If you have never heard of or read anything from the SCP Foundation, now is the time do it. I discovered this site years ago by chance and remember staying up extremely late that night reading entries. The premise of the site is that it is the database of a secret organization that catalogs and keeps strange objects and creatures. The "stories" on the website are written as entries in the database by SCP staff. There are a lot of these entries, so expect to spend some time there.
Each of the entries on the SCP Foundation wiki was created by a fan who took the time to carefully craft an SCP. Now, before you groan at the thought of user-generated content, let me tell you that the site is rigorously policed. If something is not up to par and done by the site's specific guidelines, it is gone. The result is a very consistent collection of SCPs. Now, my favorites, which is what we are getting to, are all scary or creepy ones, so if that is not your thing, head over to the site without my guidance. If you like scary, check these out.
SCP-173
This SCP entry is the highest rated on the entire site, so I guess I'm not the only one who likes it. It is brief, but brilliant despite its brevity. The picture (many of these entries come with a picture of an object or creature) is a strange humanoid thing in a room with what looks like brown gunk on the floor. It also appears to have blood on its face. Creepy enough, but kind of par for course when it comes to fright. It's the description and how this creature must be contained that will get you. Doctor Who fans will be reminded of "Blink."
SCP-231
This SCP is left up to the imagination for the most part. There are so many pieces of the entry left out on purpose and so much allusion to a horrific series of acts done for the greater good, so to speak, that the reader has to fill in many of the blanks. If you are anything like me, this will leave you with a chilling tale. Feel free to comment here about your thoughts on this SCP.
SCP-087
I both love and hate SCP-087. The set up for the chills is brilliant. The picture is perfect for the entry. There is a ton of extra content that is well worth the read. Of the three here, this one is my new favorite, if only for the amount of additional content that adds to the story so well. What you are going to get is a seemingly never-ending staircase down into nowhere, the sound of a baby crying and a menacing humanoid entity that makes me super psyched that this kind of thing is not real.
Please, if any of you ever try your hand at writing an SCP, share it here. I love reading these things and love being pointed in the direction of new ones. Also, good luck, whether you are a reader, writer or both.
Shelly Barclay
Short Story Review: "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is one of the most chilling short stories of the 20th century. It is not horror, but it is horrifying. It is not religious, but it is a commentary on blind tradition. It is not violent, but it hints at a violence that is intolerable to most of us. All in all, it is just a few pages that are well worth the effort it takes to read them. The brevity itself lends yet another element to the story, as it amazingly needs no more words to say quite a lot.
This paragraph is going to be a bit of a spoiler. Sorry, it is hard to write about such a short story without spoiling anything. You can go ahead and skip to the next. I promise I will stop my spoiling short of the next paragraph. "The Lottery" surrounds an eponymous event that is described with such complete lack of emotional involvement by the writer that the reader is forced to draw all of their own conclusions about emotions and morality with the sudden realization that comes at the end -- these casually talking people are figuratively drawing straws on who is going to get stoned to death and no one is going to stop short of throwing stones, even if it is at Mommy. It adds up to a scathing, though utterly simple, look at the ignorance of blindly following tradition for the sake of tradition.
There is not much to say about "The Lottery" that the story does not say for itself. Jackson used as few words as possible to tell a story that is much more complex in its ideas than it is in its scope. It is one of the few stories that cannot be properly dissected in fewer words than the story itself. I really have no words for the level of sophistication in simplicity that she achieved and can only urge you to read this story, if you have not yet done so.
Shelly Barclay
This paragraph is going to be a bit of a spoiler. Sorry, it is hard to write about such a short story without spoiling anything. You can go ahead and skip to the next. I promise I will stop my spoiling short of the next paragraph. "The Lottery" surrounds an eponymous event that is described with such complete lack of emotional involvement by the writer that the reader is forced to draw all of their own conclusions about emotions and morality with the sudden realization that comes at the end -- these casually talking people are figuratively drawing straws on who is going to get stoned to death and no one is going to stop short of throwing stones, even if it is at Mommy. It adds up to a scathing, though utterly simple, look at the ignorance of blindly following tradition for the sake of tradition.
There is not much to say about "The Lottery" that the story does not say for itself. Jackson used as few words as possible to tell a story that is much more complex in its ideas than it is in its scope. It is one of the few stories that cannot be properly dissected in fewer words than the story itself. I really have no words for the level of sophistication in simplicity that she achieved and can only urge you to read this story, if you have not yet done so.
Shelly Barclay
Short Story Review: "The Fog Horn" by Ray Bradbury
"The Fog Horn" by Ray Bradbury is quite short, even for a short story, but it combines several themes that result in a story that is both unusual and thought provoking. Anyone with a heightened interest in classic literature has come across the lighthouse keeper stories, sea serpent stories, man against wild stories and sad tales of a beast that is the last of its kind, but, to my knowledge, there is no other that brings together all of these elements.
It takes only a page for Bradbury to hint at something strange and perhaps one or two more to bring it right to the reader. There is no real interaction with the antagonist of the story. The narrator and his companion can only watch and experience the strangeness of an ancient beast and how a fog horn breaks its heart.
There are two reasons you should give "The Fog Horn" a chance. Firstly, this is Ray Bradbury. If he has ever had a miss, I have not yet seen it. Secondly, it is so short that you have barely any time to lose.
Shelly Barclay
It takes only a page for Bradbury to hint at something strange and perhaps one or two more to bring it right to the reader. There is no real interaction with the antagonist of the story. The narrator and his companion can only watch and experience the strangeness of an ancient beast and how a fog horn breaks its heart.
There are two reasons you should give "The Fog Horn" a chance. Firstly, this is Ray Bradbury. If he has ever had a miss, I have not yet seen it. Secondly, it is so short that you have barely any time to lose.
Shelly Barclay
Book Review: "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" by Douglas Adams
"The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" is a Dirk Gently novel by the science fiction and humor mastermind Douglas Adams. It follows the adventures of Dirk and a woman who met Thor while waiting to board a plane at Heathrow Airport as they mingle with gods, psychopaths, mechanics and eagles. Before jumping into this book, you should know that this is no "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy," but what is? It still amounts to good, if not entirely comprehensible, reading.
One thing you will notice about "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" is that Douglas Adams' trademark sense of humor is present and accounted for. You will certainly get a laugh or two if you do not mind heads spinning on records and petulant gods saying things that do not make sense and will never make sense no matter how many pages you read.
A friend of mine, who happens to be British and we all know they love Adams, actually said to me that he loves Douglas Adams, but not Dirk Gently. He could never find himself enjoying the Gently novels. While I could definitely consume more than one, I was surprised at how easily I could put the book down and walk away. In fact, reading time during my dance with this book became nap time more often than not. You can decide for yourself what you think that says about it. The fact remains that it was written well and by a Shelly-appointed genius, so we really should not complain.
Shelly Barclay
Novella Review: "Mile 81" by Stephen King
"Mile 81" is one of Stephen King's shortest novellas. Its scope is even small for a short story, but it packs the same punch as King's better works. Expect to read it in a single sitting and have a few, "Oh, King" moments when you read it. I should also point out that readers of "On Writing" will almost be able to see the advice King gives at work in "Mile 81." It might be the shortness of the novel or the smallish area of the setting, but he's bravely leaving a lot up to the imagination and this imagination took the bait.
This piece hearkens back to some of King's earliest works in many ways, but it also has some mentions more modern things than this reader of early backwoods King novels is used to. For example, he mentions the Facebook game "Words with Friends," and even has a cop playing it on an iPad. Slow down, Mr. King. I still want banana seated Schwinns from you, sir. Anyway, it all pans out in that eerie way that Stephen King makes you see a book as though through a '50s or '60s looking glass, and then, "Bam!" there's the token young man seeing a poster, but this one is shaved. (If you've read "Dreamcatcher," you know the kind of poster I mean!) It's a Burger King and not a vintage restaurant chain. It's an SUV instead of a pickup. Well, maybe that's me, but I liked the reminders of it being a modern time, as it contrasted with the novella's focal point -- a muddy station wagon.
When I say that "Mile 81" hearkens back to early King, I mean it in several ways, but none more than the monster car theme it has going. Part of me wonders what horrible or wonderful experience Stephen King had with a car when he was a child that made him able to imagine them in such a way. My favorite was "From a Buick 8," but the inevitable unanswered questions of such a short story make "Mile 81" tasty for me as well. I both love and hate unanswered questions in a story. Perhaps that is why I like King so much.
Before I go, there is one more thing I have to point out and that is that readers will likely appreciate the pace of this novella. Stephen King has a tendency to jump back and forth between dragging butt and hauling it in his full-length novels. Even some of his short stories are a little too verbose when I am chomping at the bit for something to happen, but not "Mile 81." Every break to a new chapter ends with something interesting and starts with the promise of the same. From a kid going to sleep on a questionable mattress in a questionable place to a couple of children stranded on the side of the road, there is plenty of suspense, but not one single pause before the suspense is satisfied.
Shelly Barclay
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