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

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

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.

More from author Sheikha A.:

Nyctophiliac 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

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

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.

Fiction © Copyright Sue Renol
Image courtesy of Pixabay

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!

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

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

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

More from author Alex Grehy:

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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!

Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged Alex Grehy, author, fiction, flash fiction, Horror, Ladies of Horror, picture prompt, Writing Project | 3 Comments

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

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

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.

Fiction © Copyright Angela Yuriko Smith
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

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!

Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged Angela Yuriko Smith, author, fiction, flash fiction, Horror, Ladies of Horror, picture prompt, Writing Project | 2 Comments

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

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged author, fiction, flash fiction, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Naching T. Kassa, picture prompt, Women in Horror, Women of Horror, Writing Project | 2 Comments

Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Ela Lourenco @ElaLourenco @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Endless Eternity
by Ela Lourenco

.

Empty shell, decaying wood

I drift through the crumbling bricks

No one comes and no one goes

Here in the hollow where I dwell

I wander aimlessly in my living tomb

Long forgotten, cast aside

Locked away to keep me ‘safe’

By a lover so jealous

He could not bear even the sun to see my face

I was flattered at first

And basked in his love

But time passed, as did his lust

And one day he appeared no more

No food, no water, I withered from the inside out

Praying until death came for me

I thought that would finally grant me release

But my spirit lingers on, never free for all eternity…

Fiction © Copyright Ela Lourenco
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

More from Ela Lourenco:

Dragon Born: Book Three
Awakening

The Royal tournament, the Karnac, is fully underway. But there is deception and betrayal at every turn. Unseen dark forces are at play, both within the school grounds and out with. Even the Gods are unable to help when a new threat looms over them all.The very existence of Azmantium depends on Lara fully becoming the Child of Fire and casting aside the Shadows lurking in every corner of her beloved planet.Can she overcome the challenges that await? Will the Shadows cover the world in darkness? Only Lara and her friends can change the fate of Azmantium.

Available on Amazon!

Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged author, Ela Lourenco, fiction, flash fiction, Horror, Ladies of Horror, picture prompt, Women of Horror, Writing Project | 2 Comments

Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Lynn Ruzzo @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

One Brief Moment
by Lynn Ruzzo

Life brings light to this once desolate place. They’ve built their fragile structures upon the land I once scorched. The lifetimes they’ve spent creating, but the blink of an eye to me. I watch them laugh and cry, birth and die, with nothing more than idle curiosity. They’re so proud of their accomplishments. They think highly of their own existence. They believe they’re at the top of the food chain. I think it’s time to reveal the truth. With one glaring stare, a simple thought to expel them from this Earth, their screams will ring out for one brief moment before the entirety of their history is erased.

Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged author, fiction, flash fiction, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Lynn Ruzzo, picture prompt, Writing Project | 2 Comments

Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Elizabeth H. Smith @bethsmithwrites @Sotet_Angyal #LoH #fiction

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Forlorn Matriarch
by Elizabeth H. Smith

A distant orb looming over the horizon—it watches with the eyes of a cold mother; unloving, uncaring, indifferent to all I’ve grown to be. This world on which I now stand, my adoptive home, pales to match the face of its neighbor. It once teemed with life, shades of green and blue washed it with vibrance. But my residence has dried its oceans, blackened its verdant landscape with death. The extinction of all has been my calling, my burden. While my origin watched in horror, I drank the essence of all it held dear. It once soothed the oceans and provided a ray of hope. Now all that’s left is the dull shade of destruction. My hunger grows as I’ve nothing left to devour. I’ll soon leave the nest and find new bodies to suckle upon until they’re as gray as my pitted matriarch.

More About Elizabeth H. Smith:
Elizabeth H. Smith is a storyteller who writes while trying to keep her cat, Luna off the keyboard. The musical group, Rasputina is her muse. She was born in the state of New York and would never feel at home anywhere else.

Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie’s Point of View

Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie’s Point of View: a collection of twelve stories told from the Zombie’s perspective.

They’re shambling toward you, feet dragging on the broken roadway. Arms outstretched, faces slack, they move as if they’re tracking your scent on the wind. You want to run, but you know there’s nowhere to hide.

Aware of their insatiable hunger, fear paralyzes you. These things were once human, people someone loved. Is there anything left inside them – some sliver of humanity that may save you from this nightmare? Your mind doesn’t want to accept the inevitable, a single thought consumes you: what are they thinking?

With your chance of escape dwindling, you snap out of it and run like hell knowing there is little to no hope; fate is coming for you. Soon you will see what they see Through Clouded Eyes…

Featuring stories from Maynard Blackoak, Calvin Demmer, Paul M. Feeney, Stacy Fileccia, Trevor Firetog, DH Hanni, Shannon Lawrence, Josh MacLeod, Zachary O’Shea, Neal Privett, Mark Steinwachs, and Alex Woolf

Available on Amazon!

Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged author, Elizabeth H. Smith, fiction, flash fiction, Horror, Ladies of Horror, picture prompt, Writing Project | 3 Comments

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

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Business Venture
by Rie Sheridan Rose

It made good sense. When I got back to Kansas and found that the farm was in even worse shape than I remembered, I did what I could. I hocked the ruby slippers, and paid the mortgage for a couple of months, but when that money ran out, I wracked my brains for something else I could do.

Auntie Em was having trouble sleeping—what with all the worry and stress—and I remembered. Who knew where there was a field of magical flowers that would put you right out? This girl!

Scarecrow had told me before I left I could keep in touch via the crows, so I sent him a message proposing a business venture. With his brains, he could see the upside immediately.

A couple of days later, a big box of poppies appeared in the front yard. Lion had come along to help make sure everyone got their cut and no one tried to pull any funny business.

I picked one of the flowers out of the box, and even a single sniff made me a bit woozy. This would work!

We ground the flowers up for easier transport and packaged a single bloom’s worth of powder in each envelope, labeled “Dorothy’s Dream Dust.” Even at a dollar a piece, we soon sold out as word of mouth spread.

I paid off the farm and bought twenty acres out back. Our next expansion is to see if the poppies retain their magic if grown here in Kansas. If not, I guess I’ll have to see if the Professor wants to sell his balloon…

More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Overheard in Hell:
Dark Poetry

Poems exploring hell and damnation. Tales of sorrow, vengeance, betrayal, and redemption. Ghosts, ghouls, and demons stalk these pages. Don’t read in a lonely house…in a darkened room by a single candle…

…unless you like the touch of an icy finger up your spine.

Available on Amazon!

Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged author, fiction, flash fiction, Horror, Ladies of Horror, picture prompt, Rie Sheridan Rose, Women in Horror, Writing Project | 3 Comments

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

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Ladies of Horror

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Attic
by Michelle Joy Gallagher

“What the hell was that?”

Maddie heard rustling sounds that broke the mood of the romantic meal Scott had prepared for them. Lately he’d seemed distracted and so unlike himself. Tonight, God help him, he was trying.

“Don’t worry about it. Its probably a raccoon or a rat.. anyway dinner is getting cold.”

She smiled as best as she could. Her mother always told her to encourage the behavior she wanted to see more of. Scott being kind and not snapping at her was one of those things.

Dinner was some sort of chicken casserole he’d found a recipe for online and was not entirely inedible. They talked about work and the documentary series they’d been watching. The conversation felt comfortable and familiar. Maddie felt relief wash over her that she hadn’t felt in months. Then she brought up buying a house. The storm cloud that seemed to be following Scott lately coalesced again.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Maddie!” He punctuated this with a fist on the table, tipping her wine glass.

Maddie had enough.

“Look, it’s time to tell me why you’re acting this way almost constantly. I’m tired of walking on eggshells. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? What’s wrong, Scott? I can’t take much more of this.

The rustling returned again, this time accompanied by a loud bang and the sound of dragging. Scott looked up at the ceiling and then back at Maddie. He put his hands up in a signal for her to wait. He looked apologetic and excused himself from the table. Maddie was too distracted to consider the noises now, besides it wasn’t unheard of for rodents to wreak havoc in attics.

She heard low whispering. The voices sounded strained and angry but she couldn’t make out what was being said. After several minutes sitting with her fear she got up to investigate.

The retractable ladder that lead to the basement was engaged in the hallway and the voices got louder.

“I warned you…” she heard Scott say.

“You can’t do this… please.” Came the answer in almost a low growl. Maddie’s fear intensified exponentially.

She started to climb the ladder as quietly as she could. Every creak she would stop and listen, but the whispering went on and on, snatches of muffled conversation coming to her in waves.

“You know what will happen… finds out.”

“Please… stop.”

She stuck her head through the small opening that led to the attic and the whispering stopped dead. It was pitch black but as her eyes adjusted she could make out the beams of the roof and the brick fireplace plunging through. Everything was coated in thick dust.

She saw movement in her peripheral vision on the right and when her eyes finally focused on the figures in the dark she was met with the sight of Scott and what could only be described as a replica of Scott. The replica was bleeding profusely and hooked to some sort of tubing and wires. He was also chained to one of the brick roof supports. Scott has his hand over the replica’s mouth. Maddie screamed and fell off the ladder hitting the hardwood floor with a thud. Stunned she laid there staring up at the entrance to the attic in horror.

Scott emerged looking worried. “Maddie, sweetie are you ok? That was quite a tumble!” He said as if he was genuinely concerned. He descended the ladder and knelt beside her, a brick in his hand. “A fall like that… it can cause some pretty bad head injuries” he said this plainly as he lifted the brick over his head. Maddie tried turning over, but too late. The last thing she saw before everything went black was Scott’s blank expression as he heaved down the brick toward her face.

More from author Michelle Joy Gallagher:
Disremembering
Welcome to Blackhawk, Colorado. Blackhawk has always been strange. Natural disasters. Disappearances. Murders. High strangeness is a part of daily life. We can’t hope to explain it, but we can chronicle its past. Learn from it. Fear it. Blackhawk is an experimental fiction series set in a shared universe, written by a variety of talented authors. It is the brainchild of David M Brown (Plague Doctor, Modern Animals) and Carl D Smith (Moleb the Giant, Darkness Out of Carthage). Each story will contribute to an organic, evolving mythology as diverse as the voices behind its tales. For fans of True Detective, Lost Highway, Twilight Zone, and The Terror. This is Volume Two of the series and contains five stories by five different authors, each in tune with the specific strangeness Blackhawk has to offer. NOTE: For fans of Lake Lord Publishing’s prior horror titles, be warned that Blackhawk will contain content that is perhaps more disturbing and mature.