The Strongbox

by Benjamin Welton Kelly Little felt an immediate attraction to the gilded box. Covered in green leather and decorated with golden curlicues that, in a self-applied Rorschach test, Kelly saw as flowers, the strongbox appealed to some hidden sense deep in Kelly’s heart. This was despite the obvious age of the object. To be frank,Continue reading “The Strongbox”

Karkadan and the Virgin

by Mehdi Hasan I have seen gruesome murders on the TVs before but they never looked so visceral yet why can’t I stop looking at these? Smith couldn’t hide the nauseating response on his face as he was looking for details to note down. Jonathan Smith has been a forensic detective for the better halfContinue reading “Karkadan and the Virgin”

Rewinding a Commute

by Lauren Kapsky Red. Wet and sticky. A pool of blood slowly unslicks from the sidewalk. Spatter on the pavement lifts itself into a pink mist, hovering over the city street like some unholy fog. The blood recedes toward the severed neck of a corpse, a genie backing into its bottle. Somewhere beneath the trafficContinue reading “Rewinding a Commute”

Charlotte and Melissa

By Palmer Smith Melissa returned to town on a winter’s afternoon, one day before her debutante presentation. She had been living for four years in New York City with her father. Her mother, Ellen, was granted custody after befriending the Judge on their case and bribing him. She handed him $30,000 the day prior toContinue reading “Charlotte and Melissa”

Altered Evil

By Chris Bunton      It was the end of October, and the haunted house was over. He felt sad that he would not be able to frighten any more children, or the mommies escorting them. No more hot chocolate. No more secret conversations in the dark with the skinny little clown girl, who followed him everywhere.    Continue reading “Altered Evil”