Halloween 2020 Anthology

I got published again. This time it’s in the Halloween 2020 short story anthology. It’s like the 2019 Halloween Anthology I was in last year, but you know, for this year.

There is no doubt that Halloween 2020 is going to go down as one of the strangest holidays ever. With lockdowns, social distancing, masks, politics, lies, violence and hate dominating every news report–every thought at times, celebrating takes on a different aspect this year.
Some people are determined to act as if everything’s normal while others are devastated that they can’t have their annual Halloween gala. Trick or treating has either been cancelled or there are so many rules in place to protect everyone from Covid-19 that it barely resembles its previous incarnations.
For the 2020 Halloween Short Story Challenge, I tasked the authors to look at Halloweens past, present and future. I suggested they view the holiday through the out-of-focus lens of 2020, but they didn’t have to. I challenged them to search outside the box, inside the box and all around the box, until they found something that resonated within them.
For many, this year has been one of loss, fear, uncertainty and apathy. It’s been hard to get out of bed let alone be creative. That’s why this was an especially difficult, yet important, Challenge.
The authors in this anthology accepted that challenge and they’ve written an incredible, eclectic assortment of Halloween stories and poems. They’ll terrify you. They’ll delight you. They’ll make you laugh. And hopefully, for at least as long as it takes you to read them, you’ll be distracted from the real-life horrors of 2020. Enjoy!

Buy it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3o1DuqM

Not every story in this anthology takes place in 2020 though, some stories are more like memories, others are just fun Halloween centric stories.

My story is a very 2020 centric story. In a world where trick or treat has been cancelled, Halloween becomes, “The Night of the Masked Children.”

So if you’re looking for seasonal read go ahead and pick up Halloween 2020 today. You might just decide to keep some candy on hand after all.

Available in eBook, paperback, and Kindle unlimited: https://cobonham.com/2019/10/24/halloween-short-story-challenge-2019-anthology/

Halloween short story challenge 2019 Anthology

Hello everyone, I wanted to let you know about a new shot story anthology that I have a story in.

 

72389416_2492090504211068_1742301497061801984_oThe 2019 Halloween Short Story Challenge is an anthology of stories that will tantalize you, terrify you and taunt you. With 25 stories and poems written by 15 authors, there’s something for everyone!

 

 

Presented in alphabetical order:
A Moment of Silence, by Annie Littlewolf
A Moonlight Rose, by Rachel Harris
A Mother’s Love-Feeding Eve, by Michelle Francik
A Spiritual Feast, by Annie Littlewolf
A Witch’s Halloween Surprise (A Fae of Calaveras Story), by Kristen S. Walker
Autumn Harvest, by Virginia M. Barilla
But This Only Happens in Movies, by Katrina O’Brien
Connection, by Michelle Francik
Coughing, by Kristen S. Walker
Darker Than Dark, by Carlos F. Gonzalez
Indulgence, by Michelle Francik
Porch Light, by Ichabod Ebenezer
Seeing Double, by C.O. Bonham
Stay Away From the Cemetery, by Brandy Galaznik
The Coming of Halloween, by Virginia M. Barilla
The Halloween Quilt, by M. Quinn Evans
The Haunted Canal Town, by Kristi Asher
The Master Chef Mouse, by Annie Littlewolf
The Musicians and the Werewolves, by Kristen S. Walker
The Pale Child. by Jeff Bacon
The Watching Eyes, by M. Quinn Evans
Thorns and Firelight, by Hannah Schofield
Touched, by M. Quinn Evans
When Love Comes, by Brandy Morrison
Wicked Rotten Apples, by Michelle Francik

Whether it’s shadows, a love story, or a flame burning bright, these stories will make you think twice about turning off the lights. Curl up with a loved one and enjoy this anthology of all things Halloween!

My story is titled “Seeing Double,” It’s about a villainous robot that can’t quite compute when everyone is dressed as his heroic target during Trick or Treat night. It feature’s Captain Galaxy and his daughter Galaxy girl.

Buy the Anthology here: https://amzn.to/32susaY

It’s available in Ebook, paperback and Kindle Unlimited.

73094731_2494059744014144_2202102656908918784_o

The Whispered Tales of Graves Grove

So you may have noticed that I’ve been posting a lot of book releases on this blog. Well I hope you aren’t sick of them because I have another one for you. This time it’s a comedy/horror anthology.  Perfect for the Halloween season.

22046039_10212177263201167_747321105951257833_n

Graves Grove isn’t your ordinary town…

Nestled within the folds of the Canadian Rockies, Graves Grove probably isn’t the picturesque place you’d like to stay for long. Peculiar things happen here. The citizens seem normal superficially–they function well enough. But each one is deeply disturbed, wrapped in secrets and neuroses which drive them to strange behaviors.

And then there are all the missing children. And why is everyone afraid of that sycamore tree?

The Whispered Tales of Graves Grove is an anthology of stories taking place throughout the history of this mysterious town, from its founding to its future. Read them…if you dare.

Here are the Graves Grove Amazon links: KindlePaperback, and even Hardcover.

Proceeds will benefit Reading is Fundamental. A non-profit that helps improve literacy skills and brings a love of reading to kids across America.

And wait until I tell you the best part.

Inside the Whispered Tales of Graves Grove you can find the short stories:

“The Canadian Cottingly” and “Fairy Troubled”

(I’ll give you one guess what those are about.)

Why are these two stories so special? Well, because they were both written by me.

Hooray for being published.

But don’t just read it for my stories. Graves Grove also contains stories from lots of other authors too.

If you are looking for a spooky collection of stories to entertain you and make you laugh, then purchase the Whispered Tales of Graves Grove and support a for a good cause.

 

 

Holding back on the Holy

Greetings all, It’s me again with another random musing. I know, it’s been awhile but at least it hasn’t been a year.

This Halloween I would like to talk about my pet peeve. It’s related because it’s about Creepy themed shows; it’s when people use Christian Theology but forget Christ.

First offender: Supernatural. TV show on the CW network.

I thought it was pretty good, about two brothers hunting the supernatural, but then they did this god awful storyline where God was well, not around and the angels were kind of jerks and the devil was there but throughout it all there was no Jesus. Lost my viewer ship after Sam and Dean were possessed by the devil and the archangel Michel.

Second Offender: Sleepy Hollow. TV Show on the FOX network.

I love Man out of time stories. So I thought this would be a cool show. So far all it does is irritate me. In the show Ichabod crane is brought to the twenty-first century to defeat the headless horseman again. Turns out that old headless is actually the first horseman of the apocalypse. Now Ichabod must use George Washington’s Bible to save the world from the end times. There’s a Bible, Bible verses are quoted, but there doesn’t seem to be much God. Come on, If part of the Bible is true then the whole thing is true.

Why is Ichabod Crane not bowing his head in prayer to blast Demons in the name of Christ. Come on Can’t you just see George Washington turning in his grave because modern TV writers have no idea what it means to be a Holy Warrior. This would have been a most awesome story if Frank Perreti had thought of it first.

Lost my viewer ship after the sin eater episode. Jesus Christ is the only sin eater that can absolve you of sin. No mortal can do it. Also Revelation is NOT about a final Supernatural battle between good and evil. ( Emphisis mine because it applies to the above show as well.) It’s about Jesus retuning for his faithful in the church. They don’t understand, you can’t stop Revelation. There will be no more Earth. It’s Heaven or Hell and the characters in these shows are not making the right choices.

Third Offender: Constantine. TV show on the NBC network

This TV show is about a man who fights demons and talks to angels. He is based on a Comic book series in the DC universe and I confess to only watching one episode of the show and reading none of the comics. But It looks like this guy managed to get an innocent sent to hell and now his own soul is forfeit.

The problem is that Jesus is the one who decides if your soul is forfeit or not he will redeem anyone who asks. And just like there is only one way to Heaven there is also only one way to hell. Not accepting Jesus as your savior. You can’t send someone to hell they make the choice. Maybe you can help them choose poorly but that is not what the show was implying. They showed her being physically dragged to hell. I don’t think it works that way.

Also Demons can only be cast out in the name of Christ. I know of no other way that will work.

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; Mark 16:17 In my Bible these words are in Red. So the “In my Name,” bit refers to Jesus. Just to clarify. Constantine does not use the name Jesus he uses Latin incantations and Symbols.

Sadly it isn’t just TV that does this but literature as well. It’s harder with books because you can be more easily swayed by an author’s words than by a TV shows special effects. But there is a whole Genre built up around my pet peeve. So I will choose two Popular and very addictive instances that penetrated my beloved YA genre.

Book offenders:

Artemis Fowl Book by: Eion Colfer.

I almost let it slide, didn’t think about it too much when I read it the first time but then I read it again. Artemis tries to kill a Fairy using Holy Water. Holy Water. Really. Well boy genius didn’t it occur to you that if a fairy can be killed using Holy Water then there must be something Unholy about them. And if fairies are unholy then there must be a Holy power in the world that decides what is Holy. In a later book Artemis has a side thought, he wonders if saint Peter will let him into Heaven. What? Sorry genius that isn’t Peter’s call.  Artemis needs to decide what he believes. Peter might have the keys but Jesus is the gate.

Interestingly throughout the books there is this consensus among the fairies that Evolution is a fact But they also have this nature goddess that they worship, sometimes it feels like they just worship nature. So that can be confusing.

Also according to book five, Artemis Fowl and the lost Colony, Demons are fairies too. Very suspicious. These are very unholy fairies indeed. Never lost my readership, I cut him some slack, the guy is Irish after all.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp Book by: Rick Yancey

This book is about a boy named Alfred Kropp who has the worst life ever. The first few chapters just make you want to cry. It’s so sad. But exciting with a great Arthurian plot line.

Unfortunately in later books it gets into all of this catholic nonsense about Alfred being the beloved of heaven and the Arch angel Michel basically takes over the role that Jesus should have, kind of like in Supernatural.

I read the whole trilogy just to see how it ended. This guys life is sad you’re practically rooting for him to die just so he can stop suffering. I read the whole series just to see what happens to him it ends kind of how I expected it to but it was defiantly a wild ride getting there.

Interestingly Harry Potter did not upset me that much J.K. Rowling did a good job of making her world unique and separate the only complaint I have is the inclusion of Christmas but that’s a different peeve for a different time.

In conclusion I would like to end not with a Bible verse but with a song verse.

The church’s one foundation

            is Jesus Christ her Lord;

            she is his new creation

            by water and the Word.

            From heaven he came and sought her

            to be his holy bride;

            with his own blood he bought her,

            and for her life he died.

 If that verse is not the heart of your message you have no business Quoting the Bible (Unless you are Jewish quoting from the old testament) or calling on our angels or casting out demons.

Demon: A True Story

Halloween is here again. this time instead of a discourse on Vampires I am giving you a dark tale of the supernatural.  This is an actual experience of mine, it would be easy to write it off as a bizarre dream an exaggeration of an active imagination but these things do happen. Besides people who rationalize everything might never see a ghost but they never see a miracle either.

*           *           *

It began in a dream, an intense dream. The kind that doesn’t feel like a dream. In the dream I was at work assisting customers find things. “Yes sir we have GPS’s over here.” And then immediately there was another customer, “Yes ma’am the flash dives are on this wall back here,” walking them over explaining that “I’m sorry, I could have sworn they were on the wall earlier.” Near tears I see a face from the corner of my eye. The head quickly turned and the body ran off down another aisle. I started to follow it. It starts running. I am swarmed by customers they press in on me; each one insisting that I wait on them first everyone claiming that they were there before the others. I can’t take it any more I push and shove and say all of the things that I can’t actually say at work. There, the face, just for a moment and then gone again. I give chase, ignoring everyone and jumping over stack bases. Finally I catch it’s shoulder and spin it around. “Who are you?” I scream at it, “What are you doing here?” in my dream where you do not belong, I fail to finish. For the face is hideous and creepy. Green and warty with a wide mouth. But not like a toad, a toad’s face would have been kinder, this face was the image of evil the wide mouth was twisted into a wicked grin and the eyes were recessed as though they had been placed into a skull with nothing inside.

Then I awoke. I stared up at my ceiling, up at the hideous face still before me. It was there hanging upside down. The twisted grin now above the black eyes, and above the wide, twisted mouth a crouching body, frog like in form. The gargoyle kept grinning, drawing glee from my fear. I tried to call for help, but like in a nightmare that you can’t escape from, the cry of “Mommy” sticks in my throat and no sound escapes. I want to yell at it, to repeat the words of my dream. “Who are you and What are you doing here?” in real life hanging above my bed where you do not belong.

It is hard to breath when you’re scared to death. But finally I gasp a word, the only word that can ever prevail against this kind of evil. Not Mommy but Jesus. I close my eyes, because I do not have the courage or the strength to face this thing. I pray, “Lord Jesus please banish the evil from this place. Not just hidden from my mortal eyes but really gone. Please bring your peace and protection to this house and guard its residents from anymore unwelcome guests. Be they real or dreamt. Amen.”

I opened my eyes and stared at the empty ceiling. It was really gone and the room seemed a little brighter too. Then the wave of peace crashed over me it was like falling asleep after a truly exhausting day feeling so safe and so cared for that all there is left to do is sleep a real sleep that not only recharges your brain but your spirit as well.

*           *           *

Remember this Halloween, nothing can ever truly hurt you as long as God has your back.

Vampires: only a Christian can kill them

Happy Halloween!

This is a very special blog post. I understand that some people who read my blog might not realize that I am a Christian. So I am including this one time *RELIGION ALERT* if you don’t think you can handle hearing a bit of the Bible then I will not fault you for not reading but I do hope you will read and think and enjoy.

It has always struck me as weird that only a Christian can kill a vampire. You’ve got: Crosses, Holy water, and in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula Van Helsing even uses Communion bread to create barriers against Dracula. Even their vulnerability to sunlight is a metaphor for only The Son (of God) can kill them. Yet a Christian is about the last thing that you would expect to see in a Vampire horror movie.

Check out this clip from Fright Night the new remake of the 1985 cult movie.

 

This clip has a parallel scene in the original 1985 version but alas I could find no Youtube clip for it.

Interestingly, there is also a stunning parallel found in the Bible:

 “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, ‘In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. [One day] the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and over powered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.” (Acts 19:13-16 NIV)

The very name of Jesus contains power but only for those that have permission to use it.

The above verse reinforces and give credibility to the claims made in the movie Fright Night that the only way a mere mortal can take on the undead is by having a relationship with the ultimate Undead, Jesus Christ, and in so doing become Undead ourselves.  

“And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit, who lives in you.” (Romans 8:11 NIV)

Do you get it? Not just Heaven; not eternal afterlife. But Life in our mortal bodies.

Being one of the undead is great. Unlike the vampires and Zombies who terrorize and murder large numbers of people to survive a Christian only needs to feed on the soul sustaining flesh of ONE man. The Body and Blood and of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Halloween is the night that the Undead supposedly walk the earth. But Christians are the Undead.  So why is this night dominated by the forces of Darkness? Why does a Faith filled Christian never come to the rescue in Vampire movies?

%d bloggers like this: