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Hey, y’all, it’s Weird Wednesday! Where on some Wednesdays, I blog about weird stuff and give writing prompts.

Today: The Brocken Spectre: Angel in the Clouds

Welcome on this Weird Wednesday! Today, we’re chasing our shadows.

A Brocken spectre or Brocken bow is a type of atmospheric phenomenon called a glory. A person stands in front of a light source and their shadow is thrown onto mist, fog, or clouds. When this happens, the person’s shadow is surrounded by what seems to be a halo: rainbow-colored concentric rings, caused by light refracting off water droplets in the air.

A Brocken spectre specifically is formed when a person stands in front of a light source (usually the sun) while at a great height, casting a shadow onto clouds below themselves. Not only is there a glory visible, but the shadow appears to be enormous. The size is an optical illusion caused by the person’s inability to gauge how close their shadow actually is: it seems to be quite far away, and thus looks huge compared to objects on the horizon. But in reality, the shadow is cast onto water droplets that are very close.

The phenomenon is named after the Brocken, the tallest mountain in the Harz range in Germany, which often has clouds below its summit. But the Brocken spectre can be seen from any suitably high place under the right conditions, including tall buildings and even airplanes.

To make the phenomenon even cooler, when the mist and clouds shift with the wind, the Brocken spectre often seems to dance or move. You can see a video of a Brocken spectre moving here.

Check out the blog post for the whole story and some writing prompts, such as:

Anointed leader. Let’s say your fictional society uses the Brocken spectre as a way of choosing political or military leaders. That is, folks march up to the top of the hill one by one, and when a candidate is seen in glory, that’s assumed to be the choice of the Mountain God or other deity. It would be spectacular to see one’s future leader illuminated in a rainbow glow. But is the phenomenon actually a divine decision or the randomness of weather? And could it possibly be faked?

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ The Vampire Haven erotic romance series ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

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Looking for writeblrs to follow. I don't really care what you write; I am not too picky on what I read. :)

2 free queer horror stories!

You Can’t Tell Them They’re Dead, That’s Rule #1, a sci-fi/horror story in Just Keep Up magazine. A story told in emails, text messages, reports, and a knitting pattern.

The Train Ticket, [audio] a Weird West/horror story on the Tales to Terrify podcast. A man finds himself holding a train ticket to Hell after accidentally attempting to rob a ghost train.

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

This week's free spec rec is the horror comedy story "Season’s Bleedings" by Christy Hartman in The Pink Hydra. “Sir, it is not becoming of a gentleman to breach the sanctity of another man’s domain without an invitation,” Nicholas addressed the cat.

Find all my spec recs

Hey, y’all, it’s Weird Wednesday! Where on some Wednesdays, I blog about weird stuff and give writing prompts.

Today: Marvin Clark: The Missing Man Everyone Thought Was Found

Marvin Clark was a former town marshall in his early 70’s who set out from Tigard, Oregon, for Portland, Oregon, on October 30, 1926. He was planning to visit his married daughter, who managed a hotel. Some sources report that he took a stagecoach, but most agree it was a “motor stage” or bus. Unfortunately, he never reached the hotel, and never returned home. Today, Marvin Clark’s case is the oldest open missing persons case in the United States, having been officially in progress for nearly 99 years.

Marvin Clark was born in Iowa and had lived in Tigard for 15 years. Unfortunately, now that he was in his 70’s, he was not in the best of health physically. He walked with a limp and had some right-side paralysis of his arm. And, evidence may possibly show he was not in the best mental health either. 

In early November, just days after his disappearance, Clark’s wife, Mary, received a postcard sent from nearby Bellingham, Washington, possibly from her husband. The message unfortunately did not make much sense, which could have been a sign of dementia. Witnesses also may have seen Clark at hotels in Bellingham on November 2 and 3. There were no further sightings.

Check out the blog post for the whole story and some writing prompts, such as:

Let’s say you’ve got a missing persons case and an intrepid investigator, whether they be law enforcement, family, or a civilian sleuth. Here's one possibility:

The missing person is found in a strange place. The sort of place your missing person could reasonably get to, but nobody would expect. Perhaps a missing person with no known access to money manages to get on a plane and end up across the country. Or maybe they find a kayak and are found on an island in the middle of lake. Or maybe some ordinary person is found in what should have been a highly secured location, like a closed bank or military base. You could have a natural explanation for all of these occurrences, or you could get speculative and invoke aliens, magic, or teleportation.

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ The Vampire Haven erotic romance series ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

Hey, y’all, it’s Weird Wednesday! Where on some Wednesdays, I blog about weird stuff and give writing prompts.

Today: Marvin Clark: The Missing Man Everyone Thought Was Found

Marvin Clark was a former town marshall in his early 70’s who set out from Tigard, Oregon, for Portland, Oregon, on October 30, 1926. He was planning to visit his married daughter, who managed a hotel. Some sources report that he took a stagecoach, but most agree it was a “motor stage” or bus. Unfortunately, he never reached the hotel, and never returned home. Today, Marvin Clark’s case is the oldest open missing persons case in the United States, having been officially in progress for nearly 99 years.

Marvin Clark was born in Iowa and had lived in Tigard for 15 years. Unfortunately, now that he was in his 70’s, he was not in the best of health physically. He walked with a limp and had some right-side paralysis of his arm. And, evidence may possibly show he was not in the best mental health either. 

In early November, just days after his disappearance, Clark’s wife, Mary, received a postcard sent from nearby Bellingham, Washington, possibly from her husband. The message unfortunately did not make much sense, which could have been a sign of dementia. Witnesses also may have seen Clark at hotels in Bellingham on November 2 and 3. There were no further sightings.

Check out the blog post for the whole story and some writing prompts, such as:

Let’s say you’ve got a missing persons case and an intrepid investigator, whether they be law enforcement, family, or a civilian sleuth. Here's one possibility:

The missing person is found in a strange place. The sort of place your missing person could reasonably get to, but nobody would expect. Perhaps a missing person with no known access to money manages to get on a plane and end up across the country. Or maybe they find a kayak and are found on an island in the middle of lake. Or maybe some ordinary person is found in what should have been a highly secured location, like a closed bank or military base. You could have a natural explanation for all of these occurrences, or you could get speculative and invoke aliens, magic, or teleportation.

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ The Vampire Haven erotic romance series ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers