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Hi everyone,
It’s The Dark Side
Downunder 2nd Anniversary! Thanks so much for dropping by and
helping us celebrate. From sexy vampires to goblin kings, through time travel,
space opera, fantasy, Steampunk and everything else that goes bump in the
night... the Darksiders have entangling paranormal tales to share. So raise
your glass and embrace your dark side.
So... Daleks aside, what
scared you as a child? For me (other than Daleks and clowns), it was some of
the really dark and twisted fairytales. Some of them were blood soaked, evil
and just plain awful. The murderous groom in Blue Beard was terrifying, the
Goose Girl with the death of Falada made me cry, and the injustice of The Six Swans
still lingers. In The Six Swans (sometimes known as the 3 Swans or the 7 Swans)
the princess must endure six years of silence to break the spell that has
turned her beloved brothers into swans. In that time, she is abused, loses her
husband’s love, watches as her children are stolen from her and is accused of
witchcraft and yet she is unable to speak and defend herself.
Another example of dark
and scary images is in the old version of Cinderella. Here the step-mother
encourages the step sisters to cut off their heels or toes to fit into the
slipper, only to have their plan undone by the two pigeons calling to the prince
“Cuckoo, Cuckoo, there’s blood on the shoe... she is not the true bride for
you.” Of course, the prince heeds the bird’s warning and leaves with his true
bride, Cinderella.
So...come on fess up,
was there a story that scared you silly as a kid?
I’m giving away a pdf
copy of Until The Stars Burn Cold. To be in the running please leave your name
and email address. Added to that there is a grand prize of a $30.00 Amazon
voucher up for grabs!
The comment button is at the very end of the post - thanks.
The comment button is at the very end of the post - thanks.
- To be eligible to win a prize on the blogs,
the reader must do as what’s instructed on each blog by 11.59pm 4th
November Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
- To be eligible to win the Amazon voucher, the
participants must comment on each participating blog. Only one
comment needed. Multiple comments will be ignored for the purposes of the
contest.
- Have
fun!
Long ago in ancient Persia, there lived a pair of star crossed lovers.
In a desperate bid, the lovers sought to flee the town of Adwan. But they were
caught and torn apart. For his insolence, Jinn is cursed into a ring. Ages pass
and empires crumble... and Jinn is still forever bound in a circle of frozen
silver. Bound, that is until present day antiques dealer, Mia Templeton
accidentally releases him. Mia is beautiful and Jinn, finds her somehow
familiar. Is love eternal and evil everlasting? Can the power that destroyed
his life in Adwan, reach through the centuries and threaten his future?
He
could almost taste the longing and desperation on her lips. His arms wrapped
around her and pulled her close, she trembled. Her tears fell as the deepened
their kiss and Jinn savoured the salt on his tongue. Reluctantly she broke away
but Jinn caught hold of her hand as she took two steps down the staircase
towards her uncle.
“I
cannot let you go.”
“You
must,” she said as she pulled her hand from his.
“He
cannot Shuri,” Kansbar said as he moved towards the flight of steps. “He cannot
let you go – his love is too great. Which is admirable but unfortunate. He will
move the heavens to have you and that will not do. Now, come to me and we will
have done with it.”
“Uncle
you promised that you would not harm him!” She called out as she started to run
towards him.
“I
will not kill him,” Kansbar smiled at Shuri. “But I cannot simply let him go.
Watch, you may enjoy it!”
“No
Uncle!”
But
Kansbar had already begun to mutter strange sounding words, his hands moved
elegantly drawing invisible shapes before him and the glass sphere appeared to
illuminate with an inner pale light.
“Kansbar
sisitu emuq Adar. Kansbar sisitu emuq Jetae Shamsheara. I-n-gub-en, digir
gal-gal-gu-ne-ra. I-n-dim-es-dilmun!”
The
Shamsheara stone levitated in front of Kansbar and shone as bright as the sun.
“Kansbar
sisitu emuq Jetae Shamsheara! I, Kansbar summon the power of the Jetae
Shamsheara!”
A
golden light encased Kansbar before the stone released an energy bolt of pure
white light. It shot through the air as fast as lightning and hit Jinn. He
cried out in pain and staggered as the light pierced his body.
Shuri
ran down the remainder of the stairs and threw herself at Kansbar’s feet. She
grabbed at the edge of his cloak “Please Uncle, I beg you do not do this. I
will do everything you say. I will marry Farrokh. Show mercy, show mercy!”
Shuri looked up and stared at Jinn, to her horror his golden skin had taken on
a silver sheen.
“Shuri!”
Jinn called out as he was compelled to bend forward and reach for his toes.
His
eyes never left hers as she ran the few paces towards him; but she hesitated as
she watched as Jinn’s entire body became pliable silver. His body had been
turned to molten metal yet he was still conscious … still Jinn… still calling
her name.
“Jinn!”
she screamed and her eyes rounded in horror as Jinn’s body formed a never
ending circle. He rocked for an agonizing moment at the top of the steps, the
sunlight causing his silver body to gleam. Pitching forward Jinn rolled down
the hard stone steps, decreasing in size with each revolution until he
clattered and spun with a metallic clink at Kansbar feet. With a satisfied
smile Kansbar bent down and scooped Jinn up with one hand. Jinn had been
transformed into a heavy silver ring – a perfect circle just big enough to fit
Kansbar smallest finger. Kansbar grinned as he inspected Jinn in miniature; his
hands touched his feet and his head turned to one side, lips still parted with
Shuri’s name. With great pleasure Kansbar held it up for all to see.
“Here
my dear, allow me to be the first to present you with a wedding present.” He
mocked and then laughed heartily as he watched his niece drop into a dead
faint.
Links –
| 1. Eleni Konstantine
2. Mel Teshco 3. Nicole Murphy 4. Imogene Nix 5. Christina Phillips aka Christina Ashcroft 6. Amanda Ashby 7. Jenny Schwartz 8. Shona Husk 9. Maree Anderson | 10. Kylie Griffin
11. Lilliana Rose 12. Nicole Hurley-Moore 13. Eden Summers 14. Erica Hayes 15. Sandra Harris 16. Keziah Hill 17. S E Gilchrist 18. DSDU |
"The Never Ending Story" the movie. I can't even remember the story now, but I do remember being scared watching it in the movie theatre.
ReplyDeleteWhat was scarier than the movie... Limahl (or more to the point, his hair)lol. He was the singer who sang the title track.
DeleteGreat post, Nicole. I was really young when I saw Friday the 13th (about 8 or 9). That's what happens when you have older cousins. Yep, scare factor up to 10! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Eleni - that movie scared me silly too :)
ReplyDeleteI don't remember a fairy story scaring me silly as a kid but I do remember once when I was very young my dad made up a bedtime story. I've no idea what it was about, except half way through I burst into tears and couldn't stop. I think I traumatised the poor man, as I can still recall him saying to my mum, "but it was going to have a happy ending!" Hahaha, I could only have been about 2 or 3 at the time!
ReplyDeleteWow, I wonder what the story was!
DeleteI remember reading one of my older brother's books about an escaped tiger (I would have been about 8 at the time) and I could have sworn I could hear it breathing beneath my bed.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, would have to be the Bible, all that hell & fire if you didn't toe the line :).
That's kind of creepy but the imagination is a powerful thing... then again maybe the tiger was really under your bed!
DeleteOh I hated Dr Who as a kid... it terrified me. But then again, maybe I was a wimp too :)
ReplyDeleteNightmares or not, I couldn't stop watching it :)
DeleteI can't remember the story's name, but as a child I had a book called ' Russian Fairy Tales' It was a darker version of the stories told by the Brothers Grimm. I loved that it scared me - the Russian's could take a creepy tale and make it so dark that you didn't want to finish the story, but couldn't stop turning the page. What was creepier was that it was published in the late 1800's.
ReplyDeletenatasha_australia@hotmail.com
Hi Natasha, I love Russian fairytales. I wonder what the story was??? Nicole x
ReplyDeleteAny story that was at night. I was (and still am slightly)terrified of the dark.
ReplyDeleteemmad(at)xtra.co.nz
Yep, I'm with you. It's not so much about being scared of the dark... it's what is in it and what you can't see!
DeleteChucky, Jaws, Jason, Michael Myers,Freddie and Critters eek they all freaked me out.
ReplyDeleteflanagan@mebtel.net
Hi Wanda, thanks for stopping by. Jaws scared me silly and so did the first Nightmare on Elm Street. :/
DeleteRumplestilsken (sp?) always creeped me out! Love dither excerpt; I am adding it to my wish list.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
Hi Tracey, I agree... Rumplestiltskin was creepy. So is it wrong, that I find Robert Carlyle's portrayal of the character in Once Upon a Time kind of attractive????
DeleteStill to this day I refuse to watch Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, they absolutely terrified me as a kid! I also about crapped myself from watching 5 minutes of Freddy vs Jason! And the story of Click, Click, Slider is one that still gives me chills! (My brother told me that one while driving on a deserted road in the bush at about 10pm)
ReplyDeleteHi Gabbie, thanks for dropping by. :)
Delete