Tara slammed the taxi door behind her with one hand and used the other to pull her raincoat’s collar tight against her neck from sharp, slanted drizzle. She found herself checking for the camera dangling by its worn striped strap in the scramble for cover. Should have brought a tote […]
The Polaroid Camera Read More »
HALLOWEEN ADVENT CANDLEDAR Burn one a day till Halloween.Discover what it truly means.Don’t peek ahead at future labels.Savor all, if you are able… – THE CHTHONIC CANDLE COMPANY So read the note enclosed with thirty-one tiny candles, sent in a massive box with no logo. The creators of my Candledar
“Come on. Just pick a damn bag!” “I have to choose the biggest one!” Henry and Anna fought in a corner of the store while I laughed at them from the otherside of the candy aisle. We didn’t feel like going trick-or-treating today. We were supposed to be in Orlando,
“She was right again.” Old Farmer Bill threw one more load of hay in the trailer.“I thought I’d be able to finish it today. Agnes knew what she was talking about when she said I was overdoing myself. Almost fifty years of marriage and she’s been right every single time.”
Faces in the Pumpkins Read More »
There’s something about the crunch of leaves under my boots that reminds me of death. Walking down an unlit path to get back to my house, I’m regaled with that feeling with every passing step as I travel through the park. A shortcut between my home and a friend’s Halloween
A Shadow in the Woods Read More »
It has been a long time since I reveled in the fears of those I used to prey on. It could be said that I reformed from my old ways. Well, the old ways of my kind. Not just my own. There was a time when I enjoyed the hunt
Halloween: When the Masks Come Off Read More »
“Have you ever heard about the curse of Snake McQuinn?” I switched the beam from my flashlight off. It was Halloween night, and sure enough, there were some kids trespassing in Farmer Huxley’s old hay barn. I’m the sheriff in Walnut Brook, and it wasn’t the first time the old
The Curse of Snake McQuinn Read More »
“Are we ever gonna get there,” Sarah whined from the back seat. “We still have a ways to go, Punkin,” my wife replied. I could tell she was as tired of being in the car as the kids were. Jeremy was still passed out in the backseat next to his
Sammy’s Halloween Spooktacular Read More »
Candy, laughter, scares, ghosts and ghouls. Halloween, easily my favorite holiday of the year. It has all the things I love most in life. Sweets, costumes, and the excuse to be someone else even if it is just for a night. Where fiction and reality can intertwine without it being
The Unnatural Rivalry Read More »
It was October 26th, and I was at the supermarket grabbing a few things I would need for Halloween, before it closed. Specifically candy to hand out to the kids in my neighborhood. While I was there, I picked up a few other things that I needed, as well. I
Expires October 31st Read More »
Halloween, such a simple concept yet something that has bought countless years of joy to me. There is something about taking all of societies standards and throwing them out the window for 24 hours that is just so absurdly fun. Children going to strangers houses and taking candy from them,
Treehouse of Terror Read More »
My names, “Otis Levenson” the Pizza Delivery guy. I’m a senior in high school, and I am an average student, who sometimes slack off. So, to make myself feel more productive I got this job. But unfortunately, it makes me feel even more worthless. Like imagine yourself just driving around
Dimension of Samhain Read More »
I have never been a reader so I don’t know how it’s possible, but there’s a proverb I know. “The dead cannot reveal any secrets”. Given my current state, I choose to disagree. My name was Narnia Kazarian, but I was an entity, “The Chronic Cool of Narnia”. It’s cute,
Brown husks of acorns crunched underfoot. Leaves glided down from the canopy overhead – walnut browns and russet reds and soft lemon yellows. They looped and twirled in a gaudy death dance, determined to party out their last days before they rotted and returned to the earth. The downward gradient
The Legend of Countess Esmeralda Read More »
“I never thought a childish prank would save me and my brother’s life.” It began in late September, my family cat had passed from old age a few weeks prior. I missed her terribly and assumed the strange things that began to happen were just echoes of my grief. When
The Cat Scratching at my Door Read More »
My name is Trina. Above all things, I am a horror fan. And while the year 2020 feels like a well-crafted movie or show akin to the Purge, actually living it out isn’t exactly entertaining. The country has been ravaged by COVID-19, morale is in shambles, and the general lack
Be a Doll, Would You? Read More »
“I love you Halloween!” This exclamation six-year-old Harry cried out to the night sky left his mother, Mrs. Jane Florence, reeling with laughter at the door. They’d just gotten home, from trick-or-treating, along with Harry’s older sister Sabrina who was already inside, calling for them to hurry up so the
“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
Smiles of Fire to the Night Read More »
It’s been 13 years. 13 years since they found me. I want to run, but I can’t. They won’t let me leave. NO ONE leaves. This place traps us here, keeps us in this god-forsaken town. If you drive out far enough, you can find the edge of town, where
Beware The Soulless Read More »
Excerpt from a letter received by Governor Irvish Jackson and sent by Dr. Wilford Bellenshamp on December 17th, 1985: I have seen that despite my personal attendance in the past few months to each and all inquiries in the investigation of Orin Harley that not a single report has been
“You sure you have all the rules memorized?” my boss said as he gathered his belongings to go home. “Yeah, sure thing. I got them all up here” I said as I pointed to my head. He gave me a nod, and headed out the door of the small office
9 Rules for the Night Shift on Halloween Night at the Cemetery Read More »
Leo Banks drove furiously down the road towards town. His mind raced as he considered the implications of what he’d just seen and just how he was going to warn everyone. The sun was setting now and by the time he would get there it would be nightfall. It was
A Crack in the Dam Read More »
The pumpkins sang. The flickering lampposts cast the streets of Territum in a dull glow, but with the illumination of the bonfire within them, the residents could do without it. Vampires, princesses, and fairies flitted about, baskets swinging from their hands. Superheroes chatted idly with creepy clowns holding balloons, and
The steeples are white in the wild moonlight,And the trees have a silver glare;Past the chimneys high see the vampires fly,And the harpies of upper air,That flutter and laugh and stare. For the village dead to the moon outspreadNever shone in the sunset’s gleam,But grew out of the deep that
Hallowe’en in a Suburb Read More »
