I’ve been here for a while. I am familiar with the structure of the various subheads. Barf Bag tends to show up later in the day. The Slot is actually where you would expect these hearings to be covered. The most recent Slot post was a pointless fluff piece to needle Junior.

There’s a female foreign service worker and former ambassador to Ukraine currently testifying in a hearing in the United States Congress that is part of an inquiry that could lead to the impeachment of the president of the United States.

I agree tbh. It’s gone from spooky and inexplicable encounters to either totally overwrought fiction OR horrifying home invasion stories. I’d rather hear about something weird and unsettling, and possibly otherworldly - a great example being that person who had dreams about going into their parents’ bedroom and seeing…

Maybe I’m just getting older and more jaded but I feel like the quality goes down every year.  Or maybe it’s just because there’s way fewer people on this site than in the Gawker Media heyday so there’s fewer contenders.

These are all much better than the winning ones but still, this year’s crop wasn’t particularly creamy, was it? My personal favourites remain the little girl in the bathroom story from like 2012 and the Venka story, which somehow didn’t win despite being SO fucking scary and beautifully written. 

Yeah the thrift store story is not real. It’s a moderately well written short story but...not real. I wish people would stop treating this as a fiction submission contest, I only want that real shit!

Yes, I didn’t even think of that, but you’re absolutely right. It’s just a bad story on top of it. 

“So this guy sees my petite frame and stunning fit and confesses to a murder. What a haul! And on top of that I got a free sandwich. Welp back to etsy’n hum de dum de dum de dum.”

Seriously. That and that humblebrag ass thrift store one. Jesus. “So the fry cook and I saunter over to the 1950's garage and the gentleman confesses to the murder. Quite an odd morning I suppose, but what a great haul!”

The thrift store story is so obviously fiction. So obviously self glorifying fanfic (egofic?). There were better, more believable stories.

I vote for the “fixer upper” story where the couple explores an abandoned house with creepy dolls and a pit in the middle of the floor and the one about Cassandra and her partner going to the dog park island in the middle of the night and sensing creepy things wanted to harm them.

I started reading, got to the line where the first poster described herself as “a toe headed little girl” and was completely thrown out of the story entirely because I cannot picture anything but a toe wearing kid’s clothing.

I mean, I guess that’s scary, but.....

Awe yeah, Alyson Stoner back to perform her dance solo!
I was totally bopping up and down on the couch for that whole performance. Missy killed it!

Brandon Lee was talking about Miley Cyrus and Kaitlyn Jenner (the other one) being ridiculous and so fake, not just “two women”.

It was a "mutual" thing. Gotcha.

I guess it beats getting canned from your gig writing listicles for Bustle. 

What’s Dietrich got to do with it? Marlene stayed married to her husband Rudi for 50 years, though after just two years,their relationship became more like brother and sister; she bought a California ranch for Rudi and his mistress (that word trivializes the woman who was really his 2nd wife) and she had a series of…

But I see this image and wonder
Is that her pudgy twin sister Betwicé?

If Beyonce is pregnant I’m sure we’ll see it celebrated with much fanfare and a tacky tribute to the goddesses of motherhood or whatever the hell that ridiculous spectacle was on the Grammys a few years ago. Funny how she never felt such strong natural tendencies the first time she “gave birth.”

I love JVN and the comment is a little cold but it’s also true. If you have a cat and live in an apartment, you need screens!! I know at least 4-5 people who have lost cats this way and it’s tragic and so easily avoided and needs to be said. I am so paranoid I won’t even leave windows (with screens) open more than a…