by P.S. Traum Pasty white corpse makeup, a cackling laugh… A clown at a party is funny, but when you encounter that same clown in a dark alley at night, waiting for you with an unholy grin? Jesters, clowns, all actually very disturbing. You don’t know who is really hiding under that garish wig, lurking […]
by Liam Kerry Relax. Close your eyes. Breathe slowly. In. And out. In. And out. That’s it. Focus on the arm that I am holding up. When I release it, you will fall into a deep sleep. That’s it. So, let’s tackle this phobia. When you wake up, darkness will no longer frighten you. You […]
by Bridget Holland Once, I loved the beach. Sand, sea, open sky. But the birds were watching me. I moved to the shops along the esplanade, hid in crowds and covered spaces. One among many. Hidden, safe. But sharp eyes found me. In my apartment, door locked, blinds drawn. I order groceries and takeout. I […]
by Jonathan L. Tolstedt This ignorant schweinhund says I have eisoptrophobia. A fear of my own reflection. I’m not a handsome man, but he’ll not understand until he sees it. He’s suggested exposure therapy to desensitise me and smugly holds the cloth covering the mirror. He stands behind me and tugs, revealing our reflections, and […]
by Andrew Kurtz “Come on, chicken, get on the rollercoaster!” Sam shouted to Frank. “I’ll wait down here,” Frank responded, his knees feeling like jelly and heart pounding like a drum in his chest at just the sight of the ride. “You better deal with that phobia,” Sam advised as the Rollercoaster began to move. […]
by T.B. Johnson Three phobias dominated him. Entomophobia drove him to frigid climates. His linonophobia led him to make bizarre fashion choices, eschewing traditional cotton for leather and plastic. Most debilitating was the ideophobia, which nearly isolated him. But the mind is fickle. Its ideas come as they please. He had been playing solitaire for […]
by M. Saffron Blood was everywhere. How was she to know it had gotten this bad? Sure, every kid is afraid of the dark, but this—this is something different. Sharp left onto Duponte St. “It’ll be o-okay,” she shivered, rattling her thin fingers through Timmy’s hair, and against his oddly still shoulders. “I’m okay, Mom. […]
by Janessa Keeling Rosa saw movement. A brown recluse scurried toward her. Snapping her novel closed, she brought it down. The curled husk stuck to the spine. Venomous spiders were as prominent as the roaming cannibal packs that liked to bury people alive for roasting in ground ovens. Flicking the corpse, Rosa continued reading— Was […]
by Kristin Lennox Barry hated the term “dumpster diving”—he considered himself a “freegan” He was proud that almost everything he owned was scavenged from the trash. Thigh-deep in the bin behind Rossi’s, Barry was only slightly creeped out by the sea of dismembered mannequins surrounding him. Finding the actual mangled corpse under a piece of […]
by Eden Silverfox Gran passed away, and Mom tasked me with the responsibility of cleaning out her home. Gran lived alone after Pap died. She still had items from her business, which she had run with her friend Cassie; clothes from the shop; an ancient cash register; and a mannequin that has always creeped me […]