The Final Flicker

“Hello! My name is Robin Shadows, and I hope y’all are doing good. In today’s episode, I will share with you brave souls the truly chilling tale of THE CANDLE JOCKEY.

This story takes us to the year 1999. In Columbus, Ohio, there lived 34 year old Lucas Quint and his wife, Maya. To family and friends, he was a loving and devoted husband. To others, a talented and charming candle-maker. But to his victims, a cold and sadistic figure of death.

Quint was most widely known for his candle-making business, named Maya’s. How romantic. As one of the few candle-makers in the area, Quint’s business was quite popular, especially among women. Whether it’s to purchase a cute gift or simply gawk at the handsome Quint, local women were common customers. This proved to be convenient for Quint, as he would —”

Dani paused the video. She had heard a knock on her front door. How

dare they interrupt me, she thought. Dani had forced herself off the couch and put on a pair of sweatpants. She walked over to the peephole and saw Mrs. Palmer through it, holding a box. With disdain, Dani unlocked all three locks and opened the door.

“Oh hi Mrs. Palmer” said Dani.

“Hey Danielle! I got another gift for you…”

Mrs. Palmer lifted the box higher, with a smile. It was a regular shipping box with my name and address.

“Oh thank you! I was just waiting for it.”

“Poor Stanley. Still can’t tell between 112 and 121 even after I told him.He needs new glasses now.”

“Yeah, I figured I would give you a call tomorrow morning”

Dani said as she grabbed her package.

“Oh feel free to call anytime dear. And please, if you need anything at all, ANYTHING, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Oh that’s really sweet. Thank you. Ever since…” Dani stopped herself and painted a quick smile, “That really means a lot. Thank you.”

Mrs. Palmer smiled back and replied “Of course! Now I gotta get back. Got an early morning with the chiropractor.”

“Ah sounds nice. Good night Mrs. Palmer!”

“Good night dear, Oh and don’t forget to light your candle”

Mrs. Palmer exclaimed while pointing at Dani’s front window.

“Ah… right. Just forgot. I’ll get to it right away!”

“You better, or the Candle Jockey is gonna get ya!”

“Well I hope he does. He sounds kinda hot…”

“Yeah until he starts choking you to death!”

“That’s why” Dani smirked.

Mrs. Palmer rolled her eyes,said her final good night and left. Dani watched as she walked across the street back home and glanced at the lit candle in her front window. Dani scanned the other houses and saw lit candles on all the front windows.

Dani stepped back in and locked the door. She had always liked Mrs. Palmer. Since Dani moved in 10 months ago, the Palmers were easily the most welcoming of all the neighbors. And yet, Dani couldn’t wait to shut the door on her. The past several months were unlike anything Dani had faced, and she faced it alone. She wanted to be alone.

Dani got to the couch and opened her package. Inside, a deck of tarot cards and a paperback guide on how to interpret them. She took a quick look at the cards and flipped through the guide for a minute. Dani then placed the items onto her desk, a place she rarely visits.

Dani took her sweatpants off, turned her fan onto the highest setting, and resumed the video on her couch.

“—lure customers into his candle-making studio. What happens next is unsettling.

After first-time customer Vanessa Walker walked into his studio, he came up from behind and would strangle her until she passed out. Quint would proceed to drain the blood from her body until she ran dry and mixed it into his paraffin wax. The result was a gorgeous red wax that he would use for his candles moving forward. According to customers, these special candles emitted a red glow once lit. A truly special gift it would be indeed!

His next 5 victims would be killed in a similar manner to Walker. Their bodies were never found, but later DNA tests of the candles confirmed the identities. Thankfully, his reign of terror would be put to an end by Maria Alonso. Alonso was an undercover —”

A sudden thud from the front door startled Dani. As the video continues playing in the background, Dani went to the front door to investigate. She looked through the peephole, then her front window. There was nothing, but she opened it just to make sure there weren’t any more late packages. The only thing that Dani found once she opened the door was this faint, yet strange scent. It was more like two distinct scents, as if someone sprayed air freshener over a barbecue. Dani was quick to close the door and brushed off this strange occurrence. She returned to the couch.

“—his entire shed had burned down. Yet his legacy remains. In the years after his death, Quint became something of an urban legend. The residents of King Street, the same street Quint lived on, have reported rather strange events. Or signs, rather. These include a sudden spike of heat, as well as a scent that some would describe as ‘meaty’ with a hint of lavender. Several have even—”

Dani paused the video. A strange scent, she thought. Suddenly, she felt a warm and heavy feeling in her chest. Despite living on the same street, she never took the Candle Jockey legend too seriously. But, the past few months have taught her that almost anything is possible. She knew that the hard way. She started fiddling with her engagement ring and continued the video.

“— reported seeing a figure walking down the street at night. It was described as a tall, gangly man with glowing red embers all over. Smoke would emanate from the body, and it was believed to be the source of the strange scent.

Since Quint’s death in 1999, three residents of the street have been found burned alive in their homes. Strangely, there would be no evidence of how they burned, as everything in their surroundings were perfectly intact. The police chalked it up to spontaneous combustion, as there was simply no other explanation. But residents of King Street felt that it was Quint, now reborn as a far more evil entity. Now, every October 13th, the residents of King Street keep a candle on by the front window, as it is believed that doing so will keep the Candle Jockey away.

It wasn’t until October 13, 2020, that the Candle Jockey would strike again. 27 year old Danielle Morris was found—“

Dani immediately felt a shock of terror shoot through her whole body. She paused the video. The screen had shown a selfie Danie had posted not too long ago. She didn’t know whether to run, hide, or even scream. She couldn’t even smell the strange scent anymore. Instead, she pressed play.

“—dead in her own home on 121 King Street. Her body had been horrifically burned to a crisp, and judging from her posture, she was alive while it happened. Like the other three residents, her body emanated the scent of lavender mixed with her scorched flesh, and nothing else around her was burned. Her body was found by neighbor Lisa Palmer, who noticed that Danielle’s front window candle was not lit.”

The screen began showing images of her house and Mrs. Palmer, intermixed with even more of Dani’s personal photos. Even the ones with her fiancé, from before the accident. Most disturbingly however, were the images of a horribly burnt corpse laying on her floor. Dani was horrified, but couldn’t look away. Her laptop had frozen on an image of the corpse before shutting down unexpectedly.

Dani quickly shut the laptop closed and started taking heavy breaths. Her heart felt so hot and heavy, like it was going to explode. She got up and took very deep breaths. She grabbed the laptop to put away, but once she touched it, she felt the sharp sting of pain, similar to touching an open flame. Her laptop was burning hot!

As she sucked on her thumb, the strange scent settled in again, this time much stronger. The smell of flesh was much more apparent this time, a smell she was unlucky enough to know. Regaining her senses, she quickly searched all the rooms on the first floor for a candle. No luck. Dani ran upstairs to her old bedroom, knowing exactly where to find a candle.

As soon as she got the door, she paused. She hadn’t slept in that room for months, opting for the guest bedroom or couch instead. It was less lonely that way.

She opened the door and turned on the lights. She took a mournful glance at the bed. Next to one side of the bed was a large nightstand. On top, a fancy metal urn with the name ‘Paul Morris’ engraved on the front. Right next to the urn was a single, tall candle and a set of matches. Dani stared at the urn for a bit, feeling not sure how to feel. She quickly snatched both the candle and the matches and left the room.

With the smell still emanating, Dani ran downstairs. She hurried towards the front window and placed the candle on the window sill. Lighting a match proved to be quite hard, as she just couldn’t stop shaking her hands. She took one last and very deep breath and took one final flick.

As she lifted the flame towards the candle, she looked outside and saw a horribly burned and disfigured face pressed against the window screen. It had no eyelids, its left cheek exposing its teeth, and melted wax dripping down its blackened face. It opened its mouth and blew the match out.