Friends, I am so sorry for how long I have been away. The problem is… I am a teacher, and, if I’m honest, teaching right now is… well… absolute chaos. There is so much going on and not enough hours in the day. I’m also finishing up a novel, as I’m doing all of the stuff and things for teaching. Yes, I know… I’m creating some of my own chaos. I do this far too often.

Since it is my favorite month, and I have been gone for far too long, I decided I would let you all in on some spooky festivities I have planned for Halloween weekend. In case you didn’t know, I am teaching a creative writing class for my middle school students. Honestly, how would you know that? I haven’t updated y’all in forever, but back to my creative writing class. Well, my students and I were reading “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl, and my lesson called for them to rewrite the ending however they saw fit. (A challenge many embraced whole-heartedly, I may add.)

My students loved this story because it is subtly grotesque, and it lends itself quite well to new stories with similar villains and themes. As my students were writing their own masterpieces, I remembered that I had written a short story inspired by this frightening tale about six years ago. So, I opened up my manuscripts on my computer and read a few pages to my students. I can happily report that they were enthralled, y’all.

As many teachers tend to do, I stopped reading at a particularly riveting scene, but also because my story was in need of a good revision. Many of my students whined and complained. One actually asked for the link to the story, so he could continue reading. Another asked if I would put it online for them to read on their own time. That’s when an idea buzzed in my head.

On Halloween weekend, I will post this spooky little suspense story, inspired by “The Landlady,” in three parts. Part one will go live on 10-29-21 at midnight. Part two will go live on 10-30-21, at the same time. Finally, part three will be available on 10-31-21 at… you guessed it… midnight.

Hopefully, y’all will enjoy my strange and unusual tale, as much as I enjoyed writing it. Who knows? Maybe it’ll inspire you to write your own version of “The Landlady,” and I certainly hope it does.

May this story make your spine tingle and linger long after it ends. Because, let’s face it, the best stories never leave us when they end. In fact, the best of the best stories forever hold a permanent place in our minds. Whether we want them to or not.

Until next weekend… Let the spooky times commence.