You stand in front of the alleyway, slowly stepping into the darkness. You have always hated this part of your walk home from work, but every day you gather up your courage and ignore your instinct to be afraid. Walking quickly, you keep your eyes fixed on the ground. But as soon as you hear…
“I could feel his muscle tissues collapse under my force. It’s ludicrous these mortals even attempt to enter my realm.” – Mike Tyson ROUND 0 The singular incandescent light bulb isn’t nearly large enough to illuminate this dingy locker room. Darkness surrounds both me and my trainer, it seems like nothing in this universe exists…
Everything started out normal. It was just a simple nightmare, right? But the more I thought about it, the more unlikely that sounded. No nightmare could be that detailed, that gruesome. At first I thought I was alone in that dream, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was something there, in the far…
Horror can stem from a variety of sources, each with varying degrees of subtlety. Something as small as the flicker of a shadow has the ability to grip a person’s heart with an icy hand, just as an otherwise inoffensive scent might bring forth memories best left forgotten. Each sense guards its own gateway to…
Ever since I could remember, ever since I had been a child, I had been afraid of the dark depths of any sea or deep lake. Dark blue or green water had a nauseating affect on me, and seaweed dancing sinuously at the bottom of pools made me shudder. Worse than that, however, was the…
I would often wander around the lake during the night. It was so silent there; I would just sit at the base of the water and listen to the nothingness that surrounded me. My mind would drift into peaceful thoughts those nights, and I never expected to see anything in the lake other than the…
Grandpa told me, a long time ago About a man he once saw walking in the snow. The man’s shoes were golden and brown; The colors were the sun and the blood of the town. —— In bed one night, when the dogs were outside, And momma was talking to the neighbor (who’d died) And…
Darkness surrounds me. And cold. And emptiness. I lay in this void not knowing how long I have lain here, and in the initial grogginess of my awakening I know not why I am here. I turn my gaze from side to side, but can see nothing in the enveloping blackness. I can sense nothing…
I cannot tell you when it all began. I have always been plagued by sleep paralysis. I have somewhat learned to deal with it, to recognise it for what it is and wait it out. It always begins with the need to yawn or speak, but my mouth is shut tight. I then try to…
“There was a little man in my room last night, and he says he’s going to take me with him.” I glanced up from my cereal in surprise and fixed Mabel, the light of my life as well as my only daughter, with my best fatherly gaze. She giggles, showing her pearly white teeth. She’s…
If you ever find yourself in LA’s Old China town, head into the square, past the statue of sun Yat-sen, past the hip, ultramod toy store called “Munky King” and look for an import store next to what used to be a wishing fountain. Go into this store ad head all the way straight back,…
Rain tapped at the windows, and wind howled outside. The weather was crappy for summer, but Lisette couldn’t be happier. Curled up with a book and steaming mug of tea, the fifteen-year-old girl quietly read and sipped contentedly, occasionally glancing to see the unbroken, glossy sheet of rainwater slide down the cool glass of the…
I’ve been blind since birth. This in and of itself is not what this is about, but it’s a crucial part of the story. Throughout my life, I’ve used lots of different kinds of assistive technology; braille keyboards, voice command apps, adapted smartphones… Recently, I tried human echolocation for the first time in my life….
Your mother had been sick for years. You never did know exactly what was wrong with her though. Countless doctors had examined her and all had to admit she was suffering some something they had never seen before. However, even though they could not pinpoint the disease itself, they all seemed to agree on one…
I never liked doors. There was always something about doors that freaked me out. When they were open, I felt exposed. When they were closed, I felt a bit safer, yet nervous about what was on the other side. So I often lock my doors and the doors that lead outside of my small rural…
Everybody’s been looking for her. Haley, my fiancée has been missing for over three weeks now, and I’m beginning to think the absolute worst has happened to her. I try not to let my mind drift to those kinds of rash thoughts, but sometimes I just can’t help myself. I catch myself thinking of just…
She had scolded me once again, told me that we had gone on this trip as an escape from the monotony of life in the city and bond as a couple, as if I already hadn’t known that. Expressing her feelings about how I’d become more “Distant” and “A husk of how I used to…
Ever get that feeling like something or someone is watching you? It’s a human instinct, built from various evolutionary mechanisms. This first began to adapt to more primal humans whilst living in forests or other areas with a high volume of predators. Being able to sense that hunter, aside from using vision, sight or smell,…
This story is a Crappypasta Success Story – it got such a positive reception (additionally, the author has reworked it somewhat after taking his received feedback into account) over at Crappypasta that it’s being moved here to the main site. You may read the original Crappypasta post and comments here. Congratulations to the author and…
‘Diana…Will you marry me?’ Howard opened the small black box. Inside was a ring encompassing a small emerald gem. If you looked close enough at it, you could see a small crack down the middle. At first Diana looked as if she was going to be sick, though that may have been a side-effect of…
I’ve always found it particularly difficult to start a story. It’s easy to end one, but ever since grade school when my teachers would make me write a short story, I could never make a good start. I suppose I’ll start by saying this is a story. A story about my best friend. He died…
Occurring to the fact that most kiddie shows have turned up dead ends, one show, Candle Cove, has made an impact here. I made myself hunt down whatever cast remained of the show, regardless of their fear. I wanted to know EVERYTHING about this show. But in the process, I came to understand that there…
Curtis held on to an unfulfilled joy for exploring. The prospect of discovering new places always enthralled him, and often, whether he was just lazing around at home, slacking off during a lecture, or just hanging out on a sober night with his friends, he would often daydream of traveling the world to diverge himself…
I As I lay here in the darkness, I wonder how much time left do I have. It all started a couple of weeks ago. Right after graduation, everyone started talking about their plans and how they were going to make it in the industry. I majored in journalism, so I was supposed to move…