by D Kershaw
Now, I smile at your lovely face as I caress your cold body.
Most fun I’ve ever had as a mortician.
GLENN R. WILSON has come full circle. Making a point to mature, like fine wine, before diving head-first into his long list of writing projects, he’s approaching them with a plan. That strategy is to build with one brick at a time. He’s accumulated a few bricks already and is adding more. Over time, with persistence and determination, he’ll have a home. But for now, a solid foundation is the goal. Please, enjoy the process with him.
The Circle
by Ximena Escobar
“I wrote a story about you,” I said.
“Really?” Lucy’s conceited gaze travelled across ‘the circle’, but I saw her mockery too.
“Amazing!” said Laura, unable to disguise her sarcasm.
Lucy laughed behind her smile, avoiding the looks happening between the others—aware that my eyes were fixed on her.
“What’s it about?” asked Laura.
“It’s quite a dark, ominous piece...”
They all exploded in laughter—it had to be dark, coming from me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Can’t any of you breathe?” (They were all turning purple but only I was laughing.) “You’ll see it has a happy ending...”
XIMENA ESCOBAR is writing stories and poetry. Originally from Chile, she is the author of a translation into Spanish of the Broadway Musical “The Wizard of Oz”, and of an original adaptation of the same, “Navidad en Oz”, both produced in her home country. Since 2018 she has published several short stories in various anthologies and online platforms, and is now slowly working on her own collection. Ximena has a degree in Arts & Communication Science and lives in Nottingham with her family.
Facebook: Ximenautora
Twitter: @laximenin
Devolution of Love
by N.M. Brown
Our first date came, and it was love at first sight.
Our second date came, I knew you were just right.
When our third date arrived, you’d already been inside.
On our fourth date, you begged me to be your one and only; always there for the ride.
By the time I got pregnant, you were nowhere in sight
The memories I still have from you, each one is from a fight.
By the time you finally hit me, there was no love left to give
By the time they find your body, you’ll have no more life to live.
SINCE N.M. Brown made her first post to a popular Internet forum, she’s taken the horror community by storm. Her ability to create, terrify, and drive home her stories is insurmountable. N.M. Brown’s published works can be found in multiple anthologies for all to read, but be forewarned, if you do... you may want to call your therapist after, her stories are terrifying, disturbing and devilishly unsettling. She is not only a fright visually, but also has a creepy tentacle in horror podcasting as well. Sinister Sweetheart writes, voice acts and is the media director of the Scarecrow Tales podcast.
Website: Sinistersweetheart.wixsite.com/sinistersweetheart
Facebook: NMBrownStories
Venom
by Joachim Heijndermans
Smile. Put on a happy face when the boss is here. Pretend the sight of him doesn’t make me retch, or that when he touches me, I want to peel the skin from my bones.
The others he pimps me out to I can handle. Some are gentle, and slip me some cash on the side, which I’ve saved up for some new teeth. Special teeth.
Boss likes them, saying it makes my mouth look sexy. Makes me use it, too. Tells me to be careful with them. Doesn’t notice the retractable tips laced in venom until it’s too late.
JOACHIM HEIJNDERMANS writes, draws, and paints nearly every waking hour. Originally from the Netherlands, he’s been all over the world, boring people by spouting random trivia. His work has been featured in a number of anthologies and publications, such as Mad Scientist Journal, Asymmetry Fiction, Hinnom Magazine, Ahoy Comics’s Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror, Metaphorosis and The Gallery of Curiosities, and he’s currently in the midst of completing his first children’s book.
Website: www.joachimheijndermans.com
Twitter: @jheijndermans
The Borrower
by Kathleen Halecki
Staring in horror, she surveyed the book. The cover was torn, the corners were dog-eared, and the pages were oddly yellowed. He shrugged at her expression.
“Is this how you return a book?”
“The coffee spilled.”
She pressed her lips together grimly, “Should we be drinking coffee around books?” She could feel the anger welling up within her. Too much sloppiness these days, she thought.
He shrugged again, “It is just a book.”
She smiled brightly, reached into the desk and felt for the letter-opener. With a quick movement, she stabbed him in the eye.
“No more books for you.”
KATHLEEN HALECKI possesses a B.A. and M.A. in history, and a doctoral degree in interdisciplinary studies. Although born in New York, she currently resides in a seventeenth century home in New England. Her work can be found in The Copperfield Review; Shadows in Salem: Wicked Tales from the Witch City; One Night in Salem; Midnight Rising: A Collection of Paranormal Tales; From a Cat’s View Volume II, and Shadow of Pendle. She has also drabbled before in Curses and Cauldrons and Forest of Fear.
Arachnids
by Vonnie Winslow Crist
Dayton Thomas grinned while spraying the black widow infestation with pesticide. He’d always enjoyed killing insects and arachnids. He’d been destined to found DT’s Pest Control since childhood.
After he’d eliminated the spiders, the homeowner generously tipped him.
A smiling DT went home and relaxed on his porch on a Mexican chair he’d picked up at a secondhand store. He felt a pinch, looked at his hand, and saw a Loxosceles tenochtitlan.
“No!” he screamed before killing the spider.
Well-versed in arachnology, Dayton knew an ever-expanding lesion of dead flesh would soon develop.
“Apparently, the hate is mutual,” he said.
VONNIE WINSLOW CRIST is author of The Enchanted Dagger, Owl Light, The Greener Forest, Murder on Marawa Prime, and other award-winning books. Her fiction is included in “Amazing Stories,” “Cast of Wonders,” “Outposts of Beyond,” Killing It Softly 2, Defending the Future - Dogs of War, Midnight Masquerade, Chaos of Hard Clay, and elsewhere. A cloverhand who has found so many four-leafed clovers she keeps them in jars, Vonnie strives to celebrate the power of myth in her writing.
Website: www.vonniewinslowcrist.com
Ironic
by Ximena Escobar
to your stupid tic,
to your foolish text,
to your wicked tongue,
to your flaccid sex,
to your mother’s grin,
to your mocking laugh,
to the soup on your chin,
to your female staff,
to the date you forgot,
to the hand you didn’t give,
to the pounds you wish I lost,
to the spite you can’t forgive,
to your smoke up my nose,
to the point that
eludes you: thank you!
‘cause I owe to all this,
that I don’t mince my words,
don’t beat around the bush
but, always
find my “love” for you,
when regret haunts me.
XIMENA ESCOBAR is writing stories and poetry. Originally from Chile, she is the author of a translation into Spanish of the Broadway Musical “The Wizard of Oz”, and of an original adaptation of the same, “Navidad en Oz”, both produced in her home country. Since 2018 she has published several short stories in various anthologies and online platforms, and is now slowly working on her own collection. Ximena has a degree in Arts & Communication Science and lives in Nottingham with her family.
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br /> Facebook: Ximenautora
Twitter: @laximenin
Cyber-Vengeance
by Jo Mularczyk
“Hi Grace, I know this is awkward, but I really need your help.”
Grace sat in stunned silence at the other end of the phone, but he ploughed on unperturbed. “My computer has a virus and the tech guys need to wipe my hard drive.”
“Nick when you broke up with me, we stopped sharing more than just a bed. The free tech advice dried up too!”
“I realise that Grace. I’m just asking if you’ve done a recent backup. I can’t risk losing everything. It would ruin me.”
Without the slightest pang of guilt, she smoothly lied, “Sure did.”
JO MULARCZYK’s stories and poems appear in magazines and anthologies including - The School Magazine’s Blast Off and Touchdown; Zinewest 2017, 2018, 2019; Short and Twisted 2017; Open House 2 and 3; Short Tales 4 and 5; Christmas Tales 4; Wonderment; an upcoming Bloomsbury UK book of poems for children; fourW thirty; and several upcoming publications. Jo mentors gifted and talented students’ writing groups, runs junior writing workshops and is a co-author with the student literacy program, Littlescribe. Through Littlescribe Jo provides writing tips and story starters for students to complete as co-authors. Jo lives in Australia with her husband and three children.
Website: www.jomularczyk.com
Facebook: jo.mularczyk.author
Roofer
by David Bowmore
Politicians—I fuckin’ hate ‘em.
Ya’ know we don’t get pensioned till we’re sixty-seven now. Easy for them to say on eighty grand a year. There ain’t one o’ them deserves one fuckin’ penny. I’d like to see them up a roof when they’re sixty-seven years old with my knees.
I’ve had it with Brexit and Euro MPs.
An’ I got a parking ticket yesterday, too. Fuckin’ council, robbin’ bastards.
Wankers—I’d shoot ‘em all.
Anyway, Guv, new gutter an’ down-pipe to rear o’ the house; hundred an’ fifty quid all in.
I’ll do it next Wednesday, if ya like.
DAVID BOWMORE has lived here, there and everywhere, but now lives in Yorkshire with his wonderful wife and a small white poodle. He has worn many hats in his time; head chef, teacher and landscape gardener. His first collection of short stories ‘The Magic of Deben Market’ is available from Clarendon House.
Website: davidbowmore.co.uk
Facebook: davidbowmoreauthor
Hunter
by A.R. Dean
They raised me to have a dark heart. To love my own kind in the secluded commune far from the lesser beings outside.
At fifteen, I am now a man. My father is taking me hunting. The bright city lights make me long for our desert home.
We wait in the alleys for a disgusting different to come by. Father holds it while I stab.
“We need more,” he whispers.
In the crowded city, it doesn’t take long. We load them in the truck.
He ruffles my hair with his bloody hand, “Tonight we feast on our enemies like kings.”
A.R. DEAN is a dark and twisted soul. Dean has spent their whole life spreading fear with the tales from their head. Best known for stories that terrify and show the evilest side of human nature. So, look for Dean haunting your local cemetery or under your bed, because they’re here to spread the fear. Turn off your lights and enjoy a scare. Dean is being published in Black Hare Press’s Beyond and Unravel Anthologies. Keep a lookout for more stories.
Facebook: A.R. Dean Author & Ghoul
Teach Me
by J.W. Garrett
Kelly slid into the desk. The fifth grade classroom hadn’t changed.
“Can I help you? You’re too old for my class. Not that I would mind.”
“You don’t remember?” She watched his mind churning. “Let me help, Mr. Wilson.”
Kelly lifted two fingers; all the desks but hers rose into the air. He gulped, scooting toward the door.
“You... I was protecting the class.”
“By beating me in front of my peers...”
“You couldn’t act out if you were subdued.”
“I can now.” Flicking her wrist, Kelly levitated him then apparated away. As he crashed, she counted each bone breaking.
J.W. GARRETT has been writing in one form or another since she was a teenager. She currently lives in Florida with her family but loves the mountains of Virginia where she was born. Her writings include YA fantasy as well as short stories. Since completing Remeon’s Quest-Earth Year 1930, the prequel in her YA fantasy series, Realms of Chaos, she has been hard at work on the next in the series, scheduled to release August 2020. When she’s not hanging out with her characters, her favourite activities are reading, running and spending time with family.
Website: www.jwgarrett.com
BHC Press: www.bhcpress.com/Author_JW_Garrett.html
I Hate That Rat
by D.M. Burdett
The rat scuttles across the cellar floor.
I rise from the soiled mattress, but the rattle of chains startles it into a scurry. It seems to skip gleefully, wide smile on its furry fucking face.
My dreams are filled with the taste of its juicy body—a constant phantom memory—but the rodent toys with me.
I look at the crimson plash that spreads from beneath my captor’s head; those rickety stairs are both my saviour and my downfall—no-one comes when I scream. Not even him.
The rat, atop the greying face, pauses wet gnawing to watch my tears.
D.M. BURDETT initially roamed as an army brat, but now lives in Australia where she spends her days avoiding drop bears and killer spiders. She has published a Sci-Fi series, has short stories in various anthologies, and has published two children’s series. She is currently working on the first book in a dystopian series.
Website: www.dmburdett.com
Facebook: DMBurdett
One Night in the
Lumber Camp
by McKenzie Richardson
Vines silently slithered closer to the camp, camouflaged as snakes in the underbrush by the dim light of the stars overhead. Their tendrils outstretched, pulled on by the murderous promise of pathways down throats to take up residence in stomachs and chest cavities. At the first building, a few twisted their way under the door, unlatching it for the others. They moved into the room, in search of their soon-to-be victims. The last vine curled around a lone axe left abandoned at the door, dragging it in its wake.
The humans cut down the trees. But these trees cut back.
MCKENZIE RICHARDSON lives in Milwaukee, WI. Her horror stories have been featured in various anthologies including Evil Lurks, Pandemic, and After: Undead Wars. She has also published a variety of poems and flash fiction pieces.
Facebook: mckenzielrichardson
Blog: www.craft-cycle.com
The Doll
by Lesley Drane
I bought the doll in a charity shop. Made of cloth with blue buttons for eyes, yellow wool for hair; dressed in dungarees. I already had the pins.
I stuck a pin in the doll’s arm and waited.
“Ow!”
Another pin, this time in the foot.
“Arrgh!”
This is so much fun! I picked up another pin and stuck in her button eye.
Silence.
Oh, no response? I listened at the kitchen door, still silence.
I jabbed a pin into the doll’s heart.
“Uuuuhhhh.”
I peeked around the kitchen door, yes! The wife is dead!
Not a mark in sight.
LESLEY DRANE is a widow, and lives with her two year old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Stephanie. Lesley enjoys to write stories about the supernatural and murder mysteries. Lesley also makes book sculptures using preloved books.
The Last Supper
by Shelly Jarvis
He thinks I don’t know. He thinks me a fool. But I’ve read the signs and I know what must b
e done.
I prepare his favourite meal, setting the table as he walks in the door. I smile, but inwardly I’m cursing the very sight of him. He wreaks of her sickly-sweet perfume and I hold my breath to avoid breathing her in.
As he slices into his dinner, I faintly wonder if she loves him. What will it do to her? Will she speak at his funeral? I won’t. I’ll be long gone, and my heart will be free.
SHELLY JARVIS is a speculative fiction author from West Virginia, US. She found a life-long love of sci-fi and fantasy in the 3rd grade when she found Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” Shelly is an avid reader, a Whovian, the ideal viewer of dog rescue videos, and undoubtedly Ravenclaw. She currently has three YA sci-fi books available for purchase on Amazon.
Website: www.ShellyJarvis.com
Propolis
by Maura Yzmore
Old queen Bud-Ihm, spry on six legs yet almost blind in the ocelli, watches her home world vanish on the ship’s honeycomb screen.
An invasive species poisoned the fields and left Bud-Ihm’s offspring hungry, ravaged by mites, weaker and sicker with each generation. So she gathered her children, promising fragrant meadows under a different sun.
