Every now and then a story comes by that makes me slap my head and bemoan the fact that I didn’t think of it first. Such is the case with this week’s rerun Watching It Move by Alex Reid. Still, there ain’t a great idea that can stand up to clumsy handling; but Alex timed this perfectly and the result is satisfying as well as a cause of envy.
Q: I seldom ask this old chestnut of a question–but here it feels right. How did this come to you– was it out of the blue, or arrived at coolly?
Q: Did you experience any difficulty in plotting out the scene? (Asking what can easily be interpreted as a Yes or No question usually ends badly for me; but I’m certain Alex will elaborate.)
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Q: I seldom ask this old chestnut of a question–but here it feels right. How did this come to you– was it out of the blue, or arrived at coolly?
A: The story is actually somewhat of a real life experience, thankfully no one died. I was very little watching old black and white cartoons and eventually one came on of a ghost sneaking through an old haunted house. At one point the ghost stopped moving and looked directly at the screen to talk to the viewer and said “For all you kids out there, I’m in the next room.” It terrified me and I had trouble getting to sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about this cartoon ghost just outside my bedroom door.
Q: Did you experience any difficulty in plotting out the scene? (Asking what can easily be interpreted as a Yes or No question usually ends badly for me; but I’m certain Alex will elaborate.)
A: For this story there was almost no trouble. I had the scene in my head for so long that it pretty much poured out of me. I had been meaning to write the story for years but kept putting it off for some reason or another. During that time I had written a whole bunch of bad stories while I was trying to figure out my writing style and trying to find out what might scare people. In the end I decided just to do it one night because the scene always scared me and I was hoping it would scare a few others as well.
literally stories 
Hello Alex,
Thank you for your excellent replies. I am especially glad for the people who will read your story for the first time today. I hope everyone has a view.
Leila
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Hi Leila,
You pull out the old chestnuts when you get the most from them!
Brilliant as always.
Alex – This is one of those stories that as soon as I saw the title, I remembered it. I also remember thinking how good an idea it was.
And Leila’s head slapping goes for me too!!
Hugh
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It’s an excellent ghost story and well-worth re-reading. I also enjoyed learning about the real-life experience that prompted it.
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