I can’t wait to tell you all the good news! My short fiction horror story, Skin, will appear in the November issue of the Horror Zine! I am so happy. I am so excited! I now have one more amazing reason to love fall. I never imagined I would get that story published. I got so many rejections but it proves that perseverance and faith pay off. I will post the link here when it is available. I am very happy about that. And no wonder.
It is so hot here today, as I type at my Mom’s keyboard. I am determined to reach up to 900 blog posts. I’m getting there. My kitty Penny loves it here. She is here somewhere, covering the furniture and chairs with all her abundant cat hair.
I love herbs. I am sure that anyone who has been loyally following this blog, and I hope some of you do, would know I am a fanatic for herbs. I brought more herbs home recently. I got black petunia flowers, a tricolor sage, another apple mint, calendula, borage and lovage. My garden is beautiful. The apple mint is growing well so I added a second apple mint. The lemon balm patch is huge. I plan to divide it this fall. Then I will have more room in my garden for other herbs. My green pepper plant is starting to show peppers. No tomatoes yet but I am sure they will show up. I bought copper ties to deter the slugs and placed the ties at the bases of my beans, pepper, squash plants. I also added them to the black petunias. I hope the copper ties help.
This weekend, I plan to make jam with all the frozen fruit in my freezer. Blueberries, strawberries, haskap berries and rhubarb lie in wait. I look forward to that. I also have frozen orange rind. Mm I can imagine the taste already.
The purple coneflower is coming along and will soon be in bloom. I am not 100% certain yet what is going on with my elecampane plant. I cut the lovage back and I noticed new growth. The mint herbs I have: apple mint, peppermint, spearmint, after eight mint and strawberry mint are growing well. They will make nice tea herbs. The lemon balm intends to take over the garden and makes no mystery about it. The nettle is growing well but I didn’t get much mugwort this year. The comfrey is growing well but I need to tie up the canes. I spied a few Chinese lanterns are growing well. The blueberries will be ripe soon and so will the raspberries. My garden receives more sunlight because the hurricane broke a tree branch. I believe that is why my garden is so beautiful and fruitful this year. The sage and oregano are growing well too as are the lavender and rosemary.
My garden surprises me every year. I regularly water my garden, protect it, and fertilize it. I add plant supports and I usually just stand back and let my garden do its thing. I love gardening and watching my plants become beautiful and vibrant. I suppose I could bring in the lavender. I will bring in the rosemary, since I have a grow light kit. I plan to harvest a lot of dandelion roots this fall and use my dehydrator to dry them.
I really want to see the upcoming horror movie, The Last Voyage of the Demeter. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001520/ I really can’t wait and I have saved up for it. The other movie I want to see is the new instalment in The Conjuring franchise, Insidious: The Red Door. Yeah I love the movies so much, of The Conjuring and Insidious. I want to write more horror stories (well, see top paragraph for a good explanation of why.) Pretty darn nice to get it published! I never expected that. Yeah I have to keep writing. Moments like that renew my enthusiasm and give me one more reason to keep living and keep going. It’s a bad idea to quit writing, no matter how hard, because one day that editor may send you an acceptance email. So please, persevere! Prove your mettle!
And stay cool during all this great hot summer heat. It won’t last. Fall is around the corner!
I started writing seriously in high school after reading several of Stephen King’s novels; I got hooked on horror at the tender age of twelve when an aunt gave me a copy of Cujo. I’ve been reading Stephen King’s books ever since. Growing up during the 1980s, I noticed there weren’t very may women writing scary stories. Inspired, I set out to change that. Why should men have all the fun, writing frightfully good fiction? After all, women are highly attuned to emotions — clearly capable of delivering subtle scares, as well as visceral visions that linger long after the reader turns the final page.
Horror is such a primal emotion. Humans have always endured dread — it’s enmeshed in our subconscious — the very essence of our being. Countless stories have been told about what scares us; an innumerable amount await.
When I first submitted my stories for publication, I encountered lots of rejection. Uncertain if this was because I was a woman, or due to the fact I was new to the genre, I eschewed self-doubt and quickly progressed from form rejection letters to the inclusion of personal comments, which proved quite useful. Fears unfounded. As the submission process evolved from via snail mail — don’t forget to include a SASE — to email, and ultimately Submittable, I grew bolder, grateful for Editors’ comments and fresh perspective, which enabled me to grow as a writer and submit my work to another market, where it was usually accepted.
After several stories found homes in various magazines, I challenged myself to send stories to anthologies and have been published in several. Such an honor when Editor Billie Sue Mosiman invited me to submit a story to Fright Mare, an all-female author anthology published in 2016, that featured stories by: Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Elizabeth Massie, Kathryn Ptacek, Loren Rhoads, Lucy Taylor, just to name a few. Twenty authors in all. It’s a fantastic compilation that demonstrates that women can write frightfully-good fiction!
As a female horror author, several male authors have asked how I manage to write men so well. They’re curious about my process for capturing different nuances and mannerisms. My answer is shockingly simple: I write from experience — the men in my life, past and present provide ample inspiration for my characters. Over the years, I’ve based male characters in my novellas and stories on co-workers, ex-boyfriends, or family. No man that crosses my path is safe from scrutiny.
Whether it’s his piercing blue eyes, the scuff of his beard when he kisses me, or the quiet desperation of a homeless man camped out on the sidewalk in front of his cardboard condo, rattling— clink, clink, clink — a dark, blue paper cup full of grimy change and crumpled dollar bills that says, IT’S OUR PLEASURE TO SERVE YOU in wavy, white letters that rise like steam, I’m always focused on minute details. A casual passerby that interests me starts out as a character sketch in a little, red notebook I carry with me everywhere, and if he’s interesting enough, I’ll flesh him out and work him into my latest novella or story.
I’ve been a published horror author for over twenty-five years, and while I’ve had my fair share of successes, there have been a few daunting experiences, too. I despise the misconception that only men can write effective horror. During the mid-1990s, when I started to attend conventions, I was one of a handful female horror authors there, part of a vast minority. We women banded together, seeking camaraderie.
When I first started out, I felt a bit intimidated by all of the male horror authors gathered together. I had male horror authors come up to me and ask, “Who are you here with? Where’s your boyfriend?” I would muster up some courage and say, “I’m here promoting my work. Come check out my reading at 3:00 p.m.” And some of those guys would show up and admit afterward that I’d managed to scare them.
The horror genre is a bit of a boy’s club, no doubt about it. The odds are stacked against female authors, but creative, ambitious women will always find a way to run with the boys. Besides me, over five hundred successful horror authors come to mind: Megan Abbott, Maria Abrams, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Linda Addison, Erin Al-Mehairi, Ania Ahlborn, Christy Aldridge, Viotlet Allen, C.S. Alleyne, Scarlett R. Algee, Scarlett Amaris, Gemma Amor, Meghan Arcuri, Kristen Arnett Margaret Atwood, Carmen Baca, Eugen Bacon, Suzanne Baginskie, Patty Barrué, Meghan Ball, Zuzanne Belec, Nico Bell, Jennifer Bernardini, Carina Marie Bissett, T.L. Bodine, Ava Black, Joanna Ho Bradshaw, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Theresa Braun, Jennifer Brody, N.M. Brown, Tiffany Michelle Brown, Jennifer Brozek, Nadia Bulkin, Liz Butcher, Chesya Burke, R.A. Busby, P. D. Cacek, Shelly Campbell, Somer Canon, Tracy Carbone, Ann Dávila Cardinal, Christa Carmen, Elsa Carruthers, Clare Castleberry, V. Castro, Catherine Cavendish, Autumn Christian, Zen Cho, Jennifer Preston Chushcoff, Kristin Cleaveland, Donyae Coles, Jen Conley, S.H. Cooper, Tracy Cross, Jennifer Crow, Elizabeth Crowens, Nicole Cushing, Nina D’Arcangela, M. Lopes da Silva, Victoria Dalpe, Chelsea Davis, Randee Dawn, Sandy DeLuca, Kristi DeMeester, A.K. Dennis, Shawnna Deresch, Amanda Desiree, M.M. De Voe, Theresa Derwin, Ellie Douglas, Tananarive Due, H.B. Diaz, Denise Dumars, Sarah Duck-Mayr, Megan Jauregui Eccles, Inna Effress, Tori Eldridge, Meg Elison, Stephanie Ellis, Kelly Evans, Destiny Eve, Tracy Fahey, Gabrielle Faust, Alyson Faye, Epiphany Farrell, Kelly Florence, Geneve Flynn, Gillian Flynn, Dona Fox, Sara Gran, Graylin Fox, Lara Frater, Fran Friel, Laura Frost, Doungjai Gam, Holly Rae Garcia, Rhonda J. Garcia, Cate Gardner, Kristin Garth, Lisa Garvey, Fiona Maeve Geist, Christine M. Germain, Emma J. Gibbon, Megan Giddings, Jill Girardi, Sephera Giron, Larissa Glasser, Elana Gomel, Jewelle Gomez, Jennifer Anne Gordon, Courtney Gould, Misha Green, April Grey, K.C. Grifant, Taylor Grothe, D.M. Guay, Jessica Guess, Carol Gyzander, Meg Hafdahl, Polly Hall, Elizabeth Hand, Eve Harms, Rachel Harrison, Meghan Hart, Rachel Sadie Hartmann, Maria Haskins, Shannah Heath, Wendy Heard, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Nicole Henneman, Christina Henry, Karen Heuler, Laurel Hightower, Alicia Hilton, Rowan Hill, Jennifer Hillier, Nancy Holder, Kat Howard, Claire C. Holland, Emily Hughes, D.K. Hundt, June Hur, Tonya Hurley, Natalie Ironside, Vanessa Jae, Ruthann Jagge, Serena Jayne, Kenzie Jennings, Miranda Jewess, Heddy Johannesen, Carole Johnstone, B.F. Jones, Lisa Jones, Rhonda Jackson Joseph, Mona Kabbani, Magda Kaluzynska, Jo Kaplan, Alma Katsu, Laura Keating, Erinn Kemper, Caroline Kepnes, Cassandra Khaw, Nancy Kilpatrick, Gwendolyn Kiste, E.V. Knight, Gini Koch, K.H. Koehler, Kathe Koja, Samantha Kolesnik, Stevie Kopas, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Barbara Krasnoff, Naomi Kritzer, Monica Kuebler, Debbie Kuhn, K.P. Kulski, Laura Kurtz, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Carrie Laben, Red Lagoe, N.R. Lambert, Angela LaManna, Charie D. LaMarr, Jess Landry, Michelle Lane, Sarah Langan, Marie Lanza, Tara Laskowski, Estelle Laure, Shannon Lawrence, Deborah LeBlanc, Heather Levy, Beverley Lee, Ginger Lee, Lindsay Lerman, Susanne Leist, Tonya Liburd, Patricia Lillie, Livia Llewellyn, Lori Lopez, Erin Louis, Lynn Love, Leslie Lutz, Donna Lynch, Sian MacArthur, Carmen Maria Machado, L.L. Madrid, Katie Manning, Caitlin Marceau, Chris Marrs, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Rena Mason, Laura Mauro, Catherine McCarthy, J.A.W. McCarthy, Angel Leigh McCoy, Kathryn E. McGee, Seanan McGuire, Jessica McHugh, Mandy McHugh, Claire McKenna, Angel McCoy, Jennifer McMahon, Lauren McMenemy, Gale Meadows, Maryse Meijer, Claudette Melanson, Melissa Mendelson, Helen Merrick, Toni Miller, Renee Miller, S.P. Miskowski, Villimey Mist, Archita Mittra, Carole Ann Moleti, Hillary Monahan, J.H. Moncrieff, Sarah Moorhead, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Briana Morgan, Christine Morgan, Tiff Morris, Laura Morrison, Lisa Morton, J. Motoki, Cheryl Mullenax, Amy-Jean Muller, Allison Mulvihill, Iseult Murphy, Ksenia Murray, Lee Murray, Mae Murray, Ilana C. Myer, Natasha Nafrini, Fergal F. Nally, Victoria Nations, Annie Neugebauer, Mari Ness, T.J. Newman, Heidi Nickerson, Thana Niveau, Christi Nogle, Columbkill Noonan, Rachel Nussbaum, Joyce Carol Oates, Ihuoma Ofordire, Nnedi Okorafor, Nuzo Onoh, Mallory O’Meara, Cindy O’Quinn, Marie O’Regan, Kelli Owen, Kathy Palm, Adele Park, Ash Parsons, Joanna Parypinski, Alison Peirse, Cynthia (Cina) Pelayo, Mocha Pennington, Jessica Peter, Kate Reed Petty, Lydia Peever, Sarah Pinborough, Sarah Pinsker, Janine Pipe, Hailey Piper, Charlotte Platt, Molly Pohlig, Dea Poirier, Cherie Priest, Lydia Prime, Lisa Quigley, Monique Quintana, Stephanie Rabig, Mary Rajotte, Gina Ranalli, Tonia Ransom, Tina Rath, Sarah Read, Paula R. C. Readman, Dixon Reuel, Kelly Robinson, Zin E. Rocklyn, Marsheila Rockwell, Betty Rocksteady, Eva Roslin, Eden Royce, Sian Rosé, Diana Rowland, Karen Runge, Erica Ruppert, Lindy Ryan, Sumiko Saulson, Veronica Schanoes, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Cat Scully, Barrington Smith-Seetachitt, Ali Seay, Lora Senf, Priya Sharma, Deborah Sheldon, Natashia Sinclar, Jennifer Soucy, Yolanda Sfetsos, Katherine Silva, Hildy Silverman, Marge Simon, Natasha Sinclair, Angela Slatter, Zhanna Slor, Angela Yuriko Smith, Farah Rose Smith, Christina Sng, J. Snow, Lucy A. Snyder, Monique Snyman, Jennifer Soucy, Jessica L. Sparrow, Zoje Stage, Caitlin Starling, Jessica Stevens, Jan Stinchcomb, Roni Stinger, J.A. Sullivan, Madeleine Swann, Morgan Sylvia, Angela Sylvaine, Mitzi Szereto, Anna Taborska, Denise N. Tapscott, Sonora Taylor, Sara Tantlinger, Cassandra L. Thompson, Brenda S. Tolian, Gaby Triana, Dani Trussoni, Ash Tudor, Elle Turpitt, Mary Turzillo, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Lisa Tuttle, Cameron Ulam, Gina Urso, Genevieve Valentine, Emily Verona, L.C. von Hessen, Roxie Voorhees, Damien Angelica Walters, Wendy N. Wagner, Holly Walrarth, Colleen Wanglund, Holly Lyn Walrath, Antonia Rachel Ward, Catriona Ward, Kyla Lee Ward, Kaaron Warren, Erica Waters, Vera West, Kimberly White, Sheri White, Tara Stillions Whitehead, Marie Whittaker, Hannah Whitten, Leslie Wibberley, Monica Wilcox, Fran Wilde, Emma-Claire Wilson, Mehitobel Wilson, Nicole Willson, Cassondra Windwalker, A.C. Wise, Kimberly White, Christa Wojciechowski, Nicole Wolverton, L. Marie Wood, T.L. Wood, Alex Woodroe, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Lou Yardley, Mercedes M. Yardley, Pauline Yates, Joy Yehle, and Jessica Ann York.
I’ve gotten to know many of these lovely ladies at various conventions and also on Twitter. I’ve noticed that we have several personality traits in common: We’re all extremely ambitious and self-assured — we’re not afraid to speak our minds — we’re also very outgoing and savvy.
At StokerCon™, in historic Providence, Rhode Island, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel comprised solely of female horror authors. In addition to myself, panelists included Meghan Arcuri, Mary Ann Back, April Grey, andElizabeth Massie. We packed the room and had a lively discussion about the trials and tribulations of not only how we survive in the male-dominated horror genre, but how we manage to thrive! Our legions are growing — we know no bounds…”
I am so proud to be a part of this!!
Come on girls, sharpen your pencils and voodoo quills. You’ve got work to do!
On this cool autumn morning, I took my big wreath and a can of black spray paint to the picnic table. I set the wreath down on the picnic table then painted it black using the spray can. It looks so cool now. I was careful to completely coat the wreath on both sides. Then I left the wreath to dry on my stone step and now it’s on the top of the bookcase. When it is fully dry in twenty-four hours, I will hot glue the black widow spiders, smaller spiders and the skull to the wreath. Note* I put a black plastic garbage bag under the wreath to avoid any stains or the wreath sticking to the bookcase.
It looks like this now:
I will post a photo when it is done. It will look really cool and spooky!
Tonight I plan to watch The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix. I do love a good ghost story! The wind is blowing hard here. That autumnal chill is in the air. The sky is grey and overcast. It’s October for sure. I plan to enjoy every minute of it. I don’t have to work too hard to decorate my home since it looks Samhain all year long in here.
Samhain has hit me – well, technically it’s still Mabon, with an urge to be truly creative. I saw down to do sewing today. The wreath, changing my room around, the corn doll, and the desire to paint my furniture black. My only problem with painting is how to keep my kitty from it. I plan to barricade my bedroom, set down the drop cloth and start painting. I plan to do that once I finish the cosplay costume. One thing at a time.
But today like the other time, something went wrong. That has been my week in a nutshell. The hot water was gone, this and that. Ugh anyway I hope the worst is over. So I will finish the costume once I buy more black thread. But doing one project at a time lets me focus on it more closely.
Once the black stand the bookcase are painted black and the paint has dried, I want to add Halloween stickers. The black color will make the stickers look more natural. The Halloween skull faces will hopefully look like they are emerging from the bookcase- black paint. I have spider stickers to add too. Again, I promise pictures when I am done.
I placed photos of my beloved late pets and of my grandfather on my altar today. I lit sage and a candle. I welcomed them to my space. It’s a tradition to acknowledge and honor those who have gone before us at this time. Here is a photo of my festive fall altar:
I love this time of year! I bought the skull hung above the altar at Spirit Halloween. I wish it was real!
Tell me about your aspirations, traditions or crafts you do now. That voodoo you do!
It’s cool. It’s seductive. It has a hold over us, like a spell, a tentacle that reaches out from the closet of our darkest dreams and pulls us in. Horror has worked its dark magic on readers and viewers since we sat around campfires and told each other stories to send chills down spines.
I like to write dark fiction. I began writing dark fiction unexpectedly. I found a market for it. I do like horror and have watched several horror movies. I study the horror movies as a way to learn how to write horror fiction.
I do not shrink from the dark side of life. I am drawn to it. I want to know what exists there, what lurks, what fears I have to conquer. I own a fake human skull, honor a dark goddess Hekate, visit cemeteries, sport black nail polish, wear skull earrings and rings, wear black and read writers like Poe and Shelley and Lovecraft. It is my life. I am a member of the Horror Writers Association.
Black draws energy in and invites spirits to interact with me. I am an aspiring paranormal investigator. But I have gotten a rap on the wrist a few times for my darker aspirations. I was criticized for wanting to write about the dark goddesses such as Hekate, wanting to include the dark gods in the tarot, or writing too darkly for some editor’s tastes. This is why I am a member of the Horror Writers Association. I feel like the association is a home, a retreat. I feel understood for why I do what I do. They understand me.
I just square my shoulders and keep typing. I just write for those who do appreciate my preferences. I keep a fake human skull on my desk or near my desk to inspire and remind me of my mortality. We as writers or artists have so much freedom within the genre to address issues or themes, especially within horror. We can demonize our fears in stories then turn away from it or stare it in the face, depending on how we feel. Stephen King faced his fears in his stories and pushed our fears in our faces, not allowing us to turn away unless we snapped the book shut or turned off the TV.
That is not why I write horror but it is a part of it. It draws me closer, it has an attraction, an animal magnetism. And now my boyfriend who is a true horror fan has refreshed the coal fire of my own love for horror. I have been writing more, sending my own writing out to editors more and watched more horror movies. The Shining was downright shocking and horrifying. I can live without ever seeing that movie again. I have read the novel twice.
Horror has enthralled people since we could sit around a fire and share stories. It continues to this day. I hope it shall bewitch and ensnare readers and viewers well into the future.
I have watched 3-4 horror movies lately. I was not that scared. The movies were Insidious 1-2, The Possession of Hannah Grace, and Sinister. I could get a night’s sleep after watching them which means the movies needed to be scarier. I am a writer of horror fiction and seriously, I am well read. I know that in order to give readers or viewers the frights royale, it needs to be scary. I mean scary. I am talking about leaving the lights on all night and hiding under the covers kind of scared. However, after watching these predictable movies, I was like blah. So all that money is spent on making these movies and I am getting a full night’s sleep? The Exorcist holds the throne as superior in terror because it was terrifying. There is a difference between horrifying and terrifying. One of the two you experience more deeply. I won’t watch The Exorcist which deals with similar themes as the movies mentioned above. I had a nightmare about a horrific demon. I have seen scary. Not much fazes me now. There is nothing scarier than experiencing – read, enduring, something in real life. If you really want the frights royale, try that sometime. A movie ends. You can close the pages of a horror novel. But to actually experience something? Now there’s scary. It stays with you and changes you. Forever. It haunts you in the back of your mind. I still live in my apartment after what I saw in my nightmare. (The rent is low.) I still enter my broom closet but not without drawing up my shields. I am serious. The nightmare occurred in my broom closet. That thing was not sticking around. There was no way. I think directors of these movies would benefit from listening to real people’s actual accounts. They think they know scary. Listen to the people. People come into my witch shop all the time for help about dark spirits following them around. Real life is scarier. Truth is stranger than fiction. I have left a pentacle in my broom closet, salt, a jar of water (to see if it changes color- it is murky.) I have smudged with sage there. I have done an Italian spell with a lemon down there. I stabbed the lemon with pins and wound yarn around it. I left the lemon to hang in the closet and absorb the negativity. To this day, I feel like something stares back at me. I am not kidding. Sheesh. But there is no harm done yet and so I have not moved out. So these directors really need to up their act if they want to scare me. Or maybe I will write my own scary story. Blessings Spiderwitch
“Gothic horror and cosmic dread from the ghostly shores of Halifax.”
Heddy Johannesen
Conjuror of Gothic Horror
Welcome to My Monsters.
I've always been drawn to the shadows, where the monsters live and their stories hunger to be told.
I write about ghosts, monsters, witches, and outsiders, exploring the darker places where fear, mystery, grief, and the supernatural collide.
Welcome to The Paranormal Quill
Gothic Horror. Dark Folklore. Cosmic Indifference.
Step across the threshold.
I am Heddy Johannesen—conjurer of gothic horrors, paranormal nonfiction writer, and dedicated student of herbalism. From the ghostly shores of Halifax, Nova Scotia, I pull back the veil on creepy alternate dimensions and secrets that refuse to stay buried
Pull up a chair, light a candle, and explore the shadows with me. Just mind the spiderwebs.
