It was the sort of bizarre incident that would forever haunt a small town such as ours. The Catsup Massacre, we called it, though it wasn’t exactly a massacre in the traditional sense. No one could quite agree on how or when it had happened,...
1 Timmy stood close to the shiny champagne-colored box, his hands trembling as they cautiously gripped the smooth rounded edge. His eyes wide-open with shock, his lips clamped tightly, fighting every urge he could muster to keep from squealing out in horror. He knew what he’d...
I can’t explain it, but he’s been here the whole time. No one believed me; my wife thought I was insane, but he’s been here the whole time. My son, Dale, was five when he went missing. We were at the park by our flat when it happened....
The air in the room was frigid and stank of rotting meat. The unearthly groans spewing from the small, spindly creature’s mouth chilled Maddie to her core. The vile words it used to remind her of her every mistake and shortcoming filled her with shame...
The winter winds howled through the trees surrounding Whispering Pines, a small, isolated town known more for its exceptional cold than for anything that would draw outsiders. The town was built on the edge of a large, deep body of water that locals called Blackwater...
The night was heavy with silence as Amy pulled into the driveway of her small, single-story ranch home. The glow of the streetlights barely reached the edges of her property, leaving the surrounding trees shrouded in darkness. After another grueling twelve-hour shift at the hospital,...
The sun was setting, casting long shadows through the trees on Harold’s rural property. It was an evening like any other, the kind Harold had grown accustomed to since his wife, Henrietta, passed away twelve years ago. These walks had become a routine, a way...
“Do you play video games, Terrance?” The devil asked as he sat perched atop the podium. I held my wife’s dying body in my arms, tears streamed from my face, and her blood covered my bare chest. I looked up with a mixture of hate and...
“That one is very special,” said the old man running the antique shop. Emily looked up from her phone to see a large baroque mirror with a gilded frame of carved flowers. The late afternoon sunlight that shone through the storefront glittered over the frame, making...
Too often, throughout history, what we can’t explain we label a religion. Religion is the bait and switch that gets us on our knees. But when it comes to evil, it’s a more subtle religion, one we pray against. On the big screen, Peggy Carter tells...
“We’re gonna make this a tradition,” Jerry said confidently. The others in the back of the van could barely hear him over the music. “Arbor Day getaway.” “We’re not, Jer,” said Sarah. Jerry gave her a wounded look, and she reached over and put a hand...
“It was the biggest night of their lives, the grand finale of their first world tour taking place in Atlanta. The music blared, the crowd went wild, and they stood on the stage as rock gods," he whispered. Artificial flames flickered in the cool night air,...
Chapter One: Surprise I lay my hands against the edge of the bathroom sink and stare at my reflection. I could still add a trickle of blood down the corner of my mouth...
Before I even get into this, I’ve got a very important public service announcement for those of you already judging me based on the title of this alone. I don’t want any of you giving me lip in the comments about how I shouldn’t have...
Part One In some strange kind of way, I suppose it was appropriate that Nicholas passed so near Halloween. He loved the dressing up and scaring friends, going to spook houses nightly for the week ahead and then staying out all night the night of. It...
“Ah, welcome!” The man who stood at the open door was painfully suburban. His thick-rimmed glasses were slightly too large for his face, even with the wide grin he was currently sporting. His pastel polo shirt was tucked into the belted waistband of his cargo shorts....
Part One It was early on in my childhood that I understood what the definition of gluttony was. Or at the very least a hungry dose of greed. My family was engulfed in such. My grandma always said there wasn’t much difference ‘tween the two and...
“Come on, Sienna, hurry up! I’m gonna get drenched if I stay out here!” Even with the threat of getting soaked in ice-cold rain, I did not want to get out of the car. I didn’t even want to go out tonight, my plans were to...
Ellie’s morning consisted of organizing the paperwork of her first client, Edgar Zavala. She was a newly hired caregiver at Lakeside Assisted Living and had just completed her two-week training course. Edgar’s profile was unremarkable. Hispanic male, sixty-eight years old, widower with no military service. Previous...
Claire awakens from the dream, sheets and nightgown soaked. Yanking the covers off, she rushes into the bathroom and throws cold water onto her face to help stem the hot flash, but it doesn’t work. She fumbles down the dark hallway and into the kitchen,...
