This poem was originally a rather long short story, which I whittled down to just under 500 words for a contest last year. I came across it again this morning and decided to turn it into a poem. It’s rather long for a poem, but give it a read if you’ve got the time. I think you will find it to be quite entertaining.
Posts Tagged horror
A Soft Knocking ~ the poem
December 31, 2012 at 6:04 pm · Filed under Crazy stuff, Dark Side, Mostly fiction, Poems ·Tagged Charles L. Mashburn, fiction, horror, poetry, story, writer
A Soft Knocking
October 28, 2011 at 8:15 am · Filed under Crazy stuff, Dark Side, Mostly fiction, Stories ·Tagged Charles L. Mashburn, fiction, horror, http://haleywhitehall.com/2011/10/horror-flash-fiction-contest/, story, writer
I stumbled across a short story contest yesterday with a Halloween/horror theme, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I actually wrote the following story about ten years ago, and it was much longer than this version. The original was over 1700 words long, and even yesterday, when I set out to pare it down to the 500 word limit for the contest, I had my doubts I could do it. But I did, and hopefully it didn’t lose too much in the cutting process. In any case, I hope you enjoy it, and if you have time, go on over to Haley Whitehall’s blog and take a look at some of the other entries. Read the rest of this entry »
Eeeyeent Eenk!
September 6, 2011 at 8:27 am · Filed under Family, funny stuff, Mostly true, Stories ·Tagged ashtrays in cars, author, Charles L. Mashburn, children, driving, driving the old man crazy, dying, family, family trips, fear, funny, grouchy, horror, humor, laughter, old man, playing, story, writer
I can still recall the driving trips with the family, and I have to tell you about this one time where I inadvertently tried to drive the old man crazy. I was young, maybe six or seven, and was riding in the back seat of our Ford Fairlane. This was back when smoking was cool, and not something folks got dirty looks for, like they do these days. At any rate, there were ashtrays on the armrests of both the back doors; little metal jobs, that you could pull out of the armrest to empty. When you opened and closed the ashtray, it made a little squeaking noise kind of like, “eeeyeent” when you opened it, and “eenk” when you closed it. Read the rest of this entry »
Eeeyeent Eenk!
May 29, 2011 at 11:31 am · Filed under Family, funny stuff, Mostly true, Stories ·Tagged ashtrays in cars, author, Charles L. Mashburn, children, driving, driving the old man crazy, dying, family, family trips, fear, funny, grouchy, horror, humor, laughter, old man, playing, story, writer
I can still recall the driving trips with the family, and I have to tell you about this one time where I inadvertently tried to drive the old man crazy. I was young, maybe six or seven, and was riding in the back seat of our Ford Fairlane. This was back when smoking was cool, and not something folks got dirty looks for, like they do these days. At any rate, there were ashtrays on the armrests of both the back doors; little metal jobs, that you could pull out of the armrest to empty. When you opened and closed the ashtray, it made a little squeaking noise kind of like, “eeeyeent” when you opened it, and “eenk” when you closed it. Read the rest of this entry »
You’re Gonna Die Tonight
May 28, 2011 at 10:30 am · Filed under Bad Stuff, Crazy stuff, Mostly true, Stories, Weird stuff ·Tagged author, bad car accident, Charles L. Mashburn, death, dying, fear, horror, story, wel somebody we know is, writer, you're gonna die tonight
Anybody ever tell you that? Well, somebody told it to me one night, and it’s nothing like you’re thinking it might be. I’ve made some guys mad enough to say that to me—some probably did—but this particular time, it was my first wife, Evelyn. Come to think of it, that might not have been the only time she said it. Kidding! Read the rest of this entry »
22 Holes! – In One Tire?
May 19, 2011 at 1:00 pm · Filed under Mostly true, Stories ·Tagged author, Be Still.... and know that I am God, cactus, Charles L. Mashburn, family, funny, good old days, horror, humor, I called your dad, I might have fainted, laughter, old man, Pennies From Heaven, story, writer
Yeppers, I accomplished that feat in 1966, when I was 16. The record has no doubt been eclipsed, but I have to think I held onto it for a few years. I won’t go into the details as to how I accomplished it, because I’d have to change a name to protect the innocent, and the rest of the story is where the funny part is anyway. Read the rest of this entry »
Ever Seen One Of Those Up Close?
May 17, 2011 at 6:00 pm · Filed under Crazy stuff, Mostly true, Stories ·Tagged Arlington Arizona, arrow heads, author, cactus, Charles L. Mashburn, desert, desert scenery, dry washes, exploring, fear, funny, gila monster, hiking, horror, humor, laughter, rocks, scorpions, snakes, story, up close, writer
When we lived at the EPNG gas plant out near Arlington, Arizona, I used to hike around in the desert some. Lots of cool stuff out there back in the day. If you knew where to look, there were arrow heads, lots of interesting rocks, and the scenery was pretty awesome, too. Read the rest of this entry »
Go Get the Drew Twins! (part two)
May 11, 2011 at 5:00 pm · Filed under Mostly true, Stories ·Tagged Austin Healey Sprite, author, Barry, basketball, Be Still.... and know that I am God, Charles L. Mashburn, Don and John, Don and John Drew, family, fear, funny, good old days, horror, humor, irrigating yards, laughter, old man, Pennies From Heaven, story, teenage misadventures, the Drew twins, writer
The clock ticking and my panic meter pegging, I shouted. “Go get the Drew twins!” Barry scowled at me and said, “Why don’t you go get them?” I said, “You want to be sitting here when my old man gets home?” His eyes got real big, and without another word he took off, running toward the Drew twins’ house at the end of the street. (If you haven’t read part one of this story you need to click on this link –> Go Get The Drew Twins and read it before you go any further.) Read the rest of this entry »
Go Get the Drew Twins!
May 11, 2011 at 3:01 pm · Filed under Mostly true, Stories ·Tagged author, backyard, basketball, Be Still.... and know that I am God, Buckeye, Buckeye Arizona, Charles L. Mashburn, Don and John Drew, family, fear, funny, good old days, horror, humor, irrigating the yard, irrigation, laughter, old man, Pennies From Heaven, poetry, story, teenage shenanagins, the Drew twins, writer
One of my many teenage misadventures involved a basketball, a flooded back yard, my convertible Austin Healey Sprite, and the Drew twins; and of course my best friend, Barry. I have lots of good stories about Barry, but in this one he played a minor part. The stars were the Drew twins. Read the rest of this entry »
Look, Boys! No Eyebrows!
May 7, 2011 at 5:00 pm · Filed under Crazy stuff, Family, Mostly true, Random Thoughts, Stories, the good old days ·Tagged angels, Be Still.... and know that I am God, Billy and Wesley, Charles L. Mashburn, children, don't turn on the stove and walk away, encouragement, family, fear, funny, good old days, horror, humor, laughter, Look boys no eyebrows, make sure its lit, old man, Pennies From Heaven, story, wes ever the parrot, writer
When Billy and Wesley were youngsters, we lived in the little logging town of Ashford, Washington. I talk about some of my logging days there in several stories—The Old Man And The Tree, Killin’ Time, and A Man Among Men—and I tell some stories about Billy and Wesley, during that time, in Tearin’ Stuff Up, and Wows and Holy Cows. They were some good days for a while, and this story is a funny one about me. The boys were there, too, but I was the star in this little episode. Read the rest of this entry »
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Marbles In My Pocket ~ The Official Blog of Charles L. Mashburn ~ Poems, Short Stories, and random thoughts from the author of "Be Still... and know that I am God" 