Horror

Better Off Graduated: Campfire Ghost-Story Contest
"The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window." I couldn’t tell if it was the fire or the rasp in Adaline’s theatre voice that cracked dramatically over the story. High School officially ends on Friday, but with Senior Campout being today and tomorrow, nobody will even be on campus until graduation Friday night.
By Lindsey Lamar4 years ago in Fiction
The Storm
Rain. Days and days of rain. As if that weren’t enough, the skies had faded over the course of the week from a dull and foreboding gray to a menacing black with only a few small patches of anything remotely promising of the future. With what I was going through at that time, it seemed fitting, and it suited me just fine. Since the old plant closed down, I had been spending most of my days locked away in my study, never turning on the lights or so much as opening the blinds. Of course, I would answer the door to the occasional guilt-trip checking in of neighbors, or to accept a package or meal delivery, but those interactions, even in my best of emotional states, remained little more than an automatic call and response. Not to say I don’t have any friends, and not to imply that I don’t enjoy the occasional social outing. Truly, it is hard to explain myself, and it holds little relevance to the subject at hand. What holds the most importance is the darkness to which I had become accustomed to the point of absolute comfort. In the fleeting moments where the sun peeked through the windows in spite of my heavy curtains and pulled shades, I would wear a pair of sunglasses to shield my eyes. Many of my brief visitors would wonder what it was that I was working on so intently in that small room, shielded so carefully from any intrusion, both metaphorically and quite literally, and I rarely had anything substantial to tell.
By DJ Mosher4 years ago in Fiction
One Single Candle
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. No one knew where it had come from as the door was completely blocked by the oak tree that had grown up through the front porch and gently lifted the small roof off the area. The cabin still stood, sturdy as ever, the tree now a permanent part of it, blocking the only real entrance or exit. The candle was visible, despite the surrounding forest, because whoever or whatever had placed it in the window had put it in the upstairs one, overlooking the clearing and the lake, almost like a lighthouse beacon, the small, flickering light shining oddly bright out over the water.
By Rosemary Brown4 years ago in Fiction
Orphan Camp Ghost Story
"The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window." Travelers know the value of a good story. The very reason memories are their most precious treasures. No matter how far we travel, or how much time goes by. Memories can be forgotten, but they are never lost. Most times any given memory is just a simple recall away. Sometimes it just a single keyword to unlock a gateway of details. As I ponder the opening sentence in my mind, I find myself at another gate in time.
By john lester4 years ago in Fiction
The Four Warnings:
"The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It was the first time anyone had set foot on the property again since the death of Missy Hallow Hathaway, and for the unfortunate group of teenagers that horrific evening, that candle was their first warning. On the ten year anniversary of the precarious passing of Missy Hallow Hathaway, shrouded in mystery and cover up, five teenagers cut the fence wire, ignored the half hanging 'do no enter' sign, and made a campfire much like the one we have here, hoping to catch a glance of the ghost of Missy Hallow Hathaway.
By U.B. Light4 years ago in Fiction
The Crazy Ax Woman
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Afterward, every night at exactly midnight, the candle lit up, and one could hear the maniacal laughter of a woman. The old-timers in the closest village Pineville nodded their heads when they heard about the candlelight in the cabin's window. It simply meant the spirit of crazy Anna had returned.
By Rasma Raisters4 years ago in Fiction
The Kiss of Aesmodai
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. I know; I know. You’ve heard this one before. The one where the untamed malevolence of night unleashes itself upon a sleepy, idyllic little piece of the world. The one were the suburban and rural horrors of all the things that go bump in the night, all the creatures that claw at your skin with their razor-sharp talons, every entity that inhabits the darker recesses of this land make you feel happy you get to leave here, say goodbye to this campground and this fire, roll up your sleeping bag, and go back to your homes far far away where it’s safe, and it’s civilized, and you have no worries of abandoned cabins or ghosts or demons.
By Andrew Forrest Baker4 years ago in Fiction
Raven's Tongue
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A raven, roosting for the night in a fir tree just outside the window, watched the flame as it waited to get inside to feast on the rotting flesh somewhere inside. The raven watched the child go to the corner of the cabin and pick up a broom. The child walked across the floor, turned the broom to hold the bristles, and poked at something beyond the raven’s view.
By Erin Leonard4 years ago in Fiction
A new Host
"The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window." She starts to tell the story as if it's nothing, a no show of a story that's about to sprinkle into dust.
By Lola Bunny4 years ago in Fiction
FERRIS FAMILY SECRETS
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It wasn’t particularly bright but somehow it appeared brighter the closer you got. Even on the sunniest of days the light from the candle could be spotted from the tree line, begging me to look, begging me to come closer but I never did, not even once.
By K.H. Obergfoll4 years ago in Fiction
The Cabin
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Unknowing of the danger that candle brought to them. Deep in the Adirondack Mountains, a group of four friends went on a trip to get away from the bustle of The Big Apple. Erica found the idea to go hiking and camp for Memorial Day, since the group had four days off work. After some extensive google searching she came across a nice secluded camping area. It was decided quickly this was the place for them to go. Erica, her husband Mike and Angie from the marketing division with her husband Derek. Mike worked with Erica in accounting, they actually met here, freshly out of college and hired together. Angie was hired shortly after Erica and Mike, she is a peppy and outgoing person but reminds Erica of your basic hippie. Not that it’s an issue with her, Erica genuinely enjoys having Angie around. Erica and Mike have never met Derek though, so they have no idea what to expect of him. Angie describes him as “her twin, but in guy form”.
By Autumn Lawson4 years ago in Fiction
A Candle to Light the Way
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The light spilled out sudden and violent, like an eye opening to peer into the dark, after a disturbed slumber. Rachel and Nathan slept peacefully, but their campsite was held in a gaze of pure malevolence.
By Blake Capps4 years ago in Fiction