1. What were your favorite childhood stories?

Among my very favorite childhood stories was Hansel and Gretel, The Headless Horseman and Little Red Riding Hood. I would often imagine what would have happened if Hansel and Gretel were lost in the woods in Sleepy Hollow and The Headless Horseman threw them in the oven at the Gingerbread House and Little Red Riding Hood came and found poor Hansel and Gretel burning in the oven. Would she rescue them, or would she hang out and eat candy off the Gingerbread house with the Headless Horseman? Do you think I was a disturbed child?

2. What books from your childhood would you like to share with [your] children?

Definitely my collection of Golden Books. I used to believe the book bindings were actually gold, so I always dusted the books and tried to take very good care of them. By the time my Mother explained to me that the bindings were not really gold, I had become so attached to them that I still took care of them and eventually put them safely away in the attic so my own children could read them one day.

3. Have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything?

I've been quite surprised seeing some very adult themes and violence coming through in the fairy tales I innocently enjoyed as a child. Of course, that could just be in my mind...but these stories were written by adults with an adult mind. I suppose there are some sexual, political and violent themes lying under the surface of many popular fairy tales, much the same way The Wizard of Oz was rumored to be written as a political manifesto on Populism.

4. How old were you when you first learned to read?

I really don't remember exactly how old I was when I learned to read. I know that I began preschool at age three, and I remember we were making applesauce one day and one of the teachers asked if anyone knows what ingredients go into applesauce. Some kids yelled out "apples" and "sugar" but I got up and took the recipe off the table and read the recipe. The teachers seemed surprised that I could read this. In Kindergarten I could read most sentences while we were only being taught the alphabet. I didn't understand why they were teaching me something I already knew.

5. Do you remember the first 'grown-up' book you read? How old were you?

I was nine when I started reading Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Rick Hautala novels. The very first one I read was Carrie by Stephen King, which my Mother had borrowed from the library. To this day, it's one of my very favorite books (and movies). I am still an avid reader of Stephen King. I've read one of his newer books, Bag of Bones probably a dozen times now because it's such a good story.

Thanks to the Friday Five, a realization I made a while ago has been reaffirmed. Ever since I can remember, I've been drawn to the horror genre in all things (books, movies, music, art, etc.), and I thought "That's just what I'm into." I now clearly see that my interest was shaped by my exposure to these things at a very young age.

Thanks to: FridayFive.org

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