The screams were like wind chimes stuck in a storm. At first, Della had thought it was the gale-force winds of the blizzard until she heard the weeping coming from her front lawn. By its sound, she could tell that it was not an infant nor was it an adolescent, […]
The people of Acton, Massachusetts knew the devil walked among them. How else could they explain how routine death was? Their only bulwark against oblivion was the small stone chapel that had been erected in the center of town. It was there that the congregation met every Sunday for service.
The thing appeared to shiver slightly. Cam squinted, trying to get a better view, but he couldn’t for the lack of moonlight. Something was rising behind it. Like someone else standing up. But it wasn’t a person. It was an odd, wide figure, spindly and only coming up to the
I’m One of The Unknown Read More »
‘You need a holiday, Arthur’ spoke my good friend and business partner George Tabbert. We were sat in the clubhouse of Ridswell Golf Course having just completed our regular Thursday game and I was about to get the speech I had felt coming all afternoon. ‘It’s all very well getting
The 8.15 to Pendlebury Read More »
It only took her a moment to figure out that this wasn’t where she wanted to be. The paint chipped and wallpaper peeled down as if bowing its head in resignation to the dilapidated state of the facility. She walked gingerly up the hall, dodging the debris that lay scattered
I don’t know what to do at this point, which is why I’ve come here. What I’ve seen has changed me. I don’t know if what I’ve seen is real, but I believe it to be as I saw it with my own eyes: a horrific sight from the darkest
There is Something Going Through my Garbage Read More »
It started when we called out to the stars; into the darkness. We felt so small, tumbling through vast emptiness while clinging to the skin of the world, and without a single reason why. We were curious, yes, but ultimately I think we were just terribly frightened. And we were
There’s a concept I read about once online, on a forum that discussed Artificial Intelligence. A user known as Roko theorized a possible future where mankind creates an extremely powerful AI that comes to run the planet. It would be, for the most part, benevolent. It would advance technology, keep
An Offering to the Basilisk Read More »
As I lay awake tossing and turning in my bed I kept thinking about how stupid my co-workers were. Thanks to a few choice idiots screwing up a report I had to stay past time and consequently couldn’t get to the pharmacy to collect my sleeping pills, plus since it
A few months ago one of my closest friends at work and I realized our feelings were growing into something more than just a friendship. In our company it’s frowned upon to date coworkers. Technically not against the rules, but frowned upon. When we decided to take our relationship to
I Don’t Want to Go into the Woods Read More »
The Carpathian mountains cast a long shadow as the Sun set. I was in this God-forsaken place for my brother. He had left three months ago, leaving a voicemail before vanishing. He said he was on to something, that it might take some time, but that when he returned, we
The Carpathian Carver Read More »
I stand at the top of my stairs, socked toes curling into the carpet as one hand squeezes the door handle and the other hovers over the light switch, trying to decide if it’s safe to turn the lights out. It’s nearly seven at night, I have about an hour
It Lives At The Bottom Of My Stairs Read More »
I was ready to die. It’s funny; we, as human beings, like to imagine ourselves as fighters. We like to think that when death grips us by the throat, prepared to drag us into whatever beyond awaits us, that we’ll instinctively resist, either out of desperation to live or even
This happened years ago, but it is still something that sticks with me. This all happened like a sequence. You never know if things are supposed to happen for a reason or if some unknown outside force influences it. But first, a backstory. My friend, let’s call her Jenny, was
The Thing I Saw the Day My Friend Died Read More »
My family visited my grandparents’ farm every summer, where my mother and my aunt Bernadette grew up when they were children. It was roughly a four-hour drive from the city we lived in, and we would pass other small villages, crop fields, paddocks with cattle grazing, and birch and pine
It had been roughly a year. That’s how much time had passed since Jessica died. She was and still remains the love of my life. I thought that time would heal my wounds, but they instead grew with each passing moment I was forced to spend without her. I could
My Wife, the Fox Spirit Read More »
I know there are thousands of people who don’t believe in God, or the devil. I wish I was telling you a God fearing story of how an angelic being appeared and changed my whole fucked up life, but this is not one of those stories. I’m not sure if
“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
“Mama, can I pllleeease have a popsicle?” Lily’s face puckered into an adorable little pout. At just four years old, she was quite persistent, and knew just how to be persuasive with her mother when she didn’t have her way. Her baby blues widened as she heaved another desperate prompt
It was late September when I traveled north to the Great Lakes. It was one of the last stops for the last chapter of my book, starting with the eastern most part of Michigan and slowly making my way up to the Canadian border of Minnesota learning all I can
“I guess it’s more like a numbness. Like when a leg or arm falls asleep. Whenever I move, there’s a disconnect. It feels like my limbs aren’t mine. Like I’m controlling a marionette version of myself, from somewhere far off.” “What about when you try to touch something?”, he asked.
I Came to Take You Away From This Place Read More »
Did you ever look a loved one in the eyes and not recognize what you see? The face is the same, but there’s something…else. Something that wasn’t there before. Something that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, but you don’t know why. When my wife
It Came Back Instead Read More »
The Journal of Tomas Wicker November 3, 1910 There are a thousand ways to die in the Colombian rainforest. I first gained this appreciation as a boy when, in a questionable bit of parental inspiration, father allowed me to accompany him to inspect our family’s South American holdings, in particular
I didn’t have a voice until you read this. Let me explain — I was voiceless but I still existed. We all did. We have been here ever since the first men peered fearfully out of their caves into the deep, still darkness beneath a moonless sky and thought: ‘What
I Didn’t Have a Voice Until You Read This Read More »
