Harbor Terrace, Part Four: Carl H. Drew

CW: DISCUSSION OF VIOLENCE *NOTE: STARRED NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED OUT OF RESPECT FOR THEIR PRIVACY. HAVEN’T READ PART THREE YET? READ IT HERE. "Surely many would find what we involved ourselves in, as objectionable." - Carl Drew Carl H. Drew grew up on a farm in New Hampshire. It's been very difficult to find much …

Harbor Terrace, Part Three: Robin Marie Murphy

CW: Some discussion of violence, mentions of sexual violence Scroll to the bottom for a glossary of people in this story. *Note: Starred names have been changed out of respect for their privacy. Haven't read part two yet? Read it here. A Tough Girl Although 17 year old Robin Murphy would eventually serve as the …

Harbor Terrace, Part Two: The Murder of Barbara Raposa

CW: Some discussion of violence Scroll to the bottom for a glossary of people in this story. *Note: Starred names have been changed out of respect for their privacy. Haven't read part one yet? Check it out here. Twenty year old Barbara Raposa's murder is typically discussed as a part of the same cluster as …

Harbor Terrace, Part One: The Place I’ve Always Lived, and The Story I’ve Always Been Told

CW: Some Discussion of Graphic Violence Scroll to the bottom for a glossary of people in this story. *Note: Starred names have been changed out of respect for their privacy. Are you proud of your hometown? I have mixed feelings about mine. Certainly, there are many things about Fall River, Massachusetts that I'd consider positive …

An (Almost) Empty Town

I love abandoned places. Urban Exploration photography is one of my favorite things. As a person who values solitude, the absence of people appeals to me, of course. But it's more than that; the decaying structures where humans once existed and the traces left of them are fascinating, even beautiful. Especially really old ones, and …

Thoughts on Film: “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile”

This evening, as my husband is away and I have some alone time, I figured I may as well watch the new Joe Berlinger film that has the true crime community (and beyond) talking. I haven't read any reviews or hot-takes on it yet, so I wanted to get my first impressions down here before …

Essays from Film Class

I'd like to share a few essays that I wrote for a class I took several years ago about Film. I'll share links at the end of where you can watch the films under discussion, if you're so inclined. Hope you enjoy! December, 2015 Visual Style as an Expression of Worldview: Cityscapes The visual aesthetic …

Anger, Blame, Empathy, and Understanding in the Wake of Extreme Violence

CW/TW: Discussion of suicide and violence I felt compelled to write this opinion piece after recently reading Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple by Rebecca Moore, who is the sister of two prominent Temple members, Carolyn Layton and Annie Moore. After reading this book, I think that, in my anger over the death of so many …

The Mystery Tape

Author's Note: Since originally publishing this piece, this article was brought to my attention. Reading it has prompted me to write an addendum, which you can find at the end of this piece. Among the multitude of disturbing images and ideas that my imagination produces when I'm thinking about the massacre at Jonestown, one of …

My Weird Obsession with Number Stations

You know how your senses can take you back to a place and time? Smells, scents, tastes...they can provoke a flood of memories, good or bad. A Vietnam veteran might flinch when a car backfires, because at that moment he's back in the dark, muggy jungle with bullets whizzing past his head. The same can …