“Goddammit! Not again!” screamed Ricky after opening the much-anticipated email. “Pinche pendejo!” he said even louder. “Hijo de tu puta madre!” He picked up his expensive mouse and threw it against the wall. “Besa mi culo, puto!” He slammed his fists down, shattering the tricked out, top of the line […]
After my dad shared his Halloween tale about the disappearance of his best friend Jake and the town’s O-Lantern Man urban legend, I asked him if he would tell me another story…and he did, several. We were actually up pretty late that night talking about my dad’s childhood. My dad said he had experienced so many terrifying and bizarre encounters, he figured it would be best to start from the beginning.
It Came From the Haunted House Across the Street Read More »
Growing up, my dad would tell me scary stories, ones he claimed he experienced during his childhood. His stories would both fascinate and terrify me. As I grew older, the stories he would share became less frequent until they eventually came to an end. Maybe because I stopped believing. I
Be Home by Midnight on Halloween Night Read More »
My foot tapped eagerly on the floor of the internet cafe. I looked at the unattended laptop, then back to the counter. The laptop been sitting there, unlocked, for over 10 minutes— it would be an easy sell, and I had bills to pay. As soon as the barista opened
The Devil’s Playground Read More »
Detective Martinez dragged on his filter-tipped cigarette, watching the fiery cherry rapidly descend to the orange paper. He heaved a deep sigh on the exhale, regretting having to work into the wee hours. The spent cigarette tumbled from his hand, landing on the wet Tarmac with a fizz. He reached
I’d never been inside of one before. An awkward, out-of-place-feeling little room nuzzled between a failing Irish pub and an antiques shop, I’d honestly forgotten these things existed in the vast metro area of my city. Until I needed one. College essay, see, and I hadn’t even begun it – just my luck for my laptop to obnoxiously die the weekend before the paper was due. I tried to borrow a friend’s computer, but no dice; as for plan B, my school’s library was out of rentable laptops. To the local, seedy internet café I went then, where I had always been told the poverty-stricken perverts surfed for porn and the seemingly parent-less children crowded around online games.
They Like To Play Games Read More »
Being poor is tough, but it hits especially hard during the holidays. Halloween is the first reminder that you don’t have the disposable income for your kid’s happiness. I took Austin down to a local thrift store we visited frequently. They had a rack of reject costumes from supermarkets, a
My Son Won’t Take Off His Halloween Costume Read More »
The storm made the city street a blur to Tim Avery as he walked rapidly down the sidewalk. Rain fell just heavily enough to make people run to their cars or take shelter in the shadows of store awnings. To Tim, however, walking through the rain seemed right. It felt like it might
“Dad, just a few more houses, pleeeasseee?” Why did I say yes? I blame myself every day, but how could I not? If you saw his face, if you saw those big beautiful brown eyes staring up at you I don’t see how you could refuse. My son, Daniel, dressed
Don’t Ever Take Your Eyes Off Your Children This Halloween Read More »
As an investigative analyst for the FBI, I spent years combing through the depths of the digital colossus known as the “Dark Web.” It’s mind-numbing work, filtering through thousands of illicit sites offering services ranging from outrageously fake to bone chillingly real. My name is Clara Sanders. I’m 35-years-old, unmarried,
When I was seven years old, my mother and I moved to a small town in Massachusetts. It was a rough time for me as my father had just up and left a few weeks before. My mom told me that he had taken a better job somewhere. She told
Something Comes Into My Room Every Night Read More »
My friend recently bought a foreclosed home, and while helping him clean it out of the previous owner’s leftover belongings, I came across a box of journals in the attic. What I learned in the early entries was that the man who lived there, Allan, was agoraphobic. For those unfamiliar
The Agoraphobic Journals Read More »
It’s that time of year again. Another stupid Halloween night with a bunch of stupid kids breaking into my house, just to prove they have balls to enter a haunted house. Well, I’m a ghost, or at least that’s what they call me. I’m not entirely sure what am I.
Two whiskey sours, one Old-Fashioned, and a Madras. Where’s the cranberry juice? I’ll have to cut up another orange. I can’t find a sugar cube; I wonder if Mr. George will notice it missing. Be very careful about which whiskey sour gets the antifreeze. Add extra lemon juice to that
I don’t celebrate Halloween. When the trick-or-treaters come out and start prowling my street, I make sure to keep my front porch light off and pull the shades down. If someone rings my doorbell despite all my precautions, I hide in the bedroom and pray that they don’t ring it
The Last Halloween Read More »
It was my fifth day in Gloaming, Nevada – an unincorporated township skirted on all sides by scorched barrenness. I had never been this far west before, and so the craggy, acacia-dotted desert was dazzling to my senses. I remember wishing that I could extend my stay, but also knew
“Am I going to be charged with murder?” The detective sighed, and did not answer. His eyes were tired, haunted. “Just help us get to the bottom of this,” he said. “Okay,” I answered. “I’ll do my best.” I could hear the tremor in my voice. I hadn’t stopped shaking
When the Halloween Decorations Start Bleeding Read More »
*Static* …Is it… *Crackle* No…just turn it…tha- *Static* *Pop* KJ: Hello? *tap tap* Hello? There we go. Okay, starting now. My name is Katie Johns, and the following testimony from Andrew Kirby is being recorded in an attempt to preserve our history and make sure a tragedy like this never
Worlds Without Heroes Read More »
I had just moved to my current flat in Raynes Park, Southwest London, and was still fairly unfamiliar with the area. Now my current bosses and supervisors know that I am still fighting a losing battle with the underwhelming reliability of Southwest trains and as a result have less than
A Walk Home on Halloween Read More »
You wake up to a text one morning. It is 7:03—you blink, sleepily. It’s from your best friend, Tom. The message reads, hey! do you wanna hang out some time today?? i’m free whenever You blink at your phone and then send him a response. yeah, I can be there
My younger brother disappeared on Halloween night when he was seven years old. It hollowed out my mother, who was raising the two of us all by herself, and that was already hard enough in 1971. Mom finished drinking herself to death in ‘74, and I went to live with
The man walked quickly to his destination, boots crunching on the old snow. It was covered in dirt and dog piss. No one had bothered to shovel for a few days so the heaps of ice and snow were getting hard to handle. But he walked confidently, slamming his feet
Living in the town of Findlay, you hear a lot of urban legends. Scary stories and rumors, usually conjured up to convince the young kids to behave and not to stay out past their bedtimes. As I understand it, it wasn’t always this way. We moved to town two months
The Murphy Horror House Read More »
I spent almost four months looking for Otto. He went missing shortly after the old chocolate factory began operating again. Allegedly – according to the reports, at least – there was an “incident” during a tour of the factory he went on. He fell into a stream of highly viscous
