08 Nov Purgatory
Chapter One: Surprise I lay my hands against the edge of the bathroom sink and stare at my reflection. I could still add a trickle of blood down the corner of my mouth...
27 Oct The Mariachi Man
Ellie’s morning consisted of organizing the paperwork of her first client, Edgar Zavala. She was a newly hired caregiver at Lakeside Assisted Living and had just completed her two-week training course. Edgar’s profile was unremarkable. Hispanic male, sixty-eight years old, widower with no military service. Previous...
13 Oct Assembly of the Dead
The sun was emerging from the horizon like the head of some angry fire god awakening from its long slumber, when they crossed over the Georgia border from Florida. The temperature was already beginning to rise, and the day had yet to even begin. It...
26 Sep The Ballad of Jakob Grey
“In the desert, the voices of God and the Devil are scarcely distinguishable.” — Loren Eiseley Chapter I — The Saloon Laying in the thoroughfare outside the saloon was a pile of twenty smouldering bodies stacked on top of each other like logs. The gang of bandits that...
10 Jun Vows
“Alice Smirnoff quits, and Bartholomew Brown makes prosecutor.” Shirly sighed as she draped her arm around Bart’s neck. “And to think, Mother said you’d never amount to anything.” “Well, you can hardly blame her.” Bart smirked, letting his hands linger on the curve of her hips....
08 Jun The Skinwalker
Shorty Small, a man neither short nor small, drummed his fingers on the ornately carved oak bar. The location being a well-established watering hole on Bourbon Street. Fat Tuesdays only entertained a handful of tourists on this early spring afternoon. With the summer vacation season...
26 Apr The Osiris Institute
Posted at 08:36h
in Locations and Sites, Madness, Paranoia, and Mental Illness, Medical and Hospitals, Strange and Unexplained, Suspense and Thrillers 0 Comments
“The past and future dreams us, lays on our bodies like skin, so that we might pass the days with grace. To us were given all the ways and the obligation to travel. To us were opened all the roads of heaven, all the tunnels...
30 Mar The Cage
Warrior Biting my cheek, I glance up at the clock on the wall. The minute hand crawls out from behind one of the bars protecting its face. Quarter till three. The lead ball that’s been sitting in my chest since Mariana dropped me off falls to...
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...
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...
25 Jul Dream
The Fool Stepping off the gravel path onto the grass, I stop to let my eyes take in the trees draped in vines all around me. Pedro, my youngest grandchild, takes my hand and helps me hobble over to a small stone bench, almost hidden under...
02 Jul My Demon’s Name is Barnum
My name is Darren Johnson. I’m thirty-four years old. I have wavy black hair, blue eyes, a shaven face, and no distinct details that would separate me from the crowd. I work the night shift at a large office building doing housekeeping. The small paychecks...
25 Jun The “Fear Itself” Game
“… It is hope, not despair, that undoes us all…” -- Jennifer Donnely *** BZZZZZ Try having that sound wake you up. The way the metal screeches as it spins. Try having THAT wake you up, and then realize you’re bare-ass naked and restrained to a chair. What would you...
22 May The Journal of Jack Dalante
The sun hangs low in the western sky, painting the jungle in shades of pink and lavender. A cacophony of howls rise lending a primeval aura to the trees. The sounds speak to me. Some deep ache mixing with a fervent longing whispers at the...
24 Apr The Road to Bastrop
Early morning mist wraps the Texas highway like a burial shroud. A red BMW emerges from the fog behind us. I hold my breath and squint to see the license plate in the vanity mirror. It’s from Colorado. I breathe out and lean back in my seat. “So...
16 Apr The Black Rock Chapel Horror
Posted at 11:00h
in Beings and Entities, Demons and Possession, Religion and Spirituality 0 Comments
“Have you come to relieve your burden unto the Lord?” asked the elder priest from behind the blind of the confession booth. Silence hung to answer the offer. Rather than immediately persist, the elder priest decided to let him take his time. For in the...
17 Mar On the Shores of Despair
The gates of hell are open night and day. Smooth the descent, and easy is the way. But to return, and view the cheerful skies, In this the task and mighty labour lies— — Virgil, 70-19 BC Never did I feel more cast down this dark period of my life. Why...
11 Mar The Death Cruise
You’ll be told it was an accident. A freak storm that ravaged the Dominican Republic before slamming into us. You might even get to see pictures. Doctored ones showing a menagerie of stragglers being rescued off the coast of the Caymans. That’s if they decide to share anything...
01 Feb Ravager’s Last Stand
Promise Valley was nestled in the valley below, tucked in quietly at the edge of the Rocky Mountains. As I eased my horse down the rough trail leading to the settlement, the place looked as serene as could be. It made the missive from my...
03 Jan The Gooseneck Chronicle
I had never seen this particular island before. As far as I knew it hadn’t even been inked on any map. I hadn’t been gone too long, nor had I ventured too far; the mainland was still visible in the west. Even a half-blind invalid...