Welcome to our 2019 $500 Halloween Horror 50 Word Story Contest. Yes, that’s right. It’s already here. Every year we run our contests, and those of you who have been frequent readers, this is what you’ve been waiting for.
First we will be doing a print issue! We will be doing 2 print issues, and we will pick entries from this contest to be in our issue. If you had a 50 word story designated to be in our print issue, from a past contest, please contact us.
Second, we will be giving out a $500 reward for the best 50 word horror story. This is not easy for us. Every Writer is not doing as well as it did in the past, but we want your stories. I believe writers should get paid for their work. I wish we could pay all of our writers, but it’s just impossible. So $500 for 50 words, I think is a unique and valuable statement to our readers. Ten dollars a word is what all writers really deserve.
So here are the rules:
• Story must be scary
• Story must be 50 words
• Story must be original and your own
• Story may not be published elsewhere
• Story must have a title (does NOT count in word count)
• Deadline is October 25, 2019
• Enter as many times as you want
• Story must be written in the comments below!
• Be nice or be disqualified
I love these stories. This is one of favorite traditions of Every Writer. I look forward to this every year, and this year I have extended the time we are going to spend with the contest.
The winners will:
• Be announced on October 31, 2019
• Will get $500
• Will be published in our digital and print issue.
• Will get an author page on our site
There is no entry fee for this contest. It would help us out greatly if you would donate 1$ or more, if you can, to help out the site. We would really appreciate it. A donation will not be considered in the deciding this contest.
If you want to keep up with me on Twitter, please follow me at @everywriter, I follow back all writers.
Good luck, and let the writing begin.
HERE IS THE WINNER
I have picked 4 stories. They all have times and days on them. If the winner does not respond by Friday 11/22/19 the money will go to the next story on the list. Here are the top 4 stories in order. ONLY OUR 1st PLACE WINNER gets the $500. Also, so this insanity never happens again, the winner will be invited back next year to be one of the judges.
WINNER 1st Place:
Kit Steward 10/13/19 5:20 pm
THE MIDNIGHT INCUBATOR
She heard mushy sounds for days and suffered from unbearable itchiness.
A doctor’s visit revealed earwig pupae nesting in her ear canal, it was flushed out.
Later, weary from stress, she crawled into bed.
That night while she slept, the creature returned.
And finding the eggs missing, it laid more.
2nd Place:
Elizabeth Lee 09/24/19 4:36 pm
Secondhand Doll
She didn’t want a secondhand doll so she flung it across the room. Porcelain cracked against the wall. Her mom made her glue the pieces back together. A thin shard sliced her hand, baptizing the doll in her hateful blood. The secondhand doll decided she didn’t want an ungrateful child.
3rd Place:
Alexander Daley Escobedo 10/25/19 3:38pm
Heirloom
We Buried my brother today. Suicide. He thought something evil was haunting him. He’d been medicated, institutionalized, shocked and secluded. He found his own way out. I wish I could tell him I’m sorry. Or had listened more closely. Because, when I got home, it was on my couch. Laughing.
4th place:
JB 10/25/19 8:12pm
TITLE: RESEVOIR
We should have known something was wrong when we first tasted the water. It was a little brown, but no more than usual in this apartment complex.
We kept drinking it until it turned black.
When they opened the water tank, they found the bloated, rotting corpse of my neighbor.
We usually always contact the winners first, but after all the trouble, we are opening up the process. I am again, very sorry for how late this is. I did not expect 4000 stories. Next year I will be ready.
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Empty Eyes
Collapse.
I awake entombed – mind alert, body inert.
Weeks in hospital, unmoving, I ponder. Realization! Sorrow. Indignation! Fear.
Doctors are perplexed; of my spouse’s poison, they do not know.
Husband arrives, home-care assignment.
He smiles. No longer love blinded, I see empty eyes.
I’ve a mouth, yet I cannot scream.
SPIDER WOMAN
Emily, who adored spiders, examined the insects caught in the web. One had a human face – her own face. Emily gasped. The insect shrieked as the spider attacked.
Emily turned to flee, but fell, feeling woozy. The venom was taking effect. She noticed a giant shadow closing in on her.
I AM GOD
One day, our son was playing with his toys, and jumping on the bed.
I asked “who are you?” he replied “Mama I am Gorilla”
I Said,“you are Homo sapiens and I am Homo Sensorium”
Then all of a sudden, he said “No Mama I am God! “, and vanished
“Break a leg”
Come, take a peek –
Fold back the drapes, let’s see what’s behind,
Beware what you seek, fear what you find. . .
Is it all you imagined? Did you squeal with glee?
Passion . . .
Pleasure. . .
Pain?
Plea!
Flee. . .
Fight!
Fall . . .
Crawl . . .
Cut.
Carve.
Skin – Floor.
The show’s just begun. . .
Still begging for more?
Foster Family Dinner
He was the most beautiful child they had ever seen.
Pink cheeks, green eyes and a toothless smile.
He was perfect. A small, delicate and tender child.
Once at home they put the baby in a saucepan, with some sauce and spices.
He would have been a perfect dinner.
“Tell me a horror story.” The psychotic man threatened insistently.
“There was once a woman…” Her voice in hiccups but then she stopped. “..known to possess acid in her veins.” Her words sinister as she cut her wrist, pouring the venom in his mouth with a smile on her face.
the doll-maker
on wicker’s street, there was a doll-store. Abandoned from the outside,
I was shocked when I walked through the door, greeted by a porcelain doll sat behind her counter, her glassy eyes staring at me. As I edged closer, the doll’s mouth cracked and I heard a single word.
“run.”
butcher’s tale
the pig squealed at first.
squelch. the heavy thuds became wetter and wetter. my cleaver carved into the pig; removing the intestine, skinning and taking the meat for tendering. Mr Wrigley had been a right greedy pig, perfect for my tantalus pie. I’ll make sure to offer his kids a slice.
MADAME REAPER
Those foolish creatures of the night: werewolves, vampires, witches… they limit themselves by killing only when it is dark, unlike me who never squanders a single moment of night or day to snuff out lives. You cannot set any clock to my arrival. I come and go as I please.
Glacier
my breath thickened like fog. I was suspended in the air, danging only by my right arm. the ice had pierced trough my arm, skewering me to the glacial cliff. I glanced down to the pit below, watching my blackened arm crack like ice. I was abandoned in the arctic.
Deep Down
The dark was so intense her eyes darted around trying to find light and focus. She could feel the sides of the smooth wooden box around her. She had air but not enough. The silence made her ears throb. Fear clawed at her spine. Was suffocation a torture she wondered?
The Willow Tree Witches
“Don’t go beyond the trees boy,” My Father spat.
“Why?”
“‘Cause they took your Brother,”
He told me this every Hallow’s Eve, to keep me away from the trees.
witches aren’t real, are they? they’re just a tale to scare little boys.
I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?…
“Tell me a horror story.” The psychotic man threatened insistently.
“There was once a woman…” Her voice in hiccups but then she stopped. “..known to possess acid in her veins.” Her words sinister as she cut her wrist, pouring the venom in his mouth with a smile on her face.
This Is Not The Son of God
He comes to us from the cross on the wall when mum and dad have gone to sleep. He smiles, and we know this is not the Christ. His hands are in the air, the holes in them sucking, sucking the wind from our voices as we try to scream.
Not Me
‘Vroo!’ This is not the wind.
‘Sleep sweet, my dear.’ This voice is not my mother.
Empty orbs in the mirror. Those are not my eyes.
Oily blackness. That cannot be my shadow.
A hand has a knife in my husband’s chest.
It is not my hand. It cannot be…
No Peeking:
“Sweetie, uncover your eyes. There’s nothing to be afraid of.
Mama turned on the light and it’s supposed to make everything okay. I know better.
“Your sister’s waiting.”
I spread my fingers. Her black eyes are holes peering from grey skin. Her mouth slowly opens. “I told you. No peeking.”
Judge, Jury, and The Executioner
“Can’t you see, Your Honor? Your ruling was wrong! I’ve partaken of the defendant and she is bitter with guilt.” He’s grinning wildly and nodding, pacing, one eye tracking my retreat even as the other stays deathly still. There is nowhere to run.
“Please.”
“Tsk.” He takes out a fork.
First Day
First day at the job, she was a nervous wreck. She hoped nobody noticed her awkwardness, trying to fit in her new surroundings. But it felt wrong.
“I need something else,” she thought.
Just then, he walked by.
“Perfect.”
Leaving her first body, the spirit quickly pursued the better vessel.
Cry Baby
Feeling guilty, the new mother gave her baby sleep medication. But he’d not eaten or slept the whole day. He had just cried and cried.
Eyes heavy, the baby whimpered – a final attempt to warn his mother. The last thing he remembered was the monster’s sharp claws slicing her chest.
Freedom
He slit his wrists, deep.
“I’m finally free of you.” His last words to his cruel wife.
As his spirit rose, he laughed maniacally, desperate to be away from her.
But he couldn’t leave.
“Darling, you married a witch, remember?” she said.
“And I’m not done with you yet!”
The Accident
The onlookers heard the spine snapping even before they saw his body flying on the road. The horrified driver was arrested and an ambulance carried the corpse away.
10 feet below the ground, in an abandoned sewer, a shackled woman wondered why her captor hadn’t arrived with the food yet.
The Keeper
He turned the ancient key slowly. The locks opened with deafening echoes that brought all the creatures out of their dark abodes.
He beckoned them to leave their prisons.
“Why set us free?” One asked as his friends rushed out.
The Keeper shrugged. “Devil made me a better deal.”
WENDIGO HUNGER
This, his first transformation, was frightening yet exhilarating. Just because he could, he attacked two campers asleep in their tent. Sticky with blood, he licked his lips. Intense hunger washed over him. Licking his razor sharp claws, he eyed the bodies, their sweet blood pooling. They were meat after all.
-Thirsty-
Small feet plod in the hallway towards our room.
Frozen, we cling together, lying in our cold sweat, peeking our wide eyes over the bedsheets into the darkness.
“Go back to bed. Please.”
Long scratches drag against our locked door.
“Mummy. Daddy,” she rasps, “I thirst.”
The abandoned house
Outside an abandoned house two friends stand as they both dared each other to prove themselves the bravest. One of them accepted the dare and went inside making his way to a room that smelled horrible. On switching on the lights a dead body was found underneath the bed sheets
Stop flirting with death
“Hello there” he said behind the darkness.
“What do you want?” I say as he puts a hand on my shoulder.
“I want you, love” he says and kisses my neck.
“Stop flirting with me Death” i say and kiss him back.
“I love you” he says.
harmless flirting
“hello love, want to go out?” he said.
“whats in it for me?”
“eternal youth, and love.”
“Stop teasing me Death, you already have me.” i say as i kiss him
He kisses me back and then whispers in my ear. “Please stop flirting with me, Chloe”
“Never” *bang*
Beware of the Millennium Species
She saw a hypnotic trance, mostly in children.
No smiles or outside activities; everyone stared at screens, which were reaching in and stealing their souls.
The first baby born in the year 3000 had no mouth. We had evolved into a species that had lost the ability to communicate orally.
Donna Collins Tinsley
The last human.
The only human to be alive after an apocalypse that took place locked herself inside a room frightened of the eternal darkness that consumed the world.
The door knocked.
“Open the door,Mary.”,an eerie voice with a crooked smile called.
Alone with people
We stand in our room, alone, surrounded by people. We each held a shotgun, standing in a circle. We can sense it, it’s coming, so we wait.
They all fell dead to the floor as I stood, still alive, and now alone. But that’s when I hear it behind me.
The room
Like every child Thomas was excited to get his own room. The smile on his face and his excitement was immeasurable. He spent all day decorating his room with posters. Then as night came a creepy old woman watcted him as he fell asleep from the window across his bed.
IT CAME
The clock struck midnight and the walls began to tremble like an earthquake had hit. It was eerily quiet. There was a disembodied blood curling scream followed by maniacal laughter.
We huddled together, unable to move.Terrified, we could only watch in horror as the walls began to bleed blood.
The sound
Woken up by a dreadful sound she rushed downstairs she yelled and screamed but no one near to hear. The lights all off and only a candle light was burning she rushed to grab it but heard a squeaking sound. As she turned around the knife went through her stomach.
Blue Tones
The room was quiet, looking at the ceiling I just wanted to dream.
“Alexa” I whispered into the night. The room lit up with a blue tone.
“What is pain?” She spit out the definition.
“Help me kill myself.” I waited for a response. The room lit blue.
“Okay.”
The snake
A small bloody tongue pierces the air. His slitted eyes are open wide. He has no arms, no legs, no hands, but he is not what you think. But this is no snake, a man. He lies on the floor with all limbs and eyes cut off, waiting… waiting … gone….
HORROR MOVIE
Laura sat in the darkened theater, gazing up at the screen. Feeling uneasy, she turned and noticed the other six moviegoers all staring at her.
She turned back to the screen, which showed Laura in the theater, the others suddenly standing behind her, staring down at her with white eyes.
Harry Talbot settled into his seat in the theater, grateful to be out of the night air on this particular evening. Unfortunately for all, the first image on the screen was of the full moon. His change was swift and agonizing as usual. Ten victims were found the following morning.
Daddy’s Girl
Mom said Daddy was a monster.
I didn’t care.
“If you love him so much, go live with him.”
So I did.
When he opened the door, he hesitated.
“Tina…”
“I know, you’re a monster.”
I held out my arms, that were bristling with brown, wiry hair.
“So am I.”
War
The zombie shuffled near the rusty truck, going in and out of view. Few feet away, in a dilapidated building, a gun was aimed right at him. A human was focussed diligently on him.
Suddenly, a scream pierced through the air. The zombie smiled. His ‘bait’ plan had worked…again.
Jetski
Gliding across water like a stone skipped by the gods I rode across the ocean. I didn’t weigh enough to really feel that bounce striding the seas surface as the shore slinked into the waves, the sun also disappeared. A school of dolphins had been following, but something else lurked.
The First Word
The windows rattled as icy rain fell relentlessly on her shivering house. She quickly shut them, drowning the house in an eerie silence.
“Mommy!” said a tiny voice.
She gasped. Her son had said her first word!
But…he was just a week old.
Outside, the rains swallowed her screams.
Just Routine
Was just like any other day, she had been in the bathroom 30 minutes already. We were running late, another hour had passed, my curiosity was hungry. I went to knock expecting a thud, but the door slammed against the wall. She lay lifeless on the floor, my heart dropped.
RECYCLING
They came at me with clear plastic bags over their heads, tightly cinched at the neck with narrow black ribbons. Faces distorted, screeching sounds muffled. I wondered how they could breathe. Then I realized, dead people don’t need to breathe, and my final breath was sucked back into my lungs.
A foul, overwhelming stench filled the room as the shambling grotesque squeezed it’s aging, orange bulk into the throne. It nodded at the deformed sycophants that slithered around the dais. The dead creature on it’s head quivered as it slobberingly pronounced, “This is mine by virtue of my stable genius.”
ALL PURPOSE DUCT TAPE
I couldn’t cry out. I couldn’t move. The tape over my mouth sealed it shut, and my head was taped to a metal pole. I accepted my fate and realized that with the tape, I had a few more inches of precious life as the water slowly rose around me.
Fussy
Little anckle biter just wouldn’t be quite, persistently barking. After much agitation, I left my warm recliner to see what the fuss was about. Of course nothing was there, I rolled my eyes and turned around. There standing before me, must of been seven feet tall, orange fiery eyes staring…
Family Matters
She cried out “you kill my son, you will not kill my son”. Her child pressed against the wall with her standing in front of him. The child calmly pleading the assailant “please stop”. The man with his eyes calculatively enraged like a cruel winter struck again, again and again.
At First Sight
Their eyes met and something powerful surged through his heart. Everything about her was splendid. He found himself falling in love, which was crazy – he didn’t even know her name.
He approached her – she smiled. She’d paid with a life, but the love spell was worth it!
Behind the Wall
There is a darkness in some men’s hearts that can’t be reasoned with. These cages only serve to make that darkness grow and consume them like a flame. Some might even say behind the wall is hell itself. Psychology have many names for it, but some words never lose weight.
“The Killer”
He only had one goal: Kill the boy. He came upon an old, rusty looking house, bricks coming loose from the facade. Quietly, he entered the house. The door creaked open. Sitting beside the fireplace was the boy that he was ordered to kill. He crept closer and raised his dagger.
Suicide
She is heartbroken. She hated her life
She wanted to die.
And she jumped from the edge of a cliff to commit suicide. Strangely,she turned out to be alive when she fell into a ten feet deep pit full of vipers,but with broken limbs and a blinded eye.
Speechless
An iron taste coats my tongue, as dark red black fluid poured from my mouth, coughs tugging at my chest. The monitor beeps in my ears, memories in fragments. How did I get here, what happened I wondered. A nurse came by, I tried to ask her, but couldn’t speak.
Paranoia
I went to sleep at 11 pm, and I went downstairs to get water. I felt a shiver down my spine; my paranoia was overloaded. When I went upstairs, I went back to sleep. In the morning, my phone was on the floor. There was a picture of me sleeping.
Rude Awakening
All was calm, and peaceful the world had seemed to have gone away. My throat felt tight, just below the jaw. Not quite awake opening my eyes I immediately reached out to grab whatever was pressing down on me. Trying to gather my senses, this was no dream at all…
Something’s Out There
Everything was in its place, the garage was finally organized. As I walked toward the porch the leaves rustled, I looked no one was there. The steps creaked beneath my feet as I reached for my keys. My coat clinged to my skin, the fabric pulled me back , what the?
Black Skys
Screaching in the trees watching from afar hiding in the firey palate of autumn leaves. There eyes seem to pierce the soul with intensity. Their caw’s, cawing louder, fluttering down like black snow on every surface as they swoop down from the sky. Never seen anything like it, but why?
Unfavorable
It was silent at the end of the alley, just the five of us. A trial I had no part of had began against my favor. There eyes might as well been hollow, there was no empathy to be seen. Voices within me started to say, it’ll be over soon.
Beware
Always the same, if you know what to look for. Sometimes the ears will serve even better than the eyes. These aren’t people, no truth is found only displacement and fraud. Cloaked in lies, burying all fault. Beware these demons masked as friends, know there words as traps, lures, omens.
Time to Drain the Main Vein
After excusing herself to freshen up, I watched the good-looking man in the expensive shirt with disgust slip something into her Tito’s.
My warning elicited a knowing smirk . “Finally. It’s him.”
She flashed her bag: Taser, gloves, handcuffs, Ka-bar.
They left together. Her tipsy smile never reached her steely eyes.
Alone
The wind hissed whirling as it pressed against the windows. Not a star in the sky could be seen from any direction. All but that terrible wind the house fallen eerie silent. I knew I was alone, not a soul to be seen. But then I heard a clamor outside…
Infected
The bite inflamed and irritated burned, it’s been days. The hospital wrote me off with an antibiotic, but this was no ordinary lesion. As I looked into my reflection the whites of my eyes had become a yellow hue, my gums were turning pale and discolored, what’s happening to me?
harmless flirting
“hello love, want to go out?” he said.
“whats in it for me?”
“eternal youth, and love.”
“Stop teasing me Death, you already have me.” i say as i kiss him
He kisses me back and then whispers in my ear. “Please stop flirting with me, Chloe”
“Never” *bang*
my freedom.
“join me” one says, tauntingly.
“never” i say, fighting my restraints.
“give up, they hate you” another says.
“I know, but I love them.” i tell them as i cut a long line in my wrist, freeing myself.
the demons want me, i give them a taste, but never me.
Until Death Do Us Part
I married my soulmate today. I’m one of the lucky few. Even though he doesnt say much, I know he’s happy too.
As I lie against him; my heart skipping in anticipation, I wonder if his would’ve done the same should we have met long before it stopped.
Emotion Manipulator
An immense snake towered over a trembling, wide-eyed girl.
The monster wrapped one of it’s six tentacles around her wrist and pulsed. Thick waves of terror coursed through her veins and the empty, black eyes of her tormentor were replaced with memories.
Her life was literally flashing before her eyes.
Bury the Castle
“Bury the castle.”
Thump.
“Bury the castle.”
Thump.
“Bury the castle.”
No matter how loud I sing, I can still hear it moving. Out of breath from singing, I picked up the shovel and waited, the dirt didn’t move. Silence. Quickly I continued to bury the body.
“Bury the castle.”
Trapped
Static.
Black and white.
Colors flashing.
Trapped.
She pounds on thick glass with shaky hands.
Slowly getting weaker.
Thump
She can’t get out.
Her eyes widen in terror.
She looks out the glass.
Giants stare.
She stuck inside a television.
Her life is just a show.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump…
Dream Come True
The date was over. They stood on her porch. He leaned in, but she stopped him. Suddenly, his eyes filled with murderous rage. “How dare you taunt me!”
Her eyes widened, knowing what came next. She had dreamt it the night before. He pulled a gun from his car.
BANG!
The guilty ones
I stand with my back straight, and my head held high. We stand in a row, my sisters are at my side. I smirk at the men lighting the fires at our feet. They expect to scream that we are innocent. We laugh. Little do they know how it tickles.
Only A Dream
She danced in a sunflower field, her sisters beside her. The sun shone brightly. Everything was exactly how it should be. He took her hand and drew her close. Their lips touched.
She opened her eyes and looked around. Her sisters were murdered, he wanted her dead. This was reality.
The Forest
Her brutally maimed legs ran as fast as the blood ran down her stained sleeve. Trees collapsed to the forest ground behind her, warning her of the coming danger. The slim, dark, bony creature cried a blood curdling scream. Suddenly, a cold, slimy hand curled around her neck with snap.
The Blade
I couldn’t stop staring, if he caught me I would be dead. I saw everything: the fight, the gunshot, the man. He ran away but another came up to the body, watching intensely for any sign of movement. He raised his scythe but he disappeared. I turned around to meet Death’s blade.
Slumber
Thump!
A mucky brown leather boot bursted out of the shadows.
“You were there,” a murky voice spat
“Left me to rot.”
“I know your face, blue eyes… bluer than blue, blue as the waves of the great sea.”
It inched a bloodied knife closer.
The figure grinned
“Shhhhhh, sleep.”
“Ritual of Possession”
O hallowed master in Hell, enter freely into our hearts! We give you dominion over our bodies, master! Deliver us unto your ancient servant that we might be it’s vessel! On this night, your sabbath, while the veil is thin! By our blood! Azag! Azag! Azag! Azag! Azag! Azag! Azag!
Her Own
The bones breaking were her own. Snapping like dry sticks, sharp calcium splinters gouged up through her shredding skin, flinging blood splats onto the mirror she gazed into with the look of a woman so deranged and sadistic that even by Wiccan standards, was enough to make Whiskers look away.
Not Afraid
Two pumpkins promised each other they would visit a cemetery on Halloween night to prove they were not afraid. They sighed with relief when they left the cemetery unscathed.
They heard someone digging. They returned to the cemetery only to fall into a deep hole. Fear turned into darkness forever.
Behind You
Every night, it waited outside by the street light. Every night, it got closer. Inch by Inch. It would always disappear every morning. I bet it was a homeless person. I look closer, it was laughing. It pointed, not at me, but behind me. Oh God, behind me. I turn.
Instincts
The beast loomed over the limping woman, his heavy and foul-smelling breath invading the night air.
He moved closer and closer, intoxicated by her fear and his own gluttony.
“Stop!”shouted the last of his humanity at his primal reflection.
But his body wouldn’t listen.
Instincts were his masters now.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Thirteen checkouts bustled, yet lane six always remained barren.
The gaunt cashier had long dark kinky hair, gray patchy skin, terrible nails, and make-up that looked like a drag queen had a seizure.
People glanced, reconsidered and avoided.
The zombie inclusiveness program proved to be bad socioeconomics from the beginning.
Trading Cards
Kevin flipped to the last empty slot in the last page of the binder.
He placed Henry’s card in it; mint condition, first edition and his tortured face on it.
He placed the card carefully into it’s sleeve, next to Suzie’s and Michael’s and all his other classmates’ trapped souls
Nice idea!!! A fun twist on soul-harvesting.
Thank you!
I really liked your idea of a zombie inclusiveness program. Made me wanna know how it got started in the first place.
Government, soldier program gone awry. Failed prototype surplus.
” Sitting”
He sat on the stoop. His eyes glowed red and orange.
His manic grin split his face. His nose was hallowed.
He made no sound. He had no tongue, no hair, no ears.
He was silently caving in on himself
His name: Jack O’lantern.
-AS
“Darkness”
There was no escape.
She was chained to the wall, her arms drawn up high above her head.
Her legs were being bitten – every last drop of blood being devoured.
The rats began to gnaw her toes. She sat straight up in bed.
She was sweating. The nightmare was over.
-AS
Halloween Bash
Halloween, in hell there’s a bash
With devil as host you know it’s high class
He’ll dress for the party, dress as a sheep
I’ll dress as a wolf, we’ll dance cheek to cheek
Feasting on maggots, larvae, and trash
Sipping blood on the rocks from his broken wine glass
The Gift of Giving
The crowd of parents gathered in the small lobby of the police station. A man was found, and so were the children. Suspended from an ancient tree in town, the man proclaimed it had given enough. The children had climbed and carved the tree for generations, and now, they swung.
Emergency
The familiar tone woke her, followed with the vaguely robotic voice asking, “What can I help you with?” A voice whispered behind her, “I need help.” She emitted a gurgle as one hand tightened around her throat, the questions of an emergency services operator falling away to the distance.
THE REAL ESTATE AGENT
He had a better view of the old house from the tree.
Climbing down he crossed the road towards the overgrown property.
An oncoming truck swerved, missing him, crashing into a telephone pole.
Both occupants died.
Blackie was happy to get new owners, his others vacated the house decades ago.
The Road
There is a road that looks like any other. Looks are deceiving. The road shifts, calling out with whispers to lure travelers. I have resisted its pull but one day my car of its own volition veered to it. I was swallowed in fog, becoming another whisper to other victims.
Home and Exile
“The quickest and surest way to die young in Obolo is to be born a twin,” Mother said as she wrapped a life python round my neck. “Home has rejected her,” she told my twin brother, whose face was the colour of water.
It Will Eat You
Teddy loved haunted houses. He decorated his house with Halloween trimmings. People came to experience the ultimate haunted house. Disappearances began and figures were seen lurking in the house. Everyone stopped going. Terrorized by his hungry house, Teddy roamed, begging to be left alone. Succumbing to his creation, Teddy faded.
Home and Exile
“The quickest and surest way to die young in Obolo is to be born a twin,” Mother said as she wrapped a life python round my neck. “Home has rejected her,” she told my twin brother, whose face was the colour of water.
“Sweet Dance of Sin”
Halloween night the dance was so sweet
Till the music was changed to a wickedly beat
The devil did cry let the evil begin
Murder, mayhem, all manners of sin
I resisted the demons as they tortured their kill
But with first taste of blood I lost my free will
Heartbreak
“Please stop!”
“What did we ever do to you?”
“You tore my heart out!” The darken figure held the knife up higher as she mournfully cried in pain. “Now I will tear yours out too.” The knife came crashing down on the young couple. On the floor laid three beating heart.
Hide and Seek
“Ready or not…here I come,” a voice said gleefully. With the childhood phrase in her ear, Rilee ran. Hiding, she waited. Screams filled the night. A shadow appeared. Rilee ran, with no place to hide. Settling on the blood soaked ground, she waited. Suddenly, a toothy grin appeared. “Found you.”
Waiting in the Shadows
She looks so peaceful, sleeping. I could watch her for hours.
Well, maybe some other night. Right now there’s a long list of things I want to do, some of which I’ve only ever tried on animals. And dawn will come all too soon.
So it’s time to wake up.
HOW UN-APPROPRIATE
The gray, rusty truck slowed its roll, obnoxiously honking.
Its plate read, “NATIVE.”
“White trash!” Sue chastised.
“Watch this,” the man blew something from an outstretched palm.
A fleet of wasps appeared, swarming the vehicles’ interior.
“Shaman” Sam smiled, and the two entered the building for their weekly Tribal meeting.
LOL MEMES
By Scott Zhao
One day I went to my friend, Bill.
He went “Get epically owned!”
And I was like “Uno reverse card.”
He said “Wanna hit the beats?!”
I went “You’re owned boy.”
Then a guy with red eyes came and took Bill away.
I heard screams.
Then he came for me.
Monster
A storm rages within and I fight for control. Each word that slips from those pretty lips act as a new crack in the restraints holding it in.
Not yet.
My nails dig into my palms.
Not yet.
I smile, for if you knew my true intent… You wouldn’t be.
Escape:
Musty air, thick with the smell of cigars. Trapped, bones nailed to the floorboards of a dark attic. Slowly, burning ash tattoos your rotting aching exterior. You lunge for a window, glass shatters, flesh is torn away, and faint maniacal laughter rapes your ears as your blood slowly trickles out.
All True
Right now there’s chaos going on.
I attempt to get some sleep.
Then, I had this peculiar dream.
I saw a man dressed in white.
He had a blade in one hand.
In the other a piece of cloth.
Tonight was the night.
I woke up startled.
He stood there.
The Killer
He had been told to kill the family. It was a very tall house and the parents were on the first floor. It went quite and he raised his dagger. He went to the baby crib and you heard a loud bang. The house was quiet. He had done his job.
THE SILENCE MILL
There was a buzzing din beyond view, secure in her position, she remained heedless.
She was captivated by the willowy depths, marveling at the intricate pattern.
“Interesting,” she thought.
The light slivered through a weave of sturdy thickets, punctuating the cradle’s basin with droplets of orange-gold.
“The way baskets…”
Bloodied Knife
Adrenaline was pumping in my veins as I drew the knife slowly across my hapless victim’s throat. I watched in satisfaction as the blood flowed. The usual gasping and gurgling went on. I wiped the knife on the knife on his woolly coat. We’d be having roast lamb for Halloween.