“Am I asleep or am I awake?” I ask myself for the fifth time this week. I blink rapidly, trying to force my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of my bedroom. Dark, blurry shapes come into sharper focus. Now, I can see the foot of my bed, piled
The Girl in the Nightgown Read More »
Looking back, I remember how all of my family’s summer barbecues went the same way. There’d be the initial bustle of uncles and aunts arriving with kids, clinking paper bags full of liquor, and lopsided foil trays of macaroni and lasagna. First drinks were poured, meat was thrown on the
The Reappearance of Carrie Mae Read More »
Joan was not in the mood for the early shift. In a sleepy daze, without much (if any) mindfulness of what she was doing, she clutched her cell phone resting on her nightstand, and, after a few failed tries, dismissed the alarm that had been ceaselessly blaring for five minutes
The Light in the Window Read More »
The three of us sit together in my backyard, beer bottles spread all around our little triangle. Leftover garbage from the sandwiches we ate earlier accompany those same beer bottles. I personally prefer Modelo, but all Santiago managed to bring us were some lukewarm, probably decade-old, Mexican beers that tasted
How Does the Story End? Read More »
Please check out the Shadows of Shallowbrooke series tag for prior installments! If we have to begin anywhere, I’d say we should start with Peter Hemphill. I need to remind you however, that although this story may start with him, the shadows that linger in Shallowbrooke did not. They resided
Shadows of Shallowbrooke – Renewal of the Circle Read More »
Summer camp was a memorable part of my childhood, but most memorable was that summer of ’72. It was my last summer as a kid. I had just turned fifteen and was looking forward to starting high school in the fall with the older teenagers. Camp Tonkawa was located in
“As the Wolf keeps count of the Deer so there is one that keeps count of Man.” – the Repokan In the winter of 1683, a frontiersman of Swedish descent sits in the light of a tallow candle, a raven feather dipped in ink quivering in his axe-hand above the
THE DEATH OF WILLIAM MCLOUGHLIN “It’s like something out of The X-Files,” I said, aghast. It was close to midnight and to my horror I’d been called out to investigate the death of a child, a seven-year-old boy by the name of William McLoughlin. The boy’s father, Patrick, had discovered
Part 1 Growing up, people always thought that I had a really big imagination. When I was younger, my mom would ask if I wanted to watch TV or play a board game with her. She was usually prompted to do this after she would notice that I had been
Cliff was finally upon the small Louisiana town of Crescent Falls that he had sought out. It was an unassuming, run down town that normally wouldn’t attract anyone. But Cliff was not just passing through, and he wasn’t your average traveler. Cliff had a penchant for seeking out urban legends
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Marjorie had been lingering outside the nondescript metal door for nearly two hours, appearing to study the door and the faded sign above it. The Deli, it read in dusty script. Her coat was wrapped as tightly around her as the fraying fabric allowed, but still the winter air dug
When I was a kid, I had this recurring nightmare that always preceded the death of a loved one. It wasn’t quite a premonition – I didn’t know who was going to die, how they would die, or when – only that it would be within the next few days
Underneath Reality Read More »
CHAPTER ONE Demons Of Darkness by Olivia B. She stood on the bridge In silence and fear For the demons of darkness Had driven her here They cut her heart Right out of her chest Making her believe That the demons knew best They were always there Sometimes just out
Mr. Cadson had been sitting up at the bar for some time. The lights and the music were both very low, casting a sort of malaise over the entire half-empty room. A group of men in the corner were watching a baseball game on the television on the wall. A
I had always made it a point to avoid that isolated stretch of road like the plague. I’d heard so many stories about it, and even though I was certain that most of them were untrue, my disbelief did not squelch my fear of driving it. Urban myths and rumors
The Coral Ridge Bypass Read More »
Hello, My name is Diogo and I live in a small village located in central Portugal. Things are quiet here : I go to school, I have many friends and even have a girlfriend. It’s all going great, and this despite my handicap. At least, that’s the way I think
In the more rural part of San Diego County, there is a place known as Proctor Valley. Proctor Valley is a large and mostly deserted area with only one road. Stories and reports of unusual sightings in this area date back almost one hundred years. Strange reports began when cattle
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Author’s Note: “The Mind Game” is the sequel to “The Door Game“. The author recommends you read the first part of the story, which can be found here, before reading this continuation of the tale. Thank you, and happy reading! “What is it that makes human beings so unique? No,
The Engineer sat quietly in his chair, hands folded in his lap, staring at the blank walls of his office. It was almost time to press the button. That was his job. Every hour on the hour from nine to five he would press the button. He didn’t even know
That infernal sound wakes me once again. At first I can’t place it as I ascend from the murky depths of sleep. Then I hear it again as the fog is clearing – the familiar honking of a car horn. “Not again,” I murmur and turn over to face my
You know the old saying; the one that starts with: ‘A good day at the cabin begins with a sunrise…’? Well that is very much true, but what is a bad day some ask? That’s being woken up in the dead of night by banging shutters and vibrating windows! I
Where The Snow Isn’t Cold Read More »
Five months ago, I made a deal with the devil. It sounds so dramatic, but it is so, so simple; and once you know how, it is hard not to. But you must resist, for if you don’t, you will regret it later. Trust me on that. First, a little
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Ryan reached the top of the hill and looked down onto the town of Prieska. It was a small, one horse town in the Upper Karoo desert. The old church in the middle of the town still stood tall, the clock tower casting a long shadow in the late afternoon
“But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me.” After a job-related relocation to Indianapolis, my family and I were given an allowance to rent a home in the city in order to give us some time to look for our “forever home.” That
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