My girlfriend and I have this special spot. This nice little place that serves up food, drinks, and amateur stage performances. They named it the Stage Harbor Dinner Theater. It used to be a loading dock but what was once a place for blue collar grunt workers is now a […]
In Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, there is an abandoned amusement park known as Takakanonuma Greenland. It sits in the outskirts of Hobara, a section of the Japanese city of Date. Very little is known about this park, and its exact location is largely unknown. You can’t find it on any Japanese
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The Waterfarmer Tonight he had purpose. The number was to be twenty…twenty of the best. Or at least the best he could find. The twenty were to be found in the water; in their place of rest. They will be part of the offering; an offering that must be made.
“It’s last call.” “Hey, like in that poem you know? ‘Hurry up please, it’s time!’ …sorry, I’ve had a lot to drink.” “We all have. And I, for one, don’t really feel safe going home after everything we’ve heard tonight.” “But all those stories can’t be true. Even if you
Tales of the City, Part Six: Burnt Offerings Read More »
“I just wanted to say, none of you have any idea what you’re talking about.” “What’s that, lady?” “I couldn’t help but overhear—” “How hard did you try?” “Don’t give her a hard time. She looks like she has a story.” “I do. It’s not a story you’ll like to
Tales of the City, Part Five: God of the Fields Read More »
“That reminds me of a story.” “What does?” “What she just said about being late to catch the train.” “Me? I didn’t say anything?” “Well, I’m sure I heard someone mention it, and that reminds me of a story that scared the hell out of me. Do you remember that
Tales of the City, Part Four: The Last Stop Read More »
“You want to hear the scariest story I know?” “Sure.” “Is it scarier than the last two? If it is then I don’t want to hear it. In fact, I think I’ll head home. I’m sure I’ve had enough to drink already.” “Don’t mind him. The rest of want to
Tales of the City, Part Three : Schism Read More »
“Do you know what the problem is when it comes to ghosts in this city?” “Chains are last season’s look?” “All the cool ghosts moved to Portland?” “I’ll think our waitress is a ghost if she doesn’t hurry with those drinks.” “Scoff if you all will, but I’m making a
Tales of the City, Part Two: Suburb of the Dead Read More »
“It’s a simple question: Do you believe in ghost?” “I—” “Hold on; I’m not in the mood for ghost stories tonight.” “Me neither.” “I didn’t ask for stories, I just asked—hold on, where’s that waitress? Has anyone seen the waitress? Like I said, I didn’t ask for stories, I just
Tales of the City, Part One: Neighborhood Watch Read More »
I awoke with a start as I heard a loud bang out in the street. I HATED noise before 8:30 AM. I have OCD, so the tiniest things can set me off. Annoyed, I pulled on my bathrobe and walked out the front door to see what the commotion was.
I’ve always been a night person. Even as a small child, I can still remember my stepmother affectionately referring to me as ‘her little night owl’ when she’d wake up to use the bathroom and find light pouring out from beneath my doorframe. This natural tendency towards the nocturnal wasn’t
Dr. Ellen Kennedy was just locking up her office for the evening when her phone began to ring. She paused at the door. It had been a long and grueling day and a ringing phone this late did not bode well. She sighed. While it didn’t bode well, it meant
The Wanderer of Blazes Read More »
My wife is going to kill herself in 5 to 7 business days. I’d found the order for a jug of Xanaphril while clearing the internet history of porn and was contemplating it now. I’d known my wife Cindy had been unhappy but I guess hadn’t registered how much yet.
[The recording starts to play.] “My name is Annabelle, and I am fourteen years old. It was about a month ago that I started acting “strangely”, according to my father. Of course, I don’t remember a bit of it. “The first time it happened, I did something pretty weird. In
The young girl made her way through the thick undergrowth. It was not yet dusk, but the sun would disappear quickly behind the densely-packed trees. There is a sort of amplified silence that resonates through woods. All outside noise is cut off so that the only remaining sound is the
If You Go Down To The Woods Read More »
Last winter I was walking through a park near my apartment when I came across five young boys attempting to smash an object with a hammer. Granted, Chicago children are probably more violent than most, but I am not used to seeing such things in my particular neighborhood. I jogged
The White Face In The Window Read More »
The murky fog made it difficult to see where the forest ends and the road starts. It was late dusk but the tree lined road had trees whose branches sheltered the road from any sunlight. Twilight was soon approaching so the walk became darker and darker. To the left of
I met Alex in middle school. He was always really shy. He usually sat by himself, at least a seat away from anyone else. After a few days of class I decided to sit by him. He looked discouraged, it seemed he had forgotten his book for that class. I
I was only nineteen years old – prime of my life I’ve been told – and I had just been thrust into the world of learning labeled college. All sorts of new experiences and new ideas, books and articles, beer and women. The typical undergraduate lifestyle had consumed me and
Harold had never been what most would call a responsible or reliable man. He meant well, he just made bad decisions. Between whiskey and poor choices in women, he had burned the first thirty years of his life away. But it all probably seemed like a good idea at the
The cold was the first thing I felt. Even before my eyes were open I felt a very deep chill in my core, a thousand spindles of ice sewn between my tissues. I blinked, my eyelids slowly bringing and stealing back the darkness, and with it the desire to keep
I Am the Apocalypse Read More »
I’ve spent a good portion of my life out in the Australian bush, enough time that there is very little left out there that can surprise or scare me. I’ve tussled with massive scrubber bulls and lived to tell the tale and I’ve even come across good sized king brown
Demon of the Outback Read More »
It’s odd the things we remember sometimes. I was walking down the toy aisle a couple days ago, looking for something to give my two (soon to be three) year old niece for her birthday. Everything was brightly colored and cheerful, starting with a turtle with a head that bobbed
The Things Without Feelings Read More »
Edgar raised his head up from his chest; back pressed firmly into his favorite recliner, his entire body drenched in cold sweat. He stared into shadows at the edge of the living room, eyes welling with tears as he lifted the revolver slowly and deliberately to his temple. “Seventeen”, he
