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 […]
It all began with the painting. My mom is an artist—she has a very creative style, one that often leaves me speechless, but not always in a good way. She’s into abstract art, and some of her pieces are a little… unsettling. Most of the time, I can just ignore
The Static Portrait Read More »
Ten people. Ten people in ten different places doing ten different things, but all sharing one single thought… “What if it really works?” You see, in our little town of Sawnhurst, California, there was an age old tradition tied to a myth so old that is origins were not remembered
Halloween is supposed to be a day of joy and happiness. However, Halloween in this small village, which I visited few weeks ago, has a different story. In October, I visited a tiny village located in Scotland. I was actually not interested in going there, but a thing brought me
The Horrors of Lavender Village Read More »
My first job was at a gas station in the town of Redwood in the midwest. It’s been my home town now for going on forty years. It’s not a town like most towns you see. We have a city hall/police department/fire department, Forest Joe’s the gas station, a bar,
When Jade was only twelve-years-old, her father came home one afternoon with his arms and legs covered in claw marks. Jade felt confused and excited about his appearance. While she didn’t like seeing her dad hurt, she wondered if he finally bought her the cat or dog she wanted. He
Buried in Hanging Hills Read More »
HAVE YOU EVER bargained with a ghost? We’re going to. We’re not supposed to be here, but none of us could resist the chance to sneak into the Durgee House on Halloween. At 3 AM, no less. It helps that Alex’s father is the caretaker. All Alex had to do
Lives in the Balance Read More »
The great man was dying. Thomas Alva Edison, inventor of the phonograph, motion picture camera and electrical light bulb laid in his bed in West Orange, New Jersey his life slowly flickering out. After years of failing health, he had recently slipped into a diabetic coma and at age eighty-three,
Spirits in the Night Read More »
I was eighteen at the time. I’d just graduated high school, and what was probably a really exciting and memorable time for most people was a stressful race against time for me. You see, my dad was very traditional; if I were going to be living in his house after
Memories of the Graveyard Shift Read More »
Sanity is the ancient lie, it’s a lie old as consciousness. Sanity is our imagined common denominator, that nonexistent place we are said to converge. Insanity is as real as anything else. Consider what goes on in the privacy of your mind. How often does reality cease to measure up?
The Thinning House Read More »
I wasn’t very gentle with the door as I kicked it open. In fact, I struck it so hard with my foot that I felt a stab of pain in my toes. Swearing loudly, I entered the stairwell and stormed down the steps. My footsteps echoed off of the close
The Descending Dark Read More »
My apartment was exactly what you’d expect from a cop who spent more time at the precinct than at home. The wallpaper peeled at the corners like old scabs, the carpet was a mottled gray that might have been blue in another decade, and the persistent smell of mildew suggested
It appeared just after sunset, as darkness began to permeate the woods around my family’s hunting cabin. I wouldn’t have seen it in time if it weren’t for the silver beams emanating from the full moon, which streamed into the clearing around the cabin and bathed the ground in their
Beneath the Veil of Shadow Read More »
Time is almost up for Simon; he lies in his hospital bed waiting with each passing moment the same as the last. He shares a room with other elderly people, waiting for their number to be called. He is dying. The dull room has no form of entertainment, the TV
“Come on.” The voice was distant but still clear. “You’re dragging your feet. You didn’t have to come. You wanted to. So let’s go.” Her voice had irritation to it, almost offensive. I groaned and steadied my pace, walking only a bit faster. “I’m coming, Celine. Jesus Christ.” I snapped
My Bestfriend Was a Ghost Hunter, I Wish I Never Went. Read More »
It was her platinum blonde hair with silver highlights that stood out most in his memory. And that she was pale, thin and amazingly beautiful. He backtracked his thoughts. No not pale. Milky white. Her name was Eleanor, but she went by Nellie. Or Nell. He called her Nellie and
It was a stormy night on Welkes Street. The street sign creaked back and forth as the wind blew past it. Heavy rain water flowed into drains on every corner as debris from trees was picked up and whisked away. Toby Forest sat on his bed, watching the rain beat
The Ghost of Levi Johnson Read More »
Around my area there’s an old urban legend of a condemned tunnel that used to be a part of the railroad that ran throughout my town. It was really active until the 80’s when the train derailed in a freak accident, and killed everyone aboard. The tunnel the train ran
It was a minute past midnight on a humid August Saturday in Manhattan, and Adrian DeCaux sat alone in his office. From twelve stories below, he could hear the drunken yelling of the night. From what he could hear, the crowd on the sidewalk below was in good spirits. There
There’s a trail that leads out of Leadville, Colorado, raised like a railroad on high banks. It leads to what remains of Oro City, a true 1860s-era ghost town from the gold rush days. The elevated nature of the trail allows visitors to look down on dilapidated cabins, storage buildings,
I awoke upon a field of frozen ground, shivering in the bitter cold as I tried to find my way in the darkness, and stumbling across the pitch while my eyes tried to adjust. It was almost pitch black, the only illumination coming from a pale orb in the sky
I was the leader of a hooligan firm in the 90s. Now I’m cursed for life. Read More »
Another abandoned homestead passed by in the dead of night, the rotten buildings illuminated only by the lights of Gareth’s beat-up Saturn. He counted it in his head as he continued down the endless, winding road through the rolling hills of the Dakotas. Along the way he passed the sign
Town of the Tall Man Read More »
I was close to my pops and it hit me hard when he passed. I want to say this before I go any further. He was always good to me and I only have the fondest memories of our time together. Days in the park, playing catch, fishing trips…You know
My grandfather contacted me from the afterlife. It’s not what you think. Read More »
“I HAVEN’T WRITTEN anything since last year.” “Why do you think that is?” I’m sitting in the office of Dr. Gregory Prah, Ph.D., assigned to hold me during my 5250 hold. That’s not what I’m supposed to tell him. At least not right away during my 14-day vacation, all expenses
