“Elizabeth!…” I hoarsely shouted as I shot up into a sitting position in the bed. I awoke and found myself drenched in sweat, a massive headache and with the worst scratchy throat I’ve ever had. I couldn’t help but just cough and cough, similar to the experience when you inhale …
Don’t ask me how I got there, because I can’t remember. I’d been drinking heavily that night, out on a bender to end all benders. I was angry, and the booze didn’t help. It never did if truth be told, but I couldn’t stop myself. I vaguely recall downing shots …
I’ve always held a fascination with the sea, the vast blue oceans that account for two-thirds of the Earth’s surface. I grew up on the west coast of Ireland, enjoying pristine and almost abandoned beaches facing out onto the cold and wild waters of the North Atlantic. My father served …
For thirty years, I’ve been receiving letters from a land that doesn’t exist Read More »
Coffee Man is the only one who says he can see them. Other inmates have stayed up dead into the night, pressing their ears to the concrete of the floor or the walls, slipping their hands through the bars and waiting for something to touch them in the darkness, and …
We’ve all been there. Unable to sleep and in a zombified state, channel surfing in the early hours, searching in vain for a program that will distract from our stresses and worries, if only for a short time. It was during one of these late-night sessions that I discovered a …
I watched Hell’s version of a classic television show Read More »
“Get the paddles!” I remembered falling. It was nice at first. The air rushing past me as the butterflies in my stomach multiplied with each passing second. “CLEAR!” Then, there was the screaming. Not from my mouth, but from the pedestrians below, scrambling to run away from the landing zone. …
It all started when I was a little girl. Christmas Eve, 2004. I was eight years old. “Santa, is that you?” Footfalls on the staircase echoed through the house as I jumped out of bed and ran past the doorframe to catch a glimpse of the man himself. CREAK CREAK …
“. . . He then fell upon the Kingdom of God, . . . and waged War; with His Minions and their Generals . . . against His Holy City in the Heaven, and His Hosts. . . . Struck down in the battle, Lucifer was bound, . . . …
I want to tell you the story of a bizarre thing that happened to me five years ago. It was what you might call a life changing experience, a metaphorical kick in the balls that put me on the straight and narrow after years spent in a vicious cycle of …
I was a bloody mess. After the twelve car pile-up on the freeway, it was a miracle I was even conscious, albeit just barely. There was only one hospital within a thirty mile radius, so all of us were sent there; some via ambulance, others by helicopter. Overwhelmed with the …
“Alright, Jack. Are you ready?” After being strapped down by the orderlies, an older gentleman with a white coat stepped over and looked down at me as my back caressed the cold, metal slab I was fastened to. I presumed this was Doctor Covenwood, the lab’s head of operations. “Uhhh… …
I was in a room. It looked like the ground floor of an office building. There was a desk with a receptionist, tapping away at a keyboard, and stairs leading up to the next floor. But the design… it was all white. I had to turn away at first, blinded …
As I slowly regained consciousness, I felt a wave of dullness wash over my fractured mind. I couldn’t move, much less remember what had happened before I passed out. My eyes burned as I opened them. I’d spent too much time in darkness to quickly adapt to the incessant flow …
“Maybe the world would be better off without you.” These were words I never expected to hear from my therapist. Up to that point, she had always been on my side, despite the many flaws that made up my character. I had fleeting thoughts of suicide, but it was never …
Today marks my fortieth birthday on this Earth, and rather than contemplating how to deal with the typical, mid-life crisis, I’m deciding whether or not my time here has ended. It’s sort of a family curse; For as long back as my family tree stretches, the men of the family …
The car accident was a blur. A symphony of shrapnel flying across the highway; the debris of at least three vehicles. At the time, I didn’t know who was at fault, or what exactly happened. I just knew pain. Immense, searing pain. I was in and out of consciousness for …
I am a musician. Not a terribly great one, but still, I consider myself a musician. I can play with the best of them, and I know my way around an instrument or two. More importantly, I am a collector. A collector of various items ranging from the odd to …
My mom hates her father. Grandfather Jack’s name might as well have been a swear word when I was growing up. Dad told me the story once, on the condition that I never tell mom I knew. Jack was married to my Grandmother Kathy for 22 years before he …
The red lights are only making the pain worse. It is an immense, earth-shattering pain, in my midsection and in my head. I try to move, but I can’t; I try to speak, but I can’t do that either. It hurts too much, and my voice obeys me no more …
In my hometown, there is a unique shop of oddities called “HexWorks” that I frequent. It’s an old-world boutique that specializes in niche products that I’d describe as being vintage-style with a modern spin. Their items include cloaks, pocket watches, lapels, bizarre art prints, lavish jewelry, and Victorian …
There is no fear as potent as the fear of the unknown. No monstrous visage discovered yet has been as terrifying as the infinite potential for horror which exists before the mask is removed. That is why we humans, in our naive misunderstanding of the universal order, are gripped by …
I live in a country where, unfortunately, Halloween is not a big thing. It’s almost not a thing at all, and this fact disappoints me to no end. I’m a bored 19-year-old living in a small town where everyone I know still acts like they did when they were 14. …
Katy took a long hit on the pipe. Her eyes rolled up and back into her head. She choked on the smoke that invaded her lungs, and an attempt at a giggle was unsuccessful. Her blue eyes watered and her almost-laugh was strangled by another coughing fit. “I’m gonna die!” …
The wind was howling outside and the screen door kept banging against the front of the house. We were all hanging out in Mason’s living room watching TV and doing our damnedest to ignore the storm, but Jacob just kept on hollering anytime he’d hear the thunder. “Hoowee! That’s my …
