Miss Velvet was supposed to be my daughter’s cat, a graduation present acquired (along with a mustachioed tuxedo littermate dubbed Henri) from a friend of Maura’s sister-in-law. She was stunningly adorable orange, black, and white calico kitten full of purrs and absurd antics, and I vowed I would not get attached to her because I […]

Vampires and werewolves may be frightful, but they lack the gnawing existential elan of the terrors of parenthood. Besides all the anxieties about perils which might afflict your offspring, there are more subtle chills — namely the recurring fits of angst over whether the example you’ve tried to set or lessons you’ve tried to impart […]

For Robert Scott Carey, this was the most terrifying day of his life. But for me, it was just another Tuesday.

A ghost, though invisible, still is like a place your sight can knock on, echoing; but here within this thick black pelt, your strongest gaze will be absorbed and utterly disappear: just as a raving madman, when nothing else can ease him, charges into his dark night howling, pounds on the padded wall, and feels […]