Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

Things that go Bump in the Night

I write paranormal romance. Sometimes—okay a lot of times—it’s naughty paranormal romance. Really naughty.

But, today, I’m not so much interested in the “bumping” in the night as the “things” that are doing said bumping. This is October, after all, my favorite month of the year, and the holder of my favorite holiday—Halloween—so I want to talk about it.

Since I love Halloween, it’s probably not surprising that I fell in love with paranormal romance. I love spooks, witches, warlocks, werewolves, vampires, elves, fae…you know, the things that go bump in the night.

Let’s see…a few creatures that are my faves that probably aren’t super duper well-known to everyone.

Cockatrice. First, I just love the name. You know why. This one is a half-rooster, half-dragon. I has a dragon tail and wings, but a rooster’s head and body. Who thinks of this stuff?

Skinwalkers. Dude, love this one. The basics of this creature is that it’s a shapeshifter that can turn into any animal it wants by wearing a piece of that kind of animal. Wolf skin for wolves, feathers for birds, you get the idea. There are many different versions of how this mythical beastie works, but that’s the simplest one to explain. Also, they’re considered quite evil.

Wendigo. It’s fun to say, isn’t it. Wen-dee-go. Anyway, this is a human turned into a malevolent, cannibalistic spirit. It could also possess people and make them turn into cannibals.

I just love research in my genre. It’s so much fun. Enjoy your October and your Halloween!