Penetralia by Hari Navarro
“Do you know what happens when you stare into television static?”
“I don’t have a television.”
Entries by Black Hare Press
The Yellows by Tom Gammarino
Given the choice between a contented life and a meaningful one, which do you want?
Metaphoria by K.B. Elijah
“Should I begin with the tale of the cannibalistic peacocks, perhaps? The molten field of liquorice mushrooms? Or maybe you’d like to hear about the obsequious coffee beans dancing to the tune of Hickory Dickory Dock?”
Dared
by S. Jade Path Her friends had dared her to enter the ward. She was young, brash, invincible—foolish. Her breath chuffed out. Teenage pride. The wind wended through the shattered halls; a remnant of laughter, and a memory of screams. A shriek of tortured metal and the scent of old blood rise into the […]
A Great & Shifting Sea by John Leahy
Lord Volgan Borinth is summoned to the court of Alwil Treggessun, the king of Monsiel. It is a delicate time, with the continent of Monsiel being politically fragile after a very destructive war.
Damned Dwelling by Chris Hewitt
Trapped in an antique shop for all eternity, three ghosts yearn for freedom.
But they’re tied to the living world by their soul vessels and need someone to buy them. Shoppers come and go, dashing hopes of release.
A Nice Long Soak
by Mike Rader I heard them climbing the stairs. Tourists. Mayday Hills Asylum attracted the morbid to Beechworth. I waited on the second floor of that Victorian pile. In the bathroom. Where each tub has a sturdy wooden cover. Back in the day, only an inmate’s head was visible when the attendants poured scalding […]
Where the Dead Things Are
by L.J. McLeod Wendy hated the morgue. As the hospital’s night cleaner, it fell to her to keep it spotless. But that didn’t make it any less creepy. The silence felt heavy and the smell of cold corpse hung in the air as she mopped. Tonight’s storm only made it feel more oppressive. Lights […]
Colloquy
Dialogue Competition Runners-up
Southpaw by Kyle Toucher
An exploration of extreme dedication, homicidal mental illness, and the hunt for the Sinistra―the Witches of the Left Hand―who serve the Medusa Cult.