Dark Horror Tales

The Ensnared, now available on Amazon! 

I really want to say that we are progressing into the new year, I really do. I want to say that people have moved past all prejudices that have plagued the last few centuries. I want to believe that people who fought for equality for all races and gender, actually won. But I don't think I would ever be able to say that much less believe it. This year has been a year where the truths behind some peoples' smiling masks have been revealed. They were not what they seemed. The people who cheered these heroes were the ones who flung mud on them. Freedom of speech is not supposed to give you the freedom to voice your opinion, but the freedom to express spite against people who don't agree with us. We were all led to believe that religion, race and gender don't matter- what matters is how a person behaves with us and in any situation. That was never true. At the end, it all came down to who speaks the loudest, but not the truth and who can buy off people to agree with them. It

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The year is coming to an end! Just one more month to go and all I can think of is about all the things I achieved and didn't, this year. A lot of obstacles faced, a few problems sorted out, plenty of regrets and finally, not too much writing because of it.  I did finish two manuscripts and currently working on a third. Is that enough?  Celebrated the new month by watching a horror movie- As above, so below. Pretty creepy!!!

During Halloween, many people celebrate by dressing up as their favorite characters or monsters while some watch horror movies.  It wouldn't be wrong to assume that in many ways Halloween commemorates the horror genre and fandom.  So just imagine, there is a festival that celebrates horror. I think the one thing that draws people to horror stories in movies and books is that just for that one moment, we are pulled into a world where the supernatural exists and where our deepest fears are given birth. But we find solace in the fact that once the movie is over and the credits roll in or when you read the last page of a horror tale, the nightmare you were brought into, willingly, is over. And whether or not the story ends on a happy note, we are given the opportunity to walk away. For us readers and viewers, the horror is over. However in real life, horror has many facets and all of them effect us in some way or the other. In real life, we cannot walk away or turn away from news items

Research is an integral part of writing. As writers, it is our job to go in depth of the subject we are writing about; be it fiction or non-fiction. But should there me a limit to how much we are ready to pursue the knowledge of our subject?  Mark Twain said that first we must get our facts right and then distort them as much as we please. The question is: how much should we delve before we have gained satisfactory knowledge to work on a story. Sinister, shows us just how risky doing research for a book can be. Ellison Oswalt (played by Ethan Hawke) is looking for a new story that would sky rocket him back to success. As a writer of real crime stories, doing research for him means getting inside the story by living in the place where the crimes took place. His passion is what puts his family at risk as unknown to his family, Ellison has moved into the house where a family was hung from a tree that still stands. There is however a mystery attached to it: the youngest member

Loneliness can be scary to some people because being alone means having to face all your problems all alone. Life is tough and it helps to have someone backing you up and most importantly being there when you need someone the most. Being physically may not always be possible; the person that cares for you may have other commitments and sometimes you have to be the one to stand back and tell them that you are doing fine  After all, not everyone can be there for you all the time. Or can they? Imagine having a conjoined twin. Yes, there could be medical complications, but physically, someone will always be there for you- your sister or brother, your best friend. Spending all these years together, eating and sleeping together, going everywhere with your twin- the bond would no doubt be strong. The only problem you would imagine conjoined twins face is when they get into relationships.  The movie ‘Stuck on you' gave a comical twist to the idea of conjoined twin brothers t

PLOT SUMMARY: When his son disappears during a Halloween Carnival, the father learns he may just have a chance to save him from the witch that abducted him during the next carnival. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. If you've rejected her love, she'll hold onto a grudge forever, and if you hurt the ones she loves, she will curse you and your future generations.  Pay the Ghost is yet another tale comprising of a curse uttered eons ago that haunts the present.

PLOT SUMMARY: When children start going missing in a small town, everyone blames the local legend, The Tall Man.  How do you define a good person? They do kind things, help the needy, keep secrets and never betray those who are close to them. How do you define a bad person? They betray you in the worst possible way. They physically and emotionally hurt people and show little regard for the people around them or their dire circumstances. In movies and books, villains and heroes are carefully and easily identified by the audience. In a visual medium, their introduction is accompanied by an appropriate background score- something peppy for the hero and something ominous for the villain. 

PLOT SUMMARY: Five friends play a game to summon the Midnight Man and are caught in an endless cycle of nightmares.  How far would you go to seek a sense of thrill? Would you be ready to summon a dark evil and play hide and seek with it? Would you put your life at risk just so you can have a few moments of excitement and anticipation of whether or not you'll die?   Then The Midnight game is just what you need.

Two different movies, pretty much one concept. Both movies consist of a similar plot. A creature is awakened in the woods and soon enough terrorizes the town nearby. The thought of running away and the idea of self-preservation never crosses the main character's mind. The town needs a hero and they are it!  I wouldn’t compare the two movies because despite having a similar plot, and eerily the same CGI creature, the two movies are rather enjoyable even though they didn’t really work out at the box office. This brings forth the depressing fact that the horror genre has a very limited audience nowadays and if more movies are not encouraged and watched, the horror genre will soon be wiped out. Oh the horror! Imagine no film makers producing horror movies because there won’t be an audience for them. Why spend so much time and money on a project that won’t yield any profits, right? Of course, the recent movies haven’t been exactly terrifying or nightmare inducing or even

Over the past few years, the biggest challenge, horror film makers have faced is tackling with the advancement in technology while writing their stories. Classic horror movies are still well loved and movies set in bygone eras are cherished because they expose a world where the things we take for granted are nonexistent.  If we move to a new house, we rely on recommendations from people on whether or not that area is safe or if the house has any hidden damages.  When we buy an antique we verify the buyer and the item being sold to us.  All this is achievable and accessible to us through the internet which makes verification convenient to us, but it is this facility that creates problems for writers who want to write a believable and terrifying story. Which is why I wonder if more and more filmmakers prefer setting their stories in an era where Facebook and Google didn't exist yet. I went on a horror movie binge a couple of weeks back and watched movies that have cleverly incorporat

PLOT SUMMARY: Rose and her father Jerry move into a new house following a tragedy. Once there, Rose finds a dark secret but her father believes she may be imagining things. There used to be a time when the only things you had to look for when moving into a new house were whether or not the neighbourhood was good and relatively crime-free, if the rent of property was competitive and the house itself was free of vermin and mould. Now it seems that you have to check for another, rather important feature- the house must be free of former occupants as well. Imagine being watched all the time and having your privacy invaded. Webcams on laptops and phones already pose a hacking risk. Now imagine that whoever is indulging in this voyeuristic activity is living right in your home. Pretty creepy thought, isn't it?

PLOT SUMMARY: Shy and awkward Vivian enters college hoping to make a fresh start following a suicide attempt. She befriends a group of girls who seem to have an agenda of their own.  What would you give to become anyone else but you?  The Dorm addresses this serious issue faced by girls who suffer from inferiority complexes. The movie answers this question in one way and then doesn't towards the end when the story finally unravels.

My fascination with horror continues!  I've been watching tons of horror movies-some titles I've never even heard of- and found some really good ones in the mix. While there have been some produced by big banners and boasting of well-known celebrities, I have to say that they weren't exactly exemplary. In fact, they were quite forgettable.  I'm trying to find some really creepy movies so I can draw inspiration from them and write my next horror novel.  Can't wait to dive into writing again! 

While working on my first attempt of a romance novel, I came to realize that love can have so many meanings and it is all because of the way we perceive emotions. A generous desired gift can mean love to some or a subtle smile or kind gesture can mean an act of love. While what we feel can be explained by science and chemicals and hormones, the truth is that we don't all react similarly. What is love? It's a question I've posed in my new book and one I sought out to answer throughout the course of the story. Eventually what I had to struggle with was another mind-boggling question: how do we fall in love? What we call love is one part attraction to physical appearances and one part reaction to our personal needs that include settling down and having a family. Living alone till our old age must be what scares us into subconsciously choosing a partner for us. Or is it? Are we forcing ourselves to fall in love so we can satisfy our insecurities? Perhaps there is something call

It's not easy to follow a path that has been condemned by those close to you. As your journey leads your further, you encounter a dilemma when the road splits into many directions. Going back is the safest option, but taking a step forward is an act of courage that is deemed foolish by those who have shied away from taking chances- or those who are just cynical. Finding your way is the hardest part in the intricate pattern of life because we must not only deal with our own inner conflicts, aka the voices of reason in our head, but also deal with people who would do anything to hold us back. Some don't want you to get hurt and others just don't want you to taste success. In the end , it is the choices we make but that fork in the road doesn't help us make a quick decision. There are just too many possibilities; things cannot just go simply right or wrong- they could even work out in the initial stages and then end in disastrous results. Or things could fail immediately a

For writers, creativity is usually on strike causing days and weeks to go by without a single word typed on a page. A writer is inherently creative but in order for that creativity to flow and function as an articulate piece, motivation is keenly desired and required. Writing can seem like a tedious task without motivation and it's not easy for the writer to deal with a creativity block. So why do writers sometimes suffer from lack of motivation?  Well, most of it has to do with how well their previous writing pieces or books have been received by their audience. If they've made good sales on their books or appreciated for their hard work, they will jump back into writing their next masterpiece. A negative review or a lack of response to their articles and posts will discourage the writer and they will be disinclined to return to their writing. Other times , receiving feedback in no way impacts the writer's motivation. Sometimes it's a dry spell the writer inadvertently

Buy my new horror young adult novella 'Horror Night' from Barnes and Noble. For $2.99 only! View book here Read an exclusive excerpt here

Dreams can be wicked teachers. Today's lesson: Never give up! Even if no one is going to help or support you with your dream and you have to do it all alone.

Friendship is a beautiful thing. It's easy to meet people and strike a conversation with them, but you only become friends when you let the real "You" show through the veil we all usually put when meeting people for the first time- the kind of veil that displays emotions we don't actually feel or the person that we really are not.  Once you find someone that shares the same interests and accepts you for "you" that's when friendship starts. How this friendship lasts over years is a challenge because friends drift apart, get busy in their own lives and the only time you hear from them is a one line text. However, if your friend, despite being busy in their own life, keeps in touch with you through a one line message every now and then through a text, then you know you have a true friend who thinks about you. It's not an easy task being caught up in your life and still maintaining a friendship with someone you went to school or college with, so even a t

Ever wonder what goes on inside your head? Or why we feel the things we do?  Disney's recent animated feature provides an insight into the mind of an eleven year old girl where we are introduced to the five prominent emotions (also characters) of this riveting story. They are: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. All of these emotions make an appearance as Riley (the human they live in) grows up and faces different situations. Provided these emotions work together and create a stable working environment, our preteen protagonist Riley, enjoys her life to the fullest- like any idealistic girl of her age. But there is no story without conflict and the emotions' perfect working system is jeopardized when Riley moves into a new city and school. Now that she is out of her comfort zone, the emotions inside her head strive to maintain stability and keep 'Sadness' from blanketing her emotion all over the cherished memories that have been vaulted.  However, a haphazard event ca

Fear is one of those emotions that we all give refuge to within ourselves. To say that we do not fear anything would be completely false. We are all scared of something or the other and sometimes we let ourselves give in and let it engulf us. The only way to challenge fear and overcome it is to face that intimidating emotion and accept that we are scared. After all, courage is when we face our fears, not the absence of it. It is difficult to write in the horror genre, actually it is a challenge for the writer to work on such a story because what one person is afraid of, another may not be and therein lies the dilemma. Should the writer incorporate his or her fear into the story or find something that most people are afraid of. Fear of the dark, phobia of spiders, clowns, etc.... The list is endless. To pick one and write a whole story around it is risky for the only reason that not everyone, including the reader may share the same fears. If I write a story on a spooky

Remember when superhero movies used to be all about good always triumphing over evil? Sure the hero would face some conflicts of his own but the minute he donned on his superhero costume, all of it would be sorted out along with the criminal activity in his hometown. The pictures had so much color and the theme would be constant and light. The audience were assured that even though the hero was going through some trying times in the first half, as soon as he got his powers, everything would be fine and the climax would have a mind blowing action scene where the whole city would finally hail the previoulsy misunderstood hero. That was the fun quotient in watching these superhero flicks- that it made us feel safe knowing that there will always be an end to evil. However, in recent years, superhero movie have just not been as comforting. The real world is in a state of turmoil. There are wars, earthquakes and mindless killing of innocents by maniacs. At this trying time, when we seek sola

This is me at the moment. Working on a new story and have turned into a complete zombie.

There comes a point in a writer's journey when they must decide whether to compromise their vision or not- to stay with what they believe in or stray and give in to what is demanded out of them. It's not an easy decision to make because for a writer they not only want to be appreciated for their work but also be published and have their books be purchased. A couple of years ago, when I started on my journey to become a writer, I was drawn to young adult stories. I had an idea that was different from the books popular then. I held off writing that particular story because it was risky and I didn't want to fail at my first attempt to write a whole manuscript. I surveyed various bookstores and went through the trends and the popular young adult books. Literally every book that I picked was on vampires. I selected various books from different shelves and red the blurbs: she closed her eyes as he leaned forward to kiss her. The next thing she felt was his tee

A popular advice all writers are given is to write every single day. As a struggling writer, I find this advice isn't really expedient. Though practicing your art everyday helps hone your skills, actually writing every day is only a frustrating exercise. A writer not only writes- they must read, research and find inspiration to work. When they force themselves to write every day the result is often disastrous. The sentences are hackneyed, the characters don't seem believable and the story is just ribbons of plot tied shabbily to each other. The main part of writing is inspiration that can come from anyone and anywhere. For me its always been music, but I don't always wake up feeling inspired. There are days when I'm so mentally exhausted from doing research or working on chapters for my new fiction, that writing another chapter is just so daunting. I guess the brain needs a break too every now and then. At this time, when my head feels like i

Now that the writing and editing part is done, the author gets to step back and watch their hard work be published and made available to readers all over the world. It's a shining and proud moment for us to see all our hard work being put up for everyone to see. And now it's the readers' turn to do their part. What do they have to do? Review of course...after reading the writer's creation. Here's why reviews are the most important part of the whole writing and publishing process. For the reader it's a chance to voice their opinions. Just like you have the chance to review products, as a reader you have the prerogative to review an author's "product" as well. One of the benefits of writing a book review is that you get to analyze the story and understand all that the writers' are trying to teach and portray through their stories. You get a chance to consider the writers' vision of the world and hence develop a diff

I am trying to learn new languages and keep getting confused. Also, as I'm self-teaching myself, I've found that I'm not a very good student. Yikes! So I have to practice, practice and practice.... ITALIAN PRESENT TENSE OF ESSERE (TO BE) I am: sono                   You are: sei    He/she/it is: è  We are: siamo You are (plural): siete                       They are: sono           FRENCH PRESENT TENSE OF ETRE (TO BE) I am :   je suis              You are : tu es             He is: il est She is: elle est One is: on est We are: nous sommes You are (plural): vous êtes They are (m): ils sont They are (f): elles sont  Really need to memorize this!

SciFi movies have got to be my least favorite genre and if they consist of aliens, I avoid them like my least favorite vegetables- I push away the plate and pretend that they don't exist. In spite of the impressive star cast, I wasn't going to watch the movie until I read the controversies surrounding it. The debate it sparked among people piqued my interest and I finally watched the movie. After watching the movie, could I stop thinking about the story? No. Did I enjoy the movie as a whole? Again, no. I envy Rajkumar Hirani's work and writing. His past movies have been entertaining and interspersed with important social messages that I have always agreed with. Let's just say that he and I are on the same wavelength where opinions about education and religion are concerned. This movie, however, was a bit of a disappointment for me and only because the plot didn't flow as seamlessly as his previous movies. The movie begins with an excellent op

Being a writer is hard work! And having writer's block is the worst. So in order to clean my mind and try to break through the blocks that were being an annoying obstacle in my creativity train, I took a long walk one evening. After weeks of dust storms and unruly weather, the city was finally graced with pleasant weather. The winds were cold, the sun was setting and the water was a beautiful blue. The sky was turning sombre as I reached the end of my walking goal. It was so nice and peaceful; the air was clear and crisp. Love evenings like these. I absolutely love the brief time in which the sun has already set and the sky is still not dark. There's something calming and romantic about that time. There were so many seagulls and crows in the corniche. The first thing that always pops into my mind when I see them flying overhead: Don't poop on my head!!! LOL They all gathered up on that grassy patch for some reason. Away from the waters.  Excep

What is a bad day? It's having the channel go off right before a favorite show comes on. It's trying to cheer up a person and end up having your heart broken by that person. Misery loves company apparently. It's being alone with your thoughts and feeling like nothing will ever work out and no one will ever be there to say that things will get better. That's today for me and it feels like it'll forever be this.

Women’s Day is supposed to be a day where we celebrate all the accomplishments made by women over the years. Without some very important women, we wouldn’t have had the basic necessities like proper education or never have found a way to get our voices heard. Women would have been relegated to the background of every household and expected to make all sorts of sacrifices for the other members of the family. That’s what is expected of every woman- to continuously make sacrifices for the betterment of their family and society. It doesn’t matter what she wants, all that matters is what she can do for others. Yes, this sort of expectation is still prevalent today. Except, women now have to prove themselves in several other fields as well. Before, all women were supposed to do was marry, cook, give birth to children and then take care of them. Most of them never had the advantage of education or a career choice. They rarely got a say in the household even though they were taki

When I first read ‘Vikram and Betal’ I was perplexed by all the riddles and captivated by all of the answers. That book holds a special place in my heart not only because of the wonderful story and conundrums posed by the spirit who tries to trick the King but also because it made me realize that things are not always what they seem. In the story, King Vikram is tricked by a saint to get him the corpse hanging on the tree so that he could gain ultimate power. The King doesn’t realize this at first and as a man of his word persists in capturing the corpse (Betal) and answering his many riddles. In the end, when he finds the truth, he vanquishes the trickster and saves the corpse. A few years back, when I picked up the book again, I was once again mesmerized by the depth of the story that I hadn’t really noticed before. It asked questions that not many literary works do and it had answers that I would have never come to. The twenty-five riddles were not just puzzle