Last night. And there I was all snug and cosy in bed enjoying the sights and sounds. I really do love thunder and lightning storms but I remember that my mother used to be terrified of them. She’d close all the curtains and warn us kids to stay away from windows. And nobody was allowed to use the phone or take a bath 😕

Having said that, I should also say that I enjoy thunder and lightning storms best when I am dry and comfy inside and there is no need for me to go out.

Anyhow, all this pondering of dark and stormy nights has reminded me of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest , sponsored by the San José State University, which recognises some of the worst examples of the sort of  “dark and stormy night” writing first penned by Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”

And so, kind of a two-parter here. How do you feel about thunder and lightning storms? And do you have any especially appalling examples of writing that you’d like to share?