Ellaville
I grew up in the small Florida Town of Ellaville, By the time I was 5, it was 1944. Ma was a receptionist on night shifts and Pa was shipped off to the war four and a half years ago. We missed him a bunch, but being young I only […]
Children and Childhood
The Idiot Mile
That’s what we called it. The idiot mile. We used to think it sounded cool, but the adults talked about it and hyped it up so much that we just got a bit sick of the idea, and started calling it that. I grew up in a small village, secluded
Camera Pet
My name is Anthony Perkins. If that name sounds familiar, then you’ve likely seen my videos on TikTok and the like where I review toys and video games with my mom and dad. Don’t try to look them up, nor expect me to tell you the channel name. I’ll explain
It screams when it doesn’t whisper
My family has an odd history of tragedy—at least, that’s what my grandma would always say.“It comes in waves; it comes when it wants to,” she would ominously say, but we all knew she was superstitious and generally odd. According to my mom, who has a much-strained relationship with her,
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If You Ever Stop in Ashbrook, Don’t Ask About the Children
The Nevada heat rippled off the asphalt, distorting the long, empty road ahead. I wiped sweat from my brow and adjusted the camera strap around my neck, squinting at the horizon. No sign of the fox. No sign of anything, really. I should’ve been writing a real story—something that actually
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The God In The Gutter
I was four years old the first time I saw the God in the Gutter. The memory didn’t form until my mother mentioned that one summer I started shrieking while on a walk. When prompted I pointed to a storm drain and said I didn’t like the man peeking out.
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Sandbox
This untold story goes back fifty-six years to 1968 when I was just eight years old. The year now is 2024 and I am sixty-four years old. My name is Betsey Lancaster and unfortunately, I have been recently diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s; all the more reason for me to document
White Things
On one dark, foggy morning a news station began the daily evening broadcast to Sevier County, a low-population area in the middle of nowhere. It began with a poppy intro song, canned footage of various county locales, and fast-forwarded time lapses of the weather. When the intro wrapped up, the
Wonder
The elderly man clutched the phone next to his ear, his face a mask of concern. “How long is he going to be there?” he asked, his voice low to avoid drawing attention from the patrons wandering into the nightclub. He listened, then said “How’s he holding up?” A pause,
The Black CD
I think, looking back on it all, I had a very gothic upbringing. By age ten, I had attended two family funerals and no weddings, I felt that I ‘identified’ with the colour black, and I found graveyards to be an excellent place to relax. They remain one of the
The Little Girl with the Pigtails
When I was younger, like many others, I loved to watch television. I know that’s not an experience unique to myself, but it was truly my favorite thing to do. Undoubtedly, my favorite channel in my younger years was Noggin. I would always be so excited to come home from
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I Got Lost in a Retail Store When I Was 9 and Only Remembered What Happened Recently
I’m sure many of you who were kids in the 2000’s like I was had and perhaps still have a certain fondness for stores like Party City, Spirit Halloween, iParty, Toys R’ Us, and other similar retailers. There was always a sense of excitement to having your parents take you
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Wish Upon a Star
I had always loved the night sky, be it for the twinkling light of the stars, the clever smile of the crescent moon or that every night my mother would tell me stories as we gazed upon them together. She would bundle me up in my favorite blue blanket only
The Puppet Theater in My Attic
It was the last thing I remembered before my dad’s passing. The first time I saw it. I was eight years old at the time. It was dark outside my bedroom window and my eyes had a familiar burn. Tears dampened my young cheeks. My breath stuttered as it visited
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Are You Expecting?
May 27th, 2030. 10:30 Am-10:35 Am.The hum of the fluorescent lights, the smell of antiseptic, and the squeaking of chairs as men in white lab coats roll around the porcelain floors created an image in Abigail’s mind of sickness. This was not what she expected when she and her husband,
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The Children in my House’s Walls
The head in the wall was crusted and decayed, mummified in its plastic shroud, the withered face open-mouthed in a scream—or maybe the jaw had loosened as the muscles decayed. The plastic is what held in the smell, though I do vaguely remember sometimes an odor permeating, especially during steamy
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The Thing Who Knocks
My father had always told me growing up to never open my eyes when it was a full moon. He claims that there was a spirit that lurked at night, preying on people who were awake past the witching hour. I never believed those silly stories he told me; I
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Does anyone remember the rhyme about the Patchwork Man? And the picture game
Patchwork Man, Patchwork Man, play a game!Patchwork Man, Patchwork Man, in the frame! And the next line is something about stealing your skin. But for the life of me I cannot remember the end. I’m trying to find it for an old friend. This friend—for privacy’s sake, let’s call her
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Crunch
As Tabitha stalked down the sidewalk on her way home, she scanned her path intently. Not only was she diligently avoiding stepping on the cracks in the concrete – her older brother, Tommy, had told her several times that would bring bad luck – but she was on the lookout.It
Toothless Joe
Miss Green wiped away the thick layer of condensation that had gathered on her classroom’s paper thin-window. She flicked away the droplets from her hand, peered out into the misty morning schoolyard, and was instantly stalked by Toothless Joe’s big cartoon eyes. The great, dumb statue sat smack-bang in the
Goodnight, Sleep Tight
With every passing minute, 10-year-old Elijah stares at the clock, knowing that bedtime is right around the corner. Ever since a thunderstorm knocked out the power a few nights ago, his fear of the dark has been keeping him up at night. Reluctantly, he turns on a large reading lamp
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The Leaves Told Her So
Charlotte woke early in the morning on April 25th, 1678. She rose from bed, brushed her usual mess of blonde hair, and put on her favorite red dress and matching red shoes. She had always loved the beauty of the color red, the vivid hue of roses and red cardinal
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Easton, School For The Gifted
I had no prior belief in the preternatural, paranormal, or mythical. I was very much the atheist and a practical man, but the events of that night changed me for the worse. I’m hoping that someone might know what I’m dealing with, and whether I should stay looking over my
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I’ve been dreaming things I shouldn’t
Dreams are a wholly different experience depending on who you ask. Some claim to have bizarre and vivid experiences every night; others say they don’t dream at all. If you were to ask me, I’d say it’s not so black-and-white. That, I’m somewhere between the two extremes – though I
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