#OctoberFrights Begins! Blog Hop Day 1

Greetings my minions, and welcome to another October Frights Blog Hop!

And a Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!

Salutations All and Beware the Monsters!

2016 OCTOBER FRIGHTS BLOG HOP

A Frightful Blog Hop Celebrating

All Things That Go Bump in the Night

This event of spooky chills will run from October 10^th until the 15^th, where a rabid horde (don’t worry we don’t bite) of paranormal and horror writers are serving up dark delights to scare and thrill you.

Here’s what coming this week on Are You Afraid of the Dark?

• October 10^th: The introduction to the blog hop and the flash fiction story How To Prepare A Feast For Unusual Guests
• October 11^th: A book spotlight for my new release, the poetry book Horror Haiku and Other Poems
• October 12^th: An October Frights version of Drabble Wednesday
• October 13^th: A folklore post on the number 13
• October 14^th: A flash fiction story, The Horseman
• October 15^th: A peek at the Brain to Books Cyber Convention and Book Expo, with a focus on their horror event spectacular Blood Spring. Also, there will be a bit of short fiction called Salt Wind and Bones to see off the end of the hop.

Plus, I have not one but two Rafflecopter giveaways for copies of my new book and a poster of the book cover. Check them out at the bottom of the post, after the story.

So now on with the story...

How To Prepare A Feast For Unusual Guests

“No, no, no! I want iced monkey brains for dessert! Not monkey brain soufflé!” These chefs were idiots. “If I serve monkey brain soufflé I’ll be eaten alive.” Literally. “If you can’t get it right I’ll change the menu to iced chef’s brains!”

I took satisfaction in watching the colour drain from his face and shocked fear pervade his eyes. He scurried back to the kitchen, hopefully to prepare the correct dish.

I turned my attention back to the décor. The black candles awaited lighting, placed strategically along the table in gold candlesticks. Pure gold, no iron or silver allowed at this dinner party. Which made acquiring cutlery difficult, but luckily I found some gold sets in storage. Storage also produced an exquisite black and gold set of china dishware. It looked sumptuous against the crimson table cloth with matching placemats and napkins.

Thankfully, my predecessor was a pack rat.

I walked the long table, eyeing the centerpieces, checking their proper positioning. The florist did a magnificent job of arranging the dead roses and dried leaves. They looked as if they had been moldering on a grave for weeks, and smelled as bad.

The guests will adore them. At least I hope they will. They are so mercurial.

Next I checked the curtains, making certain the heavy red velvet drapes were drawn tight, and then turned each sconce down to the lowest light setting. I stepped back and surveyed that the room for the ideal ambience.

Perfect. Dim, but not too dark, with enough shadows to set the mood. Now for the last menu check.

I scanned my copy.

Appetizers

Sautéed Eyeballs on Sliced Mozzarella

Rice Cakes in Garlic Bile Salsa

Salad

Radicchio and Arugula with Goat Cheese, Toasted Fingernails and Almonds

Topped with Berry Balsamic Dressing

Entrée

Seared Lung with Roasted Garlic

Braised Heart with Wild Mushrooms

Roasted Potatoes

Green Beans Almandine

Dessert

Iced Monkey Brains with Blood Sauce

Everything looked suitable.

And the meat would be fresh killed. They always appreciated that touch. Last night’s delivery of those unfortunate ladies topped off our larder. Thank heaven for seedy bars. People are so much easier to kidnap when they’re drunk. Not to mention alcohol creates a nice marinade to tenderize the meat.

As I mused, satisfied everything was perfect, the hotel’s internal bell chimed.

Ah, the first of the guests have awakened. Wonderful. You can always count on the monsters to be prompt…

~*~

And now for the Giveaways!

You can check out my Halloween Horror Haiku Giveaway! (live until October 31st) by clicking on the Giveaway Tab at the top of the blog or this link: Halloween Horror Haiku Giveaway!

And here's my October Frights Book Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And now you can continue on your journey, and check out the rest of the Blog Hop and the delights these wonderful people have in store.

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