First Frost Josh

During the Halloween season, atmosphere is everything. Every mundane activity must be transformed into a dark undertaking befitting the season. Taking out the garbage at dusk transforms into a perilous journey spent dodging shadowy corners and imagining escaped lunatics lying in wait behind every tree. Washing the dishes becomes an exercise in inescapability as you watch bleak clouds of grey slowly overcome the bone-white sun. Interlocking scattered puzzle pieces turns into solving a ghostly mystery concealing deeply buried secrets of yore. In my opinion, there is no better way to evoke atmosphere in otherwise ordinary situations than by listening to music. And what music is better to elicit a spooky mood than a good horror movie soundtrack? 

In this week's post, I am sharing the short story I wrote over the past few months. It was inspired by the legend of Šulak (pronounced shoo-lak), the so-called demon of the privy. I encourage you to look at the Šulak Wikipedia page after reading the story to learn more about the history of the legend. This was my first short story attempt, so I definitely learned a lot throughout the writing process. I hope you enjoy it!