date and thatdate!), I’ve never been late with edits (can you get them back in 2 weeks?Guess what, I’ll do it in a week!), and I’ve even delivered a few novelsagainst deadlines. Those deadlines might be 8 months or 12 months, but justhearing those words gives me agita. 

Which is why early in my career I developed my own rule ofwriting: Never pitch a book unless it’s finished. 

I know there are writers who can pitch based on a synopsisor idea, but not me. I can’t imagine having 4-5 contracts signed, with specificdelivery dates that seem too close together, and still being able to think of agood story and put it on paper. I’d have ulcers on top of ulcers. So I don’t doit. 

Write, then pitch. I’ve done that with 22 of my 24 books. (Forthe other two, one I pitched when it was half-written, and the other was a sequeland I knew exactly what I wanted to do.) 

All of which brings me to the topic of this post. 

Currently, I’m working on a novel. I pitched it to my agentback in June, and at the time it was about 1/3 finished. Agent loves it, wantsto see it ASAP. Great. I start working furiously on it. 

Except… things come up. I see an anthology I want to submitto. Then I see another one, this one asking for novellas, and I have this greatidea. Fantastic idea. But no way can I finish the book and then write thenovella before the novella’s due date. This causes a dilemma. Do I not writethe stuff I really want to write, and focus on the novel? Or do I put the novelaside and do the two things that I’m really interested in? 

Suddenly, it’s a real deadline vs. a self-imposed deadline(I had really wanted to finish my novel by the end of the year, just to be donewith it!). Deadlines vs. desires, because I want to write them all but time islimited. 

In the end, I’ve decided to do the novella, skip the shortstory, and get back to the novel faster. I know that next year, when I read theanthology I’m skipping, I’ll be super pissed at myself and think ‘I could’vebeen in this one!’ even though there’s no guarantee of acceptance. The braindoesn’t work that way. 

Anyhow, the one good thing is that if I’d signed a contractfor the novel, I’d be in a situation where I’d have to skip the short story ANDthe novella, simply because of a deadline. 

I’m much happier this way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s face it. GenerativeAI (GenAI) is probably the most talked about subject for fiction andnon-fiction writers (and editors, publishers, cover creators, etc.) today. Thetopic is pretty much everywhere you look, and with good reason. 

People arepissed about GenAI. Those companies have stolen our (yes, I’m one of them)works to train their AI babies. And that is wrong. If nothing else, we deserveour royalties for what would’ve been sales of books. And the AI companiesshould have to pay fines on top of that for blatantly disregarding the law. 

There’s also thewhole concern over plagiarism, but I’m in the camp that feels there can be noaction taken regarding that because there’ve been no examples of it happening(except when told to). The AI doesn’t regurgitate chunks of prose from thisbook and that book to create a new story; it calculates patterns, ‘learns’ whenand where to put words. So let’s put that aside for this discussion. And let’salso put aside some other concerns: the ecological disaster that is the AIbusiness model and the fact that AI writing has no feeling, no soul. It’s coldand kinda dull. 

For writerslike me (and hopefully you), the core of our conviction is never use AI forcreative generation. That means no plot designs, no rewriting of scenes, nostyle emulation (rewrite this story so it sounds like King, or Straub, or Pelayo!).No generative prose. 

But does thatmean we can’t use it for other purposes? There is non-generative AI, and maybeyou’re not aware of it, but you use it every day (you probably use GenAI, too,and aren’t aware, but again, let’s ignore that for now). 

And there’s noreason not to use it. It’s here. It’s being integrated into every aspect ofyour life, so unless you intend to go full Luddite, the ecological concerns aregoing to have to be solved in another manner besides ‘Do Not Use.’ 

Using AI for businesspurposes, to free up more of your time for writing and editing, is no differentthan using things like spreadsheets, calculators, web development templates,etc. It doesn’t shape your art, or change it. It just lets you do more of it. 

How can you useAI responsibly, safely, and ethically, as a writer? Here are some examples: 

1.   AdministrativeSupport. Things like Calendly or Google Calendar can streamline and automatescheduling, calendar management, and more. This will help you coordinate thingslike book tours, signings, virtual appearances, and meetings.

2.   Research.Yes, we’re all aware that Google is the go-to for looking up information. Butsoon-probably within a year-all Google searches will be conducted through AI onthe backend, so it behooves us all to learn how to phrase prompts and searchqueries to obtain the best possible information. For example, in AI, you haveto tell the tool to provide citations and to eliminate any sources that aren’t verified.And the upside will be that as fast as Google is now, using AI for obtainingfactual data, creating historical timelines, even providing trivia about timeperiods, will be nearly instantaneous. And it can be done without creatingnarrative text, so no GenAI issues.

3.   BusinessAnalytics. Dashboards, sales data analysis, reader demographics. It can all becharted, graphed, and summaries in seconds, which is a great help for writerswho are actively involved in their own sales and marketing efforts.

4.   WebsiteUpdates & Changes. Not all authors are also web designers, or evencompetent at updating the information on their websites. Or creatingstorefronts. AI can take your existing code, and with a simple command(modernize the format of this page; change the font and graphics colors on thispage), your site can have an updated look. Or you can tell it to create anentire store front. You can even use it to evaluate your online presence andrecommend improvements relating to SEO, click-throughs, readability, mobile featuresreadiness, etc. And contrary to popular believe, this isn’t going to put webdesigners out of business. After all, that website has to be up and runningbefore you can use AI to modify or update it. And who’s doing that? Webdesigners – many of whom are already using AI to either code or QC check thecode that’s being used.

5.   AdOptimization. If you’re advertising on Amazon or Facebook, AI can automate andoptimize your spend model to maximize sales and profitability.

6.   Transcription.AI speech-to-text tools can record and transcribe recordings, includinginterviews or even notes you speak into your phone.

7.   Formattinga document for publication. AI can do ebook formatting and create print-readyPDFs if you don’t have those tools on your computer (and if you do, like inWord or Acrobat or Calibre, you’re using AI already).

8.   Proofing.Using AI to proofread and grammar check is not the same as using GenAI to editsomething. A tool like Grammarly or even ChatGPT can not only spot spellingmistakes and misused words, but also punctuation issues and even repetitivewords. These tools can be used with the GenAI/content analysis functions turnedoff and they are more accurate than Word’s spell/grammar check.

9.   Backupand Security. Tools like Carbonite, Acronis, Rubrik, and Veeam can provideautomated backup services and also provide added security beyond what yourcomputer presently has. 

Now, not all ofthese will be applicable for all writers. Maybe only one or two will be helpfulfor you. Maybe none at all. And like I said earlier, this is separate from theconcept of not using it on principle because of environmental concerns or moralconcerns. 

From what Isee, and the experts I talk to, AI is here to stay. We’re living through one ofthe most dynamic periods in technological history. Change is happening, whetherwe want it to or not. 

The key tosuccess isn’t to resist change — it’s to find ways to use it responsibly and toour benefit, without compromising our principles. Otherwise, we will be leftbehind.

 

Hey, Halloween people—it’s been a hot minute (maybe a little longer!) since my last check‑in here, but I’m turning over (hoping to!) a new leaf and aiming to keep this blog more up to date. Life got crazy - including a move to a new state - but the one constant has been my writing. Since the last post, I’ve had multiple novels and collections published, plus a bundle of short stories, and I’m excited to share the full scoop!

📚 Novels, Novellas, & Collections

Here's what I've been up to since last I blogged:

The Wakening

Fifty years ago, Father Leo Bonaventura cast a demon from a young boy in Guatemala. Asmodeus vowed revenge—and now that ancient evil has returned to a small New York town. A young girl’s possession reels in an unlikely group: a team of paranormal investigators, twin psychics, a defrocked priest with a dark secret, and a grieving father whose wife once played with spirit boards. Together, they must help Bonaventura banish Asmodeus and the poltergeist plague he brought with him.

Ragman

In 1882, British soldiers desecrate an Egyptian temple and slay its high priest… who curses them all. Resurrected in modern-day Manhattan, the priest seeks revenge—and demands help from one of the descendants involved. Two police officers, former partners now estranged, must unite to stop a supernatural mummy and retrieve the stolen artifacts before the Underworld claims more lives.

The Nightmare Man

A chilling game of Japanese Hitori Kakurenbo turns deadly when a demon is unleashed and follows a Japanese boy to America.

When September Ends

Debbie Holten and her friends hide her little sister's fatal fall down a cliff, worried they'll take the blame for her death. But when the first "death‑versary" comes, someone dies and more tragedies follow. Debbie knows it was an accident—but Mallory’s vengeful spirit doesn’t agree.

The Malthusian Correction

A stark blend of apocalyptic and ecological horror, asking just how much more nature can take of humanity's ecological follies.

The Nightmare People

A sequel to The Nightmare Man and the 2nd book of the trilogy: the Boogeyman returns to exact revenge on Ken and his family, and a North Carolina police officer has to relive his own encounter from 40 years ago as children in his town start to vanish again.

Songs in the Key of Death

A collection of dark, clever, emotionally sharp poems described by Bram Stoker‑winner Lisa Morton as “frightening, melancholy, disturbing, smart, and darkly witty.”

✒️ Short Stories & Reprints

I’ve also had the pleasure of publishing a double-handful of short works over the last couple of years:

"Feral" (2025) in Cemetery Dance

"Mezzamort" (2025) in Gaba Ghoul (October Nights Press anthology)

"A Reversal of Fortunes" (2024) in Nature Triumphs (Dark Moon Rising)

"Earworms" (2024) in Book Worms, Rock & Roll Issue

"Devils in the Dark" (2024, reprint) in The HorrorZine

"Planet of the Dead" (2024) in Songs from the Void (Max Blood's Mausoleum)

"AWOL" (2023) in Book Worms

"A Muse, Shrouded" (2023) in Dracula Beyond Stoker, Issue 3

"A Timeless Tragedy" (2023) in Shakespeare Unleashed (Monstrous Books)

"Beautiful Monsters" (2022) in Classic Monsters Unleashed (Crystal Lake Publishing)

🔮 What’s Next?

Expect more blog updates—deep dives, behind-the-scenes, maybe even some snippets of works in progress. I’ve missed connecting with you all here, and I promise to do better.

Thanks for sticking around, reading, and sharing; being part of the horror community means the world to me.

I look forward to keeping in better touch with my Halloween people!

— JG 🎃

 THE SCARIEST CARNIVAL IN THE WORLD

More than 12 years ago, I wrote a novel about a demonic carnival that only appears on Halloween.

CARNIVAL OF FEAR is still one of my most popular books, and it's been described as this generation's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.

On this, the last day of our October Frights Blog Hop, I thought I'd share the story of the carnival's conception with you, along with my little gift: an excerpt from the book (which is on sale for the entire month of October - 99 cents for the Kindle version!).

I started writing in 2002; for several years I only did short stories. I never wanted to (or believed I could) write a full book. And then one night it happened:

I had a dream. 

It sounds corny, but it's the truth. I dreamed about this terrifying carnival run by demons, and a group of people were stuck inside the Haunted Mansion and transported to alternate worlds where the different exhibits came alive. Only by defeating them all can they return to the real world.

In that dream, I saw the entire book laid out before me. The monsters. The main characters. Who gets killed when and how. Even the dialog. I woke up at 5 in the morning and ran downstairs to grab a notebook and pen (back then I did first drafts long hand). It took me 10 days to write the entire first draft - before breakfast, on my lunch break, and in the evenings before dinner. Then another month to type it into the computer, which took extra time because I had to put all the different scenes in the proper order, fix the mistakes, etc. 

When I finished, it was 125,000 words. And I had no idea what to do with it. I knew it wasn't good enough to publish, but I also had no proofreaders, beta readers, etc. I barely knew anyone in the industry.

Luckily, I was able find some of the best writers around to help me. I got a fantastic mentor through the HWA and then signed up for the Borderlands Bootcamp for Writers. When all was said and done, I had whittled it down to 96,000 words. I started submitting, and the third publisher I sent it to bought it. My luck held out even longer when an artist friend of mine offered to do the cover (which went on to win him some awards at competitions).

When I woke up from that dream, I had no idea that concept would begin an entirely new phase of my writing career. Since then, I've done a novella, a short story, and some poetry all based on the Carnival of Fear universe, and sitting in my computer is the outline for the sequel, which I'd love to finish someday. It also taught me I could write novels, and I now have 9 other books plus 11 novellas to my credit in the 12 years since CARNIVAL OF FEAR first hit the shelves.

With that in mind, and because what could be scarier than demons, werewolves, vampires, axe-wielding psychopaths, aliens, zombies, and witches all in one book, here's a peek into the Carnival of Fear! (And if you haven't gotten your copy yet, the link is at the bottom.)

 

 

CARNIVAL OF FEAR

Every Halloween, the Carnival of Fear mysteriously appears, never in the same location twice. What follows is twenty-four hours of violence, death, and horror. This year it has come to the small town of Whitebridge.

When JD Cole and his girlfriend, Amy Cherry, find themselves trapped in the Castle of Horrors, they must lead a group of friends and rivals through a maze of torturous attractions, where monsters from fiction come to life and must be defeated. Vampires, crazed killers, aliens, werewolves, demons, and even Frankenstein oppose the brave humans, and more than one life is lost in the ensuing struggles. Along the way, friendships form, unlikely heroes emerge, and old heroes fall. Not everyone survives, and no one comes out unchanged.

The final showdown takes place in Hell, where the ultimate battle between good and evil will determine the fate of JD and the other students, along with the entire town.

 "CARNIVAL OF FEAR is aptly named--Faherty takes us on an outrageous journey into nightmare that's equal parts Bradbury and Barker. From the opening page, this one rips into high-gear and takes you on a funhouse ride you'll never forget." --Thomas F. Monteleone, Stoker Award-winning author of more than 36 novels and several anthologies

------------------------------------------------------------

Excerpt:

Just after midnight on October twenty-ninth, with a full moon riding high overhead and wisps of fog scattered about like miniature clouds too weak to reach the sky, something strange occurred on the one-lane road near the east pasture of Dan McCready’s corn feed farm. An ink-black circle, visible even against the night sky, appeared without a sound. Twenty feet in diameter, it glowed with darkness, shimmered with a disquieting energy, a wavelength not meant for the human eye. Twin lights appeared in its dark depths, followed by a rumbling, clattering noise. A moment later, an eighteen-wheel rig rocketed from the other-worldly tunnel. With a horrendous squeal of air brakes, it slowed down to make the turn onto the unpaved lane paralleling McCready’s east field. Then it turned again, this time into the field itself. Several other trucks followed, their spectral emergence leading the way for a caravan of pickups, SUVs, and mobile homes. Gothic lettering on the sides of the trucks spelled out Carnival of Fear in giant, blood-red script. As soon as the last vehicle exited, the circle disappeared without a sound. In the field, the various trucks arranged themselves in a rough circle several hundred feet across, forming a modern-day wagon train. Or perhaps outlining a predetermined area. Once the last truck parked, all engine noise ceased. The sudden quiet was absolute, the kind of quiet where the only thing you can hear is the soft background hum or buzz that indicates your otic nerves are on standby. No tic-tic-tic of engines cooling in the chill October air. No sound of a truck or trailer door opening. Inside the truck cabs, no tiny, glowing red lights gave evidence of cigarettes being lit. The trucks looked empty, as though they’d been parked and abandoned long ago.     Within the circle of trucks, patches of fog rolled towards each other, joined and merged, the resulting cloud building upon itself like cotton candy. As more fog gathered, it began to solidify, condensing and growing more opaque with each passing second.     Pieces of the fog broke off and assumed individual shapes, faint at first but becoming more recognizable as additional cloud matter attached itself. Squares and rectangles, circles standing on edge, something resembling a large tent.     The shapes moved themselves about the field to various locations. As the supernatural gravitational force of each shape pulled in more vapor, size and definition improved.     True outlines became identifiable, The tent-form grew into a circus big top, the squares and rectangles formed concession stands and game booths, and the circles mutated into rides such as the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round. In the very center, the largest aggregation of mist took on the form of a castle. Towers and lookouts, tiny, rectangular windows, even a drawbridge took shape in a matter of minutes.     Just as the mist-forms reached maximum definition, there came a burst of blackness, a silent explosion of lightlessness that for the space of one heartbeat covered the entire field in a shroud of pure night. In that one instant of unholy energy, every bird and animal within a mile of the epicenter spontaneously combusted. When light returned, the fog was gone. In its place stood the carnival. Rides, booths, the big top, all of it painted in vivid oranges, yellows, reds, blacks, and browns proudly proclaiming the official arrival of Halloween. Rising two stories above the ground, the Castle of Fear was the centerpiece of the midway. A sign, written in crimson, dripping letters, pronounced ‘Terror! Blood! Mayhem! Monsters, Ghouls, and Murderers! Enter and experience the agony of the damned!’ A second sign proclaimed ‘The World’s Most Terrifying Haunted Mansion! Enter At Your Own Risk!’
#
Dan McCready’s corpse sat in his living room, in the same place where a drunken stupor had claimed him before the end of the eleven o’clock news. He’d never even woken when the force wave of evil darkness tore the flesh from his bones and ripped his soul away. He would be one of the lucky ones.
In the unnatural quiet, the Carnival of Fear waited. Soon it would be time to feed. Carnival of Fear Amazon Link

 

 

 

 =============================================================

 Stay tuned for tomorrow's creepy entry and be sure to check out everyone else on the blog hop!

 
 

 

 As always, be sure to check out  A.F. Stewart's October Frights blog page, https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-blog-hop-participants/, for the links to all the different bloggers and the latest about the blog hop and all things horror. While there, be sure to visit the Book Showcase Page (https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-book-fair/) where all the participants have made their terrifying books available for purchase (most are on sale, including my novel CARNIVAL OF FEAR, which is only 99cents for Kindle!). And don't forget about the free book giveaway page: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/oyHMogF.

 

 

 

 HORROR'S DIMINISHING RETURNS & THE FUTURE OF FRIGHT

 

"It's more instructive, perhaps, to look into the reason why the morbid has been changed into the unintentionally mirthful. Much as we dislike to consider it, one answer keeps cropping up: Hollywood no longer knows what horror is."

If you've been to the movies lately, you most likely will agree with that statement. But here's the kicker: that quote comes from an interview with Robert Bloch. In 1960.

His words ring as true today as they did then, and I would submit that it applies not just to movies, but all forms of entertainment. And it's a wake-up call for us writers and "old folks" (over 30!). Our dismay with today's movies, books, and television has as much to do with our status as an older generation as it does Hollywood's continued descent into mediocrity. Not that said descent hasn't happened, it's just not something we understood until we grew experienced enough to recognize it.

In that interview, which first ran in Rogue Magazine, Bloch also says: "Just as Halloween, with its ghosts and goblins, has been transformed into a sub-teen Thanksgiving with Tricks-or-Treats replacing the turkey, so has the horror movie suffered a sea-change into something strictly for laffs, with genuine grue and imagination replaced by a vat of ketchup and a false face that wouldn't frighten a timid two-year-old. The shudder salesmen have sold out and the average horror flick nowadays evokes more gaiety than goose-pimples."

 

 

 

Bloch goes on to place the blame for this on various sources: censorship, the growing horrors detailed in the nightly news and newspapers, and a shift from the things that cause true terror to things that merely entertain.

And in a way, that trend continues today, although the specifics for the causes might be different.

Bloch cites Godzilla and giant bug movies as concepts that should have been frightening but weren't, because the scale was too large. By shifting from claustrophobic horror – the Wolf-Man on the moors, Dracula in his castle, Jack the Ripper on a foggy street, the Mummy silently approaching from behind an unsuspecting victim – to something that causes thousands or millions of deaths, the personal aspect is lost on the viewer. The sheer scale of death renders the fear factor impotent. I believe that if Bloch were alive today, he'd recognize GODZILLA as perhaps the precursor to "summer blockbuster" movies, which may arouse excitement or tension but never fear. GODZILLA, TRANSFORMERS, even VAN HELSING, none of them were designed to put a chill into the viewer. 

Bloch lists what he considers the most frightening of themes: things lurking in the darkness, the stranger among us, deformity, insanity, deadly animals, the unknown or unexpected. He then condemns Hollywood for forgetting the meaning of fear and either focusing too much on special effects, cheap scares, or comical take-offs. He mentions monsters meeting Abbott & Costello and the Bowery Boys, sequels that drain the life from their progenitors, and the mutant bug movies of the 1950s as examples of non-horror.

I wonder what he would think of today's movies? Films like SAW or HOSTEL, which substitute gore for good writing and truly suspenseful situations. In 1960, Hollywood hadn't yet delivered such "classic" films as BLOOD FEAST, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS, BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, or THE HILLS HAVE EYES. Would Bloch have added splatter-horror (or torture porn) to his list of cinematic downfalls? What would he have thought of franchises such as NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or HALLOWEEN, with their mix of comic relief and gruesome murders?

I think he would have rebelled against all of them, save for a few with actual chilling moments (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, ROSEMARY'S BABY, THE SENTINEL, etc.).

And on the subject of remakes and sequels, he states: "After 30 years of repetition and burlesque, it is hardly probable that an audience can view the original FRANKENSTEIN and recapture its initial impact."

But I also believe Bloch fails to consider one important fact: as the world changes, so do the imaginations and attention spans of the movie-going audience. Take his FRANKENSTEIN example. A child today, even if he or she has never seen any of the monster's film incarnations, would not be enraptured by seeing the original. It moves too slowly for a brain that is wired differently than the brains of people growing up in the 1930s. Today's tweens, teens, and new adults crave rapid action and fast-paced editing. They've been trained to capture information in that way. 

What does this mean for horror movies – and for books, television, and comics as well? It means that we, as the writers, the artists, the producers, must find ways to capture true fear, the fear of the mysterious, the unknown, the unseen, in ways that really frighten our audiences. We need to give them what they crave without falling into the trap of relying solely on grue or sardonic comedy or action sequences. Not that there isn't a place for them, but let's be honest. They are not "horror."

People crave true frights. They want to jump in their seats, be afraid to turn the lights off when they go home, feel their hearts pounding when they hear that unfamiliar noise, thanks to seeing a movie or reading a book. They want more than to just walk out of the theater laughing at the creature's foolish appearance, complaining about the predictable ending, or going on about how the maniac managed to find so many idiots for his traps.

They want to be scared, dammit.

And I love that it's my job to do it.

 

 

 =============================================================

 Stay tuned for tomorrow's creepy entry and be sure to check out everyone else on the blog hop!

 
 

 

 As always, be sure to check out  A.F. Stewart's October Frights blog page, https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-blog-hop-participants/, for the links to all the different bloggers and the latest about the blog hop and all things horror. While there, be sure to visit the Book Showcase Page (https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-book-fair/) where all the participants have made their terrifying books available for purchase (most are on sale, including my novel CARNIVAL OF FEAR, which is only 99cents for Kindle!). And don't forget about the free book giveaway page: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/oyHMogF.

 

 

I LOVE MY (HAUNTED) TOWN

 

I live in the Hudson Valley region of New York State. And every year around this time we gear up for Halloween. More so than many other areas. Why? Only because it’s one of the most haunted regions in the country, thank you!

But like so many places in our country—and the world—there’s local legends, and then there are “local legends.”

When most people think of the area along the Hudson River, the first thing that comes to mind is Sleepy Hollow and the legend of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. We all know it: poor Ichabod nearly gets decapitated by the vengeful spirit of a Hessian soldier. You can visit Sleepy Hollow during October (if you feel like fighting huge crowds) and tour the cemetery and old church where The Legend of Sleepy Hollow takes place. You can visit at other times, too (I’d recommend that), and the tour will be much longer and fill in all sorts of details that you won’t find on Google or Wikipedia.

But to those of us who live locally, Ichabod (and his fellow story-mate, Rip Van Winkle) are just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Those mountains where Rip hears the ‘thunder’ of the gods bowling? For centuries prior the local natives heard it too, and attributed it to goblins. Those same goblins are said to haunt Pollepel Island, which sits in the Hudson River a little north of Sleepy Hollow, right across from Dunderberg Mountain (Dunderberg actually means thunder mountain in old Dutch), which was where poor Rip supposedly took his nap, according to the tales told to Washington Irving. Both areas were shunned by the locals long before the Europeans arrived.

Ghosts and goblins not enough? We’ve got more! Throughout the Catskill and Adirondack mountains there are legends of a Bigfoot-type beast that roams the forests from above Albany all the way down to the Tappan Zee Bridge. Go to any small community along the river and it won’t take you long to find someone who claims to have seen it.

Then there’s the Bloody Man. During the Revolutionary War, and even before that during skirmishes between the natives and the Europeans, soldiers reported seeing the Bloody Man after battles, a red-skinned (some say his skin had been stripped off) man who went from body to body, eating pieces of the dead and killing the wounded.

Or how about the Clarkesville Witch? A woman who back in colonial days was condemned as a witch because she knew how to heal with herbs and she dressed oddly and was unsociable. Hers was the last witch trial in New York State (and she was found innocent!).

Then there are aliens – the Hudson Valley is the UFO capital of the East Coast; maybe the entire country outside of Nevada. Entire books have been written about it.

Want more? We’ve got haunted roads, haunted houses, haunted churches, haunted mental health hospitals, murder houses, bleeding plants, mysterious panther-sized black cats, and ghost ships sailing the river.

Consider this: a few years ago I did a Halloween presentation for kids at the local library. Read a scary story and then did a Q&A about local ghost legends. Every single kid in the audience had a tale to tell of either a friend or relative who’d seen a ghost or lived in a haunted house.

So, as much as Ichabod Crane and his dark of night ride are stuff legends get made from, around here he’s just another story to tell!

And far from the scariest.

 ==================================================================

 Stay tuned for tomorrow's creepy entry and be sure to check out everyone else on the blog hop!

 
 

 

 As always, be sure to check out  A.F. Stewart's October Frights blog page, https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-blog-hop-participants/, for the links to all the different bloggers and the latest about the blog hop and all things horror. While there, be sure to visit the Book Showcase Page (https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-book-fair/) where all the participants have made their terrifying books available for purchase (most are on sale, including my novel CARNIVAL OF FEAR, which is only 99cents for Kindle!). And don't forget about the free book giveaway page: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/oyHMogF.

 

 

 

SPREAD THE FEAR

 

 

If you’re reading this, odds are Halloween is most likely your favorite holiday of the year. I know it’s mine; for me, Halloween season begins on Sept. 1st and goes straight through into November if it happens to be one of those years where Halloween lands in the middle of the week and there are Halloween parties/events in the following weekend.

As horror writers, this season also means a real emphasis on book sales. Writers head out to signings, do appearances at conventions and fright fests and local haunted house attractions. They promote themselves all over social media and often will have a new book coming out just in time for the scariest season of the year.

But I want to talk about a different way to spread the terror.

To the children.

That’s right. Now is the time to infect today’s youth with a healthy dose of horror.

Children of all ages, from grade school to high school, love to be scared. And what better way to open their eyes to the joys of reading than by introducing them to a nice, chilling tale? It could be yours, it could be a classic story, it could be a local legend. It won’t matter. Kids are always open to a frightening story, and even more so during the Halloween season.

Each year I try to make appearances at our local libraries and participate in their Halloween programming. In the past, I’ve judged pumpkin decorating contests, recited the story of the Headless Horseman, and read some of my own short stories.

Many authors shun these types of appearances, because they are not opportunities to sell books. You may get paid a small stipend (not all libraries can afford one), and sometimes you’ll sell a book or two to a parent whose child begs particularly hard, but overall these are not book sale opportunities the way cons or fright fests are. You’re there strictly as entertainment.

Yet I think it’s just as important to do these appearances as the profitable kind. Not only are you doing a good thing, but you’re setting yourself up for future sales. People will remember your name, and when it comes time to buy their kids new books they just might be yours.

Most importantly, you’re helping to mold impressionable minds into future horror fans/readers, which in the long run is a boon for all writers. Even if you're not a writer, you can still pick up a book and read them a story. Or introduce them to a horror writer. Or play them a movie. Trust me, they'll love it!

Whatever it might be, it's time to do your part:

Spread the fear.

 =================================================

Stay tuned for tomorrow's creepy entry and be sure to check out everyone else on the blog hop!

 
 

 

 As always, be sure to check out  A.F. Stewart's October Frights blog page, https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-blog-hop-participants/, for the links to all the different bloggers and the latest about the blog hop and all things horror. While there, be sure to visit the Book Showcase Page (https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-book-fair/) where all the participants have made their terrifying books available for purchase (most are on sale, including my novel CARNIVAL OF FEAR, which is only 99cents for Kindle!). And don't forget about the free book giveaway page: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/oyHMogF.

 

'TIS THE SEASON TO BE FRIGHTENED!

 Welcome to the first day of the 2022 October Frights Blog Hop, where from now until October 15 nine scary writers will be sharing their thoughts about Halloween and horror, entertaining you with spooky tales, and hopefully finding ways to keep you up at night.

This year's bloggers and their pages are:

Always Another Chapter - Lyssa Medana

Be Afraid of the Dark - A.F. Stewart

Hawk’s Happenings - Leta Hawk

Carmilla Voiez Dark Reads and Intersectional Feminism - Carmilla Voiez

GirlZombieAuthors - a team of women writers

Frighten Me - a group of horror fans

Angela Yuriko Smith - Angela Yuriko Smith

James P. Nettles  - James P. Nettles

And, of course, me. JG Faherty - author of numerous novels, novellas, and short stories. Horror aficionado. Halloween fan. And most importantly, someone who loves to use his words to terrify and entertain people of all ages!

 

 

I'm going to start off this wild week with a story that goes back to 2011; this was originally written for the Horror Writer's Association's newsletter, but in the spirit of October - the month when the veil between our world and the afterlife is at its weakest - I'm posting it here to get everyone in the mood for the rest of the week.

So, from October 2011, here you go.......

I may be living in a haunted house.

My wife and I moved into a new house back in December. Nothing special, a typical high ranch model in a typical suburban neighborhood. A month or two after we moved in, my wife, Andrea, said she thought the house might be haunted.

"Why?" I asked. I have an open mind about ghosts; I believe in them, I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple, but I don't think they're lurking around every corner or in every abandoned building.

She told me that on a couple of evenings when I wasn't home, or I was outside, she'd seen a shadow dart across a hallway or in the corner of an empty room. Now, since I work from home, I'm in the house practically all the time. And I hadn't seen a thing. So I was a bit skeptical. After all, if there was a ghost, wouldn't it be likely that I'd see it, too? I'm usually up before my wife and go to bed after her, so I actually had more opportunities to see a ghost, if one was lurking.

But she insisted she'd seen something, and so had our dog, Buffy. (Yes, she was named after Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her full name was Buffy Angel.)

"What makes you think that?" was my next question.

"Sometimes she just sits up and stares at a spot in the room, but nothing's there."

That made me smile. I mentioned that dogs do that a lot, either because they hear or smell something we can't. Usually something outside the house.

I figured that would be all to the ghost stories, but then a few days later we were in the family room watching TV when all of a sudden Buffy sat up and stared at one corner of the room. And growled.

"See?" Andrea gave me a smug look. "The ghost is here."

After that, I did notice Buffy doing this a few times a week. And there were only two places she would do it: the far corner of the family room, and the bottom of the stairs leading up to the top floor. Our other dog, Harley, never did it. And Buffy never did it upstairs in any of the places where Andrea said she'd seen the weird shadow. On one occasion, we came home and found Buffy standing downstairs, ignoring our entrance (she was normally effusive in her greetings, jumping and barking non-stop). She was just staring at her mysterious corner, frozen like a statue.

As months went by, Andrea became more and more convinced the house was haunted. 

 (our house, decorated for Halloween!)

I had the perfect objection to this theory, though. No one had ever died in the house. We'd bought it from the original owner, a widowed woman who lived there with her daughter. The other kids had long moved out. The reason we knew no one had died in the house was because we'd asked. It was one of the questions we'd asked about every house we were interested in. It made no difference to me, but Andrea didn't want to live in a house where someone had died. Because of ghosts and bad luck. And our real estate agent had assured us no one died in the house.

Flash forward to August. We'd taken Buffy for a short walk – she was in the end stages of cancer, and although we didn't know it, we only had two weeks left with her – and met one of our neighbors down the road who we previously hadn't spoken with. During the course of conversation, he mentioned that the woman we'd bought the house from had never been the same after her husband died.

In bed.

"He died in the house?" Andrea asked. Our neighbor assured us he had.

"That explains the ghost!" she said to me later, after we'd gone back home. "We're haunted by an old man, and both Buffy and I know it."

As if to back this up, later that night Buffy got up from her blanket while we were watching TV and proceeded to bark at the corner of the family room.

"He must be here," Andrea said. And I couldn't argue. My one big objection had been blown out of the water, leaving me very upset.

Why was it that only Andrea and Buffy could see the ghost? I'm the damn horror writer! If anyone was going to see it, I should be the one. So the only thing I could think of was that for some reason the ghost had decided not to show itself to me. Or to Harley. Was it a blonde thing? (Buffy was a Yellow Lab and Harley is a Chocolate; I have dark hair and Andrea is a blonde.) Was it some kind of conspiracy just to mess with my head? I wanted to see the ghost, too, darn it. It wasn't fair!

At the end of August, Buffy's cancer got to be too much. We'd made the decision weeks earlier that if she was ever in pain, we'd take her to the vet and end things. Naturally, she started showing signs of discomfort on a Sunday, when the vet wasn't open. We put her on pain killers, and that perked her up, but by Monday night she was so weak she couldn't go up the stairs, and couldn't walk to her water dish without getting out of breath. We made the appointment for Tuesday. On that morning, my parents came over to say their goodbyes and then we took her for a last walk outside. She seemed to know it was the end; she got her strength up, stood in the yard, and looked all around with a sad but accepting expression on her face, taking it all in before leaving it forever. At the vet's, after getting a pain killer and sedative, she gave us a last few kisses, ate a final cookie, and then got her final injection. We watched the light fade from her eyes and then made the arrangements to have her cremated.

Since then, we've had no visits by our shadowy ghost. And without our canine ghost buster, we have no idea if or when our ghost is in the room with us.

But I have hopes. I brought Buffy's ashes home from the vet yesterday. She'd going to be in a nice memorial urn in the family room.

Maybe she'll find a way to show us the ghost again.

 =================================================

Stay tuned for tomorrow's creepy entry and be sure to check out everyone else on the blog hop!

 
 

 

 As always, be sure to check out  A.F. Stewart's October Frights blog page, https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-blog-hop-participants/, for the links to all the different bloggers and the latest about the blog hop and all things horror. While there, be sure to visit the Book Showcase Page (https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-book-fair/) where all the participants have made their terrifying books available for purchase (most are on sale, including my novel CARNIVAL OF FEAR, which is only 99cents for Kindle!). And don't forget about the free book giveaway page: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/oyHMogF.

 

A while back, I discovered this cool website, The Shepherd.com. It's a book of lists, including all sorts of lists about books. Specifically, writers can create lists of their favorite books, and then categorize them by subgenre or topic. 

Best Books About Demons. Best Books About Other Planets. Best Books About Monsters That Eat Cities. 

You get the idea!

So, I decided it would be fun to do some of my own. And today, my first one came out. It's called The Best Books About Evil Houses, and it can be found here: Best Evil Houses.

I'm not going to spoil the fun of going to read the list by repeating it here, but I will say that the books I chose range from the 1950s to the 2000s, and they are all guaranteed to keep you up at night.

The reason I picked Evil Houses as my topic was partly because there wasn't one already done, partly because I love the whole haunted house concept, and partly selfish.

I'd just finished writing a book about a an evil, haunted house, called The Wakening.

 

The Wakening is actually based on a true story, one that I heard while in college. It was told to me by a priest who for years had been the official New York State exorcist for the Catholic Church.

He had a lot of stories, but one really stuck with me over the years and became the basis for the first chapter of the book, and from there I kind of ran away with it.

I've always been a fan of the classic monsters and tropes - vampires, haunted houses, mummies, werewolves, etc. - and I wish more of that stuff was still being written. Which is another reason I made my list - to remind people that you can still find great books in the horror genre without them including zombie apocalypses or chainsaw-wielding serial killers!

I hope you enjoy the list, and if you haven't bought the books on it, do that and enjoy them, too!

 

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Well, this is it. We've reached the end of the line. The final day of the October Frights Blog Hop. Congratulations for surviving! 

In honor of Halloween, my post today is an excerpt from my Halloween-themed novel, CARNIVAL OF FEAR, which is all about a group of people trapped inside a demonic carnival on Halloween night, and they have to survive a bevy of monsters, demons, and serial killers if they want to see the sun rise.

As always, be sure to check out  A.F. Stewart's blog page, http://afstewartblog.blogspot.com/, for the links to all the different bloggers and the latest about the blog hop and all things horror. And don't forget about
https://tinyurl.com/StoryOriginGiveaways, where you can get free reads from now until Oct. 31.

I hope you've had as much fun as I have!

Excerpt from CARNIVAL OF FEAR, available at http://tinyurl.com/CoFnew

 

Shortly before midnight on October twenty-ninth, with a full moon riding high overhead, a strange occurrence took place on the one-lane road near the east pasture of Dan McCready’s farm.

An ink-black circle, barely visible against the night sky, appeared without a sound. Twenty feet in diameter, the vertical disk shimmered with a disquieting energy on a wavelength not friendly to the human eye. Twin lights appeared within its dark depths, followed by a rumbling, clattering noise. Moments later, an eighteen-wheeler rocketed from the otherworldly tunnel. With a horrendous squeal of air brakes, it slowed down and turned onto the unpaved lane paralleling Dan McCready’s east field. Then it turned again, this time into the field itself. Several other trucks followed, their spectral emergence leading the way for a caravan of pickups, SUVs, and mobile homes. Gothic lettering on the sides of the trucks spelled out Carnival of Fear in giant, blood red script.

As soon as the last vehicle exited, the supernatural ring disappeared without a sound.

In the field, the vehicles arranged themselves in a rough circle several hundred yards across, as if forming a modern-day wagon circle. Once the last truck parked, all engine noise ceased. The sudden quiet was absolute; the type of quiet where the only audible sound is the soft background buzz that lets you know the nerves in your ears are on standby. No tic-tic-tic of engines cooling in the chill October air. No sound of truck doors opening or closing. In the cabs, no tiny, glowing red lights gave evidence of drivers smoking cigarettes.

Within the circle, a wispy, roiling cloud of fog began to form. The mist thickened, swirling about itself and building like cotton candy; solidifying, condensing, and growing more opaque with each passing second.

Shards of the heavy fog broke away and assumed individual shapes, featureless at first, but growing more recognizable as additional cloud matter attached itself. Squares and rectangles, circles standing on edge. Something large and triangular.

The shapes drifted about the field to various locations. As more vapor coalesced, their size and definition improved. True outlines became identifiable. The triangle morphed into a tent-form that grew into a circus big top. The squares and rectangles formed concession stands and game booths. The circles mutated into rides, the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round rapidly expanding to full size. In the very center of the ghostly midway, the largest aggregation of mist took on the form of a castle two stories high. Towers and turrets, tiny, rectangular windows, even a drawbridge.

When no more wandering mist remained, a burst of blackness erupted from the center of the circle, a silent explosion of lightlessness that, for the space of one heartbeat, covered the entire field in a shroud of unholy energy. In his living room, Dan McReady slumped in his easy chair, a victim of too much beer and the nightly news. When the force wave of darkness washed over him, tearing the flesh from his bones and ripping his soul away, it happened so fast he never even awoke.

He would be one of the lucky ones.

When normal light returned, a carnival stood revealed. Rides, booths, the big top, all of it colored in vivid oranges, yellows, reds, blacks, and browns to proclaim the official arrival of Halloween.

Rising above the other structures, the Castle of Horrors stood as the centerpiece of the midway. A sign, written in crimson, dripping letters, pronounced ‘Terror! Blood! Mayhem! Monsters, Ghouls, and Murderers! Experience the agony of the damned!’ A second sign proclaimed ‘The World’s Most Terrifying Haunted Mansion! Enter At Your Own Risk!’

In the unnatural quiet, the Carnival of Fear waited.

Soon it would be time to feed.

 

###

 

“CARNIVAL OF FEAR is aptly named--Faherty takes us on an outrageous journey into nightmare that's equal parts Bradbury and Barker. From the opening page, this one rips into high-gear and takes you on a funhouse ride you'll never forget.” —Thomas F. Monteleone, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of more than 36 novels and several anthologies

“As a person who loves Carnivals, Haunted Houses, Halloween, and Horror, this book has everything I could hope for! No matter what time of year it is, CARNIVAL OF FEAR will transport you to a cold October night filled with fun and fear!” —Richard Christy, Charred Walls of the Damned and Sirius/XM producer