“We all create stories to protect ourselves.”— Mark Z. Danielewski | House of Leaves
Continue reading Unpacking ‘House of Leaves’ by Mark DanielewskiMonthly Archives: June 2025
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson Analysis: A Normalcy of Violence
Subtle contrast or irony in fiction is creative writing at its peak. For example, the values of the grandmother in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” or the wallpaper in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Often, these ironic contrasts cause the reader to reflect on the wider world around them. These are the things that make horror in literature palpable. Accordingly, I thought it appropriate to provide an analysis of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. It is a uniquely horrific tale by the author of The Haunting of Hill House.
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Ghost Lake: The South Manitou Island Lighthouse Hauntings
Michigan has many strange things in the surrounding waters, and many haunted lighthouses on it shores. Allegedly, the spirits of the patrons and keepers still linger around the lighthouses. Regardless, the South Manitou Island Lighthouse hauntings are familiar occurrences in the Mitten state.
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The Haunted Song of Bete Grise: Legends of the Singing Sands
The loss of a loved one dominates many ghost stories that have been shared throughout history. In fact, even the Paulding Light‘s background is related to the loss of life. In this post, we will see familiar and unique qualities related to folklore in the Singing Sands of Bete Grise.
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Folklore: The Ghost of Michigan’s Charles Hackley
States all have their fare share of ghosts, from the phantom soldiers in Gettysburg, PA, to the ghost of Uncle Charlie in IA. Michigan has its host of specters as well. The ghost of Charles Hackley, for instance, still haunts parts of Muskegon. Hackley, a successful business man and investor in the city, has been seen in spectral form in public and private buildings on multiple occasions throughout the years. As it stands, his legacy in life was grand, but so was it in death.
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Folklore: The Paulding Light in Michigan
Folklore is graced with a fantastical flavor, which makes it so interesting, whether that be Zeus throwing lightning bolts at frightened peasantry, or Johnny Appleseed walking clear across the country to keep fruit alive in the hearts of the American people.
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What a Mark Twain Quote Teaches Us About Putting Facts First
How do we get it right the first time? Is that even possible? As Mark Twain–author of many important works–once stated, “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” In this post we are going to examine this quote. It has something to do with you as a writer and us as people. In the very least, the quote is about bending the rules after you’ve learned the rules. This is important to the writing process, regardless if you are a writer OR a Yankee from Connecticut.
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The Buggy Woman of Crawford Bridge
Bridges have a place in literature and folklore, from Ichabod Crane’s flight from the Headless Horseman in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (based on folklore from the Hudson Valley), to the bridge in Ambrose Bierce’s fatalist short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” The Buggy Woman of Crawford Road Bridge also has a horror element.
Continue reading The Buggy Woman of Crawford BridgeFolklore: The Buggy Woman of Crawford Bridge, MI
Tuscola County, MI—Bridges have a place in literature and folklore, from Ichabod Crane’s flight from the Headless Horseman in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (based on folklore from the Hudson Valley), to the bridge in Ambrose Bierce’s fatalist short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” The Buggy Woman of Crawford Road Bridge also has a horror element.
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