Not too long ago, I traveled with a friend of mine to the Strauss Mansion in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. It's a beautiful old place and allegedly haunted, which is what we were there for - a ghost tour. I'm currently writing up the experience, which was pretty positive. We got to play with different tools … Continue reading A return to ghosts
scary
Going Viral
Nope, not the flu. A few weeks ago, there was a Twitter post from Eric Alper, which asked an innocent question: What movie disturbed you as a child? He often asks questions like this, and because I had a great example, I responded using a gif of a scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers … Continue reading Going Viral
Krampus, Jersey style: The Dark Servant by Matt Manochio
I reviewed Matt Manochio's The Dark Servant in Issue #44 of Weird NJ and was poking around the Internet (okay, Googling my name) when I came across a thank you post on his blog: Weird NJ gives some Krampus love! I always get scared when I publish a story about a person or book recommendation, as … Continue reading Krampus, Jersey style: The Dark Servant by Matt Manochio
Writing Flashback – The Doll House of Salem Street
Note: I wrote this story in 1998 and it was published in Weird N.J. Issue #10. You can link to the story as it appeared in that issue on my "Work" page. See the end of the story for an update. Dolls really freak some people out. I'm one of those people. There's just something … Continue reading Writing Flashback – The Doll House of Salem Street
A fear of clowns…
I was no more than two or two-and-a-half years old when I became very aware of the painting on my bedroom wall. It was a portrait of a clown that my dad had painted in 1971, presumably with the intent of using it to decorate my bedroom, because don't all kids like clowns? It hung … Continue reading A fear of clowns…
joanne m. austin 
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