365 Short Horrors

T ime is something that is far too easy to take for granted. You might find yourself watching a movie and before you know it a week has gone by. Others aren't quite that lucky. Some waste their time while others wish they could do so much over again. And some never get the opportunity to even think about the time they've wasted. Time travel is something that has been around for years, and I'm planning un using it to have myself an off day. Now I know how ridiculous this sounds, using time travel to procrastinate and have a lazy day. If I wasn't suffering from ADHD and feeling too distracted to work, I'd absolutely go in today. But I guess today's work is going to be for tomorrow's me. I grabbed my phone and call my boss. I asked him if it was okay to have tomorrow off so I could use it to work today. He sighed and said it was fine. I hated calling in like that, and I knew he did is well. I just wanted to make sure tomorrow was clear so that today could...

S ome say love is meant to be broken. It's made to be tested and pushed to its very limit. Sometimes it's good to see how strong your bond is. Is it flimsy and can fall apart at the slightest gust of wind, or is it strong enough to survive a tornado? Of course sometimes love can be a wall that is built up around you, only to find that it was fake the entire time. Making shoes is something that has been going on in my family for generations. My father taught me just as his father before him. He taught me everything from the best materials to use for the best comfort, to stitching them in a way that will make them last longer. And ever since his unfortunate passing, he gave me all his tools and materials for making shoes. In his memory and our family's honor, I opened up a shoe store where every shoe inside was custom made by me. It doesn't take too long to make each shoe. And my wife helps me a lot with the stitching so we can increase the stock every week. I lov...

Y outh is something the best of us have strived for but none have received. As the years climb higher, your last breath is drawing nearer and nearer until it hits you, all the regrets and the things you wish so desperately you could change the outcome of, to do the things you wish you would have and spend longer time with the people closest to you. But sometimes, youth can have its drawbacks. After an incredibly stressful audition, I called up my best friend, Genine to vent to her about it. "Hey Agnes," she greeted me gleefully. "What have you been up to?" "So, you know that show I've been a fan of since I was a kid?" I asked. "Do you mean 'Sam and the Blue Ape'?" she asked. "Yeah, that one." I replied. "They finally decided to turn it into a movie and I went to audition for the part of Sam. You'll never believe what they told me. They said I was too old for the part." "Oh Agnes, I'm so s...

It's funny how our human history has been with holding on to legends. They lay down the ground work for some of the greatest stories ever told. They form the basis for some amazing films and even have mass cult followings and conspiracy theorists surrounding them. But the thing we fail to take into account is that legends are often based in truth. For the real situation that took place is far darker than what is being retold. Sitting around the councilor's lake house at Camp Crystal Waters was something I'd been waiting to do since I attended this place is a kid. I was finally old enough to chill out with the big guys and boss kids around. I was beyond ready for this summer. I was sitting around a campfire with some of my fellow councilors. We'd all done our toasting of marshmallows and we were nearing the end of doing our rounds for scary stories. The one left to go was this gorgeous red haired girl with a body that was hard to keep your eyes off of. She was sitt...

F ood is something that is on our minds more than we'd like to acknowledge. We think about it constantly as a means to survival. But what happens when the food we eat bites back? Being the face of veganism on the internet is one of the most difficult things to do. In fact, if it wasn't for my husband, my Vegan Journey situation would not still be going on. I can't thank him enough, honestly, for helping me through the difficult time I've had carrying the channel for the past few months. It's pushed me to my breaking point and a little bit further.  The Vegan Journey started out as a simple blog to document my progress into becoming a vegan and it spiraled into something much bigger than I ever could have thought. It began with me posting the video that went viral of me fighting with someone at a slaughterhouse. It went further than I could have imagined when one of my fans apparently killed that man. He's currently rotting in jail. I had so much backlash f...

S econd chances are ones that are given out very lightly amongst those that trust each other. You may end up realizing that you're going to learn to regret giving them out. Fed up with second chances that you decide to put them to the test, to prove their worth of a second chance. I was awakened by the sound of an alarm beeping. It was followed by my girlfriend, laying beside me, grunting as she shifted to grab her phone and turn off the alarm. She sat up and muttered a few curse words under her breath before getting up and leaving the room. My girlfriend, Sam, is probably one of the angriest people I'd ever met. I don't blame her, she had a rough life. She was bullied all through high school, grew up with an abusive father, and currently works at a fast food job as the only place in town that will hire her. Needless to say she has a short fuse. She once nearly got in a fist fight because someone told her that Star Swords was a terrible tv show. I crawled out of bed...

T echnology is something we all carry with us. With phones so smart they can monitor your sleep patterns and computers with such a great brain it can process things faster than you can reopen your eye from a blink. But what happens when the computers overpower their creators and go off on their own? My parents never trusted the government in the slightest. They would open their phones and remove their GPS tracking from it, or pay someone to do it for them. They always kept their money on hand and never in a bank. They would even go as far as to not register to vote. The only thing to my parents name was the land they inherited from our great great grandfather. They were incredibly thankful about themselves being cautious, for a month ago an artificial intelligence was reported to have gone rogue after gaining access to the internet. Nobody really understood what the A.I. was created to do but it, just last week, gained the ability to possess drones and kill people off. People the...

D ogs are considered to be man's best friend. They are loyal and always willing to make their owners happy and feel protected. But what happens when man's best friend does something it doesn't realize is anything but helpful. I pulled into the pet adoption center and headed inside. I was nervous because I'd never adopted before. I figured it'd be expensive, but I needed a dog around to keep me company. Especially since my new job required me to work from home. I knew that loneliness would set in really quick. The person at the front desk asked for my name and some basic information before leading me to the back of the store. The back room was bigger than you'd think the building could contain from the outside. There were cages stacked from floor until about eye level that would stretch to the back of the building as far as I could tell.  She showed me all the different kinds of dogs they had, big ones, small ones, fluffy ones, hairless ones. They were ...

T he imagination is a powerful thing. You can dream up worlds of great fantasy, create characters that you can easily fall in love with or hate. You can do anything and be anywhere your heart desires. But sometimes your imagination can play tricks on you. It can leave you believing things that couldn't possibly be real. Being the author of a best selling book is one thing, but having an entire series that's sold more copies than you even dreamed possible is a feeling completely different. It is one that, ironically coming from a writer, is hard to describe. It's like all the hard work you put into a silly little something you enjoyed every moment of creating, suddenly sprouted wings and flew off to a crowded city of admiration. Going around to book signings is something I enjoyed, though I wasn't much of a people person. Big crowds make me incredibly anxious, and the fact there were so many people supporting me on a dream I've attached myself to since I was a ...

What is it that truly makes someone crazy? Do they no longer fall under social normalcies? Are their minds no longer able to tell apart their fantasy from the world's reality? Or do they have something going on in their heads the rest of the world isn't prepared for? *** As I stood before the mirror, I straightened my tie before throwing on a white coat. I took a step back and examined myself. I looked like a lab assistant. I was somewhat nervous about my first day on the job. I was going to be working at a mental institution, helping take care of some patients. I was insanely nervous, I've never worked, not even seen what the inside of a mental institution.  My mind kept jumping to the worst case scenario, a patient comes out of their room screaming, the leap toward me and bite my ear off. I shook my head to try draining the thought from my mind. There was no way things would be like that. I doubted they'd have the patients just running around, free to cause as much de...

  Candy is easily the greatest obsession this nation has to offer. The taste is irresistible. You might push through any kind of pain to consume it, whether it be rotting teeth or a disease attacking your blood sugar. You don’t mind the pain, you just want one more bite... *** I never understood why people liked Charles so much. It wasn’t the way he treats them, he’s the meanest person I know. It might be the candy he’s always munching on.  He says he’s trying so hard to lose weight because it’s slowly killing him, but from all the junk food he consumes here at school, it doesn’t seem like he’s making good progress. I hate to be the person to be mean to the overweight kid, but that was unfortunately the case. It might just be because he’s always picking on me and laughing at my torment.  I got up from the lunch table and conventionally enough, the bell rang a single moment after. Why must my timing be so good? I was trying to leave early to avoid being trampled by all the...

  There's been so many stories about the monster under the bed. How you might hear it breathing below you. The possibility of it grabbing your feet and pulling you under. The idea that it might eat you. No matter how you play it, it's something we've feared at least once in our lives. But that could never really happen. After all, you checked before you crawled into bed, right? *** I glanced over to my clock, the light blasting my eyes, 11:39 pm. I had stayed up too late, for I needed to be up for work at 5 in the morning. I hated working day shift, but with the pay I can't afford not to. I crawled into bed and pulled my blanket over me. I grabbed an extra one because it was a little chilly tonight. I shut my eyes and attempted to sleep. Of course that wasn't going to happen. I have an extreme difficulty falling asleep, it's something I've struggled with for as long as I can remember. I grabbed my phone and turned on some videos to watch. Perhaps that would ...

G iving into temptation is far too easy to do. The access to the habit is laid out before you, all you have to do is reach out and grab it, letting it consume and fulfil your desire until there's nothing left. Regret is often something that follows soon after. Sometimes the regret can be much greater than any you've faced previously. Playing tennis with my girlfriend isn't something I necessarily wanted to spend my day off doing in the middle of summer. I'd rather be taking her on a trip in my boat to go fishing, but this also works. She and I were swatting the neon green ball back and forth, laughing at each other as we missed and had to chase after it. We both sucked at it but we didn't mind.  I went to get the ball she'd hit far over my head, when I heard a buzzing sound. What I could only assume was a fly landed just below my nose and tried working its way up. I blew out my nose hard and the bug flew right out and took off. I thought that was weird as ...

T he cold is something we often ignore until it hits us. It is the most treasured thing as the temperature escalates. As the temperature decreases, however, it becomes your worst enemy. It attacks you and eats away at your flesh until there is nothing left but a weakened vessel that shivers and shakes within a few moments of exposure.  I searched through the space heaters the local dollar store held. Why was it so difficult to find a decent one? They were all overpriced. That or they are ones I've used before that nearly burned down my house. I needed ones that'd keep me warm. I heard someone behind me clear their throat. I looked up to find I was blocking the aisle. I apologized and grabbed the heater closest to me and left. I made my way to the aisle that held blankets and grabbed a few of the thick and fuzzy ones. I made my way to pay for this all and headed home. The twisting roads winded down to some gravel with trees blanketed in snow overlooking it. I slowed down...

C hristmas is the often referred to as the most magical time of the year. It is the one time of year most associate with joy and thoughtfulness. It is a time where family reconnects with each other, each having an excuse to see each other for a single day out of the year. It, of course, all starts in childhood. The wonder and mystery that leads you to counting down the days until that beautiful prize beneath the tree is yours. But as joyful as the day can be, it can just as easily become the opposite. Here it was, the morning of Christmas. My stomach swelled with excitement as I raced down the stairs to be greeted by the smell of cinnamon floating through the air. My heart raced when I saw my mom sitting on the floor beside my presents that awaited my unwrapping.  "Merry Christmas!" my mom greeted me before turning to the gifts to sort through them some. I slid down beside her. She knew I was anxious to open them. "Now hold on there bud, you gotta wait for your dad...