Be Very Afraid More Tales of Horror

An Invitation to Be Very Afraid! Edo van Belkom People don't scare as easily as they used to. Fifty years ago, teenagers went to the movies on a Friday or Saturday night, ready to be thrilled by stories of robot monsters, giant bugs, and big-headed aliens. Today those things are campy. They make us laugh. So what happened? What changed the way we get our frights? Well, there are plenty of explanations for it, but one of the most important causes was the invention of television. Television brought the news of the world into our lives more quickly and graphically than newspapers, radio, and newsreels ever could. Suddenly, the news was more real than ever. And the news wasn't always good. As a result, people no longer had to go out looking for things to be afraid of. Frightening things could be found on a daily basis around the globe, across town, and even on the block they lived on. Today we don't have to head out to the movies to be afraid. All anyone has to do these days is... log onto the Internet, ask a girl out on a date, try to fit in with the crowd, or act all grown-up. This book is all about those personal fears the fears we hold closest to our hearts, and the fears that cut us straight to the bone. Each of these stories has its roots in the everyday lives of young people as they try to make their way in the world. Diets. Games. Relationships. They're all harmless-sounding words almost boring, in fact but in the hands of expert writers, they become subjects to be afraid of. To Be Very Afraid! of... ********** Just One Taste Randy D. Ashburn The cardboard lady had been watching them ever since they walked into the mini-mart. Just standing there beside the cash register in a backless evening gown, staring over her shoulder and clasping between her fingers a long white cigarette that threatened to pierce her bright red smile any minute now. "Savor the Flavor of Elegance" was printed in gold across her. "Lucky Kings Ultraslim." "You sure he'll sell them to us?" Andrea whispered to Chelsea, who was still pretending to page through Teen People. The other girl waited to answer until an old man who was dragging something down the next aisle was far enough away. "Not a problem." "I mean, you've, like, actually seen him do it, right? It's not just something Mandy told you about?" Chelsea tossed her hair in that same old annoying way she had ever since she moved into the neighborhood in the fifth grade. "I bought a pack just last week." She switched the Teen People for a Cosmo Girl. "All we gotta do is wait till the store empties out a little bit, so the manager can't get into trouble." The man behind the counter was stuffing a plastic bag full of candy bars and nodding at a woman with five kids, his smile as unmoving and unreal as the one on the cardboard lady in the evening gown. Above his head an icy blue banner declared, "Stay Cool Smoke Arctic Menthols." Chelsea crinkled her nose. "Gawd, if I ever turn into a sow with a litter of piglets, just promise you'll shoot me, okay?" Andrea tried the obligatory polite laugh, but it came out sounding so much like a giggle that she wished she'd just kept quiet. It was too much to hope that Chelsea hadn't noticed, but at least she went back to the magazine without saying anything. The old man in the next row wheezed and hacked like a dishrag was stuck in his throat. Andrea spVan Belkom, Edo is the author of 'Be Very Afraid More Tales of Horror' with ISBN 9780887765957 and ISBN 0887765955.