Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Kathleen McCluskey @KathleenMcClus4 @Sotet_Angyal #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

May2022_Image_04
Riverwalk 
by Kathleen McCluskey

Julia and Richard strolled arm in arm down the picturesque Riverwalk. The city always seemed to come to life for them when the warm lights of the shops began to reflect on the dark water. The Riverwalk was always so crowded during the day; for them, the night hours were more enjoyable. Julia and Richard stopped and leaned against the railing. They watched the small gondolas float down the calm water. The tourists were always easy to pinpoint. The laughter and excitement was palatable and the never ending presence of a camera or cell phone was a dead giveaway. The pair continued down the Riverwalk, looking into windows and people watching. Julia had the uncanny ability to notice when somebody felt out of sorts. She was able to infiltrate their mind and senses to bring them to Richard and herself. Richard never possessed that ability. He wasn’t envious just confused why he had to use brute force but Julia only had to smile.

They spotted a young man and woman sitting on a bench. The young woman seemed to be crying. Julia went straight to her. Without saying a word, Julia sat down and brushed the hair away from the woman’s face. The woman recoiled but as soon as her eyes met Julia’s all of her fears were pushed aside. The man began to protest but Julia looked him in the eyes and he settled. Richard stood behind the man with his hands on his shoulders. He lifted the man to his feet and walked with him to the darkened alley. Julia took the woman by the hand and they followed the two men.

Richard struck first. He grabbed the man by the back of the neck and spun him around. Richard hissed loudly at the man. That broke Julia’s mental hold on him. The man tried to scream but Richard sank his razor-sharp fangs into the man’s throat. Blood began to pulse out and seep out from between Richard’s lips. He raised his head and let out a guttural growl, “Blood always tastes sweeter when they are scared. Thank you, my love for releasing him just in time. Your timing is impeccable.” Julia smiled. She was a delicate creature and was almost timid in her approach, she lifted the woman’s wrist to her lips. She sank her sharp fangs into the woman; still holding onto her mind the woman let out a small sigh as her life drained out. Julia looked at Richard, “I enjoy it better when the blood is calm.”

.
Fiction © Copyright Kathleen McCluskey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com 

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More from Kathleen McCluskey:

The Long Fall: Book 1: The Inception of Horror

Lucifer always cunning and intelligent challenges father to a battle of wits. Being the angel of light he casts a judgemental eye upon mankind. He begins a war with his fellow archangels and God. Michael, along with his siblings defend their home and mankind from their deranged brother. Broad swords and hand to hand combat drench heaven in blood. The four apocalyptic steeds are released, each having their own destructive power. Betrayal and lust are at biblical levels. Understand the very creation of evil and the consequenses that transpire in the first of THE LONG FALL series.

Available on Amazon!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Sue Renol @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Seeding Death
by Sue Renol

This crop grows with the passage of time, the heat of the sun, rain from passing clouds. Seemingly innocent, red flowers populate this field. Yet, they are not of nature. I’ve planted them with hands of wrath, tilled the soil with ill intent. They shall grow, just as any other, but upon their blooming, my will shall be released. Their pleasant scent will be inhaled, enjoyed by those who inhabit this land. But their beauty will be a deceit, death wrapped in a coat of silk. Carried on their aroma will be the pestilence to end all who walk on legs, live within flesh. Their demise will be quick and unexpected. My growth will spread, consume all within its path. My precious blossoms will cleanse the Earth of the disease which infects its once vibrant exterior.

.

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Wicked Deeds: Witches, Warlocks, Demons and Other Evil Doer’s

Sometimes wicked people do wicked things simply because they can… The twelve stories in Wicked Deeds tell tales of witches and warlocks with ill intent, devilish demons bent on destruction, and other doers of evil who make the world a terrifying place. What is a mother to do when her daughter is gifted but lives under the thumb of her fanatical preacher husband who will brook no talk of the supernatural? What of a demon so desperate to free himself of a trap that he will force another to repeat his atrocities and condemn a young boy to his demonic fate? Or maybe the story of a crotchety old witch with a score to settle against the town she lives in is more to your liking – what evil will the seemingly harmless town-crazy call upon when faced with an ultimatum? If you’re looking for wicked people with supernatural abilities doing wicked things, this is the collection for you!

Available on Amazon!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Kim Richards @Kim_Richards @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

May2022_Image_01

Attic Friend
by Kim Richards

Bennie loved the attic of her grandmother’s cabin in the mountains. She spent many years up there, wrapped in its warmth and surrounded by scents of cedar and pine. The slanted walls had latch access windows she could prop open. Then she had light enough to read her books or sing to herself.

Her friend always loved it when she sang. He would skitter down the support beams and settle beside her. He lover her and so kept his claws hidden beneath his torso fur. Although his spiked tail swished gently back and forth in the air, he made sure it never touched her tender skin.

That was many years ago. Now, Bennie stood in the doorway of the cabin. Its dust covered floors were a shame because Grammy always kept them spotless. The place was lonely without her; bare without the furniture; lifeless without the warm scent of baking bread. Bennie’s stomach growled at the memory of the fresh bread, covered in melted butter.

Walking farther in the cabin, Bennie noticed the ladder to the attic was down. She swiftly climbed it. Here the attic was dust covered darkness because the access windows were shut tight and bolted.

Something scratched on the wood to her left.

“Is that you?” She smiled

The scrabbling sounds drew near.

She moved to open one of the windows but stopped when a clawed paw rested atop her hand. The claws flexed gently as if to say, “I am here.”

“I’m so sorry I didn’t say ‘good-bye’,” she whispered to it. “They wouldn’t let me come back.”

A low growl rumbled from the shadows.

“I wanted to though.”

Her friend drew its paw back, leaving four thin lines gouged in the flesh of her hand. The little channels quickly flooded with blood and stung. Bennie grit her teeth to help herself not to flinch.

She settled on the floor and began to sing. It was a new song she learned in hopes of seeing her friend once again.

At the end of her second time through, she felt a bristly tail brush her thigh. She reached out and gingerly pet it. The barbs pricked her palms.

Leaning over, she whispered, “It was you, wasn’t it? You killed Grammy.”

It purred.

“It’s okay. You can kill me too…when the time comes.”

The thrumming purr answered her, though louder and more intense than before.

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Fiction © Copyright Kim Richards
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Amy Zoellers @breakfastpoet @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

May2022_Image_04

The Invisible
by Amy Zoellers

They wearied of being invisible

there

under the water,

skin and flesh long forgotten now.

The mothers all warned

as they had been warned:

Don’t trail your fingers

Don’t dip your feet

(nomatterhowthirstytheyfeelintheheat)

.

Underneath,

the hidden dead,

(flesh and skin long forgotten)

are weary of being invisible.

.

What cravings may haunt them tonight?

To be seen at last?

To reveal themselves?

To welcome you—sweet longed-for,

fresh-velvet-plump company—

into their bone-arms and silt-lair?

.

Trail your fingers in the water

(if you dare)

Drench your toes in the canal

(and despair).

.

Fiction © Copyright Amy Zoellers
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.
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About Amy Zoellers:

Art! Fun!! Poetry and song! Portraits, dolls, prints, jewelry… and so much more! Click on her Instagram name and visit her LinkTree: Hipness and Outrage!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Terrie Leigh Relf @TLRelf @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

There Will Be Time 
by Terrie Leigh Relf

There will be time

.

to light candles,

watch them flicker,

to ponder myth and truth

before the final countdown.

.

Yes, there will be time,

to make a list,

give thanks for all the mitzvahs

while the after-burn engages

your friends and family watching

via simulcast.

.

There will be time to remember. . .

before separation

becomes acceleration,

as moons and planets

gather within a galaxy

of glorious stars.

.

Yes, now there will be time. . .

to voice your hopes, sing your prayers

that you chose and were chosen:

No longer lost,

the first tribe of Human+.

.

 (dedicated to Simcha Goodman)

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More from author Terrie Leigh Relf:

The Sisterhood of the Blood Moon

For thousands of Earth years, the Transgalactic Consortium has had a quiet interest in this planet and its inhabitants, the Haurans. While the Sisterhood of the Blood Moon works together with the Consortium and Haurans to maintain balance in the universe, the Blood Moon is fast approaching. The power of this moon reveals untold secrets . . . including a sacred covenant with the Mora Spiders. There is an ancient pact that needs to be honored—but at what cost and for whose purpose? The world may come to an end. But will there be a chance for a new beginning?

Available for purchase from the Alban Lake Store!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Sheikha A. @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

May2022_Image_02

Roksana
by Sheikha A.

to giving Venus a Moon
.
By Milky Way, brimming over
she watches his moon-body
.
slide down the neck of night –
her thick amber sky sinking  
.
graceful bands of cosmic waste:
drifting elegant disaster: her beauty
.
mirror-vapour he dared to near –
her moon – she told him he didn’t
.
have a soul – born with black blood –
his eyes white flames of ice: Ignatius;
.
she’d repeat his name into his ears
so it never left his mind; lava rain –
.
waves of morphed glass – her body
white as salt when they swam dead
.
stars; he straddled her heat once
and his skin peeled like rubies.
.
She blows cobwebs into corridors
of his memory, clogs his pores
.
with flesh of delusion; his time
moving faster than hers – storms
.
of his defiance. Moons don’t exist
on her, but he doesn’t believe he is
.
orbit debris, broken and infinite –
glimmering sulphur, acid diamond
.
that refused to merge. By the body
of fire, her path can never be trekked –
.
he belongs there as a distant eclipse;
she as Ishtar – flower of Venus.
.
.
Fiction © Copyright Sheikha A.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

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More from author Sheikha A.:

Screen Shot 2019-12-17 at 10.57.17 AM.pngNyctophiliac Confessions:
Poems by Sheikha A. and Suvojit Banerjee

“The night is cold enough to inspire poetry,” says Sheikha A. in her poem, “Reading My Bones.” This is the basis of Nyctophiliac Confessions – poems that are introspective and luminal, poems that require a certain amount of silence and space to be fully formed and appreciated. Reading these poems, I imagined that they were the kind of poems that assert themselves unbidden during a bout of insomnia. (A nyctophiliac being someone who loves the night or loves darkness).

Nyctophiliac Confessions is the 17th installment of Praxis’ chapbook series and contains twenty-six poems written by two poets, Sheikha A. and Suvojit Banerjee, interspersed with abstract paintings by Robert Rhodes.

Available Here!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Sue Renol @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Fledging
by Sue Renol

I’ve not left this place in ages. The sounds and voices that once echoed from below have gone quiet. No longer do they come and go. My solitude was made bearable by their company; now silence is my only companion.

I consider venturing from my long-time home. Fear keeps me here, contains my existence in this dusty loft. But loneliness has power, it has gained strength over the years—it yearns to tear through my carapace of terror and let me flee my shelter.

I stand and take steps toward broken ceiling where light shines bright. My wings unfurl. I stretch muscles, breathe fresh air. A hunger I didn’t know I held grumbles in my belly. I grind my sharp teeth as my tongue laps saliva from my lips.

When night falls, it will finally be time to feast.

.

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Wicked Deeds: Witches, Warlocks, Demons and Other Evil Doer’s

Sometimes wicked people do wicked things simply because they can… The twelve stories in Wicked Deeds tell tales of witches and warlocks with ill intent, devilish demons bent on destruction, and other doers of evil who make the world a terrifying place. What is a mother to do when her daughter is gifted but lives under the thumb of her fanatical preacher husband who will brook no talk of the supernatural? What of a demon so desperate to free himself of a trap that he will force another to repeat his atrocities and condemn a young boy to his demonic fate? Or maybe the story of a crotchety old witch with a score to settle against the town she lives in is more to your liking – what evil will the seemingly harmless town-crazy call upon when faced with an ultimatum? If you’re looking for wicked people with supernatural abilities doing wicked things, this is the collection for you!

Available on Amazon!

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Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Alex Grehy @indigodreamers @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Beautiful Apocalypse 
by Alex Grehy

The end did not come in fire, soot and ash,

Grey bones and dust failed to fall to earth.

.

That last day, the sun set on an uncertain future, 

a red doom on the horizon lighting wrathful clouds.

As midnight turned, the sky cleared, stars transfixed

in the indigo sky, the crystalline indigo sky.

.

Below, the world vitrified, last breaths cooling into blown glass

spheres; lovers transformed to frosted sculptures, more elegant 

than Lalique. The air, the water, all turned to glass,

preserving perfectly the last day, the last day of ordinary 

things, made extraordinary by their ending.

.

Ghosts drift between crystal planes, lost, wondering 

why they’d never seen the perfection of their mundane lives,

until they were reflected in the flawless mirror 

of the beautiful apocalypse.

.

Fiction © Copyright Alex Grehy
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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More from author Alex Grehy:

147443997_865719290883677_3441953034998826390_n

After a lifetime of writing technical non-fiction, Alex Grey is fulfilling her dream of writing poems and stories that engage the reader’s emotions. Her work has been featured by a wide range of publications including Siren’s Call, Raconteur, Bookends Review, and Toasted Cheese. One of her comic poems is also available via a worldwide network of public fiction dispensers managed by French publisher, Short Edition. Her ingredients for contentment are narrow boating, greyhounds, singing and chocolate. It is a sweet life, yet Alex’ original view of the world has led to her best friend to say ‘For someone so lovely, you’re very twisted!

Please click here to discover more!   

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Angela Yuriko Smith @AngelaYSmith @darc_nina #LoH

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Divine Purpose
by Angela Yuriko Smith

He hangs in the sky

Disappointment and regret—

vaporous exhales

.

of luminous green

and serpentine violet

obstructing the stars.

.

The world egg, he guards.

The final act of his love—

his lover’s last wish.

.

Nestled in the stars

and swaddled in nebula

warmed by the sun flares.

.

Beneath the oceans

amniotic lava flows

nourishing his whelp.

.

His eye, fixated

as he spins in retrograde—

in observation.

.

He waits for the day

the earth crust will burst apart

and release his son.

.

Nothing will be left

now having served its purpose

Gaia dies at birth.

.

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More from Angela Yuriko Smith:

Angela Yuriko Smith is an American poet, author and co-publisher of Space and Time magazine, a publication that has been printing speculative fiction, art and poetry since 1966. Together we build a poem as a community each month. Visit “Exquisite Corpse” at SpaceandTime.net to submit.

Catch up with Angela here!

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The Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Naching T. Kassa @NachingKassa @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

May2022_Image_02

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