Testing, testing. I'm not sure if it's working or not. Nothing is popping up.

Hold on, let me see it.

Yeah, it is. Look.

Oh. Okay. How do I tell which one of us is the one talking? Will it choose a different font or something?

I programmed it to bold and underline the dialogue of the second person that talks.

What if someone else starts talking?

It should pick from other fonts, depending on how many people are talking and if your blog has them.

All right. Thanks.

No problem.

And I can have it send automatically, right?

Umm, I'm not sure I've got that working yet. I'll let you know?

Okay, thanks. I appreciate this.

Again, no problem. If you want, you can send it to the blog right now to make sure it goes through.

Right.

Merry Christmas, I guess.

Hello, everyone. I hope everyone had an OK Christmas. Before you start thinking "Oh em gee, he got attacked again!" no, that's not what happened. I actually had an alright Christmas, too. No supernatural creatures came to disturb me while I was celebrating with my family; though, considering that most of my family are an unexciting bunch, I kind of wish that something had happened. It's kind of weird when I think about it. It's like the more these things wait, the more anxious I get.

Okay, I'm stopping right there. I told myself I would not make my next post about these damn things.

Right, Christmas. Let's see...

Well, I got a ton of books. I got to pick them out, too! See, I went to this old bookstore that had a lot of used literature, and I found a few interesting things that'll help me out in the long run. I also got the rest of the "Song of Ice and Fire" books, and let me tell you, they are awesome. They're a great distraction from the real world.

I also got a tape recorder, a new phone, and some clothes. Yes, not too exciting, but what can you expect? My family just lost their damn house.

Sorry, did it again.

Oh, and I also saw The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey's trailers the other day. I thought they were great! Christopher Nolan is an excellent director, so I have my complete faith in him about Rises. As for The Hobbit, this also looks like it'll be a lot of fun. The song the dwarves sung is now stuck in my head, too, so I can't help but think about it. Truth be told, I haven't actually read The Hobbit, but there is something weird. The night before I found out the trailer was released, I had been thinking to myself "Hey, I should read Tolkien's books sometime."

Crazy, right?

I'm probably going to read some more Game of Thrones now; I only have forty pages left, and it's amazing. Also, Joffrey is a prick. I hate that son of a bitch (and his mother is a bitch, coincidentally). I love how some of the other characters that are supposed to be on his side also hate his guts. And Tyrion is hilarious. I used to write a character that had his scheming personality, though not quite as well as George R. R. Martin has done. I really hope Tyrion survives the series.

Well, until next time.

- Art

Season's Greetings.

Hey, everyone. Sorry I haven't updated too much since my last post; I'm thinking about getting a twitter or something in order to post regular updates without having to make a one-sentence post. If you all would like that, let me know in the comments.

First off, I want to clear a few things up.

As my active readers know, my house burned down a few months back. Luckily, my dad's side of the family has lived in this area for ages, so we're staying with some of his relatives for the time being. After the attack, my parents are starting to think that someone is out to get them, so they've contacted the police. It's not like they'll help, though, since they've got their hands full with the number of people that's disappeared.

Adding on to that, I've been out of school for a while, so I haven't seen any of my friends for a while, Sarah included. It's not likely I'm going back any time soon, which kind of sucks. I hate being shut in this house with no one to talk to. That, and... well, I don't like being alone right now.

Ever since my attack, I've had this paranoia about me. It's kind of like this 'Slender madness' or whatever they're calling it - they think they're seeing Slender Man everywhere. For me, though, it's this Rake creature. Except I'm not seeing it - I feel like it's there, like it'll come around the corner at any moment and finish me off. I fear that I'll wake one night and have it inches from my face, its claws resting on my chest...

This fear has gotten so strong that I tense every time the floorboards creak, or I see a flash of movement in the corner of my eye. Most of the time, it's just these damn cats that my aunt owns, but I only realize that after I slink back in fear.

I know what this sounds like. I know I'm being cowardly here, and that I should just get a grip. But I can't shake this feeling that the creature is lurking just beyond the realm of my vision, waiting for the opportune time to gut me.

I've read some other stories on the Rake, too. The very first one that I found said that the thing could whisper, suggesting some sort of intelligence - which is just wonderful for someone in my position. The scary thing is that hey, I've actually heard whispers at night! In fact, I think I even made a post about them! So, was that my imagination, or has this thing been stalking me for a while?

As much as I hate to admit it, I think this is the case. The farthest bit of evidence that I have of this creature being close to me is Sarah's father's murder. Remember, he was ripped to shreds in the hospital. At the time, I was thinking it was some lunatic or, and I also hate to admit this, the Slender Man. But maybe it's this thought of the paranormal that caused the creature's gaze to shift to me. If the Rake operates on a high intelligence level, maybe it also has an increased awareness level. Maybe I was so focused on seeing something supernatural, I became a beacon in the darkness within this creature's eyes.

I have another theory that goes along the lines of "Maybe the whispers are actually the Rake trying to manipulate us in our sleep", but that seems a little far fetched. Maybe the asshole is whispering for the sake of being scary; or maybe he's giving our mind subconscious instructions.

Yeah, I don't know. I may be looking too much into it.

Anyway, I'm going to try and contact Sarah soon. I might be able to learn something about her dad that will give me a better idea as to why he was attacked.

No word from Charlie, either. I think it's safe to say he's dead by this point; or maybe he's the painted hobo. Hm. That's one theory that sounds plausible...

Again, let me know if you want me to get a Twitter or something else to keep you updated.

Until next time.

- Art

I'm back.

Wow.

It feels like forever since I've been on here. It's so surreal to me.

I'm not sure how to put this into words, so... here it goes.

Around Halloween, I was attacked by the creature I mentioned in my previous post; to those of you who are Internet denizens, you'll know it as the Rake. I've also heard it compared to an incubus (aside from having sex with you while you sleep - which is kind of disturbing in itself), so there's that. It's pretty much a pale, humanoid creature that has large claws, and it's most common M.O. is to either sit on the edge of beds and act like a fucking creeper, or it attacks someone and rips them to shreds. It's usually both. When I hear this description, this makes me see him more as a naked Freddy Krueger that hasn't been out in the sun in quite a while, but let's not go there.

The truth is, this thing is more terrifying than any other fictional creature you've heard about. "Why, Art?" you ask? Because it's fucking real, morons. You don't have to believe me, but I've got the damn wounds to prove it.

Which leads me to my next topic - how I was attacked. Based on the description I gave, you might believe I was attacked during my sleep. Oh, how you are wrong, dear reader! Not only was I not attacked during my sleep, I wasn't even attacked during the night! That's right, this fucker had the balls to attack me in broad daylight! I had just gotten back to the place where I had been staying and I almost forgot my drink in it. I reached in to get it when I felt something push me back into the car. Then, as I turned around to see who my attacker was, I felt like someone had set a cat on my legs, because the next thing I know I feel these streaks of pain in both my legs. That's right, the thing had just taken out my legs so that I couldn't get away.

So, I feel myself starting to get dragged out by the thing and I grabbed onto the steering wheel. I was still facing away from the fucker, but I could hear it growling like a damn dog. Except... no, it wasn't like a dog at all. It was trying to sound like a dog.

Right, anyway... I grabbed onto the steering wheel with my free hand and tried to turn myself around. Big mistake. As soon as I turned, the asshole tried to slash my face. I managed to get my arm up in time to stop it, but that came at a price, too. I panicked and struck out with the hand holding my keys, and it hit the thing's face. I knocked it back just enough to where I could pull myself in and close the door.

Don't ask me how I was able to knock back some paranormal mother fucker. I just don't know. I'm just lucky, I guess. I mean, I have heard that the police suggest people carry their keys like a knife when walking to their car - that way, they have something to protect themselves with. But really, I wasn't expecting it to work on this thing.

After that, I did what any rational person would do: I locked the fucking doors. I was planning on driving off, but with my legs in their current condition, I wouldn't have made it very far. I called the police and was on my way to the hospital in no time.

I still lost a lot of blood, though. They kept me in the hospital for a few weeks, and I'm still having to go to physical therapy every few days. Things have been quiet, though. I haven't seen the son of a bitch since the attack, so that's good.

There's something else, though. When I was looking out the hospital window, I could have sworn that there was a very tall, sharp-dressed man looking up at me. Make of that what you will.

I'm going to do a little more research before I investigate other happenings. I really don't feel like losing a body part.

Until next time.

- Art

News Time, Children!

First off, sorry about the ‘I’ll update soon!’ and then it takes me three or four days to get it up. I’ve been losing track of time and such because my sleeping schedule is so fucked up at the moment. Well, that and something else, but more on that later.

Anyway. So, what’s new in my life, you might be wondering?

Well, since I’ve been watching some late night television, I’ve come up with a top ten list of what’s most important. So, without further ado, I unveil Arthur Pierce’s Top Ten Important Facts About the Past Few Months.

10.) Chex Mix kicks ass. No, seriously. It has everything I like about food: salt, crunchy stuff, and (sometimes) chocolate. The only thing that’s better than Chex Mix is pizza, but I can’t have that all the time. Plus, you can’t carry pizza in little bags while stumbling around the forest for hours on end. Well, you could, but then it gets really disgusting.

9.) Movies are getting better. Well, some of them, anyways. I could do without the damn remakes, though; they’re in every genre now. Next thing you know, they’ll be remaking The Godfather or something.

Which reminds me, they’re remaking John Carpenter’s The Thing. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, HOLLYWOOD. WHAT THE FUCK.

8.) Steve Jobs is dead. Or is he? I personally believe that his consciousness is being placed into a computer as we speak. (If this actually happens, you heard it from me first)

Right, onto the more serious stuff…

7.) Humans’ ignorance levels have increased over time. I’ll go more into detail on this later, but for now, keep that in mind.

6.) History tends to repeat itself! Especially in my world…

5.) Remember when your mommy and daddy told you not to talk to strangers? Remember when they said don’t take candy from them, too? Well, they should have said to not even fucking stare at the stranger, or else he’d stalk and brutally kill you.

4.) What would the world do without music? I know I’d be driven mad by the whispers at night. Remember when I told you all about them? The fucking voices in my room in the middle of the night? Well, I managed to stop listening to it. Just put on some music, turn it up enough to where I can barely hear anything, and BAM, I’m in business. Of course, my ears are hurting, so that sucks.

3.) I am a horrible friend. So, it turns out that I probably could have avoided ALL of this if I hadn’t of made this blog in the first place! All of the people in my hometown would still be there, safe and sound. Not so nowadays! It’s just a fucking ghost town here, and it’s all my fault!

Okay, so I’m exaggerating. It may not be the whole town, but a good portion is gone. Or dead. Probably both, too. People started believing, and when they believe… woosh… they’re gone. I sometimes wonder if it’s because they just have really weak wills, or if they are scared shitless because they’re faced with some eldritch abomination. Maybe the people who create the other blogs/vlogs have stronger wills because they’re more open to the idea that something exists out there, so when they finally see that thing a small part of their mind goes “Oh, I knew it!”

I don’t know. Maybe. Hell if I know.

It doesn’t really matter in the end, though, does it? Friends and family gone? Check. Forced to keep moving because of an eerie feeling that if you don’t something is going to get you? Check. Stalked by not one, but two paranormal things? Check!

Which leads directly to my next point.

2.) So, ever since that night, I haven’t seen a trace of the ‘Slender Man’. Oh, sure, I’ve seen what he can do – my town is evidence of that – but never actually seen him. I wonder if this is because he’s a picky eater, or if I’m being used as the snare that’s bringing in all of the other things he’s taken. Wow, I wonder if that is actually true; could he be that intelligent to use someone like me to spread the word? Oh, that just pisses me off even more. I played right into his damn hands.

Thankfully, the government of the U.S. of A. must have anticipated this. Nothing about the mass disappearances has appeared on the news, so it seems like they’re keeping this all a bit hush-hush. Or, that’s what I’m gathering from this, anyway.

Oh, right. The second piece of shit that’s been stalking me has been something else! If I haven’t already clued you in on the other strange happenings that have been going on around me, here’s a hint: Those fitness guys on YouTube aren’t the only people being attacked by it.

1.) Love is real. Not the “Oooh, I’m in (teenage) love! We’re going to grow up and get married and then have babies and yeah!” kind of shit you see in high school. It’s something I can’t really describe. It just felt, for an instant there… Kind of like… Ugh, I can’t even begin to describe it.

Sarah, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

- Art

I'm still alive.

Expect a new post soon; I don't have much time.

It's my fault.

I thought that, if I put other people in the way of Him, then it'd be fine. Totally fine, even. I started warning people about Him, even going so far as to warn the families of the disappearing kids that their children had been kidnapped by an abomination from wherever the Hell He comes from. But I was wrong; I was so fucking wrong, and there's nothing I can do to bring any of them back. I thought that if a lot of people saw Him, then he couldn't take all of us. But I was so wrong...

It wasn't the Slender Man that had kidnapped the children in the first place. It was just a regular guy - not a proxy, either. He was just a sick and twisted fuck who liked to play around with kids a bit too much. They finally caught him a few days ago after they got a match from a partial fingerprint found at one of the families' houses a few months back.

So many people were interested in what I had to say. I think most didn't believe me, but some did. Some thought that He might be real, and that belief spread. And then, one by one, they've been picked off by that thing. And what's worse is that with every disappearance, two more start to believe in Him. I fear that soon my little town will have its population halved.

I'm still looking for Charlie, but I've come to believe that he might be dead. I read an account from a father who said that his daughter was literally erased from existence, and unless I'm crazy, I think Charlie had the same thing happen to him. I'm not really surprised that Charlie knew of Him, since Charlie was always interested in that kind of stuff... When I think back to the last couple of times I saw him, I feel a little guilty. I should have known something was wrong. Why did I not see it? He even had books about that thing!

Well, okay... a book. I was looking over some of my past posts and found that I had referenced it. That Walking Willow thing I mentioned a while back is apparently some sort of... documentation or something of the Slender Man. Makes sense when you look at the title, eh? I'm betting that's what brought upon His 'wrath'. I can't find the book Charlie bought, so I'll have to keep looking for any other information online about it.

As far as this proxy that has been following me... I'm not so sure it is a proxy any more. From what I've read, these assholes usually like to try and kill their targets; the hobo seems more interested in protecting me. For instance, he was there first at the abandoned house and I vaguely remember feeling a little bit safer knowing that I wasn't alone with that thing. And then, he pulled me out of my own house while it burnt down. And if he is my online stalker, well, he's made it clear from the beginning that I should stop while I can (which we all know isn't going to be possible now).

I'm trying to come up with a plan, but I'm too distracted. I am starting to think that nowhere is safe. It's only a matter of time until the real proxies come, isn't it? Heh...

Oh, one last thing. This may be due to my lack of sleep, but... these fucking whispers. I keep hearing them at night. I don't know if I'm dreaming or not, but the whispers sound pretty real. Are the whispers His way of talking or something? If it is, fuck off, Slendy. I'm trying to get some sleep.

Until next time.

- Art

YOU SON OF A BITCH I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU WHEN I FIND YOU

9-6-11

I don't think there's really any way to say hello without me sounding like I'm a calm person, because right now I'm pretty fucking pissed. Wondering why? Well, that ties in to the part where I wasn't able to post an update the other day. I was attacked at my house - well, 'attacked' meaning I was dragged out onto my front lawn and was hit in the chest multiple times. I didn't see the person responsible, but they did kind of... help me. I fell unconscious when I was attacked, and after a few minutes (I'm not sure how long, actually) I woke up and I saw my fucking house on fire. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, so if I had stayed in that house when it started to burn down...

Luckily, my family was out of the house. See, my mom works the graveyard shift at this hospital place (sort of like where they send depressed people), so that's what she was doing at the time. And my dad was... Well, you know, I don't really know what he was doing at the time. The night seems like a blur to me, anyways...

Well, yeah. So my house is burned down. Yay... I actually tried to get back into the house to save some of my stuff, and although I was eventually driven out, I noticed something that piqued my interest. I think I saw the starting point of the fire, and I've been thinking about it for the past few days.

Remember when I interviewed the police detective? Well, one question I asked was how the police could tell if a fire was arson or not. In case you didn't know, when a fire is caused on purpose, the fire spreads out and curves up, like an hourglass shape. However, natural causes just go straight up, because the heat isn't sticking to the floor... Or something like that. It's been a while.

Well, what I saw in my house while it was burning all around me was the latter.

Am I suspicious? Definitely. Do I think it was one of those fucking proxy bastards? No.

I've read that Slender Man has the ability to conjure fires or something, so I'm going to take a guess that this is his way of saying "Shit's getting real, bitch."

If you're wondering how I'm using blogger if my laptop burned up, well, I'm currently hanging out with Sarah at the moment and she's letting me update this real fast. She's still upset over her dad being killed, and I think I'm going to tell her my theory of what's going on. How that'll work out for me, I don't know. We'll see, eh?

Until next time.

- Arthur Pierce

Son of a bitch.

For anyone paying attention to that son of a bitch that's stalking me, he's uploaded another video on his YouTube account. Really, I don't understand the point of cryptic videos with creepy music playing in the background. If you're trying to kill me, come do it. Don't fucking wait.

More than likely, he's trying to freak me out; except, that's pretty hard to do when I'm already paranoid over a faceless abomination!

He sent me the link to the video he just put up, with the message "There's more." I'm not sure what he's talking about - if there's another video on the way, or there's more in the video. (Click here to see the video)

The weird part is, I think this video is talking to the anonymous comment I got yesterday talking about how I ran away from some monster when I was a kid. In retrospect, it was a bit of a silly thing to say - I mean, really? You're going to say Slender Man was after me when I was little, but moving away from my childhood home in New York stopped him from watching me sleep? That's a bunch of bullshit, because if moving away from some place helped a person get away from him, I'm sure these Runners I keep reading about wouldn't have to be running at all.

I can't say at this point whether I like it that 'amiwhereallcry' is scaring off the trolls. I hate them both, you see.

Also, I'm not sure what the fuck the description means. It might be a song or something, but I haven't found anything that is even remotely interesting.

Anyways, I'll put up an update soon. I've been... busy. And before you ask, no, I haven't seen him.

Until next time.

- Art

Maybe I am crazy. I mean, I saw something that shouldn't exist, and then my best friend just disappears, and no one remembers him. It feels like I made him up, or something... And ever since that night, I haven't seen that thing, not even a glance.

I don't even know how it would feel if I was crazy. Or if I am.

I'm rambling, aren't I? And talking to myself... on a blog... It seems like I've been talking to myself for a while. No one feels like talking to me about this, no one is helping me. I'm all alone. If I had some confirmation that this was really happening, or if someone was going through the same thing, maybe then I wouldn't question my sanity. Maybe.

...

Fuck it. Fuck you people who help each other except us 'newbies' - even if it's just one comment or something. Yeah, I understand you're probably going through a hard time. Whatever.

Nevermind. I'm just talking to myself again, because no one's there.

Oi, for anyone reading this and having the same sort of problem, take my advice. Don't wait for help; help yourself. That's what I'm doing.

I've read enough of these blogs to know what happens next. Some masked freak decides to be an asshole, come into my life, and fuck it all up - I think that hobo fits the bill pretty nicely, eh? Or, Suit comes along and decides that he's going to be my shadow. Well, I'm not going to wait for something to happen. I'm getting out of town before something happens to me, or one of my friends. And if I am crazy, well, it's not like it can get any worse, can it?

The only thing I'm worried about is, ironically, how all of my years at school were for nothing. Dumb, right? Lots of people hate school. Hah...

No, that's not the only thing; the other thing is Sarah. She probably hates me because I haven't talked to her since her dad was killed. But I need some... closure, or something. I need to tell her that everything is going to be alright. Even when it's not.

Huh... I have an idea. It's kind of crazy, but hey, if I am insane, it's right up my alley. I need to try something before I get out of here. And no, I'm not putting it up so that hobo can stop me. I'll save it for my next post.

Until next time.

- Art

Soemthing is in here with me. NOt sure what but the cans were koncked over and  I woke up. Fucking sleep medicatoin didn;tt work damn it

going t o try andd look at the footage on the camera if its not broken, 

- Art

The hobo's been on here.

I was able to borrow someone else's computer to see this other post I was told about. I was able to read it, and I'm pretty sure the point of view is from that hobo I saw at the house. Except, now I'm not sure if he's just a hobo any more.

I'm thinking that maybe he's that 'amiwhereallcry' asshole who has been writing the anonymous comments. I know he's been on here before, so who says he couldn't have gotten on again and put that 'WE ARE THE DEAD' post up?

That's not my only major concern right now, though. First and foremost, I know that the Pale Bastard has now noticed me. Or, it noticed me noticing it. I haven't seen him since that night, but I'm going to keep an eye out. I have an old camera that Charlie gave me for Christmas, so I'm wondering if I should use that to record my room at night.

The reason I want to do that is because I've seen those videos on YouTube where that thing shows up, or you assume it's him, and then someone just disappears, or they start sleepwalking. So, yeah - I want to prevent that if I can. The only problem with an old camera is that I won't be able to upload any footage I get. Bummer, right?

Also, I remember reading about this in a book, but you can place a stack of cans (or something like that) near your door, and when someone tries to enter it, they knock over and create a loud sound. I'm probably going to do that, just in case it decides to creep through my door like he did in that Marble Hornets video.

Finally, I'm getting some sleep medication if I can so I won't have any of those weird dreams. It's a bad sign that they keep reoccurring, in my opinion.

So, that's the plan for the next few nights. If anyone else has any advise they can give me, please post in the comments. I need all the help I can get right now. I know I was an asshole before, but that's no real reason to let me be Tall Guy's snack, is it?

I think I'm going to start tagging these posts in order to catch the attention of people looking for blogs like this. I might be able to find someone who can help through that.

I hope.

- Arthur Pierce

I'm not crazy.

At least, I don't think I'm crazy. Sure, seeing some monster that isn't supposed to exist might lead to questioning one's sanity... but what if one's friend just disappears off the face of the earth? 

I mentioned that in my last post - Charlie's gone. And for the past couple of days, I've been trying to find him (without much luck). One can figure "Well, the Slender Man got him, Art!" but I refuse to believe that. If I believe that, then I'll fully believe that this is real and not some fucked up dream.

There's just one small problem to all of this: I seem to be the only one that remembers Charlie.

You read that right, and it's not a joke. Everyone I've talked to over in his town doesn't remember him. Even his parents are clueless when I mention his name; they just look at me like I'm some sort of mental patient. I called up his girlfriend, too (I think I mentioned her before), and she has no idea who I am, or who Charlie is. 

It's almost like he was erased from existence, except for the times I mention him on this blog.

I'm scared now, and I don't know what the fuck is going on. Did I make Charlie up or something, or did that thing do this? Please, if someone has any information, contact me. 

Also, someone mentioned that there's another post up on here. Well, I've been unable to see it, so I don't know if they're screwing with me or not.

I'll try and make another post later today. Until next time...

- Arthur Pierce

Hey, readers, here’s a tip: If you are dumb enough to go into the creepy woods to find some abandoned house – AT NIGHT – you deserve to get eaten by some sort of monster, or butchered by a serial killer.

At least, that’s what I thought when I watched all of those horror movies with the protagonists making really dumb mistakes.

Right now, that’s how I feel – really fucking dumb. I DID go to an abandoned house in the middle of the creepy woods at night. Why? Because I’m an idiot. Call it genre-blind or whatever; I should have known better.

Let me start at the beginning.

A week ago, I told you all that Sarah’s dad had been attacked in the hospital. Well, when I got there, they had put him in surgery but weren’t expecting to save him in time. So, yeah, he’s dead. Something almost tore him apart, and the doctors are baffled at who could have done it. No one was seen going into his room, nobody suspicious was noticed at all, and his room was on the seventh floor of the hospital, so no one could have gone through the window.

To my knowledge, the police are investigating all of the staff on that floor. You know, to make sure none of them could have done it. But I know they won’t find a lead, because no one there did it. Something did it, yeah, and no wonder it didn’t appear on any of the cameras.

Well, that’s what started all of this. After that night, I began having these really vivid nightmares – but the thing is, they weren’t scary during the dream at all. It’s only after I woke up that I was scared. For instance, in one of my dreams I was celebrating my birthday (I guess I was a small kid or something) and I was opening this red and blue colored present. I ripped open the wrapping paper and found this bloody bone inside, and I picked it up with my teeth and ran around the house like I was a dog. That’s when I woke up, and was scared. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Does anyone know?

And then on Wednesday, I started dreaming about this house in the middle of the woods. I was standing in front of it, and the sky was time-lapsing, as if someone was recording it and sped up the footage. When I began walking towards the house, all of the lights inside it turned on, and the light seemed to pull me towards it. When I walked inside, I was in this really clean room (which was the exact opposite of the outside of the house), and something seemed off about it. It was almost as if it was tilted at an angle, yet gravity still pulled me towards the floor instead of shifting me sideways.

In this room, I found the same present from my earlier dream, but the difference was that there was nothing inside it. So, you know what I did? I tore out a bone in my body, and put it inside. WHAT THE FUCK?

And then, it all came to an end yesterday. I got a call from Charlie around nine in the evening. He sounded really upset at the time, and asked me if I could come pick him up because his car had been acting weird or something. I didn’t think anything of it, so I drove off to meet him, following some directions he had given me.

Well, something happened to my car, too. It was like the entire thing decided to shut off by itself. Everything went dead; the engine, the lights… I was scared. I didn’t know what the Hell was happening. And when I finally got it to start running again, the lights came back on and I found myself to be in front of the same house I had been dreaming about.

At first, I thought I was dreaming, or maybe I was unconscious because I had been in a wreck. So, I get the flashlight that’s in my glove compartment and I start walking towards the house. Why not investigate, yeah?

And then, I have this weird… feeling. It was almost like knowing you’re being watched, except I thought that I felt someone’s presence there. It seemed familiar to me, and so… I started calling out Charlie’s name. I don’t know why; don’t fucking ask. Maybe I thought he was there. I don’t know.

So, I go into the house and… Well, it’s just a house. Nothing new about it; no clean room, no present, nothing. I stayed for a few more minutes, maybe thinking something would appear, but after I realized that I was wasting my time there, I went outside. I was beginning to get creeped out, you have to understand.

And lo and behold, as soon as I walk outside, some guy is standing there staring at me. I guess I took him for a hobo, since most of his clothes had a dirty and worn look to them, but his face is what stood out. It was like he had taken all sorts of face paint and put it all over his face until it looked like some cheap clown face.

Since I thought I was still dreaming, I thought maybe this guy was Charlie dressed up. I called out his name, and then I noticed the hobo wasn’t looking at me, but over my head. And then he takes off running, like something is chasing him! I tried running after him, but the guy was really fast. I gave up after a few minutes.

And then… I was heading back towards the house when I saw that thing. It must have been what the hobo was staring at, since it was right in front of the house. It just stood there, staring at me, like I was some fascinating bug that it wanted to collect. Wait, why the Hell did I say staring? The thing didn’t even have any fucking eyes.

That was the point when I knew for sure that I wasn’t dreaming, because when you get the shit scared out of you in a dream, you wake up, it doesn’t keep scaring you. And let me tell you, that was the most scared I’ve been in my life. I’ve been paranoid for a while now, and then when I finally see that thing confirm it’s existence for me…

I tried to get away. I got in the car and was trying to get it to start, but the damn thing decided it was going to piss me off. Nothing was working; the lights cut out, so I couldn’t see. And then that thing was gone, like the lights cutting out was it’s way of saying “Peace out, bro.”

Except it wasn’t gone.

It was right outside the driver’s window, looking at me.

I don’t remember anything after that. It was exactly as I’ve read about on these other ‘Slender blogs’, like you feel as if you’ve lost a few hours or something. I don’t know what happened. I just don’t know.

When I started remembering again, I was in front of my house. It was about six in the morning, give or take a few minutes. I tried getting in touch with Charlie, but he hasn’t been answering his phone. I don’t know what happened to him.

To all of the people I made fun of for believing in this… Slender Man… I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I fucked up big time, and now I’m paying the price, aren’t I?

I hope there’s a next time.

-      -    Arthur Pierce

WE ARE THE DEAD

I am sitting on the edge of the tree line, waiting for something. If I knew what, I might be better prepared, but I prefer not to argue with Him. Last time, it ended with bloodshed, and I had to clean off the bits and pieces of my partner.

I ponder how long I have waited; it seems like forever. I have not moved for a day and night, and I have not wandered off for food or drink. But my mind, instead, wanders – and I see my goal in sight. I see lights heading up the dirt road, piercing through the night’s curtain. And though the lights are far away, I know they will reach me soon.

Time passes. The lights have arrived, and I hear a car door slam shut. I wonder to myself why someone would come to an abandoned house at this time of night, but then again, the boy that had gotten out of the car believed he was about to save a friend.

The boy moves towards the house, his flashlight flickering in the darkness. I can sense he is frightened; it reminds me of how some people say “Dogs can tell if you’re afraid or not.” But I am no dog; I am a hound, yes, who follows his master’s words. But not a dog.

I seek out those who escaped. I am His hound, His tracker. Even He cannot be everywhere at once.

I can feel my senses coming back to me after all this time. I get up slowly so that I am not noticed by the boy. But my concern is misplaced, for his attention is all on the abandoned house. He walks towards it, shining his flashlight in the dusty windows. He believes his friend is here, but he is wrong. The boy was tricked.

I begin walking towards him; he does not hear me for he is shouting his friend’s name. I stop twenty paces away, watching as he enters the house. He does not know the danger here, nor does he know the things that are coming for him. I can feel Them coming, and it is strange; never before have I felt both so close. My mind becomes sidetracked for a moment before I feel pain; He commands me to pay attention. I understand.

I stand in front of the house, watching, waiting. I can hear the boy inside, looking for clues. But he will not find any, for this is his trap – he is meant to die here. Or is he? If the Other arrives, perhaps this will turn back the course. I will be left at square one, then.

The boy comes out of the house; I can see the scowl on his face. He knows there is nothing here. And then he stops, startled by my presence. He shines the light in my eyes, calling his friend’s name. But now, I see something behind the boy, something that is darker than the night itself.

The monster is tall and thin, Its arms open as if to embrace. It wears a suit that seems made out of the dark in the Abyss, for the darkness around it is reflected back. It is a burned hole in existence, something that shouldn’t be, but is. And my eyes look towards where Its face should be, and I feel fear. I think Farstrider understands why I am here, and it is angry.

Or is that anger? I do not know for certain. I feel angry myself, but it is not my emotion. Where does it come from? What is it? What is that thing?

The boy calls out his friend’s name again, and I look back at him. He is frightened.

My mission has failed. The Other was here, and now my master and He are at odds over their prey. They both desire the boy, and if I intervene I shall die. I take a step back, and then I begin to run. I run into the forest; I hear Arthur yelling at me to come back. But if I remain, I shall die.

I will live to serve another day.

Interview

Hello, readers. A lot has happened in the past week, so if you don't mind, I'll be using sections this time around.

School

Yep, school starts soon. It feels like summer's gone by so fast, and yet... it feels like most of my childhood was faster! It's strange, isn't it? How time flies? I just can't believe that in one year, I'll be out of school and I'll be an adult. I'm kind of scared, to be honest, because I keep wondering how I'm going to earn a living. Writing, after all, is a rather tough business to get in, and it's pretty risky. Of course, everything in the entertainment industry is risky if you think about it: make one wrong move, and you can be swept aside by someone looking for what they consider 'talent.'

But in order for you to get noticed, you have to go to college, and in order to go to college you have to have money. That's something that I don't have at the moment, and my family is struggling with the economic crisis right now, so they're not going to give me anything. I guess I could go to a community college for a semester or two while I save some money, but I'm refusing to take out a loan from the bank. I don't want to be in debt by the time I'm twenty-one. My best chance right now is a scholarship, but the school I attend... Well, let's just say they're fucking assholes, to put it bluntly. They only select the teachers' kids for awards and such, and it has been that way ever since I got here in fifth grade. I guess that's the bad thing about living in a small city, eh?

If anyone has any ideas on how to pay for college, please comment. I need help.

Writing Contest

I submitted my story a few days ago, and the contest ends on the 13th. It's not likely that I'll win, but hey, a guy can hope. I have some of you to thank for that, by the way; your 'Slender Stories' inspired me. When they put up the winners, I'll post my story on here (I don't want them thinking I copied the story from here) - that is, if anyone wants to read it.

Interview

I don't know if you all remember, but I mentioned that I was going to try and get an interview with one of the detectives that works at our police department. Well, after a month or so of waiting, I was finally able to talk to one of them! I am amazing, eh?

I have taped the interview and did that because I have a very poor memory sometimes and wanted to have something to go back to, in case I forgot something. However, my poor excuse for a camera didn't get the audio, so I can't really go back and listen to it now. I've tried raising the volume on it, but it's not working. And the weird thing is, that's the only video on that camera that has no audio. I'm trying to think back on what might have caused it so that it doesn't happen again; my theory right now is that since it was laying down instead of me holding it, I must have blocked the thing that recorded the audio. Just a guess.

Anyways, enough about the camera. On to the interview!

I didn't learn anything particularly interesting, to be honest. Since I live in a small city, there's not a whole lot that goes on that piqued my interests, like murder and kidnapping (and I mean 'interests' as in, stuff I'm interested in writing about, not 'interests' as in things I'd like to do). Really, the only crimes in my area are linked to drugs most of the time which is a bit sad. Making drugs, selling drugs, stealing something to buy drugs... Yeah, that's pretty much it.

And the job isn't all fun and games, either. Of course, I already knew this (let's face it - everything is dramatized on television), but I was still surprised at how much paperwork detectives have to do. They have case after case coming to them, and sometimes it'll be a quick case, other times it will be something that takes a day. And if you let it take you that long, a lot of cases stack up on you. So, the next time you're watching a cop show on CBS and they have a character receive a lot of paperwork (usually played for comedic purposes, actually), that's the real thing! 

There was one thing I didn't get, though. I mean, I can understand murder not being on the big list of crimes these detectives have solved, but kidnapping... Well, it's just that. For the past few months, kids have been going missing in three counties, including mine. At first, people just assumed that it was because one of the kids' parents had taken off with the kid in order to get away from an abusive spouse, or that the kid had ran away. Normal stuff, you know? 

But when the number of kids that had disappeared rose to seven, that's when people started to get concerned. This wasn't like any normal kidnapping, because... well, there was nothing suspicious about it. Whenever the child disappeared, it was like they were gone - poof! It's like they were the star of some magic trick, except the magician was Nicholas Cage and he fucked up his magic (like usual). There's no evidence that they were kidnapped, other than the other kidnappings themselves. No one that seemed a little off was seen around the children before they disappeared. Nothing.

Naturally, the police couldn't tell me anything because they can't give away case details unless it's for 'the greater good'. But you know what I think? I think they have nothing to go on right now because there's no evidence. Creepy, right? 

I don't know what happened to those kids; I probably don't want to know. It'll turn out to be some child serial killer or something who gets off on slicing up a five year old. It's only a matter of time before the police find a body, anyways; a person can't just disappear off the face of the earth.

And this is due to my ever-increasing paranoia, but I'm noticing a lot of similarities between these kidnappings and the Slender Man stories. Let's see... People disappear without a trace? Check. Children being kidnapped? Check. Police baffled, or having their thumbs up their ass? Check. Ugh, I'm being an idiot, aren't I? There's a rational explanation for the kidnappings, not some fucking monster from the Internet.

Sometimes, I hate my imagination.

...

Okay, so I was getting ready to publish this when I got a call from Sarah. Her dad was just attacked at the hospital. I'm heading over there now, but I'll update you all on the situation when I get the chance.

Until next time.

- Arthur Pierce

EDIT (8/8/2011): Sarah's dad is dead, and I think I know who did it. I'll try and update soon, but if I don't, just assume that... something got me.

Advertisements and News

It’s come to my attention (albeit not recently) that the entertainment industry is dying. All I see is the same trash coming out, year after year. Movies, books, shows, I don’t care which. They all come from people who have no idea what they’re writing about.

Oh, you want an example, do you? Okay.

In Stephenie Meyer’s New Moon, the main character, Bella Swan, is suffering from ‘depression’ because her boyfriend, Edward Cullen, broke up with her (Woops, I should have said spoilers, shouldn’t I- FUCK YOU, THEY ALREADY RUINED IT IN THE TRAILER FOR THE MOVIE). Except… Meyer has absolutely no idea what depression really is, does she? Anyone reading this book (which I do not recommend, unless you want to see what NOT to do when it comes to writing) that’s suffered from depression could very well be insulted by how it’s presented – actually, no, how it’s glorified. Really, Bella tries to get an adrenaline high by putting herself in dangerous situations and even trying to commit suicide near the end of the novel! Why? Because she needs to hear her ex-boyfriend’s voice in her head.

Okay. I’m probably only using that as an example because I’ve been reading http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4924741/mark-reads-eclipse-preface-chapter/ this guy’s chapter-by-chapter review of the Twilight series. He’s hilarious, yes, but also brings up some good points about the series overall.

Anyways, I also went to the movies the other day, and what I saw there kind of pissed me off, too. No, it wasn’t Deathly Hallows I saw (I’m still waiting on the review to pop up, though blogger is still being a bitch about it), but the wonderful Crazy, Stupid, Love. While I liked the movie, I didn’t like the coming attractions. Wait. I MEAN ADS. FUCKING ADVERTISEMENTS EVERYWHERE.

They’re the same stuff I see every time I go to the movies, which isn’t a lot. Very rarely can I go since tickets are so expensive nowadays (but that’s another issue I won’t go into). But really, I don’t go to the movies to be fed bullshit while I want to watch a movie. There was seventeen minute’s worth of advertisements before the ACTUAL PREVIEWS APPEARED. REALLY? REALLY?

And then those same previews took another six minutes showing these SHITTY MOVIES THAT NO ONE GIVES A DAMN ABOUT. WHY ARE YOU SHOWING PREVIEWS FOR A KID’S MOVIE IN A PG-13 MOVIE?

Ahem. Sorry, my CAPS lock got stuck.

Okay, I am not going to bore you with meaningless drivel that, no doubt, other bloggers have ranted about. Instead, I’ll talk about my week! Yay, everyone wants to hear about my week! Heehee!

…

So, I’ve begun work on a short story about… well, I don’t think I’ll give it away right now, but it’s inspired by those Slender Man stories I found, so a few of you might like it. If you all want me to, I’ll put it up on here before I submit it to this writing magazine that’s holding this competition. I don’t know, it seemed interesting and I feel as if my writer’s block is being lifted a little. Maybe Charlie was write in that this blog is helping me (get it? LAME PUNS! HAHAHAHA!).

Okay. Now for some serious stuff!

Sarah’s dad is still in the hospital, but he should be allowed to leave in a few days. He hasn’t been able to talk about what happened to him because he doesn’t remember any of it, which is leading some people (me included) that he was drunk at the time the injuries occurred. Sarah told me before that he used to drink a lot… Though, you think that he would have remembered something, eh?

My imagination went to work when I heard first, though. My immediate thought was that Slender Man had attacked him! It all makes sense! Loss of memory, gone for a few weeks, and having injuries that he doesn’t know how he received! Haha… I amuse myself. If Slender Man was real, I doubt he’d be stalking Sarah’s dad.

You know, a thought just occurred to me. Slender Man reminds me of those dumb chainmail comments you find on YouTube or message boards. You know what I’m talking about, right? The “POST THIS COMMENT TO FIVE OTHER VIDEOS OR ELSE THE CRAPPER GHOST WILL HAUNT YOU!” stuff? Well, think about it. According to these stories, the people who find out about Slender Man are suddenly stalked by him, right? Think of how perfect that’d be for a chainmail comment, then? I mean, it wouldn’t really save you by posting the message on several other videos or threads, but it’d be a convenient way of spreading the knowledge of Slender Man by saying “SLENDY IS COMING FOR YOU!”

Just something to think about, I suppose.

My imagination has been doing more things than blaming Sarah’s dad’s injuries on Slender Man, though. Ever since I’ve watched those videos on YouTube, I’ve been creeped out. I just feel like if I look through a window at night, I’ll be seeing the Faceless Asshole staring (if he can stare? He doesn’t have any eyes…) back at me. I know, I know, I’m just being paranoid. But still, those videos are unnerving when you get right down to it. One of them even has the thing going through a doorway – but first it has to bend down just to get through it. I swear, if I woke up one night and saw something like that coming into my bedroom, I’d need a new change of sheets. I don’t know how this guy, Alex, isn’t shitting his pants every ten minutes.

Well, maybe he has, actually. We don’t see it appear on camera, and I daresay that Alex shitting his pants would be a rather horrible video. Blegh… BAD THOUGHTS.

Damn it. I keep going off-topic while talking about Slender Man. SEE? This is what this shit does to you! I don’t want to create a super-long post, so I guess I’ll just stop here. Sorry, people.

Until next time!

-          Arthur Pierce

P.S. Looks like I’ve gained some new followers. Hi! 

aksfbnafuckyoublogger

BLOODY HELL...

... I really should stop quoting Ron. I've done that ever since I saw the last Harry Potter movie.

But really, what the fuck is going on? I typed up my review of the movie and was going to put it on here, but now it's gone. It said it was put up, but it's not there. It might be blogger acting up, I guess. Still, it pisses me off. I'll keep trying to get it up, but no promises.

Sorry that I've been gone for the past few days, by the way. I've been hanging with Charlie, enjoying the rest of summer before school starts. Though, whenever I look away he's got his head buried in a book, which is weird because I've never known him to take up reading like that. Hell, it took him almost two months to read the first Eragon book. And the worst thing is? They're all non-fiction books!

When I asked him about it, he said that they were for 'research'. I can understand that, I suppose; I've done some myself, like getting a 'Famous Criminals' reference book from the school library. His were all on folklore, though, so... maybe he's going to make a fantasy film or something. I don't know. I recognized some of the books (and most looked pretty boring), except for one or two that looked beat to shit. There was one that was literally falling apart, and I have no idea why the Hell Charlie would buy it. It didn't even look that good, to be honest - 'The Walking Willow', it was called. But to each their own, I guess.

Anyways, time  for me to get off.

Until next time!

- Arthur Pierce

What the Hell?

Okay, this is going to be a shorter post than the others, but this is really important.

Charlie and I are planning on seeing The Deathly Hallows Part Two in an hour or so (yay for midnight showings, anyone?) and I jumped on to check if anyone had commented on my last post. Yeah, no one had - big surprise. And so Charlie wants to take a look at the blog since he hasn't followed it for about a week. He then proceeds to point out that the url for my blog is 'amiwhereallcry', which really freaks me out. The original url was blankspace32, not the name of some random guy trying to scare me.

I think Charlie did it, since he likes to try and freak me out. How he got into my blogger account, though, is a different matter. I mean, I guess it's possible for him to hack me. And I'd love to think that it's him rather than some troll...

I've changed all of my passwords just in case, though. If it isn't Charlie, I don't want this troll putting up posts on my blog, or sending out random e-mails to friends of mine.

Also, does anyone know how long the url has been 'amiwhereallcry'? If it has been there for a long time, I'm not sure I should change it.

Anyways, I'm off to see the wizard!

Hey, everyone. Sorry that I haven't updated in more than a week. I was actually planning on putting another writing example yesterday, but never got the chance because I was at the hospital. Don't worry, I'm fine. It's best to start at the beginning, though.

Thursday night, Sarah's dad came back after taking off a few weeks ago. You'd think that'd be a good thing, but he had been in an accident or something like that. He had bruises all over his body, most of which had already turned into yellow or purple splotches. He also had a really deep cut on the back of his leg, and Sarah told me that he probably won't be able to walk on it again.

Anyways, his family took him to the hospital around eleven and stayed there for quite a long time. Most of the day, actually, now that I think about it. Sarah called to let me know, and being the concerned, sympathetic guy, I brought lunch to her family. I think they were grateful, except for Sarah's little brother. Apparently, the little shit likes chicken nuggets instead of a hamburger.

Her dad hasn't said anything about what happened, and the doctors told us that he'll probably be there for another week. Strangely, Sarah's mom volunteered to stay behind to keep him company. Maybe she felt guilty about chasing him off or something, but because she was staying the kids also had to stay. I felt that was a little unfair for them, because really, who wants to be stuck in a hospital for the next few days? And since Sarah doesn't have her license yet, there was only one other person who could drive them home. Guess who that was? Yep, you guessed it. Me!

I took Sarah and her family out to eat before driving them home. Sarah was depressed the entire time, though... Maybe because she was right when she had felt something was wrong when her dad didn't come back after a few days. Now that I think about it, I probably should have stayed with her after I dropped them off...

Well, I hope her dad makes it out okay. Sarah would be crushed if she lost her dad.

Right, I know that's not why some of you are reading this. I did say I had some more writing stuff for you. This time it's a little different, though; I'm not examining character archetypes or looking writing parts. It's more like a theme, mixed in with my own feelings and opinions on the subject. Most of this has been brought out by reading some of these Slender Blogs, or watching this documentary about the thing on Youtube. Enjoy!

Darkness
It's a relatively common theme in the media, actually. Whether it's fantasy, horror, or action, you'll find this there. Almost every time you'll find that it's the old theme of the Light versus the Darkness, with the Light winning almost every time. I'm not a huge fan of cheery happy endings, because in the real world not everyone wins; sometimes the villain wins! I mean, just look at the Casey Anthony trial!

Now, while I'm okay with the heroes winning all the time (I don't like it; it's just okay), a place where the villain wins all the time would just be downright depressing. It's like there's no hope at all for you, no matter the effort you put into taking down the villain. It also adds a layer of predictability to it, too, because if you know the villain is going to end no matter what, then what's the point of reading it?

So, how can you make something where the villain always wins, and have it be interesting at the same time? The answer to that question is hope. If you place a thin veil of this between your heroes and the villain winning, then the heroes will have this false hope that they can defeat the villain and live a normal, happy life. As the reader, you're hoping for the heroes to find a way (unless you're a sadistic bastard) to kill the son of a bitch, and that thin veil blinds you, too. That takes away the predictability of the villain winning away. A good example of this would be George Orwell's 1984. If you've read it, you're hoping that the protagonist finds a way to beat this government that is pretty much brainwashing the entire world. There's even a part where it seems like our protagonist is about to join some sort of rebellion. And then near the end we find out that it was all just a lie, and that there had been no hope from the very beginning of the book. Talk about depressing, huh?

I think I've gotten a little off topic from my original subject of darkness, so it's time to come back to that. To me, darkness is probably the scariest thing in the world. Time seems to go so slowly when you're in it, and you always have this feeling that you're being watched. And the worst part is that something could be watching you in the darkness, and you'd never know. Something terrible could be hiding there, something so awful that if you were to see it you would be scarred for the rest of your life.

And that's what I've had to deal with the past few nights. Yes, I know I'm seventeen and that I shouldn't be scared of the dark or monsters under my bed, but I am. Well, not the monsters under my bed because I have so much shit under there the monster wouldn't fit. But something in the shadows - yes, that fucking terrifies me. It's almost like I want to look sometimes, yet I feel if I do it will get me. I remember when I was seven I had a nightmare where I felt like I was awake, and there was this presence behind me, almost wanting me to turn around and see it. That was the worst nightmare I've ever had, because even after I woke up I still felt like I had that presence coming to get me. That's normal for most nightmares, though, right?

I'm probably just paranoid because of all this Slender Man stuff, but hey, it brought back old memories. The creature itself is a symbol of horror, though, and I love that. You can't run from it, you can't hide from it, and you have no idea what it wants. That leaves enough for the imagination to fill in, and in my honest opinion, the imagination is the scariest thing of all.

I'm really tempted to start my own little tale in the Slenderverse, or whatever it's called. I think it'd be just the thing to help me think creatively. I'm betting Charlie would like it, too - more specifically, some of those videos on Youtube. And Charlie Al Wymer, I know you're reading, so you better go ahead and search the videos yourself, or else I'm going to annoy the hell out of you the next few days.

Oh, I almost forgot! Two more things before I go. One, an apology to my followers. I didn't mean to sound so asshole-ish in my last post, I was just having a rough day. Sorry!

And finally, does anyone know who the hell that amiwhereallcry guy is? He put this video up on Youtube which was a cheap trick in trying to scare me, but I'd like to make sure he isn't some troll who has been posting on other blogs. I only got this response after I mentioned Slender Man, so I think he has something to do with that.

Until next time!

- Arthur Pierce

redirtsraffoeraweb

Family Life and a Message to My Followers

Do you know how hard it is to find something good on television nowadays? I mean, take a moment and think long about when stuff on television was actually good. Done? Now what do you see? Because I see the same fucking crap I see everywhere else. There’s a multitude of these horseshit reality shows that you know aren’t real because of how fake the acting is. And then, we have shows like Jersey Shore that are just fucking stupid to begin with – and yet, we have teenagers idolizing these idiots. Great job, America!

And then there’s the third category that infests the media today – teenage drama. Wow. Don’t get me wrong, whoever came up with the concept is probably living in Beverly Hills in a threeway with two of the world’s top models because of all the cash they’re making. But, wow, this drama shit is so… ugh, no words can describe it. To put it mildly, it’s stupid. All of it. The teenage drama portrayed on these shows is nothing like in real life; all I see is some dumb blonde going “WHY DOESN’T HE LOVE ME?” or some macho idiot going “Ohhh, this guy is staring at me funny. I’m going to beat him up!” It’s like the same stereotypes in horror movies, except there’s no crazy guy in a mask that’s going to hack ‘em up (which left me a little depressed, I’ll admit).

If you’re asking yourself “Oh, why is Art watching these shitty shows?” well, it’s because my damn parents are fighting again and I don’t want to deal with their bullshit right now. Of course, it doesn’t help that they’re constantly interrupting me to try and get me on their side – oh, no, it doesn’t fucking help at all. From what I gather, mom thinks dad cheated on her, so that’s got her angry at him. She doesn’t have much evidence, though; the only suspicious thing she’s got is that dad was gone a weekend or so ago for a landscaping conference or something like that, but when she called his workplace he wasn’t there. My dad can’t seem to think of anything to prove he was anywhere else.

So, yeah. A whole lot of shit going on at my house.

Well, just so you don’t pity me so much, I didn’t spend all day watching teenage drama and reality shows. I was initially going to put up another post on here for some more of my infamous writing examples (harhar), but then I noticed I had gained a new follower. Oh, but get this: It’s another fucking Slender Man guy. Where the hell are these guys coming from?

Not only that, but this new guy – Iscariot Archangel or whatever – apparently worships the Slender Man, calling him ‘The Tall One’ and ‘He Who Is’. What the fuck, man? First off, Slender Man’s an Internet myth, meaning he’s not real, dumbass. Second, nice originality, buddy. You deserve a damn medal for those names. No, really.

…

Anyways, I made it though his first post before I clicked out of it. It was some really weird stuff… Mostly about serving his ‘Master’. At least the other guy’s blog was morbidly entertaining. Hm… Now that I think about it, maybe these kooks don’t think Slender Man is real at all. Heh, probably just some sort of writing game or something that they’re doing for a part of a forum community. I’ve seen it before, and even watched some great works of fiction come out of it. If they don’t think it’s real, well, then kudos to you two for writing some pretty weird horror stuff.

Iscariot was also following some other weird shit that has to do with Slender Man, so I’m thinking that this is just some big game for these people. Though, they didn’t even do their damn research. There was this one ‘detective’ called Strahm who was giving out details on a case (or that’s what I gather from his posts in his latest blog). Talk about unprofessional, huh?

Still, most of them are pretty interesting. I’m going to look into this more; maybe I’ll get some inspiration from them.

Until next time!

- Arthur Pierce

Paranoid Holidays, Badass Wimps, and He'll Be Back

Well, I can’t really say I’m surprised that no one commented on my last post. Hardly anyone seems to be reading it. Still, it’s a good place to take my mind off of all the things going on at home. My parents have started fighting about something. They won’t tell me, and when I try and listen in, their voices are so muffled it’s hard to tell what they’re saying. In a way, I can relate to Sarah now because of this crap. And you know what the worst thing is? My parents are taking out their frustration on me! Joy!

                Whatever. I’m not here to talk about them.

                Today, I’m going to talk about holidays and character archetypes.

                First off, holidays. I see this a lot in movies, books, shows, you name it. Usually, there’s some big event happening on a holiday, either for a specific reason or for no reason other than to draw in an audience around a certain time. A good example of a specific reason would be Die Hard; the terrorists know that there’s a party going on in this bank (or whatever it was – it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the movie) and take everyone except John as hostages. A good example of no reason at all would be John Carpenter’s Halloween: A psychopath breaks out of a mental institution and goes on a killing spree on Halloween. The only real reason they had him break out on Halloween was so that the characters could see him wearing a mask and not be frightened at all (or they’d at least think it was a joke). If it was any other time of the year, let’s face it – some masked guy watching you from a distance would creep you the fuck out.

                There are some times when a movie is set on a certain date, however, that becomes infamous. One that I can think of right off the top of my head is another slasher movie called Friday the 13^th. Everyone’s heard of it, and a lot of people even get superstitious when the date comes around. That right there is just awesome, in my opinion, when you can turn a date from a movie into a Paranoid Holiday. Kudos to the creators of Friday the 13^th.

                That’s all I’ve got to say about that, though.

                Character archetypes… There are too many to name, to be honest. I guess I’ll start off with some of the ones you see a lot.

                Badass Wimp – The title pretty much says it all. There will be stories where the guy who doesn’t fight, is too scared to confront bad guys, and who can’t even talk to a girl without stumbling over his own words will somehow defeat the villain with ingenious planning mixed with convenient circumstances and he’ll get the girl at the same time. An example of this is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Okay, so this wimp turns out to be a wizard or something like that – in fact, he’s the one destined to defeat this bitch called Morgana.

                So, after blundering through training and hearing a lot of Nicholas Cage rants, the wimp loses his power to Morgana’s main servant and is left by his master. But wait, the wimp suddenly has an idea! He’ll defeat them all… with SCIENCE! GLaDOS would be so fucking proud of him.

                So, the wimp finds out that the stuff he was working on before he became a wizard can conveniently defeat other wizards. That figures, right? But wait – there’s more! Right when Morgana appears in a Last Battle-esque sequence, the wimp can suddenly use magic without the object that can normally control it. There’s no explanation at all as to how that happened except that he’s the ‘chosen one’ – yeah, fuck you, too, but I want to know how he’s the chosen one. What’s so special about him that he can use magic without that object? What makes him the chosen one?

                But the biggest ass-pull is how the wimp defeats Morgana. Okay, so there’s this incredibly powerful sorceress that has just arrived, and the wimp decides he can now stand up to the villain! He flings this plasma bolt at her, one of the strongest spells he can use – but she avoids it because she’s not in one piece! So, how is he supposed to defeat her, you ask? He starts controlling all of these electric cables that suddenly latch onto Morgana which somehow makes her into one piece (how the fuck did that happen, anyways?!) and the wimp flings plasma bolt after plasma bolt, killing her. Oh, and he gets the girl who is way out of his league in the end.

                Fuck you, Hollywood.

                He’ll Be Back – Okay, a lame name, but this refers to a villain who always returns for one last scare, or to pop up in another part of the series, or something else. Michael Myers is one of these, but that’s probably because he’s invincible, too. Going back to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, you can also say that Morgana’s servant is another one of these, because at the end of the film they can’t seem to find him! Dun, dun, duuuuun! Oh, and one final example of this that isn’t exactly the same is Jigsaw. Yeah, I love the Saw movies, but this guy always finds a way back to fuck with people – even after he’s dead. Of course, it turns out that his apprentices are carrying out his ‘final will’, but still…

                Eh, I think that’s enough for now. I don’t want a huge block of text here.

                Anyways, I just heard my parents fighting in the other room again. I might go to Charlie’s house if this keeps up, though I was invited by my cousins to come over to their house tonight. I might take them up on their offer…

                Until next time.

-          Arthur Pierce

Doyle Twists and Vital Clues

Well, I feel kind of disappointed in myself. I started this blog to help with my writer’s block, and

yet I’ve been using it to document my personal life. I feel like one of the thousands of people who go online and post something completely uninteresting but still hoping that people will like it. Heh, I’ve probably even scared off a few people, come to think of it. I’ll try to keep on the topic of writing from now on, unless something life-changing occurs and it means I’m going to be away for a while.

Or if it corresponds to writing somehow.

Anywho, I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I would discuss something I called the Doyle Twist. It probably has another name, but I can’t be bothered to look that up right now. It’s supposed to be a twist ending where the main character figures out the twist before the reader based on information that wasn’t given in the rest of the narrative. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, does this a lot in many of his stories (or at least the ones I’ve read), and it made me tear my hair out in frustration. You can mislead the reader, sure, but if you don’t give them all of the information then you just look like a jackass.

I don’t know, maybe Doyle did it on purpose so that Holmes could seem very intelligent. But if he had added in a few details that led to the twist, I guarantee people would figure out the twist before the end.

If you’re still unsure as to what I mean, I’ll give you an example.

So, let’s say Sherlock Holmes starts investigating the murder of this wealthy land owner. All signs seem to point to the butler because he hated his boss, he was getting ready to move out, and he knew how to use a gun. So, what we have here is a motive, a getaway plan, and the training required to handle a weapon. Seems like an open-and-shut case, right?

But then, BAM! Holmes comes in and says that it was the maid who was the murderer, not the butler!

“But detective, what evidence do you have against the maid?”

And then Holmes reveals that he had been told that the parrot the land owner kept as a pet could only speak three phrases, but when Holmes was investigating, the parrot had uttered a fourth phrase! Dun dun duuuuun!
“What was this fourth phrase, detective?!”

Well, the fourth phrase just happened to be the land owner’s exact words to the maid: “Please don’t shoot me, Charlotte! Don’t shoot me!” So, the parrot was a witness to the crime and was mimicking his master’s words! AHA!


“Oh, snap! How did we not hear that parrot? We must be bumbling police officers, after all!”


And then Sherlock Holmes lights his pipe, nods to them, and walks back to London.

…
Now, wouldn’t that piss you off if that had been a real story?


What I’ve learned is that a good writer leaves small hints that play into the twist. Sure, you can throw in a few red herrings because that’s natural – you want to leave the reader guessing. But giving the reader no information while at the same time misleading them? That’s a slap to the face. You’re just asking for hate mail, in that case.


Another twist that pisses me off is something I call the Vital Clue. You see this in almost every crime show nowadays. The investigators have all this evidence that points towards someone being the murderer, or the evidence changes constantly and points to several different people an episode. And then towards the end of the episode, the investigators get one vital clue that implicates to the real murderer. I’m sorry, but in the real world those investigators are going to need a whole lot more to arrest someone instead of just a partial fingerprint on a table that was in the other room of the victim’s house.

There’s probably dozens of other twists that piss me off, but those are the main two. What do you all think? Do you agree? Disagree? Also, if you have anything you want to get my opinion on, just leave a comment below and we’ll see.

I know I’ve said this before, but I really don’t expect anyone to take interest in this. Hell, I’m surprised I even have one follower at the moment (Even if they are a little crazy. I mean, they’re claiming that SLENDER MAN is stalking them. Come on, really?). If you are reading this, though, don’t be shy! I’d enjoy getting some feedback, at the very least…

Until next time, I guess…

- Arthur Pierce

Hey, everyone. This will be a smaller post compared to my previous two entries.

Yes, breathe a sigh of relief because you don’t have to read a block of text.

Anyways, the little hiking trip I was supposed to go on today was cancelled because of rain. I’m relieved that we didn’t have to go, but I think Charlie was disappointed – probably because he couldn’t look for filming locations, haha. When I asked Sarah if she wanted to go hiking with us, she accepted, but because of the rain she just stayed home. I feel bad… I might try and hang out with her this week. I don’t think she needs to be alone right now.

Anyways, all we did was hang out at Charlie’s place for most of the day. Chelsey (that’s his girlfriend, by the way) came over around noon and we all went out to eat at one of the local burger joints in town. Strangely, I don’t feel like the third wheel when I’m around those two, possibly because Chelsey actually pays attention to me rather than focusing on Charlie the entire time (which a lot of girls I know do that).

After the burger joint, we went to the mall and pretty much walked around the entire time. We stopped at Gamestop a little ways in so that Charlie could get some information on Halo 4. Chelsey didn’t mind; she knows we’re nerds and approves. While I was looking at games, I was thinking about getting this survival horror game called Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I’ve read about it somewhere and it sounded really awesome, but I’m not sure if my computer would be able to handle it (seriously, why do all the great games have to be on the PC? Ugh). If anyone reading this has played it, what do you think? Should I get it?

Well, after the mall we went back to Charlie’s place, doing pretty much nothing except watching the first Saw. I was going to play around on Charlie’s laptop, since he has this awesome program called GIMP on it, but he said he was busy with it. I think he was looking at some other blogs on here, because it had the same format as mine (though it was gray) and had a title that was about trails, or something like that. Maybe Charlie really is getting into hiking if he’s looking up blogs on it. I really hope not, though, because if I know Charlie, he’ll drag me into it.

Damn it, this looks a lot longer than I expected it to be. Sorry, sometimes I just get carried away. Well, maybe that’s normal for a writer, now that I think about it.

Until next time!

-          Arthur Pierce

Friends, Updates, and Hiking

Hey, everyone. It’s been about a week since I made a post, and as I told you before, Charlie was getting on my case about how I wasn’t using this blog. Well, he did it yet again. Yep, he’s just that much of an asshole.

Nah, I’m just joking. Charlie’s a great guy, and I’m not just saying that because he’s watching this blog. We’ve been friends for a few years, ever since I met him online. Yes, you read that right. We became good friends after playing some Modern Warfare and Left 4 Dead, and when we got to know each other better we found out that he only lived about an hour away from me. We eventually met outside of the gaming atmosphere and started hanging out when we got the chance. Now that both of us have our license, we’re able to meet up almost every day!

The reason I think we’re best friends is because we understand each other. Both of us are thinking about going into the entertainment industry when we’re older, with me as a writer and Charlie as a big-shot director in Hollywood. We both enjoy the same types of things, such as games and movies. But the one thing that’s different about Charlie is that he doesn’t limit himself to the technological world like I do. Yes, he’s as much as a nerd as I am (and you know it, Charlie), but he also gets out and does something, whether it be walking his dog or looking for filming locations (more on that later). He doesn’t play any sports, though, because we both agree that sports are not as big a deal as many Americans make them out to be. In fact, I’m sure both of our schools could do without football and baseball; the school keeps spending money on ‘upgrading’ the stadium that they’re neglecting to hire a full-time nurse or maintain some parts of the building. I mean, seriously – do the announcers need a fucking air-conditioned booth for a two hour game?

Alright, back on topic… Well, all in all, Charlie’s a great guy. I know I’ve made him out to be kind of a jerk because he’s practically forcing me to write this blog, but it’s all for a good cause. I think this is helping me, actually, because I managed to write something today! It’s not anything great, of course, because it’s only a page long. But hey, that’s something.

Oh, right. Updates.

I mentioned in my last post that I wanted you all (or whoever is actually paying attention to this blog) to pray for Sarah, a friend of mine. Well, to those that did – thanks. Things haven’t gotten better, though; in fact, they’re gradually declining. Her dad took off on Saturday after an argument about the bills, I guess, and no one’s heard from him. Sarah is worried to death and has gotten it into her head that something happened to him. Personally, I think the guy had had enough of living in that household and finally just walked away from it. The reason I say that is because Sarah’s mom is a bitch. She’s always grounding her kids for no reason, she almost bit my head off when she learned that I was going to be taking Sarah to the junior prom (Sarah’s just a friend, so don’t get it into your heads that I like her that way), and Sarah told me that all contact from her mom’s side of the family has ceased.

I have no idea why the hell her mom would cut off all communications with her relatives. When I heard that she was getting a divorce it didn’t come as much of a surprise. If I lived with Sarah’s mom, I might have walked out a long time ago. Knowing her dad, he’s probably in some hotel room watching Friends reruns. I do hope nothing happened to him, though, because with what Sarah is dealing with right now, she doesn’t need any more emotional grief.

Moving on…

Oh, another thing I mentioned in my last post was going to conduct a little interview with some of the police in my town. Well, I never got a chance to visit them because they’re busy (go figure), but they’d try to have one of the detectives see me in a few weeks. Eh, it’s not a bad thing because now I get to think about what I want to ask them. Oh, that reminds me! Do you all have any questions that you’d like me to ask for you? As long as they’re not really strange or completely off-topic, I’d be happy to do that for you. Just post a comment and I’ll make a note of it.

Two more things before I sign off. Remember how I said earlier that Charlie was looking for filming locations? Well, he’s finally gotten a camera that works rather well, so he’s thinking about trying a little film project for the summer. Nothing big, of course, but it’ll keep us entertained. I think he’s going to ask me to work on a script for him, too, so maybe that’ll also help me get over writer’s block.

The second thing kind of corresponds to the first, actually. Charlie invited me to spend the day with him and his girlfriend this Saturday. He mentioned hiking, so I don’t know if I’m going to go (I hate hiking with a passion), but I have a feeling that he’s also going to use this as an opportunity to look for filming locations. If that’s the case, I guess I’ll humor him by going. Maybe I’ll take Sarah with me, too… It might do her some good to get out of that house.

Until next time!

- Arthur Pierce

Well, it’s been a few days since my first post on this blog. I know I said I’d update as often as I could, but it’ll probably be a few days between each blog post. Maybe a week – who knows? But I guess it doesn’t matter, anyways… Not like there are a whole lot of you watching this. I will admit, though, that I was surprised that I even got a comment on my last post! There are some people visiting this blog, so that’s a plus.

                Okay… I need to get something off my chest. I wasn’t fully honest with you last time, and I’ve just felt guilty about it. I guess I’ll tell you now, though…

                I know I said that I was going to use this blog to get over writer’s block, but the real reason for making this was because of my friend Charlie. He’s been yapping at me for months, trying to get me to make something like this because he’s tired of me whining about how I can never finish any of my stories. The only reason I complied was to get him to shut up – so, in a way, we both win. I have somewhere to rant about my writing, and Charlie shuts up about this blog.

                Well, that’s what I thought would happen. As it turns out, he’s been keeping track of my progress on this site (how the Hell he found it, I don’t know), and I got a call from him an hour or so ago. He was happy that I finally decided to make a blog, but he kept talking about how I didn’t really introduce myself.

                Well, I didn’t want to talk to him for an hour or more. It runs up the wireless bill, for one; I also hate it when people call or text me first. I guess it’s just one of those little pet peeves that I have. Whenever my phone starts buzzing I instantly get annoyed, no matter if you’re a person I’ve wanted to talk to. I told him I’d make a new entry on here telling more about myself rather than giving off an asshole vibe in my first post (which, if you really do think I’m an asshole, sorry about that – I wasn’t in the best of moods then).

                So… I guess I should get started on the real reason for this post, right?

                My name’s Arthur Pierce (obviously) and I’m a senior in high school – or I will be, come August. I’ve been interested in writing for as long as I can remember, and I don’t limit myself on what kind of writing I do. I’ve edited scripts for the Cinematography Club’s short films; I’ve even helped with the drama productions the school has every spring. In fact, helping people is one of my skills that I enjoy more than writing, but the downside is that no one really wants my help. I don’t know why, really – I’ve never done anything to affect my reputation in a negative way.

                I try and experiment with each literary genre so that I know what I’m good at. I mentioned last time that I was more of a crime writer, though, and that’s because I feel at ease in writing there. It’s more natural to me than, say… Romance or comedy. The mystery of the genre is what excites me, as you can keep the reader guessing as to where you want the story to go. Is this guy the killer, or is it his girlfriend? Or maybe it’s that bum on the street corner!

                See, stuff like that is what I live for.  I’ve read so many mystery books that I’m starting to figure out the twist before the end of the story! Well, except for Sherlock Holmes’ stories, but that’s because Doyle is a fucking cheater when it comes to twists. I’ll elaborate on that in a later post, though; I think it deserves more than just a paragraph here.

                I’m not just limited to mystery, though. I love the horror genre, too, though I’m not any good at it. I have trouble creating an antagonist – whether it be a monster, a killer, or some sort of evil spirit – that’s believable. I’m working on that, though… I’ve been reading a lot of Lovecraft and Stephen King, so maybe some of their magic will rub off on me.

                I’m going to stop here for right now. I know blocks of text aren’t appreciated anywhere on the Internet, so I won’t risk scaring away some of my readers because of a super long post. As I said before, I don’t know when I’ll be able to post again. Even if I can’t write anything at the moment, I can still do research! I’m going to try and stop by the police… office, or whatever the Hell they call it. There’s some sort of investigation into a few disappearances in the area, so maybe I’ll find something useful for a story.

                Also, if it’s not asking too much, can I ask my readers to pray for a friend of mine? She’s going through a tough time right now; her parents are getting divorced, her family is pretty much fractured, and she’s going through some depression issues at the moment. I’m helping her as best I can, but it’d help me knowing she has some support, even if it’s from the Internet.

                Thanks!

-          Arthur Pierce