Tag Archive for: christmas

Naughty and Nice

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by Pauline Yates

 

On Christmas morning, I wake to find a blonde and a brunette, naked as newborn babes, asleep in our bed. They fit the description written on my husband’s Christmas wish list. He wished for a threesome—without me.

Wondering if Santa granted my Christmas wish, I hurry downstairs to the Christmas tree. I clap my hands with joy. My husband is impaled on the trunk, with red baubles jammed in his eyes, his intestines strung out like tinsel, and his Christmas wish list shoved up his…

Nice. Serves him right; unfaithful bastard. I must send Santa a thank you note.

Pauline Yates

Queensland author, Pauline Yates enjoys writing horror and speculative fiction but can’t resist injecting a dash of dark humour to brighten her bleak worlds. Her stories appear in multiple publications and she is the winner to the 2020 AHWA short story competition.
Website: paulineyates.com

One Sacrifice Demands Another

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by C.L. Sidell

 

The tree was too big for our house; its crown bent under the ceiling and too-long branches snatched our sleeves when we walked past.

“Best find in the state!” Pops boasted.

We woke Christmas morning to find every present under the tree open, a red-eyed ghoul crouched among wrapping paper and pine needles.

“No good,” it hissed, fangs bared. “I require greater compensation”—it scratched the trunk—“for losing home.”

Pops scanned the room. Then, finger shaking, pointed at me.

“You can have him.”

A scream clawed at my throat as Pops slunk backward, and the creature, salivating, slowly approached.

C.L. Sidell

A native Floridian, C. L. Sidell grew up playing with toads in the rain and indulging in horror stories. She holds a master of arts in both English and library & information science, moderates two creative writing groups, and reviews books for the Florida Library Youth Program. Her work has appeared (or is forthcoming) in 34 Orchard, 50 Haikus, 805 Lit, Dark Moments, The Dread Machine, opia, Quarantine Quanta, Spark: A Creative Anthology, and others.

Finally Over

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by Evan Baughfman

 

Crimson lights flickered along twisted strands, causing the tall tree to resemble a creature with blinking red eyes. Ghoulish garland snaked across countertops, cluttered with holiday cheer. The fireplace roared with hellish flames. Stockings hung limp, like fresh corpses from the gallows.

Aghast, I turned to my wife, shrieking, “No! What did you do?” My voice drowned beneath carols blaring from stereo speakers. 

Cobwebs had been replaced with tinsel… Skeletons exchanged for elves… Jack-o’-lanterns ousted for Santa’s eerie visage!

“Halloween’s finally over,” said my wife, sipping cocoa through a peppermint straw.

I moaned. “But Christmas already…? It’s only November first!”

Evan Baughfman

Evan Baughfman is a middle school teacher and author. Much of his writing success has been as a playwright. A number of his scripts can be found at online resources, Drama Notebook and New Play Exchange. Evan also writes horror fiction and screenplays. More information is available at amazon.com/author/evanbaughfman