The Black Dog By: Kate Kaynak
On Halloween night in 1987, my conservative, all-girls high school was actually showing The Omen in the campus theater. My best friend Eva and I tried to figure out what blatant lies the seniors must've passed along to the Headmistress--a sweet-looking old lady with a spine of velvet-covered steel--to get a movie like that on the schedule. Perhaps they'd played up the religious themes, and hey, with Gregory Peck in it, what unsuspecting adult would expect something completely terrifying?
My parents were strict religious-types, so I'd used that"it's based on the Bible" angle myself when I'd gotten their permission to attend. Eva and I giggled with excitement as the lights dimmed and the screen came alive. She loved all kinds of movies, but she also knew how strict my parents were--no MTV, no R-rated movies, no swearing, no dating--and DEFINITELY no smoking or drinking. So she saw my presence in the seat next to hers as a shared victory against the forces of tyranny and censorship.
Holy crap.
The Omen scared the $#!% out of me. It was--by far--the most frightening thing I'd ever seen. My compulsory religious instruction meant that every biblical reference resonated--and seemed horribly, horribly plausible. When Gregory Peck went to the cemetery and the black hellhound appeared on the tomb over him I nearly had a heart attack. And the thing with the plate glass…
By the time the credits rolled, I was a pasty-pale, trembling mess of fear-sweat--but in a good way. I loved the exhilaration--although I was really glad the movie ended before I hurled. Nothing of the ride home with someone's parent registered. The light over the front door was out when I used my key to let myself in. I guessed that my mom had turned it off to let the trick-or-treaters know that it was too late to ring the bell.
The darkness inside seemed thick and eerie, and I started having little bursts of remembered fear from the movie. The steps creaked under my feet as I went up to my room. I flipped the light switch just inside my door--
The large, black dog lifted his head off his paws and stared at me from the center of my bed. My heart froze in my chest, and I couldn't move--or even scream. My purse slid off my shoulder and hit the floor.
Copyright © 2010 by Kate Kaynak
Kate Kaynak is the author of the Ganzfield series (Minder, Adversary, and Legacy). She was born and raised in New Jersey, but she managed to escape. After attending Yale as an undergrad and earning a Ph.D. in psychology, she taught around the world for University of Maryland. She moved back to the U.S. two years ago and currently lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children. She blogs as the Disgruntled Bear and has lots of fun, book-related stuff at www.Ganzfield.com.
Minder by Kate Kaynak Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (June 18th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 264 pages Series: Ganzfield, book #1
Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. Ganzfield is a secret training facility full of people like her, but it's not exactly a nurturing place. Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control. A stray thought can burn a building to the ground. And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads. But it's still better than New Jersey--especially once she meets the man of her dreams…
Prize:
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