This is not a universal rule, and I’ve seen exceptions to it—but I’ve been noticing a pattern in a lot of horror media. And it has to do with rules and taboos. Now, there’s the whole thing in classic slashers where a character does something (usually sexual) and then is murdered for it—but I mean something else. I mean something not full of outdated stereotypes and implications. Continue reading
Poem: Chinese Food
So, here’s the sucky thing,
I should not have wheat or dairy.
Body doesn’t like it.
It’s been a thing my whole life— Continue reading
Poem: The Beaming Sunlight and Awful Humidity
Have you been outside lately in Florida?
The air wants to kill you.
It’s been so humid that it’s hard to recognize when you’re sweating, Continue reading
How To Scare Someone In Four Steps
I’ve written a zonking amount of horror short stories on this site. And, though I’m by no means an extreme expert on the subject, I have worked out four steps I find most horror stories fall into and obey. You could call it the “Horror Story Structure.” It’s a rough, overarching template that allows a framework when constructing scares.
Now, this is better applied to short stories. The nature of horror in long-form, the stretched version, must allow an ebb and a flow to the proceedings. If not, you risk simply burning away the reader in a fury of violent imagery. But, if applied sensibly, and dolloped over a more character-focused progression, this can work for anything horror-related you would care to make.
So, here we go. Four steps in sequence. I call it the “EITT” method. Use it and terrify. Continue reading
Microfiction: The Curious Interview
During the job interview, it became apparent that the applicant sitting across from Stephen was melting. Something black and syrupy was leaking from the corner of his eye and was dribbling down his chin.
It took a moment of composure, but Stephen had been interviewing people for the past ten hours and momentum got him to the next inquiry.
“So, do you have anything you’d like to ask me?” Continue reading
Microfiction: Piles of Papers
The soft smell of dust was the only thing he could perceive for a solid minute. Then, with a great rustle, he rose. His feet were sore from disuse, as was his back.
“What is… I was working on something, yeah?” Continue reading
Microfiction: A Lot Of Screens
They hadn’t seen him in a few weeks. Someone mentioned him at a dinner party, and it led to them visiting his house the next day. His butler let them in when they asked what had happened. Continue reading
Poem: Sure of Its Purpose
The sound is a whisper,
On the air,
Along with the creeping essence,
Of the coldness of hands,
That grace the hallways, Continue reading
Microfiction: The Listening Orb
It did nothing but listen. Sitting there, glowing with a faint level of power, it listened to mankind. Throughout all recorded time, it stood as a stalwart ear for the world’s secrets. It pondered and gleamed what humankind did not know even about itself. Continue reading
Poem: This Is Magic, Surely
When we press a button,
And something more,
Then what you would expect from a button,
Happens,
Then that’s magic, Continue reading
Poem: Horror Story
I suppose the way to tell,
At the end of the day,
If I have written good horror,
If I am making something that will scare others, Continue reading
Getting Back Into Horror Stuff
I wasn’t sure if I had fallen back into loving horror. Then I bought a box set of Five Nights at Freddy’s Fazbear Frights (the covers remind me of classic Goosebumps—both have bold, creepy designs that don’t rely on gore). Then I binged multiple episodes of The Magnus Archives (the first episode is so good and utterly horrifying). Then discovered, all over again, how much I like Lovecraftian horror in general. Continue reading
Flash Fiction: Nighttime Headlights
He was closer at the time. That, I think, was the only reason I survived, and Herb didn’t. Like a hungry animal, the trick is simply to be the second slowest. Though what was chasing us was not an animal—I’m not sure what it was.
What we could see of it for certain was a light. We were out walking our city at night, a bit drunk, a little exhausted from all the dancing, but mostly calm, chipper, and riding that buzz of a good party, when a light came from behind us. Two of them, shining with a slight orange tint. Continue reading
To Know What We Didn’t Before
Boy, am I glad that human society has allowed us to do specialization. Because the more I learn about my subjects of choice, the more layers there are within them to go down.
My interests are things like economics, sociology, media, and art. And the more I discover about any one of those topics, the more I learn of the people who specialize in them—the people dealing with stuff like this for the longest time. Continue reading
Poem: Soreness
My muscles are not burning,
They did that already,
They are not like meat,
They are simply wood. Continue reading
