tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36773120.post838276587058074713..comments2023-09-16T19:12:43.147+09:00Comments on The Hired Tongue: Unrespectable Mythology: The Htichhiker, Cursed Kleenex, and Hanako-SanJoe Streckerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13848690885706346774noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36773120.post-85140113107698888882006-12-08T10:11:00.000+09:002006-12-08T10:11:00.000+09:00First, to Eric - step off the live tree, man! She...First, to Eric - step off the live tree, man! Shee-it!<br /><br />Second, have you heard the one about the girl with the dog? If no, it's so so the scariest ghost story I've ever heard. Even though I know it, have heard it and told it numerous times, if I hear it while out camping or similar, I still can't sleep. I'll put the parts that change a lot in brackets; I'm sure you can guess what the variations are.<br /><br />So there's this girl and she lives with her mother, her father, her [older brother] and their extremely loyal and happy [golden retriever]. The dog belongs to the girl and the girl alone - she's raised it from a puppy and it has long provided her comfort from nightmares, [a sometimes bullying older brother], and [the daily slings and arrows that can really get a girl down]. The dog used to sleep on the girls bed, and the foot, as though she were standing on its back in her sleep. But now that she's gotten a little older, she's too long and it's too big, so it sleeps under the bed. Every night before she falls asleep she drops her hand down to feel the dogs wet nose, scratch behind its ears, and then it licks her hand. When she has a nightmare that wakes her, all she has to do is drop her hand down and the dog will lick it and nuzzle and she'll feel safe and be able to sleep again. <br /><br />One night she wakes up not long after going to bed, drops her hand down, and the golden retriever obligingly licks her fingers, dispelling the sense of unease one has from a nightmare one can't quite recall. A couple hours later, she wakes again, startled out of sleep by a terrible dream. She drops her hand down, but there is no warm lolling tongue to meet it. She calls the dog's name; nothing. The girl gets up to get a glass of water instead. In the bathroom, she fills her glass in the dark. The mirror seems foggy, even in the low light filtering in from the window, which seems strange. She turns on the light and met with the horrifying reflection of her beloved pet [hung and eviscerated] in the shower. On the mirror, in blood, is written.... <i>humans can lick hands too.</i> [Also, her whole family was murdered.]Sydneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17360198761136198922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36773120.post-28972532605894951272006-11-29T02:23:00.000+09:002006-11-29T02:23:00.000+09:00Scary ghost stories? This is what you're teaching...Scary ghost stories? This is what you're teaching your kids? Surprisingly, this is not a typical course of conversation for me here in the States. But maybe I'm unique like that. <br /><br />The plastic tree is fine. It's the thought that counts. Remember A Charlie Brown Christmas? It's not about the quality of the tree, but the spirit behind the tree. And I don't want a box of kindling sitting in our living room.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04307182227850370924noreply@blogger.com