It was almost Halloween. Leafless tree branches swayed in the crisp breeze. The grey overcast sky hinted at yet another day of rain. Yellow-grey cornstalks flitted past and dead leaves scattered as the big, brown Buick carried us down the empty country road. I looked forward to seeing Granny, even […]
What Lurks Beyond the Indiangrass Read More »
Stacey Chapman pulled hard on the cold metal of the gate. The rusted iron hinges resisted and it squealed as it moved. She winced at the sound as it cut through the quiet of the cemetery. She pulled hard again. It moved another six inches but would go no further.
Candy, laughter, scares, ghosts and ghouls. Halloween, easily my favorite holiday of the year. It has all the things I love most in life. Sweets, costumes, and the excuse to be someone else even if it is just for a night. Where fiction and reality can intertwine without it being
The Unnatural Rivalry Read More »
Brown husks of acorns crunched underfoot. Leaves glided down from the canopy overhead – walnut browns and russet reds and soft lemon yellows. They looped and twirled in a gaudy death dance, determined to party out their last days before they rotted and returned to the earth. The downward gradient
The Legend of Countess Esmeralda Read More »
Summer nights in the small college town were something straight out of a Pulp magazine: a risqué combination of nostalgia, science fiction and impossible stories. Every year from May to August, the place was left largely empty due to the legion of students who had skipped town for the break.
When James and Linda Scott welcomed the arrival of their first daughter Ella Marie. Nothing seemed to be better. The pregnancy was a text book scenario. Nine months of classes, preparing a room and eagerness for her to arrive all seemed to go swimmingly. Linda was wonderful and the birth
A couple of years ago, I walked home from a bar with two friends, and we were all loaded drunk. The Irish-Newfoundland band brought the house down that night; this was before the pandemic, of course. At Derry’s, all you could smell was sweat and sour beer, not an open
The Night Simon Followed Us Read More »
I had recently moved to the Yorkshire Dales with my rescue dog, Splash, so-named for his love of puddles, and this summer past we had ambled through the woodland on long walks on a weekend. He would always dart ahead, rustling through the leaf litter for insects or fallen branches,
Everybody loves the woods, until they follow you home. When my father came back from the military, we bought our first house—a boxy, two-story affair on the woodsy outskirts part of town. I was twelve, going on thirteen then. Our neighborhood was a little off the beaten path, nestled somewhere
Forever and Always Read More »
Before I start this off, I want to apologize to everyone who may be affected by this in a negative way. I’m writing this for journalistic purposes, and to hopefully spread some awareness about something that has plagued me for a good portion of my life. That’s all. My name
I grew up on a small-town ranch in the Midwest region of the United States, on land that had been passed down in my family for several generations. It can be brutal out there, with hot dry summers that threaten to suck every last drop of moisture from you, and
The Land Where Nothing Grows Read More »
I failed and, now, I don’t know what to do. To clarify, I write about and, sometimes, perform popular rituals I find online. Yeah, it’s kind of a stupid hobby, but I thought it was fun. I even made money from recording some of them and posting them on YouTube.
She Waits for me in the Tub Read More »
The first time I caught the night bus was pure chance. I’d heard the legends of course, we all had. Urban legends are a big thing where I live. I suspect its partly because I hail from an unremarkable and frankly dull provincial city that has little else going for
I was discussing Creepypasta’s with my grandfather. He had never heard the term before, and kind of snickered at it. After I explained to him what they were, he said, “We used to just call them urban legends.” He wanted some examples, and I gave him a few of the
The terrible thing happened at night—as most terrible things do. While I click-clicked away at my home job as a transcriptionist, I’d often watch the boys playing in the backyard. They’d be at it for hours, acting out some scene with foam swords and plastic guns, only stopping when the
Those Deep, Dark Wells Read More »
My name is Clyde, and I’m a local near Salt Lake City, Utah. Ted Bundy is a well-known legend here in Northern Utah, as many of his murders occurred in or around Salt Lake. Regretfully, I had the bright idea of spending the night at the property where he is
I Spent a Night Inside Ted Bundy’s Murder Cellar. I’ll Regret It for the Rest of My Life Read More »
There’s an old, abandoned mission in the hills west of Tucumcari, New Mexico. It’s about a 3-hour hike from the nearest access point by car. It’s not marked on any map and there’s no clear trail to it, but if you had a day or two to spend searching, you
It was cold. Cold and dark. That’s all I could feel when I stared into the black abyss, that made up its eyes. There was a tingling sensation in my feet, that slowly rose up in my body like panic trapped inside of me. I felt changed. I don’t know
The Stars of Bigface Marsh Read More »
Ever since grade three, my friends and I could make Derek Zimmer believe anything. Anything. From Pop-Rocks and Coke will make your stomach explode; to earwigs actually burrow in your ears (and one’s on your shoulder right now!); to the typical urban legend of the babysitter and the killer upstairs
The man approached the bridge as he normally did. A crimson book tucked under his left arm, a dim lantern held in his right. His eyes alighted on the young woman perched on the steel guard. A slight breeze rustled her dark hair. As the man stepped closer, his soles
I never liked going to my aunt Paola’s house. Honestly, I never liked her either. She’s a creepy bible-thumping Jesus fanatic and she’d always circle over me like a vulture. But none of that creeped me out like her house did. It was old, run-down and filled with weird religious
5:58 AM “There is an unexpected turn in the weather this morning, say our local meteorologists. Instead of seeing a warm day, we are getting a snowstorm that sources are saying could turn into the storm of the century.” Dad turned off the radio, grumpy as hell this early in
The Witch of Arlena Falls Read More »
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 »
