Scoutmaster Tom sat with his troop around the campfire. It was their first overnight trip and the five boys were all giddy with excitement. All around them the woods echoed with the song of chirping crickets and gentle breezes. The boys roasted their smores well chatting about girls using a …
My grandfather was, for lack of a better term, an ass. Unfortunately, he suffered a lot of symptoms of what I often referred to as “Old Man-itis.” On top of the real-life ailments that forced him to live at home with us, his general abrasiveness made me avoid him like …
They say that death comes quickly, that your whole life flashes before your eyes and then you know peace. It wasn’t like that for me. The day started like any other. I opened my eyes to birdsong, enjoying the breeze flicking my ears. I walked with my family to a …
I didn’t know what to think as she slinked towards me, fresh from her afternoon swim. Still in her favorite black bikini. Wet hair slicked back. Wearing pitch-black sunglasses that concealed the intent of her green eyes. She told me once her eyes were sensitive to bright sunlight, but the …
We’ve all seen our fair share of horror movies. Classics such as Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare On Elm Street” and Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”, were known for filling our mortal souls with dread, creating an unnerving feeling that is only heightened when the film ends, leaving you to linger on …
A child was costly, and he had such little money. His mind, also, had been unwell. He hadn’t been himself of late, like his brain had gotten sick much in the way that the body often does in the cold weather. Perhaps his recent actions were nothing more than the …
It was a breezy September evening. The yellow glow of street lights reflected off the rain-slickened sidewalk. I was making my way back from volleyball practice. I usually took the bus, but I ended up missing it that day and didn’t feel like waiting another twenty minutes for the next …
It all started with the missing hikers, then it was the missing hunters, the second group of hikers, and now it’s a jogger. They couldn’t find any of the others, Ted didn’t have much faith that they would find this lady either. Who jogs mountain trails? Overachievers, that’s who. Ted …
“…so in conclusion: the classic gray aliens do exist. As a fellow critical thinker, I’m sure you see I’ve made an excellent case,” Maury said, grinning. Things like Maury’s conspiracy theories were one of the reasons I was going on vacation. I needed a break from things like this. I’ve …
To be honest, it was all about delay. Maura was going to Rhode Island School of Design, there had never been any question of that. Goodie still wasn’t sure he wanted to go to University of Boston, but he was. Arnie was going to M. I. T., and I was taking …
The hammering from upstairs shook the walls of his bedroom. James Ricco leapt from his bed, the thought of earthquakes at the back of his mind. He glanced at his window and the sunlight streaming through. It was a spring day on Staten Island that suggested planting perennials and backyard …
When the Ukrainian-Russian war began, NATO responded by stationing troops to the boarder to deter Russia of further attacks into Europe. My unit was one of hundreds, if not thousands of units selected to perform this tasking. I was stationed in the one of the Baltic States, though for the …
I fear that by the time you read this . . . it will be too late. Forgive me, Vanessa. I am so sorry. As you are reading this, your fiancé is lost—caught in an act of obsessive compulsion that I, too, have fallen into. There was no malice in …
The body of the tramp had lain in the cellar of the house on Burgundy Street for several weeks now. He had finally shuffled off the mortal coil less than forty-eight hours after having sought refuge from the chill London winter. A half-empty bottle of cider stood going to waste …
Hey, something weird happened to me last night and I need a little help wrapping my head around it. My wife Steph and I moved into this beautiful raised ranch home on 28 acres of forest in the Gatineau hills yesterday and I’m already regretting it. We got a lot …
“Bone is lightweight, durable, and responsive. A bridge made of steel cannot double its length, but bone both grows and responds to stresses. Furthermore, bone mends itself. A shattered brick cannot do that. Bone has much to teach us about Earth’s history and the course of life on the planet. …
The rats scurried and clawed inside the walls. It was one of the few things that frustrated Elizabeth about working nightshift. During the day the rats were smart enough to hide themselves. During the day, she could pretend they weren’t there. Scratching, gnawing, murmuring, constantly out of sight. During the …
Nick’s cigarette lit up. He had to shield it from the rain twirling around us. The orange tip was spitting and sputtering from the fierce wind. He still wouldn’t let me smoke when we went camping. The cigarette illuminated his hollow cheeks, the once proud skin fading with age to …
In the world, there are locations that some may consider “strange”. Of course, there are typically haunted houses and old burial grounds that may or may not actually be supernatural, but none could truly comprehend the happenings of the Dillerson Farm. The Dillerson Farm was a place that even the …
My day started just like all those before it that month. Dark. lonely. I got up around 7:30, like usual. Nothing was happening. Nothing ever was. November was always one of my favorite months, a gateway to winter. I usually only went in the woods in the winter time, ticks …
The leaves rustled under my boots as we climbed up the hill. I was cold. I was tired. I was bored. I’ll never forget that fateful fall weekend my dad dragged me out hunting. He told me I was ten and it was time I started growing up. Time to …
You were always against moving away from your family and friends. You didn’t want to leave the city, the coast never appealed to you anyway. You didn’t want to move from a place with a population of one hundred thousand to one with a population of five. It didn’t matter, …
Winter is a brutal child of mother nature. It acts like a tyrant as it lays siege all over the land, claiming multiple casualties in its wake. That’s why many animals run in fear for their lives. They will burrow underneath the earth and sleep until the cold has left, …
When people ask me about how it is to live in my neck of the woods, the Carolina Piedmont, I’d like to tell them of the rolling hills that lead up to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. I’d like to tell them of the somewhat eerie and rather endearing orchards …
