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 me like that, that’s what today is called! But hey, if you want to hear one, I’d be the guy to ask. I used to…
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 windows. I turn my head–wait. I suddenly notice restraints digging into my arms, legs, across my chest, and fixing my head into place. I realize…
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), I have heard little kids talking about him even to this day. And for good reason. To this day, no one knows who he is,…
The ground shook. It pulsated. But that was what it always did and nobody paid any attention to it anymore, just as long as the sacrifices were made. The very earth beneath one’s feet would fall and he would be extinguished if not for the sacrifices. All of the dirt, the ground, was alive, and…
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 could see the movie another time! We arrive at Lindsey’s house, where her roommates were all running about, organizing the contents of 11 empty grocery…
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 been studied and transcribed for decades, so it was quite a shock when an unnoticed Hebrew text was found in the collection. The theology of…
Compared to most other towns, the one I live in is pretty high above sea level, and my house just happens to sit on the highest hill there. From my bedroom window I can look out and see the entire town, along with the surrounding mountains. It’s a lovely sight. I don’t know about you,…
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 border. It’s a quiet town located right off of the interstate 95. When you get off the Saint Pauls exit the first thing you see…
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 somehow. Maybe it’s a single building that was witness to a grisly murder or maybe it’s a slum full of forgotten people with forgotten dreams….
“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 should ever make. We had just signed the contract and wanted to go from house to house to introduce ourselves to the neighbors. Hers was…
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 basement, and even though my parents said I would get scared, I snuck downstairs and watched some of it. I don’t remember what part I…
We recently moved into this little house in a small, quiet town in Maine. It’s not like I wanted to go, but I guess it was okay because I think I needed a change from the city life. The day we arrived at the house, I was actually pretty excited. It was a small cottage-type…
My name is Emily, as in Dickinson, who is my mother’s favorite poet. My brothers are Lennon, as in John, and Eliot, as in T.S. My sister is Layla, after the Eric Clapton song. When we, the Spivey quadruplets, were finally conceived after years of in vitro fertilization, my mother and father agreed that they…
If you call yourself on your own cellular phone, sometimes you will get an answer. You won’t hear anything other than heavy breathing, so don’t bother waiting for them to speak. If you then say the name of a person you know and a reason that they should die (reasons like “I just want them…
I’m a bit of a light sleeper, so any noise at all will wake me up. It’s part of the reason I live alone. I don’t want some roommate waking me up in the middle of the night. But because of that night, I wish I had one. I was awoken by the quiet sound…
Bayou La Batre, Alabama, 1995. Friday, between pitch dark and first light, the Gulf Breeze, a shrimp trawler out of Corpus Christi, Texas, entered the Bayou Shell Banks. A dead fog full of moonbeams rested over the marsh. Swamp-stench curdled the air, a real nose burner. As she passed through the canal, her wake from…
“Did you take your protein pills? Good, now put your helmet on.” Ground Control commanded and Major Tom obeyed. Ground Control droned on as Tom sat in his seat in his cramped capsule and waited. “Commencing countdown, engines are active.” Tom counted down with the man on the microphone as he felt the rush of…
A young girl suffered from insomnia, and throughout the night she’d often wake up for no reason. One night she awoke, and in the daze of half-sleep, she blinked in the darkness. Just for a second, she thought she saw a pair of reptilian eyes, gazing at her and glowing red. She sat up and…
I work in IT, and I travel a lot for business. I find myself in weird places. One time I was on a train in the middle of Massachusetts, somewhere near Springfield (although it didn’t feel like I was “near” anywhere) when it stopped at some random station. No announcement. We waited, then everyone started…
The freak meandered through a group of the undead. It was nearing nightfall, and he began to head back home. His pack had plenty of food in it, and he shouldn’t have to leave his house again for another week or so. Unless one of the zombie bastards punched its way in again. He didn’t…
When I was a little boy, I was afraid of monsters. They always lurked in the dark places where the light didn’t reach. It didn’t matter how many times my father shone a flashlight into the dark corners of my closet: I knew, the moment that the light was gone, the monsters would come back….
The first time I met Ada Klesco, she caught ahold of my hand and held it for a very long time. At first, I assumed that it was just a handshake, but there was no particular movement involved. We just stood there, in the living room of a house on Lago Street that our mutual…
Margaret had, as usual, been left to the confines of her bedroom. With her father working the night shift and her mother ill with pneumonia, she didn’t have anyone to talk to. The only noise was the ticking of the clock, the slight humming of the radiator in the corner, and her own thoughts. She…
TRAGEDY AT TUCKAHOE LAKE Ronny was impressed- they were great at telling his tale. “We only save the BEST campfire story for the end,” Stan told the wide-eyed kids as he leaned in, flames reflecting off his glasses. “Are you all SURE you can handle it? It’s pretty scary.” Hannah, the head female counselor, tried…