The Murder House (Allegedly) There goes another one, walking into the quaint Island Meats house. The problem is, people go in but no one comes out. I’ve been watching from the café across the street for the last four hours. Tally: 56 people entering, 0 exiting. Finally, I called 911. “. . . and I…
Category: Dark
Best-Friend-Teddy
Best-Friend-Teddy I should probably just go ahead and die. But, somehow, I still feel like living. Most citizens died long ago in the Terrible Event. The survivors fled. Now it’s just me: bad-back-white-haired-half-blind me. Me, and Teddy: that missing-eye-singed-fur-depleted-stuffing bear I found while scavenging. Teddy sits across from me at dinner, and I tell him…
The Lobster Pot
The Lobster Pot Stomach rumbling, I spied a restaurant sign ahead: The Lobster Pot. It wasn’t seafood, just a dimly-lit diner at the end of a long hallway. “I’m curious,” I asked when I was paying, “why call it The Lobster Pot?” “The way it’s built,” the waiter replied, smiling. “Easier in than out.” A…
The Horror of Knowing
The Horror of Knowing We found the object sticking out of the beach after the hurricane, exposed by the storm. It looked like obsidian. * * * “We did tests. It’s bone.” “Bone? But it’s black. And 6 feet tall.” “At least.” “So it’s from a whale?” “No. Based on the DNA, it’s human-ish.” “Ish?”…
Eldritch Cutie
Eldritch Cutie Why did people automatically associate a writhing mass of tentacles with the word “horror”? Jesse thought. It was cute. She pushed a scrap of sausage towards a questing pseudopod. It disappeared with a slurp. She wasn’t sure if it would grow legs, but she wanted to bring it to school. She’d been having…
First Snowfall
First Snow I loved the house. Until the first snowfall. I was going to my car when I spotted tracks leading from the shed: odd organic impressions with claws marks splaying at random angles. They led to my basement door, now open. Something is in my house, I thought, suddenly terrified. Sometime during the night,…
Maid My Skin Crawl
Maid My Skin Crawl “You killed her!” Janice said. We stood regarding the prone figure on the floor. “I’m sorry!” I protested. “I came out of the bathroom and saw a doll with glowing eyes.” Matt picked up the doll. “Well, they’re not glowing anymore. What did you do?” “Exorcism . . . I panicked.”…
The 4:00pm Rebels
The 4:00pm Rebels Classes at the Yusupov Memorial Assassin School were done for the day, even Professor Princip’s after-school pistol tutoring. Leon crept towards the back hedge with all the paranoia of youth’s first rebellion. He clutched the contraband tightly. The others were already in the hidden grove. “You got it?” Charles asked. Leon held…
Discomfort Food
Discomfort Food I pushed the scooter as fast as it would go. A shadow loomed on my left and momentarily the buildings around me seemed to run with blood. Then I was past it, and normalcy returned as the Horror’s mental influence faded with distance. I hate people. I hate Horrors more, but I hate…
Molly’s Cut
Molly’s Cut It took years to find the hidden alley where Molly’s shop lurked. She leered at me. “I sell one thing: time. One amount: forever.” I swallowed. “How much?” “Pay in kind, boy.” Her sapphire gaze wormed into mine. “Twenty years.” I coughed. She scoffed. “Fool! It’s water from an infinite well. I deserve…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 