A dim light glowed along the cracks of the door, “Where am I? How did I get here?” the words did not escape my lips but lay trapped in my throat, rumbling along my vocal chords and spilling out in a dull moan. “Am I to remain trapped here?” I
Chapter 1 Jonathan was fascinated by magic. For as long as he could recall, it was something that undoubtedly enthralled him. Perhaps it was that the enigmatic nature that drew him towards it. He remembered witnessing his first act of wonder on the street, when an old man had a
The Great Occam Cobb Read More »
It’s almost funny, people understand so little about life until their lives are close to over. Ah, but youth is wasted on the young, right? Well, from my youth on, I have attended patients at Mashapaug Psychiatric Institute, a private manor in a heavily forested area outside Union, Connecticut. There
A Moment of Clarity Read More »
So here’s a quaint little story I’m only now recollecting for the first time in my adult life, having faded slowly in the memory since the event actually occurred on one day during my teenage years. I was 11, and it was the summer that existed immediately before my first
My name is Sylvester Penn. I am a professional psychotherapist working for the judicial branch of the state of Connecticut which is why I was so surprised to have received a call from a precinct asylum in southern Rhode Island and to hear that I had been summoned by name
The night is especially silent and the moon is missing the company of its alluring stars. Sitting on the edge of a dusty old mattress, Evelyn Parker holds on tightly to the agate necklace her grandmother gave her less than a year ago. Tonight feels different than most nights and
I am not too proud of what my family has done in the past, and this especially goes out to my ancestors. The reason why I find myself strolling through the woods as the blazing day drifts into the ominous night is because of what my past predecessors had the
It was well past midnight as I drove home from my new job. The pay wasn’t so good, and it was far from home, but I really had no choice considering I was behind on rent. Exhausted from working a long first day, I just wanted to get home and
No Right Turn on Red Read More »
Mom and Dad keep asking why I won’t sleep. It’s colic, they say. Out of the murky darkness of my bedroom, I wail; calling them to my side, desperate to make them understand me. They come, reluctantly, with exhaustion tugging on the skin beneath their eyes and dying it a
Why I Do Not Sleep Read More »
It was the summer of 1987. I was 25 years old and a city boy by nature. A product of the sounds of persistent traffic and bustling people on the move. I liked the bright lights and the conveniences of never having to stray too far from home to find
The house was nestled into the depths of the woods, and from a certain distance the only evidence it existed was a small column of smoke in the evenings. No one ever went that deep, though. The woods themselves were believed by the locals to be haunted, though the specifics
This is a story from my childhood, one which I have not told anyone except for my wife; just thinking about it still sends shivers down my spine. I grew up in a small house with just my mother. It was a nice little house with two bedrooms upstairs, a
The bitter cold gusts ripped through the thermal underwear he wore underneath his camouflage, biting into his very bones. He had climbed into his tree stand about thirty feet up a yellow-leaved cottonwood and had huddled with his knees to his chest to fight the freeze. As he scanned the
Staring at the clock, Brandon heaved a sigh as the digital numbers switched once again, marking the death of yet another minute as he sat outside the Sun Theater waiting for his girlfriend to get off her shift at the Flying Saucers bar. The gently humming engine of the older
It sounded like footsteps. When she was three, staring after the retreating back of a woman with a once-familiar smell, her young brain snapped at attention at a feeble noise behind her. She had turned then, getting even more tangled in the warm heavy blanket draped around her slender body,
This is not meant to scare anyone. Calling it a creepy story would be a bit of an insult, because it isn’t one. This is an expression of gratitude toward a friend, a friend who was always there for me. He watched over me as I was growing up and
I awoke to find myself in a darkened passageway. As I sat up from the dusty floor and rubbed my head, I realized I had no memory of who I was or how I got to this strange place. No matter how I got here, I felt I needed to
The Screaming Flail Read More »
In the town of Bisden, nobody leaves their home after dark. As soon as the sun begins to set — shutters are drawn shut, candles are snuffed out, and doors are locked tight. Before the moon is fully risen, the entire town appears deserted, and silence reigns supreme. “Did you
Children of the Moon Read More »
It’s been happening for about a month now. Whenever I stand in front of a reflective surface I see it behind me briefly before it disappears from view. I have no idea what it is, but it always manages to evade me whenever I look for it. When I first
Forgive me, as I am never sure where to begin telling a story. I never was a storyteller. I tend to include useless information and jump around. So I will do my best to do this story justice, considering it happened to me and the ones I love, changing us
Over the hill and through the moor, the candle man comes walking, up to your door. He lights up a candle and walks to your bed, leaves the candle in the window, and leaves with your head. That’s the nursery rhyme my grandma used to tell me when I was
I always get a little uncomfortable when the topic of the paranormal comes up, particularly when some people seem to be so adamant that ghosts simply can’t exist. I don’t attempt to convince them otherwise. As a matter of fact, I don’t share my experiences with them at all. This
My last memory was that of surviving a deadly Nazi airstrike. My head was groggy, still ringing from the shrapnel blast. I thank whatever god is out there that my helmet managed to deflect the hit. Shaking of the sensation, I got up on my feet and picked up my
Have you ever felt wanted, but by something you seriously did not want to be desired by? Perhaps someone is attracted to you, and you can’t get them to acknowledge your lack of interest. Maybe there’s someone at work that you don’t care for, but they always talk to you.
