365 Short Horrors

H alloween is said to be the one day of the year where anything supernatural is possible. Some say it's the day the layer between the spirit world and our world is the thinnest. It's the one day of the year where ghosts and monsters can freely roam the earth. Some see the day as freeing. Other monsters see it as a more vengeful day. Halloween is the one day I look forward to out of any day of the year. I'm unsure why, as I don't really do much. I live alone and I don't know anyone around here well enough to go out to a party or anything. Instead, it's almost become a tradition to stay home and watch scary movies all night. I've always been a massive fan of horror, even going as far as dreaming up my own nightmarish stories in my spare time. Unfortunately, my plans are usually interrupted by a select group of people that stop by my house, asking for candy. I feel bad for having to turn them down, but I never really remember to buy candy. By the time I a...

S leep is a rather curious thing. Some dread it, longing to enjoy their life as long as possible without the pause. Some long for it, anticipating the moment they can rest their head from the moment they wake. Some can dream, some do rarely, if at all. Then there are the many theories and questions with truths unknown about sleep and dreaming. And today, there adds one more horrifying question to the list. My first night in my new house wasn't terrible. Some say the first night is the hardest to get through. I thinks it's because of the new environment, the over acting imagination that tells you something may be hiding in the shadows. I tried shaking the feeling, throwing on headphones and listening to music until I passed out. It was the one thing that almost always worked when I couldn't sleep. Sometimes, you can't remember when you fell asleep. Some can say a rough estimate, some just have a blank spot where their memory of the night should have been. This was ...

P eople are an interesting concept. Their brains hardwired to function certain ways, their behavior leaning on the outside response of others. But what if there was a way to replicate the human mind, to study it and its behaviors in different scenarios? Would the results help humanity or create something darker? A man sits alone in a computer room, typing away some code on his keyboard, the loud clacking resonating through the walls with every swift press of a key. The sound is almost melodic to the man. It sure beats the silence after all. He types a few more layers of code before hitting the enter button to test his work. Fingers crossed everything goes well. There I sat, at the table in the local diner, awaiting the arrival of my date. This was the first time we were supposed to meet in person but she said she was running a little late. She wouldn't really tell me why, but I trusted she'd be here soon. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through social media, seeking ...

I t's funny how time often messes us up. It can make us late and miss important events in our life, it could end up costing you a job or even a relationship. Or it can work in reverse and make you early. Sure, being early can be seen as a good thing. The one thing they don't tell you about being early is how unsettling it is beneath the surface. You can bear witness to things you weren't meant to see or hear things that weren't meant to unfold before you in that manner. Of course, being early can be incredibly fatal. I was awakened just 15 minutes before 4am. I rubbed my eyes, struggling to force them open. They felt heavy, much like my own body that I was forced to drag out of bed. After I got on my feet, I stretched and let out a yawn. I flicked the lights on and threw on my uniform. I didn't get why they felt the need to open our restaurant so early in the morning. I guess I shouldn't really complain, the money I make there and the hours I get are better ...

N othing shatters the heart quite like when you significant other secretly has eyes for another. When the months of secrets comes unveiled, it's hard to say which feeling is stronger, anger or sadness. You're simply broken hearted. Did you do something wrong? Should you lash out? You know only that you need to do something. Even if that something is far darker than you realize. After all, you did it for love. And revenge. I sat on the couch, watching television while my fiancé was in the shower. He said he had to work tonight and he'd probably be pulling a late shift. I missed him, being gone all the time and all, but the money he brings in to help keep the lights on, it was fine by me. I trust him after all. And clearly he trusts me, given that his phone was sitting on the coffee table before me. The show I was watching went on commercial and curiosity got the best of me. I'd seen the screen light up out of the corner of my eye but paid no mind to it. I decided t...

C hemicals are interesting. Mixing some together create some incredible things. For example, Sodium and Chlorine make up salt. But there are some mixtures that can take things in a far opposite direction. The results of which can be deadly. Do you ever have those days you regret the job you have? Today was certainly one of them. I'm a maintenance man for an apartment complex. I usually find it fun, being called over an issue and resolving it the most effective way I can. I love problem solving and the feeling you get from helping people is immeasurable.  Today was one of the rare days where I wasn't simply resolving an issue, but cleaning. Cleaning a bathroom to be more specific. Recently, the plumbing got backed up and caused some colored liquid to come up the drains all around her apartment. Thankfully, the plumbers came in and fixed it, but not without creating a small mess of their own. The tenant, Brianna, told us about it and my boss wanted me to clean it all up. I ...

T here are some stories that are often too disturbing to tell, yet shocking enough that it has to be told somehow. Sometimes, it may seem things are going according to planned, but a little touch of interaction and a massive amount of bad luck can lead nowhere but disaster. No matter how horrible the outcome. My wife was away on a trip to see her family and wouldn't make her way back until tomorrow. I wished she could have been here tonight, perhaps none of this would have happened. I had to leave for work after a few days away and had to find a babysitter to watch our two kids. We have a 5 year old son named Charles and a 6 month old daughter named Rosie. We weren't too big on having people watch our kids because Charles can often be a little chaotic. The babysitter we hired, a teenage girl named Kendra, promised us she knew what she was doing. She'd watched several kids before and swore to me that everything would be okay while I was gone. I grabbed my jacket and ...

S ome things are not meant to make sense. We aren't always meant to know how things work, and often, our brains overlook it all fascination of the end result. This is why the term 'nonsense' exists. However, just because we can't explain it doesn't mean we should be any less worried about it. Weird things never happen to me, and bumping into her on a busy street corner wasn't all too weird until I started talking to her. You see, I'm a college student. I was rushing home, barely paying attention, trying to dodge everyone that stood in my path. It wasn't until I passed by my local art gallery, the one I spend all too much time in, that a woman stumbled through the door and bumped into me before tumbling to the ground. My body wanted to keep going without slowing down, yet every other part told me I needed to help her. I was the one that did this to her after all. Sure, I needed to get home and do some homework, but that could wait a few moments. I s...

Dates are special, some refer to them as nights to remember. Of course, there are some you would rather not remember. Some that make your stomach churn by just the thought. But thinking back, there was one date in particular that I wish had been only a nightmare, not a living one. Not like tonight. I wasn't usually a fan of dating apps. I was more the kind of person to meet someone someplace and talk for a couple hours. The whole dating app thing felt more like a popularity contest to me, being compared to dozens of other women in hopes that you get just lucky enough for a decent guy to swipe right on you. In fact, had my best friend, Chelsea, not met her significant other on a dating app, I might not have touched it. "What's the worst that could happen," she told me. "It's not like you'd be going on a date with a serial killer or anything. If you find someone with too many red flags, you can just block them." She was right. Even still, it wa...