For months, I caught glimpses of Claira from the safety of my cubical. So beautiful, faultless. Through innocent eavesdropping and pattern recall, I unknowingly learned almost every detail of her life; when she had lunch, who her friends were, and where she would be at...
Though every poet considers the heart to be for more than pumping blood, I wonder whether any could hold an organ in such esteem if they lived a day beneath my skin. Is it not said that those who suffer have seen the eye of...
“I’m sorry, Mister Aching, but could I ask you to remember for me what was giving you trouble?” Remember? Oh, yes. I remembered. It had been last night—not a good night by any measure. Kyle had come home from work, and I’d forgotten our anniversary. He...
In 1989, we detected a faint call coming from the depths of the ocean. A strange cry from a massive creature, traveling alone in the vast blue waters below. At first, it sounded like an oddity, a malfunctioning hydrophone, but then we heard it again...
Stretching through one of the United States’ largest deserts is highway 50. Aptly nicknamed “the loneliest road in America”, it is indeed as secluded and desolate as one might imagine. On this particular night, the western horizon was lit up again and again in spectacular...
Darkness coats nearly the entire room, a comforting blanket of emptiness in which only a small nightlight in the shape of a tacky, golden elephant pierces through the inky blackness. I stretch my long limbs languorously, clawed fingers scraping against the high ceiling as I...
I shouldn’t have gone. I didn’t want to go. Why did I go? Melanie… it’s all her fault. It was all her that we went. She told us about this app a while ago in Discord. Said it helped her see parts of our town we’d...
I recently inherited my grandmother’s house, or, technically speaking, my father did. He signed it over to me without much of a fuss. I guessed he’d never really been interested in the farm, but recently he’s started telling me about things that happened when he...
Haunting ain’t easy. Not one bit. Them Hollywood studios make it look so easy, when in reality it’s a chore. You see, I’m a ghost myself. My name is Ernie Harris, and I’ve been a ghost for 115 years now. When I was alive, I...
Being a successful YouTuber comes with a lot of advantages. You’re invited to gaming assemblies, conventions, and you attract the interest of prominent sponsors and the privilege to be treated like a king. I even met some of the most well-established names in the industry, some...
So, I came into some money. You see, my aunt Martha passed way after a long battle with cancer. I was her favorite nephew, so she left me a little extra in her will. At that time, I was living with my girlfriend Tara, in...
“If the children come knocking at your door and ask to enter, you must never invite them in or they'll devour your soul.” “Is that what she screams about?” I ask. “Shh, you’ll unnerve her.” Nurse Monro, the nurse who’s training me on how to handle difficult...
I always wanted a little sister. I would beg my parents, “Please? Pleeeeaasssee?” and they’d roll their eyes and tell me that it wasn’t as simple as I thought. That didn’t stop me from talking about it every chance I got, though. When they brought Sarah...
“If you’re counting sheep to help you sleep, don’t look them in the eye, For some will give you dreams to keep, and some will make you die.” The idea of counting sheep stretches back to a simpler time in our history. A time before all those...
When I was 14 years old, I did what many my age do to earn a bit more cash, I babysat for friends of my parents. It was in November when my father introduced me to a new coworker of his, Mr. D. The D’s...
July 29th, 1991: 2 pm One of the young men spoke, breaking the quiet thrum of nature around the group. “The marathon winds right through these woods, Jordie.” Leeroy gestured with a sweep of his hand to indicate the dense wilderness around himself. “And you’ve got...
This happened on Halloween when I was in high school. I say that so you can understand why some of the people acted the way they did. You know how Halloween gets. All sorts of pranks are pulled, people cover themselves with fake blood, etc....
My name is Frank Zauf, and I think my tarot deck is threatening me. It’s important to me that someone understands. I’ll make this all as quick as I can. Please let me explain. I bought the deck as a child. It was at a flea...
I’d just begun getting intimate with my wife, and we had gotten a good rhythm going when she suddenly froze. “Shh, Trevor, wait...
That damn Sarah Hatley is dangerous. She’s been “dowsing” for dead animals ever since the last of the winter snow melted. The Hatley girl is always carrying that same crooked bit of a willow branch. Sarah holds it out in front of herself with her...
