Vrykolakas—the modern Greek undead that wants to eat your liver. Read more to find out how to protect yourself and learn about how to pronounce the word while you're at it.

Still working on the whole move across the country thing. This is the second time in my life I've done it.

More fun with two-sentence horror.

The movies full of gore and violence used to be just fine for kids of all ages!

Moving across the country is a lot of work.

A little fun with two-sentence horror.

This is an interesting true crime case. I didn't know where I'd end up on it when I began researching, but I uncovered some strange things. Perhaps you've heard of Big Lurch, the rapper cannibal who murdered and ate his girlfriend. If you've previously seen a headline similar to what I just wrote, then let's set the record straight right now. Yes, Big Lurch is a rapper. No, the victim wasn't his girlfriend. Murder and cannibalism? It's not as clear as it first appears.

I publish my newsletter via email. I post archives on my website, and I select a few from the archives to post on Reddit, Medium, and Vocal. No matter how often I look at an article, check the links, re-read it, etc. I always find something that needs a slight adjustment.

This one took a while because Amelia just wouldn't sit still.

For every story out there, for every monster, there are tropes. It happens with them all, but somewhere, there's a beginning. A place where the tropes start, a story where we can point our finger and say, "that right there is where vampires first got their fangs!" That's Varney the Vampire. The origin of fictional vampires with fangs. And that's not all.

What kind of crazy world are we living in? Tae and I were trying to remember the name of the psychic phone networks advertised on TV back in the '90s, and as we were Googling, my browser autocompleted to "Dionne Warwick vs. Oreo."

Before you meet my parents, there's something you should know...

Did you know that a woman named Milicent Patrick designed "the Creature"—also known as Gill-man—the monster in the 1954 film The Creature from the Black Lagoon?

I was typing up part of Absolution: Behind the Scenes and ranted a little bit, and thought I'd place it here in a blog, as it was a bit of a tangent away from the main topic. So, here's some context for you: You know those TV shows, films, and even books that tell you a writer banged out a new great novel over a weekend of booze and sex with strangers?

I had a lot of fun making the Nihilify medication parody, so I decided to try another fake commercial—this time for a game.

Zdzisław Beksiński. Have you ever heard of him? Even if you have, you're in for a visual treat.

I keep seeing news about the shelling in Ukraine by Russia and can't help but think of how much life and legacy are being destroyed. Everything that people worked so hard to create, accomplish, and put into the world—gone in an instant.

A fake drug commercial I made. Instagram censored me for this one.

There are a lot of criminal cases from around the world that barely (or never) make English-language news. I'm about to walk you through one of those that was pretty famous in Sweden, but you're unlikely to have heard of it unless you follow Swedish crime, black metal (particularly second wave), or Satanic news.

An expert has comprehensive and authoritative knowledge on a subject or skill, but how do you know a person is an expert? I don't have a good answer for this. Often, it seems that there's a college degree plus years of experience, but what about things where such schooling doesn't exist?

Just a little fun with retro sci-fi.

The invasion of a sovereign nation should never happen, and my heart goes out to Ukraine and all of the people around the world affected and everyone trying their best to do what they can to help. I've been doing what I can with donations, spreading awareness, and contacting my representatives so they know my opinion. I don't know where all of this will go or where it will end up, but I know that I would like to live in a peaceful world.

Oh, beautiful Lake Tahoe. Just look at that blue sky, freshwater, green forest, and monstrous snake creature.

A little dark humor about weekly horror writing prompts.

I first learned about the Tamám Shud Case, aka The Mystery of the Somerton Man, years ago. I researched it and found it to be a confusing mess. There has been so much that's happened, and there are so many theories on it. Occasionally, I revisit it and discover new developments. The following is my own high-level case briefing.