Lena opened her eyes. Her left lid drooped, and she could see through a squint. She searched her environment, which was both familiar and unfamiliar. It was a bedroom; it wasn’t hers, yet she knew who it belonged to. Lena tried to lift her bod…
James could feel the shove of a rough hand on his back as he stumbled forward; gravel kicked up and sprinkled over his boots. There was laughter surrounding him, occasionally the chink of glass and the puff of smoke. He smelled steak and sweat on hi…
Marian plodded along the muddy path with her two younger siblings, who giggled and zig-zagged about behind her. They were late for class and were only halfway to the wooden school. With one hand pulling her long cape and the other juggling her schoo…
Connie placed the board game on the dining room table as Rosa and Darlene stared at it, their mouths dropping slightly. Connie smiled; she knew they would react. David Letterman droned on in the living room as her parents watched from the mustard-ye…
Agla slowly released the sheep, and it bucked, kicking its legs out and hopping to its feet. She watched as it trodded out the barn door and back to its family, their bodies stiff against the corral as if they knew it was shearing day. As the late m…
0:03 Holden could feel sunburst legs to extend out as it descended into Earth. He gripped the armrests and closed his eyes. He never liked the landing. The ship rattled as it fought against gravity. To distract himself, Holden thought…
Gloria stared out the window of her fiancée’s childhood bedroom; she noticed the fog cling to the houses and trees, creating an opaque blue screen over the entire landscape. With only half an hour left for the sun to set, nightfall appe…
The Tricked Treaters Charlie stared inside his dented, plastic pumpkin, which was filled almost to the brim with candy. His eyes skimmed over the Snickers, Three Musketeers, and Tootsie Roll. He frowned and dipped his small hand to fish it out. The…
Zombie Walk Catelyn scanned the walkers as more and more of them showed up dressed in zombie-ware. The remaining light of day revealed the ripped clothes, dark eyes, and special effects make-up that shuffled between the old cemetery’s…
The New Lucky restaurant Yolanda was unimpressed by the decor of the restaurant; she was expecting it to be dark and gothic in tone. Instead, stark lighting, made more garish by the night, greeted her as she surveyed the small eatery with i…
The Duffel Bag Anthony stared across the bustling street towards the old man sitting on the bus bench at the edge of the park. The man wore wrinkle-free trousers and a button-down top with a fedora resting on the top of his thinning hair. O…
I recently moved into a Victorian house and had thoughts about the history it may have and of haunted houses. I also thought about how it's always a child that gets possessed while living in a haunted house and I thought what if it was a dog instead…
I guess for this tale I was influenced by Catwoman from Batman Returns, but instead of my character being bitten by a cat; she is merged with one through lightning.
I was inspired to write short stories by a lesson that I watched from Brandon Sanderson’s class. If you don’t know who that is, he’s a Fantasy writer who’s been on the bestseller’s list multiple times. He’s also a…
I was inspired by watching the Twilight Zone and a book I read then titled Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I was intrigued by the strangeness of the Twilight Zone and by the folkloric references from the novel. As you can see by hea…
For the Hidden Beast short story, I was inspired by a snow hike I did in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was a beautiful hike, yet I couldn’t help but notice how eerily quiet it was, except for the crunching of the snow underneath my snow shoes. So…
This inspiration came from an old story I had collecting digital dust on my laptop. My original story was about a couple who move into a new home, and it turns out that it’s haunted. I read the pages that I had and yawned. It felt like a troup…
With this tale, I took inspiration from myself and countless other writers who struggle to get their work out there. The setting is in South Florida, which I'm quite familiar with since I grew up there. The title is a play on the title from Maya Ang…
This story is inspired by my dog, who has the uncanny instinct to provide much-needed cuddles when I need them. I find dogs to be quite compassionate and loyal to no end. I thought to myself, what would happen if we ignored a dog's instinct when all…
I dreamt of a tall, dark figure approaching me, I didn't know who they were and what they wanted. I created the story around this figure and gave him some character. It was fun trying to figure out what the devil was like.
This, by far, is my favorite story. It was fun inventing Marty and Raffie and their food truck. I had gone to a food truck festival, and for some reason, I thought, what if a food truck catered to monsters and ghouls? I find the story to be quirkier…
Knowing is Fearing was inspired by a carnival scene I saw in a movie with a huge haunted house. It was set in the 1940s. My imagination kicked into gear, and I thought, what if there were real monsters in the haunted house, but the riders didn't kno…
For this story, I took a cue from riding a roller coaster. I was so afraid when I was riding it that I kept my eyes shut during the entire ride. Afterward, I thought of how it felt to be afraid and shutting out the world. I started thinking, what if…
At this point, the last story took me into the realm of phobias. I came across Oenophobia, which is the fear of wine. I thought, what does a person do who has this fear when they are invited to a party? I wanted to address the fact that phobias are …
