Read Part One here “Well, I am Death, none can excel! I’ll open the door to Heaven or Hell.” – Ralph Stanley, “O Death,” from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” NOVEMBER is a month that shows us what comes after change. Gone are the colorful leaves and spooky celebrations of […]
The Clock Strikes Twelve Read More »
“You think you can win on talent alone? You don’t have enough talent to win on talent alone.” – Kurt Russell, “Miracle” * * * “WHERE’S MY STORY?” “I don’t have it yet. Sorry. I’ll send it soon.” “Have you even started?” “Yeah. I’ll get right on it.” “You’d better.”
Talent, Right on Time Read More »
HELLO. My name is Max Regnier. My story begins at the end – if there is an end. I’ve been consigned to the fourth circle of Hell. If you’ve ever read Dante’s “Inferno,” or even if not, you might remember that it punishes greed. Misers and spenders toil on opposite
A MAN’S HOME is his castle. That’s what they say. Do you know what a castle is? A fortress that’s supposed to be impenetrable. It’s my job to penetrate them. Yeah, I’m a burglar. I challenge you to judge me on that fact alone. How many of you have ever
HAVE YOU EVER bargained with a ghost? We’re going to. We’re not supposed to be here, but none of us could resist the chance to sneak into the Durgee House on Halloween. At 3 AM, no less. It helps that Alex’s father is the caretaker. All Alex had to do
Lives in the Balance Read More »
Mabel Crudup basked in the May sunshine as she worked in her garden. Grinning, she inhaled the fresh scent of soil mixed with last night’s rain. Days like this were made for going outdoors and getting one’s hands dirty. Mabel stabbed the tip of her trowel into the ground, digging
What the Left Eye Sees Read More »
I LOVE GOSSIP. Every chance I get, I watch Maury Povich, Jerry Springer, Steve Wilkos, and that new girl Zara Zimmerman. All sleaze, all the time. The revelation of other people’s secrets sends a thrill through me like an electrical jolt. Cheating lovers, absent fathers, all sorts of liars –
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Is this quest enough to sustain you? Is this accumulation of curses really worthwhile? Has everything progressed perfectly, with no loss or sorrow?– Anonymous, “The Holder of Remorse”_________ Tuesday, 10/31/2312:00 PM October, a month of chill, darkness and rain, has burst out in full glory. Leaves crackle underfoot. Wind whips
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“I HAVEN’T WRITTEN anything since last year.” “Why do you think that is?” I’m sitting in the office of Dr. Gregory Prah, Ph.D., assigned to hold me during my 5250 hold. That’s not what I’m supposed to tell him. At least not right away during my 14-day vacation, all expenses
“Mother?” In the dim light of my bedroom, cast by a single candlestick that made shadows dance on the ceiling, I sought her smiling face. It anchored my life and my world. “Yes, dear?” “May I ask three questions before I go to sleep?” “Of course.” Rustle went her nightdress;
HALLOWEEN ADVENT CANDLEDAR Burn one a day till Halloween.Discover what it truly means.Don’t peek ahead at future labels.Savor all, if you are able… – THE CHTHONIC CANDLE COMPANY So read the note enclosed with thirty-one tiny candles, sent in a massive box with no logo. The creators of my Candledar
“Welcome to the Memento Mori Museum, lovingly tour-guided by our docent EM(ily), who uploaded two short years ago! Come see caskets, coffins, wreaths and other not-so-ancient paraphernalia, along with an interactive exhibit where you can climb inside! JUST KIDDING! No, we’re not. Seriously, try it. Here at THE DEATH MUSEUM
Part 1 Part 2 “The process of delving into the black abyss is to me the keenest form of fascination.”H.P. Lovecraft * * * * * * * * Why shall I die in seven days’ time? I killed a man out of mercy, but justice, being its opposite, has
The Eternal Stranger Read More »
Part 1 “We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity,and it was not meant that we should voyage far.” —H.P. Lovecraft Why did I slay one Abraham Andrew Allerton, Doctor of Psychiatry? It wasn’t a case of an eye for an eye
The Allerton Device Read More »
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the Unknown.”—H.P. Lovecraft I had to save her. That means I had to kill him. . . * * * * * * * * * If you would have seen
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THE FIRST DIRECTIVE Obey and serve only the One Mind.– Manual of Directives and Subdirectives At ten your head is shaved. At twenty you are assigned your new designation and role. You’re no longer a child. At thirty you’re evaluated for Marital and Parental Fitness. If you pass, you do
“There is nothing in the thetan, past or future.” – George M. Witek, “Lucifer’s Bridge” FIRST comes the coronation. Off comes my hair. The Crown will come later. Second, the washing and shaving of my body. Third, the bleaching of my skin. This takes a long time and it hurts
THE STRANGER only comes at night. He only comes to certain people, too: those trapped in life, unable to free themselves from the daily grind and the cares that keep you from caring. Those sick of commutes, meetings, rude customers, spouses, children, or being stuck at home. Tired people. Desperate
“Is this quest enough to sustain you? Is this accumulation of curses really worthwhile? Has everything progressed perfectly, with no loss or sorrow?” Not so, for me. – Creepypasta, “The Holder of Remorse” I’M ALMOST THERE. I’m so close I could taste it. I hold 518 of 538 Objects. Every
WHEN THE CIRCUS CAME, everything changed. Small towns rebuilt themselves into boisterous cities overnight. Weary farmers and their wives glowed with renewed vigor. Life was transformed from a series of dull scenes into the greatest show on earth. George, Hal, Peter, and Ronnie came to watch it on April 29,
Bread and Circuses Read More »
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Janowska/Yanivsky was an actual concentration camp in Ukraine during WWII. Its commandant Fritz Gebauer, AKA “the Choker,” and his torture methods were also real. As are the books I mention here. All else is fictional. Perhaps they [both the Aztecs and the Nazis] were mistaken altogether. Or perhaps
God’s Accursed Share Read More »
Lane Brandon cursed himself for remembering. Out here, it was easy not to. Freight trains, barrooms, cathouses, jailhouses – all those belonged back in Denver. He’d come west to rope and tame mustangs, not to be at a hostler’s beck and call. Thus he’d enlisted his fellow groom, Gordon Plowman,
LiVE THE DREAM These words flashed before Caitlin Neil’s closed eyes on her red-eye flight back to Los Angeles. It wasn’t home, but her so-called base. Her name wasn’t even Caitlin Neil. Nevertheless, as the Company had promised her, she had come to like both. Until now. “Hello. This is
