Bizarre Inspirations

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 …

Digital Sleep was inspired by a time when I was struggling to stay awake in front of my laptop. My head would dip forward, almost touching the screen. Staring at it, I thought of someone entering the computer world and encountering strange scenes as…

Totem was a flash fiction that I wrote for a writer's association competition. I liked the story but felt that it needed more to it. The first and very last short paragraphs are the original story. It required some research on the locales.