Everyone remembers something different from the Windows XP era. Some remember Club Penguin. Others remember LimeWire. I don’t remember any of that. I remember Bonzi. I remember being around 8 years old and getting my first computer. Money wasn’t an issue in our house; so a computer for an 8 […]
The Bonzi Kidnappings Read More »
I was working when the call came through–the defining call of what would become of my life. The last words I would ever hear her speak. The last time I would ever have a chance to talk with the woman I love with my entire being and soul. And I
When my mother was alive, she was quite the storyteller. My brothers and I were constantly told stories of her youth, how she met our father, what we were like as babies—but those were never our favorites. No, what we loved were her scary stories. She was a master of
The leather chair in Dr. Mitchell’s office always squeaked when I shifted my weight. I stared at the geometric patterns on his rug, trying to find the words. “It’s the same dream, Dr. Mitchell.” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Every single night. It always starts the same way.”
The Oakridge Field Trip Read More »
I’m not what you would call a particularly smart individual. I generally like to think it’s my ADHD that caused me to perform so poorly in school. But I haven’t exactly been diagnosed with it or anything. My dad is about as much of a dumb ass as me, but
The Night my ADHD Almost Got me Killed Read More »
I took a digital archiving job with the van der Voort Estate Historical Society. It’s an old manor home dating back to the 1800s on a soft cliff overlooking Precipice Bay in upstate Vermont. I’m majoring in Library Science with an English minor at Castleton University but was feeling pretty
I Took A Job in Northwest Vermont: Entry One: The Witch’s Children Read More »
The sun was a jagged, bleeding wound on the horizon as Miles and Sarah pushed through the Mojave. Their old Jeep Wrangler rumbled with a comforting rhythm, the air conditioner fighting a losing battle against the dry, oppressive heat of the Nevada desert. They were happy. More than happy—they were
The Mother of the Mojave Read More »
Saltarello wasn’t the kind of place you stumbled into while looking for cheap plastic beads and a frozen daiquiri on Bourbon Street. Tucked away in the damp, shadowed heart of the French Quarter, it was a sanctuary for the city’s nocturnal intellectuals. The air inside was thick with the smell
1:48 AM Aiden’s eyes opened slowly in the darkness just past midnight as he was pulled from sleep. He’d been in a pleasant dream, but the memory was fading, drifting away quickly, until it was as though it had never been there at all. Crust flaked off onto his hands
Would it make a good cereal bowl? It may be too shallow for a cereal bowl. An ashtray, or a cat bowl would be better. “Johnson, you copy?” The voice came muffled from the other side of the door. “Copy, Bradley.” Johnson’s static voice came prelude by the trill of
My Friend in the Elephant Mask Read More »
I’ve always been a big fan of Halloween. When I was a kid, that was of course because of the candy and the chocolate bars. As I got older and entered my teenage years, that changed. My love for the holiday remained, but that was because of the costumes and
Little Monsters of Hallows’ Eve Read More »
People are always saying they remember exactly where they were when they first heard the news, I’m pretty sure most of them are lying. I have no idea where I was, because like almost everyone else I assumed it had to be a mistake, or a hoax. A new planet
Sometimes your bones break and your little sister disappears, and always your father acts like nothing is wrong. Occasionally, he’ll sit you down and tell you that you have to move on. Your sister isn’t coming back. That she’s probably dead. I didn’t think so. I couldn’t think so. We
Spiders Congregate in the Dark Read More »
To begin with, my name is Samuel Terrence. I was a college dropout living a pretty sad life with my parents until a blackout that occurred in 2014.I recently posted a journal entry titled ‘Blackout – 8/15/14’ that detailed a handful of weeks that would be the beginning of a
The Nevada heat rippled off the asphalt, distorting the long, empty road ahead. I wiped sweat from my brow and adjusted the camera strap around my neck, squinting at the horizon. No sign of the fox. No sign of anything, really. I should’ve been writing a real story—something that actually
If You Ever Stop in Ashbrook, Don’t Ask About the Children Read More »
It was night and gloomy and somber and serene. There was the wardrobe in front of me and on its higher corners dust had gathered and yet within the somberness the wooden fabric seemed to stretch out cosmically, darkly away. I was sitting and looking at my computer when I
A Million Tinges of Red – NGC 1569 Read More »
Patchwork Man, Patchwork Man, play a game!Patchwork Man, Patchwork Man, in the frame! And the next line is something about stealing your skin. But for the life of me I cannot remember the end. I’m trying to find it for an old friend. This friend—for privacy’s sake, let’s call her
Does anyone remember the rhyme about the Patchwork Man? And the picture game Read More »
There’s a trail that leads out of Leadville, Colorado, raised like a railroad on high banks. It leads to what remains of Oro City, a true 1860s-era ghost town from the gold rush days. The elevated nature of the trail allows visitors to look down on dilapidated cabins, storage buildings,
The sound of the doorbell echoed through my empty house like a banshee’s wail. It was Halloween night, and I was alone. Not by choice, but because it was my ex’s turn to take our kids, Lily and Ben, trick-or-treating. The custody agreement was part of the divorce proceedings. Though
The Unanswered Doorbell: A Halloween Nightmare Read More »
Read Part one here Read Part two here I know someone will receive this broadcast. Sooner or later our signal will reach one of the parties involved in this conflict. My only hope is that whoever is listening is able and willing to send help and they can reach us
Marcel tightened the last cords on his hiking backpack. He stepped back admiring how neatly he packed the bag. Every year he and a group of friends went on three-day expeditions into the mountains, and this year he couldn’t wait. The fresh air, the peaceful sunrises, and the morning dew
The Porcelain Mask Read More »
As I stood there in the hallway, halfway between the back door and the basement door, I began to realize how quiet it was. For a moment I thought I had heard something. Like feet shuffling. Or was it a scream? Suddenly a weird cold and itchy sensation came over
I don’t allow myself to buy a doormat for my home anymore. I lived in an apartment complex about five years ago right in the heart of New York City. I was living alone at the time, my family was in Rhode Island, and with me being new to the
Charlie Marsh entered his apartment, reviewing the target’s details given by his anonymous employer. Someone put out a hit for the serial killer named Jamie Martin. Charlie gazed at the picture, committing it to memory, a man with dark brown hair, a pale complexion, brown eyes, and a thin body
