When I was a young kid, there was nothing bigger than Bingo’s Circus Extravaganza. I grew up in the Cleveland area during the ‘80s. While some of the larger television markets were featuring national children’s programming in the afternoons, we didn’t have more than one or two of those types […]
The Christmas Bear Read More »
As anyone who is or has been the “nerdy kid” growing up can attest to, you can’t help but assume the worst when the biggest bloke in class suddenly walks up to you. It took him calling me by name several times for me to stop pretending like I was
People don’t die cleanly. It’s messy, miserable work. Everyone fights back, regardless of age or gender. It’s an animalistic instinct driven by the bolts of adrenaline rushing through their brain. Fight. Resist. Run. Escape LIVE. Those were the thoughts whirling behind the bearded man’s eyes as my knife slid into
My name is Elijah Jove and this was my life. I grew up in a small house in a town called Yukon, WV. It had three rooms; one bedroom for Mom and Dad, one bedroom for me and my brother, and a kitchen/living room in the front. We had recently
The Marytown Bazaar Read More »
Daniel Truman was an older guy I used to work with. All things considered, he was a decent person, though he was one of those folks who had a story for about any occasion. Almost anything that anyone else may have experienced; he had a tale to top it. It
I never believed in magic until I met Tommy Naughton. The first time I saw him was in my eleventh-grade English class at Ridley High in 2001. He looked odd, with his gapped-up haircut and baggy clothing. He always smelled like sour sweat—ugh! He rarely made eye contact, never spoke
The Disappearing Boy Read More »
My name is Marcus, and I’m an alcoholic. I know what you’re thinking: this is just another sob story about some loser whose life went off the rails after he found the bottle, right? Well, it’s not exactly that simple. Bill, my sponsor at Alcoholics Anonymous suggested that should I
With trembling hands, Liam gingerly lifted his father’s reading glasses off the surface of the small upstairs office desk. He knew that he couldn’t keep his father, Gordon, waiting for very long, lest he fly into another fit of rage. Gordon’s request was simple: retrieve the glasses within ten seconds,
The Forgotten Family Read More »
There are always plenty of strange rumors circulating in small towns across the world. The one I grew up in has everything from tales of lizard creatures beneath the woods, to a bizarre bridge that leads you somewhere else if you cross it on foot. Still, the one tall tale
Never Enter the Old Corn Maze on Halloween Read More »
It’s Halloween eve. The night is delightfully crisp, with a bright, low-lying moon. The thrill of anticipation can be felt in the air. The autumn leaves blow with a scritch-scratch along the pavement outside, accompanied by a moderate wind that chases them playfully into every corner and crevice, around trees,
It started when a friend of mine came over, which led to us speaking at length about our childhood homes. He grew up in a different province where things seemed so much different than the way it was for me. I began the first few years of my own life
A Childhood Phone Number Read More »
“Come on. Just pick a damn bag!” “I have to choose the biggest one!” Henry and Anna fought in a corner of the store while I laughed at them from the otherside of the candy aisle. We didn’t feel like going trick-or-treating today. We were supposed to be in Orlando,
It all started with a simple schoolyard rhyme. No one knew the original incarnation, only a fragment of it survived and was circulated amongst our school. “A pail of snails lifts the veil to Blackbart the Frail.” Blackbart became an amalgam of the boogeyman and a wish-granting genie. Lara was
All You Need Is A Bucket Of Snails Read More »
When my daughter Violet was born, I didn’t have much to offer her. My wife and I both worked, but housing was expensive where we lived and much of our income went towards renting our cramped two bedroom apartment. Owning our own home was still just a dream then. All
All the Stars in the Sky Read More »
It has been a long time since I reveled in the fears of those I used to prey on. It could be said that I reformed from my old ways. Well, the old ways of my kind. Not just my own. There was a time when I enjoyed the hunt
Halloween: When the Masks Come Off Read More »
Toby’s JournalEntry 1April 5th, 1990 So, I asked my daddy to buy me this journal. He’s always been a great father, even though he isn’t the same after my mom died. He was always big on teaching me how to write, and stuff. He said words are the most important
The Bridge Outside My Bedroom Window Read More »
The problem with authentic, unaltered vintage homes is always in the basement. Walking through the upstairs, Christine and I fell in love. Original shellac finish on the window frames, the glass just starting to show a hint of wave from a hundred years of slow settling. Built-in sideboards and bookshelves
A Man’s Home is his Castle Read More »
There was once a story my mother used to tell me, in hopes I wouldn’t turn out like my father. “Treat your children right, Tommy or the Windwhisper will come to punish you.” A boogeyman from my childhood, something I thought was just a myth, turned out to be quite
Glass breaks in random and chaotic ways. In a near instant the cracks can ripple throughout, separating the shards from the inside until it finally crumbles under its own weight. When this happens, its fragility is truly realized. But how random is it really? Glass can sometimes break in a
Ever since I was a small child, we were never allowed in a certain section of my grandparents’ home. My sister and I were told that it was just a large library full of books we would find too boring or long to find interesting and that the shelves were
Grandfather’s Library Read More »
Prophetic Ender Think your ripple has no meaning?Think a rifle won’t leave men bleeding?I’m tired of preachers that are blind to their wordsI’m sick of acts that are silent to the herdAnd sick of seeing those that overtly hurtGetting special passes from the hipocrate’s courtBut I won’t carry a stick
I’ll be honest, I’m not much of a family man. My career kept me away from my family for most of my daughters childhood, and once my wife died-absentee would be a generous description of me. Emotionally that is. It had been so sudden, and the love of my life,
My daughter was attacked on FaceTime Read More »
The ball flew towards the boy. With a cry of alarm, the boy dropped to the floor. “Damnit Jimmy, you’re supposed to catch the ball not hide from it!” a fat kid with a glove on one hand cried. A skinny boy with glasses turned from the pitcher’s mound to
Teaching had always been my dream job. Ever since I was little, I wanted a career teaching kids the same way my teachers taught me. Though, to be honest, I think it’s just because the ones I had were so great. Never had a bad one during my time in
An Unknown Stranger Read More »
