The day was edging toward dusk, the sun casting long shadows across the backyard. I remember the cicadas’ hum filling the air, marking the middle of summer, a relentless reminder of what should have been carefree days. I am posting this because I need help, and someone else might have […]
Looking to Kill a Dog Read More »
I’m about to dive into a cave filled with screams of the dead. It’s insane. Even after the complete upheaval of everything I thought possible, the most pressing thing on my mind are two words: I told you. She’s going to hate reading this, but that’s why I’m doing it.
I’ve been a police officer for a long time, and there are certain things you learn to ignore if you want to sleep at night. This is not one of those things. I’m writing this anonymously because I was involved in a case back in 2019, and despite everything we
Grandma’s Footsteps Read More »
A dusty hardwood bank in the middle of a no-name, tumbleweed town is shaken by the shockwaves of gunfire and screams. A rough, calloused young man in simple attire runs out of the bank and mounts his skinny nag, smoking revolver in one hand, sack of cash in the other.
The photograph looked ordinary at first. On a quiet Saturday morning, the small neighborhood yard sale did not look very exciting. A few folding tables stood on the sidewalk in front of a modest brick house. Cardboard boxes sat under the tables. Old blankets were spread across the grass with
The Man in the Photograph Read More »
Johnathan woke up in a daze to find himself all alone. The alone part was normal. The alone part wasn’t strange. What was strange was that he woke up in a graveyard. “What the fuck…” Johnathan pushed himself, sitting upwards, onto the wet earth beneath him. As he leaned back
In the darkest parts of man’s subconscious lies the understanding that existence is two phased. What most don’t recognize is the space between being and not. Between the spaces of life exists a world where the veil has been skewed to the point of dissolution. Every time that something goes
The Ignorant Canary Read More »
Lady Vermella’s piano was large and black. It was covered in a thick, feathery layer of dust. Its keys were turning yellow. It pounded out a strange, haunting melody every night under Lady Vermella’s fingers.Lady Vermella lived in an ancient manor on the top of a hill above the town
My name is Aaron Evans, and some time ago I was the reason twenty people lost their lives. I am writing this in part to confess to the world what I’ve done and to describe to everyone the horrific yet eye-opening experience that brought me to this point. Let me
It’s captivating to believe in monsters and the horrors of the unknown, the things that go bump in the night. It’s an escape from reality, from the actual terrors that lurk in the woods. Rumors designed to widen your eyes and make you glance over your shoulder. Honestly, I wish
Vultures (The Well) Read More »
The Nevada heat rippled off the asphalt, distorting the long, empty road ahead. I wiped sweat from my brow and adjusted the camera strap around my neck, squinting at the horizon. No sign of the fox. No sign of anything, really. I should’ve been writing a real story—something that actually
If You Ever Stop in Ashbrook, Don’t Ask About the Children Read More »
When I was ten years old, my brother came home to die on a frigid day in January. Purple lesions ravaged the skin that barely covered his bones. He looked an awful lot like a skeleton, unlike the friendly visitor I had come to know over my short lifetime. My
People Don’t Die. They Hide. Read More »
Sebastian woke up to the sound of a loud and repeated banging on his bedroom door. He opened his eyes slowly: the pounding of each knock enraged every muscle within his head and amplified his hangover. He groaned to himself as he was in the process of sitting upright in
A Bump In the Road Read More »
When I first moved out on my own, my mom handed me a small, weathered recipe book. Its cover was cracked and faded, the pages yellowed with age. She held it out to me with both hands, her expression soft and serious. “Take care of this,” she said, her voice
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
When I was in college, I heard a rumor about a man in a bar that was making deals, very Special deals. Now I am no fool, I have heard of Faust and his tragedy, and I knew of Midas and his touch and many other stories warning ‘Be careful
Death Wears A White Trench Coat Read More »
Liam looked down, shaking as he glared at the blood encrusted on his hands. It was not his own. The infernos of the destruction before him were nailed into his brain. He felt lost and confused. He did not mean to do it; he was just tired of the pain
When I was alive, or, more accurately, the last time I was alive, I honestly didn’t give a lot of thought to the idea of life after death. It never seemed important; when you’re young, and your whole life’s ahead of you, death and its possible consequences seem so distant
I Was Reincarnated and I Hope it Never Happens Again Read More »
When you’re asked to rate a person, irrespective of how crass that request is, you expect to be rating an individual who, though they can be offended or hurt by your assessment, will move on from the exchange relatively unscathed. Especially when you’re still in college, you never expect any
“Ugh, Emma, can you get the trunk for me?” The dim winter sun was setting over the parking lot, nearly devoid of shoppers at this late hour, aside from a van in one distant corner that had just started backing out of its spot. I set my bag down in
People kept going missing from my town over the last couple of years. Their mangled remains were all that were ever found of them (if anything was found at all), and many thought that some sort of large predator was to blame. I guess that in the end, they weren’t
Extract from records found at scene, author unknown. Dated October 1883: Matted fur stuck to the Beast’s sides, sweat dripping down its flank as it expelled rancid breath. Thick ropes of saliva swung from pus-stained teeth, protruding from black-lipped jaws like shattered battlements. A single black eye glinted out at
The Angel of Death Read More »
Scientists theorize that if the brain experiences something extremely traumatizing, it is biologically hardwired to forget it. I can prove, through my own experiences, the invalidity of this claim. On September 22, 1998, my parents threw me my eighth birthday party. That was 16 years ago, but I can still
Close Your Eyes, Cover Your Ears. Read More »
