01 Mar The Watchmaster
Charles Walker Woods was a gentleman of means. In a city rapidly being subsumed by the dim fog of industry, he felt it was not just his right to stand out as a breath of fresh air—it was his duty. Were it not for people...
03 Dec Blood and Broccoli
Drew parked in the grass to make sure he was leaving plenty of room for the rest of his family. There were far too many of them as far as he was concerned and they would all be here. They never missed a Christmas or...
01 Dec Jelly
Bertram couldn’t be sure how long Emeline had been dead. She'd been in the bathroom, taking one of her late afternoon soaks. He hadn't heard a peep out of her since she'd turned off the faucets over an hour ago. He didn’t think much about...
30 Nov Kiss Me ‘Neath the Mistletoe
“Look darling, isn’t the snow beautiful tonight?” She said nothing, simply remaining stiff in the aged wooden chair. He smiled and continued to sip from his mug of hot chocolate. He found her cold, silent demeanor adorable, one of a number of things he had come...
29 Nov Secret Santa
Let me tell you a true story that I made up. You heard it right. I might not have witnessed it unfurl, I might not have heard it secondhand, thirdhand, or twenty-seventhhand. No one can even prove it happened just the way it did. But I...
28 Nov Reindeer Games
Something is wrong with Sleigh Town—Roni knew that much about it. During the pre-covid era of twenty-eighteen, I was hired as a night security guard for a park in our town, right on the cusp of December. Since its grand-opening in the seventies, the acres were established...
10 Nov The Devils Game
This whole thing started with a Rubik’s Cube. Once I learned the algorithm and figured it out, I was able to solve it in record time. I competed in a tournament or two, but eventually, I started to get bored. It became too easy for...
15 Oct The Real Pinball Wizard
Eight months ago, my life changed forever. I couldn’t tell you what the weather was like that day, what I had for breakfast, or even the first song I heard on the radio before I left the house. In fact, I can’t honestly remember any...
18 Aug The Conversation
Staring out the apartment window I saw them. This sent a tingle down my spine as I watched them go about their malicious activities. I turned to my companion and glared. “So, you think you have all the answers?” “Never said I did.” “On the contrary, you’ve...
17 Aug No Reason
The rank aroma of something rotted, like maggot-infested roadkill underneath the blistering summer sun, slams into his nostrils. No, it smells like the spoiled packages of hamburger he discovered in the refrigerator after his mother’s death. Stifling the gag reflex, he waves his arms to...
16 Aug The Tooth Fairy
For the first time in his short life, Tommy had seen – no – Tommy had been given a magical gift -a miracle. The items themselves weren’t that special – two quarters and a piece of bubble gum - it was the fact of them,...
15 Aug Kill the Curdler
The poster was simple. Someone had done their best with it, but their best wasn’t very good. MONSTIR HUNTIRS WANTED, read the boldly misspelled words at the top. Below that was a drawing straight out of a child’s imagination. It showed a hunched creature with big,...
14 Aug The Haunting of Shorty Small
Shorty Small, a man neither short nor small, slept fitfully. With the covers thrown off, perspiration continued to soak his pillow and sheets. The woman who slept next to him grew concerned and gently shook his shoulder. “Shorty, wake up.” Disoriented, he mumbled something unintelligible and his...
13 Aug A Storm Does This Way Come
Fog shrouded the old suspension footbridge crossing the ravine. Visibility stretched only twenty feet in any direction magnifying the isolation Dakota Storm already felt. The muffled sound of water rushing over rocks and boulders seventy-five feet below could be heard. Otherwise, the world remained silent. He...
12 Aug The Werewolf Truce
American Journal of Russian History Volume XXI Issue 3 Dead Letters: Imperial Russian Army Correspondence from the Eastern Front in World War I Written and Translated by Oksana Volkov, PhD As soon as Imperial Russia entered World War I, the “Provisional regulations on military censorship” law was imposed on...
11 Aug All My Exes
1 Shad Hankins pushed the tavern’s shutters open, and stepped through, leaving them swinging behind, as he stopped just inside. His dirty off-white canvas riding coat hung nearly to the floor, dripping rainwater from the cold wet storm he’d been riding in. While his eyes adjusted...
10 Aug Garden Warfare
The meteorite that hit Southdale wasn't especially spectacular. In the middle of one spring evening, it lit up the sky for a brief moment. It didn't turn night into day by any means. It merely streaked across the horizon and settled with a distant popping...
09 Aug The Witch
There’s a story that you won’t read in history books. It’s a truth that you only hear in my village. The Pendle witches were innocent, but there is a real witch in the Forest of Bowland. My name’s Thomas, and I grew up in Barley, which is...
08 Aug Oak Gate
Excluding some tropical species, such as coconut and banana trees, no tree can survive long without branches. And yet, defying all explanation, I saw a pair of branchless oak trees in the summer of 2015. When I use the word “branchless”, I’m not referring to a...
07 Aug Night Coach
For context, I am a middle-aged man who lives on the outskirts of Parbold, a small English village. My house is the only one on a long, winding country road, but it does have a bus stop. From my bedroom window, I can see it...