Growing up Paranormal

Now that I think about it I was probably a weird kid. From a very young age I was fascinated with the paranormal, especially horror movies and books. I remember staying up to watch the late night scary movies hosted by various strange hosts like Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. My favorite movies were the classic horror movies, the black and white Dracula and Wolfman, and the 1970’s Dracula movies starring Frank Langella.

My décor in my bedroom included glow-in-the-dark models of Dracula and Wolfman. Not really normal for a girl, right? My collection of books included Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Dean Koontz, collections of short ghost/horror stories and Ann Rice’s vamps and witches. I was into vampires long before they became trendy and sparkly. I still have a fascination with skulls and keep my macabre collection out all year. It’s Halloween all the time for me.

Growing up a horror fan, it would seem natural for me to write horror. Not exactly. I did write some short horror stories way back when I became serious about writing, but they were never published, and for good reason. Somehow I ended up writing romance, which is strange because I didn’t read much romance growing up. I think what changed my mind was Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. It was a romance, but it wasn’t the usual formulaic romance. I decided to try writing romance and adding the elements I like—Celtic mythology, fantasy, paranormal, magic and otherworldly creatures like faeries (not the tiny, sparkly good kind), gods and goddesses, shifters and ancient vampires. All that time spent watching horror movies and reading horror stories was well worth it.

With my love of the paranormal, horror and Halloween, it was natural for me to be drawn to the ancient Celts, the founders of Samhain/Halloween and a people linked with the mystical realm. This is how I came to write Celtic historical romances with paranormal/fantasy elements.

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A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

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Screamin' Good Movies and Books!

Thoughts of Halloween bring to mind all that's scary. And you know what scares me? Spiders!

Back in the 90's, Arachnophobia was my worst nightmare on the big screen. Thousands of spiders running amuck! Do you remember some even flew?? Yuck!!

Movies with the devil in them are especially frightful for me. Rosemary's Baby immediately comes to mind. What? You weren't scared? Oh, come on! Don't tell me you didn't give narrow-eyed scrutiny to some of your friends after that one! One could never be sure if they were your friend or…

The next choice scared the crap out of me. This movie ranked high enough to have a dedicated blog post here at Tabby's Nocturnal Nights. The Amityville Horror, based on a true story. Movies just don't get much scarier.

Nightmare on Elm Street and other horror movies didn't make my short list. I don't equate gruesome with scary. Honorable mention: Dawn of the Dead

Let's take a look at some hair-raising books that shiver on the bookshelf –

Number One on the Sheri Fredricks' list of all time scary favorites was published in 1971. The book has continued to evoke rippling effects that many demonic movies use for a base line. The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty, became a bestseller with fans screaming their way to a movie two short years later. I'm still screaming…

A book that made me question if vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and the like were real or not is Ghost Story, by Peter Straub. Haven't read it yet? Pull on your big girl panties and give the book a try. You'll never look at paranormal the same way again.

How could I every forget the master of BOO: Stephen King. Every novel kept the night-light on for many readers. "It" was voted (don't ask me where, I didn't make note!) his number one scariest.

Honorable mention because GOD HELP US should this happen to any writer: Misery, also by Stephen King. I wonder what Mr. King's house is like this time of year. Hmm…

Now it's your turn to name a movie and/or book that goosebumps its way to your numero uno spot as being an all time good scare!