Whistling Past The Graveyard

Halloween is less than three weeks away, and everywhere I look there are Fright Fests and Zombie Walks, Halloween Spooktaculars, Haunted Corn Mazes, Haunted Houses, Scream-O-Geddons and ZooBoos, all evidence that a good scare is something a lot of people enjoy. As a writer of supernatural fiction, I get it, but it makes me wonder...what it is about that little shiver down our spine that we find so compelling?

Personally, I've never been into chain-saw wielding maniacs or cannibal clowns, but I love Halloween because it's the only holiday that allows me, as an adult, to tiptoe past the forgotten graveyard of my childhood, when I slept with a scarf around my neck because I believed that vampires were real. (I kept a little glow-in-the-dark cross handy, too, just in case the vampires wouldn't see it otherwise.) My friends and I would roam the neighborhood on Halloween night, wild and free, demanding candy and leaping out of the bushes to shout "Boo!" at the smaller kids, then go home and gorge on candy while scaring ourselves silly with a Ouija board. Because of all the fun and freedom I once had as a kid on All Hallow's Eve, I try my best to give the neighborhood kids the same experience and go all out: fog machines, black lights, spooky music and tombstones in the yard, tons of candy and lots of atmosphere. Some of those kids are afraid to walk though the foggy Halloween graveyard that leads to my door, but most of them do it, because they know that there are treats to be had if they're brave enough to face their fears.

That wonderful little shiver down the spine is why I go to all that trouble for just a few hours of fun, and it's also why I wrote a special collection of short stories called WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD. I had too many spooky stories rattling around inside my head about ghosts, witches, vampires and werewolves to leave them untold, and I've combined them all here, including a brand-new Nicki Styx novella (part of my ghostly Nicki Styx series, which you can read about on my website.) I did not include any stories about chain-saw wielding maniacs or cannibal clowns, but I've made up for it by lowering the price to only $2.99 in honor of Halloween!

So, while I can't give you any candy, I can give you a spooky little shiver down your spine as you make your way down the path through a virtual Halloween graveyard. ‘Tis the season to be scary… have a safe and happy Halloween!
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Terri Garey is a Supernatural Underground author who writes award-winning and critically-acclaimed urban fantasy. Even though she's a big scaredy-cat who can't watch horror movies or visit haunted houses, she loves moonlit graveyards, moss-covered headstones and the idea that life goes on even after it's over. Visit her on the web at TGarey.com, or friend her on Facebook.