Tag Archives: creepy

SARP SOZDINLER: Imposters

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , ,

You are born with a second shadow. It lags behind, darker than yours. Your mother says it might be your grandfather’s ghost. Some friends suggest light therapy; others, exorcism. More you try outrunning it, longer it grows. By thirteen, it starts to whisper your name. By eighteen, it borrows it.

Sarp Sozdinler has been published in Electric Literature, Kenyon Review, Shenandoah, Masters Review, Pithead Chapel, and 100 Word Story, among other journals. His stories have been selected or nominated for such anthologies as the Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, and Wigleaf Top 50. See more at sarpsozdinler.com.

KEERTHANA NALMOTHULA: Shared

Odd, Submissions, ,

She set up the pet cam for fun, to see what moved at night. The footage showed a dog by her bed, staring at something behind her. It was odd, since she didn’t own one. The next morning, her phone tagged the video: “Shared with the household.” She lived alone.

Keerthana Nalamothula writes psychological and literary fiction that explores the subtle tensions of human experience. Her stories have been published in Flywords Publications, Querencia Press and Little Fruits Magazine.

SETH ROSENMAN: Secret

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

He buckles her into her car seat. “Be right back,” he says.

Leaving the door open, he returns the cart to a nearby stall.

He turns and sees a strange woman talking to her. He shouts, and she quickly walks away. He runs back.

“I can’t tell you,” she says.

Seth Rosenman is currently writing a list of different ways to say “I told you so.” His poems and short fiction have appeared in 50-Word Stories, Microfiction Monday Magazine, The Bookends Review, and elsewhere. His blog goes by infiniteseth.blogspot.com.

LORRAINE MANTON: A Children’s Fairy Tale

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, ,

There weren’t fairies at the bottom of our garden. There were monsters, small, scabrous and very hungry, who ate any pests: insect, animal, human. Then they watched us.

There were monsters at the bottom of our garden… until the fairies came and ate them.

And now the fairies watch us.

Lorraine Manton is currently studying creative writing and literature at Deakin University, Australia and has a great fondness for books, coffee and small slices of imaginary lives.

ESTELLE BARDOT: The Silent Companion

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

My neighbours think my wife accompanies me on my walks. We stroll, my hand firmly supporting her figure, and together we bob our heads in cordial greeting.

“Not ones for chatter.”

At home, I dismantle the puppet and pop it in my cupboard, whilst Jemima screams incessantly in the basement.

Estelle Bardot is the pen name of a teen music student studying piano and composition. When she’s not composing, Estelle can be found lost in the pages of a book or writing poetry. She loves long walks on the beach (or anywhere, really), travelling, and is a sucker for anything dark academia aesthetic. Her work has been published in Under the Madness Magazine, Flora Fiction, Alternate Route, and Skipping Stones.

DEBORAH TAPPER: Ombrophobia

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, ,

Red rain’s fallen countless times, macabre downpours ensanguined by desert dust or tiny algae, swept into the clouds and tumbling back to earth. Mere quirks of nature and climate rather than doom-laden portents, providing novelty filler for condescending newspapers and social media.

Until today, when the skies weep real blood.

Deborah writes at an old desk surrounded by five hundred pet bugs.

DEBORAH TAPPER: The Dutiful Wife

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

She picks up the pieces as usual. Wraps and mails the packages, amazed there’re so many names on his list. Readies the house for its new owners, catches the plane—and she can finally relax, imagining surprised faces when they open their gifts.

The girlfriend who gets his head screams.

Deborah writes at an old desk surrounded by five hundred pet bugs.

LAURENCE CARR: In the Village

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

In the village just after dawn, we can visit the old man who carves names on memorial stones. He’ll serve us tea and toast; he likes to talk to those who come by. He’ll call us his children. but don’t tell him your name. His chisels are always within reach.

Laurence Carr lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. His book of poems and short essays is Strides: reflections on 6 acres, with images by artist Edward M. O’Hara. Others include: Paradise Loft, (CAPS Press and Lightwoodpress); Traverse, a collaboration with artist Power Boothe. Pancake Hollow Primer, won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for first novel. This and two poetry collections, Threnodies: poems in remembrance and The Wytheport Tales are published by Codhill Press. Laurence is currently the publisher of Lightwood, an online arts and culture magazine. www.carrwriter.com and Lightwoodpress.com

TREVOR: Inexorable

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , , , ,

In my wheelchair in the exam room, as I explain my symptoms in detail to the specialist (unable to move my legs; no control over my bladder, bowels, or anything below my waist), I can feel it purposefully, deliberately changing course and making a desperate, hell-bent beeline for my mouth.

Trevor’s fiction and non-fiction have appeared it print and digital publications since the 1970s. He’s a mononymous, multiple award-winning, full-time entertainer who likes hyphens. trevorthegamesman.com

RITA RIEBEL MITCHELL: Nightly Visits

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , ,

Trees sway, creating monsters on moonlit curtains. Fear squeezes my gut as shadows float toward me. Spindly fingers caress my throat and tighten as ragged nails draw blood. Choking, I claw at the bony wrists that vanish at dawn.

Staring in the mirror, I wonder if nightmares always leave marks.

Rita Riebel Mitchell writes in the Pinelands of South Jersey. Her work appears in Flash Fiction Magazine, Versification, Black Hare Press, 101 Words, and others. Visit her at FridayMicro.com.