
The Old Wife's Guestroom
Since Salem is such a popular tourist area, I often have houseguests. This is one of three guestrooms in my saltbox. Although it is the smallest, my overnight visitors find it quite cozy. They enjoy snuggling up under an eiderdown quilt in front of a roaring fire. In the cedar chest, you will find 25 stories to read before the lights go out.
The stories on this page were written around 2001. I'm not sure of the exact date.
The Best of Intentions - A student meets a scientist at a local coffee shop,and the two discuss the possibility of going back in time and killing Adolph Hitler. The Brothers Guilford - A young man is determined to pursue a pretty girl he met in a bookstore, but he is afraid his brother will get in his way. Calendar Girl - A commercial photographer is taking pictures of beautiful women for an upcoming calendar. Meanwhile, police have to solve a string of unsolved murders. The Comeback - A few rock and roll stars want to stage a comback and relive the glory of their youth. Coulrophobia - Psychiatrist Lionel Penn is called upon to treat a man with a deep-rooted fear of clowns. |
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The Curse of Narcissus - A beautiful peasant girl is fortunate enough to marry the lord of a manor, but her foolish vanity leads her to betray his love. Date With a Stranger - A young girl living in a ghetto meets a handsome stranger who gives her a special gift. Decorating for the Holidays - A retired couple have to deal with the mischievous boys who destroy their holiday decorations. Dedication - A lonely deejay makes a nightly dedication to the only woman he ever loved: his high school sweetheart. Dinner and a Murder - Two mystery lovers journey to a Victorian house in Pennsylvania that offers an extravagant murder mystery party. |
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A Familiar Face - A young woman is excited about getting a new neighbor; however, the middle-aged woman who moves in next door ignores her attempts to strike a friendship. Furthermore, the young woman finds the older woman's face strangely familiar. For Love of Chocolate - An unhappy child grows up with a love of chocolate that sustains her through a disastrous marriage. For Sale or Lease - With their beloved brownstone scheduled to be torn down, two househunters go in search of the perfect house. The Fortuneteller - A carnival fortuneteller is upset by the vision of death she sees in a teenage boy's eyes. A Game of Chance - A gambler who owes a great deal of money to a loanshark makes a deal with the devil, |
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The Gargoyles - A spoiled child grows up to be a vindictive man who wants to have revenge on what he believes are wrongs done to him. The Ghost Channel - An employee of a cable channel devoted to ghosts and hauntings has the brilliant idea of taking a cameraman and two psychics down to the wreckage of the Titanic. The Ghost of Connaught Manor - After going through an emotionally trying divorce, a rock star takes refuge in an old house in Ireland where he encounters an attractive ghost. Going Up? - A woman, who works on the thirtieth floor of an office building, sees a disturbing old man in the elevator every time she boards it. Happy Ending - For her own enjoyment, a computer programmer creates a program that can change the endings of sad movies. She is surprised to learn that someone might want to buy it. |
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Hidden Portrait - A woman purchases a religious painting and discovers there is a portrait of a dead girl beneath it. The Hitchhiker - A man picks up a young woman hitchhiking on a deserted road. Home for Christmas - A little girl wants only one thing for Christmas: to have her father, who is serving on an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, come home for Christmas. In Search of Silence - On the advice of his doctor, an overworked businessman wants rest as well as peace and quiet. June-December Romance - When a pretty young girl marries a rich old man, she expects to be a wealthy widow some day, but in this case, she is sadly mistaken. |
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