Echos of Daffodils
I know he knows I am watching him. I can see Daffid look over his shoulder as he sits on his sofa. He is scanning the dark hallway behind him. He gets up and walks to ...
The Boogey Man
It started with my 3 year old son screaming in his room in the middle of the night. When I came in to check on him he was in hysterics. Tears ran down his little cheeks ...
Loss Alive
* Writer's note - Originally published 2006 in Dark Fire Fiction. I am the author and own the story rights. “It's time I told you about loss, boy.” We sat, my Pa and I, beneath the ...
A Murder of Crows
Athene Hibou walked through her childhood home slowly. Her hand trailed gently along the mahogany banister as she climbed the stairs. Subconsciously, she jumped over the squeaky third step from the top. The carpet upstairs was ...
My Name Is
My name's Charlie, and I'm 15-years old. I've lived in Chicago for just about my entire life before my entire family moved to the small town of ********* (I'm not going to name it for personal ...
Deepest Fear
It took me a month to figure out the pattern- the pattern It was using to kill us off. At first it was Jack, who was found dead, lying face-down and submerged in his own bathtub ...
Empty House
Even years later I can still remember that day. It was the first and last time I ever went out to the movies alone. The last time I went out to the movies ever. I don't ...
A Trip to the Cemetary
On an early dim morning an elderly woman rested her hand atop a gravestone. “Henry Blackwood-1938-2004.” She rested flowers on it and wept, something she didn’t usually do. She always made sure to bring something of ...
Higher Powers
The chairs were the old school folding kind, brown metal with tan cushions that were almost comfortable. They were usually folded and stacked neatly against the wall in the basement of the church on Dionin street ...
The Devil Game
Pray, for devils have no reason Satan waits to curse your ways Have you seen it in his eyes in the sunset? Have you wondered if he's laughing when he plays? - Kansas, “The Devil Game” ...
Twist and Shout
It was late October in Brookhurst Wyoming in the year 1965. I was eighteen, and I lived with my sister in an older barn house, on the edge of town. I loved that little town- especially ...
The Reaper in the Tree
There may be strange details in this story. Not all of them will seem to add up and appear to be significant, but it’s all true. That sort of statement is common with these types of ...
The Passenger
Several months ago a friend of mine alerted me to a puzzling incident on an inner-city bus. Being a bus driver himself, he had heard many of the usual generic stories that would be exchanged around ...
The Final Hours: Party Girl
The door slams behind Monica as she stumbles into the hallway of an apartment complex, mascara streaming down her face. “Asshole,” she says. The word hisses out between her clenched teeth. Fiona steps out of the ...
The Shoebox
I’ve decided to share this here because honestly? I feel like I NEED to talk about this before I go crazy. And this is probably the only place where I could talk about this and not ...
Disconnected
Ever since I was a young child, that automated recording that plays when you try to call someone, but can't, has frightened me to the core. You know, the one that goes, "We're sorry, but the ...
The Grimes Home
(The following was found in an envelope on a bus bound for Chicago) My name is Jason Grimes and I am writing this so that when the room is eventually opened people will perhaps understand the ...
The Wind Whispered A Secret
I sat on my balcony, preparing to smoke the last cigarette of the night. It was late and my bones themselves were tired. As I snuffed out the cigarette and stood with a stretch, a noise ...
From the Sea
The day was August 5th, 1989, the rain pounded onto the beach like gunfire and the lightning arced across the sky in magnificent blue colors. I sat in my tent on the cliff edge, listening to ...
The Crawling House On Black Pond Road
I can’t sleep. I have to share because maybe I won’t feel if I share. Dr. Kirsch says to write and get it off my chest. Writing about it might release me from it. What should ...