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 […]
I was referred by a temp agency. I had no idea who I would be working for, or what the job would entail. I only knew that the pay was good. A week-long excursion at $725 a night. More than enough to pay off a couple of credit card bills
During the past few months, I’ve spent approximately fifty hours trying to obtain a private pilot’s license. I was just about ready to take my final test, but first I wanted one final lesson with my teacher. Luckily, it was a beautiful day with close to no wind. My teacher,
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
When You Go to Heaven, They Take Your Skin Read More »
He could feel his stomach almost twist as the aircraft started its long ascent into the sky. He was already holding onto his seat, yet now he couldn’t help but tighten his grip even more. How long had it been since he’d last been on a plane? A good fifteen
It Came From Above Read More »
I used to look out the rusted iron bars of my window and dream about being a bird. The chain that shackled me to my bed was just long enough to reach the windowsill, and so every night after my father would visit my room I would lie awake and
A Talking Crow Taught Me to Fly Read More »
I’d always known that my great-grandma was an orphan, but in late October of last year, she decided to tell me the truth about what happened to her family. We were visiting her for her birthday. It was a tradition in our household; a road trip we knew in the
A Peculiar Kind of Madness Read More »
We had all liked Mr. Winscot. He didn’t mind when we used the sledding hill on his property and he always gave out the best Halloween candy in the neighborhood. So when we heard he’d been taken by the Tall Man, everyone was really bummed out. You wouldn’t have heard
The Tall Man of Briarbell, Missouri Read More »
I’d been depressed for a long time, mostly since my dad died. All his friends called him a hero; he was a cop and he sacrificed himself to save the lives of 23 people being held by an active shooter. I was 9 when that happened, I remember it like
I Don’t Think My Friend Ran Away Read More »
I recently inherited my grandfather’s rural home. A log cabin buried deep within 100 acres of woodland— a picturesque scene untouched for decades and a perfect dwelling that I am now proud to call my own. I would spend the weekends here as a child. The wooded paths,
What Lies Within the Hollow Tree Read More »
“Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t real.” “How do you know?” “Because you can feel them when they’re close,” I said. “The goosebumps on your skin even though it’s not cold. The way the air tastes, and the dry lump in your throat. That’s
The World’s Oldest Tree Is Trying to Communicate Read More »
Unexplained phenomenon is a staple in human culture. Strange goings-on, paranormal in nature, are prominent in our lives, in one form or another. You may not think about them all that often, but there’s always a piece in the news or a crazy story from a friend or passerby that makes you recall such strangeness. No matter how many times you forget about the subject, there will always be a moment that drags the notion back to the surface of your memory. For several years, I had forgotten all about the monster living in my mom’s pantry. I had forgotten all about it, that is, until now.
The Monster in the Pantry Read More »
This is roughly a true story. True in that it was told to me by my father, rough in that his memory had decayed with age, leaving his recollection of the year 1975 a bit scarred. He asked me to write it down a few years back, but I never
There are few left alive who remember the Song and Dance Man. Time has claimed the ones that survived the long night and I’m sure they went willingly to meet their maker. Life takes on a strange tint after a night like that. The ones still left – Bill Parker,
The Song and Dance Man Read More »
Would you believe me if I told you that genies were real? They are, but they’re not like anything you’d expect them to be. The stories say that you have to rub a magic lamp to get them to come out, but that’s only half true. It doesn’t have to
The Dead Man’s Mouth Read More »
Dark, cold and eerie. Those are the only words I can come up with to describe the house in which I had lived with my family for the majority of my life. Mostly dark, blistering cold during the winter, and always eerie. Sometimes there would be strange noises coming from
Everyone has heard of the boogeyman. A creature, tall and dark who comes out at night and prays on fearful children. The story is a classic tale, one that every kid and their neighbor like to scare each other with during sleepovers. People have come up with several different versions
I Met the Monster in My Closet 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
The top half of Councilman Jones’ body hung by a steel cable looped around his neck and tied off to an old oak tree on one end. It was still dripping blood, bones and veins and torn bits of intestines dangling down where the legs should start. The cable was stretched through the air, over to an ash tree ten yards away from where the other half of the body was hanging by the legs.
I Made a Monster Out of Clay Read More »
It’s quite an interesting concept: those little “pass it on” messages, I mean. Chain letters and people telling you, “post this in five different comments or else you’ll die tonight.” Interesting indeed, but the idea lacks originality. It’s the same story with each one. “Pass it on or die.” People
He turns the steering wheel in different directions, taking different roads when he needs to. He needs to go through the woods to get to his destination. He’s confused, but not about that. What confuses him is why his sister is being so silent as she sits in the backseat.
I was raised Evangelical. Miraculous healing, speaking in tongues, God’s voice speaking through people, Jesus Camps, and Christian School. Yep. Christian School. My. Whole. Life. These were all realities to me- and my faith never wavered. You know what? That is a lie, and I cannot write that in good
This story happened when I was about 13 years old. It was a hot summer afternoon and my buddy and I were bored and looking for something to do. For the purposes of this story, I will refer to my friend as Hank. Hank’s older brother heard us talking about
The Spirit of Devil’s Curb Read More »
They move again tonight. I lay and watch them, seeing as it’s all I can do. They slip and slide through the street lamp window curtain shaded light and I know my eyes have begun to fail. Or perhaps the eyes are fine and my mind is finally going from
