Of all the nights for the devil to visit, he chose one that was calm. No great storms, no loud bashes of lightning and thunder. It was a quiet evening, cloudless, the stars blotted out by the lights of the city. I was on the...
When I was six years old, I followed a red bird into the woods. I didn’t think much about it, it just made a funny sound and I wanted to look at it. So I wandered off. My mother had fallen asleep on her sunbed...
I’ve started and deleted this more times than I want to admit. The drafts always stall at the same place, where I have to write my brother’s name and follow it with what became of him. Caleb. Seven years old when this began, with a...
Davey’s parents dismiss his tales of a strange creature in the woods as childish imagination—until one night he comes home late, beaming, with blood on his clothes and a story of victory. When desperate neighbors arrive searching for their missing son, the truth behind Davey’s...
Long obsessed with the mysterious disappearance of the town of Tartarus, one man finally seizes the chance to uncover the truth behind the legend. What he finds is more than lost history—it’s a chilling secret rooted in horror and desperation. Trapped in a twisted reflection...
“Grace, I’m so sorry about all of this. I’m behind you, the community’s behind you, and we’ll do whatever you need us to do and help in any way we possibly can. You and John are not alone. Don’t ever forget that.” Dr. Corcoran’s leathery face...
It is unexplainable, this “love” of the dead. Maybe the whole fascination lies in taking what is not yours, or doing what should never be done. After all, the laws of man are fun to break, and taboos even more so. In my case, however,...
The calendar on her fridge still showed May, though the heat pressing through Marla's windows said otherwise. Her air conditioner had wheezed its final breath sometime in April, and the repairman she had called never showed up. She stopped following up after the second voicemail....
When weary literature professor Simon Keats is invited to teach at a secluded Danish university, he expects a quiet term of lectures and research. Instead, he enters a world where language bends the laws of reality, and meaning itself becomes a dangerous force. As cryptic...
November 18, 1980 Across the town of Junction Falls, Missouri, people tuned into the only Sunday newsmagazine show on TV. After the ticking clock faded, Paul J. McSorley, one of the show's hosts, could be seen sitting on a tall chair. Behind him was a magazine...
Mossad Training Facility Herzliya, Israel December 23, 1975 Yitzhak entered the woman's hospital room first, followed by his deputy Bibi. From the outside, the woman didn't appear like she needed hospitalization, but this was neither an average woman nor an average hospital. She was a kidon, an assassin...
Unincorporated Jefferson County, Missouri “Yes!” Hector Vasquez shouted as he gave his partner a high five. “Another sucker and another 2 Gs to our Mexico account!” He leaned back in his gamer’s chair with a satisfied grin on his face. It had been a good night—the pair...
When an ambitious archeologist leads a team into the uncharted mountains of Eastern Europe, they expect to uncover ancient ruins and forgotten civilizations. Instead, they stumble upon something otherworldly—a living structure housing a presence that defies comprehension. As their awe turns to dread, the team...
TRIGGER WARNING: The following story was originally published in the January 1943 edition of Weird Tales, a pulp horror magazine aimed at white audiences. Like many authors of their time, the author of this story used racial tropes uncritically, reflecting both the systemic racism of...
My name’s Elliot, and before I get into it, let me tell you—I’m not the kind of guy who scares easily. I take the same late-night walk through my neighborhood every night. It’s quiet, peaceful, and the perfect way to wind down after a long...
You don’t forget the sound of a girl being swept downriver. You don’t forget the moment her scream cuts off, as if something grabbed her by the throat and pulled her into a place where sound doesn’t carry. But I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is...
Have you ever done something so dumb as a kid that it scarred you for life? I don’t mean embarrassing dumb. I mean life-altering, body-mangling, lose-a-part-of-yourself dumb. Yeah. That kind of dumb. I’ve never told this story in full before. Not to a therapist, not to my...
“We all have days where we have to face the very worst—whether it’s work we don’t want to be at or some task we don’t want to accomplish. But life is short. Take all those little difficulties in stride, and ensure each one is the...
As I walked into his office, the first thing I noticed was how tidy everything was; psychology books neatly placed on the bookshelf, his couch pillows perfectly coifed and placed in the exact correct spots, and his circular area rug, vacuumed to perfection. His desk...
The funeral was more sparsely attended than Martin had expected. He had a vague feeling that he should be offended on Hannah’s behalf. She’d always been one of the popular kids in college. Less than five years had passed since graduation, and barely any of...
