“Neon signs are bug zappers for barflies, used to lure in the weak-minded and kill them on the drink.” This was the lecture my mother gave often throughout my childhood. Her distrust of bars and drinking was understandable, she’d lost a husband to them. Eventually, she’d lose...
Something is changing the people in my apartment building. I don’t know how better to describe the present phenomena rather than to explain, as simply as I can, that they come back different. When they speak, their eyes never move, never leave for a second, piercing, dwelling shadow orbs...
The pregnancy had not been unplanned. In fact, we had planned our entire lives around the pregnancy… patiently acquiring degrees and job titles until we were financially secure enough to start trying. Then, the careful charting of Anna’s cycles, and the dutiful love-making, even if we...
8Why would you tell a five-year-old kid such a fucked up tale? Ever since the memory of my fifth birthday came back to me, this is the question I’ve kept asking myself. But I don’t have the answer. I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised. Given the...
There are few attractions that I would consider to be more inherently creepy than the Haunted Mansion. It’s a ride inside of the “Happiest Place on Earth” that is literally built around the theme of death and people have really grown to really love the...
I’m really at the end of my rope here. No, check that. I was at the end of my rope weeks ago. Now I’m sort of clinging to the side of the cliff by one bloody fingernail. I didn’t even know that you could get banned from calling...
August 8th, 1991 The cultists calling themselves “Baal-Daeva’s Truth” had become so efficient at home invasions that neither of Samantha’s parents were able to call the police before they died. The firefighters with Engine 21 were the first emergency responders on the scene, and I was...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
Kel and Sidney sat in near-perfect silence, taking turns to draw from a handle of vodka that they shared between them. The bottle of liquor was one of the most expensive ones left at the corner shop. It hadn’t mattered that it was expensive, because...
For the rest of my life, I’ll remember Tali. I didn’t know her personally, but her art permanently changed my town. Our community never recovered and it probably never can. I distinctly remember so many of her illustrations. There was always such surreal and vivid...
My sister didn’t come to the funeral. And I honestly didn’t blame her one bit. There towards the end of Mom’s life, things had gotten unbearably rough. I took a semester off of college to stay home and help Dad out during Mom’s last few months,...
