“Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” ― Bram Stoker, Dracula As if a mad carnival rolled into town, the leaf-strewn street of the quaint picturesque village seemed to transform overnight in ghoulish metamorphosis into a riotous necropolis with skulls grinning and witches cackling at …
I like mornin’ best in summer. Chet don’t, cuz he’s fifteen and likes his sleep, but I’d rather make my own breakfast, get chores done quick – enjoy the rest of the day if Mama gives me a choice. Let Chet take the afternoon. He thinks he’s winnin’, but he …
Take in that fresh air girl! Damn it feels great to be back. Everything looks smaller though. “Yeah, because you were like three feet tall last time you were here, ya walnut.” Buddy “Bud” Jake looked at Gwen with a smile. The classic platonic boy-girl relationship where no sexual tension …
Have you ever known one of those people who made you feel truly unsettled? For me, it was Mary Marble. She was a pretty girl, all things considered. She had long, straight jet black hair, a fair complexion and spoke in a cute, squeaky voice. She was neither bigger nor …
Everybody’s got a story. I don’t believe in ghosts but if you ever asked me if I’d been somewhere haunted, this is the story I’d tell. Down the road I lived on as a kid, there was an old dilapidated house. It was small and the yard was always overgrown …
I have sat with the knowledge of that night for ever such a long time now. I have flirted with the idea of telling someone – maybe the police – or confiding in a counselor, but I know it will do little good. They would think me mad, even my …
Congratulations on your admission to Oak and Ash Academy, one of the most exclusive private academies in North America. You are part of the largest incoming class since our founding in 1763. Although this is a unique opportunity—consider that in any ordinary year, three out of four of you would …
I stare at the corpse in the mirror. How desperately the dry, clay-colored skin clings to its skull. Rubbery. How narrow its tired eyes are, weighed down by the dark satchels hanging from them. How many broken vessels I could count beneath its sullen cheeks. A nebula of spider veins. …
Read Part One here Read Part Two here As I was putting on my clothes to get ready for school, I grabbed the pair of jeans I had worn the night before. On inspecting my pockets for my house keys, I found a small piece of paper wrapped around something …
Read part one here Weeks went by with absolutely nothing. We tried to keep in contact with the park and the police every day, but we always got the same response. They were ‘looking into it.’ From what we were being told, they were contacting people that had been at …
Everybody loves the woods, until they follow you home. When my father came back from the military, we bought our first house—a boxy, two-story affair on the woodsy outskirts part of town. I was twelve, going on thirteen then. Our neighborhood was a little off the beaten path, nestled somewhere …
I grew up on a small-town ranch in the Midwest region of the United States, on land that had been passed down in my family for several generations. It can be brutal out there, with hot dry summers that threaten to suck every last drop of moisture from you, and …
‘Cheesy’s World, where a kid’s happiness is guaranteed!’ Well, that’s how the slogan went back when I was a teenager anyway. I know what you’re thinking. “Cheesy’s World? Isn’t that a rip off of…” And you would be right if it reminded you of several places. If you ever had …
Twice in my life I’ve wished for a magic wand. The first was eight years into my marriage, when our heart-wrenchingly tender obstetrician told us there was nothing left to try. I never shared my husband’s fascination with magic and conjuring tricks, but at that moment, hearing that news, I …
My buddy Gavin had always tried to be a superhero. Yes. You read that right. Not he always loved superheroes – not even that he always wanted to be a superhero. He made a costume and mask when we were in middle school and had been crusading around the neighborhood …
I used to think of Hell as a faraway place. For those of you out there who still hold that belief, this piece of my life is for you. Don’t ask me why I’m doing this; I’m honestly not sure. My therapist says writing about our traumas can help our …
Charlotte’s heart was broken. She had always wondered what it would feel like, in a way. She hoped it would never happen to her, but part of her wanted to know. In the movies the grown-up ladies are always talking about getting their hearts broken. Charlotte always thought it would …
”Angels, mommy, look!” I glanced away from my sad excuse for a sand castle and back at my younger brother, who was standing at the edge of the beach in his bright yellow trunks and leaning forward as if trying to make out something in the distance. ”Look, mommy, look! …
It all started when I was a little girl. Christmas Eve, 2004. I was eight years old. “Santa, is that you?” Footfalls on the staircase echoed through the house as I jumped out of bed and ran past the doorframe to catch a glimpse of the man himself. CREAK CREAK …
I sat against the red and brown brick wall outside the police station, knees tucked into my chest. My heavy breaths clouded in front of me as the cold winter air bit at my skin, making my fingers numb, but I didn’t care. The cold air provided me with the …
My DNA Genealogy Test Shattered Everything I Thought I Knew About My Life Read More »
The terrible thing happened at night—as most terrible things do. While I click-clicked away at my home job as a transcriptionist, I’d often watch the boys playing in the backyard. They’d be at it for hours, acting out some scene with foam swords and plastic guns, only stopping when the …
When people think of police officers, I think there’s a disconnect between our image and the reality of who we are. A lot of people see us as the good guys. Real-life superheroes that jump in at the last moment with shining golden badges ready to stop the “bad guys” …
I Investigate Disturbing Cases: Here Are My Stories – Watchers Read More »
They say that everyone has a case that haunts them. Personally, if it’s just one case, then clearly, whoever “they” are isn’t doing very good police work. Being a detective is gritty and bleak. You aren’t dealing with happy endings, you’re dealing with the cold hard truth. Sure, every now …
I Investigate Disturbing Cases: Here Are My Stories – The Woman Read More »
On a warm Tuesday night in 1971, Tamera put on her best Sunday clothes and climbed out of her bedroom window. Her foster brother Jax was asleep peacefully in his bed on the other side of the room, his glasses neatly placed on his bedside table, his dark hair messy …
