Thick hazy air hung beneath the shaking lights as raindrops shivered and splattered across steaming glass. A curious, hollow stench lashed out like an invisible whip from one row to the next, and not even the labored breath of the midnight breeze could batter the smell away from him as […]
They say that when an animal is caged, the animal will go through several stages of acceptance. Firstly, they will explore their new environment, experiencing the dimensions of their space. After realising they are now trapped, the animal, let’s say a chimpanzee, will begin to scream. This is the second
Bordering my property line, a manufactured home is left to be devoured by mother nature; abandoned. I have owned my property for multiple years, and, throughout that time, an owner has never been present, nor had I seen anything suspicious — until recently. On August 20th of this year, police
The Crumbling House Next to Me Read More »
Daniel Truman was an older guy I used to work with. All things considered, he was a decent person, though he was one of those folks who had a story for about any occasion. Almost anything that anyone else may have experienced; he had a tale to top it. It
“Okay, Jonnathan, you ready?” He closed his eyes as he nodded and the gas started flowing. Slowly, he lost feeling in his mouth, becoming dazed in the process. Soon he was out, and then conscious again, barely realizing that his wisdom teeth had been pulled. “That wasn’t so bad…” he
It Just Wants To Be Like Us Read More »
My name is Herman Fontaine. I am 29 years old and live in Ocala Florida with my girlfriend of three years, Sylvia Ramsey, several dogs, cats, turtles, and a couple of capybaras. I am running out of time, and there’s no one left on the research vessel Hidden Minnow. Everyone
It was one of those stormy nights during my summer trip in the tropics when I stumbled upon that old tunnel. It was the longest and scariest night of my life. I did not think I would ever get out of that forest alive. I was badly injured, weather-beaten and
The Creek of A Thousand Corpses Read More »
My name is Marcus, and I’m an alcoholic. I know what you’re thinking: this is just another sob story about some loser whose life went off the rails after he found the bottle, right? Well, it’s not exactly that simple. Bill, my sponsor at Alcoholics Anonymous suggested that should I
JESSE:[a small fire crackles nearby over the clacking of a keyboard][paranoid] Hey again,I’m glad the last update got out before everything fell apart. Please, you’re our only hope. I never made it home… We are not safe, and it’s not just me anymore, I’ve brought my entire family to hell,
The Backroads: Witches & Honey Traps Read More »
I watched the fog creep along the ground and through the treeline at the edge of the property in a daze. I had been staring for a while, slowly realizing that I was still tightly gripping a mug. My hand trembled as I brought the tepid coffee to my lips,
Demented Marionette Read More »
“Your job…your sole life responsibility for the rest of your natural life is to keep that door shut….always! The house is yours…you can do what you want with it regarding restoration or upgrades. But, you need to live here until the day you die. I inherited it from my grandfather.
As I sit here now beside my pond and watch the autumn fog dance along the water, and as the leaves whisper and chatter to one another as the wind lets them, I think of my wife, and how sorry I am I can’t live the rest of my days
When my grandfather passed away during an early winter, my family scrambled to rid the house of his belongings before the first major storm. The asphalt-shingle roof of his one-story home was collapsing inward after years of neglect and most of the windows were boarded up with cheap plywood. Instead
There are always plenty of strange rumors circulating in small towns across the world. The one I grew up in has everything from tales of lizard creatures beneath the woods, to a bizarre bridge that leads you somewhere else if you cross it on foot. Still, the one tall tale
Never Enter the Old Corn Maze on Halloween Read More »
It’s Halloween eve. The night is delightfully crisp, with a bright, low-lying moon. The thrill of anticipation can be felt in the air. The autumn leaves blow with a scritch-scratch along the pavement outside, accompanied by a moderate wind that chases them playfully into every corner and crevice, around trees,
It started when a friend of mine came over, which led to us speaking at length about our childhood homes. He grew up in a different province where things seemed so much different than the way it was for me. I began the first few years of my own life
A Childhood Phone Number Read More »
“Come on. Just pick a damn bag!” “I have to choose the biggest one!” Henry and Anna fought in a corner of the store while I laughed at them from the otherside of the candy aisle. We didn’t feel like going trick-or-treating today. We were supposed to be in Orlando,
“She was right again.” Old Farmer Bill threw one more load of hay in the trailer.“I thought I’d be able to finish it today. Agnes knew what she was talking about when she said I was overdoing myself. Almost fifty years of marriage and she’s been right every single time.”
Faces in the Pumpkins Read More »
Anomaly: 18-9-6-20 RiftData File #19/23/2015Event recount #1Inspector on site: Det. Mitchell Anderson PITFSite Area 2_New York1400 hours-32 minutes-18 secondsSituation: Victim01 and Victim02 work in a cash/credit transaction office. The two friends share an office in the tax department when Victim01 leaves for the storage department to get more paper for
It all started with a simple schoolyard rhyme. No one knew the original incarnation, only a fragment of it survived and was circulated amongst our school. “A pail of snails lifts the veil to Blackbart the Frail.” Blackbart became an amalgam of the boogeyman and a wish-granting genie. Lara was
All You Need Is A Bucket Of Snails Read More »
When my daughter Violet was born, I didn’t have much to offer her. My wife and I both worked, but housing was expensive where we lived and much of our income went towards renting our cramped two bedroom apartment. Owning our own home was still just a dream then. All
All the Stars in the Sky Read More »
It has been a long time since I reveled in the fears of those I used to prey on. It could be said that I reformed from my old ways. Well, the old ways of my kind. Not just my own. There was a time when I enjoyed the hunt
Halloween: When the Masks Come Off Read More »
“I saw him again last night.”“Who?”“The Man”.“Oh yeah,” James chuckled. “Same.”“Oh really?” I nervously giggled in response. “What did you see?”“Just the usual, he was just having a good look round, not doing anyone any harm.”This had become a running joke between James and I ever since we moved in
Fear, a concept that our brains have created for what? Protection? The sheer thrill? Wrong, we feel fear for our survival, plain and simple. Everyone looks at fear differently, the fight or flight response is a great example. When met with fear we choose to stand our ground in an
The Corn Is Breathing, Now I Hear Them Whisper Read More »
