fiction
Horror fiction that delivers on its promise to scare, startle, frighten and unsettle. These stories are fake, but the shivers down your spine won't be.
Owl Eyes
Fred leans against a tree. He pants, clutches his chest. Unsteady on his legs, he rests a hand on the trunk. The bark crumbles under his fingers. The decay jolts him; his legs quake under the fright that consumes him, and he collapses on a bed of dead leaves. The entire forest screams of his impending doom. It tries to silence his yearning for rest and reprieve. Though he knows what is to come, he can’t curtail his hope. He rights himself.
By Toni-IslandWriter Glenn5 years ago in Horror
A Lily for the Earl of Owls
The cool of the dark room floods over Lily. Damp air surrounds her as she stands with her head down and her eyes covered. Her heart is racing anxiously though she’s standing in still silence. After some time passes without a sound, she feels emboldened to attempt removing the blindfold. Reaching up, she unties the fabric around her head, it falls away as Lily opens her eyes. The fabric gently hits the floor drawing her gaze to focus downward. Beneath the blindfold at her feet, she sees hand hewn cobblestone floors covered in a residue of the layers of times gone by.
By Yiskah Laureola5 years ago in Horror
Night Prey
The old owl, worn and weathered by the years, perched atop of the large barn at the back of Hank’s property. Hank had just turned onto the long drive that would lead him back to the barn. The barn where the owl waited and watched nightly. Their usual routine had grown into a comfortable fit for both of them. As Hank would get out of his old van and grab his take for the night he never failed to look up and greet the owl with a little “Hello Jim.” Hank had been calling the old owl Jim since he inherited the property from his father eight years ago.
By Cindy Barnes5 years ago in Horror
Warning Signs
13-year-old Hannah’s heart stopped when she saw the sign nailed to a post inside the barn. She ran away from home hoping to avoid danger, not walk straight to it. The sign read, “Hello trespasser and traveler. If you are reading this then it is too late.”
By Mac Hernandez5 years ago in Horror
The Night Shift
Randelyn L. Snow January 19, 2021 The Night Shift After supper, Norman pushed open the screen door and took his usual spot at the end of the porch, his legs dangling over the worn and splintered edge. The sun had already disappeared, but the earth still radiated the heat from the feverish summer sun. He felt the long sweetgrass tickle his bare feet and he reached down and plucked a piece and began chewing it thoughtlessly. His eyes adjusted to the dimming light and he surveyed the fading shadows as they rapidly blended into the shades of night. He swung his feet playfully, twirling the sweetgrass with his fingers, unconsciously lost in his thoughts as the stars punched their light, one by one, through the blackened canvas.
By Randelyn Snow5 years ago in Horror
Amber
Dear reader, When we first met, I was walking down the road to go get my groceries and enjoying the summer air. I looked up at the sky while walking, not paying attention to where I was going and I accidentally bumped into a girl. She had loose jeans on and a hoodie up over her head. I thought it was odd but I didn’t mention it. I apologized for bumping into her and continued on my way. After that though I had a bad feeling for the rest of the day and continued to look over my shoulder but nothing else happened until Saturday night when I was at a restaurant waiting for my food. I looked up from my phone for a bit and look out the window. I saw that girl outside standing near the woods, looking at them, but she wouldn’t move. I continued to watch her until my food came and I turned to eat. When I finished eating and paying I left, but stopped in my tracks when I noticed her still standing and staring at the woods. I had been in the restaurant for forty-five minutes. I felt something might be wrong so I went to see if she was ok. When I got near and asked if everything was alright, she turned to look at me with sad eyes and said that her dog ran into the woods and she was scared to go by herself. I then realized she was much younger then she appeared. I told her my name was April and asked for her name. She said her name was Amber and asked if I could go with her to get her dog. I unthinkingly said yes and she grabbed my hand softly and started walking towards the woods. The woods always freaked me out because the trees were so tall and thick it made it incredibly dark. I pulled out my phone to use as a flashlight. As we were walking I got a bad feeling again but this time it was worse. It felt like I was going to faint but I didn’t and kept walking. After walking for what felt like a really short time, I realized I had been walking for almost two hours and my phones battery was getting low. I turned to tell Amber that we had to go back but she wasn’t there. I spun around to find her and didn’t see her anywhere. The feeling became stronger and then I actually fainted. When I woke up my phone was dead and it was really dark. I waited for my eyes to adjust. When they did, I couldn’t remember which way I came from so I just started walking forward. The woods would have to come to an end eventually. It felt like thirty minutes had passed and I stepped on something that made a squishy noise. I jumped back and looked at it and saw a dog’s corpse laying on the ground with it’s heart in front of it. I started running. I fell over and heard footsteps behind me moving quickly. I got up as fast as I could and bolted away from the footsteps. When it got quiet, I slowed down a little bit to catch my breath but blacked out as soon as I stopped. I woke up in a hollowed out tree with a what looked like a prison door. It was old and mossy so I pushed it over and it fell with a soft thud. I saw a lot of other things with me, including different animals like iguanas and lizard and tigers and lions. I let all of them out because I knew that thing was still somewhere probably looking for for more animals. The man eating animals seemed scared of me. That’s why I let them out. I hoped they would cause a big enough distraction to get me away and it worked. I went the opposite way of the stampede and was somehow able to make it out of the woods. As soon as I got back, I went to the police station. However, when I walked in the station they looked at me shocked. I asked them what was wrong and they said I had been missing for over a year. I then told them everything that happened. They seemed skeptical of me, but they shared my story as a warning. Since then, I’ve felt this overwhelming urge to go back to the woods and look for Amber. The police said that they have no record of a little girl named Amber going missing. I realized the mysterious creature must be Amber and I just can’t seem to shake the bad feeling that she’s coming back.
By Opal Rosebrock5 years ago in Horror
The Release
THE RELEASE The wind howled loudly as it ran thru the trees. The owl sat high on the tree waiting. His head twisted its full 360 degree, looking, scanning, searching the surroundings for it. He never knew where it would come from. He just waited for that bright green light that shot up into the sky in a flash. His job was to catch it and escort it to its destination. The release, he never knew when it would happen. It just did.
By Alma Renee Capello5 years ago in Horror
Night Song
Tis dark. Then again that is all I have know my whole life. So why, I ponder, do the other children think it so odd that I do not mind the night, when even the slightest susurrations my large ears catch? Wet moss and slimy wood quickly dampen my jeans, and the cool wisps of mist redden my cheeks into gleeds, but these trifles bother me little; my body, nerves alight and flaming during the sun’s hours, gives way to my keen ears. As the eyes of a city dweller adjust to the night sky, so does my ear to the evening’s song. Soughing trees- whispering, sighing, murmuring - ease the arms that hold an eternally tapping, tapping, tapping cane. Crisp air swells my lungs, and my posture droops as a weary willow.
By grace healy5 years ago in Horror
Night Fall
She stared into the darkness wondering what was rustling behind the bushes. As she got closer the sound of his breathing became louder and she could see a faint fog from his warm breathe in the cold night air. She leaned around the tree so slightly so she would not startle her dark stranger. She whispered to him, "Hello, I am not going to hurt you." As soon as she finished her last word a strong voice said, " How do you know I won't hurt you?" Taken aback by the danger that she now felt she turned around and started to run hoping someone would help her. As she ran through the cold dark night she could feel an unwelcome presence that rattled her to her core. Just as she could see the lights from town in front of her she felt a harsh grab to her shoulder. As she was ripped back the fear of what she was about to see consumed her. All she could see was darkness as she fell to the cold damp ground. As she looked around she could hear the loud breathes of her mysterious person who she had once been intrigued to know but now had a overwhelming fear of what she had been longing for. "Please, I don't want any trouble I just want to go home." As she turned around glancing from side to side she couldn't find him anywhere. She stared out into the dark night surrounding her but could only see faint fog in the distance. She decided to try to get up and run. As she started to lift herself up off of the ground a light but strong hand grabbed her shoulder and dug his long nails slightly into her quivering skin. " I don't think I told you to get up, now did I?" Silently inside of her she let out a scream that she could only hear. " I didn't see you so I was going to leave." "Tonight will not be going as you planned, he said in a menacing voice." You see, I am very hungry and well you seem like you were in the wrong place at the right time." "What do you mean? I have no food with me!" "Oh my darling, you're not understanding you are the food!" Within a second she was ripped to her feet and felt a strong pain radiating from her neck. He was biting me, what was this? Why was he biting her, she thought to herself. "What are you?" She could feel herself getting weak and the lights were starting to fade around her. " I my darling, am a vampire." She could feel herself fall to the ground but could not gain any strength to even lift her head to see who her attacker was. As she lay on the cold damp ground she slowly faded until everything went dark. When she finally came around and opened her eyes she felt like she was finally alone. She could no longer see faint fog or hear breathing, she was alone. As she tried to get up she was startled by a barn owl sitting on a branch of a tree. He called out into the night with a loud screech. They locked eyes for a moment before the girl rose to her feet and slowly drug herself toward the lights of town. As she pushed herself to make it to all the lights she noticed the owl had been following her most of the way. Then without warning the owl flew toward her and then off it went into the night sky. As she approached the highway she knew she only had just a little way to go and felt hopeful she would be okay. Just as she started to cross the highway she heard a familiar voice. " I wasn't done with you yet, who told you that you could leave?"
By Jennifer Zabala5 years ago in Horror
