IT SKITTERED its way across the leaves, and I knelt down to get as close as I could. Eight legs, black body – it was one of the feared ones; a black widow. I knew that before I pulled up Nature’s Identity on my phone. But I needed to log […]
The Terror From Beyond the Void 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
To be honest, it was all about delay. Maura was going to Rhode Island School of Design, there had never been any question of that. Goodie still wasn’t sure he wanted to go to University of Boston, but he was. Arnie was going to M. I. T., and I was taking
I Went Camping With a Bog Monster Read More »
My day started just like all those before it that month. Dark. lonely. I got up around 7:30, like usual. Nothing was happening. Nothing ever was. November was always one of my favorite months, a gateway to winter. I usually only went in the woods in the winter time, ticks
The Creature In The Pines Read More »
Yesterday… …And we’re back in five… four… three… two… one… [talk-show host] Greg, tell us your thoughts about the movie; the release is only three days after the anniversary of your wife’s death. How are you coping? Do you plan to go see it? I’m not here to talk about
Take in that fresh air girl! Damn it feels great to be back. Everything looks smaller though. “Yeah, because you were like three feet tall last time you were here, ya walnut.” Buddy “Bud” Jake looked at Gwen with a smile. The classic platonic boy-girl relationship where no sexual tension
They Only Take One Read More »
The light of the camp fire offered little comfort to the panic that surged through him. His blood might as well have been pure adrenaline. His senses were on high alert, triggering him, causing him to jump at the slightest sight or sound. “AAAGGHHHHHHHHH! HEEEEELLLP ME”! There was that scream
It’s mid January, and, as I had recently turned 19, I had decided that it was time to take a rite of passage to manhood so to speak. So after nagging my parents (my mother mostly to be honest) for weeks, they had finally caved to my pleas to take
I need to get this information off my chest. I’m writing this on the shoulder of the highway in Utah. It’s 4 am, and I’ve been driving nonstop for almost 2 hours. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Utah, but it gets pitch black at night; nothing exists
I Discovered a New Species While Backpacking in Utah Read More »
It was cold. Cold and dark. That’s all I could feel when I stared into the black abyss, that made up its eyes. There was a tingling sensation in my feet, that slowly rose up in my body like panic trapped inside of me. I felt changed. I don’t know
The Stars of Bigface Marsh Read More »
The drive out took a few hours. As I pulled off the main highway and onto the branching road, I was struck with the sense that I was going to be very alone out here. I’m an avid hiker but since many of the hiking trails I’d normally frequent had
Arthur had just come home from a week of restful camping with his 2 best friends. The three of them had been planning the trip months in advance due to the increasingly toxic work environment that was created with their new supervisor. Arthur was particularly excited when the three of
I’d always been afraid of Scorpion River. Ever since I was eight, I’d gone with my aunt, uncle, and older cousin into the wilderness of southern Arizona where we’d spend two nights in their rickety, blue, camper. We weren’t alone. Around ten other families joined us for that December weekend.
One day in September of 1983 we decided to go on a patrol camping trip so that we’d get some prizes at the end of the year. Our scout troop owned a campsite up on top of a big, rocky hill. It was just our rotten luck that when we
My Last Camping Trip Read More »
There was a hunter in the woods, who, after a long day hunting, was in the middle of an immense forest. It was getting dark, and having lost his bearings, he decided to head in one direction until he was clear of the increasingly oppressive foliage. After what seemed like
The Portraits (a.k.a. The Cabin in the Woods) Read More »
