365 Short Horrors

A gift that keeps on giving is a gift received with kindness in mind. It is one that you can look at with a constant reminder of what good a friend you have and the memories shared in a single inanimate object. But sometimes that token of friendship can become a reminder of a very dark time. I just finished texting my best friend a happy birthday. She and I had been friends since we started school as children. We grew up together through a lot of the good and bad times. But now that we were no longer children, I had just the perfect gift that I knew she'd always wanted. The gift was no ordinary gift, it was what I could only refer to as joy wrapped in a curse. From the outside it looked like an ordinary cake, dressed in a white cream. In reality the white cream was ranch, her favorite kind of dipping sauce. The inside of the cake? Well, this isn't any ordinary cake, it holds a secret inside. I have a switch on the outside that activates these arms on the inside that op...

O ften times, one of the easiest things in our minds to accept is an assumption we make that will only later turn out to be wrong. Sure, it may be something that sounds ridiculous when spoken aloud, but just running through your thoughts, picturing and visualizing it playing out, this is the only possible explanation. This can be taken as a mistake of the untrained mind, or the beginning steps into insanity. I found myself charging out the door and toward my car, just after I'd clocked out from work. Today was a complete disaster, both with everything in the kitchen, as well as dealing with customers. The greatest nightmare scenario of a fast food worker. It left me running without a single glance back before returning to my car. I got in the driver's seat and slumped back to catch my breath. I was thankful, and actually considering myself lucky, for the fact that I got out of work when I did. My feet were starting to ache and my body felt about ready to give out on me. I...

M istakes are the easiest things to come by, only being countered by the knowledge that you wish you had. Sometimes the mistakes are made by the lack of understanding, while others are created by the unkind companion we call clumsiness. No matter how you look at it, you can only hope that the mistake you make isn't one that cost people their lives. My co-workers were clocking out, leaving me behind to finish things up before closing up shop for the night. How I got talked into working at a technologically advanced slaughter house, I'll never know. Perhaps it was the machine they held that filled me with curiosity. The machine was massive, almost half the length of a football field. It was this long conveyer belt with a couple housing units inside that would do different things to the meat we throw in there, before spitting it out on the other end, ready to be packaged and sent out on the trucks that would come every morning. This machine was by far the most advanced thi...

S preading lies isn't exactly the most kosher thing you can do. You might not be fortunate enough to know all the details in a situation and use what you believe to get people to side with you, but when the truth comes to light, the worst thing to happen is the realization that you were wrong. But what if the end result of being proven wrong was far worse than you could imagine? Traditionally, being a writer that specializes in horror is something you might get hate for. There are some people out there that think horror is dead or is something that only works if it's blended with something else. Little do they realize that horror is far more than a plot twist to make someone's blood run cold. It is instead something that is created to make people think about the reality they live in and how quickly things could turn dark. I was in the midst of writing yet another horror story when a friend messaged me online. I tried shrugging it off and continuing to write, as it was...

L aying down in bed, you rest your weary head on the pillow and think nothing as your eyelids grow heavier. Eventually you reach a point where you can no longer keep your eyes open. You drift into a deep sleep and see things. The things you think you see are horrifying. You try to open your eyes but the harder you struggle the harder it is to fight the monsters back. That's when it hits you, this isn't a dream. Falling asleep was far easier than I thought it'd be. I have slight insomnia, which makes sleep incredibly difficult to meet me. It must have been the exhaustion from the long work hours I've pulled over the last few days, Or perhaps that I haven't been getting much sleep and forced to wake up early day after day. No matter which way you look at it, I'm still asleep in bed. As I drifted, I found myself in a dark forest. The moonlight shining above me was my only guiding light through these woods. How did I get here? My mind was spinning and my onl...

T here are some things that our body does that leaves us completely without control. The urges overpower our free will to stop ourselves. The after affects of this can really only be monumentally disastrous. My girlfriend and I were always the adventurous type. We were the people to explore graveyards in the dead of night and watch scary movies in the dark. Often times, we'd find ourselves exploring abandoned buildings and, every once in a while, things would get steamy. Of course, the hot stuff was just making out some, before convincing each other that we see a ghost. It was always pure gold to look at her face and see her terrified before shooting me an angry look like she wanted to hit me for doing that to her. Little did she know I had a sweet surprise waiting for her the next time she and I were together. I waited outside of her work, parking right next to her car in the parking lot. As I waited I played a game on my phone. I found myself frustrated and nearly punch...

T rust is something that should never be given away freely. That's something that, through the given time, we all learn in the end. Life is a grand lesson that not every person you come in contact with is worthy of your trust, whether or not you choose to realize it. Love is something that is far too difficult to come by these days. There's so many dating apps out there that think they're pointing you in the right direction when, in reality, they are placing you back in the repeated cycle of try and fail again in keeping someone long term. It's just too difficult to find anyone these days that's a perfect fit. The last few relationships I've been apart of have all ended in sadness, knowing that they don't want me in their lives as bad as I want to be in theirs. Why must finding a person be so much of a struggle? I found myself walking along the sidewalk alone after another tough break up. This guy wanted told me he stayed because I was great in bed b...

C ommunication is one of the strongest bonds we have as people. We use it to get our feelings across, whether they be disagreements or compliments, or even to complain about our days. But what happens when even the most talkative person won't even mutter a word? At one point in time, if you told me that our baby would grow up just like any normal one would, I would have absolutely believed you. But why is it that now our child has the ability to speak long before any normal kid should be able to? The one painful thing that comes from her being able to talk is that she doesn't really want to stop. It was cute when it first started, she'd make all these silly noises and attempt to make words out of them. Now she has learned speech so well that we're surprised she can't read yet. We wanted to send her off to a school for gifted kids so that she could learn with people nearly as smart as she is. As much as I'd enjoy this idea, however, the wife and I would a...

L ive streams are fun, they're a way to connect with new people and show off things you might be good at. But sometimes not all the attention you receive from the streams can necessarily be considered as good. And sometimes it can be fatal. Work was almost painfully long and exhausting. It was nine straight hours of running around non-stop, putting up with ridiculous requests from customers. I tried as hard as I could not to rip my hair out and keep calm around them. I was thankful that my job didn't last much longer, else I wouldn't have a job there anymore. After clocking out, I got my stuff together and headed out to my car. Of course, some customers tried addressing me as though I was still on the clock. I was thankful that I could easily redirect them to someone else rather than having a mass fiasco go down after I was off the clock. I sat diwn in my driver's seat and started the car. I didn't move for a little while, I just wanted to relax for a few mi...

C onspiracy theories are some of the most interesting kinds of stories told to the public, ones that bury truth in the details to help back up their claims. They are often fascinating to listen to but some of them easily fall apart the more evidence found to prove the opposite. Of course, there are some that are very real that are buried under all the bad ones. And sometimes, they are buried for a reason. I waited outside in the car as my dad was inside the store, getting a flu shot. Nobody in my family really believes in flu shots. We don't usually use medicine when we have a cold unless we urgently need it. The only reason my dad is getting one is because his job is forcing him to. My dad, unfortunately, works somewhere where he's constantly around old and sick people, so they are required after a certain amount of time. I know for a fact that I'd hate to work at a job like that after I graduate. A lot of the people I grew up with were really into the idea of workin...

I nspiration is a difficult thing to come by. It gets further away the harder you search for it, yet when you least expect it, it shoots into your head and never lets go until it's realized. It's the happy medium, the searching for inspiration in way you know that works that we all strive for. But sometimes you wish those ideas had never come by. The clock ticked away as I lay in bed, watching some silly videos online. There was something about the simple things they were doing and saying to make you laugh that it felt almost effortless for them. I wish I could be that talented. As I turned over to glance at my clock, I saw that it was getting late, 10:45pm. I sat up and headed for my laptop. I needed to write another horror story before I doze off to sleep. I sat down and opened the screen to my laptop. The screen flashed on and I entered my password. After everything loaded, I opened up a Notepad file and started to write. Or at least I tried. It was so difficult to c...

L ooks are almost always deceiving. Sometimes something that might come off as appealing may turn out to be the worst thing you encounter, while the least attractive thing may turn out to be something you end up wanting to see and experience more of. Of course, you must always stay wary of the things that steal your heart. The sun beat down on me as I jogged around the park. It was a nice day outside and the gentle breeze blowing across my sweating brow makes it feel all the more better. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air, the freshly cut grass mixed with the hint of the fishy lake water that wasn't too far from where I stood. I decided to take a break from my jog as I saw an open park bench. I began walking toward it when some guy on a laptop sat down. Why would you be wasting such a beautiful day by being out on your laptop? In my head I wanted to push him off the bench and sit down, but I kept my cool. I looked around the park. There weren't too many people...

W hy is it so easy to get lines crossed when it comes to basic conversation? It's almost as though we intentionally tell people one thing when our minds are going in a direction completely different. Do we enjoy the thrill of knowing we might get caught in the lie, or is it that the simple idea of manipulation is something you might find great joy in? I had just clocked off work after a seven hour day. Sure, it wasn't as long as I might have liked, but my feet were aching and I needed to rest for a little while before returning to do some hard work. I peered outside as I punched out with my time card. It was pouring down rain, there's no way I can walk in this. I pulled out my phone and asked my best friend if he could give me a ride home. "What's wrong, afraid of a little water?" he laughed. Jacob loved giving me a hard time. "No," I replied, following a fake chuckle. "It's just a far walk and I'll be soaked long before I get th...

S taying alone at night is something that most aren't too fond of, especially if you're one who's particularly oversensitive to your surroundings. You might hear a strange noise in the night or think you hear a slight shift in frequency and believe someone is standing right next to you. You might even be so scared as to believe you might be watched, and possible killed, by the strange shadow on the other side of the room. I had finally left the airport. Waiting for someone to pick me up in a place I've never been to was nerve wracking. You're surrounded by so many people going every which way, knowing exactly where they are going, while you stand there, holding people up as you look around like a lost puppy. No matter which way you flip the coin, it's always going to land on the side you don't want it to. It was nearly nightfall when I made it to the hotel. I was in town for a meeting. I had just become head manager of one of the chain restaurants in t...

F alling victim to humanity treating you horribly based on what you were born with is terrible. It's disgusting how you'll find people treating each other based soley upon what they look like, believing you can do to them whatever you please and them being forced to accept it. It makes you ashamed to be associated with them, horrified that you have to inhabit the same planet they do. It makes you want to get back at them. I woke up to the sound of my alarm going off. I opened my eyes and turned on my phone. It was a few minutes before six in the morning. I didn't want to leave the warmth of my bed, my body caught in the afterglow of a peaceful slumber. I wanted so badly to close my eyes and drift back to sleep, as it would be so easy to, but I knew I needed out of bed. I had to shower before work. I grabbed some clothes I'd set out for myself the night before and headed into the bathroom. I checked my hair in the mirror and was horrified to find that it was all ov...

A ssistance is something that we find we are always in need of. Is it because of companionship and the not wanting to do something by yourself? Or does it stem from the knowledge that if you attempt to do it yourself, the outcome will involve hurting yourself or not being able to do the project justice? What if the help you asked for was so much more than you bargained for. The sun beamed high above us and beat down with a vengeance. My father and I were finding ourselves short of breath faster than we'd expected. We were about to head inside and grab something cold to drink when, from behind us, our cows were mooing with a power so great it sounded more like a siren and was made difficult to listen to. I just waved my hand at them. They have plenty of grass in there, they don't need anything else to fill their stomachs. So why they'd be mooing the way they were was simply a mystery to me. We both continued to make our way inside our house. We owned a bunch of land ...

Stumbling across something that peaks your curiosity, the one thing you may turn to is trying to figure it out. Trying to follow a seemingly infinite amount of clues until eventually you find the answer. It will always seem that the ending isn't near as spectacular as the events leading up to it. You need more to work with so you can find even deeper lore. Yet while you've been distracted trying to track down your imaginary answer, the one that's been staring you in the face is inching its way closer. Sitting at home during my only day off this week wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend it. I'd much rather be outside, hanging out with some friends, possibly bowling or some basketball. It'd been a while since I'd done anything sports related, but since I've been fighting to get back into shape I've been craving outdoor activity more and more. I was about to get up to grab some food from the fridge when I heard a knock at the door. It's rainin...

T rust isn't something that is usually freely given. It is, instead, earned. Based upon the person you're trying to gain the trust from, depends on how hard you have to work for it. Often times the person may deliver us fake trust to see whether or not they will allow you to proceed. Of course, sometimes, it's quite difficult to tell the fake trust from the real. Flying an airplane was never anything but easy, even after doing it for a few years. You'd think you get used to it, but in reality you still face the same risks and challenges every time. Sure, you get used to them after a while, but you still need to expect the unexpected. "Sir," my co-pilot said, "have you flown over the Sahara desert before?" I laughed and shook my head. "We only ever fly over the states, we aren't an international flight." This guy was clearly new, at least to this airline. I still admired the guy for being a little curious about our flight patte...