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.
Inhabitation
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A new family was beginning to make the spacious cabin a home, and that started with their attempts to clean out the clutter and force the dust to depart. The candle that was burning in the window was one among many positioned variously around the house, light which added to that which emanated, along with warmth, from the fire burning in the hearth. These were a temporary necessary compromise with the brute reality of a winter night, because the power wouldn't be connected to the cabin for around a week. They'd moved to this cabin because they couldn't afford their family house anymore; all three members of this family have their own demons. This move is a way for them to try to get away from their past: to get a fresh start, and build a new life. The night is dark and long.
By Insinq Datum4 years ago in Horror
The Thing That Lives There
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. I couldn’t help but feel a comforting darkness sweep over me. Staring at that light, I remembered I was here. I hadn’t been snuffed out by the muffled sounds of earthworms trying to find each other in the dirt. I was alive. At least for now, and that was all I could hope for. Years ago, it would have been a different story. I would have been struck with fear. Afraid to move in case I was seen. I’ve got a thicker skin now. Not because I’m tough, but because I’ve made it and am still alive to tell you what happened.
By Romy Smith4 years ago in Horror
A Trick of the Light
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. I could see it’s faint flickering in the distance, as I walked along the treelined path. Jason meandered beside me. The yellow glow of his dull flashlight skittered erratically on the ground due to his drunken state.
By Amy Writes4 years ago in Horror
Don't Let Go
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The no-longer young man averted his eyes. He knew the power it had to draw onlookers in and he knew the terror once inside. He rose from where he’d been lying, in exhausted stupor underneath a tree, and attempted to walk away ... head down, staring at the forest floor in front of him. A peek of red suggested a berry and with hunger gnawing he lunged for it. The peek was just that ... a beetle had eaten most of the fruit and was finishing it off. The man popped berry and beetle in his mouth, scavenged around to see if there were more, then stood up. Glancing around just to get his bearings he realized he was even closer to the cabin, as if he’d been walking towards instead of away from it. The candle flame mesmerized his tired brain and he stood staring, remembering ...
By Shireen Pigott4 years ago in Horror
The Death of the Moth
“Just as life had been strange a few minutes before, so death was now as strange.” - The Death of the Moth, Virginia Woolf The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Annie saw this through her binoculars. The only lights she ever saw from across the lake were the tiny flashes of fireflies, but it was too cold outside and this new light did not move. The house across the lake has been sitting empty for as long as Annie, who had been here for a majority of her summers and a few of the winters, could remember. It was a beautiful lake house that sat on a few acres of land, taking up a majority of the lakefront property. She appreciated that the house never sold and nothing could be developed instead. Annie enjoyed the peace that she got out here. The house was the biggest on the lake. It was built back in the day as a hunting club for rich folks from the city. The current owner is an older gentleman who lives across the country and never visits the house. She heard from folks in the area that he left the house about forty years ago and hasn’t visited, or kept up the property, since. Annie joked that the place was haunted, why else would you just let a beautiful cabin on the lake, secluded and surrounded by nature, just sit there?
By Mary Lynne4 years ago in Horror
The Night Jogger
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. You’ve jogged past the cabin a thousand times, though you know your mother would be furious if she knew. There’s something about the woods at night that feels so liberating, invigorating, and yes, maybe even a little spooky. A little unsafe. So you changed your usual course a while ago, and maybe that little tingle of fear, that invisible, primordial pressure on your shoulders, makes you run just that much faster. And what could be wrong with that? Not a thing, of course.
By Megan Malcolm4 years ago in Horror
Lovely Luna Lake
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. An eerie twilight covers the forest floor and the winding roads within like a funeral shroud. The sun creeps down over the horizon, allowing one last glimpse at the landscape of the dense forest before the darkness sets in. Miles away from any lamp post and the nearest porch light being a glint in the distance, blinding headlights sweep over the greenery.
By Emma McWilliams4 years ago in Horror
The Essence
The Essence...Never Close Your Eyes in the Nighttime Hours The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. As soon as she lit it, Gwen immediately blew it out, realizing she had made a tremendous mistake.
By Megan Virginia Sennett4 years ago in Horror
