Marcus didn’t mean to kill Angelina. Not really. But she was dead as a doornail, alright, and white as a sheet. In his candle-lit studio apartment, strewn with white rose petals and piles of books,
Recently Added
The Many Laments of Dagda Lichfield by Kit Zimmerman
Dagda could hear the mob beating on the many dilapidated entrances of Ashview Manor. Sweat, dripping from his aquiline nose, conspired with wheezing
For the Blood is the Life by F. Marion Crawford
We had dined at sunset on the broad roof of the old tower, because it was cooler there during the great heat of summer. Besides, the little kitchen was built at one corner of the great square
Afterward by Edith Wharton
A wealthy American couple buys an old English manor rumored to be haunted, but they’re told they won’t realize it’s haunted until “afterward.”
Berenice by Edgar Allan Poe
Dicebant mihi sodales, si sepulchrum amicae visitarem, curas meas aliquar tulum fore levatas.—Ebn Zaiat.
Misery is manifold. The wretchedness of earth is multiform. Overreaching the wide horizon as the rainbow,
The Judge’s House by Bram Stoker
The Judge’s House by Bram Stoker When the time for his examination drew near Malcolm Malcolmson made up his mind to go somewhere to read by himself. He feared the attractions of the seaside, and also he feared completely rural isolation, for of old he knew it charms, and so he determined to find some […]
The Phantom ‘Rickshaw by Rudyard Kipling
The Phantom ‘Rickshaw THE PHANTOM ‘RICKSHAW May no ill dreams disturb my rest, Nor Powers of Darkness me molest. —Evening Hymn. One of the few advantages that India has over England is a great Knowability. After five years’ service a man is directly or indirectly acquainted with the two or three hundred Civilians in his […]
My Own True Ghost Story by Rudyard Kipling
“My Own True Ghost Story” is a short story by Rudyard Kipling that blends elements of humor, suspense, and the supernatural. The story is narrated
Missing Pipes, Nuts and Screws by Adaora Ogunniyi
‘My toast is too dry; it’s scratching my lips, Daddy!’
Trick of the Light by Dan Caine
He woke up in a white room. It was white for only a second before he felt something brush against his legs, blinked, and beheld
William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe
Let me call myself, for the present, William Wilson. The fair page now lying before me need not be sullied with my real appellation. This has been already
The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson
Every night in the year, four of us sat in the small parlour of the George at Debenham—the undertaker, and the landlord, and Fettes, and myself.
The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson
There was a man of the Island of Hawaii, whom I shall call Keawe; for the truth is, he still lives, and his name must be kept secret; but the place of his birth was not far from Honaunau, where the bones of Keawe the Great
Full Moon Nights by Roopa Raveendran Menon
Full Moon Nights by Roopa Raveendran Menon We decided to take Arjun’s new car for a spin. It didn’t matter to us it was close to midnight when we made the plan. No rules, as far as we knew, existed in the matter of maiden car voyages and their timing. It’s a full Moon night, said Arjun.
SILENCE—A FABLE by Edgar Allan Poe
“The mountain pinnacles slumber; valleys, crags and caves are silent.”
Some Freaks Sleep When They Go To Bed by Scott Pomfret
Some freaks sleep when they go to bed. No tossing and turning. No dread. No rehashing bad choices and personal humiliations. No plotting endless revenge. Such monsters can’t be trusted. They inevitably have parents they admire, who are their best friends, who never spanked or raised their voices, and collected spare bikes from the town […]
Contemporary
The hunt for the desired ratio by Marie Hanna Curran
Stepping out of the large arena, I asked the expansive blue sky, “What do you think of all this begging?”
Dear You By Angela Carlton
Dear You By Angela Carlton: I am caught up in the silence, your web, those promises, each one wicked. As I lay in silk with you,
Stuck Between the Pages by Julia Vellucci
How do I know I’m real and not just a fragment of somebody’s imagination? How do I know I’m not just words on a page living
I Knew You’d Come Back to Me by DD Creed
Evelyn sat solemnly, staring out the frost-lined window. Wind howled across the sagging eaves as snow
Falling Out by Lenka Miklosova Vrazda
An evening catches you again softly wrapped in your flannel comforter. Somewhere in this house
Saving Alice by Angela Carlton
Saving Alice by Angela Carlton: I’m in the hospital, but I don’t know why?
Jacobs Shadow by Kate E. Lore
Jacob’s shadow stretches tall before him, the dark shape of himself pulled out like silly putty, like his past inescapable, and now thanks to the police
The Guitar Man and the Pigeon by Ben Westerham
Ben Westerham has recently let slip the chains of paid employment so he can spend ever more time writing crime, mystery and thriller stories as well as spending time reading, gardening and uncovering fascinating nuggets about his criminal ancestors.
A Job of Work by Salvatore Difalco
Part of my responsibilities included watching over the people in hibernation. Checking gauges, testing the surface tension of the Plexiglass housing, monitoring moisture and so on
The Shine of a Sinful Heart by Ximena Escobar
Her small chest woke her. The heart rattling inside it. Like an alarm clock palpitating in secrecy, until the time came that she could no longer ignore it.
Cold Shoulder by Hugh Cartwright
Freshly dead, she was pinned to the desk by a knife. Smears of blood oozed between his fingers and dripped to the floor.
Open Hands by Angela Townsend
They did not give me money.
There was never a version in which they were going to give me money.
The Manhattan Club by John RC Potter
In the early 1990s I had just emerged from a long-term relationship (my first as, and with, a young gay man) that ended with more of a whimper than a bang. Being pro-active by nature, and more social than I am now, I decided that my sister and closest friends and I
You Complete Me by Adele Evershed
The year before, she was like the last prom dress left hanging on the rail, a bit sad but still hopeful. Then he walked into her life, all clichéd–tall, dark, and handsome
Christmas
Never Bet the Devil Your Head by Edgar Allan Poe
“Never Bet the Devil Your Head” is a satirical short story by Edgar Allan Poe that follows the life of Toby Dammit
Classic
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be […]
THE Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
The Monkey’s Paw I. Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that […]
The Devil in the Belfry by Edgar Allan Poe
The Devil in the Belfry by Edgar Allan Poe: Everybody knows, in a general way, that the finest place in the world is—or, alas, was—the Dutch borough of Vondervotteimittiss. Yet as it lies
The Pumpkin Giant by Mary Wilkins Freeman
A very long time ago, before our grandmother’s time, or our great-grandmother’s, or our grandmothers’ with a very long string of greats prefixed
A Vampire by G. J. Whyte-Melville
Recurring encounters over many years with the mysterious and alluring Madame de St. Croix, who seems to maintain eternal youth and beauty while spellbinding a succession of men, is she a vampire?
Horror Stories
The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling
“The Mark of the Beast” helped popularize and cement the werewolf as a staple figure in horror fiction. But many examples of werewolf literature existed for centuries prior to when Kipling published his story in 1890.
Dracula’s Guest by Bram Stoker
When we started for our drive the sun was shining brightly on Munich, and the air was full of the joyousness of early summer. Just as we were about to depart, Herr Delbrück (the maître d’hôtel of the Quatre Saisons, where I was staying) came down, bareheaded, to the carriage and, after wishing me a […]
A Nightmare by Anton Chekhov
Kunin, a wealthy landowner and member of the Rural Board, invites Father Yakov, the young village priest, to discuss opening a church school. Kunin is shocked by Father Yakov’s shabby appearance and lack of dignity, seeing him as unfit for the priesthood.
The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
The story follows an unnamed narrator who recounts how alcoholism and temperament changes led him to abuse his pets, including his favorite cat named Pluto. In a drunken rage, the narrator gouges out one of Pluto’s eyes, leading the frightened cat to avoid him.
Ant Death by Lorna Wood
Useful. Keeping busy. Reading the trails, bringing home food.
Warm day, scurrying along, pavement warm, sun bright, right overhead.
“Hey guys, watch this.”
“God, he looks so big through that thing.”