Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Bailey Hunter @DarkRecesses @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

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Death’s Embrace
by Bailey Hunter

Jimmy has been by my side nonstop since it happened.  At first I was happy about it, but not anymore. Jimmy is not the sweet, gentle man I knew before that day. It changed him. He’s become so aggressive and violent to anyone he sees as a threat to me. 
When I was in the hospital, there were loads of strangers handing me cards for lawyers, mental health, home care, etc., all under the guise of support.  Except one old man who didn’t really offer anything. He simply said, “for when you’re ready,” and handed me a card with the name Heman Black printed on the front, and an address scrawled on the back. 
I guess I’m ready. I’m at the place now. Jimmy is with me, as always. Part of me is glad. The place is plain, like the card. Just a door, and a sign that says “Knock Three Times” tacked to it, which I do.
A soft shuffling can be heard, then the door opens just a bit. The thin grey man, smiles kindly and gestures with a frail hand for us to come in. 
As we step through the door, the room seems to unfold in front of us, shadows dance in corners and over old books, and Heman… he changes too. I am frozen. My brain tells me I should be terrified, but my heart is calm as I watch his metamorphosis from old man to Death itself. 
He speaks no words, but I hear him in my head. “It’s time, Jimmy. You don’t belong here any more.” Death’s voice is calm, almost serene.  
I feel Jimmy’s cold hand grasp me so tight it burns, and I yelp, “Jimmy please, you’re hurting me!”
His fingers release as if on spring. Jimmy looks at me with those sad eyes I could never stay mad at.  Death wraps Jimmy in his cloak, and I am alone in this abandoned room, only the quickly darkening bruise on my arm where Jimmy grabbed me as proof of Death’s embrace.
Fiction © Copyright Bailey Hunter
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
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More about Bailey Hunter:
Bailey is a publisher with Dark Recesses Press.

Dark Recesses Press is a publishing house dedicated to providing high quality dark fiction in its many forms to the reader. Our end goal is to impress and entertain, no matter what dark recesses we dare shine our light on.

DarkRecessesPress.com

 
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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Kendra Hale @DevourAllWords @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

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I Am No Ifrit
by Kendra Hale

I can hear the chant, the continual hum. My eyes are opened. Seeing the smoke and smelling the sweat in the air. There is warmth…no more than warmth, it is a high heat. My body felt like it was on fire. I can feel the strain of my skin as it is pulling taut and hear the popping as my skin is breaking free. The real me, the true me is being summoned. 
My brain tells me that I should be feeling pain but there is none. There is pressure and it is everywhere. This form is being stripped away and it isn’t torture but a pleasure. It is the most exquisite experience. These beings around me have freed me and as my eyes shift and it goes from dim to an outstanding bright light…I feel a familiar hunger in my stomach. 
I want nothing more than to satiate it. They are on their knees before me and the red moon seems to mirror my wanton needs. I have risen, I am whole. Stretching my body to its full height, I tower over these simple beings who had ideals of wishes being granted by freeing me…but I am no Djinn. I am stronger even than the Ifrit and no prayer of Gabriel shall defeat me. 
My stomach again tells me that this sacrifice should be honored. They may have meant to gain power and in a way they shall but it shall be by my hands. Their souls shall be removed from this existence for their wishes are naught but evil…I shall cleanse them and slake my hunger. I do not enjoy their screams…of which there are many. It is time to walk this world once more.
Fiction © Copyright Kendra Hale
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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More from author Kendra Hale:

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Just Emotions:
A Gothic Bite Magazine Anthology

A collection of poetry.

 Available on Amazon!  

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Lydia Prime @LydiaPrime @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

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Freddie Promised
by Lydia Prime

Freddie always promised that he’d be home in time for supper. He crossed his heart and hoped to die as his mommy waved him off. He’d hop on his bike and head for the hills, knowing he’d need to return when the lights came on.
Freddie made his same promise every afternoon, and always made it home as the food was being served. His mommy would smile her odd crooked smile. Freddie said grace, and held his mommy’s hand for just a few moments longer each day.
The following day, the pair continued their routine, crossed hearts and sad waves. Freddie’s mommy made a special meal, peppering the pie with a hearty helping of arsenic. A double scoop, she thought, adding some to her own plate, just to get the job done. 
The front door flew open. A blurry version of Freddie ran in, excited to say grace and see his mommy. He washed up and sat at the table, the biggest grin plastered on his face. Hungrier than usual, he sneaked a bit of bread. When his mommy sat down, he presented her with a simple bouquet of wildflowers. She teared up and tried to snatch his plate away, not realizing that it was too late. 
Freddie’s mother watched her son while his mouth foamed and he painfully faded away. Panic, regret, guilt—fear overtook her. She screamed at Freddie, begging him to wake. 
“Mommy?” Freddie’s voice called from the porch, his ghostly figure peering in through the window. Surprised, his mommy ran to the window, wailing and apologizing. . 
Time flew by, and although she aged, Freddie didn’t. He’d become a permanent fixture in her cowardly world. Eventually, her heart grew cold, and she began to resent his memory. But, some promises are bigger, more important than one could ever fathom. Freddie kept his promise, and he always came home for supper. 
Fiction © Copyright Lydia Prime
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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More from author Lydia Prime:

ibhbItty Bitty Horror Bites

Unknown worlds, monstrous beings from nightmarish visions, and even a look at the darker side of life. Brace yourself as you dive into this chilling forty-six piece collection of bite sized horror—you might just end up leaving with more than you bargained for…

Are you sure you want to turn off that light?

 Available on Amazon!  

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Michelle Joy Gallagher @Aphelia @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Nov_Image04

Lisa’s Mirror
by Michelle Joy Gallagher

“The moon is a mirror.” She said breathlessly. “my mother always told me that.” A small smile tinged with sadness followed. She was far away. She was often far away. He was often frustrated. He’d brought her out here to his favorite place on the banks of the American river in order to reconnect, somehow reach her. Mark told himself he loved Lisa, even as time and grief had twisted her. He’d had to correct her from time to time on her behavior but nothing a nice dinner or gift couldn’t fix afterward . They’d had a nice enough time, but then she’d wandered off muttering to herself. He finally caught up with her here, knee deep in the high tide, staring at the moon. She heard him approach and she stiffened, balled her fists up tight at her side. She’d seen the other in him. The moon helped her with that. She sat down hard in the fast moving and freezing cold water and brought a hand up to a healing bruise on her cheek, rubbing it thoughtfully. He stared at her from the riverbank, until exasperated, he waded in toward her. “Lisa, come on. We have to get out-“ A large rock tripped him and he fell face first into the water right beside her. She looked up at the moon one last time and nodded slowly, as if taking direction. She pulled a large rock up from the riverbed and smashed him over the back of the head with it before he’d had a chance to right himself. She brought the rock up again with both hands and drove the rock down on to the same place on his skull. He sputtered and flailed for purchase but was disoriented and in shock. She continued until he lay still, face down, half floating. Blood began to mix with the water. Lisa looked up at the moon and screamed at whatever she saw there. Perhaps the other had now taken residence in her.  
 
Fiction © Copyright Michelle Joy Gallagher
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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More from author Michelle Joy Gallagher:
cafemacabre
Café Macabre

This collection of twelve stories and artwork by women is truly a collection of the macabre. Make a reservation for terror and get ready to delve into the deepest, darkest fears of some of the best writers and artists in the fiction game. Leah McNaughton Lederman has collected an anthology of the truly strange… a tome of the weird. Take a seat and order a cup, you’re dining at Café Macabre!

Available on Amazon!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Alex Grey @indigodreamers @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Nov_Image03

Smart Doorbell: Review
by Alex Grey

Cracha the Witch you gave this product FOUR stars…
Product: Smart Demon Doorbell
Supplier: Demons and Druids Inc.
Ordering: So easy! The dark web is great. Disappointing that “witch’s favours” are not a recognised currency on Paypal — I had to hex someone for their credit card.
Installation: The installation druid was very polite and obliged me by taking his shirt off to show me the wide range of link tattoos I could choose from. The celtic runes he drew on the wall were very neat but he did slop some paint on my driveway, so now I have demonic paving slabs which are quite feral. The link tattoos were very painful to install and I now wish I’d paid for the “red tooth” option as the vampire’s bite which sets up the brain to demon connection is, apparently, painless. 
Appearance: The celtic runes are really classy and suit my whole “cottage in the woods” aesthetic. The demon, which appears when summoned by unwelcome callers, is suitably intimidating, though the skull and bell tone — (WHO DARETH APPROACH THIS DREAD PORTAL? Seriously?) are frankly outdated. I have some ideas if you’d like to tailor your offering to the modern witch market.
Useability: It’s so easy! A knock at the door triggers the runes – they tell me who’s at the door and the smart doorbell reads my feelings – I don’t even need to think! I’ll never pay bills ever again as the demon is very efficient when it comes to devouring debt collectors and suchlike.The demon is not so good at species recognition, but it was a simple fix to get a carpenter to move the cat-flap to the back door. . 
Anything else?  The demonic doorbell runs on blood, which is a more sustainable energy source than electricity as I don’t suppose we’ll ever run out of doorstep sellers, tax collectors, Jehovah’s Witnesses, carol singers and the like. My main problem, which is what lost you a whole star, is that a witch needs to eat and that demon is too darn quick. It’s had every damned orphan and red-caped munchkin that I’ve lured to the door, despite my thinking pleasant thoughts about pies. I sure hope that the maintenance druid comes soon, assuming he can get past the savage paving slabs, I’m starving here!
Fiction © Copyright Alex Grey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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More about Alex Grey:

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

Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author K.R. Morrison @KRMorrison2 @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

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I’d Rather Have the Raven
by K.R. Morrison

I don’t know why I have to deal with this. After all, it was Reggie who found the damned goat skull. And it was his idea to drop blood into its bony maw.
Idjit. Just because it was found in his pious grandma’s basement didn’t mean it was exempt from evil.
But whatever this thing is, it pretty much exploded Reggie when the blood hit the bone. I was stupid enough to be the nearest to him at the time, so now some sort of weirdness has attached itself to my shoulder, and it has made it impossible for me to live among my own kind.
I hope this message reaches someone who can help. Because I cannot be seen anywhere mortals exist. The Raven quoted “Nevermore;” this whatever-it-is says “always.”
Always the blood.
Fiction © Copyright K.R. Morrison
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
 

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More from Author K.R. Morrison:

Be Not Afraid (Pride’s Downfall Vol 1)

Lydia’s faith in God is strong – at least on paper. But what happens when that faith is tested? Turned into a vampire by the worst – Vlad Drakul – she feels that God has abandoned her. But the opposite is true. God rescues her from a fate worse than death, and brings her into the plan He has for global redemption. With the help He sends, she feels like nothing can stop her. But when Vlad torments her again, and then her family, the temptation to run and hide is almost too strong to resist. Her answer to God’s call is the deciding factor in the battle that pits the angelic powers of God against the demonic powers of Hell.

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 Angela Yuriko Smith @AngelaYSmith @Darc_Nina #LoH

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

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Social Ghosts
by Angela Yuriko Smith

Social distancing
is no big deal for… a ghost.
It’s what we know best.
A bump in the night—
a push at the old planchette
Is how we say hi.
A flitting shadow
a chilly spot in the room
three taps on the glass
and you know we’re here
alone with you, stuck inside…
finally noticed.
Captive audience—
social distancing for you
means we have a friend
forever and ev
er and ever and ever and ever
and forever and…
Fiction © Copyright Angela Yuriko Smith
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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More from Angela Yuriko Smith:

The Bitter Suites

Book a stay at the Bitter Suites, a hotel that specializes in renewable death experiences. Whether you schedule your demise as therapy, to bond with a loved one or for pure recreation, your death is sure to give you a new lease on life. Renewable death is always beneficial… at least to someone.

Available on Amazon!

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The Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Tiffany Michelle Brown @TiffeBrown @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Nov_Image04The Rat Problem
by Tiffany Michelle Brown

Wormwood sat on a gnarled oak branch in the moonlight, licking her paw. The rat she’d ingested twenty minutes prior was not settling well in her stomach. Though she’d shaken the animal, snapped its neck, watched the rat’s life slink from its body, it felt as if the rodent’s little paws were pressing against Wormwood’s stomach lining.
A fresh spasm spiraled through the cat’s stomach, and she leaped to the leaf-covered ground. She began the trek home, mewling in pain. She wanted to curl up in a ball and let the indigestion pass, but her master was waiting. She wanted proof the beast is Wormwood’s belly was dead, and she would get it.
With each step, Wormwood’s stomach roiled more and more. It now felt as if the dead rat was scrabbling around in her stomach, trying to claw its way out.
A block away from her master’s home, Wormwood collapsed on the road. Agony bloomed deep within the cat, so intense and hot that she couldn’t scream. She could only pant, greedily sucking in oxygen, her tongue lolling in the dirt.
And then the swelling began. It was as if Wormwood was a balloon and someone was filling her with air. Her stomach distended painfully as she grew, and then something teared inside of her. The pain exploded throughout her body, one quick wave of agony, and then she couldn’t feel anything.
A human hand emerged from the cat’s stomach. Fingers gripped the pavement and pulled. The head was next, then a neck, a shoulder, the other arm. Within moments, a naked woman stood in the dark, her body slicked with stomach acid. The woman flicked her wrist, sending an arc of the stuff flying into the brush.
“Why did you send your familiar?” the woman whispered into the night. “I told you that nothing short of a family reunion will do.” She plucked a tuft of cat fur from her shoulder. “I guess I’m coming to you. Brace yourself, little sister. You’re about to have a rat problem.”
The woman lifted her hands to the sky and began chanting. Moments later, a rat scurried along the road, its coat wet and shining in the moonlight.
Fiction © Copyright Tiffany Michelle Brown
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Rie Sheridan Rose @RieSheridanRose @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Nov_Image03The House at the End of the Lane
by Rie Sheridan Rose

“See what I mean?”
“It is a bit odd.”
“Why would you have a door like that? It’s two feet up the wall. And what is that chute thingy for in the middle? If it went IN, I could see it as a mail chute, but it comes OUT. What was this place?”
“No clue. It doesn’t look like it’s been anything for a very long time. Look at the state of the plaster…”
“I wonder if Mrs. Brighthart would know…”
“Maybe. She’s been here longer than anyone.”
I didn’t like Mrs. Brighthart. She gave me the creeps, but Tony was right. If anyone would know it would be she. We walked down the road and knocked on her door.
“Yes?” came a wavering call from inside.
“Mrs. Brighthart? It’s Liam and Tony. We’d like to ask you a question about the house at the end of the lane.”
The door cracked open.
“You don’t want anything to do with that place, lovey. It was a charnel house during the Famine. Strange things happen there…and woe-betide anyone caught up in them.”
“Like what?”
“They say that if you see a skull appear outside it, you’re destined to die within the hour.”
“Have you seen it?”
“Am I standing here talking to you?”
Just another ghost story, I thought.
Tony was laughing as we walked back down the lane. “That old lady is wack! But the door makes a little more sense now. They could just drive the wagons up to the door-sill and unload…”
I shivered. “Gives me the creeps.”
“Lame!” Tony laughed. “Whoa…do you see that?”
We were close to the house at the end of the lane, but to me it looked just as it always did.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a giant—look out!”
He shoved me, hard. 
I stumbled out of the street onto the walk…just as a car slammed into him. He was dead before he hit the pavement.
Stay away from the house at the end of the lane. It’s cursed.
Fiction © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Skellyman

“I have always preferred the supernatural in tales of horror, the knot between life and death. Rie Sheridan Rose’s Skellyman is cool and creepy. Her first horror novel is a chilling read.” — Charlee Jacob – Stoker winner, Best novel, “Dread in the Beast”

Brenda Barnett is trying to cope with raising her four-year-old daughter all alone after an accident tore her family in half. As she and Daisy go for a much-needed treat, the little girl spots a Skellyman on the corner.

This pivotal encounter leads to a wave of mounting terror as Brenda’s life begins to come undone around her. Who is the Skellyman? Why does he keep appearing? Can the sympathetic policeman Brenda turns to stop the madness before it is too late?

And why does Daisy insist that her dead brother is trying to tell them something important?

Available on Amazon!

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Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Melissa R. Mendelson @melissmendelson @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Nov_Image02

I Saved the Last Bullet for Death
by Melissa R. Mendelson

I stoked the fire and stared up into the starry sky.  A star flashed overhead, chased by a wolf’s cry.  The night closed in as the rock hardened underneath me.  I waited for him.  Still, I nodded off maybe for a moment.  I jerked my head up, and he sat in front of me.  His long, white skeletal face looming against the black as his ugly, twisted horns curled out toward the distance.
“Took you damn long enough.  I’m freezing out here,” I said, dropping the stick by my boots.
“I almost did not come,” he replied.  His skeletal head tilted to the side.  “What do you want?”
“I tire of this game that we play.”
“Game,” he asked, and I could almost see a grin stretch out across that face.
“Yes, game.  Damn it.  Every time I’m shot, the bullet disappears, and it finds its way into the heart of someone I love.  I’ve been shot six times now, and I’ve lost six people that I care about.”
“Do you want me to weep for you?”
“No.  I want you to stop.  I want the next bullet to be mine.”
“No.”
“No?”  I reached for the gun in my holster.  “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Because of all the lives you took in your last one.”
“My last one?”
“You were a bad man once.”
“So, you are punishing me for something that I did in another life?”  I watched him shrug.  “When does it end?”
“When it is time to end.”  He eyed the gun now in my hand.  “Are you really going to shoot me?”
“I don’t know.  Will it kill you, or will it kill me?”  I could see that grin again stretch out across his face.  “You don’t think I’ll do it.  Do you?”  He laughed in response.  “I will do it,” I said.
“Then, do it,” he whispered.
I slipped off the rock that I was sitting on.  My boots hit the earth.  I aimed my gun at his head, and he waited for me to pull the trigger.  I stared into the orange glow of his eyes and could hear the whispers of everyone I lost.  I lowered the gun to my side.
“Then, the game continues,” he said.
“No, it doesn’t.”  I shot him in the head.
Fiction © Copyright Melissa R. Mendelson
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
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More from Melissa R. Mendelson:

nmkmmName’s Keeper

I got a one-way ticket out of hell. All I need to do is drive across country with a body in the trunk and run miscellaneous errands, but a lot of those errands come with a heavy price. And if I lose the body in the trunk, then I have to go back, and I’ll be damned if I return down there. I will fight to stay here, even if there is no rest for those wicked.

Available on Amazon!

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