The realm was beauteous and plentiful, its people more so. No plague touched its borders, no famine its lands. War was seldom seen in this kingdom, whose peaceful lords ran their fortified estates in harmony with one another. The only problem was that peasants were treated harshly, scraping to live
“Beatrice!” Hughbert yelled angrily from the kitchen table. “How many times I gotta remind you that I want my gravy on the mashed potatoes only? Never on my chicken!” Beatrice stood silently wide eyed near the kitchen sink, as her faded floral dress hanging loosely from her thin frame. Her
What does it take to destroy a universe? A cataclysm? Apocalypse? Do those things destroy a universe? No. We assume that the collapse of all we know is due to the effects of some fated, predicted catastrophe that strips daily life of all its rules, laws, and foundations. But that
This is How the World Ends Read More »
It seems strange, now, to recall that place. Almost as if it were a dream, or some imaginary tale I once heard as a child. But the evidence is damning, As much as I like to think it did not, It happened. I was a private investigator at the time,
I could say I was having a pretty peaceful life. I just graduated high school and is about to enter college in a week, to which my mom is really proud of because I decided to pursue something great for my life instead of just applying for McDonalds or something.
Tiny goosebumps. Ice tingling up the spine. These sensations lingered; the only means of knowing that someone was watching. No, not watching… stalking. For how long? He didn’t really know, but he became aware of this presence not a few hours ago. In that little cafe, with the clever wooden
[static sounds, with a click of a button. As the cassette rolls, a woman begins to speak] There once was a girl who could sleep peacefully at night. She would curl up in her blankets without any fear, just rest in the fact that she was safe and sound. That
What Doesn’t Kill You Will Come Back For You Later Read More »
“No, absolutely not,” I told the doctor. Dr. Murdock maintained eye contact with me. Whether or not he had any personal feelings about the situation, I couldn’t tell. I always thought it was eerie how detached some doctors could appear, almost as though they were machines that could turn emotion
Arthur Willow lie awake listening to the rustling noise in his closet. He was fourteen, much too old to believe in the clichéd thought of a monster in a closet. Yet as he tried to force himself asleep for yet another time this month, the rustling grew louder than it
Ralph sat in bed listening to the house talk. Ralph liked to listen to the house talk, it talked to him most nights; and when it did he always listened with equal parts excitement and reverential discomfort. Listening hard, Ralph leaned forwards; letting the bedclothes fall away from him he
It was darkening, the end of the day. I walked a suburban artery that fed the middle class neighborhoods of Castle Rock. I quickened my pace, anxious to arrive at my girlfriend’s parents’ house. I walked purposefully, looking down to my remembered path. Suddenly, I was compelled to look up,
You Asked Me For My Name (Tales of Lilith) Read More »
I never ran past the stump. Never. The stump had been there for years, at the edge of where I turned around on my runs, right at that point where I knew I would have a hard time getting back without walking. Except for that day. Last spring, around noon
I have to say one of the things I hate the most is to have somebody walking behind me, doesn’t matter if it’s a friend or a complete stranger, I don’t like it. I feel insecure, watched and uncomfortable. You might call me paranoid but honestly, for me, it’s unbearable.
Visceroys and Artisans Read More »
Sarah’s Coulrophobia by Kiriakos Vilchez Ever since Sarah was a little girl, she was terrified of clowns. Fortunately for her pride, a lot of people harbored that same fear. The idea of a person being goofy and happy all the time, dressed up in a silly costume, made a lot
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You’ve never liked the silence. Ever. At first you thought it was just something you were scared of. For no reason. But as you grew older, you realized that there was a reason. There had always been a reason. You’ve always slept with your creaky ceiling fan running. No matter
Monsters. Fucking monsters. Yeah, I know, they aren’t real. It’s always a dude in a suit or someone playing joke. Well, that is all bullshit. I saw one and I know it was real… cause it saw me too. Might as well start from the beginning. My older brother was
“There lies a darker world under us. An eversion of all there is. Though, I wonder if that place is more real than ours…” -Unknown I wake up to darkness. I might as well not have woken up, considering that closing your eyes has the same effect… I move the
I am astonished that this reached you. Keep reading. You have found this because you must read it. This will be difficult to accept, but you have been preparing yourself. Without knowing. Your interest in unusual stories was no accident. That trait was woven in to the fabric of your
A Message in a Bottle Read More »
I am going to start by saying I am terrified of spiders. Actually, terrified is to mild of a word to describe it. In fact it got to be so bad, that my boss told me that if I did not overcome my fears, that they would have to fire
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Read More »
This really did happen to me, and although I’m not haunted by the memory, it still freaks me out and I’m pretty much out of rational explanations. I don’t know if this is going to be freaky to any of you, but I can tell you that my irrational paranoia
The Frozen Lady on my Bed Read More »
This is a true story, a quite disturbing occurrence I had the misfortune to experience when I was at the impressionable – and, mind you, easily frightened – age of 7. The entire spectacle is centered around a road trip. This I must explain to you immediately, so that I
We Should’ve Checked the CarFax Read More »
Beware, boys and girls; beware Brie Woods! It is no place for such young children; Monsters are lurking in its shadows, Big and small, wicked and kind. There are brothers that roam those woods, five of them, looking to either guide or slay its travelers. Heed my warning, and you
Every old house is bound to have a few rats, right? I bought the old house the year I graduated from college. It was startlingly cheap for such a big house – two stories, multiple bedrooms, three bathrooms; conveniences that seemed luxuries after my tiny college dorm. It was a
The basement. Gray. Concrete. Plain. Nothing special about the room at all, and yet. Lit by bare florescent bulbs hanging in an aluminum fixture, it wasn’t a particularly shadowy place, and yet. Shadows seemed to loom, just out of the corner of the eye. No matter how often the bulbs
