Shock Totem 8.5: Holiday Tales of the Macabre and Twisted - Valentine's Day 2014

by Shock Totem

  “How about I help you with dinner tonight?” Kristen asked. “I know you like to do it all yourself, but if I help, we’ll be finished and on our way to the fountain that much sooner.”

  “I don’t know...”

  “It would make me happy, Barry. Very happy.”

  “Well...all right.” He smiled. “But just this once.”

  She nodded as she reached out and drew a long, sharp knife from the butcher block. “Once is all I need.”

  Three swift strokes later, it was finished. Barry lay on the floor, unmoving, eyes open and staring up at the ceiling. His shirt was torn, but no blood issued forth from his wounds. As Kristen watched, his form grew hazy and indistinct, until finally he evaporated like morning mist in the harsh glare of a summer sun.

  • • •

  That night, Kristen lay alone beneath her sheets.

  “Forgive me?” she thought in her dream.

  A pause, a sigh, a tolerant smile. “Of course. I could never stay mad at you.”

  Barry took her hand and led her toward a forest where the leaves were just beginning to turn gold and crimson.

  It was perfect.

  Tim Waggoner has published over thirty novels, three story collections, and his articles on writing have appeared in many publications. His latest horror novel is The Way of All Flesh, from Samhain. He teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College and in Seton Hill University’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program. Visit him on the web at www.timwaggoner.com.

  HOWLING THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

  The stories behind the stories

  “Clocks”

  I guess you can say “Clocks” is a story about haunting-by-detail. You can understand why, when a loved one dies, there is often a need to get rid of all their things, lest the memories continue to linger and there can be no closure. Here the memories do more than linger, and gradually recreate the past, which is why the protagonist finds the haunted place irresistible, despite his better judgment. So he is trapped by his own longing. The image of all the clocks linked together probably was suggested by an Outer Limits episode which had a similar arrangement, for turning back time if I remember correctly.

  –Darrell Schweitzer

  “Hearts of Women, Hearts of Men”

  At the most basic level, I wanted to show how hollow the consumerism of Valentine's Day is compared to real emotions. I also wanted to step outside the box and show something other than just the love of a couple. It's okay to love and care for people we aren't in relationships with, and it's also okay to stand up for them.

  The story went through several phases, and the end product is a far cry from the original premise. The killer was originally a man. When I told my wife the killer was going to be a woman instead, she first looked shocked, then angry. When asked why, she said the flip totally changed the scenario in her mind and that she was upset by that fact, that gender roles should influence her thought process to that degree (she's not one to go in for gender roles, and I applaud her for that).

  Why is it more shocking when a woman kills a man, and what does this say about the content of the story? Are we, as a society, still more accepting of abuse toward specific groups of people?

  Also, candy hearts taste like chalk.

  –Zachary C. Parker

  “Sauce”

  I wrote “Sauce” after ten consecutive years of dysfunctional romantic relationships with two different men, both of which ended the exact same way. The first was my ex-husband and the second was a long-term boyfriend that I lived with for four years.

  I think most people fall into patterns in their relationships, and I had a tendency to get involved with self-absorbed, immature men who were not looking for a partner to share intimacy with, but rather a mother figure that would take care of them. The issue with treating your girlfriend/wife like your mother is that they have needs and desires that get ignored, which creates resentment, dissatisfaction, and ultimately a desire to leave. I told people after my divorce was finalized that my ex-husband was less a mate and more of a houseplant that I needed to water once in a while. The problem with being married to a houseplant is that they don’t clean up after themselves and they are terrible in bed.

  With both relationships, I felt ignored, lonely, and sexually unfulfilled in a way that gnawed at me every single day. When I realized I’d fallen into another relationship that was the same as my marriage (and that fact truly took a while to set in), I broke it off and found myself a single lady once more, at 31 years old.

  I told a good friend of mine, who later turned into my current partner, that I felt like both men emotionally erected a monument to me in their subconscious yard. They told me how beautiful and wonderful and special I was to them. I’ve heard countless times how I’m “the best thing that ever happened” to them. They tell me how they can’t live without me, how I’ve made them complete. But then when it came down to the serious business, to building a life inside the house, there was no effort to build a future together and maintain whatever romantic love was there. After years of a one-sided effort, with no intimacy, there was nothing to show, and ultimately I ended up leaving both men and breaking their hearts. With this image in mind, I sat down and wrote “Sauce.”

  –Catherine Grant

  “Silence”

  This is a story that I’ve been meaning to write for nearly five years now. I’ve always been a sucker for guilt and the horribly haunting power of regret, not to mention having a deep interest in the themes of isolation and despair (I even edited an anthology based on just those themes). For whatever reason, the image came clear in my head: there would be a closeted gay man named David, a Vietnam vet stricken with ALS and nearing the end of his days, and he would be haunted by a demon that might or might not be real. I just knew it would be brilliant.

  However, I could never actually get myself to write the damn thing. I had the outline all set, even going so far as to illustrate the demon’s circuitous path through David’s living room and how each object correlated to events in his past. And yet at the end of it all, it took five freaking years to actually sit down and write it. I’ve read quite a few stories where straight writers penned tales about gay characters that just didn’t work at best or were downright insulting at worst. I wasn’t confident in my ability to pull it off.

  But why did I write it now, after all this time? Pretty much all because of Ken Wood. I’d written another short story for Shock Totem’s first holiday issue a couple years back, and let’s just say I was quite disappointed in what I’d written. So when Ken came to me asking if I’d like to be a part of this second holiday issue, I decided that what I presented needed to be exceptional, if only to make up for my past (self-perceived) failure.

  And yet it still wouldn’t have been written if not for Ken’s prodding. I hemmed and hawed and bided my time, writing little bits here and there and then deleting what I’d written, thinking it crap. Finally, Ken wrote to me with a firm deadline. Two days. That’s it. I promised I’d get him the story come hell or high water.

  Lo and behold, I did it. All I had to do was stop thinking about how I wouldn’t do the subject justice and write it, already. The first draft, nearly eight thousand words, was written in a single day (aided by my original, now-outdated outline), and subbed the next after going over the story with my wife. I knew it was good, perhaps nearing exceptional.

  Yet still there was a lingering sense that there was something slightly off about it.

  Here comes Ken again. He said he loved the story overall, and then pointed out to me exactly what was wrong—the ending. It sucked. Royally. We wrote back and forth a few times, trying to figure out how to make it better. In the end it was Ken who came up with the idea to have David slightly redeem himself, even if it was too little, too late. I was so excited, I couldn’t fall asleep that night. The story was finished. Finally.

  And so there you have it, a little bit of insight into the creation of this story, one I’m pretty damn
proud of. No writer this side of Salinger can create in a vacuum. We’re all the sum of the other creative individuals we know. They inspire us, they urge us on, they’re our greatest supporters, and sometimes they can help you out of a self-made jam. I’ve been blessed with so many of them over the years, few more meaningful to me than Ken Wood. So thanks, Ken, for dragging this story out of me. I appreciate it a ton.

  –Robert Duperre

  “Golden Years”

  I was watching an old couple bickering one day. It was obvious they had decades together under their belts and still loved each other. But the nagging and bickering was a bit funny. I just took it one sinister step further.

  –John Boden

  “She Cries”

  The title “She Cries” has been with me for a long time. It’s been the title of a poem, a song, and the name of a music project. When I first wrote the story printed here in Shock Totem, “She Cries” struck me as the perfect title.

  I can only speculate as to why these two words—she cries—have always resonated with me, but this is not the place to explore it.

  So let’s talk about the story.

  Our lives are littered with the wreckage of past relationships. Most of us move on from one to the next, able to navigate our way free of the disappointment, the pain, the sadness. Some, however, carry that wreckage with them, from old relationship to new, afraid to let it all go, and ultimately perpetuating the cycle because of it. They’re emotional hoarders, and as the years pass, the weight of it all begins to wear on their souls. At its core, this is what “She Cries” is about.

  The idea was inspired in me many years ago after a night out with friends. We’d been drinking, and at the end of the night one of my oldest and dearest friends broke down in tears. She’d been through a long series of failed relationships and it was all beginning to pull her under. That night, she didn’t want to be left alone. I remember her words distinctly: “I just want you to hold me. I want to feel safe.”

  This haunted me for a long time, because she’d peeled back the layers and had given me a glimpse of the twisted remains that littered her insides, and it hurt.

  “She Cries” doesn’t touch upon that moment specifically, but it does explore her psyche a bit in Anna Triste, a haunted woman who isn’t strong enough to let go of the wreckage from her past and the sadness that controls and consumes her. Because of that, those who wish to help her, or truly care about her, or rely upon her, often find themselves hurt, heartbroken, or worse.

  The metaphor probably isn’t as clear to the reader because I know the history of and the catalyst for the story, but I’m confident it isn’t necessary for one’s enjoyment of the tale. At least I hope so.

  As an aside, this story originally appeared in Anthology: Year One. I heavily updated it for this release. This is my preferred version.

  –K. Allen Wood

  “Omen”

  Shock Totem hosts a flash-fiction contest every two months, which I am delighted to participate in whenever I can: I like seeing the prompt interpreted thirty different ways, and the “slush experience” of evaluating so many stories of the same length and theme. In January 2013, the prompt was a sad news item about a cystic fibrosis patient dying of cancer in her transplanted organ, which included the line: “She was dying a death that was meant for someone else.” “Omen” was based (very loosely) on that prompt.

  My goal in themed flash contests is to amuse myself, create as complete a story as possible, and incorporate the theme only close enough to keep from getting disqualified. (Not a recommended approach!) I got a kick out of it, anyway!

  –Amanda C. Davis

  “Broken Beneath the Paperweight of Your Ghosts”

  I could say my story is metaphorical with the paper and the names as a stand-in for the damage lovers leave behind, but I think I’d rather wish my protagonist well, tattered heart and all.

  –Damien Angelica Walters

  “The Man of Her Dreams”

  “The Man of Her Dreams” was originally written for a DAW anthology titled A Dangerous Magic. The anthology’s theme was, as the title suggests, fantasy romance stories with a dark edge. I thought about the wish-fulfillment aspect of category Romance fiction, and wondered what it would be like if someone really could conjure up their perfect lover. What would such a lover be like, and just how long could he or she remain “perfect?” “The Man of Her Dreams” is my attempt to answer those questions.

  –Tim Waggoner

  ADDITIONAL BIOS

  Bracken MacLeod has worked as a martial arts teacher, a university philosophy instructor, for a children’s non-profit, and as a criminal and civil trial attorney. His work has appeared in several magazines and anthologies including Shotgun Honey, LampLight, Reloaded: Both Barrels Vol. 2, and most recently Ominous Realities from Gray Matter Press. His story “Thirteen Views of the Suicide Woods” is forthcoming in Shock Totem. His debut novel, Mountain Home, is available from Books of the Dead Press.

  Brian Hodge is the award-winning author of eleven novels spanning horror, crime, and historical. He’s also written over 110 shorter works, and five full-length collections. His first collection, The Convulsion Factory, was ranked by critic Stanley Wiater among the 113 best books of modern horror. Recent or forthcoming titles include Whom the Gods Would Destroy and The Weight of the Dead, both standalone novellas; Worlds of Hurt, an omnibus edition of the first four works in his Misbegotten mythos; a newly revised hardcover edition of Dark Advent, his early post-apocalyptic epic; No Law Left Unbroken, a collection of crime fiction; and his latest novel, Leaves of Sherwood. He lives in Colorado. Connect through his web site (www.brianhodge.net) or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/brianhodgewriter).

  Published by Cemetery Dance Publications, Eirelander Press, Evil Jester Press, and many more, C.W. LaSart is a proud member of the Horror Writer’s Association and a member of the Bram Stoker Awards® Committee. Her debut collection, Ad Nauseam: 13 Tales of Extreme Horror, was released by Dark Moon Books in March of 2012. Find out more at CWLaSart.com.

  James Newman is the author of the novels Midnight Rain, The Wicked, and Animosity, the short-story collection People Are Strange, and the novellas The Forum, Revenge Flick! and Olden. His latest release is 666 Hair-Raising Horror Movie Trivia Questions. He lives in the mountains of North Carolina with his wife and their two sons. Catch up with James online at www.james-newman.com.

  Jassen Bailey resides in Levant, Maine, with his daughter. He owns and operates The Bag and the Crow, an independent horror and MMA T-shirt brand, which features all original designed artwork. His horror book reviews can be found at The Bag and the Crow blog. He is also affiliated with the hoodlums at Crow Brothers Productions. His favorite authors include Jack Ketchum (absolute favorite), Roald Dahl, Wrath James White, Greg F. Gifune, Tom Piccirilli, Joe Hill, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Richard Laymon, Ray Garton, Bryan Smith, and Brian Keene. Jassen’s all-time favorite novel is The Thief of Always, by Clive Barker, and ironically enough, his favorite horror movie is Clive Barker’s Nightbreed.

  John Dixon is the author of thirty-some short stories, mostly horror and science fiction, and Phoenix Island, which inspired the CBS TV series Intelligence. A former boxer, teacher, and stone mason, John now writes full time and serves as a consultant to ABC Studios. He lives in West Chester, PA, with his wife, Christina, and their freeloading pets. When not reading or writing, he obsesses over boxing, chess, and hot peppers.

  Kristi Petersen Schoonover still despises meatloaf. Her novel, Bad Apple, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her short fiction has appeared in countless magazines and anthologies. She has received three Norman Mailer Writers Colony Residencies, has served as a judge for New York City Midnight's short story competitions, and is a co-founding editor at Read Short Fiction. She lives with her husband Nathan, her housemate, Charles, and three cats in the haunted woods of Connecticut. You can find out more at www.kristipetersenschoonover.com.

  Mason Ian Bundschuh is an aw
ard-winning author, musician and troublemaker raised in Hawaii, educated in England and currently haunting Las Vegas. His sci-fi horror novella, Piercing the Veil, is available from Samhain Publishing. You can find him at www.masonbundschuh.com.

  Richard Thomas is the author of three books, Transubstantiate, Herniated Roots and Staring Into the Abyss. His over 100 stories in print include Cemetery Dance, PANK, Gargoyle, Weird Fiction Review, Midwestern Gothic, Arcadia, Pear Noir, Chiral Mad 2, and Shivers VI. He is also the editor of three anthologies out in 2014: The New Black (Dark House Press), The Lineup: 25 Provocative Women Authors (Black Lawrence Press) and Burnt Tongues (Medallion Press) with Chuck Palahniuk. In his spare time he writes for The Nervous Breakdown, LitReactor, and is Editor-in-Chief at Dark House Press. For more information visit www.whatdoesnotkillme.com or contact Paula Munier at Talcott Notch.

  Violet LeVoit is a film critic, arts and culture journalist, and bizarro/erotica/horror fiction writer whose work has appeared in many publications in the US and UK, including Werewolves and Shapeshifters, Psychos, and Demons (all published by Black Dog and Leventhal). She is the author of the erotic novel Hotel Butterfly (Loose Id) and the bizarro short story collection I Am Genghis Cum (Fungasm Press).

  ARTIST BIO