Halloween

Raven and Robin traveled house to house with their jack-o-lanterns filled with candy until they finally reached the house at the end of their street.

Raven didn’t want to go to the house because it was known to be haunted.

Robin called Raven a scaredy cat and walked up to the creepy, old house.

The door creaked open.

Raven called out to Robin, warning her not to walk in.

Robin ignored the warning. She heard a creepy, old voice.

For some reason, Robin did what idiots do in horror movies. She walked towards the voice.

Raven never saw Robin again.

By: anon.

Oktoberfest

My girlfriends and I decided to attend Oktoberfest, but I was terrified. There were ghosts, goblins, witches, and other scary costumes everywhere.

The first thing we did was enter a haunted house. My heart was beating fast and my hands were covered in sweat.

As we entered the haunted house, the first scene was a graveyard. Dead bodies and bones were scattered everywhere. Skeletons would reach out and touch all of us.

I started to scream.

My eyes were filled with fear.

Suddenly, a skeleton hand grabbed my leg and I fell. I could not get up.

I was trapped.

By: KPM

Got Ya

I dash through the lightless woods, begging my legs to move faster. Branches whip my face and grab my hair with such fervor it feels purposeful, almost like he’s commanding them to stop me.

Crack. The pain from my ankle registers before my brain understands, but then it hits me: I’m down. My scream fills the chilly air as moonlight bounces off the bone now exposed to the night sky. I close my eyes and count to three, willing my ankle to mend itself.

One… leaves are rustling behind me.

Two… I sense a presence above me.

Three…”Got ya.”

By: Rachel Goldin

Two-Sentence Horror

When my son laughed at the terrible dad joke I made, I knew I must have been dreaming.

After all, I had just suffocated him to make sure he kept quiet before the police came asking questions about my missing wife.

By: Erin Lockhart

Mr. Lanelle

Ivan was never an obedient child. Whatever his parents told him, he’d do the opposite.

His parents asked him to obey their command to not walk through the neighborhood alone. They warned Ivan of a man named Mr. Lanelle. Mr. Lanelle would walk around neighborhoods in search of misbehaving children. After he caught them, he would take them back to his house and have them for dinner.

Ivan didn’t listen to his parents’ stories, though. He continued to misbehave day after day, until one day he disappeared.

If he ran away or was eaten by Mr. Lanelle, no one knows.

By: LW

Mr. Miacca and Misbehaving Tommy

Tommy was not a good child. His sister was the definition of good, always pleasing her parents, but Tommy misbehaved. He would steal. He would bully the neighborhood kids. He would chase squirrels and rabbits.

“Mr. Miacca takes bad kids in the night to feast on them!” his parents warned.

One night, Tommy provoked Mr. Miacca by rounding up squirrels and rabbits and locking them up. His sister pleaded with him to stop, but Tommy scared her away.

The morning after, Tommy was gone. They never saw him again.

His sister was left with a toy rabbit on her windowsill.

By: Long Ngo

Monsters Under the Bed

As I lay my head on my pillow, I feel uneasy. There’s some sort of seeping feeling, as if I am going to be swallowed up by the ground at any moment.

I look around my childhood room, analyzing the old trophies and posters I used to adore. These four walls protected me from danger, as they provided me shelter from the monsters outside.

As I got older though, these monsters worked harder and harder to follow me in.

So as I lie looking around my childhood room, I feel the monsters have finally made their way under my bed.

By: Emma Kemp

Shade of Red

I understand the makeup artist doesn’t know what my personal preferences are, and I don’t mean to be obnoxious, but I can’t help my exasperation with the shade of red she’s chosen.

Although, I guess I should cut her some slack, given that it’s probably difficult to make lipstick look vibrant when you’re putting it on a corpse.

By: Rachel Goldin

Dollhouse

Flora moved the dolls throughout the dollhouse as if she were putting them in their places. Flora seldom played with the dolls. She only moved them from place to place, on schedule, every day.

She never seemed to even enjoy playing with the dolls; the furrow on her brow made it seem like this was work. This was a part of her daily duties: Flora moving the dolls. Some dolls disappeared; others appeared without her putting them there.

Some dolls moved out of the house, and new doll family sets would arrive.

A new family to control in the simulation.

One day you will be forgotten.

By: Mikayla Chandler

Greed

Greed, the red-eyed demon, tempts us to steal from others.

While my brother dies of thirst, I drown in the waters of a crystal clear lake.

By: Izzy Hua

Sloth

Her incurable indolence and satisfaction with adequacy prevented her from taking any active part in solving the crisis in her own home.

As the world burned around her, she sat back and watched.

By: Izzy Hua

Never Knew I Died

My life has been a series of disappointments; no one pays me any mind. I feel invisible — like I could walk through walls.

My parents treat me like a missing person, but I’ve been right in front of their eyes all along.

They cry for me every night, but I never left. They talk about me in the past tense. They aren’t happy on my birthday, and they never buy me any toys anymore.

They took all of my things and boxed them up and hid them in the attic.

It’s not fair: they treat me like a ghost.

By: Mikayla Chandler

Little Ghost Chronicles: The Lonely Little Ghost

The little ghost floated down the streets of Anoka, MN. He never enjoyed haunting… he thought it was mean and no fun.

Plus, the people of Anoka were never scared: it was the Halloween Capital of the World. Because of this, no ghosts ever wanted to stay. They always set out for towns with more anxious and frightful people.

This is why the Lonely Little Ghost stayed lonely. He’d never leave. He enjoyed it here and there was no pressure for him to haunt. Instead, he’d sit on the rickety steps of the house, waiting for someone else like him.

By: Keana Jones

Little Ghost Chronicles: The Un-Lonely Little Ghost

The little ghost had always been lonely. Every day he would sit on the porch of a small worn down house, waiting for anyone.

He watched the children pretend to be ghosts, laughing and running from each house. Although he would never want anything bad to happen to the kids, he had always dreamt of a new friend.

One day the strangest thing happened. A small boy with a sheet and cut-out eyes just like him ran out of a house, a car zooming towards him.

The ghost yelled, but the car passed through the sheet-covered boy.

A new friend.

By: Keana Jones

Little Ghost Chronicles: The New Little Ghost

The boy was cold, but he was covered by a thin white sheet.

Confused, he walked into the kitchen, his parents cooking breakfast and siblings fighting over newly acquired chocolates.

He assumed maybe he fell asleep in his costume, and decided to scare his younger sisters. He stalked over to them and hid behind the couch. He yelled, popping up from behind it, but… nothing.

They couldn’t see him.

Scared, he ran out of his house and into the street. There was a yell, and a car hit him, but he felt no impact.

Looking up, he saw another sheet.

By: Keana Jones

Little Ghost Chronicles: Two Ghosts

The Lonely Little Ghost floated towards the new boy, drifting over the pavement into the street to greet him with open arms.

“My name is Timo,” the little ghost said with his sheet covered arm outstretched.

The new ghost glided slowly towards the original ghost almost as if he were unsure of his surroundings.

“I’m Ryan. What happened to me..?”

Both of the ghosts drifted back over to Ryan’s house, Timo taking the lead to help Ryan process through the events leading up to this moment.

“Let’s go back to your bedroom.”

The two, holding hands, entered the house.

By: Keana Jones

Priest and Nun

One cold night, a priest and a nun walked out of a bar. No one had seen them go in, nor did anyone know where they came from. No one saw where they sat, what they drank, or what they talked about to each other.

Was anyone waiting for them?

As a curious bystander walked past them, he was so shocked by what he saw that he dropped to his knees, foam coming out of his mouth.

The priest and the nun were both faceless.

No eyes, no nose, no mouth, nothing.

Who were they?

Were they ghosts? Or… demons?

By: SK

The Story of the Wolf-Bride

Once there was a father who had a son, and one day a prophet prophesied the son would be torn apart by wolves.

The father built an underground chamber where his son could live.

As he grew older, it was time for him to marry, so the son married the father’s brother’s daughter.

In the chamber, the girl turned into a wolf and tore him to pieces.

When daylight came, the women found the dead bridegroom and the girl. The girl told them what happened, frightening the women.

The women then took the boy and buried him far far away.

By: Morgan Pask

The Vampires of New Orleans

New Orleans was bombarded daily with sailors looking to access the Mississippi River.

Yet the city had a dark secret.

Vampires scoured the docks looking for blood. Only in the day could sailors make their shipments… while the vampires slept.

One night a crew brought forth a shipment of garlic and wooden stakes. As the first few sailors jumped onto land, the vampires pounced. However, the captain was cunning: with his knowledge of vampires, he quickly gathered the garlic and wooden stakes, the kryptonite of the vampires.

Slowly but surely, the crew battled the vampires until they were no more.

By: NR

Making a Tupilak

Nukúnguasik ventured in his kayak towards an island he had never visited before. It was here that he came upon one of his brothers. All Nukúnguasik heard was his brother chanting for the thing to bite him. He knew then that his brother was making a Tupilak.

Nukúnguasik made his presence known, and his brother died out of fright.

When Nukúnguasik returned home, Nukúnguasik’s brothers worried for their other brother and went to search for him.

They found him dead, with the Tupilak eating his body.

This is why you don’t meddle with such things.

By: Jaicee Dickerson

The Story of Papik

It wasn’t Papik’s intention to kill his brother-in-law, Ailaq, but he did so out of jealousy for Ailaq’s hunting prowess.

Papik’s mother-in-law accused him of the crime. “I’ll eat you alive,” she said, and made ready to die and avenge her son as a ghost.

Papik didn’t hunt for a while out of fear, but eventually returned to the ice. A fog came over the ice, and the creature inhabiting the fog came after Papik. The hunters ran, alerting the villagers. When at last they came, they found Papik torn apart.

This is why you don’t kill without good cause.

By: Jaicee Dickerson

The House on Red Street

Billy and George were told to never enter the house on Red Street. The house was said to be haunted by ghosts and goblins, but Billy and George never believed the stories.

One day, Billy looked at George and said, “Man, let’s go check out that house on Red Street.”

George, hopping on his bicycle, replied, “Thought you’d never ask!”

So the boys rode their bikes to the house on Red Street. As they approached the house, fear began to set in.

Billy, looking at George, said, “Yeah, let’s just go get ice cream instead.”

The boys rode off laughing.

Moral: Laughing is better than crying.

By: LW

Tracked

I’m starting to see more and more lights. Everywhere. Short, tall, warm, cool, even the ones with gimmicks and adjustable brightness.

Day and night they haunt me in the sidelines, lingering in my peripheral vision. How long will it take for the godforsaken lights to go away?

They taunt me.

Do you wish to make me doubt myself?

It is futile; I am not so weak. I am resolute, despite your fruitless efforts to spite me. They blind my vision and my mind with useless thoughts.

I turn to my LED desk lamp. “I should have never bought you online.”

By: SV

Nightmare in Wonderland

I’m falling. When will it stop?

BAM. I land. At least it was in this pile of… human bones?!

What is happening?

I was taking a walk when this large wolf suddenly dragged me into this hole.

AROOO. I hear the wolf howl in the distance. I start to run away.

Now, I stumble upon a large snake.

HISSS. I run away.

Now, there is a tiger baring its large teeth in front of me.

ROARRR. I run away.

Now, there is a creepy old man in a hat. He reaches his hand towards me.

Oh, this is a nightmare.

By: anon.

Mourn

The burning liquor went down Jack Copper’s throat hard and fast like how the bullets from the gun went through Tommy’s skull.

The shot glass slammed against the chipped and aged red wooden bar. His hand traveled around his face, past his scruff, and halted at his forehead.

Opening his eyes, Jack noticed the smudge of drying blood along the side of his left hand. Several crimson droplets were spattered along his blue sleeve and trailed down his forearm. Jack pulled the sleeve forward, but his fingers were marked black from the gunpowder.

Why couldn’t Tommy stay out of it?

By: anon.

Death

Jay felt like he was being followed. It was late at night and his car had broken down. He decided to walk home since he was only a couple blocks away.

He started to speed up and noticed the sound of footsteps speeding up behind him. He quickly turned around and was shocked to see no one there.

He suddenly felt a great slam against his body. He felt like he was being pinned down by an invisible man.

“Who are you?” Jay asked.

“Death,” replied a hoarse voice.

Jay felt a sting on his throat. He struggled to breathe.

By: anon.

White Horse of Pestilence

The woods were not at all quiet tonight. A local villager, Eren, heard a disturbance.

She looked to the sky, and she could tell that they were going to be in for a long night.

She looked out to the distance and saw it. She saw the shimmering white mane of the horse, and her heart froze. She knew the irony that the white horse brought. Though the horse bore a smile demure, its rider was all too impure.

Eren, like the others in the village, knew the rider only by his attribute: Pestilence. She grabbed her own horse and rode into town, preparing them all for the grim evening they were about to face.

The smell of rotting flesh pierc’d the night sky.
‘Twas simply all she could do not to cry.

By: Chris McLaughlin

Red Horse of War

As Eren rode into town, an eerie red light enveloped the village. The blood-red sky cloaked the innocent villagers, but that wasn’t the only effect she saw. People were irrationally angry with each other, screaming over things that seemed objectively minute.

As Eren rode in closer, she noticed that the militia had been assembled. She asked the captain why the group was assembled.

“We’re sick and tired of the village over stealing all of our food! We’re going to march there and demand that they give it back!” he yelled in a rather uncouth manner. It seemed as though this night was far from over. War was here.

Blood red light shone ever bright and true.
It was then that she knew just what to do.

By: Chris McLaughlin

Black Horse of Famine

Sudden pangs of hunger struck Eren deep in her stomach. She glanced up to see a pitch-black darkness engulfing the blood-red sky, and she heard troubled howls coming from the village.

Then she discovered her cupboards were bare. “But I just ran to the market yesterday,” she muttered.

Famine himself descended upon the town. On his mighty black steed, he carried sacks of food which he hoarded for himself. His deep and sonorous laugh echoed throughout the night. “I see that my brothers have already visited this wretched village. Very well,” he said with a deep rumble, his belly vibrating.

Though a darkness and hunger plagued the night,
She fought on, while there was no end in sight.

By: Chris McLaughlin

Pale Horse of Death

Eren dismounted.

A bony army reached up out from the ground to grab her; she sliced at the arm with her dagger.

Something spooked her horse; it fled.

Death and his pale green horse stood before her. “You’re the last one, Eren.”

He placed his index and middle fingers on her forehead and ripped through her bones, brain, tissue.

Her dreams, memories, achievements… gone.

As the ground swallowed her body, her soul swirled around her heart, which Death held in his hand. He cackled, shoving her soul into a flask. “Oh GOODY, dessert! She’ll be awfully SWEET!”

Eren was gone.

Death came, licking his lips of lurid blue.
Earth reclaimed the town, its rest long o’erdue.

By: Chris McLaughlin