Why is the cloven hoof of such adorable animals as the deer associated with the devil? If I had to guess, I’d say it has something to do with Pan, the mischievous God of the woods. We also associate ram’s horns with the devil. We often look for symbols in nature, like the dove for…
Category: #WritingPrompts
Otherworldly Words: Bedevil
Bedevil is a word that I think is underused. Just think when your car won’t start, “My car is bedeviled!” Or, for a wicked boss: “My boss bedevils me with needless duties to make my life a living hell.” Perhaps the word is not used because, to a certain degree, it lacks seriousness. It feels…
Otherworldly Words: Banshee
I’m going to get personal for a moment. I have an ambivalent relationship with the word banshee. My partner’s younger brother, Matt, and I always watched horror movies together. I often introduced him to movies such as The Evil Dead. As he got older, he introduced me to many movies, too. One of our favorites…
Otherworldly Words: Baleful
Baleful derives from a word meaning pain. Interestingly, most cultures and languages, including English, are dominated by words to express feelings and thoughts like baleful, or negative emotions over positive ones. You know how they say, it takes 20 compliments to make up for an insult. Unfortunately, the compliments can start sounding rather identical while the…
Otherworldly Words: Amaranthine
I’ll admit it: I’m a word snob. I like some words just because I like the way they sound. Amaranthine is one of those words, because I think its sound matches its meaning. Just say it….Amaranthine…Does it make you feel like you’re floating in an endless sea or cloud? Have a favorite word you just love to…
Otherworldly Words: Abhorrence
What leads us to abhor something? I think our fears inform the things we hate and detest. And, I think some of the things we fear the most are the traits we abhor in ourselves. No one likes to see himself in a dark reflection. We know all too well what Nietzsche so succinctly said:…
Writing Prompt: The Dark Room
A man awakes in a pitch black room with no memory of how he got there. How big is the room? What is the room made of? How does he determine it? How did he get there?
Werewolf Wednesday: Dream Interpretation with Werewolves
Have you ever dreamed about werewolves? Alas, I never have, but, as a child, I did once dream a movie (I kid you not) about wolves with opening and closing credits and everything. For #WerewolfWednesday, let’s take a look at dream interpretation when a werewolf appears: According to The Interpretation of Dreams, the appearance of…
Otherworldly Words: Aberration
For October I unveil a daily dose of the unusual, the dark, the bizarre on a linguistic journey through words befitting the season. Join me as we explore Otherworldly Words − words that help us express the frightening matters that often are hard to explain. I start…
Mayhem Monday: Hear no, or See no Evil
It’s #MayhemMonday! I supply the mayhem, you try to survive. This week, you get decide your own mayhem…
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