20 May Eternal Flame
I was seven years old when my brother Frank died in a fire. He was nineteen and a fireman and everything I ever wanted to be in the world. My parents told me that he’d died a hero, that he’d been inside a house saving...
13 May Legos
I really, really hate Legos. Their little nubs and sharp corners fit perfectly right into the center of the bottom of your foot, causing a stabbing agony that lingers for the rest of the day with every step. I’d hoped I was done with them...
11 May The Stop Sign
It was a late July night, and I once again found myself basking in the glow of my TV screen, a controller in one hand and a beer in the other. Empty pizza boxes, chip bags, and various other discarded remnants surrounded me as I...
08 May Horse/8min
It was an incredibly hot day when I heard the knock on my door. One of those days where you close the blinds and crank the AC, trying to find relief in darkness. It had been like that all week, each day growing more and...
06 May What’s in My Mouth?
I flipped through the channels, eyes glazed over, not really seeing what was on the screen. I was tired, a long workday behind me and an even longer one in front of me. I considered going to bed, but didn’t want to bring on a...
18 Apr Walter the Ghost
Two months ago we moved into our new place. It’s honestly amazing: huge property, beautiful forests, and an old barn out back that my wife Lydia hoped to remodel into a workshop. She loves wood carving. We have two sons and a daughter. Elliot is ten,...
17 Apr Doctor’s Notes
I cannot share all the details of what happened on March 3rd, 2018. As a doctor, I’m not allowed to share certain private details, so names have been changed, and I do not mention what hospital I worked at at the time. There has to...
10 Apr ItsYourFuneral.org
My name is Harry, and I’m dying. Less than a few weeks ago, I was in my car, sitting on a ledge. Engine revved, looking toward the open lake. I could hear geese calling out and looked toward the clouds to see they were breaking through...
09 Apr The Hoarder House on Sycamore Lane
I could smell the stench of death before I even stepped out of my truck. In its glory days, this place was the jewel of the neighborhood, the American dream personified. A sprawling two-story, three-bedroom house only a few miles from the beach. Looking at it now,...
13 Mar I Live Among Parasites
I’m alone now. They’re in the other room, eating. The dog. They’re eating the dog. They don’t even try to hide it from me. I’m apparently so weak, I’m not a threat to them. They hid it when the cops came by. They broke out into smiles, acted personable...
12 Mar The Babysitter
The year was 1989. The McCallisters had just moved to the small town of Northfield. Todd McCallister had finally gotten his teaching license along with a job teaching history at the high school. Maria was content to stay home with their two children: Alexis, a...
11 Mar Bedtime Stories
I was tucking my daughter into bed one night last week. Normally, she’s a huge hassle to make go to bed, but that night she seemed actually eager to go to sleep. I sat down in the chair beside her bed and asked her what...
21 Feb The Scariest Story in the World
Though the wind bellows fiercely across my face like the howl of a nameless beast, though the moon twists shadows into abyssal creatures and the gates of Hell within my companion’s eyes, I am not afraid. I will be, he promises, but not yet. You see...
21 Feb Where the Devil Keeps His Pets
The fire at my campsite was burning low when the stranger separated from the shadows to join me. The collar of his long coat was turned up against the chill, and his bony fingers clutched a rough rope leash that extended behind him into the...
20 Feb The Town Not On Any Map
Take the I-87 north from Queensbury, Vermont. Then the 28 up through North Creek. Keep going, if you want to take the route that I did. You’ll pass right through the town that doesn’t exist on any map. My headlights probed the first of the ramshackle...
20 Feb Redemption for Murder
You can blame it on the alcohol, but that wouldn’t make me feel any better. People drink every day without killing someone. Besides, if I’m being really honest here, I probably would have still killed him if I’d been sober. You can blame it on my...
18 Feb This Flower Only Grows From Corpses
My wife lost her battle against breast cancer last month, leaving me alone to take care of our daughter, Ellie. Every single night Ellie asks if Mom is going to tuck her in, and every night I have to beg her before she’ll let me...
16 Feb A Cracked Life
I was sixteen when I saw the first crack. A jagged line, almost four feet long but less than an inch wide. I found it by the sidewalk behind my house. Not on the sidewalk—the crack was in the air, visible from every direction as...
15 Feb An Old Man’s Last Secret
My grandfather was 95 years old and not long for this world. There was nothing but a mess of tubes and wires to tether him here with us. It was difficult for him to speak, but each rasping whisper carried a severe weight that could...
14 Feb Hell is Heaven to the Demons
Justice isn’t blind. If she cannot see, then it’s simply because she doesn’t care enough to look. She turned away that dark night my sister was attacked where even the moon and stars must have hidden their faces in shame. From all accounts, it was...