Blog

Story Time Tuesday: Eucha Falls, Part Three

Eucha Falls

Part Three

Part One | Part Two

 

It was like watching a home movie in slow motion. Everything was colored in the golden, hazy light of nostalgia. Watching the sky and the trees go by out the car window, her parents in the front seat, Scottie with her in the back. It was one of the rare times when they didn’t fight or jostle each other for elbow room. They were too happy, too excited.

 

And then the bridge, and excitement and anticipation about what lay on the other side. They could already see it on the other side, the big red sign, all lit up, shining bright even in the day.
Then they were walking up the path, her and Scottie, hand in hand. She didn’t see her parents, but they had to be there, probably lagging behind. Fern greeted them at the ticket booth, the kindly, chubby old lady with the yellow, thinning curls and the smile ringed in bright red lipstick. “There’s my red-headed girl!” she said by way of greeting. “It’s about time you two were back with us!” She handed Melanie a balloon, which she passed along to Scottie, and waved them both through the gate.

(more…)

By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago

Friday Five: Five Scariest Film Monsters (Blog Hop)

I’m combining the introduction of a new regular feature with the advent of Halloween and the upcoming Blog Hop I’ll be joining in next week.  Introducing my Friday Five — which I know is not a new concept, but instead of five random things from the week, I’ll be posting my top (or, occasionally, bottom) five list for a given category.

This week’s category? In the spirit of Halloween, I give you my Top Five Scariest Film* Monsters:

*I’m using the term “film” loosely to include both movies and television, and even YouTube. Why? Because Marble Hornets.

Five: The Gentlemen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Hush”) – They have faces like grinning skulls, they float along with their creepy, straight-jacketed henchmen who look like something out of Silent Hill, they steal everyone’s voices, and oh, did I mention that they come into your room and hold you down and cut out your heart and you can’t scream because of the whole stolen voices thing? Easily the scariest demons from all seven seasons of Buffy.

(more…)

By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago

The Next Big Thing

Suspense author Jeremy Bates was kind enough to tag me for participation in this freeze-tag style blog hop that’s going around Authorville, which works like this: if you get tagged (see who I’ve tagged at the bottom of this post), just copy the following ten questions about your current work in progress and answer them over on your own blog, and then pay it forward by tagging five more authors by linking their blogs or websites at the bottom of your post and e-mailing them to let them know they’re it.

My own WIP is, as you most likely know already if you’ve been here any amount of time, Dominion of the Damned, of which I’ve got about fifteen chapters left to put a final polish on before releasing it into the wild. Without further ado…

THE TEN QUESTIONS:

(more…)

By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago

Story Time Tuesday: Eucha Falls (formerly Blackwood Park) Part Two

With Blackwood Park being only a working title, I’ve settled on the actual title of my abandoned amusement park story: Eucha Falls. I’ve racked my brain trying to remember what the park in my recurring dream was actually called, but it’s just not coming to me. At any rate, this new title feels more fitting, and definitely less like a rip-off of Rosswood Park (and you get a cookie if you know that reference).

So here’s the next scene.

Blackwood Park

Eucha Falls

Part Two

Click here for Part One.

“You sure you want to watch this?” asked Shane.

Back in the safety of Melanie’s room in the small house she shared with two other renters, she had already booted up her laptop and plugged in the camera. “I’m sure.” As the video player opened to the beginning of the footage, she reached to click the start button, but Shane grabbed her hand.

“Mel, you don’t know what we’re going to see on here. Maybe I should watch it alone first. Then I can prepare you for… for whatever.”

“You mean for watching my brother’s murder. You think I haven’t thought of that? That I haven’t been thinking about anything else since we found this thing?”

“I know. I just meant—”

“I know what you meant.” She took hold of his hand with her free on and gently pried it away. She didn’t let go, but squeezed it as she said, “If that’s what’s on this tape, then I need to see it. I need to know.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. Melanie took a deep breath, and clicked Play. (more…)

By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago

Story Time Tuesday: Blackwood Park

As I work on getting Dominion and my trunk novel The Hero Factor ready for publication, I’ll be exercising my writing muscles by working on my short story skills.  This story, started a week or so before I started that job that didn’t work out and tentatively titled Blackwood Park, isn’t really that short — I think it’s going to come out to around 15,000 words when all is said and done, so more of a novellette, really. This is why I need to practice the short part of short stories. But it’s appropriate for Halloween season, and hopefully by committing to updating it each week I’ll be motivated to write new scenes on the weekends. And so, I give you Story Time Tuesdays, wherein subsequent parts of this story will appear each Tuesday until it’s done, and hopefully after that, newer, shorter stories will get written and posted.

Blackwood Park

Part One

 

NO NEW LEADS IN MISSING TEENS CASE

TULSA, Oklahoma – One year after two Tulsa teenagers went missing, state and local investigators say there are no new leads in the case. Scott Fisher, 18, and James Lee, 17, had told friends and family that they were going to spend the weekend of August 20th hiking and camping in the woods near Lake Eucha. They were last seen the morning of the 20th in a convenience store just outside of Locust Grove. Witnesses, including the store clerk, say that nothing appeared odd or unusual about the boys.

A team of police and rescuers were dispatched to search the lake and surrounding areas after the boys failed to return home or check in on the following Monday. Fisher’s car was found abandoned and burned on the side of a dead-end road just off of Highway 10, near the site of the abandoned Blackwood Park amusement park. Despite the apparent car fire, Police found no evidence of either a car accident or foul play, and the search and rescue team found no trace of either boy.  (more…)

By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago