Suggestion Saturday: October 26, 2013

Here is this week’s list of blog posts and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

From The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary:

But most clowns aren’t trying to be odd. They’re trying to be silly and sweet, fun personified. So the question is, when did the clown, supposedly a jolly figure of innocuous, kid-friendly entertainment, become so weighed down by fear and sadness? When did clowns become so dark?

Maybe they always have been.

Highly Sensitive People and Depression: Overstimulation May Lead to Depression. This is a fascinating article about how an overwhelming environment can trigger depression for some people. One of the things I really appreciated as a child was how responsive my parents were to my tendency to get overwhelmed by spending a lot of time in big crowds. As the preacher’s family we were expected to attend certain events (and I definitely agree that there’s value in stretching yourself in new experiences sometimes), but we also had time to decompress afterwards.

Love Heals Everything via CarolineSkanne. The difference between hearing and listening.

Fruit of Labor. This piece is about a family farm in Georgia. The owners hire Mexican immigrants to pick peaches every year, and most of their temporary employees have worked with them for a long time. A recent influx of harsh immigration laws is threatening the balance of their arrangement. I’ve picked strawberries for personal use, and even that small amount of stooping is really hard on your knees and back. I can’t imagine doing it full time for 6+ months.

Dear Cryptically Sad Friend on Facebook via PatheosAtheist. I couldn’t agree with this more.

Zombies vs. Animals? The Living Dead Wouldn’t Stand a Chance. Zombies are scarier than werewolves, vampires, and ghosts combined. Luckily humans would only be in danger from them for a short period of time if they actually existed. This link includes a very long list of animals that can be very dangerous to humans, living or undead.

Ordeal of the Bitter Waters via Virtuseveritas. A six-part series about how this blogger changed her mind about abortion. Most adults don’t change their minds about hot-button issues like these, so it was really interesting to see what lead Samantha to her new opinion on the topic.

Imagine being to married to man so desperate for a son that he’s willing to let you die in the process. Imagine being summoned to consult with a family who coats every word that comes out of their mouths with a thick layer of metaphor and superstition.

Angelica is about a Spiritualist trying to help a family that is being haunted by a malevolent presence. Or maybe it’s a metaphor for the heavy shroud of silence that accompanies certain secrets. Or perhaps there’s a different explanation for what happened entirely.

Sometimes the scariest things in life are the most ordinary ones: the fear of death, how certain social conventions smother the truth, and what happens when a parent feels his or her child is in terrible danger but can’t convince anyone else of their suspicions.

Horror isn’t always about blood and gore. I hesitate to even use that label for this book because I know it will scare some of my readers away, but if you’re in the mood for something that transcends the typical plot for a ghost story this is an excellent place to start.

What have you been reading?

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