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 »
Three years ago, a serial killer terrified my small hometown. He was referred to as the Chase Pond slasher. He was called that because he murdered four people near a pond with that name. Three bodies were found in the forest, and the other was in the pond itself. The
A MAN’S HOME is his castle. That’s what they say. Do you know what a castle is? A fortress that’s supposed to be impenetrable. It’s my job to penetrate them. Yeah, I’m a burglar. I challenge you to judge me on that fact alone. How many of you have ever
My best friends Darius and Jordan learned about my fear of swimming during an impromptu tubing trip on the Farmington River. The summer after I turned twenty-six, Darius and Jordan took me to Foxborough Park, a park that ran alongside the river. Foxborough Park had recently undergone improvements as a
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 »
As I write this, I’m sobering up from the bender to end all benders. It would be safe to say that I’ve finally hit rock bottom. For so many years I’ve attempted to drown my sorrows with alcohol, drugs and one-night stands, but finally I’ve realised that I can’t escape
I grew up in a small town with a bizarre annual ritual Read More »
It was never a dull moment’s drive. Scotland was, by definition, a beautiful country of inspiring scenery, majesty, and relentless weather. Evie’s old hatchback had taken a beating from the rain and protruding tree branches that flicked across the windshield on this dark and stormy night in late December 1996.
The James Currie Film Read More »
Rollercoasters. I hated them. I always did. When it came to school trips to the local theme parks, I always sat them out. I could enjoy the lazy rapids or the log flumes, the tilt-a-whirls or the space wheels; anything with a bit of height to feel the light breeze
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 »
It was a dark, foggy night, as it really should be whenever something eerie happens. I was walking from my dad’s house over to my mom’s. I’d had a fight with my dad about something, the topic of which I’ve since forgotten, and realized at 17 years old that I
The Grim (Black Shuck) Read More »
One call. Years of service with the police and there was one call that I’ll never forget. The shift started like any other. Nine PM start and I was in for the long run. It was a cold, Monday night so I expected a relatively quiet shift. After the evening
I work the night shift at a local mom-and-pop convenience store at the front of my neighborhood. We sell snacks, drinks, milk, bread, all the normal stuff that people need but aren’t willing to make a traditional run to the grocery store for. There was talk about adding a gas
I crawl. Thirsty. Bitter. So bitter, but I must eat them. The things that grow. They came here in a recent time. The growths are bright. They have a neck, and there is a ball on top of that neck, and one two three four five six seven round fans
We Dream of the Quiet Dark Read More »
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
Goodnight, Sleep Tight Read More »
The first time Sasha got high, she stood face-to-face with a black bear in the backyard of her friend’s house. She was giggling while her two best friends Jade and Colt stood behind her absolutely terrified. She wasn’t sure why this was her reaction or what other drug those edible
The Winsted Wildman Read More »
People kept going missing from my town over the last couple of years. Their mangled remains were all that were ever found of them (if anything was found at all), and many thought that some sort of large predator was to blame. I guess that in the end, they weren’t
A smile covers my face as I look up to see Emily looking down at me as I awake from my nap. I never really took work seriously, something she always got after me for, but waking up to see her beautiful golden silky hair, her bright blue eyes resembling
A Night at the Inwell House Read More »
She often wore red ― the color of blood, love, and lust. She was often quiet, though when she was on stage, she would come alive, her voice a soft echo that carried out through An Angel’s Heart, a bar in the middle of nowhere. Nobody came here, though I
The following are pages taken from the journal of Andrei Bucur found buried under the church of a lost village in Romania. April 17, 1479 It has been a long journey but at last our company of settlers have found the lands we have been searching for. We have found
Extract from records found at scene, author unknown. Dated October 1883: Matted fur stuck to the Beast’s sides, sweat dripping down its flank as it expelled rancid breath. Thick ropes of saliva swung from pus-stained teeth, protruding from black-lipped jaws like shattered battlements. A single black eye glinted out at
The Angel of Death Read More »
“There are no monsters lurking in the woods or under the sea. There are only beasts and the gnawing pulse of life, the eternal cycle of eating and being eaten in the sharp teeth of the hungry and the gentle hearts of the weak.”-Dr. Jim Dunham The summer sun beat
For the first time in a week I am able to send out a message to the world, telling all who will listen about the plight of my people. Seven days for an entire town to be laid to waste and for most of its population to be slaughtered by
My town has been invaded by monsters from another dimension Read More »
Thunderstorms, the epitome of both nature’s beauty and it’s wrath. I remember as a boy being terrified of them. Whenever a big storm rolled in I would hide under my covers with a flashlight. My mother always assumed that it was the big claps of thunder hurting my ears that
Senior Officer Lucas Marquez paced the groaning deck of the San Juan Bautista. Darkness pressed in against the galleon from all four corners of his compass, as the ship rocked gently in the shallow waters of the Sulu Sea. Lucas was alone, save for the occasional moan of a seabird
The Swirling Sulu Sea Read More »
