It’s October.
It’s time for something special.
Each October, I devote certain posts to “Celebrating All Things Spooky.” This usually means horror, but not always. Last year, one article featured Pokémon (and a giveaway).
And of course, for the readers among you, I highlight my own spooky stories.
Spooky Stories
My horror/comedy novella The Accidental Zombie has been revised since last year, so it’s worth looking into. My Lovecraftian serial The Book at Dernier ran into some formatting issues with the website, but I’ve added links to help you navigate it.
Two new stories have been added to the list. “Sand,” available in The Mad Scientist Journal tells a story of a scholar who delves into the dark secrets of an ancient civilization. It was inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and Professor Layton.
“Lovecraft meets Layton” isn’t a combination you encounter often.
Next, check out Wicked Words Quarterly to read “Rokurokubi,” inspired by the yokai from Japanese mythology.
And of course, you can find links to all my short stories and flash fiction right here. Let me know your favorites.
What to Expect
Okay, in past years I haven’t exactly stuck to a schedule for Celebrating All Things Spooky.
This year, we’ve got one. Come back every Friday for a new article. The Monday and Wednesday posts will be normal articles for the site.
Expect a focus on video games… but maybe another movie will sneak in, like when I reviewed Grinch Night and Arsenic & Old Lace.
Comment on and share the articles you like the most, and this year we’ll have a special incentive…
Giveaway
To thank you for your participation, you have a chance to win one of my favorite modern survival horror games, Alien: Isolation.
The winner will be randomly selected from the list of eligible entries on November 1. There are several ways to enter:
- Leave a non-anonymous, non-spam comment on any regular article (1 entry)
- Leave a non-anonymous, non-spam comment on a Celebrating All Things Spooky article (2 entries)
- Recruit a friend who leaves a non-anonymous, non-spam comment mentioning you (2 entries)
- Read any one of my stories and leave a non-anonymous comment (on this or another relevant article) about it (3 entries)
- Share a link to one of my blog posts on Twitter, up to 3 per day (3 entries)
- Write a review of one of my stories and send me the link (5 entries)
The Twitter entry method is the only one with a limit (3 per day). The rest are unlimited. For example, if you leave two comments on a regular article, you’ll get two entries.
If you are the winner, I will announce it and contact you so I can send you a Steam copy of Alien: Isolation.
As far as I know, Isolation is region-locked, so make sure you can play North American Steam games.
If you win and have no interest in Alien: Isolation, we will work out an equivalent game reward.
Good luck, and Happy October!
This year, to enhance our celebration of horror and spooky events, I held a simple contest to give away one of my favorite survival horror games, one of the few modern games to embrace the classic gameplay mechanics, Alien: Isolation.
