“All a skeptic is is someone who hasn’t had an experience yet.” — Jason Hawes“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” — Stephen King Clinking and clanging filled the room, coming from finished plates and drinking glasses. As supper was ending, …
A coward has many guises, and my bluff; has been called. I’m not a brave man. I slept with a night light on until I was in my twenties. Yet, here I am, Mr. Tough-guy, the first line of defense against forces unknown. Forces that were unknown until we went …
“Your job…your sole life responsibility for the rest of your natural life is to keep that door shut….always! The house is yours…you can do what you want with it regarding restoration or upgrades. But, you need to live here until the day you die. I inherited it from my grandfather. …
There’s something about the crunch of leaves under my boots that reminds me of death. Walking down an unlit path to get back to my house, I’m regaled with that feeling with every passing step as I travel through the park. A shortcut between my home and a friend’s Halloween …
The rusty black Sedan crept along the road opposite Claire, moving at under 10 mph. Claire stopped walking and pretended to check her phone while ignoring her shaking hand and rising heart rate: the signs of an on-coming panic attack, worsened by alcohol. The Sedan finally stopped, but she heard …
When people ask me about how it is to live in my neck of the woods, the Carolina Piedmont, I’d like to tell them of the rolling hills that lead up to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. I’d like to tell them of the somewhat eerie and rather endearing orchards …
My mouth was covered by my older brothers’ hand, shallow, panicked breaths escaping between the sweat between the cracks of his fingers. Both of us whimpering underneath our house in the crawlspace. Our sweatpants and Fanshawe t-shirts covered in spider webs, dirt, and blood. I am crying underneath his hand. …
I took a deep breath to stop the slight shaking in my hand, whispering my affirmation on the exhale, “I’m ready for this, I’m ready,” before sliding the blue-lined notebook paper out from its envelope. It was finally ready to read my dad’s suicide note. It took me almost two …
How you’ll die is written on your forearm. Don’t look now; you can’t see it; but it’s there. I can see it. It’s horizontal. Big and bold. Always black. Oh, and how old you’ll be. I call it your “death stamp”. I was eight; looking at the arm of my …
He was a striking gentleman. I mean the stereotypical southern “yes sir, no sir,” “mother may I,” gentlemen. The first time I met him I saw this stranger from a distance attempting to move a heavy looking recliner into the condo next to mine. My wife and I haven’t had …
No service? You’ve got to be kidding me! My older brother, James, is in LA with the house to himself. He’s probably in the Jacuzzi surrounded by hot girls right now. Meanwhile, I’m in some European backwater that has been decaying since the fall of the U.S.S.R. I looked over …
When Matt originally proposed the idea, I thought he was joking. Crash a wedding? Like in the movies? Pull a Vince Vaughn? I loved the idea, but the thought of actually sneaking into a random wedding to pick up chicks, well… it just wasn’t possible. Someone would realize we didn’t …
I remember living on the streets, that I remember. Exactly how that came to be is still unclear, but I know that one way or another it was because of my parents. I hated them, hate them still with the little memory of them I have left. Flashes of pure …
The light of the camp fire offered little comfort to the panic that surged through him. His blood might as well have been pure adrenaline. His senses were on high alert, triggering him, causing him to jump at the slightest sight or sound. “AAAGGHHHHHHHHH! HEEEEELLLP ME”! There was that scream …
As I sit outside on my porch I stare off into the darkness, focusing my attention to the moon. On this night it was full, and seemingly shone brighter than the millions of stars that gleamed in the sky. I take a moment to admire the beauty that is the …
