It was my 6th birthday, and my party had just ended. We had cake, pizza, and played games, typical American birthday party. I lived with my mom and her boyfriend, his name was Steve. For my birthday they got me one of those plastic Fischer Price playsets, the ones that
The backstory: This story was told to me by my friend’s older sister when I was in fourth grade. I assumed she was lying and tattled on her. But to my surprise, her mom actually corroborated the story and even added details to it. Since then I’ve never forgotten it.
A dim light glowed along the cracks of the door, “Where am I? How did I get here?” the words did not escape my lips but lay trapped in my throat, rumbling along my vocal chords and spilling out in a dull moan. “Am I to remain trapped here?” I
Chapter 1 Jonathan was fascinated by magic. For as long as he could recall, it was something that undoubtedly enthralled him. Perhaps it was that the enigmatic nature that drew him towards it. He remembered witnessing his first act of wonder on the street, when an old man had a
The Great Occam Cobb Read More »
She had traveled down this road more times than she was willing to count. Surrounded by forest and wild life, the long, narrow, dusty road offered a safe route from Tara’s home to the grocery store where she worked. Under paid and overworked, Tara had been there for years with
The Road to Happiness Read More »
It’s almost funny, people understand so little about life until their lives are close to over. Ah, but youth is wasted on the young, right? Well, from my youth on, I have attended patients at Mashapaug Psychiatric Institute, a private manor in a heavily forested area outside Union, Connecticut. There
A Moment of Clarity Read More »
I open my eyes to absolute darkness and to a stale woody smell just inches from my nose. I don’t remember being here, how I got here. I don’t even recall where I was last. My amygdala is setting off internal alarms. I’m not in full-blown panic state yet but
Any Day Above Ground Read More »
So here’s a quaint little story I’m only now recollecting for the first time in my adult life, having faded slowly in the memory since the event actually occurred on one day during my teenage years. I was 11, and it was the summer that existed immediately before my first
I never knew you existed before, but now you’re all I can think about. From the moment I saw you, something within me said “That’s it! That’s the one!” I was nervous because I have never been a guide before, but I know I am ready for this moment. The
Some background information: This happened way back in 1983, the year after I graduated high school. I’d hitchhiked south to Florida with the goal of becoming a beach bum-ette until I got tired of it. Anyway, I had shacked up with several guys until I ended up with BJ. BJ
My name is Sylvester Penn. I am a professional psychotherapist working for the judicial branch of the state of Connecticut which is why I was so surprised to have received a call from a precinct asylum in southern Rhode Island and to hear that I had been summoned by name
My friend Caz is the adventurous type. As a child his parents were constantly taking him on epic family vacations that made my summer trip to the zoo pathetic in comparison. Mountain climbing in Sweden, tours of the Grand Cannon, jungle hikes in South America, Caz had done it all,
My boyfriend and I decided to go down to the South for a week. Hike the Great Smokies and everything. We rented a cozy cabin, secluded, in the woods, not many people milling around. It was the end of summer, still some tourism going, but not much. We thought it
The night is especially silent and the moon is missing the company of its alluring stars. Sitting on the edge of a dusty old mattress, Evelyn Parker holds on tightly to the agate necklace her grandmother gave her less than a year ago. Tonight feels different than most nights and
“Grandpa, you’ve never told us how you got that huge scar on your arm!” “Yeah, tell us, tell us!” “Alright, but you kids might want to take a seat for this one. That’s right, nice and comfortable, now… Where to start… Ah yes.” “Well you see, it all started way
I lived next door to Old Man Werther for the first seven years of my life, but I only ever saw him twice. No-one in the neighbourhood knew much about him or ever saw him leave his house, which stood dark and silent all year round. His back garden was
Sometime in the spring of two-thousand and fourteen my friend Karl “Duke” Raczak passed away. To this day the matter of who exactly caused his death is some slight matter of controversy, however some events before and after his death were some of the most chilling experiences I have ever
A Friend’s Farewell Read More »
I am not too proud of what my family has done in the past, and this especially goes out to my ancestors. The reason why I find myself strolling through the woods as the blazing day drifts into the ominous night is because of what my past predecessors had the
Carol Simmons smiled shyly at herself in the mirror as she held up a simple blue dress to her body. She loved the fit and how the neckline dipped, but she felt that it washed out her pale face too much and made her look too much of a hick
It was well past midnight as I drove home from my new job. The pay wasn’t so good, and it was far from home, but I really had no choice considering I was behind on rent. Exhausted from working a long first day, I just wanted to get home and
No Right Turn on Red Read More »
I never believed in the supernatural. I was always skeptical of ghost stories. I chalked them up to just pure imagination. People can make their own monsters after all. In fact there are countless studies on the subject which only further serves to validate my beliefs. My skeptical point of
What Was Watching Me Read More »
It was Tuesday night of the second study week. I looked at the black-rimmed clock hanging on the wall stating that it was 2.45 am, almost invisible illuminated only by the table lamps of mine and my roommate. I turned my head slightly towards the back to see that he
You Should Always Wait Until The Next Day Read More »
The following entries were retrieved from an anonymous blog dedicated to helping people through the grieving process. August 2nd 2004, My girlfriend died yesterday. I guess I’m writing here because nothing else has helped so far. I’m not sure this is going to help either but everyone keeps telling me
Mom and Dad keep asking why I won’t sleep. It’s colic, they say. Out of the murky darkness of my bedroom, I wail; calling them to my side, desperate to make them understand me. They come, reluctantly, with exhaustion tugging on the skin beneath their eyes and dying it a
Why I Do Not Sleep Read More »
