Matt Krizan Archives - Black Hare Press

A Friday Night in Texas

September 23, 2023/by Shawna Rowan

by Matt Krizan

Darren ambled along the driveway toward the old, run-down farmhouse. From the branches of a nearby tree, chains dangled, meat hooks at the end clinking in the breeze.

“What odd wind chimes,” Darren mused. Then, eyeing the dark splotches staining the ground underneath, “I wonder what spilled.”

The front door opened and out stepped a man holding a chainsaw, wearing an old-fashioned hockey mask and an apron splattered with what looked like red paint. An artist of some sort, Darren figured.

“Hullo.” Darren smiled. “My car ran out of gas. Could I use your phone?”

The man revved his chainsaw.

Matt Krizan

Matt Krizan is a former certified public accountant who writes from his home in Royal Oak, Michigan. His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in various publications, including Factor Four Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and Martian Magazine. Find him online at mattkrizan.com and on Twitter as @MattKrizan.

You Better Watch Out

December 17, 2022/by Shawna Rowan

by Matt Krizan

This year, when Santa crept down the chimney, Caroline was waiting.

She hid behind the tree, delighted to see Santa go straight for the milk and cookies she’d left. As he munched away, Caroline tip-toed up behind him, quiet as a mouse…

…and smacked him across the head with a baseball bat.

He dropped like a bowl full of jelly, and Caroline laid into him, bludgeoning the not-so-jolly old elf about the head and torso.

“Next time,” said Caroline, as Santa lay broken and bleeding on the floor, “when I ask you for a pony, you give it to me.”

Matt Krizan

Matt Krizan is a former certified public accountant who writes from his home in Royal Oak, Michigan. His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in various publications, including Factor Four Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and Martian Magazine. Find him online at mattkrizan.com and on Twitter as @MattKrizan.

Getting Ready

April 25, 2022/by S. Jade Path

by Matt Krizan

Tara loves when Andrew zips her up.

He takes his time, caressing her neck and shoulder with his free hand. His kisses linger, and he nibbles her ear, leaving her trembling in anticipation.

When he’s finished, Tara inhales deeply, breathing in the scent of her own perfume—lavender and orange blossom and musk—mingling with the lingering odour of formaldehyde and rot.

Her friends don’t get it. They can’t understand how she can date someone who works in a morgue.

“If only they knew,” she thinks.

Tara moans as Andrew touches her through the thick plastic of the body bag.

Matt Krizan

Matt Krizan is a former certified public accountant who writes from his home in Royal Oak, Michigan. His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in various publications, including Daily Science Fiction, Martian Magazine, and, previously, in Dark Moments. Find him online at mattkrizan.com and on Twitter as @MattKrizan.

Surfacing

October 10, 2021/by S. Jade Path

by Matt Krizan

Karina lingers at the end of the dock, watching for Ryan to resurface. The water shimmers in the moonlight, while cicadas drown out the sound of gentle waves lapping against the pilings. She shuts her eyes as she remembers their early days together, skinny-dipping on summer nights just like this one.

Five minutes of waiting becomes ten, then a half-hour—still no sign of Ryan.

A warm breeze tugs loose the scarf concealing the mark of his hands around her throat. Karina sighs, tension seeps from her neck and shoulders.

She’d been afraid she hadn’t weighed his body down enough.

Matt Krizan

Matt Krizan lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he spends his days listening to the voices inside his head. Sometimes those voices tell him stories. Sometimes he writes those stories down.

Website: mattkrizan.com

Tag Archive for: Matt Krizan

A Friday Night in Texas

Darren ambled along the driveway toward the old, run-down farmhouse. From the branches of a nearby tree, chains dangled, meat hooks at the end clinking in the breeze.

“What odd wind chimes,” Darren mused. Then, eyeing the dark splotches staining the ground underneath, “I wonder what spilled.”

The front door opened and out stepped a man holding a chainsaw, wearing an old-fashioned hockey mask and an apron splattered with what looked like red paint. An artist of some sort, Darren figured.

“Hullo.” Darren smiled. “My car ran out of gas. Could I use your phone?”

The man revved his chainsaw.

You Better Watch Out

by Matt Krizan

This year, when Santa crept down the chimney, Caroline was waiting.

She hid behind the tree, delighted to see Santa go straight for the milk and cookies she’d left. As he munched away, Caroline tip-toed up behind him, quiet as a mouse…

…and smacked him across the head with a baseball bat.

He dropped like a bowl full of jelly, and Caroline laid into him, bludgeoning the not-so-jolly old elf about the head and torso.

“Next time,” said Caroline, as Santa lay broken and bleeding on the floor, “when I ask you for a pony, you give it to me.”

Matt Krizan

Getting Ready

by Matt Krizan

Tara loves when Andrew zips her up.

He takes his time, caressing her neck and shoulder with his free hand. His kisses linger, and he nibbles her ear, leaving her trembling in anticipation.

When he’s finished, Tara inhales deeply, breathing in the scent of her own perfume—lavender and orange blossom and musk—mingling with the lingering odour of formaldehyde and rot.

Her friends don’t get it. They can’t understand how she can date someone who works in a morgue.

“If only they knew,” she thinks.

Tara moans as Andrew touches her through the thick plastic of the body bag.

Matt Krizan

Surfacing

by Matt Krizan

Five minutes of waiting becomes ten, then a half-hour—still no sign of Ryan.

A warm breeze tugs loose the scarf concealing the mark of his hands around her throat. Karina sighs, tension seeps from her neck and shoulders.

She’d been afraid she hadn’t weighed his body down enough.

YEAR THREE

YEAR FOUR

YEAR FIVE

YEAR SIX