Only in the spiraling depths of the infinite shades of black behind my eyelids do I ever feel at peace. The near constant pressure behind my eyes fades, and the constant weight that bears down on my shoulders eases. And it is here, in the garage of the old asylum, […]
My favourite teacher at high school was Graham Milner. He was my Head of Year throughout the five years I was there and taught me for Religious Education in Year 9. At that point, I had little interest in RE or any of the humanities subjects and had in fact
Mr. Milner’s Ghost Story Read More »
Monday:This was supposed to be my one day off. But, when you have a skeleton crew and someone doesn’t show up, you get called to come in. Not by the manager or a coworker, you sort of just… know. I can’t explain it- like a lot of things around here.
My family has an odd history of tragedy—at least, that’s what my grandma would always say.“It comes in waves; it comes when it wants to,” she would ominously say, but we all knew she was superstitious and generally odd. According to my mom, who has a much-strained relationship with her,
It screams when it doesn’t whisper Read More »
My name is Brother Arthro but I am told that I no longer need to use that name if I wish. I am to understand that my childhood has been anything but ordinary; however in this strange world of colored lights and deafening noise I no longer know what is
Children Of The Sacred Gate Read More »
“My dear, are you awake?” Nikki Chambers had fallen asleep on her best friend’s tombstone when she heard those strange words from a woman with an airy, almost velvety voice. She lifted her head from the granite to see the woman’s low vamp, tawny slippers, and flowing green skirt. She
Follow the Green Lady Read More »
I woke up sweaty and in a daze. Most nights this is normal for me but not tonight. Something about my bedroom was odd, something wasn’t right. I felt around next to me and grabbed my phone and checked the time – it’s midnight. Seven more hours of sleep before
The Front Porch Light Read More »
Colt was only thirteen years old when he rowed as fast as he could away from Benji and Caleb, the most menacing boys in Troop 0172. It was the dead of night and only the faint orange moonlight lit the narrow path for Colt’s tiny canoe, which was starting to
I remember the day I found it as if it were yesterday. The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the flea market on the outskirts of our quaint little town. It was the kind of day where everything seemed still, the heat lingering, pressing
The Blood Moon Rising Read More »
I’m going to kill her. One more nineties Clubland classic, and I’ll do it, I swear. We rejoin the A9 again and this time I pick the music. If Iona’s so intent on dragging us out to the middle of God knows where, then I would like to do it
56°49’0.257″N / 4°11’2.267″W Read More »
On one dark, foggy morning a news station began the daily evening broadcast to Sevier County, a low-population area in the middle of nowhere. It began with a poppy intro song, canned footage of various county locales, and fast-forwarded time lapses of the weather. When the intro wrapped up, the
It all began with the painting. My mom is an artist—she has a very creative style, one that often leaves me speechless, but not always in a good way. She’s into abstract art, and some of her pieces are a little… unsettling. Most of the time, I can just ignore
The Static Portrait Read More »
I never believed in ghosts. Nothing could stay hidden for that long. And I mean, how could one not have been recorded by now? By someone credible? Or on better recording equipment than a cellphone from 2010? So, Loser’s Leap didn’t creep me out. Even though everyone claimed it was
I proceeded to the rendezvous on foot, having asked my taxi driver to drop me off a couple of blocks away. This was not the wisest decision in retrospect, but I wanted to keep a low profile and avoid the attentions of both the cops and the gangs who lurked
Supernatural Vigilante Association – The Voodoo Priestess Read More »
It didn’t look fun. It looked like quite the opposite. Standing in front of me was a large funhouse. Chipped and faded paint coloured it’s exterior. I had lost my friends in the endless stream of people walking around the Halloween festival. The smell of candy corn and other sweets
Reflection of The Senses Read More »
Ten people. Ten people in ten different places doing ten different things, but all sharing one single thought… “What if it really works?” You see, in our little town of Sawnhurst, California, there was an age old tradition tied to a myth so old that is origins were not remembered
Halloween is supposed to be a day of joy and happiness. However, Halloween in this small village, which I visited few weeks ago, has a different story. In October, I visited a tiny village located in Scotland. I was actually not interested in going there, but a thing brought me
The Horrors of Lavender Village Read More »
My first job was at a gas station in the town of Redwood in the midwest. It’s been my home town now for going on forty years. It’s not a town like most towns you see. We have a city hall/police department/fire department, Forest Joe’s the gas station, a bar,
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 »
October 31, 1974 Piotr and Janek Tarkowski, American born sons of Polish immigrants, ran through the woods just west of Germantown, Pennsylvania. The elementary school age boys enjoyed the thick treed wooded area not far from their modest suburban Philadelphia home. They knew the area like the back of their
The Germantown Mystery Read More »
The great man was dying. Thomas Alva Edison, inventor of the phonograph, motion picture camera and electrical light bulb laid in his bed in West Orange, New Jersey his life slowly flickering out. After years of failing health, he had recently slipped into a diabetic coma and at age eighty-three,
Spirits in the Night Read More »
“Are you ok!?” Rachel yelled out as she ran toward me through the storm, trying not to laugh. It figures that moving day would find lightning, thunder, and rain attacking us from above, but it had been completely clear when we headed this way with a truckload of all our
The Door in the Attic Floor Read More »
I was eighteen at the time. I’d just graduated high school, and what was probably a really exciting and memorable time for most people was a stressful race against time for me. You see, my dad was very traditional; if I were going to be living in his house after
Memories of the Graveyard Shift Read More »
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 »
