I'm always on the lookout in the news for interesting bits
for our next novel. This week lots of strange stuff showed up on my radar –
most of it would be unbelievable in a work of fiction. Still maybe we'll find
some way to use it.
In Tulsa, OK – woman survives being trapped in a home
freezer for 4 days. Details are a little hazy over how she got in there. Police
reports say foul play is not suspected. Most surprising to me is that she had
that much extra room in her freezer. I know if I buy two gallons of ice cream
at the same time, the frozen peas have to be tossed to make space.
In Rockhill, SC – ex-boyfriend found living in woman's
attic. And this was twelve years after they broke up. When he got out of prison,
he looked her up. Or rather down – he was sneaking looks at her through the
heating vents. Apparently he just moved into the crawlspace, making a human
nest amongst her winter coats. She heard noises but thought she had
“poltergeist stuff going on" in her house.
Moral of the story – when things go bump in the night, don't call a
psychic - call an exterminator. Works equally well for both cockroaches and
ex-boyfriends.
Or check out this story - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/todd-hartley/im-with-stupid-camouflage_b_1847865.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird%20News
I don't know what to say about it – some people just have
too much spare time on their hands. Pretending to be Bigfoot could get you some
attention – I'll give him that. But pretending to be Bigfoot (although dressed
in a camouflaged costume) and standing in the middle of the highway traffic
means you're just not playing with enough marbles. Usually that would be enough
of a story – but the reporter goes on to hint at a conspiracy. Maybe someone
paid this idiot in an attempt to get a pseudo- reality television show to film
in their community. See, you really couldn't use this stuff as a plot in a novel
– readers would never buy it.
What's the strangest story you've heard lately? Got any that you think would make a good mystery plot?
Rhonda
aka The Southern Half of Evelyn David
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I know, Rhonda. Some things I read in the news and even things I've seen in real life would be unbelievable if you put them in a novel. Editors and readers would say, "Oh, come on now!"
ReplyDeleteI find myself thinking of the missing-presumed-dead DA in the Sandusky-Penn State child molestation scandal. He knew about it and presumably had been politically pressured against prosecuting since after that he didn't like Sandusky a bit. He was about to retire (which might have left him free to pursue Sandusky perhaps by going to the feds). He disappears. His car is found in a river, as is his laptop with the hard drive taken out and smashed to pieces. His money's sat untouched in his bank for years. Now, there's evidence arising that Sandusky was part of a giant boy-victim-procuring ring that included the wealthy and powerful. Seems like a mystery novel plot to me.