$500 Halloween 50 Horror Word Story Contest 2019

4,463 thoughts on “$500 Halloween 50 Horror Word Story Contest 2019”

1. MAX

   I woke from my nap with an uneasy feeling. I shook it off while getting ready for this evening.
   “Halloween is my favorite!” Max beamed from the backseat.
   I glanced back to see Max’s creepy smile. His eye sockets empty. The feeling returned as I remembered…I don’t have kids.

2. THE CRAWLY MAN

   Widow Danvers rocked sleepily by the fire. Sensing a shift of atmosphere, she turned just as The Crawly Man dragged himself out from the cellar. Putrid rot and pointed teeth, his blackened sockets fell on her.
   A scream formed in the back of her throat, but it was ripped out.

3. What’s left

   The Hands. Goddammit the hands. Remnants of flesh reaching for mine tearing me limb from limb before blood loss releases me. Waking is hard. It’s even harder when I have to get up from bed and face what’s left of earth outside a barred window. I wish I’d stayed asleep.

4. Foot of The Bed:

   Laying in her bed, she shivered as her large blanket covered her body. Perhaps her anxiety and paranoia were finally getting the best of her. Her eyes adjusted in the darkness as she focused on the faint large figure at the foot of her bed, she knew she wasn’t alone.

5. – DOWNSTAIRS NEIGHBORS –

   Do you believe in ghosts?

   I do.

   Who else converses below me at night?

   I have no basement.

   They’re mostly friendly, I think.

   But I am careful to step lightly.

   Late one night I moved my furniture, scraping and bumping about.

   And I heard shouts—upset banging—beneath the floorboards.

6. – A MANOR IN THE NIGHT –

   1:00 am every night, I roll over, look out my window, and see the manor blazing with life. I hear music. I see dancing in the topmost window.

   One somber, partnerless man gazes down, watching me. I snap the blinds closed.

   That manor burned down over 20 years ago.

7. Title: Transform

   Slap. The bug bit me, right on my hand, can you believe it? It itches. Scratch, scratch. Burning and bubbling under my skin. Puffy red lumps climb my arm. The pain folds me onto the floor. It seers like fajitas. I wipe my eyes–that’s not my face. I’m a monster.

   -Submission #2 – J. McCoard

8. Title: Can’t have my cat

   He flattened me to the ground. Pinned. Struggling with little effect.
   “Why do you make me angry?” his tone calm and smooth.
   “You don’t understand.” I should leave, walk out. My arms were never so red. He doesn’t hit me. I can’t leave my cat. We can work this out.

   -Submission #3 – J. McCoard

9. Title: Don’t Take Her

   “Don’t look. Keep your eyes shut.” My hands shook as I covered my daughter’s eyes. “It can’t hurt you if it’s not real. And it’s not real if you can’t see it.” The cold moved around from my front to my back, looming over my shoulder. Whispering, “I am real.”

   -Submission #4 – J. McCoard – all done.

10. THE COLD SHOULDER

    There’s something lurking by my shoulder;
    ancient, ruined, and growing colder.
    Matted hair and mangled limbs,
    I shiver as the twilight dims.

    I hear the licking of his tongue.
    Smell his fetid breath like dung.
    I try to run, but lose my breath,
    as icy fingers greet me with death.

11. CARNAL KNOWLEDGE

    Hank’s water rations diminished and he hadn’t eaten for weeks.

    Communication from the next cell with Phil ceased days ago.

    Was he freed?

    A tray of warm ham steaks was slid through the door.

    He voraciously devoured the meat as his hopes for release grew.

    Hank’s torture session…had just begun.

12. WAITING FOR DEATH

    The thick chains rattled against the cold concrete floor as I peered out the small window slit. I stared into the endless night, watching as the headlights from cars passed the house.

    I wished they could hear me; to free me from my uncertain fate.

    Yet death called my name.

13. THE POSSESSION

    Like a black, translucent cloud, it slithered up my body. My skin burned at its touch, felling as if I was set ablaze. It pounced into my mouth, sliding down my throat like a waterfall of boiling tar. The demon took control of my body; feasting off of my pain.

14. The Two Men

    The night was dead; darkness pressed like a heavy blanket. A thick fog floated off the river, drifting through the alley, swirling around the men. The toothless man grinned and nudged the tall man in the black cape, pointed to a shadow passing. A better night for murder never was.

15. MORNING AT THE CAMPS

    Valleys littered with skin and bone
    Shame for all the world to see
    Haggard ghastliness
    Crawling lice
    And still the cattle wagons arrive at the iron gates.

16. YOU’RE SUFFOCATING ME

    “I’ll always cherish our private moments together,” he whispered.

    Jake’s fingers interlaced together around the bare neck, his grip tightened slowly and compressed until the popping, wheezing sounds were no more.

    The inflatable sex doll lay motionless taunting him from the bed, while Beth’s fresh corpse rested in the tub.

17. Tiny body:

    I held her close while she cried.
    I held her close as she closed her eyes.
    I held her close wiping my tears.
    I held her close then she died.

    I sat in silence, listening to her silence.
    I swayed as I caressed her … then; she opened her eyes!

18. Cake

    “My daddy tells me never go in the attic. Being a good girl, I always follow orders. I consider myself a good person even if I looked one night. I never question anything because I got cake. Not even asking why my mom was tied with no hands and feet.”

19. Birthday Cake:

    I crawled to the toilet to vomit; I didn’t make it. I can’t walk anymore. I slouched against bathroom wall gazing down the hall, there on the table sat my empty plate; it was just cake … wasn’t it?

20. The Pumpkin Trail:

    There once was a farmer so lively and quick, “that’s Santa; not a farmer!” Danny giggled while he skipped down the dirt road, his Father chuckled at little Danny’s outburst. Suddenly a gush of wind flew by …. “No!! Danny, Where are you?”

21. THE DEBT

    Searing screams pierced the walls as the drill carved deeper into her body. Pleads to stop met with a sickening smile, the masked man’s steely stare saw only his aim. Jaw prised open, blood slowly seeping. Eyes stained with pain searched desperately for salvation. . . salvation lost, dental bill in sight.

22. THE DUI

    The politician woke up in the hospital bed still drunk. He later learned he had run a Webber grade school bus off the road killing seven. Surprise- Webber school has been closed 5 years, the 7 dead really just a few documents and cgi pics. And the whistle-blower never drank.

23. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?

    Him: Gee, I never met an albino with two different color eyes.
    Her: Albinism 1/10,000 births, heterochromia iridus 1/4000.
    Him: And 12 fingers.
    Her: Polydactyly 1/500. Do you want to fuck?
    Him: Ummm…yes?

    Him: Wow, 2…
    Her: …septate vagina 1/700. By the way AIDS 1/250,000,000.

    1. AIDS is actually 1/330, I had no idea it was that high.

24. That Night After The Party

    My phone died soon as I left the party.
    Outside was dark. looking for keys I noticed another pair of echoing footsteps from behind. Searching more and more. They’re getting louder. Got the keys. Almost to car. They fall. Panicking I look back. “Aagh!” That was it… there. Then vanishing.

25. When The Doctors give up

    I was is so much pain. Wishing for deaths rescue. I looked down and seen long white and silver worms slowly sliding in and out of my belly button. The smell was horrific. I would just lay and stare at the ceiling while they feasted on my flesh

26. SCREAM!

    The dark horse looked through the hall. A chilly wind and lightning moved through the hall. It’s red piercing eyes picked one of the toddlers. Everywhere was dead silent and suddenly the school was no more. There was palpable fear because the dark horse promised to be back before Winter.

27. “Making the Cut”

    The doctor adjusted the lights over the autopsy table, sighing, “Such a shame…to lose someone so young and…beautiful.” She lifted a scalpel, looked down at the body, and shook her head.

    “Please…hold still…” She tightened the straps. “…and you really should close your eyes.”

    Beneath the gag he started screaming.

28. “Last Days”

    The sky burned yellow and gray. The only things looking down at the earth were the shuddering stars. The world was left to those who ate, or those who were eaten – a cruel distillation of all human history pinned down and flayed, screaming, to the most bare and sinuous reality.

29. NOWHERE TO HIDE…

    The carnage was everywhere and the stench of human flesh, as we moved down the dark corridor was malodorous. Yet, we moved on. Knowing, that if we didn’t, the thing, that caused all this death would start hunting us. Little did we know…the dragon was already lurking…watching us from above.

30. SCARY DREAM…

    “I’m telling you doctor; the dream starts out normal. Then…out of nowhere, storm clouds rise, and a huge titan appears to kill me. Do you believe me?” The doctor returned, “I sure do.” He then stood, tossed his glasses, changed back into that horrible giant and kills me once again.

31. IMAGERY…

    I smothered my screams as best I could, but the pungent smell of death in the room, turned rancid in my chest. The sounds of bones cracking, from the creature’s powerful bite. Left me blind with terror. That is, until I opened my eyes and realized, that beast is me.

32. MY SISTER AND ME

    Spontaneously combusted – ma, pa, neighbor – now mounds of ash. My sister and me alone moving south. A store clerk and a policeman added to the ash pile. We need to look large and project old, so no more adults will pester us. My sister has no control. Yet.

33. HELP IS ON THE WAY

    Neville felt dizzy, almost ridiculous. Everyone screams at horror movies. That’s what we pay for, overpriced popcorn and all. But the fainting… And vomit? Neville scanned the theatre, trembling. Several fellow gore-fest fans had even soiled their boxers! MORE OF WHAT YOU CAME FOR COMING! he howled—and continued slashing.

34. THE UPPITY APPRENTICE

    Trevor handed Emilio the Tupperware container of
    crawling cockroaches, wolfed down with a Mountain Dew.
    Trevor said, “I can’t do this anymore.”
    “Patience- when the time is right…”
    “Now’s the time.”
    Trevor violently plunged a wooden stake into Emilio’s heart.
    Emilio just laughed. “You’ve watched to many silly Vampire
    movies.”

35. Title: It’s Broken Out

    The outmoded equipment ticks to life, eating precious seconds. The door is struck on the far side.

    “QUERY?” prompts the green-on-black monitor text.

    Dusty keys clack. The door shakes again.

    “INPUT ACCEPTED. RETRIEVING PROCEDURE FOR CONTAINMENT OF SPECIMEN-137.”

    The door gives way.

36. CARNE-VAL

    Jane had borne years of his abuse, faced with scandal she sought revenge.

    “This stew is spicy, meat so tender,” he said.

    “It’s seasoned with nightshade, and the meat, well…you’re familiar with that heifer, aren’t you?” she replied.

    Choking on vomit, Dick died with bits of mistress between his teeth.

37. (Halloween 50 Horror Word Story Contest 2019)
    Title: The Albino woman, a real-life ghost story.

    The Rochester Cemetery in Topeka, Kan., has a real-life ghost story. Hundreds of people saw the “Albino woman” while she was alive, and many people still see her wandering the cemetery with her white German Shepherd, many years after her demise. What, or who is she looking for?

38. Put Them Away

    You know that pile of clothes on that chair in your bedroom?
    By night, He watches you through them.
    You wake up in the middle of the night, staring, reminding yourself, ‘it’s just the clothes on the chair’.
    You fall back asleep, not realising, He’s, now… right next to you.

39. EASY COME, UNEASY GO

    He hadn’t passed his bowels in days.

    There was a pounding on the stall’s door.

    “Hold on,” he grunted, struggling to accomplish something.

    Pounding…

    “Wait a damn second!” he replied.

    The door burst open, a zombie shambled inward, reeking with the foul stench of decay.

    Bud’s constipation was finally resolved.

    1. Hahaha. Love it ?

40. What Lurks In The Shadows

    They were everywhere. Darkness and shadows. Swallowing all who pass. Disappearing with the night, returning with the dark. The boy is running as they chase him through the trees. Screaming, crying, then falls to his knees. As they approach he understands his fate, he already knows that it’s too late.

41. “Embers”

    My brother was only eight the last time I saw him. How thick the fog was—clouding stars—yet he swore he saw fireflies. Shimmering. He went ahead, following their flickers. To that clearing. That ring of trees. And then, in a flash of embers, in fireflies, he was gone.

42. The Man In The Mirror

    Jennifer returned home with an old looking mirror and put it in her bedroom. Badeep! She gets a message. Tap! Tap! She looks up. It came from the mirror. She stands and walks over. There’s a man with demonic eyes. She tries to scream, but he seems to stop her.

43. ” Watching Shadows”

    You said you saw him at the end of the drive just across the street. Just out of reach of the streetlamps. Now you find yourself staying up—watching shadows. How you see him in every corner. A void. Deep, dark, endless. He stands there, eyeless, yet somehow forever watching.

44. “Vultures”

    The dreary cemetery on the hill hardly saw life, and their coming was almost a relief. I spent the early evenings watching them, perched upon gravestones and in old trees—wings wide, beckoning. I’ve noticed there are more of them than before— near overturned, fresh graves. Picking flesh from bone.

45. The Thing

    Scattered across the ground, my prize roosters lay slaughtered. I’m doing something. Later… The rest of my roosters are in their roost. I sit waiting in the dark. There’s rustling in the bushes. Something appears. It’s evil, I can tell. I gasp. It turns and seems me. Then it charges.

46. “Keep the Jack-o-Lanterns Lit”

    Wait for the last Trick ‘r Treaters before you blow out the jack-o-lanterns. They come in groups of five or six, just after curfew, dressed in all black, with eyes, endless and dark. Promise to leave the light on for them, every Halloween. Only then, shall they let you be.

47. The Girl

    The young child weeps in a corner. I walk over to touch her shoulder She turns around. She has no eyes, mouth, nothing, yet tears still roll down her cheeks. I ask what’s wrong, and she replies, “You. Are. Dead.” I look at my hands, now only bone and maggots.

48. A DIGNIFIED DEATH

    I inquired, “ Apparition? Specter? Phastasmagoria?”
    “Thesaurus much?”
    “I won’t go!”
    “Cries baby irony.”
    “I want choices.”
    “Choice’s made, Kool-Aide.”
    “Smart ass.”
    “I know you are but what am I.”
    “I had no idea that death was such a dick.”
    Death mimes sucking dick.
    “Fine, I’ll go.”
    Death farts loudly.

49. HIM

    As I walked home that dark and dreary night a shadowy figure crossed my path. I trembled in the darkness pulling my coat tighter when I felt a stabbing pain pierce my back and the bloody knife dug deeper. Laying lifeless on the ground, frozen in fear, I see HIM!

50. Lasting Memories

    A final whirl of a shutter signaled the end of the shoot.
    “Darling, it’s time to go.”
    “But Hugo, she’ll be all alone.” Mother fingered Dahlia’s lace hem.
    “She won’t know.”
    “I’ll send over the prints next week,” the rattled photographer consoled the newlyweds, shutting the lid to Dahlia’s casket.

51. Exhale

    Dying isn’t so bad; you’re here then you’re gone.
    It isn’t all unicorns and fairytales, sure. . . but then there’s nothing special about taking a nap either.
    The pain? Huh, I mean sure, if you’re screaming it must hurt, right?
    At least, that’s what they all tell me right before I

52. DON’T GET CHUMMY WITH ME

    Julie tanned on the dock, lounging her legs in the cool lake.

    Shrill screams echoed as her toeless foot suddenly arose from red waters.

    A fanged creature sloshed onto the bloodied platform.

    Fleeing for safety she dove deep into the murkiness, only to be met by the thing’s gluttonous brood.

53. The Guilt
    The death of Ellie’s mother had sent her into a downward spiral. Ellie blamed herself because they had fought over the car her mother crashed in. Her last word’s to her was “wish you were dead.” The words will haunt her forever. The horror and guilt will always be hers.

54. The Dark Collectors

    They’ve been waiting for you, watching with thirsty eyes as you preyed upon the innocent; as you schemed and trampled and sought only your own. For all the wrongs never made right, the debts never repaid, the day of reckoning is upon you. The reapers are coming for your soul.

55. PARTNERS

    Officer Collins- gun raised- said, “Rodney shit man, you’re not a cop, you’re a zombie- I gotta blow your head off.”

    Zombie Rodney then gave Collins a huge smile.

    “Rodney, are you back buddy?”

    But zombie Rodney wasn’t back, he was smiling at the approaching legion of zombies behind Collins.

56. PLANET OF THE MONKEYS

    Woke up one day and everyone was a monkey- dad, wife, neighbors, Walmart employees, the president. Everyone. Me the only human. They do everything they did before, plus tree climbing and monkey noises, etc. I’ve adjusted. It’s not bad- even monkey sex. But man, I’m really fucking sick of bananas.

57. COULD IT BE ME?

    The bloated corpse tumbled out onto the riverbank. Lifeless eyes stared up at me.

    Horrific claw marks on the body made it unrecognizable.

    Weird. I could almost feel a phantom pain on my limbs. My ears were ringing.

    Why am I here?

    I looked back at the corpse’s familiar eyes.

58. TICK TOCK

    That stupid clock.

    I’ve always hated it. Especially now, that I knew its origins.

    I never should’ve gone to that auction. I always knew antiques would be the death of me. The demon was lying in wait, ready to pounce.

    When it reached ten, I knew I would be dead.

59. Manuel stared stonily at his dead friend’s face, nearly buried under the press of other prisoners’ bodies. He’d been staring for hours.
    Whoever… whatever took Carlos, was invisible, silent. Picking them off one by one.
    But-did it only come for them?
    “Guard…!” He cried out, rattling the iron bars.

60. She came across the Sunflower in the dark dirt of the night and was reminded of the pure innocence and joy of her happy childhood.  She picked the Sunflower and laid it on the grave of the man she had just murdered and continued to cover his grave with dirt.

61. JEEPERS CREEPERS

    Toby wrapped the stretched gum several times around his head, prompting an emergency barber visit.

    “Kids will be kids,” the stylist said before releasing a noticeable gasp.

    The parted hair revealed a milky eyeball blinking from the rear of the child’s head.

    “That’s my secret friend, Mr.Peepers…” the boy whispered.

62. SMALL TALK

    Small talk- sports, women, other bars- then he declared,
    “Gotta go, schoolgirl in my trunk.”
    “Whoa, not funny.”
    “Not a joke. I’m telling you because it’s fun. And I see
    the way you drink- like a coward. You’ll say nothing.”
    He left, and I screamed- silently- and watched the game

63. THE HIERARCHY

    He’d posted hundreds of puppy snuff films, clips of livestock slaughter in the backround. He said he did it to show the hypocrisy of giving more value to certain life forms over others, despite being equal. He was tortured horribly, then got the chair. He was a vegan.

64. The footfalls shake the nighttime forest, vast and heavy, seconds apart. They come from the far side of the tree, each one closer.

    After the next pause, one comes from the near side of the tree, moving away.

    They stop.

    A new sound: deep breathing, just overhead.

    1. Title: Footfalls

65. “DINNER DATE”

    Old Ralph found this victim’s pancreas crunchy, her liver slightly squishy. Both organs were delicious, with their own unique textures and blood-enriched flavors. He sucked on his reddened fingers.

    He had saved her young, now-silent heart for last. . . his dessert. As the organ of love, surely it would be *sweet*.

66. CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

    Annabelle yelled at her Mother, “I hate you Mother, I wish you were dead!”
    Seconds later the door flew open and a serial killer who had been wanted in two states grabbed her Mother and strangled her to death. Her body lay in a tangled mess. Run, you are next!!!!!

67. YOGA IN HELL

    Sweating profusely, Michael said to Chuck, “Yoga- world domination,
    we’re pawns!”
    “Whoa, is that blood?”
    “Yes, it’s the yoga teacher’s. She grabbed my mind.”
    “This is crazy!”
    “Downward dog, happy baby, warrior- all mind control!”
    “Dude, relax. Breathe.”
    “Breathe?! Relax?! Traitor!”
    Michael viciously attacked Chuck, while breathing through his nose.

68. YOUTH POTION

    Eye of snake and skin of cat, hair of wolf and teeth of bat. The ugly old witch wickedly mixed her potion vowing to take over the life of the next mortal she sees. As the doorbell rang she fantasized of being young and beautiful once again. Come in…. bahahaha!!!

69. THE GARDEN

    A beautiful butterfly floated between them. They each plucked a wing and ate the delicate treat. Then a snake appeared with an apple which they both consumed with relish.
    God said, “You are banned from here.”
    They asked, “For eating the snake’s apple?”
    “No, for torturing butterflies. What the fuck?”

70. UNLEASH THE TERROR

    “Spare me the, in the darkness lurks a monster, and it’s me, crap.” the investigator said.

    “But,” replied the schlep.

    “Own it, and stop with your passive bullshit!” came a reply.

    “If you insist…” said the writer.

    The suspect’s form changed instantly and razor teeth chomped deep into a startled throat.

71. THE COUGH

    James watched the train approaching, feeling the crowd behind him pressing closer.

    Someone bumped him, and he turned to look. The man coughed in his face.

    “Now you got what I have,” he whispered.

    The man retreated; James lost him in the crowd.

    The train stopped and the doors opened.

72. HUNTIN’ TIME

    “This is my compound, and this is where you’ll die.”
    “But I didn’t do anything.”
    “It’s not what you did, but what you are. To be fair- a half hour lead time.”
    The man bolted, while a nude Ted Nugent- bow in hand- howled,
    “Wango Tango- it’s Vegan huntin’ time.”

73. Twitch

    Am I dreaming or is it really on my face? Multiple footfalls like wispy hair trod across the bridge of my nose, over my closed eyelid and into my hair. Sluggishly, I open my eyes and reach up to touch my head. A roach!

74. THE EMPTY BUILDING

    The huge building sat empty for years, old and creepy.

    The team entered to have some fun BUT only one of seven would leave alive.

    Cameras rolling and then it happened. Six gurney’s started flying in mid-air

    six living bodies were violently thrown atop them. Surgically sliced “LEAVE

    NOW!”

75. Halloween Joy Ride

    “Slow down!” It was both a scream and a whisper as the sedan sailed over the hill’s crest. Her stomach met her throat, her eyes desperate for pavement ahead.
    He laughed, gunned it, mocked her fear.
    “Hit it fast enough, we’ll be flying.”
    Wheels spinning, they flew, then fell, forever.

76. Disobedient Witch

    She was warned not to dabble with magic above her expertise. Katia didn’t care. She went back in time to experience the hunt for herself. At that moment she was there. She was tied and bound to the stake. Sweat poured down her brow. The match with fire was thrown.

77. FUN TO BE DEAD

    I get to speak to the living- it’s fun! I enter their ears and say hi to their brain. I tell them to do all sorts of stuff- rape, kill, torture. And when they die, sure they’re mad. But when I teach them what I know, they have fun too.

78. EXECUTION

    I’m strapped to the chair; I can’t move. The blindfold keeps me in the dark, but I can still hear the countdown and feel the target bouncing on my chest.

    Three

    They arrested me for killing the girl.

    Two

    But I’m innocent.

    One

    They got the wrong guy.

    BEEP.

    BANG!

79. ICE CREAM

    “Daddy why is my ice cream melting? It’s winter.”
    I laughed, “Honey it’s cold outside, not in here.”
    And then the room, it froze. Me- frosted, iced, stiff- I couldn’t move.
    She put the spoon to my lips, then pulled away.
    “Daddy, are you ice cream?”
    I really didn’t know.

80. ALL THIS DARKNESS

    When was the last time I said hello? The sky is darkened, the blood congealed, the world a dead desert crawl. I am all that’s left, the rest given way to that eternal changeover, caught between breath and death. The gun is heavy, loaded, ready. I must not give in.

    1. This is one of the best I’ve read here. Kudos.

81. “Cadaver”

    The cause of death was uncertain. That’s why the autopsy was called for—for any sort of evidence or understanding. The pathologist was just as curious with his examination. He placed the scalpel tautly against the skin before cutting the line. I failed to emit a scream: I’m still alive.

82. An Answered Prayer

    If a vampire’s fangs could pierce her throat, she’d become immortal, young forever. A lack of vampires, however, required a backup plan. Iris prayed for eternal youth.

    Jogging, while daydreaming about immortality, Iris tripped. She landed on a scrap of two-by-four. Protruding nails penetrated her throat. She’d never grow old.

    1. Thanks, Karen.
       That was a breath of fresh air for a punctured windpipe. : )

83. “Dreaming”

    It’s been months since I’ve awoke. Every day is an endless fantasy—but one of beauty. The blossoming flowers are radiant under pastel skies, and the longer I remain in the dream, the more I come to embrace it. Only when they pull the plug does the world go dark.

84. DOCTOR, IT’S ME!

    The doctor hastily brought his car to a screeching halt. Someone was standing in the middle of the deserted road. Curiously, he walked up, pointed his torch and recoiled in horror. Smiling at him was the young man who had just died at the operating table, due to his negligence.

85. LOOK INSIDE THE WARDROBE

    Out of breath, I stumble through the mansion, running for my life. The zombies are after me. I find a large, old wardrobe and hide in it, closing the latch from the inside. I sigh in relief. Suddenly, I feel heavy breathing on my neck and someone biting my shoulder.

86. Alien Debrief 7:13pm October 31, 2019

    Larvae roam the streets––horrendous, deformed, garish. Hyperactive.
    They beg for subnutritious food, move with amoeboid dispersion from door . . . to door.
    Adults, equally vile in appearance, noted impaired cognition linked to red or white liquid, rapidly ingested.
    Salutation: “Trick or treat.”
    Cross-breeding not recommended.
    Recommend: abort landing. Divert to Mars

87. MOTHER OF MINE

    Mrs. Parker was playing with her seven-year-old son when the doorbell rang.
    “Ma’am, sorry to inform about your son’s death in the school bus accident today,” the cop said.
    “What nonsense. My Peter is fine,” she retorted.
    However, she only found Peter’s bloodstained clothes on the bed. He was gone.

88. THE ITCH

    The itch came suddenly and spread worldwide. An excruciating full body itch immune to fingernails, doctor’s lotions and sand paper. Once the skin was all torn off, death by infection followed. Most committed suicide before that point.

    Meanwhile the billionaires sat in their bunker slathering the cure on themselves, laughing.

89. PARAPET

    I wake up with a thick fog covering my mind, in a dark, damp place, unable to move.
    My sensations slowly return to me, first the pain, but I can’t scream.
    I force myself to look, there’s a huge gash in my stomach, bugs keep crawling in, everything fades.

90. DARLING

    Darkness falls while heading home.
    Quick stop at the shop for a bone.

    Unlock the door, then lock it up tight.
    Safe and sound you’ll feel, alright.

    Turning, turning, to find the hound.
    Heartbeat quickens, there isn’t a sound.

    On the floor are ribbons of red.
    “Your darling is dead”.

91. Guest at the Southern Funeral Lunch
    By Joan Leotta

    Mourners sing hymns. Stomachs rumble while overblown tributes drone on.
    Finally, all descend to church’s basement— parting party. While they digest, they digress into increasingly tart comments about dearly departed me. I whistle across my ex-wife’s plate. She shivers. Soon her entire body will grow as cold as her heart.

92. The Stowaway

    Jocelyn dumped her half-empty duffel on the motel bed and beelined for the bathroom, giddy to leave that rental behind. Her attention snared on the mirror’s image even as she felt her bowels flow and ears roar while the tar-like specter crawled out from the duffel and loomed behind her.

93. “Cat’s Bell”

    My cat’s collar has a little bell, so I know where she is. I’ve grown used it. Yet tonight, I’m awake. The jingle is too loud at the end of the bed—tiny claws sharp in my feet. But that’s when I remember; I take her collar off every night.

94. Mirror Me

    She stares beyond her reflection, over the shoulder, to the shower, shampoos. Razors. She knows she must look. “Every day,” her shrink said. Blood drains south.
    “Please,” she whispers, “let it be me.”
    Same hair, throat, cheeks, eyebrows.
    “Just . . . do it.”

    Eyes to eyes. Equal watching.
    She frowns.

    It smiles.

    1. Oh, that’s good! Clever!

       1. Thanks, Regina ?
          These are fun to read!
          R

95. “Jimmy”

    Jimmy was my best friend. We spent every day together after school. We swore we would be friends forever. But, my mother says Jimmy can’t stay anymore. The flies are swarming and the stench is too heavy. So she stuffed him in a black garbage bag and disposed of him.

96. Do you see it?

    Do you see it? Right there- out of the corner of your eye.
    It’s lurking.
    Watching.
    Waiting.
    Waiting for you to fall asleep.
    Waiting for you to relax and tell yourself it isn’t really there.
    It’s coming.
    Silently.
    Don’t let it catch you.
    Do you see it?

97. Your Uber is Here.

    It’s my fault you’re dead.
    I ordered your Uber, eagerly watching your progress on the way to my place.
    It stopped.
    They said it was horrific. The news called it tragic.
    Every night since, my Uber app tells me that you have arrived.
    You’re waiting outside, but I can’t look.

98. When he was a child, he heard a voice in the basement and raced upstairs to safety, but his parents found nobody there. Years later, walking downstairs alone, the light overhead suddenly dies. Lost in darkness, it grabs his arm as it screeches in his ear, “I have you now!”

    1. Title: “The Basement Dweller”

99. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME..?

    He nervously waited, anticipating the best time to surrender to his desires.

    Tonight was the night, his night.

    Super Bowl Sunday was here.

    He removed the glass bowl from the refrigerator and tore open fogged cling-wrap.

    Digging into chilled sockets with a melon-scoop, he enjoyed two tender, juicy, bloodshot, balls.

100. Evalina, Evalina

     Your farm is now mine; yet you cling to every room. In the barn loft, cluttered with your belongings, I find a card written by a secret, foreign lover; 1897. “In death we will sleep in one bed my love”.
     Each night, passionate moans rape my dreams, leaving me unsatisfied.

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