PROMPTS TO INSPIRE YOU, PART EIGHT: HALLOWEEN EDITION, by Max Jason Peterson

Welcome to the spooky side of Max’s Writers Café! Today we’ll create scary short tales and poems.

Each year, I host Micro Horror, the October edition of my prompt-based inspiration workshops for Hampton Public Library. These are free, ages 18+, entirely online via Zoom, and require individual registration via Eventbrite. Here’s the overall collection where you can find all events, including this year’s Micro Horror session and the fall slate of workshops.

The purpose of my inspiration sessions is simply to help fellow creatives get started on something new. It can be refreshing to let yourself dream up something unexpected from a prompt; and something about writing with a time limit, especially in the company of others, with an idea you didn’t expect, can help overcome that “stuck” feeling. So I wrote these with the intention of inspiring some new rough drafts. Don’t expect them to be perfect!

For each numbered concept below: read the prompt first, then set a timer for ten minutes and start writing. Stop when the timer ends. Though you’re writing on your own, obeying the timer should still help train your brain to take the prompt seriously and get down to business. (For me, this can help circumvent how daunting it can be to get started.) You might be surprised by how much comes to you that you didn’t expect! And I hope that some of these rough drafts will intrigue you enough to polish and/or continue them later.

1. Halloween homage: Think about some of the scary media you have enjoyed—films, fiction, poems, music—and/or specific actors, writers, directors, or musicians whose creepy effects stayed with you. Write something that speaks to the vibe, style, mood, or aesthetic of this media or creator. Make it entirely your own, but something that could conceivably “feel” like it goes with the work you’re paying homage to.

2. Put on the mask: There’s a lot of creepiness in folklore, fairy tales, mythology, urban legends, cryptids, and popular culture that has entered the public domain (such as the books and characters upon which the Universal Monsters films were based; the films themselves are still protected by copyright). In addition, there are many character types and motifs that are typically associated with Halloween and autumn (vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, black cats, pumpkins, scarecrows, the Grim Reaper, etc.). Write a poem from the point of view of your favorite and/or most feared monster! It could even be a Halloween decoration that has an inner life.

3. Poe’s Unity of Effect: Edgar Allan Poe advised that a short work should strive to support a unified mood, vibe, ambience, or effect, which should begin with the first line. Everything in the piece should strive toward this effect; anything that does not, should be left out. With Poe’s primary themes often being horror and grief, consider choosing a gothic, frightening, or mournful subject. Let every line contribute to this single effect.

4. Haunted acrostic: Pick a trope or theme you love from horror/Halloween and do one of the following: Write a poem in which the first letter of each line spells out the name of that thing or idea. If you’re working on prose, try including part or all of the name, or a synonym/alternate version of it, at the start of each paragraph.

5. Seasonal creepiness: Think about Halloween, horror/gothic/paranormal topics, autumn, the dark, long nights, dark nights of the soul, nightmares, ghost stories, or a spooky experience. Focus in on things that are eerie about the season, that make your back creep or keep you awake at night. Transfer your shivers to the reader!

If you’d like more prompts, here are some earlier installments in this series:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

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Max Gardner (he/they) is a fiction writer & award-winning poet published under a variety of bylines, including Max Jason Peterson and Adele Gardner. A poetry collection, Halloween Hearts, is available from Jackanapes Press, while over 500 stories, poems, art, and articles appear in Analog, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, PodCastle, Daily Science Fiction, and more. Gardner serves as literary executor for father and mentor Delbert R. Gardner; Muse Mansion, a collection of poems by both father and firstborn, will be released soon by San Francisco Bay Press. 

Of Birthdays and Climate Change by Judy Fowler

 

It's October, my birthday month. I'm leaving my early seventies behind this year, and if the past five years have taught me anything, it’s that life is precious. I've learned that any person I know can have an unexpected "scare" after they turn 70—and, in days or weeks, disappear forever, their race run.

I usually look forward to transitions: independence at 21, marriage at 26, learning to sing opera at 30, going back to school at 40. Retirement? That transition excited me so much that I felt compelled to read my findings to a writing group week after week for the first eighteen months. 

Without children of my own to hold up a mirror, I rarely notice myself or others as we age. In a photo from a recent alumni event, I recognized someone. "Wow," I said to a former classmate, "Jim hasn't changed a bit." She broke it to me: “That’s his grandson.”

Other people groan as the years pass. "I'm losing my youth," a fellow said to me last week, and he looked pained. He'd just turned 64. " Big deal!" I said. To me, he had every reason to smile.  

As a single in my seventies, I've changed in one aspect: I've begun to pass on insider information. For example: rather than quickly dumping dating partners you're less than gaga about, it's better to hold on to anyone you even "sort of" like doing things with. You never know when the A team will lose a member. And that's when the B team starts to shine.

"If you even minimally like a woman," I told a retired single man last week, "there's no need to marry her or dismiss her. You'll need friends who are free for an afternoon or an evening. You can keep things light.  Few of us want to relinquish our own homes for yours."

The same is true about being friendly with everyone in your exercise classes. I don't know how many serious stumbles and falls I'd have had in these past few years if Carol had dropped out of balance class when the rest of the fifteen-plus members fell away. With just two of us and one trainer, we kept the class alive. 

As for climate change? The longer days and summer heat challenged my body here in Florida. My much-loved outdoor walks grew fewer through June, and stopped altogether in July and August. Even trips to the beach left me enervated.  I had to accept being worn out by 4 p.m. I'm delighted to welcome October. My walks and my evening activities are back. 

So I admit it: I'm finally joining those who glance backward before they look ahead. It's been painful to part with people my age — important characters in the book of my life — who left this plane in their early seventies. I lost Skip, Ava, Kathy, and Charlie that way. Last month, when a doctor of mine raised what turned out to be a false alarm, I understood why some claim that the word "yet" now means you're eligible, too. 

I thought a medical alarm would send me straight to my desk to finalize drafts of plays and stories. It didn't. While I waited two weeks for my test results, I lived completely under the direction of my five senses, as if I had to test them. 

I noticed the Florida sky more often, its low, fluffy clouds giving way to unexpected pelting rain. I noticed the gentle voice of a neighbor who, though we only met a few months ago, called out, "Hey, Judy," as I passed him on my way to take out the trash. 

I saw the benefit of "You're eligible, too" in how many people over the age of 75 become more affectionate and generous. My friend Rex, now 80, is as cheerful cooking fish and bok choy, breaking down Amazon boxes, or buying surprise theater tickets as he is eating ice cream at the beach. Maybe smelling the roses is a purpose in and of itself. "Holding hands?" a 50-something male shouted as he drove past us on our way home from the beach a while back. "That's nice." 

My medical false alarm changed my opinion of the free-ranging geckos that live in this climate. For most of the year that I've lived here, I've cringed when they ran past my feet. They're everywhere: scurrying through the hedges in my architecturally stunning neighborhood, racing along the boardwalk, or peeking out from messy urban renewal. What I missed before was how these geckos are always on their way somewhere. They're not aimless. That alone makes life better, richer, and healthier. In the Jurassic period, they walked alongside dinosaurs before we humans existed. I guess it was pretty hot then, too. Yet here they are. If they could speak, they'd probably say, "Enjoy your day!"

HAPPY FALL Y’ALL: PIGSKIN SEASON IS HERE! by Sheryl Jordan

 Fall is one of my favorite seasons for many reasons. The amazing beauty of nature's changing colors never fails to stir nostalgia in me.  The air smells different as nature prepares for winter.

Fall, also known as autumn, marks what's to come. Fall Festivals are in full swing. Halloween is not far behind. Oh, and then Thanksgiving, an all-time favorite of mine to spend time cooking and dining with family and friends, and building memories together. Some people may begin shopping for the winter holidays.

The most compelling part of fall is football season! Professional and college seasons run from late summer through late winter.  Whether at high school, college, or professional football, I enjoy watching the games! Hearing high school bands perform at Friday night games reminds me of attending my high school’s games every Friday night and the excitement of cheering for our team!

What does pigskin have to do with football?

In the early 1800s, footballs were made from animal bladders, most often pig bladders because pigs were raised for food everywhere and readily available. People inflated the bladders by mouth (sounds like a gross task!) or with an early air pump. The balls were round instead of oval, and later the bladders were covered with cowhide for better grip and durability. Eventually, as the game became more sophisticated, they made the football with rubber liners and leather wraps. These balls held the air better and had a consistent oval shape. Today, the balls are made of synthetic air liners and four leather panel wraps. The name “Pigskin” became a popular nickname because it sounded more appealing than calling the ball a “pig bladder.”  The name is still popular on sports news shows and in football segments called “Pigskin Report,” “Prep Pigskin Report,” or “Friday Night Pigskin,” for example.

My Dislike To Love of the Game

Growing up, I didn’t care to watch professional games on television. While my parents and siblings watched, I read a lot of books!  The games were boring to me. I only got into the games when I attended them in person. We attended Minnesota Vikings games, with the whole tailgating experience and sitting in the stands with hardcore fans. The aroma of ribs, wings, hamburgers, hot dogs, and a variety of other foods on grills in the stadium parking lots, plus loud chatter among friends and family, filled the air.

I began enjoying watching televised professional and college games one day when I didn’t know what I wanted to watch, so I turned to a Vikings game and have loved it ever since. Today, my family watches games all afternoon on Sundays, and on Monday and Thursday nights. We all have different favorite teams, representing the Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, and, in honor of my mom and dad, the Pittsburgh Steelers. We also watch games of teams with our favorite players.

If you walk past our house during a game, you can hear yelling and cheering throughout. Whether my team is winning or losing, I now love a good game of football. It’s to the point that after the season is over and the Super Bowl is won, I go through football withdrawals for a couple of weeks!

 

MARILYN MONROE: A LIFE IN 100 TAKES & YEARS by Teresa Inge

If Marilyn Monroe had lived to see 2026, she would have turned 100 on June 1—a milestone that invites us to look beyond the platinum hair, camera flashes, and famous white dress. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles in 1926, she entered the world with little security. Her childhood was marred by living in 10 foster homes, an orphanage, and, at age 16, marriage to her next-door neighbor, James Dougherty, to avoid returning to foster care. Dougherty later recalled that although he knew Norma Jeane Dougherty, he never knew Marilyn Monroe—the star she would become, to escape her early life.

I first learned about Monroe as a child, watching her movies with my mother. Years later, after reading her biography, I understood why fans remain fascinated by her life. It’s not only her beauty, but vulnerability, screen presence, and the star she carefully crafted to interest people.  

Becoming Marilyn Monroe

After divorcing Dougherty in 1946, Monroe’s transformation from factory worker and model to Hollywood legend was not simply luck. She studied acting, the camera, literature, and music, while critics underestimated her. By the 1950s, films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, and Some Like It Hot made her the most recognized performer on Earth.

Marriages & Production Company

Monroe later founded a production company to seek serious roles in an industry eager to package her as fantasy. Her marriages to Joe DiMaggio in 1954 and Arthur Miller in 1956 did not survive, strained by jealousy, pressure, and the glare of fame.

Creative Control

During that period, Monroe clashed with Hollywood studios over typecasting, low pay, lack of creative control, suspensions, and contract disputes. Her reputation for arriving late to set, keeping crews waiting, and reliance on acting coach Paula Strasberg after each take, made it hard for studios to take her seriously. Yet those struggles show how she was fighting to be understood, respected, and shape her own career.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

In May 1962, Monroe sang "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. Shortly after, 20^th Century-Fox fired her in June 1962, due to her absences from filming Something’s Got to Give, and the studio’s frustration over her going to New York for Kennedy’s event, despite production issues.

Death

Marilyn Monroe died on August 5, 1962. Her death was officially ruled a probable suicide from an overdose of barbiturates.

Legacy 

At 100, Marilyn Monroe remains a cultural icon. She stands as a symbol of beauty, ambition, vulnerability, and reinvention. A self-made artist who understood the power of image and celebrity long before the modern world had language for it. Her performances, photographs, and public persona continue to invite fascination because they hold radiance and mystery. 

 

AUTUMN BUCKET LIST by Kimberly R. Thorn

Autumn Bucket List             

By: Kimberly R. Thorn

Write/Tell a ghost story

Attend a bonfire

Go star gazing

Listen to a fall romance novel audiobook

Go on a drive with someone to see the leaves changing

Enjoy a cup of hot apple cider

Make some pumpkin bread

Go bobbing for apples

Wear a Halloween costume of your favorite character

Read a fall mystery while cuddling with your pet under a cozy blanket, sipping some hot tea

Have a fall picnic on a blanket

Ride a hayride

Eat some hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream    

                         

Attend a fall festival

Try your luck in a corn maze

Take a romantic stroll through the fall leaves on a trail

Wear an ugly fall sweater

Listen to a ghost story someone tells in person, in the dark

Have a sing-along by a campfire

Attend/have a Halloween party

Have some fun at a fall carnival

Rake the leaves up into a pile then let your pet and/or kids jump into them.  Better yet, you jump in with them too

Sit near the water with some friends and family telling each other silly jokes.  The first one who laughs loses.  What is the loser to do?  Treat everyone to dessert?

Do your workout outside instead of indoors

Always keep a small gratitude journal with you.  Log in things you’re grateful for during this fall to remember later.

Read a classic novel outside while drinking hot coffee.

Get some naps in later in the morning or early afternoon

Take a day or weekend trip to someplace new to enjoy

Go pick some fresh apples at an apple orchard

Compliment someone you don’t know but see all the time somewhere

Tell someone who you know what you like, love or admire about them

Try reading something that you wouldn’t normally read.  A different author, or genre, maybe.

Join a book club or start your own

Attend an outdoor festival                                             

See a band play

Support local business

Try some new food or a new restaurant

Do something that gets you closer to obtaining a dream that you have.

Do something for someone else that puts them closer to their dream, if you can

Introduce yourself to someone new

Encourage/bless someone

Watch a scary movie with the lights out

Read a memoir or a nonfiction book while in bed

Have a fall cookout

Change your battery in your smoke detector when daylight savings time ends

THE CASE OF THE MISSING APPLE SEASON part 1 by Yvonne Saxon

 

The Fannie Farmer 1896 Cook Book

   September. Labor Day weekend. Feet up on the desk, hoping for an easy Friday and then taking off early for the holiday weekend.

 Plans? No big plans. business is slow when regular people are chasing the last cookout before the kiddos go back to school. Me? Leaving early to save on the electric bill.
Then she hammered on the door. 
Of all the county agricultural extension offices in all the rural counties in all the world, she has to walk into mine.
 “It’s open, don’t break it down” I called. A gorgeous dame, dressed smartly in an interesting shade of green, swooped in.
 “Mr. Braeburn I’ve been robbed! They’re destroying everything I’ve worked for-you have to help me!” 
“Why don’t you take a deep breath and tell me your name,” I said, motioning her to a chair while abandoning my idea of leaving early. 

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND FATAL LEGISLATION - A 2017 PACEMAKER RECALL, by Ellen Butler

As an author, inspiration for a novel can appear in unexpected places. For my second Karina Cardinal mystery, Fatal Legislation, it came from something as ordinary as a television commercial about a pacemaker recall. My research-junkie brain immediately went on high alert. A little digging revealed the reason behind the recall: cybersecurity vulnerabilities that could allow the pacemakers to be hacked. And just like that, the seeds of a murder mystery were planted.

When we think of computer hacking, we usually imagine stolen passwords and breached networks leading to personal information being sold on the dark web. But in 2017, cybersecurity concerns reached beyond our computer systems into the human heart.

A modern pacemaker is essentially a tiny computer implanted inside the body. It monitors the heart and sends electrical impulses to keep it beating properly. Wireless capabilities enable doctors to remotely monitor their patients’ heart health. But this wireless communication also creates a potential point of entry for hackers. The problem affected radio-frequency-enabled pacemakers capable of communicating wirelessly with external equipment. A convenience for patients and doctors that created a dangerous vulnerability.

A bad actor exploiting this cybersecurity vulnerability could gain access and alter a pacemaker's programming. A disturbing possibility to ponder. In a worst-case scenario, manipulation could lead to inappropriate pacing, and potential death. Which is exactly how the victim in Fatal Legislation is murdered.

The pacemakers in question were updated with security patches. However, discussions with cybersecurity specialists led me to understand that any device with firmware has the potential to be hacked. It’s only a matter of time before a true bad actor finds another vulnerability.

When a computer is helping to keep a human heart beating, cybersecurity becomes more than a matter of data protection, it becomes one of physical safety. Which leaves behind some hard questions. Updating the implanted firmware carries risks of its own, is it riskier to leave the vulnerabilities or update them? Could a hack be disguised as a natural pacemaker failure? Is it the perfect crime? Will we see future implanted cybersecurity risks?

Knowing this information, how comfortable would you feel having a wireless pacemaker installed?

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Ellen Butler is a bestselling mystery and historical fiction author. Her Karina Cardinal mystery series was praised by Publishers Weekly as “intelligent escapism”. Butler infuses her fast-paced mystery-action novels with authenticity and intrigue.