Old Friends and Frights Often Make the Best Muses...

 It's time again for another short story! This one is set in my own hometown of Roanoke, and its characters are based (and named, although last names have been left out, to protect identities) on my old high school buddies, who had many a misadventure throughout our teen years. This is an entirely fictional plot, although it has echoes to reality, and certain characters' personality/character traits are true to the people on whom they are based. 

I loved these guys in high school and still do. We keep in touch and hang out occasionally. They have turned out to be wonderful people, each of them, with wonderful families, careers, dogs, children, wives, and lives. It is my pleasure to know them and be friends. Our adventures and tall tales of their adventures and mischief they told me when I was too busy with track to join in while we were busy growing up inspired this story.

Now to the horror/scary part(s).

I remember being terrified of him in Disney's Fantasia.  Chernobog, Lord of the Bald Mountain. Being much older now and interested in myths, legends, and folk religions, I researched Chernobog more thoroughly and learned about his Slavic roots as a god of the night and creatures that creep and crawl in that dark night. I imagined a world where he was a sort of anti-hero, and wishing to write a "scary" piece, I concocted this story of Chernobog's quest to bring his friends and subjects, monsters, ghosts, ghouls, and the like, back to life. I honestly don't know how haunting or scary it is. I may have epically failed at this. 

I shared the story with my friends who star in it. I apologize to them if they hated it! It is a weird story, I'll give you that, but promise you, many of my stories are linked, and it will all make sense eventually if you continue reading them in sequence. It's all part of a greater narrative, a "battle for Roanoke" if you will I have plotted out. I hope that you, the reader of this website enjoy it and find it well and the story is an enjoyable read.

The story is attached as a pdf download below.

Also, I will shamelessly plug my newest novel, The Lucky Run,  again, now available for pre-order on Amazon  and arriving on Kindles and Print on June 17th, just in time for Father's Day! Please check it out and give it a read!

Thank you,  and I remain truly yours in creative musings,

T.D.

5/24/18

chernobog_takes_roanoke.pdf
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File Type:	pdf

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