Halloween Countdown: C is for CLOWNS

I have a crippling fear of clowns. I could blame the horror world for distorting a once-innocent child's icon into a terror-inducing monster (*points finger at Stephen King*) but truth be told, my coulorphobia came long before Pennywise.

The "other me" is a thriller writer, and I've been studying serial killers for as long as I can remember. John Wayne Gacy, a twisted killer who murdered 33 men during the 1970s, entertained at neighbourhood parties under the moniker "Pogo the Clown."

Alice Cooper got it right with his classic hit, "Can't sleep. Clowns will eat me."

I've been a bit lax on my blogging countdown this week as hubs and I get the yard ready for the trick-or-treaters (yes, it takes about a month, mostly because we're perfectionists), but I thought today's post appropriate since as we toured the Halloween stores in search of this year's "big" ticket item, clowns were definitely the horror trend of the year. Thank goodness hubs draws the line at zombies, skulls, ghosts and reapers - otherwise, it wouldn't just be the local kids with a hard time sleeping after walking past our yard.


A LITTLE HALLOWEEN POP CULTURE "C"

Fear this: Clowns, of course. And cats, if they're black.

Popular phobia: Maybe not a true phobia, but around this time of year, I get heavy duty Chionophobia, a fear of snow.

Some spooky movies that begin with C: Christine, Carrie, Cujo, Cabin in the Woods, Child's Play, Candyman, Children of the Corn, Chuckie

A few Creeptastic "C" Authors: Molly Cohran, Lisa M Cronkhite (catch them both on the Crossroads Blog Tour 2013), Ramsey Campbell, Robert McCammon, Robert W. Chambers, Lincoln Child

The Bonus C? The CROSSROADS BLOG TOUR, of course. Don't know what that is? Here's the blurb from Judith Graves' blog (give this talented woman a round of applause for creating - and maintaining - this creeptastic tour): "From small to big-gun presses, debut novels to bestsellers, we’re offering unprecedented (and free!) access to amazing YA authors. This October, 22 paranormal writers will embark on an exciting blog tour that will hook readers up with great reads and cool SWAG. This year we have the most EVER on our author roster."

I'm pretty stoked to be on that tour this October with the book I co-wrote with Judith, KILLER'S INSTINCT.

OK, hitting the hay...hopefully I can sleep, and clowns WON'T eat me.

Only 26 SLEEPS to go!

- Dawn