Celestial Reviews 344 - Special Halloween Issue

{This is a Special Halloween Issue. Reviews originally scheduled for this issue
will be bumped forward to CR 345. I have usually been including Links, but
someone else does those for me. Faced with the dilemma of either going ahead
without the Links or possibly waiting till after Halloween to post this
special, I decided to go ahead and post this issue without the Links. If the
Links arrive later, I'll repost a revised edition. – Celeste}

Note:  Here are the Top 10 Reasons Trick-or-Treating is Better than Sex
 
10.  Guaranteed to get at least a little something in the sack.
 9.   If you get tired, wait 10 minutes and go at it again.
 8.   The uglier you look, the easier it is to get some.
 7.   You don't have to compliment the person who gave you candy.
 6.   Person you're with doesn't fantasize you're someone else.
 5.   40 years from now, you'll still enjoy candy.
 4.   If you wear a Bill Clinton mask, no one thinks you're kinky.
 3.   Doesn't matter if kids  hear you moaning and groaning.
 2.   Less guilt the next morning.
  AND....
 1.   If you don't get what you want, you can always go next door!!!

Second note:  In the spirit of the season, I am reposting some reviews of
stories that combine sex with Halloween-like themes.  I interpreted this topic
loosely - including stories with ghosts, vampires, and costume balls as well as
specifically Halloween stories.  Many of these are old reviews {marked by an
asterisk *}, and I have not revised the originals. Watch out for your local
incubus or succubus tonight!

Third note:  A man and his wife were invited to a swanky masked Halloween
party. The wife came down with a terrible headache and told her husband to go
to the party and have a good time. Being the devoted husband, he protested; but
she argued and said she was going to take some aspirin and go to bed.  She
insisted that there was no need for him to miss the fun. So he took his costume
and away he went.

After sleeping soundly for an hour, the wife awakened without pain; and since
it was still early, she decided to go to the party. Because her husband did not
know what her costume was, she thought she would have some kicks watching him
to see how he acted when she was not around.

She joined the party and soon spotted her husband cavorting around on the dance
floor. He was dancing with every nice looking woman he could and was copping a
feel here and taking a little kiss there. His wife sidled up to him; and since
she was a rather seductive woman herself, he left his partner high and dry and
devoted his time to the new "action".

She let him go as far as he wished. Finally he whispered a little proposition
in her ear and she agreed, so off they went to one of the cars and had a little
bang.

Just before unmasking at midnight, she slipped out, went home, put the costume
away, and got into bed, wondering what kind of explanation he would have for
his outrageous behavior. She was sitting up reading when he came in, and she
asked him what he had done.

He said, "Oh, the same old thing. You know I never have a good time when you're
not there."

Then she asked, "Did you dance much?"

He replied, "I never even danced one dance. When I got to the party, I met
Pete, Bill, and some other guys; so we went into the den and played poker all
evening. But I'll tell you... the guy that I loaned my costume to sure had one
hell of a time!"

Final note: Remember: even though someone else may be posting my reviews for
me, my e-mail address is still Celeste801@aol.com.

- Celeste

=====================
Current Reviews Index:
=====================

"From Whose Bourne No Traveler Returns…" by Trey Gallant (hypnosis) 10, 10, 10

"Masks" by Ann Douglas (ff Halloween party cumming out) 9, 10, 10

"The Kiss: A Ghost Story" by Desdmona & Poison Ivan (spooky sex) 10, 10, 10

"A Night at Indian's Hollow" by Shon Richards (unusual sex rituals) 10, 10, 10

=====================
Reposted Reviews:
=====================

    * "The Gift" by Virago Blue (ghostly sex) 9, 8, 8
http://www.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=498001642
    * "Trick or Treat" by Saucy Wench (Halloween sex party) 10, 10, 10
    * "Trick and Treat: Halloween 1980" by Celeste (Halloween sex) 
            10, 10, 10
    * "Halloween Party" by WifePose (wife watching) 7, 8, 8
    * "Costumes" by Lord Malinov (Halloween orgy) 10, 10, 10
    * "Going Home" by Kim (romantic ghost story) 10, 10, 10
    * "Predator: A Tale for Halloween" by The Bear (scary sex story)
            10, 10, 10
    * "Queer Halloween" by Vickie Tern (transgender revenge)
            10, 8, 8
    * "Ghost" by Wgnmkr (ghostly masturbation) 9, 9, 9
    * "The Body Swap" by Dawn (TG witchcraft) 10, 10, 5
    * "Private Tasting" by Artie (witchcraft) 9.5, 7, 7
    * "All Souls Night" by Marawuti (erotic gothic novella)
            10, 10, 10
    * "The Fearless Vampire" by Poison Ivy (vampire sex)
            10, 10, 10
    * "Love You Forever" by Rahul L Iyer (Halloween romance)
            7, 6, 6
    * "Masks - A Horror Story" by Tom Bombadil (Halloween)
            10, 10, 10
    * "Meeting Amanda" by Backrub (sex with a vampire) 10, 10, 10
    * "Intimate with the Vampire 2.0" by Rocket88 (vampire
            sex) 10, 10, 10
    * "The Warlock" by Rocket88 (witchcraft & whippings) 
           6, 9, 9
    * "Diana" by Mary Anne Mohanraj (mysterious outdoor sex) 
            10, 10, 10
    * "Wet Dreams" by Backrub (mind control & dreams) 
            10, 10, 10
    * "Tales of the Seeding" by Wollstonecraft (Primitive sex 
           rituals) 10, 10, 10
    * "Porno TV: The Munsters" by Shelby Bush
            (sitcom parody) 10, 9.5, 9.5
    * "Bed and Breakfast" by RC (ghostly sex) 9.5, 9.5, 9
    * "Night of the Wolves" by Lysander (bestiality) 10, 9.5, 10
    * "Princess" by Parker (TG Halloween Party) 10, 9.5, 9
    * "The Addams Family: Eddie Comes to Visit" by Shelby Bush
           (sitcom parody) 10, 9.5, 9.5
    * "Halloween" by RC (vampire sex) 10, 9, 9
    * "Boo!" by PleaseCain (mutilation station!) 10, 10, 10
    * "Brown Mountain Incident" by Charles Baudot (mysterious
            Mm encounter) 10, 9, 9
    * "Temptation" by PleaseCain (poetic meditation) 10, 10, 10
    * "True Love" by Dafney Dewitt (murder on Halloween) 
            10, 9, 9
    * "Haunting Memories" by Gaetana (haunted house) 9.5, 8, 6
    * "Goodnight Kiss" by Ben Zonah (vampire sex) 8, 8, 8
    * "Ghost: The Long Goodbye" by Unknown Author
            (ghostly sex) 4, 3, 3

=====================
Here are the Reviews:
=====================

"From Whose Bourne No Traveler Returns…" by Trey Gallant (vargas111@yahoo.com).

Like many stories, this one begins with a traveler stranded on a country road
on a dark and stormy night. Fortunately, there is a stately home on the nearby
hill. Even more fortunately, the person who answers the door is a black-haired
beauty with fair, almost pale skin and mysterious eyes. Unfortunately, she is a
succubus on the prowl.

I know very little about succubae, except that I think a single one should be
called a succuba, if she is female, as most of them tend to be. 

The most serious flaw in this story is the statement that the woman had been
"watching discretely." That should be "discreetly." We English teachers know
things like that, and it makes us just barely pre-orgasmic when we find
somebody misusing a word like this. If the woman were watching discretely, she
would look for a while, then stop, then look again, then stop, ad infinitum or
nauseam. 

Also, if I were writing this story, I would replace Lilith's "And it is so hard
to get good help these days" with "And it is so good to get hard help these
days." But that would probably alter the mood of the story.

Ratings for "From Whose Bourne…"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Masks" by Ann Douglas (ann_douglas@hotmail.com).

This is an interesting idea for a plot. A woman experiences a seizure at the
beauty shoppe. Her beautician's assistant saves her life; and since the woman
will be indisposed for a while, the young beautician's assistant decides to go
to the Halloween Ball with the tickets that woman will be unable to use. This
young woman is a straight, staid hetero who has been dissatisfied with her love
life, and she discovers that the Ball is a lesbian party. Things heat up
considerably. The only further detail I'll give you is that she goes to the
Ball dressed as a devil, and rightly so.

Ann does her usual good job of integrating character development and normal
people with hot sex scenes. Doubtless, Ann is a harmless, heterosexual
schoolmarm in real life, but she certainly has a flair for making ff sex sound
like a lot of fun. In addition, she does a good job of introducing interracial
sex without degrading people by imposing stereotypical sex drives on ethnic
minorities.

The main flaw in this story is some careless grammar. Ann's style and timing
are excellent. She just fucks up her grammar from time to time. But as they
say, what do you want, perfect grammar or great sex?

Ratings for "Masks"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"The Kiss: A Ghost Story" by Desdmona & Poison Ivan (desdmona22@aol.com).

Caroline is a young lady who sleeps around like there won't be a tomorrow. But
her life is somehow incomplete. She hears a voice calling her in the darkness.
It's a ghost, who wants her to kiss him so that he can become real.

Will Caroline kiss this voyeuristic apparition? Of course she will. Read the
story for more details. The dialogue is especially well done.

Always be careful when you have promiscuous sex in a house that has recently
been purchased from the estate of a man who disappeared under mysterious
circumstances. And be nice to your mother when she calls on the phone – no
matter what you happen to be doing at the time.

Ratings for "The Kiss: A Ghost Story"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"A Night at Indian's Hollow" by Shon Richards (lordshon@aol.com).

Often it's best that I not tell you specific details from a story. But in this
case I can tell you exactly what happens, because after I do so, you still
won't know what happened.

So here's the deal. The narrator has just turned 21, and so he is eligible for
the town's Halloween lottery for the first time. And he wins – that is, he gets
to be Fertility Wolf while the Lesser Gods make their rounds on Halloween. Of
course, this pairs him up with the Moon Harlot; but, as you know, that doesn't
mean that he's allowed into her pants or anything like that. 

At the first several houses they visit, the residents choose the bane, but
eventually one chooses the blessing, and so the narrator is allowed to extend
his blessing to the lady of the house.

I hope this all makes sense to you. It was a very nice story.

Ratings for "A Night at Indian's Hollow"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

=====================
Reposted Reviews:
=====================

* "The Gift" by Virago Blue (mdmvirago@aol.com).
http://www.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=498001642

The man has had a tough break-up with his girlfriend, who turned out to be a
money-hungry slut. So he has gone away for a short vacation at the Maison
Cadeaux, where a beautiful woman named Simone presents herself to him as "part
of the room service." She services him very nicely in his room. But when the
man expresses his gratitude to the person at the desk, he discovers that no one
named Simone works there. And then he sees a picture on the wall of the
long-deceased mistress of the former owner of the house. You'll never guess
whom the picture resembles.

Ratings for "The Gift"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

* "Trick or Treat" by Saucy Wench (wenchsaucy@aol.com).  The two friends crash
a Halloween party - one as a red-haired witch and the other as her sexy black
cat.  Their goal is to see who can be the naughtiest.  Three scenes are
described in detail, several others in passing.  In real life you shouldn't do
the things they do.  You should also take your Halloween candy to the hospital
and have it xeroxed - er, x-rayed - before you eat it.

For a simple Halloween Fuck Odyssey, this is pretty good stuff. The two ladies
don't get stopped by the cops or hook up with truckers or a motorcycle gang or
have car trouble and get help from a farmer's daughter on the way home.  They
don't get back to Brandi's and make frenzied love until sunrise. No, they scrub
off their makeup, take showers (alone), brush their teeth, and go to bed (also
separately). But they both sleep with big, satisfied smiles on their faces. 
For an explanation of the smiles, read the story, even if Halloween is already
over.

Ratings for "Trick or Treat"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Trick and Treat: Halloween 1980" by Celeste (Reposted by Bookman Archives). 
This story is by the OTHER Celeste, not by the prominent sex goddess who writes
reviews on a.s.s.

Here we have a story about three college women living together.  One has been
down in the dumps because of a recent break-up; and then right before the
Halloween party, the sexier chick becomes suspicious about the fidelity of her
boyfriend.  So the first woman is going to dress like the Invisible Woman and
try to seduce the boyfriend of the second woman - one of those soap opera moves
that so often work out well.  Anyway, the guy takes her to the attic and fucks
her brains out, but the other woman fails to show up; but who cares?

Some of the scenes from the seduction are unusual and interesting.  For
example, how would you react if a woman you were flirting with filled her
celery stick with dip, ripped a whole in her costume, and inserted the snack
into her pussy?  Anyway, a good time is had by all.

Ratings for "Trick and Treat"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Halloween Party" by WifePose (wifepose@aol.com).  The husband has been
begging his wife to wear in public her cute little French maid uniform.  His
cock practically jumps out of his pants when she agrees to wear the costume to
the Halloween party and to let nature take its course with the other
merrymakers.  Things go pretty much as planned, and she makes it with Robin
Hood and his roommate while her husband watches.  They never see these two men
again - but maybe next year at the party they'll get equally lucky.

Ratings for "Halloween Party"
Athena (technical quality): 7
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

* "Costumes" by Lord Malinov (malinov@mindless.com).  The author does an
excellent job making the lewd and lovely, lithe and lascivious Diana seem
eminently fuckable long before the real action commences. Rarely a day goes by
when Diana doesn't surprise the narrator, and today she has decided to brighten
their daily ambiance with a simple but tasty - er, tasteful - orgy.  However,
the main action occurs in her retelling of her first multiple-partner
debauchery, while the narrator stimulates her to orgasm.  In fact, if you are
currently taking a course where you are required to report on a story that runs
parallel to the Canterbury Tales, this one might be a good selection.  

The tail within a tale takes place at a Halloween party during which
inhibitions have disappeared and people are using sexually explicit tactile
clues to guess the identities of the still-masked people.  As usual at such
fictional parties, a good time is had by all.  The titillation of sex with
known-but-unknown sexual partners is extremely well done.  The author has
orchestrated an orgy in a manner that would make Mark Aster and the Allen
Sisters proud to participate.

Ratings for "Costumes"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Going Home" by Kim (kim@nym.alias.net).  This romantic, sentimental story
may not score high on the peter meter; but it's a very well written, touching
story that takes a serious look at what life after death may be like for the
dead person and the loved one who is left behind.  There's really not that much
to say about it.  You should read it not when you're looking for an orgasm, but
when you're in the mood for a serious thought or two.

Ratings for "Going Home"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Predator: A Tale for Halloween" by The Bear (thebear@io.com). Gary is seated
at a bar on Halloween,  looking around at all of the people in costume. He
himself is wearing a rubber mask of Quasimodo, but not the kind and gentle
Quasimodo of the insipidly revisionist Disney film. This mask shows a tortured,
scarred, angry face -- the face of Quasimodo as he must have looked when he
murdered his master, and when he went into the charnel chamber to die with the
dead Esmerelda in his arms. Gary likes the mask, because it makes him look on
the outside the way he often feels on the inside.

Gary is a dysfunctional person.  But he is safe, because in his back pants
pocket he has a very large knife.

Finally, Gary sees The Girl for tonight.  Her smile reminds him of his sister,
a real slut whore who had always smiled like that before that one night.

How do we get from here to a small, brown cat going unnoticed out through the
dance club to the street?  Well, it's Halloween!  You'll have to read the story
to find out.

Ratings for "Predator"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Queer Halloween" by Vickie Tern (VickieTern@aol.com).  Jerry is a fucking,
two-timing son of a bitch.  Or at least he WAS.  However, Jerry has a wife who
doesn't just get mad; she gets even.  And in a Vickie Tern story that means
Emasculation Station!

The revenge unfolds at the company's Halloween party, to which she forces him
to go as a gay man, while she goes as a shameless slut.  This author is a
genius at transgender complications and clever ways to humiliate and subdue
wandering husbands; but this story didn't catch my fancy as much as some of the
author's other stories.  On the other hand, it's still a very creative
Halloween story.

Ratings for "Queer Halloween"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

* "Ghost" by Wgnmkr (Wgnmkr@aol.com).  A guy goes into a haunted hotel room;
and while he naps, a ghost with a raging hard-on possesses his body and gives
him erotic dreams.  When he wakes up, he jerks off.  It's a simple but
interesting story. 

Ratings for "Ghost"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9

* "The Body Swap" by Dawn (dawn_tg@hotmail.com). Guest review by BillyG.  {Note
from Celeste:  This was sent to me as a text file.  The title on the story in
this text file was "The Body Swap," with no author listed.  After BillyG wrote
this review, I tracked the story down in DejaNews, where it was listed as "The
Switch: A Bewitching Tale of Gender Reversal by Dawn <dawn_tg@hotmail.com>. 
PLEASE put your name and the title of the story with your manuscript -
preferably on the top two lines.  Otherwise, people will simply be unable to
find your stories.}

It has happened to me several times that I've wanted to experience what it was
like to be a woman.  These have always been in those tender moments of sexual
ecstasy and transportation when ego lines were blurred, when I lost definition
of where I ended and my lover began.  In those moments, I've wondered what it
would be like to experience such sexual bliss as a woman.  When Celeste gave
this story to me for review, I thought it might approach such light-hearted and
sensuous considerations.  I'm sorry to say, that was not the case.

At the outset, let me say that this story is well written with a strong plot. 
A plot, I might add, that grows increasingly dark and for me, a little
disturbing.  It is not a sexy story - in fact, there's almost no sex in it at
all.  In brief, it's about a strong-willed woman, Erica who is, as it turns
out, a witch and her less-than-strong husband, Steve.  The witch proposes a
body swap, just for the experience.

The resultant new Erica, the former Steve, turns out to be an ultra feminine
who delights in her new status and more, becomes totally submissive and
dependent on the new, super-male Steve.  The story takes on a darker side that
for me, was not attractive.  Those males who would rather be female might not
understand that those of us who are content in our maleness might find the
obvious direction of this story unsettling.

At the conclusion of the story, it had become evident that it was a modified
transgender story with elements of non-loving domination.  For all of that,
it's compelling and moving.

Ratings for "The Body Swap"
Technical Quality: 10
Plot & Character: 10
Appeal to reader: 5   (Marks off for the uncaring and manipulative 
      tone of the story.)

* "Private Tasting" by Artie (artie@netgate.net).  Guest review by Mike Hunt.

Psst. Wanna read a story about wine tasting? It could be educational, depending
on your level of knowledge about wines and, uh, witches. Yes, there's a bona
fide witch here in the story, who drugs and seduces and turns the taster into
the tastee. But the story goes from Point A to Point B, with none of the
interesting side trips that either the wine tasting or supernatural themes
could present. Too bad. 

OK, so I'll cut the writer a little slack, because Halloween approaches, and
drugs and witches are encouraged this month, at least in my church. But really,
in the other 11 months, who would care about a pedestrian story that glosses
over the magic that could be witchcraft while plodding through a sequence of "I
obey" "You obey?" "I will obey" (repeat 3 times) that makes the Nutritional
Content Chart on the back of my Rice-A-Roni box look positively interesting by
comparison.

I'm being too harsh. It's a decent story, but falls into all the obvious traps:
the physical description of the female comes in the opening set-up. There's no
cloak and little dagger in the story. Convenient appliances just happen to be
available (the witch even has a handy blood-testing unit to scan for herpes! -
not to mention an electric wine-chiller in the cottage in the hillside.) Just
saying someone's a witch doesn't make them a witch; it's up to the writer to
paint it all in. The writer, artie, didn't.

Uh, what was that twinge in my shoulder?

Ratings for "Private Tasting"
Athena (technical quality): 9.5
Venus (plot & character): 7 
Mikeus (appeal to reviewer): 7

* "All Souls Night" by Marawuti [novella] (Reposted by Bookman Archives). 
Guest review by Green Onions. {Note from Celeste:  Wulf is a recurring
character in this author's magic and sorcery stories. I gave "Night in
Vosgraad" high ratings in CR 89.}

   "My name is Wulf . . . and I am what might generously be
    called a creative freelance contractor.  What this means in
    real terms is that I lie, cheat, and steal (usually from
    people who deserve it, mind you -- I have some integrity) to
    make a living."

Sounds like the beginning of a classic Bogart movie, or a Chandler piece,
right?  Our Hero's not exactly what you'd call a 'gentleman'--he's been through
his ups and downs and just doesn't fit too neatly into the mainstream of
middle-class Litharnaian life with its grimy inns, busty barmaids, rusticated
yokels, ancient traditions, overweening central governments and just about
every imaginable Weird Creature this side of H.P. Lovecraft.

 Have you ever wondered what would happen if Robin Hood had been crossbred with
a curious mixture of Bogart, Marlowe, and James Bond and the resulting
swashbuckler's DNA got accidentally spliced in with that of the sheriff in Mel
Brooks' 'Blazing Saddles' (don't forget to add the obligatory Eye of Leslie
Nielsen and a tiny pinch of Alfred E. Neumann's giggle)--just before our
_potpourri_ protagonist falls into a time tunnel transporter and gets
unexpectedly beamed back into the world of _Dracula_ because the transporter's
operator was too busy masturbating and reading a.s.s. on her laptop to pay any
attention to the controls?
 
 I bet you have.  And if so, then this witches' brew of harmless erotic
literary fun is for you ("_Bon Appetit_!").

 Um . . . did I say "harmless?"  Well that doesn't mean that our friend doesn't
occasionally end up tied to the bedpost overhearing one tall, busty, blond
vampiress (think Brunhilde masquerading as Dolly Parton--or is it vice-versa?)
explain in a suitably sultry voice to her companion:
 
  "Human blood is an exquisite intoxicant, and blood taken when a
   human is at the height of ecstasy is the finest you can
   consume.  The master spared this one so that you could have
   him, and see how passion can make the blood hot and
   delectable."

 But I'm getting ahead of myself.  
 
 The story begins on its namesake of 'All Souls Night' in Litharnia, whilst our
hero is out not-so-innocently plying his questionable trades when he meets
Khaera, a young (but not _too_ young) barmaid "with a graceful, wavy cascade of
ravenswing hair, and dark, wicked eyes that latched onto mine as tightly as a
dwarf's fist around his last gold coin."

 Therein begins a chain of bizarre, violent, sexy, scary and satirical
circumstances which eventually (in the tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien and Monty
Python) take Our Hero on a Great Quest.

 Like James Bond, he's accompanied by a female sidekick (Livia) whose life he's
saved in the natural course of being a superhero.  It's hard not to notice that
Livia bears a remarkable physical resemblance to the young Mia Farrow
('Rosemary's Baby').

 <RRRRRRRRR---IIIIIII-----PPPPPPP>

 (That's the sound of a record being scratched as the phonograph is suddenly
stomped on by a lurking raven.)

 Actually this is the nineties and we don't have record players any more, so
those descriptions were way off base.  In this gender-swapping modern
equivalent, it's _her_ quest, she rescues _him_, and he's *her* sidekick. 
("'Ye Gods.  Save a man's life and he thinks he's your frigging husband!'")

 To learn more about their travels, travails and triumphs, you'll have to read
this story for yourself--but if you don't mind violence and enjoy any of the
genres involved (humor, gothic, satire, horror, fantasy, adventure, or just
plain erotica), you'll like this extremely funny, ironic, dynamic, vivacious
and well-written sexy novella.

 I usually like to annoy authors by ending my reviews with a few officious
remarks regarding possible improvements to the work, but in this case I fear
that I am almost certainly dealing with someone whose magical literary powers
might turn me into a silent pillar of quivering bloodspattered salt were I to
even conceptualize a mere monosyllable of such blasphemous blarney. 

 So I ain't gonna misbehave: instead I'll save my sin and head for the
Chronicles of Litharnia--a place wherein I'd advise Ye, O Hallowed Reader, to
tread most carefully in deed.

Ratings for "All Soul's Night"
Venus (plot & character): 10
Athena (technical quality): 10
Green Onions (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "The Fearless Vampire" by Poison Ivy.  Guest review by Mike Hunt.

I've seen enough of them, and I've hated almost every one. Stories told in
present tense, I mean. "I feel your hands on my body. You move to kiss me. Our
lips touch." That sort of melodramatic nonsense. There's something that just
doesn't ring true about 'present tense' stories, but authors who write that way
say "I just type at the keyboard and describe what's going through my head, so
it's in present tense."

I remember someone (Celeste?) saying the trouble is that the reader isn't
sitting in the author's imagination in the present tense, so while it may be
interesting for the writer it rarely works for the reader. I don't often get
past the first couple paragraphs of these stories, frankly. In fact, I HATE
them. So why did I love this story?

Poison Ivy lets me inside her head. Really inside, believably inside, and I
begin to feel what she feels as she suffers life's daily mundanities. I'm
reminded of Taria's "Walls Have Ears" where the kid is going "Fuck fuck fuck
fuck, I have to take out the garbage" except in this story it"s fear in the
elevator, loathing the fat coworker, waiting for the 5:00 whistle, or any
number of other everyday moments brought to life. Here, somehow, present tense
works, and it's a refreshing change.

The title sets up an expectation which doesn't pay off until the last 10% of
the story, however, and I couldn't help being distracted wondering when the
supernatural, or the horror, or whatever would finally appear. When it did it
was somewhat of a letdown, especially considering how much I enjoyed the first
part of the story.

That said, it's a dandy, and if you're in a semi-Halloweenish mood, try this
one on. To give you a summary would be fruitless; the title doesn't quite guide
you either. "The Fearless Vampire" is mostly story, a little sex, not too much
vampire, and sort of fun for a cold dark night in October.

Ratings for "The Fearless Vampire"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10 
Mikeus (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Love You Forever" by Rahul L Iyer (Rahul.L.Iyer@rose-hulman.edu).  The guy's
fiancee dies in a car crash two days before Halloween, but she returns from the
dead on that Great Feast to make love to him.  This story needs a lot of
development.

Ratings for "Love You Forever"
Athena (technical quality): 7
Venus (plot & character): 6
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 6
 
* "Masks - A Horror Story" by Tom Bombadil (stbush@iglou.com).  This story
arrived the day after I posted my Halloween Special Issue of Celestial Reviews;
but better late than never!  The story begins with a John contemplating his
imminent demise - that is, he is waiting to be killed as part of some kind of
ritual that evening, after being held in chains for a year since last
Halloween.  We don't initially know the complete rationale, but it sure sounds
spooky - and morbid.  In stark contrast, this first plot alternates with
another in which Wally and Jennifer are participating in a festive soiree being
conducted by some student athletes on the eve of All Saints Day  - that is,
some football players are having a Halloween beer bash.  A vampire countess and
a beautiful witch crash the Halloween party.  Needless to say, these two are
the real McCoy.  The connection between the two plots is that the party
crashers are recruiting for their next cycle of human sacrifices.  This story
is certainly vivid and well written; but it's not for the weak of heart - or
stomach.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Ratings for "Masks"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Meeting Amanda" by Backrub.  Here we have what my psychology professor
referred to as an approach-avoidance dilemma.  (When the prof told us about it,
she talked about pigeons; but I'm pretty sure I still have the idea right.)  I
had never read a Backrub story I _didn't_ like; but I had never read a vampire
story that I _did_ like.  The tension alone, of course, would have made a less
sophisticated woman cum in her panties; but I was wearing none.  Therefore, I
boldly went where I had never gone before....

What I like most about Backrub is his/her use of language and imagery: "From
twenty feet away she looked like a living statue, weathered brown but taut and
strong.  Her short black hair barely moved with her movements."  That's
beautiful.  The yet unknown woman was coming to life for me, but remaining
mysterious.  The imagery remained vivid as the story got hotter.  To find out
more, you'll have to read the story.  I still don't plan to look for vampire
movies, but I do plan to read more Backrub stories.  And for some reason I just
remembered it's about time for me to give blood again. 

Ratings for "Meeting Amanda"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Intimate with the Vampire 2.0" by Rocket88 (rick84@ mindspring.com).  A
story like this has two strikes against it when I start reading it.  Strike
one:  I don't like senseless pain as a part of sexual relations.  Pain and
violence are reasonable under the right circumstances; and I'll even grant that
there are occasions when it can be pleasurable to be either the giver or
receiver of pain.  However, I think people who enjoy being tortured by another
person often have serious emotional problems.  And so I expect the author of a
story that involves pain or violence to show me that there is a point to this
activity.  Strike two:  I don't believe in vampires.  I find "Dracula" so
boring that I have never watched the entire movie.  I think the notion of
vampires is generally silly.

Under these circumstances you may be surprised to know that I really liked this
story.  Strike two evaporated first: lots of things that are generally silly
can become interesting if I suspend my disbelief and if the author does a good
job of presenting the story.  That's what science fiction is all about.  For
that matter, that's what most of this newsgroup is about.  My other objection
evaporated just as easily: sure, there was pain and violence in this story; but
it occurred in a surrealistic context that seemed to have a point to it.  If I
granted that there may be preternatural beings that have the power to seduce
people and steal their souls, then this kind of activity made perfect sense.

If the author's goal was to give me nightmares or to make me live in fear or
anticipation that things like this might happen to me, then he has failed (I
hope!).  However, if he wanted to entertain me with a damned good story, then
he has succeeded.  Now, here's my favorite part: this story was originally
submitted about two months ago.  Here's what I said about it in CR 45:

"As I have said before, I am not an aficionado of vampires, werewolves,
witches, or other preternatural forces.  Nevertheless, I think this story has
considerable potential - especially for people who understand the ground rules
of vampires better than I do.  The problem with this story is that it lacks
even rudimentary proofreading.  The author is obviously intelligent, and so
he/she attempts to use fairly sophisticated ideas and sentence structures to
convey his/her plot.  But the mistakes are so glaring as to convince me that
the author simply doesn't want to spend the time to make the story
reader-friendly.  I mean, does the author really think that it makes sense to
"lye" in a motionless embrace?  Lye is a chemical that cleans my plumbing.  And
then near the middle of the story I read these lines: "The fire grew more
intense. MailFirst....Save As... She said. MailTheres pleasure.Save As... And
with out another word she opened her mouth and gently covered mine."  This
garbled writing may be the result of a faulty mailer rather than poor writing
skills; but it certainly is annoying.  In addition, throughout the story the
verbs are frequently screwed up.  As I said earlier, the author is obviously
intelligent; and so he/she sometimes starts using a past perfect tense or the
subjunctive mood correctly, but then all of a sudden we're in the present tense
and indicative mood.  There are several instances of misplaced modifiers, like
this one (which also contains a comma splice): "It was if she never used these
feet to walk, scented and soft, I put her toes into my mouth using my tongue to
wet them."  Literally, this sentence means that the guy sucking the toes
smelled nice and was soft; and I doubt that's what the author intended.  A few
lines later we hear about "the beating of her hart."  A hart is a male deer.   
What does the author really mean here: "...my mind soured as I clung tightly as
the sweat that gummed my body to hers was causing my arms to slide."  I think
the guy's mind "soared", but the sentence clearly says that it turned sour! 
Here's one more that I kinda liked: "My flesh was ripped and I needed to
explode, I wanted orgasm, I started to beg to her. Mailplease dont stopSave
As..."  Finally, I think a succubus is a ghostly visitor that goes under the
person being visited; this critter sounds more like an incubus. {Note: I was
wrong about this; the author was right. I checked.}

"I don't derive sexual satisfaction from making fun of authors' mistakes, and I
don't mean to give the impression that I want to humiliate this author.  For me
to say that a vampire story has potential means that it _really_ has potential.
 I myself recently spelled "waist" incorrectly in Celestial Reviews (although I
was actually copying the words of a different writer).  Mistakes happen.  But
when mistakes accumulate, readers get annoyed and wonder why the author hasn't
gone to the trouble of preparing the text properly.  Creative ideas are the
most important part of a story, and I think this story may have creative ideas.
 But there's no reason why creative ideas cannot be presented more coherently
than this.

"It's not just English teachers who get upset at this.  English teachers may be
the only ones who know why they're upset; but readers in general will find this
presentation to be annoying.  I urge this author and others like him/her to
take advantage of my offer to find free volunteer proofreaders.  This could
possibly have been an excellent story if the author would have given it the
care it deserves. (Rating: 4)"

As you will notice from the title, this author accepted my invitation to
receive proofreading assistance; and that's why this is labeled version 2.0. 
There are two major differences between the present and the previous version of
this story.  First, the grammar and style no longer stand in the way; the
reader can now react to the ideas of the author and can feel the emotions that
the author wanted the reader to feel.  Second, I don't know this for certain,
but I imagine the proofreader challenged the author by asking him to clarify
some of the ideas that originally seemed unclear.

It is important to point out that these improvements are not just something
that please English teachers.   Ordinary readers - no, I'll go further - even
borderline imbeciles who themselves communicate only by grunting and yanking on
their penises would have been mainly confused by the original version but will
enjoy this story in its present format.  If this sounds like an advertisement
for my proofreading service, so be it!

Ratings for "Intimate with the Vampire"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "The Warlock" by Rocket88 (Rick84@mindspring.com).  An immediate problem that
I had with this story was that the text was full of enigmatic characters that
were symbolized by squares on my screen.  These were very distracting.  I used
the global replacement function on my word processor, and I quickly and
automatically changed them all to open quotes, end quotes, and apostrophes.  I
encourage you to do something similar to minimize distractions when you read
this story.

This story involves witchcraft and the "black arts."  I view witchcraft as it
is treated in this story to be a form of fairy tale.  Because I have not been
excited about fairy tales since my early childhood, I have lost touch with many
of the assumptions that underlie witchcraft stories.  My most current knowledge
of witchcraft is derived from Elizabeth Montgomery, to whom I am deeply
indebted for indirect sexual pleasure, because that enchanted creature has
often improved my husband's mood while he has watched reruns of "Bewitched."  I
have some sincere friends who say they are witches and practice a pagan
religion, and they object to stories that focus on magical black arts.  I guess
that's more than you need to hear; my point is that I am reviewing this story
as an outsider - a non-enthusiast who is generally unimpressed with spells and
arcane ceremonies.  I am reviewing this story primarily because the author
emphatically asked me to do so.

Because of the reservations stated in the previous paragraph, I approached this
story with considerable trepidation.  I was pretty sure I either would not
understand it or I would hate it.  The story focuses on Gina, an attractive
woman, and Louis, a visiting professor at the University of Chicago with a
specialization in antiquities.  Louis is really a warlock (a male witch).  Gina
is especially fascinated by his whips.  I found the description of how Gina got
interested in spankings during her childhood to be interesting and realistic. 
Louis needs to administer a ritualistic beating to a consenting female human in
order to achieve some sort of rapture and return to a different world.  He
attaches the willing Gina to an unusual torture device and administers the
beatings, which she enjoys immensely.  Rapture comes, and poof! he is gone and
she is transported back to her home in Rockford, Illinois.

Actually, I was fascinated by the story.  I achieved a zero level of
pre-orgasmic moisture, and I don't recommend that anyone actually participate
in such activities; but I was fascinated.  I think bdsm enthusiasts will enjoy
this story, and it enabled me to achieve a better understanding of sadism and
masochism.  As with many other stories, however, I am still struck by the
constant repetition of silly, distracting grammar errors that could easily have
been removed prior to posting.  Not a bad story.  (Rating: 7)

* "Diana" by Mary Anne Mohanraj (moh2@midway.uchicago.edu).  The young man,
just a few years out of college and a bit disillusioned with the way his life
has gone, has gone off for a couple of days of hiking in the Berkshire forest. 
Thinking he is alone, he is surprised to hear the sound of a woman's voice; and
when he follows that sound he comes to a clearing in which there are seven
blonde women and one red-head - all beautiful and all naked.  What has he
stumbled onto?  He realizes that he won't be welcome, and he starts to retreat;
but suddenly he is summoned to join them.  Does this sound interesting?  Then
read this well-written story.  If you're familiar with Robert Frost's poetry,
you'll probably get a little more out of it than you would otherwise.  And it
won't hurt to recall that Diana was the Roman goddess of the hunt and of the
moon and the protectress or women.  

I love this author!  I'm tempted to make my students read this story for
English class, but then I'd have to explain where I got it.  Actually, it will
be easier simply to forbid them to read it; they'll enjoy it more that way.

Ratings for "Diana"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Wet Dreams" by Backrub (BCKRUB@aol.com).  The protagonist in this story has
the power to sense out women's dreams and their thoughts that occur when their
senses are not fully awake.  He is able to have wakeful sex with them and yet
leave them with the feeling that it was all a dream.  (The author doesn't
explain how the protagonist prevents conception; but that may be expecting too
much from an a.s.s. story.)  The story describes in vivid detail one specific
encounter.  Would this kind of power be a blessing or a curse?  You read the
story and decide.  The author does a great job of combining a sense of the
mysterious and the realistic throughout the story.  It's almost like a dream
itself.  Oh, no!  Maybe I'm dreaming right now.  Maybe HE's controlling this
dream!  You don't think that warm feeling I'm getting in my pussy.... (Rating:
10)

* "Tales of the Seeding" by Wollstonecraft.  This is a set of narratives from
the different perspectives of people who are extremely unsophisticated in their
sexual knowledge.  We could be dealing with cave dwellers, with people on a
remote island not yet conquered by "civilized people," or with aliens whose
sexual accouterments resemble those of humans.  What is fascinating is that the
descriptions all refer to sex (sometimes in very graphic terms) without ever
using either the formal (intercourse, vagina, etc.) or informal (fuck, cunt,
etc.) terminology that we normally encounter in such stories.  The author does
an amazing job - I caught only one mistake, where the author used the word
"come" to describe an orgasm.  In addition to playing with words, the author
does an excellent job of building anticipation and creating a mood of mystery. 
I loved it.  This is a really creative, ingenious story. (Rating: 10)

* "Porno TV: The Munsters" by Shelby Bush (stbush@iglou.com).  The author
simulates an episode from the old Munsters TV series.  There are three separate
plots, which blend together, just like on TV: (1) Herman and Lilly get it on
with the electrodes connected to the generator in the headboard, (2) Grandpa
turns into a bat and gets some pussy, and (3) Marilyn loses and regains (!) her
virginity.  I have reviewed about a thousand stories, and this is the first one
in which a woman REGAINS her virginity.

Ratings for "The Munsters"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9.5
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9.5

* "Bed and Breakfast" by RC (74734.271@compuserve.com).  A man arrives at a New
England bed and breakfast inn; the owner assigns him to a back room; and the
owner's daughter becomes visibly upset over this assignment.  What's her
problem?  I always tell my students that when the author catches their
attention like this, they should try to guess what might happen next.  Then as
new information emerges they should adjust and modify their initial guess to
suit the new context.  I have done this in the past with Deirdre's stories, and
so I'll try again here.  So what's the problem?

One possibility is that the room is simply adjacent to the daughter's own room.
 She might be a shy lass, and having a well-hung stud next door might make her
nervous.  That hypothesis sounds dull.

Or the room might previously have been occupied by someone near and dear to the
girl - perhaps her first true love who subsequently died under unfortunate
circumstances.  This hypothesis sounds good.

Or the room might be haunted.  The second hypothesis sounds best so far.

I'm glad I mentioned that last possibility, because Abigail (the daughter)
grabs the visitor and warns him that when the place was first built, the
owner's daughter resided in that room.  She had been arrested and executed. Her
ghost still haunts that room. Our foolhardy boarder laughs gently and resolves
to stay.  It's time to revise my hypotheses.

It's almost certain that a ghost will appear.  One possibility is that the
ghost will have her merry way with our wayfarer and send him happily on his
way.  {Since the narrator lived to tell the story, he probably won't die during
sexual ecstasy.}

Another possibility is that Abigail will join in the festivities.

A third possibility is that Abigail IS the ghost.  I like this theory; but I'd
have to see her naked to verify it.  More likely, Abigail might be intimately
involved in some way with the ghost.

Soon we find out the ghost's crime: having sex with another woman.  Colonial
New Englander's frowned on that practice, which was akin to witchcraft.

Interestingly, at his point I had to pause: was the boarder a man or a woman? 
I glanced back over the earlier text.  Although I had assumed this was a man,
the text didn't tell.  A few lines later I read that bras and panties from the
suitcase were strewn about the room.  So we have either an unusual man or a
woman here.  I'll go with the woman theory.  This forces a major shift in my
thinking: we now have a (presumably) middle-aged woman, an attractive young
woman, and the ghost of a young woman who had been executed by Puritans for
lesbianism.

I'm going to stop telling the story now.  As you know, ghosts operate under
different rules in different stories; and part of the fun of a ghost story is
finding out what those rules are in the current tale.  All I can tell you now
is that this ghost is capable of engaging in sexual activities that are
extremely satisfying to human females.

Ratings for "Bed and Breakfast"
Athena (technical quality): 9.5
Venus (plot & character): 9.5
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9

* "Night of the Wolves" by Lysander (lysander@vnet.net). "You'll be fine,
Judith.  As long as you let your instincts guide you."  The band of women have
been engaged in an orgy of dancing and sex with one another; but all this is
simply a preparation for the arrival of the wolves.  The monthly ritual
consists of the women fucking with the wolves from the time of the animals'
arrival until the moon goes down.

I have never been an enthusiast of bestiality stories, but this one was
interesting - to say the least.  Before I read this story I knew, of course,
that Romulus and Remus (and probably Wolfman Jack) had been raised by wolves,
and I had read "Call of the Wild," but my knowledge of wolves as potential
sexual partners was limited.  Now I am much better informed.

The story is well written.  The author says this is his most popular story. 
However, I don't think it is his best; I think "Summer Dreams," "Grey," and the
unfinished "Droit du Signeur" are all better.  Nevertheless, this is an
excellent story.   While reading it, I found myself mumbling internally, "This
is silly! Why would a wolf act like that?"  This is exactly what the author
wanted me to think.  By the end of the story everything had fallen into place.

Ratings for "Night of the Wolves"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9.5
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Princess" by Parker.  This is listed as Parker25.  It has been posted
recently, and so it should be available on Deja News.  I hope someone will
repost it quickly on a.s.s.  

Stephen is a computer geek who has been invited by Janice Sweet to be her date
at Cindy Parker's Halloween party.  Janice is the most beautiful girl in the
school, and she has just broken up with the most handsome jock.  Stephen is
tempted to back out when he finds out that Janice wants him to dress like a
girl while she dresses like a guy; but Janice is very persuasive.  She promises
him lots of sex later on; and she's not lying about that!

The costume goes on very nicely; Stephen has become Stephanie.  Janice hurries
off to help Cindy prepare for the party, and Stephen arrives alone at Cindy's
house in time for the party.  Only it's not a costume party!  He's the only one
dressed in a costume; but nobody notices, because he looks like a real girl in
normal clothing.  There's no way out; so he continues to play the female role.

It turns out that Janice is simply using Stephen to get even with Biff the
football jock for dumping her.  Use your imagination.  How would a pretty
little bitch use a dork dressed up like a cute little girl to get even with her
brutish ex?  That's right!  And pretty soon he finds himself doing the entire
football team.  At least he gets to be a cheerleader.

Ratings for "Princess"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9.5
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9

* "The Addams Family: Eddie Comes to Visit" by Shelby Bush (stbush@iglou.com). 
This story is actually a combination of "The Munsters" and "The Addams Family."
 Eddie Munster comes to visit the Addams children.  After some enjoyable
torture, Wednesday Addams gives head to her brother Pugsley.  Just as Eddie is
about to get the thrill of his life from Wednesday, the full moon takes effect;
and Eddie runs off to the bathroom, where he turns into a werewolf - actually,
a werewolf cub.  Although she's a bit distressed at Eddie's disappearance,
Wednesday takes the cub to her room.  

Since this is a sitcom episode, Morticia and Gomez are engaging in raucous sex
in the background; and Uncle Fester is jerking off somewhere in the shadows. 
Gomez has a French fetish.  Morticia speaks imperfect French. "Manger moi.
Respondez s'il vous plait" is close enough for Gomez; after all, this is a sex
fetish, not a French language lesson. 

Meanwhile, Wednesday has taken Eddie the Werewolf to bed, thinking he's a stray
puppy.  When she starts to masturbate, Eddie behaves in a beastly manner.

Meanwhile, Cousin Itt joins Morticia and Gomez for a "menage e'tois."  I don't
know if incest is a meaningful concept in a family like this.  What could be
the logic behind an incest taboo in a family that could only be improved by
genetic mutations?  Kay Sarah Sarah, as the French say!

If you know absolutely nothing about the monster shows of the 1960's, you might
get lost in this story.  But I enjoyed it immensely.  And there's more to come!

Ratings for " Addams Family"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9.5
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9.5

* "Halloween Story" by RC (74734.271@CompuServe.Com).  Diane goes to a
Halloween party dressed as a sexy maid.  She is the center of attention until
she meets the woman dressed like Elvira the vampire.  She can't help herself. 
She leaves with the vampire, and then strange things happen to her.

Ratings for " Halloween Story"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9.5
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9

* "Boo!" by PleaseCain (pleasecain@aol.com).  Warning: This story contain
gratuitous sex and violence.  But hey, what would Halloween be without
gratuitous sex and violence?

It's an interesting setup; I'm surprised I haven't seen it on this newsgroup
before.  The young man is playing the part of a vampire and the young woman a
witch at one of those haunted houses that spring up around Halloween to
traumatize and thrill the little children of America.  Business is slow, and
the boss closes early and tells the vampire and witch to lock things up when
they leave.  One thing leads to another, and pretty soon the sex gets steamy,
and then she decides he wants him to act like a real vampire.  And that's only
for starters!  Next comes the gratuitous sex and violence.

Ratings for "Boo!"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Brown Mountain Incident" by Charles Baudot (wboyden@freenet.vcu.edu).  This
story combines a placid man-boy sexual encounter with a ghost story - actually
with an old urban legend theme.  The man is traveling through the mountains and
comes upon a 10-year-old hitchhiker who is cold, wet, miserable, and lost.  He
takes the boy in.  The sexual contact is so innocuous that only a person who
has an allergic reaction to any mention of sex with an underage child would
react with hostility.  Nevertheless, the guy probably is technically guilty of
sexual abuse of a minor - except that it's hard to prove a case against a guy
who has sex with a ghost.

I plan to look for more stories by this author.

Ratings for " Brown Mountain Incident
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9

* "Temptation" by PleaseCain (pleasecain@aol.com).  Hmmm...  What kind of story
is this?  A lovely woman is sleeping beneath a tree.  She is a part of the
beauty of nature, and a disembodied voice caresses her and meditates on her
loveliness.  Nothing really happens.  It's all anticipation.  This is a
completely different kind of story - perhaps more a poem than a story; but it's
very nice.

Ratings for "Temptation"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "True Love" by Dafney Dewitt (ii361@cleveland.Freenet.Edu).  This is not
really a sex story.  It's really a story about true love gone wrong on
Halloween; but since it's written by a regular author of sex stories, I thought
I should include it in the Halloween issue of Celestial Reviews.

The boy is being interrogated by the police about the murder of his girlfriend.
 She died from a blow to the head from a shovel in a cemetery, and her body was
buried there.  The boy claims to be innocent.  Read the story for details.

Ratings for "True Love"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9

* "Haunting Memories" by Gaetana (gaetana@aol.com).  Two adolescent boys and a
girl sneak into a house that they consider to be haunted.  They find no ghosts,
but they do discover that some transients have been living there.  They steal a
few items and run home, where they are severely punished by their parents. 
Nobody has sex with anybody else; but some pornographic magazines are among the
stolen items they steal, and the girl gets a severe spanking from her father.

Since this story was cross-posted to alt.sex.spanking, I suppose the spanking
is supposed to be the erotic part of the story; but no own reaction was that
there was no sex at all in this story.  I won't deny that some spankings can be
sensuous; but it doesn't make sense to me to believe that it's a sexual
experience every time a child gets a beating from his or her parents.  This
child broke a rule; she experienced pain; and she pretty much decided not to
repeat the offense.  If this were all there is to sex, then it would be a lot
easier to convince kids not to do it until they grew up!

Ratings for " Haunting Memories"
Athena (technical quality): 9.5
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 6

* "Goodnight Kiss" by Ben Zonah (benz@fan.net.au).  Through some sort of
confusion, this story has not yet appeared on alt.sex.stories.  I hope the
author tries again.  

A young woman who has been lost in the forest is saved by a mysterious young
man.  As a reward for his kindness, she makes love to him in his rustic cabin. 
Since this is a special Halloween issue of Celestial Reviews, you would be
correct to assume that there is an element of mystery to this story.  However,
since this story depends partly on surprise, I cannot tell you what that
element is.  You'll have to read it for yourself.

Ratings for "Goodnight Kiss"
Athena (technical quality): 8
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

* "Ghost: The Long Goodbye" by Unknown Author.  The guy has died in an auto
accident; but as his spirit leaves the body, it decides to stop off and say
good-bye to Rachel, his one true love.  Unfortunately, when the ghost scoots
into Rachel's window, she is making love to someone else.  So he goes into the
other guy's body and has sex with Rachel, but he finds this experience to be
unsatisfactory; and so he goes back to the hospital and enters the body of a
woman who looks like Rachel and makes love to an insipid intern.  Then he goes
into somebody else's body and calls Rachel on the telephone and tells her to
come on down to the hospital, because he's dying.  She comes, but he isn't
dying after all, and she remembers him making love to her in the other guy's
body, but then he dies.  I think.

My impression is that there's a creative idea in here someplace, but it's
hardly worth the trouble to look for it.  Authors should proofread and polish
their stories a little bit before they post them.

Ratings for "Ghost: The Long Goodbye"
Athena (technical quality): 4
Venus (plot & character): 3
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 3
