Archives | the post calvin

Now forever shuttered, in its heyday, the place was packed with various exhibits about different body systems or factors in health, with well-designed intentions for the attention of children.

Counting Breaths

by Karis Schoon | Oct 28, 2026 | Placeless

At the risk of anthropomorphizing her too much, she looked downright annoyed.

These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends

by Anna Jeffries | Oct 27, 2026 | Placeless

The thing is, I don’t think I’ve ever been afraid enough.

That Goddamn Plant

by Sam Koster | Oct 25, 2026 | Placeless

Hearing the name “Little Shop of Horrors” baffled me a bit. That wasn’t “The Music Man” or “Beauty and the Beast” or any of the other shows I had seen before. I wasn’t sure what it would even sound like.

Avoiding the Fate of Susan

by Emily Joy Stroble | Oct 21, 2026 | Placeless

I heard a terrible rumor: In The Last Battle, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy follow Aslan beyond death into the true Narnia, but Susan is left behind.

Disaster Rehearsal for Children

by Rylan Shewmaker | Oct 20, 2026 | Placeless

I grew up with the threat of tornadoes.

What Was He Cooking?

by Luke Brandsen | Oct 19, 2026 | Placeless

Maybe my young predecessor was braver than I am, perhaps a tad more resilient? Or maybe he woke up to a world each day that felt fuller, more capable of matching its share of anxious encounters with wondrous ones.

I Couldn’t Look at Buttons Because of “Coraline”

by Priscilla Chang | Oct 18, 2026 | Placeless

The eerie music coupled with the clay-sculpted scenery brought back the same uneasy feeling I had as a child.

Thermaphobia

by Carlisle Patete | Oct 17, 2026 | Placeless

It isn’t novel to realize a moment of terror or great pain can result in a lifelong phobia.

The Tragedy of Pateesa

by Nathan Hilbrands | Oct 16, 2026 | Placeless

There were a few scenes that were too scary for little Nathan that would cause me to leave the room, like the guy that got his heart ripped out in Temple of Doom, or the Rancor pit in Jabba’s Palace. When Luke Skywalker and that poor Gamorrean Guard got dropped down that hole I was out of there. I would wait for the all clear from my parents and then go enjoy the rest of Return of the Jedi.

Kinemortophobia (at the Worst Possible Time)

by Noah Keene | Oct 14, 2026 | Placeless

Nighttimes became torturous. As I laid in bed, I’d look first at my bedroom window, then at the window down the hall, waiting to see the giant bat scratching at the window or the claw-like fingers forcing the window open, followed by a lithe figure slithering its way into the house.

Facing Finding Nemo (and Other Assorted Tales)

by Elisabeth Stevens | Oct 13, 2026 | Placeless

The way my parents tell it, that Sunday evening they found me, obligatorily sitting on the floor with the other kids, facing away from the TV, huddled up in a ball, and crying quietly. Something about the film had petrified me.

Adulthood and Being Alone

by Grace Hsu | Oct 12, 2026 | Placeless

I try to turn on the lights before I walk into a dark hallway or room. I check behind the shower curtain every single time I walk into a bathroom. And I get jittery when there’s not another human being in the house with me, especially overnight.