My Aunt Mel was one of the strongest women I ever knew. She stepped in to raise my little brother Keith and me after we lost our mother to ovarian cancer. Not many other people would have done the same, especially having to step in...
You know those people who you tell the time of events to fifteen minutes earlier than they start because you know they’ll be late? The people who would be late to their own funerals, as the saying goes. Well...
I worked for over twenty years as a police officer for the Lindley County Sheriff’s Office before retiring at the beginning of last year. I’ve often been asked a lot of questions about my time in law enforcement, the main one of course being, ‘What...
Like most teenage boys, I believed that I was a wolf, not a sheep. And, like most teenage boys I was wrong. I was very much a follower. Specifically, a follower of Daniel Lawman. Daniel Lawman was the coolest boy in school. Handsome, charming and effortlessly intelligent....
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...
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...
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...
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...
My neighbor Dr. Gregovich suffered both of life’s greatest calamities. The first was falling in love. This is a rebellious and generally discouraged affliction to which he accidentally exposed himself when he was just five years old. Elaine, age four at the time, had given...
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...
I hate my job. I hate selling days of my life while barely earning enough to sustain it. I hate my boss, who tells me I’m lucky to find stable work in such an uncertain world. I hate my friends who treat dreams like an unfortunate...
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...
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...
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...
I’ve had an effect on people ever since I was a child. I can’t explain it and it’s driven me to the brink of insanity. I never asked or prayed for it. In fact, I don’t even know if I believe in God. But the...
He stood in front of the huge black Edwardian door awaiting an answer. The frosty morning air crept closer into his bones sending a shiver down his spine. He’d regretted that Christmas hair cut the minute the clippers touched his neck. His head now felt...
As Paul approached the town the signal for his car radio began to fail. It seemed to sum everything up in a nutshell. Even national radio couldn't make it out to these coastal backwoods. Though the roads round this way were little more than single-carriage...
I pulled into the bar parking lot and stopped the car. I sat there for a moment, letting the engine idle as I thought about what I was doing. I knew my wife and kids were at home waiting for me, but I just couldn’t...
Last week, something happened in my house. Something I couldn’t believe and still am having a hard time believing. I don’t have an overactive imagination, and I don’t scare easy. I don’t believe in ghosts, aliens, the paranormal, and all the rest of the horror...
I gently lowered the canoe into the calm water. Matt stood behind me, clutching the two oars, anxious to start fishing. Ripples rose to life and expanded out into the vast lake, quiet trumpets that announced our entry into the cool blue realm. The sun crept...
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