Children's Fiction
The Librarian of the Dead Hours
In the heart of Prague stands a library that opens only between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. The locals call it The Hour Library. Its caretaker, a quiet woman named Sabine, never seemed to age. She didn’t check out books — she checked out moments.
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
The Town Where Birds Spoke Names
In a remote Scottish village, birds began calling out names — full, human names — none belonging to anyone alive. Villagers thought it was witchcraft until a linguist discovered the names matched old parish records of plague victims. Then new names appeared — those of the living.
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
The Radio That Broadcasts From the Afterlife
In 1983, an amateur radio enthusiast in New Mexico began receiving an unidentified signal at 2:11 a.m. each night. The station had no frequency registration, no call sign. It only played songs that listeners later described as “impossibly personal.”
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
The Portrait of the Unknown Queen
Hung in a London museum since 1893, The Unknown Queen depicts a regal woman with violet eyes, gazing directly at the viewer. Art historians have failed to trace its artist, but curators report one odd pattern: each time it’s moved, someone on the team vanishes. Recent infrared scans revealed something hidden beneath the paint — another face, almost identical, but smiling. When conservators began restoring it, the woman’s eyes shifted slightly to follow them. The museum sealed the painting in storage, though guards still swear they hear a woman humming from behind the vault door.
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
The Painter of Rain
In 1820 Kyoto, a reclusive artist named Ren Shimizu gained fame for landscapes that rained when hung outdoors. Scholars thought it was a clever chemical trick — until a noble family that bought his final painting, The River Before Death, perished in a flood the next day. When the painting resurfaced in 1974, a researcher noted that the painted clouds seemed to shift under light, forming human faces mid-tear. It was later stolen from the Tokyo Museum during a typhoon. Some believe the painting calls storms when it’s seen. Others think it only cries for its creator, who drowned in his studio.
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
The Elevator That Skipped the 13th Floor
Everyone knew the Sinclair Building had no 13th floor — it jumped from 12 to 14 like countless others. But every now and then, when the elevator doors opened between floors, passengers would glimpse something: a dimly lit hallway, peeling wallpaper, and a figure standing at the far end holding a lantern.
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
The Family Photo That Kept Updating
After her parents’ funeral, Julia found a family photo in the attic — the last one they’d taken together. She placed it on her desk. A week later, she noticed something strange: the background had changed. The sky was darker, the trees bare.
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
