 | 29 Apr 08 |
I’m telling you, straight from the world of the WACKY and WEIRD, the news stories recently have been El Bizarro. And everyone KNOWS that a LOT of writers get their inspiration from real life, so this past few weeks have been a bonus for those of us inspired by news stories.
For example, there is the story of the Austrian woman who was held prisoner in a cellar BY HER FATHER for more than 24 years. And worse, she gave birth to at least SEVEN children by him.
Police said the 42-year-old woman, identified only as Elisabeth F, told them her father, Josef, had lured her into the basement of the block where the family lived in Amstetten, north-west Austria, on August 24 1984, and allegedly drugged and handcuffed her before locking her up in the dungeon. A police spokesman said she was “psychologically extremely disturbed”, but her version of events was “completely believable”.
UhhhhhOkkkaaayyyy. Can you say YUCK?
Then there is the continuing story coming out of the FLDS Compound in Texas, where authorities from CPS now claim that at least 31 of the 53 girls removed from the compound, in the age range of 15 to 17, have either had children are or currently pregnant.
FLDS spokesman Rod Parker said he does not believe the CPS count is accurate. He said that from talking to ranch residents, he believes at least 17 of the girls may actually be adults but have been labeled by CPS as minors.
Agency officials have called into question claims of adulthood among the girls since the raid and have in some cases disputed documentation provided, saying the girls look younger than 18. Because many FLDS members share similar names and have complicated family relationships, identifying all of the children taken into custody has been a challenge.
Teen Disney star, 15-year-old Miley Cyrus, who has recently been under fire for provocative pics of her that made their way onto the Internet is now getting SLAMMED for a controversial Vanity Fair shoot in which she was topless, albeit covered with a sheet. Now, she is claiming foul and saying that Vanity Fair took advantage of her. Except her parents were BOTH at the shoot, and neither parent nor Miley herself was apparently bothered by the pictures until a public uproar started.
In Florida, if some lawmakers have their way, it is going to be illegal to have BULL TESTICLES on your vehicle. No, I am not making this up.
Metal replicas of bull testicles have become trendy bumper ornaments in some parts of the Sunshine State, but state Sen. Carey Baker is campaigning to ban the orbs.
In Detroit, they discovered an 80-year-old woman living with her mummified sister.
Investigators believe the surviving sister had been living with the body for up to three years. They say the body was partially covered with newspapers and that a cat and dog apparently ate part of it.
A Florida woman heard a noise in her kitchen, and when she went to investigate, she discovered an eight-foot alligator.
Alligators are ubiquitous in Florida, and Frosti sees them all the time in the ponds behind her housing development and on the lawns. But they seem to know their place; although one will occasionally wander into an open garage, house invasions are virtually unheard of.
And in one that really gives me the creeps–and probably a few nightmares–in Oregon, a policeman saved a pet shop owner from being eaten by a Burmese python!
I may never recover from reading that story, especially after reading that the pet store owner asked police NOT to kill the snake. And they didn’t. You just KNOW what that snake is planning for his next meal….. Stephen King story anyone?
So, which of these weird stories inspires you? If you were going to use a news article to inspire a book, what would you choose? And if none of these does it for you, have you ever had one that did? And if so, what was it?
© 2008 – 2009, Natalie R. Collins. All rights reserved.
Natalie R. Collins was born in Logan, Utah and attended the University of Utah. She worked for eleven years at The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah's largest daily newspaper, before leaving to devote more time to her family. During the ensuing years, she wrote five novels. She also worked for the 2001 and 2002 Sundance Film Festivals as an editor. Natalie is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Romance Writers of America.
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Put them all together and you’ve got a book by Carl Hiaasen.
by J. Carson Black April 29th, 2008 at 4:54 amI’d like to know why Mylie’s father and the photographer have not been arrested for child pornography. Just asking…
I’d like to know why it’s the women and children being “punished” in the FLDS situation when it’s the men who are the criminals. Again, just asking
These are some weird ass stories, Natalie! For sure, the alligator and snake stories would inspire me to have a heart attack if they happened to me!
by Jen Apodaca April 29th, 2008 at 6:38 amThe FLDS story will never go away, it will grow, change locations, faces, and victims. And like Jen said, the real criminals in this crime are not hounded, persecuted, or jailed… please let that be, Yet.
As for Miley, the photos I saw weren’t bad in the least, but I have to ask what the heck Annie Lebowitz was thinking, and Leticia and Billy Ray too. Oh wait, his name is Billy Ray, I think Jake has a theory about that.
Alligators and snakes, shivers. They are both sneaky, fast, and eat large things.
The father in Austria? OHMIGOD, Where the heck was the mother? They both should be Quartered and disembowled.
I guess I’m feeling friendly today.
by Cele April 29th, 2008 at 8:08 amThe thing in Austria is horrible. I can’t imagine being locked up for 24 years! Where the heck was the mother indeed! I can see having one child dropped at your door…maybe…but 3 and no questions asked? Besides that, the father supposedly was sexually molesting the girl since she was 11? Makes me wonder if she really did know what was going on and chose to ignore it or if he was abusing her as well and she kept her mouth shut out of fear.
I agree that the FLDS thing will NEVER go away. No matter what happens to the poor 400+ kids they got out, there will always be more and the incest and abuse will be perpetuated.
Bull testicles?
I’m baffled. Why would you want ANY kind of testicles on your vehicle?!?
by Erin April 29th, 2008 at 8:47 amMy comment is awaiting moderation? When did that start?
by Erin April 29th, 2008 at 8:49 amHmm…I guess it was some of the language in the comment
by Erin April 29th, 2008 at 8:52 amNat, all creepy stuff! I was smiling in a weird perverse way wondering what Cele would think when she read the python story.
by Karin April 29th, 2008 at 9:29 amErin, I went a freed your comment from moderation. It looks like it got tangled with another comment that was spam. It’s nothing that you did!
by Jen April 29th, 2008 at 9:29 amThanks, Jen! I thought maybe the filter didn’t like testicles or something!
by Erin April 29th, 2008 at 11:49 amLOL. Funny Jake, and you are SO right.
Jen, I know. I think the magazine has some responsibility as well, but WHAT WERE HER PARENTS THINKING? And welcome to the world of patriarchy and a mindset of “blame the victim.”
Cele, LOL. Disemboweled, huh? I swear, it was a weird news week.
by Natalie April 29th, 2008 at 2:01 pmErin, sorry your comment got quarantined. Guess our spam filter thought it was one of those porn spams… LOL. Glad you made it out alive!
Thanks, Jen, for freeing Erin’s comment.
Karin, I was NOT smiling when I wrote about that snake story. The other story I didn’t post was about people adopting pet rats that were found in an abandoned house. ACK!
by Natalie April 29th, 2008 at 2:04 pmThe news story that’s always fascinated me was the guy that was pronounced dead waking up in the morgue. Or is that just an urban legend? No matter, I still love it.
by Amanda Stevens April 29th, 2008 at 2:24 pmOkay now I have to add, where the pictures of Miley in the blanket/sheet thing didn’t bug me, the photo with her and her dad could be a family photo for the FLDS…well except the clothing thingie.
by Cele April 29th, 2008 at 6:45 pmComing in VERY late and trying to read previous posts (I’ve been out of town for the Pikes Peak Writers Conference and visiting family). I’ve seen a number of vehicles with the “nuts for trucks” hanging from the back (think below a trailer hitch). Since I’m not home, I can’t ask my husband, but he was the one who mentioned this story to me, and apparently one of the lawmakers thought the issue was ridiculous–because he proudly has the nuts on his own vehicle.
I can’t wait for DH to retire so we can leave this crazy state.
by Terry Odell April 29th, 2008 at 6:48 pmOK — here’s a link if you want to see them for yourself. nuts for trucks
At least, maybe it’s a link. I’m not good at this high tech stuff. Here it is in case it didn’t link properly http://www.nutsfortrucks.com/
by Terry Odell April 29th, 2008 at 6:50 pmI tried posting the link to the website where you could see the truck balls, but I must not have this tech stuff down. It’s http://www.nutsfortrucks.com/ which might come through.
by Terry Odell April 29th, 2008 at 6:53 pmIf anyone wants to see the aforementioned truck enhancements, you can go to nutsfortrucks.com
by Terry Odell April 29th, 2008 at 7:04 pm