It’s scary 6th day…half way through the #Creepfest and that much closer to Christmas!

To scare you silly this 6th day of #Creepfest…I have the rare honour of the lovely Ash Krafton, dark poetess, author and blogger…She brings you “A Christmas Terror”

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#Creepfest Author’s Flash Fiction Challenge

A Christmas Terror

God damn ye, scary gentleman
I’m begging—go away
Remember when I saw you on the night ‘fore Christmas Day?
You slithered down my chimney
toward the tree where presents lay
No tidings of comfort or joy.

At first I’d thought Saint Nicholas
had come to visit me
I saw the fat pack on his back
and almost danced with glee
But then he turned—I saw the face
I wasn’t meant to see—
Where are tidings of comfort and joy?

The scarlet eyes that smoldered there
looked treacherous and cruel
They burned a hateful fire that
fed on demonic fuel
His teeth were long and vicious, dripping
incandescent drool
No tidings of comfort or joy.

I didn’t want his presents, didn’t
want to see that face
I shut my eyes in terror but my
mind would not erase
All images of Christmastime
were tragically replaced
No tidings of comfort and joy

He loosed the strings and tugged it open
I saw what’s inside
A group of children, bound and gagged
their wrists and ankles tied
He could have turned and seen me but
I’d run away to hide
Forget tidings of comfort and joy
None for this boy—
No more tidings of comfort or joy.

[Note to bloghoppers-Aside: So just a reminder…Ash’s Flash Fiction is the fifth entry into the Creepfest Challenge…Let me know what you think of it and check back here tomorrow for the sixth offering as you are going to help pick the winning Creepfest author at the end of the tour. Please let me know, in your comment below, how you rate this fifth story, in the challenge, by the wickedly, terrifying Ash Krafton out of 5 stars (5 = Brilliant).]

Hi, everyone. I’m Ash Krafton and, as you can see, I have the tendency to take the happy and innocent things in life and kind of ruin them just a little bit. I don’t think I ever intentionally set out to become a dark poet. That’s just where I ended up.

Maybe that’s why I ended up on the Naughty list. No matter how much good a person does, it’s the bad stuff everyone remembers. Santa is no different. Shoot, can he hold a grudge or what?

So maybe I dug up a lover’s corpse in The Vigil (Danse Macabre). Well, two, if you count The Downside of Undying Love (Lightning Flash). But I’m not all about reanimating corpses. Sometimes, I make them—like I did in So Long, Warren (Red Penny Papers)—but that time, I think I pled insanity.

Anyway, Santa’s a jerk who won’t remember all the nice things I’ve done because the naughty things were just too great to overlook.

My favorite villain in a classic fairy tale is Godfather Death in the tale of the same name. Although he is meant to be the adversary in the story, I can’t help but sympathize with him. Damn, those Grimms were twisted. They really knew how to tell a dark tale.

When it comes to A Christmas Carol, I’d definitely be Jacob Marley. It might be too late to save myself…but it won’t stop me from trying to save someone else. There is always hope for the living. We can change our ways. We can learn from another’s mistakes. I love what Jacob Marley represents.

He also gets the best light and sound effects in live productions. 

If I were the Grinch, I’d leave a broken candy cane under the tree. There is nothing more depressing than a broken candy cane, especially if the cellophane is loose and the broken section hangs like a dislocated shoulder. *shudder*

All in all, I suppose I don’t get invited to many Christmas parties…but that’s okay. I’ve seen the true Spirit of Christmas and it’s not something I want to drink punch with.

Thanks, Kim, for being such a great hostess…and for giving me the chance to show off my Christmas Creepfest side. I’m also glad to share my own tidings of comfort and joy—for me, anyway—by announcing the upcoming release of my debut urban fantasy.

BLEEDING HEARTS: Book One of the Demimonde by Pink Narcissus Press. Available March 2012

When shy advice columnist Sophie meets dark and alluring Marek, she learns life-changing secrets about them both—he’s a demivampire struggling to avoid evolution and she’s an empathic oracle destined to save him. Sophie possesses the rare ability to reduce the spiritual damage that causes a demivamp to Fall, making her the only thing to stand between a DV and his evolution into vampire. However, as Marek’s dangerous past propels him toward his desperate fate, his enemies make darker plans for him: once vampire, Marek would be second only to the Master himself. The vamps want to cause Marek’s Fall and they intend to use Sophie to do it.

As a special treat, I’ll give commenters on this post an extra chance to win a prize. Once you’ve entered to win on The Kraftmatic Adjustable Blog, leave a comment here and I’ll pick another lucky sonofagun. Easy, peasy, baby-squeezy and you’ve got two chances to win. (More if you’ve been stalking me. In a non-threatening manner, please.)

Good luck, everyone! Thanks for creeping by…

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Thank you for that frightfully scary Christmas Terror Ash. Oh I agree with you, loved those Grimm brothers. Give me the Brothers Grimm over Disney any day. Happy Creepfest & Merry Christmas! 🙂

The Reader Challenge

~13/12 – 23/12~

I am going to ask you a question and you are going to answer it in the comments. Only 1 entry per person is allowed. However, to be eligible you need to:

• follow this blog
• like my Facebook Page
• follow me on Twitter
• after all this is done: tweet that you have been visited by #GhostofCreepmasPast and tag me @AuthorKimKoning 
• Also make sure that you are hopping to the other blogs in this #Creepfest Blog Tour
• These 5 tasks will make your entry eligible for the prize.

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So drumroll…Here is the question challenge.

Question: The Ghost of Creepmas (Creepfest’s Christmas) Past is making a house call and this week he is visiting your house. He takes you back through time to your worst Christmas Nightmare. (This can be real or imagined.) Tell me about it in 200 words (max).

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I will choose a winner and a runner-up on the 24th. The winner will win an ebook copy of Tales for Canterbury + $10 Amazon voucherThe runner-up will win a $10 Amazon voucher.For more info on Tales for Canterbury (which includes my debut short story “The Ring of Fire), click below…