User blog comment:AB1997/Where Did You Get the Inspiration forYour Pastas?/@comment-4715955-20150919110208

Ahhh peer pressure! Ev'rybody's doin' it, doin' it, doin' it!

A couple of stories I wrote started as retellings of other creepy tales, and sorta turned into their own thing as a result, which made them a lot more interesting to me. New Girlfriend started as a retelling of "Harold" from Even More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Likewise, Carbon River started as a retelling of "Camp Colby" from Scary Stories For Sleepovers.

Teacher Wanted, Must Love Children -- Dracula and Dionaea House, as far as the structure. The content came from a couple of teacher molester stories I had heard. In fact, most of the stories I wrote that took place at schools were allegories for child abuse, I think.

Lights Out -- This was my bedtime routine (and fears) for about twenty-five years. I've since become cordial with whatever weird things live in our house.

The Darrow Curse -- 80's slasher films. Thankfully the story's final form was a tad more literary.

Whispers and The Crying Room both come from day terrors I had when I was young, where I would hear disembodied things tormenting me. Not enough that I needed to see a shrink, but once in a blue moon, possibly the result of sleep deprivation. I'd hear mom say my name from her room as I walked past, only to suddenly realize that she wasn't home.

Cold Metal Coffin -- Actual transcript of a nightmare I had years ago.

Cacodemon -- My cousin died in a freak accident and left behind a shattered wife and twin daughters too young to understand what had happened to him. I wrote this in reflection to try to make sense of it I guess. It's not very good.

What You Don't Know Won't Kill You -- Trying to write my own Lovecraft mythos. Failed, but the story turned out all right.

I can't think of where the others came from.