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31 Scary Story Nights: October 3rd “Swamp Witch”

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Welcome again readers to my series of 31 scary stories!  Our countdown to Halloween is in full swing, and our last two tales were chilling to say the least!  Tonight’s selection is slightly different.  Swamp Witch isn’t a traditional story.  In fact, it’s not necessarily a regular story at all.  It is in fact a song.

Written by Jim Stafford in 1974, Swamp Witch‘s lyrics tell the story of Hattie the Swamp Witch and her effect on one small town out in the bayou.  The lyrics work well as a stand alone poem that can be read aloud as a story, and I hope you and your family enjoys it as much as I do!  As a bonus, however, I’ll place a for the song before the lyrics!  There’s just something about Stafford’s delivery that makes the song even creepier…

Let’s take a trip to the bayou together!

***Writer’s Note:  We here at iHorror are big proponents of responsible parenting.  Some of the stories in this series may be too much for your little ones.  Please read ahead and decide if your kids can handle this story!  If not, find another story for tonight or simply come back to see us tomorrow.  In other words, don’t blame me for your kids nightmares!***

Swamp Witch music and lyrics by Jim Stafford (1974)

Black water Hattie lived back in the swamp
Where the strange green reptiles crawl.
Snakes hang thick from the cypress trees
Like sausage on a smokehouse wall.
Where the swamp is alive with a thousand eyes
An’ all of them watching you.
Stay off the track to Hattie’s Shack in the back of the Black Bayou.Way up the road from Hattie’s Shack
Lies a sleepy little Okeechobee town.
Talk of swamp witch Hattie lock you in when the sun go down.
Rumors of what she’d done, rumors of what she’d do,
Kept folks off the track of Hattie’s shack
In the back of the Black Bayou.

One day brought the rain and the rain stayed on
And the swamp water overflowed.
Skeeters and the fever grabbed the town like a fist
Doctor Jackson was the first to go.
Some say the plague was brought by Hattie
There was talk of a hangin’ too.
But the talk got shackled by the howls and the cackles
From the bowels of the Black bayou.

Early one morn ‘tween dark and dawn when shadows filled the sky
There came an unseen caller on a town where hope run dry.
In the square there was found a big black round
Vat full of gurgling brew.
Whispering sounds as the folk gathered round
“It came from the Black Bayou.”

There ain’t much pride when you’re trapped inside
A slowly sinkin’ ship.
Scooped up the liquid deep and green
And the whole town took a sip.
Fever went away and the very next day the skies again were blue.
Let’s thank old Hattie for savin’ our town.
We’ll fetch her from the Black Bayou.

Party of ten of the town’s best men headed for Hattie’s Shack.
Said Swamp Witch magic was useful and good
And they’re gonna bring Hattie back.
Never found Hattie and they never found the shack
Never made the trip back in.
There was a parchment note they found tacked to a stump
Said don’t come lookin’ again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, then…what do you think readers?  It doesn’t get much creepier than that!

Join us again tomorrow for the next installment of 31 Scary Story Nights here at iHorror!
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Netflix Releases First BTS ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Footage

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It’s been three long years since Netflix unleashed the bloody, but enjoyable Fear Street on its platform. Released in a tryptic fashion, the streamer broke up the story into three episodes, each taking place in a different decade which by the finale were all tied together.

Now, the streamer is in production for its sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen which brings the story into the 80s. Netflix gives a synopsis of what to expect from Prom Queen on their blog site Tudum:

“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.” 

Based on R.L. Stine’s massive series of Fear Street novels and spin-offs, this chapter is number 15 in the series and was published in 1992.

Fear Street: Prom Queen features a killer ensemble cast, including India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

No word on when Netflix will drop the series into its catalog.

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Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

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Scooby Doo Live Action Netflix

The ghosthunting Great Dane with an anxiety problem, Scooby-Doo, is getting a reboot and Netflix is picking up the tab. Variety is reporting that the iconic show is becoming an hour-long series for the streamer although no details have been confirmed. In fact, Netflix execs declined to comment.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

If the project is a go, this would be the first live-action movie based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon since 2018’s Daphne & Velma. Before that, there were two theatrical live-action movies, Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), then two sequels that premiered on The Cartoon Network.

Currently, the adult-oriented Velma is streaming on Max.

Scooby-Doo originated in 1969 under the creative team Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon follows a group of teenagers who investigate supernatural happenings. Known as Mystery Inc., the crew consists of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and his best friend, a talking dog named Scooby-Doo.

Scooby-Doo

Normally the episodes revealed the hauntings they encountered were hoaxes developed by land-owners or other nefarious characters hoping to scare people away from their properties. The original TV series named Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ran from 1969 to 1986. It was so successful that movie stars and pop culture icons would make guest appearances as themselves in the series.

Celebrities such as Sonny & Cher, KISS, Don Knotts, and The Harlem Globetrotters made cameos as did Vincent Price who portrayed Vincent Van Ghoul in a few episodes.

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BET Releasing New Original Thriller: The Deadly Getaway

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The Deadly Getaway

BET will soon be offering horror fans a rare treat. The studio has announced the official release date for their new original thriller, The Deadly Getaway. Directed by Charles Long (The Trophy Wife), this thriller sets up a heart racing game of cat and mouse for audiences to sink their teeth into.

Wanting to break up the monotony of their routine, Hope and Jacob set off to spend their vacation at a simple cabin in the woods. However, things go sideways when Hope’s ex-boyfriend shows up with a new girl at the same campsite. Things soon spiral out of control. Hope and Jacob must now work together to escape the woods with their lives.

The Deadly Getaway
The Deadly Getaway

The Deadly Getaway is written by Eric Dickens (Makeup X Breakup) and Chad Quinn (Reflections of US). The Film stars, Yandy Smith-Harris (Two Days in Harlem), Jason Weaver (The Jacksons: An American Dream), and Jeff Logan (My Valentine Wedding).

Showrunner Tressa Azarel Smallwood had the following to say about the project. “The Deadly Getaway is the perfect reintroduction to classic thrillers, which encompass dramatic twists, and spine-chilling moments. It showcases the range and diversity of emerging Black writers across genres of film and television.”

The Deadly Getaway will premiere on 5.9.2024, exclusively ion BET+.

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