An Apple Today

It's another birthday, and this time I'm on time to blow the horns and toss the confetti. Yes, as I'm sure you all know, today is the birth anniversary of John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed.

Why do I, a horror writer, care about Johnny and his apple seeding? Simple. I find the guy intriguing, rather heroic, and also downright creepy.

Sure, he was spreading good health and The Word while tossing around his apple seeds. But at the same time, apple seeds? Was he just an overachiever apple seller who got carried away and couldn't stop? Was he just a great guy who understood the benefits of the Fruit of Knowledge at an early age and simply had to share...with everyone?

Or was he something more sinister?

Oh, sure, history pretty much tells us he was a good egg. But...I'm a horror writer. I read about people like this and, without asking for it, the darker images and ideas float up through my brain to go, "But maybe this is the real reason why..." In my mind, he could have been seeding a lot more than apples.

Of course, this is great, in that I have at least one new short story idea eagerly waiting to be written. But it does tend to make me less popular at parties.

Watching you from behind the apple tree,
J.C. Koch