Emilie, Stan and I enjoyed our grandmotherās tales. During school breaks, Mom and Dad drove the three of us to her home in Plimmerton. It was a small coastal village, an hourās drive north of Wellington. Everything about the place was tiny. It was simple. There were three cafes. There was a floral shop and …
Thereās an old, abandoned mission in the hills west of Tucumcari, New Mexico. Itās about a 3-hour hike from the nearest access point by car. Itās not marked on any map and thereās no clear trail to it, but if you had a day or two to spend searching, you could probably find it. I …
The roaring twenties became a different time for all of America as the economy took a massive plummet. The depression sank about every industry like a stone and families of every class felt the impact. Throughout the Hoovervilles set up around Riverbend, there was one man who seemed prosperous despite it all. A master manipulator …
The top half of Councilman Jonesā 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.
The trail was too quiet. I knew she was watching me from somewhere either up the steep slope to my right or from the tangle of undergrowth to my left. I would have welcomed the snap of a twig to alert me to her position but she was the apex predator that humans aspire to …
Peter Pan is not what most people think he is… or I guess I should say, would be, but honestly, he’s real. I have not only seen him, but have also… felt him. I met Peter Pan when I was about 11 years old. It had been a hard day with my family. I was …
Simza stumbled through the dark forest, tripping over indiscernible tree roots in the darkness. She sensed that something was wrong with the baby, and was afraid, but she had no one to confide in. She had wandered away from the camp when she started feeling the sharp pains in her abdomen. Surely, it was not …
I. Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked …
After a short time of exploring the Oklahoma territory where they were forced to go, a group of Native Americans stumbled upon a mysterious plant while hunting. This plant looked like a gnarled tree root, with so many twists and turns within its seemingly fragile length that one could barely tell it was not one …
āWhen is Miracle Girl coming?ā I asked and got a stony look of disapproval from my uncle in return. If he read comic books, heād appreciate my nickname for an immortal elementary schooler. Grandpa laid his good, gray eye on me. The filmy, unseeing one wandered off, like the old manās mind often did. āMiracle, …
We all have that friend who we wish we could have done more for. Who we wish could have done better. Iāve been thinking about that a lot recently. See, it all goes back to my friend Clark, and the horror we both encountered six years ago. Clark and I grew up together, in the …
I grew up in a small town in the Midwest. Now when I say that itās a small town, I mean other people from my state have never even heard of it. That being said, for such a small town it actually has a pretty dark history. In 1927, my home town was a small …
I found it three weeks ago, or rather, I found them. A knotted circle of fur, claws, and death. Six rats, tangled together by their tails, thrashed about my front lawn with little direction. Their shrieks pierced the air of what was normally a quiet street. I was going outside to get the mail when …
āI want to hear about the Spindler.ā Logan listened as the voices of his three friends talked. He watched as the fire before him dwindled. āYou sure you wanna do that, Lexi? In these woods?ā Loganās back was firmly set against the back of a broad, old oak; he sat on the ground between its …
Jack Mckay huddled in the cold midnight street with a pale green sleeping bag encasing his lower half. Spindled trails of light reflected off the gleaming roads from damp lampposts. But the cold wasnāt what gave Jack his nightly jittersānot by a long shot. The small flame bewitched his green eyes just below the bent …
During nightly hours of yore, in a time of horror and war, I would sit on a dank oak bench with my eyes shut, calm and closure. Then, my eyes open when I sense a figure approach me with grace. One of natureās eccentric frights perched itself above my shoulder. It croaked into my ear, …
Dear Mr. Valentine, As per your request, I’ve collected reliable morsels of information from the many and often incoherent accounts that detail the events which transpired in Merton on September 2nd, 1996. It is only with great reluctance that I reveal this information to you, for I fear for my life that I am pursued …
People always get the wrong end of the stick when I tell them that my grandad was a Nazi. I mean, of course he was in the Leipzig branch of the Hitler Youth as a teen, joined the party when old enough and, in December of 1943, was drafted into the army to fight in …
When I was a child, the mummers came to town. It was not quite Solsticeās Eve yet. The nights were long and dark, and most nights a thin, jagged coat of haw frost would top the trees in glistening frigidity. What few horses the rich owned would stamp and whinny at their posts, billowing clouds …
I consider myself to be a logical being. My experiences in life have led me to such a conclusion that approaching problems from a skeptical and logical viewpoint is in my best interest and is, as far as I understand it, the best way to live oneās life. Not to say that those who place …
Bitter cold was nothing new for Northern Alberta, especially not for January, and the cacophony of wind that tore through the woodlands was nothing if not wholly familiar and almost comforting to the one that huddled in the tree line, obliterated from vision by the pitch of night and the swaying arm of evergreen trees. …
Iām unsure of what to say. All I can say is that Iām scared. Very scared. My hands shake violently as I hastily scribble down a few words onto the coarse wooden tablet. This is my only hope. āIn the month of Tammuz, day 25 of the year 569, I, Abgar, son of Abbshamay, ‘navigator,ā …
It had to be close to 12 now. The silver gleam of the full moon was spilling through the woodland trees, illuminating all it touched. Evan looked at his watch. It was 5 minutes to 12. Although it was not a necessity, Evan wanted to get there by midnight. For each month that he decided …
Chapter 1 What I’m about to tell you will seem unbelievable, inconceivable, and I’m sure downright made up. I can’t help the way that it sounds. I can only tell you what happened, what I remember, and hope that someone finds it within their compassionate soul to believe me. I know that I have to …
