And speaking of things to do, start planning now to participate in
The Third Annual Writers Halloween Short Story Contest.

1.  Your story must be no longer than 4,000 words.  Poetry, songs,
all are well come to the ghostlie fest, but no longer than 4,000 words.
(is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrghkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkklunk one word or two?)

2.  Mail your entry to Robyn Meta Herrington <rmherrin@ACS.UCALGARY.CA>
(NOT to WRITERS, check that To: address before you hit send, remember,
mail your entry to rmherrin@ACS.UCALGARY.CA.  Put SUB: HALLOWEEN: in
the subject line to help our fiend sort out the myriads and millipedes
from the microforms, okay?)

3.  Submissions must have a fitting theme for Halloween.

4.  Submissions start October 1st, and end October 15.

5.  Voting takes place from October 15 to 30.

6.  On All Souls Day, October 31st, the winner will be announced.

And the grand prize is a glass orb, cast by the queen of the frosty
northern lands herself, our own RMH!  Touched and tainted with colours
(not those wimpy American colors, but true northern COLOURS, with U
inside!)

Start now, to compose those masterpieces of spiney horror...

A starting sentence?  Certainly, certainly... how about:

From the shadows, bent, fetid, tumultuous and lonely, squealing and
whistling now and then with exhilaration, it watched.

Please feel free to use this if you like it...