King Kong lives again!

Perhaps you have heard the thrilling and tragic tale of King Kong, the gigantic ape that was discovered on mysterious Skull Island and dragged to New York to thrill the masses as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

Kong made a special connection with a young woman named Ann Darrow, and, after a romantic rampage through the island of Manhattan, he took her on a sightseeing trip atop the Empire State Building, where he sadly met his doom.

There have been several cinematic versions of Kong’s teary tale, and my current fave is the homemade film made by a bunch of kids in Hyannisport, Maine and Riverside, Connecticut in 1978. Warning! Kong’s rampage is GRUESOME.

Summer fun

When the world is threatened with destruction thanks to a curse from a talking, decapitated witch’s head, what’s a kid to do?

If you’re Thatcher Hill, you stop dusting the fake mermaids and other assorted grotesqueries at your uncle’s seaside Museum of Curiosities, join forces with a princess from the fabled lost city of Atlantis, and kick some monster-squid butt.

Greg van Eekhout’s new middle-grade novel Kid Vs. Squid has it all—thrills, spills, and chills, and it’s a laugh a minute, to boot. Spend the summer with Thatcher and see how much fun a rundown boardwalk can be!

Slimy squid, hero kid. Kid Vs. Squid by Greg van Eekhout is published by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

Aawwwooooo!

I met the Wolfman last night, and let me tell you, he is a pretty cool guy. Thanks, Wolfman, for not ripping my head off! Let’s keep in touch.

The Wolfman says hi.

Bad lighting

George from Portland, OR writes:

Dear T,

I am writing a scary Halloween story called “The Evil Lightbulb.” It’s about a 60-watt lightbulb that shines with pure evil. Everyone who sees its light turns into a homicidal maniac. It likes people who are scared of the dark, because they are sure to turn it on, and then it sits back and watches the bloodbath. Here’s the cover I made for it.

Scary cover drawn by George

T replies:

Hey, George. That is indeed a scary lightbulb. But to foil its evil intentions I would attach it to a dimmer switch on every other night but Halloween!

A rad arachnid

Dan from Tallahassee, FL writes:

Salutations, T!

Today my mom went into the bathroom to take a shower like she does every morning, and two minutes later my dad and I heard her scream bloody murder. He and I went running to see what was the matter, and she showed us the cause of all the fuss. Here’s a hint: It had six more legs than I do! Trapped in the tub was the biggest, hairiest spider we had ever seen. At first, Mom wanted Dad to smash it, but then she cooled down and let me capture it in a jar and release it in the garden. Before I set it free, I did a drawing of it. Dad and I got online and looked at pictures of the different kinds of spiders that live in Florida, and we’re pretty sure it was a Giant Lichen Orbweaver. Here’s a jpeg of my drawing. I’m going to write a report about the Giant Lichen Orbweaver on my own and turn it in for extra credit in Biology class next year.

Giant Lichen Orbweaver drawing by Dan

T replies:

Wow, Dan, the spider in your drawing is so scary I nearly jumped out of my skin! I can see why your mom screamed bloody murder when she encountered the real thing in the bathtub. You captured the hairiness of this arachnid specimen especially well. And I appreciate your use of “salutations” in your greeting. I don’t see or hear that very often!

Don’t play with fire!

This happened last summer right down the street from where I live in Los Angeles, CA. Someone discarded a cigarette butt they hadn’t fully extinguished. The lit cigarette butt caused a bush to catch fire, and an ember from the burning bush drifted on the breeze into the palm tree. Scary! The brave and fearless Fire Department managed to put the blaze out, thankfully, and everything was fine.

Dream police

Have you ever had a bad dream so awful and scary that it turned your very blood to ice? I have, and I didn’t like it one single bit. Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I enjoy a good scary dream. But a genuine nightmare is something else entirely. I have learned to solve the problem by reminding myself, before I fall asleep, that I am in charge of my dreams and not the other way around. If I’m dreaming about something that makes me feel bad, I jump in and tell myself (while I’m still asleep), “I don’t like this dream. I want to dream about something else!” And then sure enough, I do.

I still have bad dreams, but they don’t last long before I stop them in their tracks. And that’s a big relief!

Bad dream drawing by T