Story Behind the Story: Happiest Place on Earth

My short story The Happiest Place on Earth is now available for purchase in the LOLcraft anthology of Lovecraftian humor (yes, I know that’s almost a contradiction in terms). So here’s the story of how I came to write it, reprinted from first publication back in 2014:

Many, many years back, I was joking with my friend Ross about the classic Disney TV show, the Mickey Mi-Go Club and it’s heartwarming ending song:

“Now it’s time to say goodbye and face infinity
“H-A-S-T-U-R, he’s our destiny!
“H-A-S—” “He’s our god!”
“T-U-R—” “Don’t say his name!”
“Forever we will raise our banned books high, high, high!
“Now it’s time to say goodbye to our humanity.
“H-A-S-T-U-R—he’s our destiny!”
(Sung, obviously, to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song).
So a couple of years back, I started thinking about the joke, and it struck me a a Lovecraftian Disney show would make the basis for a good story.
Unusually for me, the concept was on point pretty much from the first. Mickey Mi-Go, iconic, beloved star of TV and movies, learns Walt Alhazred is about to cancel his show. Outraged, he flies into Walt’s office to confront him … but of course it doesn’t go as planned.
After a relatively few rewrites, I presented it to one of my writing groups. They liked it a lot but suggested several changes (Ryan Jones, a dedicated Lovecraftian, suggested several details I could draw on from Lovecraft’s stories, which much improved things). I finished it soon after and sold it to New Myths — and now to Dragon’s Roost, which previously published my Signs and Hortense in Eldritch Embraces.

#SFWApro. All rights to image remain with current holder. Cover by Don England.