When we are speaking of the supernatural, of the disturbing, of the grotesquely weird and disgusting, we consider only the monsters themselves. We see the twitching limbs and sharp teeth, the death and the despair, and the heart-stopping terror of the moment of death. We rarely look past this, into […]
My brother and I were always the best of friends. We were only a year apart, with him being older, and we spent nearly all of our time together. We grew up in a house pretty far from the rest of the town so we didn’t spend much time with
Perching In the Trees Read More »
It was early Sunday afternoon, and my parents were at church, leaving me home all by myself. They were devout Christians, yet I was not. Sometimes they even tried to get me to go, but it bored me to tears, and just was not a believer. So there I was,
October 31st 1691 ‘’Hurry,’’ Deliverance whispered, her voice softer than the light breeze which tousled her lank grey hair. ‘’Bury it, child, bury it deep.’’ Tucking a wayward strand of raven hair behind her ear, Abigail continued scooping up handfuls of soil and tossing them into the hole. Tears streaked
Nature is said to be the holder of true beauty, there are people who swear by this and believe it so foolhardily. I believed this too for a time, I never knew of what was truly waiting for all of us in the places we expect to be our escape.
My name is not Xin, but that is what you can call me. Everything I am about to tell you is completely true. I believe I was born in the early 90’s. “Believe” is the right word in this scenario because my otherwise superb memory (in fact, it was once
“Oh, Loki. Stop.” Jamie batted the fluffy tail out of her face. It tickled her. The cat lazily glanced back at her from his spot on the counter and flicked his tail in her direction once more. Jamie rolled her eyes and got up from her perch on the kitchen
Filth and Consequence Read More »
It is on a cold November night that I wander into the café, exhausted, but unable to sleep. My hands are shaking as I pass my change to the bored cashier. Of course, I manage to fumble about half of it on the floor. My face burning, I bend to
Margaret Owen stared out into the distance from her quiet Vermont ranch, taking a break from attending to the oddly large quantity of dishes left in the sink. She never quite considered how the sink managed to be full by every evening, considering her husband works most nights out in
Till the Boys Come Home Read More »
“I don’t want to move away.” The words hang in the air between them, like dust, slow and stuffy. “I don’t want you to move away either,” says Toby. They’re both sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor of his bedroom, facing each other. Matthew pokes at a small bug crawling
Kat sat alone on her couch, shoveling popcorn into her mouth. She stared at her TV tied to the suspense of the movie. The sky darkened as the sun approached the horizon, hidden behind the ocean of trees her house lay among. One lone tree stood in the center of
I’m posting this tonight in the hope that it will clear up the misunderstandings surrounding the disappearance of Debra Lindsay Caine, at the risk of my personal ridicule. Sticks and stones and all that. None of it will matter after tonight. Consider this my one pathetic attempt at an apology,
They call him “The Hatter”. His face is only a rumor. His body is an urban legend. But, his intentions are always clear; once the invitation arrives, he will be waiting, likely with a knowing smile and lashing tongue. Marcus was an unexceptional man. He worked eight hours a day
There was no doubt – my mouth had moved a centimeter to the left overnight. I check between reflection and picture before accepting the impossible. “Hitler, you gotta see this,” I call to my roommate, nicknamed for being the image of Arian perfection – blonde hair, blue eyes (the works).
A Funny Thing Happened Read More »
You believe in ghosts? Me neither. I can’t or I’ll go completely off the track. Or maybe I’m already nuts. What happened two days ago in the Chapelgate house might’ve actually happened or might’ve just been my imagination. One thing’s for damn sure, though: I’ll never set foot in that
What’s the Matter, Jenny? Read More »
“So long as man is protected by madness, he functions and flourishes.” -Emile M. Cioran Move it, now! I shouted as everyone reached the staircase, their ragged breathing and obvious exhaustion did nothing to stop the water that was flooding the lower levels of the building we had taken shelter
The Rift of R’lyeh Read More »
One by one the gravel rocks were kicked up off the road. He was half, maybe three quarters of a mile from the house. He felt something fall out of his pocket, but he didn’t care. All that he cared about was getting away. Away from that… thing. It was
This story was one of the scare stories my grandmother used to tell me as a child. I cannot verify its authenticity or provide any proof of it having originated from a real experience, except from the fact that nearly everyone in my mother’s family knew of the story and
Beings of the Forests Read More »
I cannot tell you when it all began. I have always been plagued by sleep paralysis. I have somewhat learned to deal with it, to recognise it for what it is and wait it out. It always begins with the need to yawn or speak, but my mouth is shut
Doors Are Made For Opening Read More »
Once again the story is boring and hard to read. You miss your fifth grade reading book already. Try as you might, you just can’t stay awake any longer. Your eyelids begin to close all by themselves and the text on the page grows fuzzy. When you realize you’ve read
July 5, 2010 I don’t really know what to say. Last week, I was in a bad car crash. The doctors said that I suffered some brain injuries in the crash and that it’s a miracle that I’m not dead. They also said that I needed to stay on top
Sean woke up in his modest bedroom to the sound of his wife Doris cooking breakfast, just as she did every morning. Wiping the sleep from his aged eyes, Sean sat upright in his bed for a few minutes before finally getting dressed. After suiting-up, he looked through his cabinet
The Leviathan’s Grin Read More »
In the nineteen seventies, the city of Perth, Western Australia experienced an urban sprawl that made its suburbs clamber up and down the coast of the Indian Ocean. These suburbs, tenuously connected by fragile railways, like a spiderweb, was where I lived as a child. These novel infrastructure developments meant
Consider this a warning. In the event it ever comes to you during a moment of weakness, as it did me all those years ago, say no to the Pastel Man. It doesn’t matter how much you love the person that it promises to help, nothing is worth what it wants in return. I tell you this in hopes that you don’t make the same mistake I did that cold winter night, kneeling beside my father’s writhing body on the living room floor.
