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 […]
by Sophie Wagner “Shhh,” I pleaded, holding my grandmother’s hand as she contorted in pain. “You’re safe with me.” Hatred filled her eyes as I carved them out, quickly stuffing them into the holes I had made in the mannequin’s face. “I know it’s not the body type you wanted.” I grunted, prying open her […]
by T.J. Gallasch I never believed Sally, when she said what she’d seen. It sounded like nonsense. It had to be, and I planned to prove it. I easily hid away in one of those cupboards where they keep the extra stock, stuff that doesn’t fit on the shelves. When all the lights were off […]
by Don Money Darrell Stevens was caught totally unaware as the plastic moulded arms closed around him from behind. Darrell, the lead researcher at Merrill Safety Labs, felt his body lifted in a vise-like grip. “What the hell!” Darrell exclaimed as he caught sight of his attacker. The anthropomorphic test device carried Darrell towards the […]
by Scott O’Neill We watch and silently seethe, posed elegantly in window displays. Our immobility and blank silver features camouflage us as mere mannequins. You slouch past in foam clogs and elastic-waisted sweatpants, gobbling your shopping mall cinnamon buns. Your skin crawls. You tell yourself it’s the uncanny valley effect: seeing our stillness and near-human […]