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Next Time, I’ll Summon a Smarter Demon
I drew the pentagram and symbols on the hardwood floor, lit the candles, and recited the spell that was written in the ancient leather-bound book. Squaring my shoulders and setting…
Read NowExplain This?
I am 53 years old, and the memory of this experience, which occurred when I was 11, the sheer terror I felt, is still as fresh as the night it…
Read NowLight Bulbs
I’m pretty bad about changing light bulbs. If there’s any possible way I can put it off, I will. There’s probably some psychoanalytical explanation for it, dating back to when…
Read NowMask of Mokembu
The native crouched over the dying fire pit, he was making circle with the skulls. The smell of the jungle was overpowering, and he could he the distinct yipping of…
Read NowThe Statue
You some how wake up surrounded by very tall hedges. You are very disoriented and groggy. As you observe your surroundings, you realize that you are in a very complex…
Read NowHelp Needed
As I am typing this, I am trying to be as calm as possible. As calm, as possible. I am hoping to God it cannot read what I am writing.…
Read NowThe Classified Ad
Every year, for an unknown number of years, an ad is published in the New York Times Classifieds section. The advertisement is short and lists a seemingly mundane household appliance:…
Read NowHow to Succeed in Publishing Without Really Trying
Hey, you. Yes, you at the bar there, the blonde. Want to hear a story? Well, all things considered you're alone in a bar on All Hallows. Don't look at…
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The Plague
They weave a slow andante as in sleep. Scaled yellow, swampy black, plague-spotted white; with blue and lidless eyes at a watch, they keep a treachery of silence, infinite. -…
Read NowRepossession
I can clearly make out a hospital ward. It's probably mine, since I'm in its bed. It's a private room, and my low bed faces the wall. I see no…
Read NowThe Myth of the Blood King
Ever since I was a young boy, I knew the myth of the one that everyone in this town feared. And while I may be 18 (heading out to college),…
Read NowThe Wireman
Last night, I was derailed from seeing a movie by a pal of mine 'J,' who needed a ride to a barbeque, with an invite as barter. Damn right I…
Read NowThe Prophecy of Zarah
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the early part of the 20th century is one of the most important episodes in the field of Bible scholarship. They have…
Read NowThe Hill Beast
No one hears much about the little town of Saint Pauls, North Carolina. It’s located in the southern part of North Carolina, literally two hours away from the South Carolina…
Read NowPlacidity Row
I’ve often thought it likely, though have no way to really prove, that in every sizable town in America there is at least one area that feels a bit strange…
Read NowThere Might Be Some Noise
“There might be some noise.” That’s what she had said. A phrase that did not even begin to describe what we heard every night. Those agonized screams; nothing a human…
Read NowRemember to Turn the Lights On
I was six, maybe seven years old when this happened. My family had just gotten back from visiting my aunt's house. My cousins were watching a scary movie in the…
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