Halloween Haunts: Time for a Bonfire? BYOC by Dave Sakmyster

That would be "Bring Your Own Cat," and for those of us dog lovers out there, the following investigation into this certain ancient Halloween (or Samhain) practice, will bring tears of joy and long-repressed urges to break out the marshmallows and graham crackers. Black cats (like mine) don’t know how lucky they have it today. In the good old times, back when stakes were for more than just securing tents, it was commonly believed that such creatures were the familiars of witches or were the embodiment of evil itself. I favor the latter, having seen what my little monster has…
Halloween Haunts: Halloween – Derivations and Diversions by David Sakmyster

Halloween Haunts: Halloween – Derivations and Diversions by David Sakmyster

I have fond memories of my formative years playing Dungeons and Dragons and romping through some spooky forest only to come across that dreaded Will-o'-the-wisp—whatever that was. The Dungeon Master would go into the description of a bobbing spectral light, sometimes in which you could see a man’s face. Apart from these nasty critters being resistant to normal weapons and damn hard to kill, it just didn’t sound all that glamorous to say you leveled up by slaughtering some Will-o-something. But I went with it. We all did, little realizing that not only does the Will-o’-the-wisp have its origins rooted…

From Author to Screenwriter

by David Sakmyster Being on the HWA’s Stoker Jury panel for screenplays, I figured at the least I’d get to study a lot of the year’s best screenplays. I’d engage in interesting discussions about the merits, and particularly the faults, of the current crop of horror movies, and learn some tips to improve my own writing (being an aspiring screenwriter as well as an author). Being on this team did offer all those benefits for sure, and it’s still ongoing and fun to say the least; but I was even more thrilled when a few weeks ago I learned that…