Johnathan woke up in a daze to find himself all alone. The alone part was normal. The alone part wasn’t strange. What was strange was that he woke up in a graveyard. “What the fuck…” Johnathan pushed himself, sitting upwards, onto the wet earth beneath him. As he leaned back
We moved in right after Thanksgiving. It was right after my recently divorced Mom finally got her job promotion at work. It had been a long time coming but finally it was here. I was so deeply proud of her! It’s not easy for a single mom out there to
The Bells On Christmas Eve Read More »
Chlorine stained the concrete like blood in the glow of the pool lights. Tree limbs offered dying leaves as fall slipped away into winter.“Are there cameras?” she asked, searching the far corners of the pool yard hidden by shadows.“If so they don’t work,” he said. “This area got overlooked a
The Tuscan villa was a postcard come to life, a sprawling stone residence nestled among rolling hills thick with cypress trees and the silvery-green olive groves. For Tom and Linda Patterson, a middle school teacher and an office manager, and their friends Mark and Jennifer Walsh, a retail manager and
1 – A Mouth to Feed December 1865 – Vettheim, Finnmark, Norway The frigid winter wind howled ferociously, driving the relentless blizzard hard against the rough wooden walls of the small house. In places, the turf of the roof had been torn away by the savage weather, exposing the birch
Lady Vermella’s piano was large and black. It was covered in a thick, feathery layer of dust. Its keys were turning yellow. It pounded out a strange, haunting melody every night under Lady Vermella’s fingers.Lady Vermella lived in an ancient manor on the top of a hill above the town
My name is Aaron Evans, and some time ago I was the reason twenty people lost their lives. I am writing this in part to confess to the world what I’ve done and to describe to everyone the horrific yet eye-opening experience that brought me to this point. Let me
1 I’ve never been the most sensible person. My mother would always tell me that I was “the dumbest smart person she knew”. I always figured that was just classic mom razzing, something that happened to every kid when they made some silly mistake that was easily avoidable. I recently
There were rules in our house that no one ever had to say out loud. Don’t speak when he’s drinking.Don’t look at her when she’s disappointed.Don’t cry where anyone can hear you.Don’t be noticed. Don’t be loud. Don’t be a problem. Silence kept us alive. It was the kind of
He Said He Would Protect Me Read More »
Kai couldn’t remember the last time he’d caught himself feeling truly frightened. He had watched all of the scariest movies he could find, devoured countless ancient tales of mystery and macabre, and even researched real-world accounts of ghostly sightings and unexplainable encounters. All of it bored him. Of course, he
I like to drive past spooky places.You can find them anywhere, if you know what to look for. An abandoned building, a mist covered field, a quickly darkening forest at sunset. It was one of my favorite pastimes as a teenager. The town I grew up in was a short
My grandmother died at 3:33 AM on a Tuesday, and her TV wouldn’t turn off. Not wouldn’t—couldn’t. We unplugged it. We cut the power to her room. We even took a hammer to the screen, but it kept playing, the jagged cracks creating a kaleidoscope of images that shouldn’t exist.
I always thought the old TV in my grandmother’s attic was broken. It would never receive channels, only emit a hiss of static when you tried turning the dial. But last December, I discovered it wasn’t broken after all. The first time I ever laid eyes on him, I figured
I sleep with my window closed now. Not out of habit, out of fear. There are monsters in the world, real ones. Serial killers, rapists, the kinds of things we can name and lock up. But the supernatural? That’s different. It’s older. Quieter. Easier to keep secret. It hides in
I Sleep With My Window Closed Now Read More »
After it all happened, I could never explain just what about the little wooden jewelry box had caught my eye. It was simple and unornamented. When questioned about what was inside it, Maggie, the antique shop’s keeper, hesitated before speaking. “That’s a collection of old silver, mostly jewelry and coins.”
All the riches in the world Read More »
More likely than not, you won’t think I’m real. You’ll catch a glimpse of something moving in the dark after waking up in the middle of the night. Usually from a nightmare. In the middle of your room, or wherever you happen to be sleeping, you’ll see someone dancing by
Please Let Me Stay Read More »
My stomach rumbled as we approached the edge of the woods. It was nearly midday, but I hadn’t eaten in hours. Supply troubles and nerves had left me with little food and next to no appetite. A combination that was less than ideal heading into my first taste of combat.
The Arm of Antietam Read More »
1 – The Train I can’t say why I was chosen to ride the shadowlands express. Why me, and not the countless others who have sinned during their mortal lives? Perhaps all will be forced to face their demons in the end – I can’t say for sure. But clearly
The Shadowlands Express Read More »
When Jacob Housley turned up dead, it didn’t take long for me to hear about it. Just about everyone knew everyone, back in the old town, and I was more than familiar with the Housleys. Well, I used to be, anyway. Jacob was one of my fathers closest friends–almost an
“Jesus Christ!!!!” Penny coughed as the dust swirled up around her feet. She looked around the attic, wondering who would keep all this stuff lying around. Just within her field of view, she could see old boots, a mannequin in a faded black dress, and an old chest with several
What was lost in the fire Read More »
The envelope was thick, cream-colored, and addressed to me in elegant, unfamiliar script. It arrived on a day like any other – a Tuesday, rain slicking the windows of our tiny apartment, the air inside smelling faintly of stale cooking and damp laundry. Lily was colouring at the chipped Formica
Her Horrific Inheritance Read More »
Only in the spiraling depths of the infinite shades of black behind my eyelids do I ever feel at peace. The near constant pressure behind my eyes fades, and the constant weight that bears down on my shoulders eases. And it is here, in the garage of the old asylum,
My favourite teacher at high school was Graham Milner. He was my Head of Year throughout the five years I was there and taught me for Religious Education in Year 9. At that point, I had little interest in RE or any of the humanities subjects and had in fact
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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,
It screams when it doesn’t whisper Read More »
