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Two grouse hunters are in the State Game Land 110 in Berks County‚ Pennsylvania. The conditions were not ideal. One of the hunters spots a large dark figure that suddenly runs toward him!I received the following account:"This took place in the State Game Land 110 in Berks County‚ Pennsylvania in early February of 1991. Two hunters were looking for ruffed grouse along the mountain ridge. The weather was cold and overcast. A foot-thick layer of snow blanketed the ground and an additional inch of ice on the surface made walking difficult. The hunters had to lift their feet high and stomp down to break through the ice with each step.Near midday‚ the witness Dan shot a grouse and called out to his friend. His friend was 75 yards away and took at least 15 minutes to trudge up through the ice and snow. After checking on Dan the friend took another trail back toward the Mountain Top Road where they were parked. Dan stayed where he was for a while. The clouds of his breath circled his face as he heard his friend's footsteps crunching off into the distance.After a quarter-hour of silence‚ Dan remembers that when his friend walked off he heard his footsteps. Dan turned in the opposite direction from his friend and faced downhill along the ridge. While looking down‚ in the distance a large dark figure was running up along the ridge. The figure stopped in a clearing about 100 yards away and seemed to notice Dan. It charged towards him moving even faster than before. The strange figure was running silently‚ not crunchy through the snow‚ silently at full speed up the hill as if the snow and ice weren't there. Dan froze. He knew he couldn't escape as each step was a struggle. His light birdshot ammunition would be useless against the massive creature.The figure stopped about 50 feet away. Dan pointed his shotgun at it hoping to intimidate the potential attacker. At this point‚ he's not really sure what it is. The massive figure didn't flinch‚ didn't make a noise‚ and seemed completely unfazed by having a weapon pointed at it. Now that it was close Dan got a better look at it. He could see that it was at least 7 feet tall and though he couldn't see its face through the long hair he could make out the shadow of its deeply set eyes staring at him.The creature had covered nearly 200 yards uphill through deep icy snow in only 2 minutes and wasn't out of breath. In fact‚ Dan couldn't even see its breath in the cold air. The tall hairy humanoid stared at him completely silent. Dan calmed down and as he realized the figure wouldn't attack. Maybe the creature was sizing him up. After a minute or so it calmly turned back and descended the slope in the direction it had come. The huge beast paused‚ turned back to look at Dan once‚ twisting its upper torso‚ then continued along the ridge line.Dan later met up with his friend on the road. He explained what had happened. His friend‚ who was 6' one inch tall and weighed 200 lbs‚ tried running on the flat even road to recreate what Dan had seen. After three steps he fell flat on his face‚ proving how difficult it was to run in those conditions. Although Dan's friend didn't believe him‚ he didn't argue with him. Dan continues to believe that he encountered a Bigfoot that day."The Messengers: Owls‚ Synchronicity and the UFO AbducteeBook of Alien Races: Secret Russian KGB Book of Alien SpeciesUnexplained Encounters: 10 Modern Day Events That May Never Be Explained: Are You A Believer? (Bizarre Horror Stories Book 2)Cops' True Stories of the Paranormal: Ghosts‚ UFOs‚ and Other ShiversThe Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet Urban Legend Comes to LifeUNDERGROUND BASES &; TUNNELS: What is the Government Trying to Hide?ALIEN DISCLOSURE: EXPERIENCERS EXPOSE REALITY - AudiobookRegister a SNAP EBT CardTHE MEME HUMANOIDS: MODERN MYTHS OR REAL MONSTERS - AudiobookTry Audible PlusPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTFeel Free to Post PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS DIRECT LINKS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA &; WEBSITE. Thanks For Your Support!Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAccess Phantoms &; Monsters Posts on Twitter 'X'-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS-----CHICAGO/LAKE MICHIGAN MOTHMAN UPDATE W/ TOBIAS WAYLAND - LIVE Chat - JOIN US! Lon Strickler (Host)Welcome to Phantoms &; Monsters Radio. In this episode‚ I welcome my friend &; colleague Tobias Wayland to the show. We will be discussing the newly reported Chicago/Lake Michigan Mothman &; winged humanoid sightings as well as any updates to previous reports.Tobias Wayland is a Fortean investigator who has been actively investigating the unusual for over a decade. The first several years of his investigative career were spent as a MUFON field investigator and following that he investigated independently before becoming the head writer and editor for The Singular Fortean Society. Tobias is a frequent guest on various podcasts and radio shows‚ has written several books and contributed articles to periodicals on the paranormal‚ has appeared on television and in documentaries‚ and is often invited to speak at paranormal conferences and events. Tobias &; Emily Wayland are members of Phantoms &; Monsters Fortean Research. He was featured in the series premiere of Expedition X‚ and the Small Town Monsters documentaries Terror in the Skies and On the Trail of the Lake Michigan Mothman for his work investigating Mothman sightings around Lake Michigan. He and his wife Emily have been involved with the Lake Michigan Mothman investigation since its advent in the spring of 2017‚ and published a book chronicling the experience‚ The Lake Michigan Mothman: High Strangeness in the Midwest. His second and third books about unusual phenomena‚ Strange Tales of the Impossible and The Singular Fortean Society’s Yuletide Guide to High Strangeness‚ continue their work in investigating a variety of seemingly impossible events.In the Singular Fortean Society’s Yuletide Guide to High Strangeness. Tobias and Emily Wayland take you on a journey into the darkest part of the year. Winter has always been a time of magic‚ monsters‚ and legendary figures; their stories are told and retold across generations. But what if there was something more? Some authentic human experiences that inspired these stories‚ so often told around fires built as much to drive back the shadows as to provide warmth. In this book‚ the Waylands compare Christmas legends to modern anomalous phenomena to see what similarities exist. From Sheepsquatch to Santa Claus‚ The Singular Fortean Society's Yuletide Guide to High Strangeness covers a wide variety of reported sightings that might represent a startling truth behind our stories.-----ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONProject Threshold: Team Riker: Division A-----TODAY'S TOP LINKSCIA's secret office has conducted UFO retrieval missions on at least NINE crash sites around the world‚ whistleblowers revealMysterious tar balls wash up on New Jersey beachesALIEN HEALERS: SINGULAR‚ OTHERWORLDLY MEDICINE - LIVE Chat - Q &; A - JOIN US! Lon Strickler (Host)LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS REPORTS &; CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE‚ LIKE &; SHAREMultiple Witnesses Film Puzzling UFOs in Sky Over Colombian CityWoman Severed in Half in Freak AccidentPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTCONSIDER ADVERTISING ON PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIOLET'S DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONSClick the link for our Media KitCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on Spotify**********Your financial support of Phantoms &; Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. Please click the banner above. Thanks.Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact us by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAlso available with audiobooknarration by Terry Springs‚CBS-TV Las Vegas affiliate.The Dark Arts of MISTER SAM SHEARON - Original Prints &; MerchandiseThis blog and newsletter are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work 3.0 United States License.Registered trademark PHANTOMS AND MONSTERS ® / PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS ® - USPTO #90902480 - Lon D. Strickler© 2005-2023 Phantoms &; Monsters - All Rights Reserved

Yes‚ I know the question sounds insane. But you know what question sounds even more insane if you asked it back in 1963? Will the Rolling Stones still be releasing brand new studio albums 60 years later? Yeah‚ you would have been told to smoke another one of thsoe Panama Red funny-looking cigarettes. But here we are in 2023‚ and the Rolling Stones have released probably their strongest album since Some Girls. Mick Jagger sounds like he’s 20-something years old on the album. I’m not just trying to be nice; he sounds great. The man is in his eighties; he’s The post Will Sammy Hagar or Mick Jagger Be The First 100 Year Old Rockers? appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

The year was 1999‚ and on a late November day the volunteers at the Ningbo Charity Federation in Eastern China found a strange letter addressed to them from an individual referred to only as shun qi zi ran‚ translated roughly to “let nature take its course.” Inside was 50‚000 Chinese RMB‚ or around $7‚000 in remittances—payments […] The post Secret Donor Gives and Gives for 25 Years to Fund Education and Help for Destitute Families in China appeared first on Good News Network.

If you’re a regular reader of Tor.com‚ then there’s a pretty good chance you like movies about aliens. If you’ve already seen the classics of the genre countless times—movies like Alien (1979)‚ The Thing (1982)‚ and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)—and you’re looking for something a little more esoteric‚ then here‚ for your consideration‚ are five alien movies that are hidden gems…   Monsters (2010) Monsters was the feature-length directorial debut of Gareth Edwards and although his subsequent three movies—Godzilla (2014)‚ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)‚ and The Creator (2023)—have made a lot of noise‚ his freshman effort remains underrated. Monsters is set in a post-first contact world‚ taking place six years after a NASA probe crash landed in northern Mexico. Huge cephalopod-like aliens were unleashed from the samples that were aboard‚ and although destruction is all around‚ people have gotten used to the creatures in a “new normal” kind of way. Photojournalist Andrew has been tasked with escorting his boss’s daughter‚ Samantha‚ through the infected zone and back to the U.S. before the border shuts for a six-month quarantine period. A massive wall has been built between the countries in an attempt to keep the aliens in Mexico (the political undertone here is so strong that it’s basically an overtone). Monsters was filmed guerrilla-style‚ and so rather than offering big-budget alien-killing action‚ it feels like a documentary travelogue with a survival element. Andrew and Sam are played by (at the time) real-life couple Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able‚ which means they have genuine onscreen chemistry‚ and most of the other characters in the film are played by locals who the crew met along the way‚ which makes it feel even more authentic. The film’s realism is also aided by the fact that we’re initially given only brief glimpses of the massive tentacled creatures. We see just enough of them to be intrigued‚ but not so much that they lose their impact.   The Vast of Night (2019) Another low-budget feature-length directorial debut making this list is Andrew Patterson’s The Vast of Night. It’s set in the 1950s in the fictional town of Cayuga‚ New Mexico‚ and follows switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick) and radio DJ Everett (Jake Horowitz) as they begin to suspect that there’s something extra-terrestrial in the skies above the town. The film feels like it plays out in real time‚ following Fay and Everett as they spend their evening investigating a strange signal and speaking to people who claim to have encountered aliens. The Vast of Night is an eerie slow burn that left me feeling spellbound. Part of what drew me in were the various smooth tracking shots—one of which clocks in at over four minutes long and breathtakingly travels across the town‚ from the switchboard to the gym to the radio station. How they pulled this shot off is also just as impressive! But the moments of stillness are equally as captivating. Working in tandem with this striking camerawork are the magnetic performances given by our two lead actors‚ with McCormick in particular giving an out-of-this-world (I’m sorry‚ I had to!) performance.   Splinter (2008) I love films where people are trapped in one location by an otherworldly creature or creatures‚ like The Thing (1982) and The Mist (2007)‚ and Toby Wilkins’s Splinter perfectly slots into this category. A couple are driving down a road in the middle of nowhere when they’re carjacked and held hostage by an escaped convict and his girlfriend. They pull into a little isolated gas station‚ but along with road snacks‚ the four travellers find that the one employee has been infected by a black splintery substance‚ and now it’s coming after them. At a taut 82 minutes‚ Splinter is simple yet effective. The origin of the creature/fungus/who-knows-what in Splinter is never actually revealed‚ but it certainly feels alien. It’s like a parasite that controls its host‚ but it doesn’t seem to be aware of how the human body works‚ which leads to some disturbing twisting of limbs. Despite being a low-budget film‚ the largely practical effects look incredible. My one gripe is the over-liberal use of shaky cam‚ which I assume was to cover up flaws in the effects (but doesn’t seem necessary!). That issue aside‚ Splinter is an otherwise solid movie. The group feels like it’s comprised of real people and‚ thankfully‚ they don’t often make stupid decisions just for the sake of moving the plot along. All of the actors do a creditable job‚ but a special shout out has to go to Shea Whigham (best-known as Eli in Boardwalk Empire)‚ whose performance as the criminal is nothing short of fantastic.   The Blob (1988) The Blob may have the most instant name recognition on this list‚ but Chuck Russell’s 1988 remake is definitely underrated‚ having received mixed reviews when it first came out and having been semi-forgotten since. Russell’s film essentially takes the concept of the 1958 original and pushes it as far as it can go in terms of gore. It wouldn’t have been difficult for the pink gelatinous blob creature to come across as silly‚ but instead this thing is aggressive and‚ most importantly‚ it’s ravenous. Technically it’s not as alien in origin as in the original‚ having been created on Earth and then mutated thanks to a little joy ride through space‚ but there’s still some extra-terrestrial flair in there and it’s definitely more threatening than in the original. What makes this movie stand out—and stand the test of time—is its gloriously gory practical effects. There are so many wildly creative deaths throughout the film that are as gleefully fun as they are grotesquely repulsive—take‚ for instance‚ the scene where the Blob pulls someone into a garbage disposal‚ dissolving them on the way down. The Blob is over-the-top and here for a good time‚ something which (in my opinion!) it definitely achieves.   Sputnik (2020) The third and final directorial debut on this list (this wasn’t intentional!) is the Russian-language film Sputnik from Egor Abramenko. Set during the Cold War‚ the film begins with two Soviet cosmonauts crash-landing back on Earth. One of them dies‚ while the other‚ Konstantin (Pyotr Fyodorov)‚ doesn’t seem quite right and is taken to a military facility to be studied helped. Dr. Tatyana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina)‚ a controversial psychiatrist‚ is brought in to examine him and discovers that a not-so-friendly parasitic creature has hitched a ride inside of Konstantin‚ which is every bit as nasty as it sounds. The film mostly feels like a creeping sci-fi thriller‚ but it does occasionally veer into moments of blood-drenched horror. As frightening as the interstellar creature is‚ another horror comes in the form of Colonel Semiradov (Fyodor Bondarchuk)‚ who is in charge of the facility and most definitely does not have Konstantin’s best interests at heart. Sputnik is slow-paced and sinister‚ and it builds towards a tense and thrilling conclusion. ***   Are there any other lesser-known movies featuring aliens that deserve more attention? Please sound off in the comments below! Lorna Wallace has a PhD in English Literature and is a lover of all things science fiction and horror. She lives in Scotland with her rescue greyhound‚ Misty.

The Black Phone continues to ring. The 2022 adaptation of Joe Hill’s story was one of last year’s most profitable movies‚ and naturally‚ a sequel is on the way. Deadline reports that a possibly surprising number of actors will be returning for the phone’s next ring: Ethan Hawke‚ Mason Thames‚ Madeleine McGraw‚ Jeremy Davies‚ and Miguel Mora. What does this mean‚ story-wise? No one can say just yet. As Deadline succinctly put it‚ “In the first movie‚ a 13-year old boy‚ who is abducted by a child killer in a suburban neighborhood and locked in a soundproof basement‚ begins to receive calls on a disconnected phone from the killer’s previous victims.” More victims? More kidnappings? More traumatized kids? Director Scott Derrickson is also returning‚ along with his Black Phone co-writer C. Robert Cargill. Joe Hill is one of the executive producers on the film‚ which will‚ like the first one‚ be produced by Jason Blum and Blumhouse. Leah Schnelbach wrote of the first film‚ “What got me was that the horror in The Black Phone is human. It’s real people doing horrible things to other real people who can’t really protect themselves‚ not ghosts climbing out of TV sets or hapless teens reading from clearly cursed books. There was no point where I could yell‚ ‘Don’t go in there‚ you idiot!’ because I would have been yelling at helpless children who were the victims of circumstance and bad parenting.” Pick up The Black Phone 2 in summer 2025.

Sometimes a thoughtful note or a sweet gift from a secret admirer can be a much-appreciated confidence boost. These anonymous kindnesses let you know that somebody’s thinking about you and even better‚ thinks you’re pretty great. An admirer might keep their identity a secret for several different reasons: maybe they’re working on a nice surprise or a grand gesture‚ maybe they’re smitten but shy‚ maybe they’re just trying to send a bit of kindness out into the world. Or maybe they’re planning to murder you and don’t want to get caught. In Carol Ellis’s My Secret Admirer (1989) and R.L. Stine’s Secret Admirer (1996)‚ Jenny Fowler and Selena Goodrich have to figure out who their secret admirers are and what they want–before it’s too late.  In My Secret Admirer‚ Jenny and her family are new in town‚ the latest stop in a series of frequent relocations for her father’s work. It’s the tail-end of summer and school hasn’t started yet‚ which means Jenny hasn’t had many opportunities to meet the teens who will be her classmates and (hopefully) friends. Their new home is a small town near some mountains and one afternoon on a grocery run‚ Jenny meets her neighbor‚ Sally Rafino‚ when Sally comes up the street on a horse‚ “riding bareback and … [not] the least bit self-conscious about being on a horse in the middle of a paved street lined with cars” (11). Jenny and Sally hit it off right away and Sally invites Jenny to come to their high school class’s scavenger hunt‚ a local tradition that sends kids running all over town for zany and unexpected prizes. It all gets off to a good start and Jenny feels like she’s starting to get a handle on the high school social hierarchy: there’s mean girl Diana‚ cute boy David‚ athlete (and Diana’s ex-boyfriend) Brad‚ and computer genius Dean. David kisses Jenny as they work their way through the scavenger hunt list‚ but things take a dangerous turn when they find themselves in the rimrocks (the bluffs near the mountains’ edge) hunting for a bird’s nest when a storm rolls in. David and Jenny are separated‚ Jenny hears what she thinks is shouting followed by a scream‚ and the night comes to an abrupt end‚ with Jenny yelling at David for abandoning her and the scavenger hunt called off because of the rain.  Jenny’s pretty cranky about the way the night ended and finds herself struggling to sort out how she feels about David (is he a jerk who left her behind in an unfamiliar and scary place? Did she panic and overreact?). Things get even more complicated when they all find out that Diana was on the rimrocks too and fell; she wasn’t found right away and when the teens meet up at a local diner a couple of days later‚ they learn that Diana is in a coma (a series of events that adds “did David push Diana?” to Jenny’s list of uncomfortable questions). But whatever her feelings about David might be‚ somebody likes Jenny. She gets back from dropping her parents off at the airport for a trip and comes home to find an anonymous message on the answering machine. As she listens‚ this mystery man says “You’re going to think I’m crazy‚ Jenny … And I guess I am. Crazy about you‚ that is. Don’t laugh. This isn’t a joke. You’re really incredible. Maybe someday I’ll be able to tell you face to face. Until then‚ I’ll just keep my eye on you. And believe me‚ that’s one spectacular view. Bye‚ Jenny. For now” (41). Jenny’s first thought is that the call could be a prank. After she has some time to think about it‚ she comes to the conclusion that “It was silly‚ but it was flattering‚ too” (42)‚ deciding she doesn’t mind having a secret admirer and hoping he calls again soon. She mentally reviews the guys she has met since moving to town‚ but can’t figure out who this mystery caller could be.  Buy it Now After this phone call‚ anonymous gifts keep showing up on her doorstep as well‚ including fresh-picked flowers. But things take a darker turn when someone leaves a nice bow-wrapped box outside her front door containing a dead‚ beheaded rattlesnake. Sally tries to shrug it off as an admittedly weird and gross joke‚ but things become increasingly dangerous as someone rolls up her car windows while Jenny’s in the grocery store‚ trapping her dog Peaches in the hot car where she nearly dies of heatstroke. Whoever it is also tampers with Jenny’s car so that she’ll be stranded in the middle of nowhere and then menaces her on a motorcycle while Jenny is trapped in a roadside phone booth. Jenny’s parents have gone out of town to deal with closing details on the sale of their previous home‚ so Jenny is on her own to figure out what’s going on and protect herself from these threats. At first‚ Peaches is actually a pretty good guard dog‚ standing sentry at the front door when she hears strange noises in the night (presumably the dead snake delivery)‚ but after the heatstroke incident‚ the vet keeps Peaches at the clinic for observation and Jenny is more alone than ever.  Jenny remains adamant that these messages are coming from two different people—one who likes her and one who is trying to scare her—and when she gets a final message from her secret admirer‚ asking her to meet him in an isolated spot in the rimrocks‚ she thinks this sounds like a great idea‚ reassuring herself that whoever this mystery man is‚ he’ll be able to protect her from the other mystery man who is trying to scare and hurt her. But of course‚ these two mystery men are the same man‚ who now intends to find out what Jenny heard that night and do whatever it takes to silence her. Even when she meets him in the rimrocks‚ he stays out of sight‚ continuing to conceal his identity as he pushes Jenny off the cliff‚ and when Jenny regains consciousness to find that David has come to rescue her‚ she decides he must be the bad guy and hits him in the head with a rock … then finds out the culprit was Dean all along.  Jenny’s first impression of Dean was deeply flawed—what she took for shyness is quiet cockiness‚ and all in all‚ he’s just not that “nice.” It turns out he used his computer skills to change his records in the school’s system when a few bad grades threatened to derail his Ivy League dreams‚ Diana found out and threatened to tell. Dean tells Jenny that he “didn’t push Diana. She fell by accident. It worked out very conveniently for me‚ though. Until you started talking about what you heard that night” (169). Dean falls and is injured but not killed‚ then taken into police custody. Jenny escapes with nothing more than a badly sprained ankle and the disappointing knowledge that her secret admirer really just wanted to kill her.  In Stine’s Fear Street book Secret Admirer‚ at least Selena doesn’t have to wonder so much about what her admirer’s intentions are: from the very first note Selena finds‚ her admirer’s attentions are creepy and threatening. She has the lead in the school play and after she has taken her curtain call‚ she goes to her dressing room locker to find a bunch of dead flowers and a note that says “Congratulations! Enjoy your last curtain call. Did you know you are giving up the stage—to be with me? Forever” (9). While Selena knows from the beginning that her secret admirer does not have romantic intentions‚ she does go back and forth on how seriously she needs to take this threat. She‚ her friends‚ and even their theatre teacher initially believe that it could all be a joke—an unkind‚ sick joke‚ to be sure‚ but probably nothing to really worry about. But when Selena thinks she sees someone looking in her bedroom window‚ a wardrobe chest falls on her competition for the next role (who had the bad luck to be sitting in Selena’s usual spot)‚ Selena finds a partially decomposed rat on her back porch‚ and her friend Jake dies after a fall from the theatre’s catwalk‚ they all have to admit that Selena is in serious danger. Despite the danger‚ however‚ they all forge on with a “the show must go on” mentality‚ including Selena‚ whose only chance to go to college is to score a scholarship based on the recommendation of the college recruiter–who is coming to see the show.  Selena mentally works her way through the list of potential suspects‚ which is headed up by her disgruntled ex-boyfriend Danny‚ her friend Jake (who falls off the suspect list when he gets murdered‚ of course)‚ and Eddy‚ a college intern who is helping with the show and keen on starting an inappropriate romantic relationship with Selena. When Selena gets a note telling her that another one of her friends is going to be killed at the theatre that night‚ she rushes there‚ intent on warning and saving her best friend Katy‚ only to find out that Katy is behind the whole thing. And there is a LOT to unpack when Katy reveals her motivation.  First of all‚ Katy and Selena have been best friends since they were small children and used to have a lot in common. Both Katy and Selena thought they’d “be fat and unpopular forever” (12). But when Selena decided she wanted to be a performer‚ she decided the only way to do so successfully would be to lose weight‚ reflecting that “I knew I couldn’t get lead parts unless I stopped eating so much” (13)‚ a commentary on body type discrimination and fat-shaming that Stine lets pass by entirely unremarked. Selena becomes a star and Katy becomes a stage crew member‚ working behind the scenes‚ and when Katy expresses her envy of Selena‚ Selena’s awful advice to Katy is that “you could lose weight too” (13). Selena is wrapped up in her newfound popularity and she and Katy have been drifting apart‚ with Selena having little empathy or patience with Katy for not simply transforming herself completely. Katy also knows the best way to manipulate Selena is to play to Selena’s ego and belief in her own irresistibility: as Katy explains about the notes‚ “I knew you’d never suspect me. I knew you’d think it was some guy who was madly in love with you … I knew you’d never question it. Every guy has to fall for you‚ right?” (133‚ emphasis original). All Selena cares about is popularity‚ how she looks‚ and whether or not boys find her attractive. Spurred on by her fear about the growing distance between them as Selena prepares to go to college‚ Katy decides to hold Selena accountable and show her just how shallow and self-centered she is.  While Selena’s priorities are well worth critiquing‚ however‚ Katy isn’t some feminist vigilante or a radical‚ forward-thinking teen ready to smash the patriarchy. She’s just jealous‚ catty‚ and pretty much completely unhinged. Stine does not cultivate any depth in or empathy for Katy’s character and in the end‚ the majority of readers likely find themselves identifying with Selena‚ moving forward with the skewed and problematic priorities that shape her life‚ without any substantial reflection or critical consideration taking place. Katy’s plan is thwarted‚ she’s tied up and handed over the authorities‚ the terror is over‚ and that’s that.  Additionally‚ if being stalked and nearly murdered by their secret admirers isn’t terrifying enough‚ both Ellis and Stine include side plots that make it abundantly clear that even without this specific threat‚ the world isn’t a safe place for young women. In My Secret Admirer‚ one of the chores Jenny’s parents give her while they’re out of town is to meet with the local painters and get an estimate of what it would cost them to have a few rooms in their new house repainted. When the two painters show up‚ they’re initially condescending and dismissive that they have to deal with Jenny rather than her parents‚ and it only gets creepier when the younger of the two painters pointedly asks “you’re still alone here‚ then?” (95). When he calls and leaves a message on the machine with the quote for the painting job‚ he once again points out that he knows Jenny’s alone in the house. These comments briefly make him a suspect as Jenny tries to figure out who’s terrorizing her‚ but the painter is a red herring‚ serving as a reminder of the harassment and danger that women face on a regular basis. In Secret Admirer‚ Selena’s relationship with Eddy is stalker-ish and predatory. Not only is he a college intern in a position of power when it comes to theatre classes and the show‚ but it quickly becomes apparent that he has been paying close attention to Selena for several years‚ watching her from afar. He makes comments in passing about her grades‚ her previous performances‚ and how her appearance has changed over the years‚ and while to her credit‚ these odd comments do give Selena pause‚ she ends up brushing them off. Eddy asks Selena out on a date but tells her that she’ll have to keep it a secret so they don’t get in trouble‚ even ducking out of the restaurant where they’ve just had dinner when one of Selena’s classmates comes in. Eddy is seriously creepy and taking advantage of Selena‚ though in the book’s final pages‚ he helps rescue her from Katy and remains her romantic interest‚ as they contemplate their potential future together.  Jenny and Selena are young‚ vulnerable‚ and so happy to have romantic interest that it doesn’t seem like a dealbreaker when that interest comes all mixed up with threatening notes‚ dead snakes‚ and murdered friends. Even when they avoid being murdered‚ there are plenty of other day-to-day threats and exploitations for these young women to contend with. They are willing to give up so much to be seen as desirable‚ to be worthy objects of their admirers’ attentions‚ though in the end‚ those secret admirers are more focused on murder than romance. But in the end‚ there are other (slightly) less creepy guys waiting in the wings‚ so Jenny and Selena aren’t walking away empty handed‚ but rather hand in hand with fellas that they at least briefly considered might be trying to kill them.  Alissa Burger is an associate professor at Culver-Stockton College in Canton‚ Missouri. She writes about horror‚ queer representation in literature and popular culture‚ graphic novels‚ and Stephen King. She loves yoga‚ cats‚ and cheese.

Sword Chronicles Awaken is an intense fighting game where your team will have to rise to the occasion of terrible challenges. To build your team‚ you’ll want to know of the strongest characters out there. All Sword Chronicles Awaken Characters Ranked Note that‚ as is the case with any tier list‚ this list is subjective. I have pulled from community opinions to form this tier list‚ so it is a reflection of current thoughts. Be mindful that it is subject to change and different players will have differing play styles‚ so make sure to experiment! I have put every unit into the same list‚ so each class (support‚ striker‚ attacker)‚ does not have its own tier list. That’s fine‚ however‚ as you’ll be compromising your team of the best units you can‚ regardless of their class. Each tier provides a good enough mix of classes for you to choose from. The following lists are alphabetical in order. S Tier These units are agreed to be th...