Majanka Verstraete's Blog, page 8

Urban Legends Investigated: Slender Man

Sometimes reality is scarier than fiction. Such is the story of Slender Man, a fictional figure invented for a Photoshop contest who was brought to life through stories on CreepyPasta that further developed the myth. There is a whole page on CreepyPasta dedicated to the Slender Man.

Appearance

Slender Man appears to be male. He has extremely long, slender arms and legs, which is why he was given the nickname Slender Man. In some versions, he has black tentacles protruding from his back, but often he just has regular arms.

He wears a black suit and is extremely thin. His face is deadly white, and he has no facial features: no mouth, no eyes or nose. He usually tends to wander around in the woods, and if you had to compare him to another fictional figure in appearance, it would be Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas.

The horrible events of May 2014

As long as Slender Man stayed stuck to the format of fiction, all was well, but this fictional monster inspired two 12-year-old girls in Waukesha to attempt to murder their classmate during a sleepover. They lured the victim into playing a game of hide-and-seek in the woods and subsequently attacked her with a knife, stabbing her 19 times. Luckily, the victim survived and recovered from the attack – at least physically.

The horrible events occurred in May 2014. The perpetrators were found not guilty by mental disease or defect, and were committed to mental health institutions for sentences of 25 and 40 years.

The girls allegedly stabbed their victim in an attempt to become proxies of Slender Man. The aforementioned monster is an entity who was created on the forums of Something Awful, a comedy website online, for a Photoshop contest back in 2009. Numerous people expanded upon the myth of Slender Man, and some created fanfiction based on the figure. In later years, there was even a Hollywood movie made based on the tall, thin, featureless character who is often depicted as hiding in forests.

A documentary film on the incident called Beware the Slenderman was released in March 2016. I have watched it, and found it to be quite chilling. It is scary to think that fiction can become reality one day, or can at least be considered as ‘real’ by some people – real enough that they would go through great lengths to appease a supernatural entity.

The Verdict

Slender Man is obviously fake. Although the internet has gone through great lengths to make the story as believable as possible, the tall, thin man in a suit is a fictional creature. He’s not roaming about in the woods and he’s not preying on innocent children.

Unfortunately, the events of May 2014 are very real. Luckily, the victim survived but this was nothing short of a miracle, and no doubt she is still traumatized by what happened. This is an example of the lines between fiction and reality blurring, at least in the minds of the young girls who perpetrated the crime, and this can have disastrous consequences, as was proven in this case.

So no, Slender Man isn’t real, but he’s still terrifying.

Urban Legends Investigated

Previously in this series:

Urban Legends Investigated: The Noise Coming From Inside ChildrenUrban Legends Investigated: The ExpressionlessUrban Legends Investigated: Dear David – Part 1 / The StoryUrban Legends Investigated: Dear David – Part 2 / Is Dear David Real?If you liked this post, you might enjoy my book, Ghost Slayer

Twenty-one-year-old Kaelyn has spent half her life hunting ghosts and killing them. But she’s not like the other ghost hunters who have to rely on spells and curses to banish ghosts back to where they came from, hoping that they don’t come back. When Kaelyn kills a ghost, they stay dead.

But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she ever met, and what she doesn’t know is that the ghost has been waiting just for her.

Release Date: June 6, 2018

Format: eBook, paperback

Price: $3.99 (eBook)

Buy eBook from Amazon.

Buy paperback from Amazon.

Sims 4 Story: Josie, The Vampire Slayer – Episode 1.2 Jason Harker

I’ve started working on a new Sims 4 Story, one involving vampires, romance, and lots of teenage angst and drama.

Here is the blurb:

Welcome to Vampsville, where vampires rule the night, and one girl from a long line of vampire hunters needs to defeat them.

Meet Josie Van Helsing. Sixteen-year-old vampire hunter with a complicated love life – and “complicated” is an understatement.

Episode 1.2 Jason Harker is live today.

The story will be updated every Thursday, so you can expect Episode 1.3 Making New Friends next week.

Sims 4 Story: Josie, The Vampire Slayer – Episode 1.2 Jonathan Harker

I’ve started working on a new Sims 4 Story, one involving vampires, romance, and lots of teenage angst and drama.

Here is the blurb:

Welcome to Vampsville, where vampires rule the night, and one girl from a long line of vampire hunters needs to defeat them.

Meet Josie Van Helsing. Sixteen-year-old vampire hunter with a complicated love life – and “complicated” is an understatement.

Episode 1.2 Jason Harker is live today.

The story will be updated every Thursday, so you can expect Episode 1.3 Making New Friends next week.

Board Game Review: Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Case 8: The Thames Murders

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective is a solo or co-op board game that is ideally played by 1-4 players. It takes place in Victorian London (the 1880s-1890s) and you are trying to solve mysteries alongside Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson. The goal is supposedly to beat Holmes – solve the mystery with fewer clues than he does – but the real fun is if you follow all the clues, and get a picture of the entire mystery, including the parts Holmes doesn’t touch upon.

I previously reviewed the first six cases in this collection: The Munitions Magnate, The Tin Soldier, The Mystified Murderess, The Lionized Lions, The Cryptic Corpse, The Mummy’s Curse and The Banker’s Quietus.

The eight case is called The Thames Murders.

The Thames Murders is the case for which the boxset is named, so obviously it is one of the most important cases in the boxset, and one of the best thought-out and complex cases.

Bodies are washing up in the Thames, and the latest one is the reason why Holmes and his Irregulars are asked to solve this case. It is related to the other Thames murders, or is it a stand-alone case with a perhaps even more complex solution? Is Moriarty involved somehow? It’s up to you as Detective to figure this out.

The plot of this case was multi-layered, just the way I like my Holmes cases. It was not easy and straightforward, it had hidden motives, and by the halfway mark, I had more questions than answers, but in the end, with some out-of-the-box sleuthing work, we were able to solve this case. And it feels good to have solved it and get the same answers as Holmes.

It is my favorite case in this boxset, and reminiscent of everything you expect in a case waiting to be solved by Sherlock Holmes.

If you like Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, then I recommend…A Study in Shifters (The Adventures of Marisol Holmes Book 1)

“The game is afoot.”

Seventeen-year-old Marisol Holmes wants to live up to the family legacy; after all, she is the great-great-great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes. What’s more Holmesian than a grisly murder? The Conclave, an underground organization of detectives solving supernatural cases, is giving her just one chance to catch a killer and join them. After all, as a half-blood jaguar shifter, Marisol is uniquely qualified to solve this murder—since every scrap of evidence points toward the culprit being a fellow jaguar shifter.

“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”

There’s more to this than just evidence. Is one of her own people really involved, or is this all a ploy to kick Marisol’s mother off the shifter throne?

When Marisol discovers her handsome best friend, Roan, is missing, she realizes Roan may be the killer’s next target. The stakes just got higher than political intrigue.

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

Just when things couldn’t get worse, Marisol’s ex-boyfriend-turned-nemesis, Mannix, starts leaving sinister clues for her. In her last case, Mannix broke her heart and ruined her case, and Marisol isn’t sure which is worse. Marisol fears this case too might be far more personal than she could’ve imagined.

“Elementary.”

It’s time for Marisol to prove her worth, or her people could fall into chaos while her best friend loses his life.

This book is perfect for fans of: shapeshifters, steampunk, paranormal, high school drama, teen romance, Sherlock Holmes and deadly intrigue.

Purchase from Amazon.

Sims 4 Must-Have Mods for Storytellers: MC Command Center

 

If you like storystelling using the medium of the Sims 4, like I do (check out my blogs here and here for ongoing stories), then you might need some mods to help you enhance your storytelling.

One of my recommended must-have mods for storytellers is the MC Command Center for the Sims 4.

If you need more control over your Sims, then the MC Command Center Mod is perfect for you. It allows you to:

 

Enable some cheats, like increasing skills of a particular Sim, making a Sim happy (which basically means setting all their bars to green), make them top level at magic or being a vampire, and so on. This is perfect for storytellers: imagine you have a well-practiced witch in your story, but you don’t want to go through all the hassle of levelling up the skills of your resident Sims witch, then this can be really useful.Change clothing items of townies. One of the most annoying things when you’re telling a story with your Sims, is if you’re going out to a location and all the townies around – who are meant to serve as background for your pictures – are dressed up strangely. It immediately breaks immersion. MC Command Center allows you to fix this, and blacklist / whitelist certain items of clothing.Easily change clothing of your playable Sims. MC Command Center also allows you to easily change the outfits of your playable Sims, and to access the MC CAS center so you can select new outfits. If your story runs over multiple days, then it’s natural you’ll need your main Sims’ outfits to change too, and this is really useful.With the MC Control module, which can be added to MC Command Center, you can control NPC Sims. The commands are a bit limited, but they’re still very useful for storytelling!

 

In short, if you want to write some stories featuring your Sims, or you want to give your Sims 4 game some more background and add layers of intrigue between your various characters, then I highly recommend the MC Command Center Mod to get more control over your Sims.

Monday Musings #50

Monday Musings is a post in which I talk about my writing goals for the upcoming week, and the progress I made on my goals for the past week.

My list of monthly goals for January 2022 is here, in case you want to check out my insane list of goals for this month.

Here’s a rundown of my goals for last week, with my progress.

 

Publish first 4 episodes of my Sims 4 story: Josie, The Vampire Slayer (4/4).Publish the first episode of my Sims 4 story: The Mystery of Blackwood Manor (0/1).Format and re-release Murder in Mind, the first book in my Psych-Tech Series .Send out my monthly newsletter.Schedule all articles in the category Urban Legends Investigated for on my blog this year (12/12).Schedule all articles in the category Real Haunted Houses for on my blog this year (12/12).Blog at least two times this week.

 

My goals for this week are:

 

Format and re-release Murder in Mind, the first book in my Psych-Tech Series .Send out my monthly newsletter.Publish the first episode of my Sims 4 story: The Mystery of Blackwood Manor (0/1).Schedule all articles in the category Haunted Dolls / Haunted Paintings for on my blog this year (0/12).Schedule all articles in the category Literary Tropes for on my blog this year (0/12).Blog at least two times this week.Re-publish Valentina’s Spooky Adventures on Amazon.

 

What are your goals for this week?

TV Series Review: Cobra Kai – Season 4

Cobra Kai is the series adaptation of the popular 80s movies The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid II and The Karate Kid III. In Cobra Kai, old enemies Daniel LaRusso, former Miyagi-Do student, and Johnny Lawrence, former Cobra Kai student, face the past and try to learn from past mistakes.

Throughout seasons 1 through 3, both characters have already grown a lot. Johnny started off with his life totally off the tracks, and now, in season 4, he’s slowly piercing together the pieces of his life. He has somewhat gotten over his rivalry with Daniel LaRusso, he’s dating his nextdoor neighbour, he’s teaching kids karate.

If Johnny’s track is one going straightforward, then Daniel LaRusso’s certainly is one that often tends to lead around in circles. Since the two former enemies team up at the start of the season, combining their fighting techniques and dojos (Miyagi-Do for Daniel LaRusso and Eagle Fang for Johnny Lawrence) to beat Cobra Kai, led by John Kreese, I was hoping that they would finally be able to bury the axe and realize what is obvious for every viewer: if they combine their styles, teach their kids Miyagi-Do defense and Eagle Fang-offense, then they will seriously increase their chances of defeating Cobra Kai.

But Daniel becomes convinced his way is the only way, and when push comes to shove, he still thinks he’s better than Johnny. That his way of teaching, his karate, is better than Johnny’s. It’s quite sad to see him fall down the same rabbithole again and again, but at least toward the end of the season, he seems to make some progress in realizing that what Johnny has to teach, might be valuable as well.

Then, on to the kids. Miguel seemed a bit absent this season, with the focus shifting more to the other kids. I actually thought this was a good thing, since it didn’t seem as if Miguel had much to bring to the table this season. But with the cliffhanger at the end, I assume he’ll play a much larger role in season 5.

Robby made some real progress throughout the season, and he’s grown and matured. So has Tory, and I have to admit, she’s my favorite character. She definitely has her flaws, but unlike the adults in the series who often seem stuck in the same behavioral issues, she seems to have found a way forward. I hope that she will keep on growing in season 5.

Even Sam LaRusso, golden-child, entitled brat, easily my least favorite character in the series, did earn some credit points when she started to do some growing up of her own. She has a long way to go, but with the progress she’s made this season, I’m more positive she’ll get there someday and that she will be able to avoid making the same mistakes as her Dad did.

All in all, season 4 was another great season, and it’s pretty amazing how this franchise has managed to re-vitalize old movies, and actually make them more entertaining, with more depth and character growth than ever before. I already look forward to season 5.

Haunted Dolls: Mandy

It’s been a long time since I wrote an article in this series, but after watching an episode of the TV show / podcast “Lore” that features the infamous Robert The Doll, who was the protagonist of an article on Haunted Dolls I wrote a while back, I decided to dive into the world of haunted dolls some more and find out if there are any other famous haunted dolls.

Turns out that mankind’s favorite toy is often the source of terror. The same is the case of the most popular haunted doll of Canada: Mandy.

Photo from the Quesnel Museum Archives

Now if there’s one doll that fits the bill of how to look scary and unsettling, it’s certainly Mandy. With her cracked face and eerie smile, she certainly looks haunting.

According to the website of the Quesnel Museum, where Mandy has spent the last decades of her life, Mandy was donated to the museum in 1991 and she’s close to a 100 years old. The person who donated Mandy to the museum had received the doll from her grandmother, but complained that the doll was giving her a weird feeling, so she donated it.

Before long, the museum staff started to report strange occurrences in Mandy’s presence. As you can see in the picture, Mandy is holding a stuffed lamb. Allegedly, this lam was once found outside the locked cage where Mandy was being kept in.

Many people who visit the museum swear that Mandy’s eyes seem to follow them everywhere. Some people complain of their electrical equipment (like cameras, phones, etc.) malfunctioning in Mandy’s presence.

A story often circulated on the internet, but likely not true since it is not featured on the Quesnel Museum website and reads a little like an urban legend, is that the previous owner gave Mandy away because she began waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of a baby crying. Except there was no baby in the house. The strange crying allegedly stopped after Mandy moved to the museum.

Personally, looking at pictures of Mandy makes me feel sad more than scared. There’s a profound sadness that can creep up on you when looking at this doll, that is perhaps even more haunting than any type of scary story.

Anyway, if you want to know the truth about Mandy being haunted or not, your best bet is to visit the Quesnel Museum if you’re ever in the neighborhood. Maybe she’ll give you the same strange, unsettling feeling as she has given many visitors before…

 

Haunted Dolls

Previously in this series:

Haunted Dolls: Annabelle, a creepy Raggedy Ann DollHaunted Dolls: Robert The DollHaunted Dolls: The Island of Dolls: A Nightmare Come TrueEnjoyed this article? Read The Doll Maker!

Interested in reading more about haunted dolls? “The Doll Maker”, a scary lower grade chapter book focuses on possessed dolls. It’s a great book for kids – just the appropriate amount of scary.

Derek’s little sister wants one of those creepy-looking dolls, staring at him from the strange new doll shop in town, and what his sister wants, she gets. Now they’re stuck with a doll that looks so human, it gives Derek the creeps.

When Derek tells his friends, Martin and Jamie, about the new shop with creepy human-like dolls, they want to see for themselves. That has “bad idea” written all over it, but he takes his friends there anyway.

They meet the mysterious doll maker, who reminds Derek of Dr. Frankenstein, and who brainwashes Martin into buying one of those scary dolls. Derek and Jamie push and pull Martin out of the shop, but something isn’t right with their friend. He’s shivering all over, and he has no memory of what happened in the shop.

Martin’s condition worsens every day, and Derek’s sister grows more and more obsessed with her new doll. Derek and Jamie have to find out what’s going on, and fast, because….

…the doll maker seems linked to a bunch of mysterious disappearances, and the last thing Derek wants is his sister, or his friend, being next on the doll maker’s list.

Books2Read| Amazon (US) |Apple | B&N | Kobo | Scribd | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (DE) | Smashwords

Sims 4 Story: Josie, The Vampire Slayer – Episode 1.1: Welcome to Vampsville

I’ve started working on a new Sims 4 Story, one involving vampires, romance, and lots of teenage angst and drama.

Here is the blurb:

Welcome to Vampsville, where vampires rule the night, and one girl from a long line of vampire hunters needs to defeat them.

Meet Josie Van Helsing. Sixteen-year-old vampire hunter with a complicated love life – and “complicated” is an understatement.

Episode 1.1 Welcome to Vampsville is live today.

The story will be updated every Thursday, so you can expect Episode 1.2 Jason Harker next week.

Board Game Review: Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Case 7: The Banker’s Quietus

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective is a solo or co-op board game that is ideally played by 1-4 players. It takes place in Victorian London (the 1880s-1890s) and you are trying to solve mysteries alongside Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson. The goal is supposedly to beat Holmes – solve the mystery with fewer clues than he does – but the real fun is if you follow all the clues, and get a picture of the entire mystery, including the parts Holmes doesn’t touch upon.

I previously reviewed the first six cases in this collection: The Munitions Magnate, The Tin Soldier, The Mystified Murderess, The Lionized Lions, The Cryptic Corps and The Mummy’s Curse.

The seventh case is called The Banker’s Quietus.

This case opens with the murder of Oswald Mason. He was working for the Bank of England. The murderer sneaked into the house through an upstairs window. He then entered Oswald’s office and a violent fight ensued between Oswald and the attacker. A statue is broken at the crime scene, and another statuette is mentioned as potential weapon.

The newspapers are very important in this case, and I really liked that. Not just the most recent newspaper, but also the previous ones. They’re all building up to something, and I like the little leads left here and there.

This case is not one of my favorites, but it is quite all right in terms of story and build-up. Like I mentioned, my favourite part were the newspapers. But it’s hardly a groundbreaking case, although it does easily provide an hour or two of entertainment on a rainy winter’s evening.

If you like Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, then I recommend…A Study in Shifters (The Adventures of Marisol Holmes Book 1)

“The game is afoot.”

Seventeen-year-old Marisol Holmes wants to live up to the family legacy; after all, she is the great-great-great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes. What’s more Holmesian than a grisly murder? The Conclave, an underground organization of detectives solving supernatural cases, is giving her just one chance to catch a killer and join them. After all, as a half-blood jaguar shifter, Marisol is uniquely qualified to solve this murder—since every scrap of evidence points toward the culprit being a fellow jaguar shifter.

“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”

There’s more to this than just evidence. Is one of her own people really involved, or is this all a ploy to kick Marisol’s mother off the shifter throne?

When Marisol discovers her handsome best friend, Roan, is missing, she realizes Roan may be the killer’s next target. The stakes just got higher than political intrigue.

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

Just when things couldn’t get worse, Marisol’s ex-boyfriend-turned-nemesis, Mannix, starts leaving sinister clues for her. In her last case, Mannix broke her heart and ruined her case, and Marisol isn’t sure which is worse. Marisol fears this case too might be far more personal than she could’ve imagined.

“Elementary.”

It’s time for Marisol to prove her worth, or her people could fall into chaos while her best friend loses his life.

This book is perfect for fans of: shapeshifters, steampunk, paranormal, high school drama, teen romance, Sherlock Holmes and deadly intrigue.

Purchase from Amazon.