I remember well when I came across the strange sequence of events in the odd case of the cellar underneath the Winemaker’s shop. The things I saw that night, I fear I will never forget, nor come to peace with. However, with the strength of my faith and my understanding […]
The Copper, the Collar, and the Glimmering Blade Read More »
The mind is a complex thing that no one can truly hope to fully understand. You can study it all day long but there are things inside that defy all human logic. In a way we are all prisoners to our own thoughts, and some are hard to escape. I
There is a fresh, blank page sitting in front of me, and as I stare at it it seems to stare back. ‘It’s always so hard to get started’, I think. ‘I just wish I could get over the hump without climbing the hill. I feel like Sisyphus, every time
Richard removed the lightswitch to the basement stairwell. It wasn’t that he simply disabled it, no. He removed the entire thing. Plastic covering, screws, the switch box—all of it. Though, he had shut off the power to the basement for good measure, too. Every once in a while when a
It’s Safer To Be Afraid Of The Light Read More »
My hand was resting on my thigh, nervously caressing a little box tucked away neatly in a corner of my pocket. My date for the evening was sitting on the other end of the table and was animatedly talking on the phone. Well, not my date exactly – Chloe and
I stumbled into a gang initiation, and now I about to become their victim Read More »
I work the night shift at a local mom-and-pop convenience store at the front of my neighborhood. We sell snacks, drinks, milk, bread, all the normal stuff that people need but aren’t willing to make a traditional run to the grocery store for. There was talk about adding a gas
Melody wakes up screaming. It’s midnight. Her body jolts up. Eyes shut tight; mouth open wide. Screams rip from her throat. They turn into sobs as Buster jumps onto the bed. He nestles his head in by her side, purring and watching her catch her breath. “You’re okay,” she says.
The cool autumn air filled the lungs of Detective Josh Gaines as he exited his patrol car and walked to the front entrance of the Buckingham Funeral Home. Gaines was a 17-year veteran of the Helmer County police department and a lifelong resident of the small Indiana town of Darby.
The Mystery in Darby Read More »
I crawl. Thirsty. Bitter. So bitter, but I must eat them. The things that grow. They came here in a recent time. The growths are bright. They have a neck, and there is a ball on top of that neck, and one two three four five six seven round fans
We Dream of the Quiet Dark Read More »
The balloons flew over a month after the economy collapsed. It had been hanging on by a thread for a while, but eventually, our government couldn’t afford basic human needs anymore. We were left to rot in the streets, local and corporate business began their shutdowns, raiders had gotten to
I frantically threw my shirt off my head, covering my bare chest and staring down at the fabric on the ground as my heart played a tune. I had felt the bugs inside the shirt as I was putting it on, but none emerged from its openings. My skin still
Night One Hello, I am Sally, or Sal for short. I have a story for you that happened about a year ago. I need to tell someone because it is a tale that has been gnawing away at my mind. It is a story that still haunts my nightmares today
“Come on.” The voice was distant but still clear. “You’re dragging your feet. You didn’t have to come. You wanted to. So let’s go.” Her voice had irritation to it, almost offensive. I groaned and steadied my pace, walking only a bit faster. “I’m coming, Celine. Jesus Christ.” I snapped
My Bestfriend Was a Ghost Hunter, I Wish I Never Went. Read More »
I thought she was playing a practical joke the first-time she did it. I was in the kitchen, getting dinner ready when she walked in the front door mid conversation. I expected to see her on her mobile but I noticed both hands were holding things – her briefcase and
My wife keeps introducing me to people who aren’t there. Read More »
It was her platinum blonde hair with silver highlights that stood out most in his memory. And that she was pale, thin and amazingly beautiful. He backtracked his thoughts. No not pale. Milky white. Her name was Eleanor, but she went by Nellie. Or Nell. He called her Nellie and
There’s never one point where something ‘clicks’. Some like to believe there is, that hobbies or skills reach a well-defined turning point, an ON-OFF switch. It’s never that simple. Even the most abrupt of changes occur over time, not in discrete, quantum moments. That’s why the worst changes are still
Sea of the Fractured Circuit Read More »
A smile covers my face as I look up to see Emily looking down at me as I awake from my nap. I never really took work seriously, something she always got after me for, but waking up to see her beautiful golden silky hair, her bright blue eyes resembling
A Night at the Inwell House Read More »
The television screen slowly phased into focus some few steps in front of me. Some shopping channel peddling jewelry that people would buy as gifts for their family that no would actually be happy to receive. As the TV came into focus to my eyes and ceased to be a
She often wore red ― the color of blood, love, and lust. She was often quiet, though when she was on stage, she would come alive, her voice a soft echo that carried out through An Angel’s Heart, a bar in the middle of nowhere. Nobody came here, though I
She had scolded me once again, told me that we had gone on this trip as an escape from the monotony of life in the city and bond as a couple, as if I already hadn’t known that. Expressing her feelings about how I’d become more “Distant” and “A husk
I In the picturesque countryside of Ceredigion, a historical county in the west of Wales, with its rugged cliffs delving into caves and hidden beaches, as well as rolling farmland hills that stretched for miles amid endless greenery, were two villages that young Elin had known for as long as
The Endless Warp of Time Read More »
In the wake of negotiations with the teacher’s union, the school authorities reached the decision that perhaps it was time for Ms. Betty, the long-serving librarian, to hang up her hat and embrace retirement. Ms. Betty had been a steadfast presence at the school, showing up day in and day
The Retired Librarian Read More »
Everyone on the train was normal. Of course, Stuart didn’t care to notice that they were normal. When something is normal, the brain doesn’t pay it any mind. Why would it? It’s a waste of energy to notice the mundane. If it’s normal, it’s not a threat. It doesn’t need
The Town That Could Not Point Read More »
Dreams are a wholly different experience depending on who you ask. Some claim to have bizarre and vivid experiences every night; others say they don’t dream at all. If you were to ask me, I’d say it’s not so black-and-white. That, I’m somewhere between the two extremes – though I
I’ve been dreaming things I shouldn’t Read More »
