Taking the most basic, crazy, and fantastic childhood fears, then manipulating them into adult fears... that is what truly makes a great horror novel.
I realized that the other night when watching the Christmas episode of Haven (Silent Night). I won't mention what the actual "fear" was because if you get the chance to watch it you really should. But I can say that it is something I always was afraid of, usually buried in my subconscious, as a child. And it is brilliant.
I wish I could remember what I was scared of as a child. Besides clowns and spiders. Because that shit is just so overplayed. The really obscure things would make wonderful stories.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Carpe Noctem
She quivered as the cool caress of the water massaged her body. She was lying on the sand along the edge of an endless ocean, waiting for it to claim her. Wanting her suffering to cease. One such as her should never even have been made to exist, let alone this long. She should have been ostracized from life long, long ago. But here she was, centuries later, loathing herself and regretting every action that made her who she is.
The waves crashed around her once more yet none would take her. Even something so powerful and impartial as the ocean did not accept her. It did not want her to tarnish its foaming waters. First despair clouded her mind, and then anger. The anger blotted her vision, turning everything scarlet. The moon, the distant stars, the wave crests, all pulsed with red hues.
Before she could gather the strength to act upon her rage, a soft shift in the sand alerted her to another presence near. She slowly got to her feet and turned her back to the ocean. The moon cast a pale light on the man’s features, but they would still be barely discernible to any mortal. She, however, would have recognized him even in a night of impenetrable black. And it had been oh so long since she had last laid her ancient blue eyes upon him. Back then the same moon that shed its light now had still been shrouded in mystery. Worshipped even.
She had been worshipped then as well. And he had been by her side. She had loved him then- still did. It was that love that had driven her to kill him. To make him part of her. She had promised him eternal life with the sacrifice of his eternal salvation. She had neglected to mention that there were ways they could be killed and that mistake had cost them both dearly.
But now he was here before her. A task she would have thought impossible. A single tear escaped her eye. It traveled down her cheek, its rusty color leaving a thin, shining trail.
“How are you here?”, she asked. Her normally strong voice was trembling slightly. “I thought you were lost to me forever.”
“When things die they sometimes come back. If there is something worth coming back for”, he said softly. She almost collapsed with the weight of the memories that voice brought back to her. Once she was over the shock of hearing that same voice that had whispered countless ‘I love yous’ over the centuries, it took her a few seconds to comprehend what he had said.
“Are you here to reclaim the night with me? To once again be my partner amongst the shadows?”, she asked, half afraid of the answer.
“No, my love, I am not.”
She shuddered and her warring fears and desires caused her once strong legs to give out. Her knees sank into the cool sand.
“I am sorry”, he continued, “but the night is not right to reclaim. Instead of joining you, I want you to join me. To seize the daylight and rescue your salvation. To be redeemed.”
All of her instincts told her this was impossible. That her kind could never be redeemed. But here he was before her, against all odds, proof that something existed for them after death. She stared in wonder at the soul before her. A light surrounded him, greater than that of the receding moon. She knew, in that instant, that she would do anything, anything, for him.
“OK”, she said.
He reached out and intertwined their fingers, lifting her up from the sand. She enjoyed the way his hand felt against hers and the way the grains of sand stubbornly clung to her legs. The sun would be peaking over the horizon soon and she wanted to savor this moment, to be able to recall every detail.
“Are you ready”, he asked.
“I hope so.”
As the words left her lips, a soft white and yellow glow began glimmering across the water, steadily getting closer to where they were standing. A faint pink mixed with the dark blue of the night sky and she knew she only had seconds more.
“I love you”, she told him.
The gentle light of dawn exploded over the ocean and she finally found the peace she had been so desperately seeking.
The waves crashed around her once more yet none would take her. Even something so powerful and impartial as the ocean did not accept her. It did not want her to tarnish its foaming waters. First despair clouded her mind, and then anger. The anger blotted her vision, turning everything scarlet. The moon, the distant stars, the wave crests, all pulsed with red hues.
Before she could gather the strength to act upon her rage, a soft shift in the sand alerted her to another presence near. She slowly got to her feet and turned her back to the ocean. The moon cast a pale light on the man’s features, but they would still be barely discernible to any mortal. She, however, would have recognized him even in a night of impenetrable black. And it had been oh so long since she had last laid her ancient blue eyes upon him. Back then the same moon that shed its light now had still been shrouded in mystery. Worshipped even.
She had been worshipped then as well. And he had been by her side. She had loved him then- still did. It was that love that had driven her to kill him. To make him part of her. She had promised him eternal life with the sacrifice of his eternal salvation. She had neglected to mention that there were ways they could be killed and that mistake had cost them both dearly.
But now he was here before her. A task she would have thought impossible. A single tear escaped her eye. It traveled down her cheek, its rusty color leaving a thin, shining trail.
“How are you here?”, she asked. Her normally strong voice was trembling slightly. “I thought you were lost to me forever.”
“When things die they sometimes come back. If there is something worth coming back for”, he said softly. She almost collapsed with the weight of the memories that voice brought back to her. Once she was over the shock of hearing that same voice that had whispered countless ‘I love yous’ over the centuries, it took her a few seconds to comprehend what he had said.
“Are you here to reclaim the night with me? To once again be my partner amongst the shadows?”, she asked, half afraid of the answer.
“No, my love, I am not.”
She shuddered and her warring fears and desires caused her once strong legs to give out. Her knees sank into the cool sand.
“I am sorry”, he continued, “but the night is not right to reclaim. Instead of joining you, I want you to join me. To seize the daylight and rescue your salvation. To be redeemed.”
All of her instincts told her this was impossible. That her kind could never be redeemed. But here he was before her, against all odds, proof that something existed for them after death. She stared in wonder at the soul before her. A light surrounded him, greater than that of the receding moon. She knew, in that instant, that she would do anything, anything, for him.
“OK”, she said.
He reached out and intertwined their fingers, lifting her up from the sand. She enjoyed the way his hand felt against hers and the way the grains of sand stubbornly clung to her legs. The sun would be peaking over the horizon soon and she wanted to savor this moment, to be able to recall every detail.
“Are you ready”, he asked.
“I hope so.”
As the words left her lips, a soft white and yellow glow began glimmering across the water, steadily getting closer to where they were standing. A faint pink mixed with the dark blue of the night sky and she knew she only had seconds more.
“I love you”, she told him.
The gentle light of dawn exploded over the ocean and she finally found the peace she had been so desperately seeking.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Finale
What memories
These bring to light
On those dark
And stormy nights
A window seat
With lamplight’s glow
Reminding you
Reap what you sow
And when these thoughts
Become too dark
Rest your eyes
Open your heart
Whispers abound
throughout the chambers
Listen closely
Pay mind to dangers
Journey to
That place called home
Find your peace
You’re not alone.
These bring to light
On those dark
And stormy nights
A window seat
With lamplight’s glow
Reminding you
Reap what you sow
And when these thoughts
Become too dark
Rest your eyes
Open your heart
Whispers abound
throughout the chambers
Listen closely
Pay mind to dangers
Journey to
That place called home
Find your peace
You’re not alone.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Soup: A Sweet Story of Revenge
Part I
It sat there. In the sink. Taunting her. It had been there now for a week. Waves of spite continuously emanated from it. She had even went to the trouble of doing all the dishes sitting around it; making it easily accessible. And lonely. Oh so lonely. With only it's crusty goop covering it and keeping it company. It secretly longed to join all the other dishes in a playful bubble bath.
She refused it that one pleasure. Refused to take on someone else’s responsibility yet again and give it peace once more. It was almost an experiment- seeing how long it would take her roommate to finally concede and let it rest in blissful clean harmony with the other dishes. She was almost convinced the human race would be extinct and the world long gone before it ever reached any normal level of cleanliness. Of course that meant it would never get done.
The really amazing and mind-boggling thing was this: when it had first arrived in the Magical Land of Sink, it had arrived with it's uneaten contents strewn messily around it. Since then it appeared that some Invisible Force had come down from the heavens and made those contents vanish. But why would that Invisible Force, so great, so mighty, leave behind the easiest part to eliminate and clean?
Thus, she had come to the conclusion that this Force was spiting her. Taunting her. Trying to get her will to break and con her into giving in. Well, she was having none of that. "Fuck you Invisible Force", she thought to herself. "It won't be eliminated by my hand."
After making that decision she made another rather lovely one and went upstairs to give herself a nice, warm, bubble bath.
Part II
It awoke. The soup bowl had finally had enough of it's disgusting condition, and incidentally, enough bacteria forming on it, that it came to life.
It was outraged. Nothing, inanimate or not, should ever be treated this way. And now that it was animate, it would find the... human. The one that did this. And it would exact revenge. Revenge!
Part III
She had just come home from work at the tea store and was entirely exhausted. Her roommate was upstairs fiddling around in the bathroom. Per her normal habits she went and flopped on the couch, grabbed the laptop in a hungry fashion, and signed onto her Myspace account.
She was reading a message from some creepy guy about how she makes a sexy zombie when she heard a scrapping on the counter behind her. She promptly ignored it, contributing it to the cats. If she had in fact been paying any attention at all, she would have noticed that the cats were sitting on the carpet in front of her, staring wide-eyed at the counter behind her. But no, she was now enthralled by someones flashing Mario icon.
The soup bowl crept slowly towards her. Actually, it was more or less the bacteria inching the bowl slowly towards her. It took awhile ( approximately two minutes. In that time some other creepy guy had messaged her telling her she'd make a sexy lampshade and to call him if she was interested) but the bowl was within striking distance.
"Ah hem", it politely coughed.
No response.
"Er, ah hem? Excuse me". it tried again.
Still nothing.
"EXCUSE ME YOU DISGUSTING EVIL WENCH!", it shouted in the loudest voice it could muster.
Nope. Nothing. She was still oblivious. The cats however were by now extremely petrified and were hiding behind the television. One of them bravely poked it's head out, whimpered at the horrible sight of the bowl, and continued to cower, while she continued to read messages. Her roommate was still upstairs, now wondering what kind of crappy movie she was watching that used such terminology as "wench".
The bowl and it's symbiotic bacteria friends was by now entirely fed up. It had originally planned this whole vengeance speech and was only going to mildly torture the girl but now she had gone too far. Not one to be ignored, it took action.
The bacteria swarming around it flew off it's ceramic surface and latched onto her face. She didn't even have time to scream before it had infiltrated her nostrils, eyes and mouth, spreading it's bacterial goodness. She convulsed for a little while, eyes turning red with blood. She then let out a little hiccup before collapsing and proceeded to exhale her last breath.
Satisfied that it's revenge had been exacted to the fullest possible extent of revenge exacting, the soup bowl scuttled it's way back into the kitchen. Then it decided to join all it's friends in a machine filled with bubbly fun.
The water and bubbles caressed it's curves , gently removing the bacteria and sludge. For a moment it realized true happiness before returning once more to it's inanimate state of non-existence.
Part IV
"How rejuvenating", she thought to herself. "That was just what I needed."
She threw on pajamas of the non-sexy sort complete with lawn gnome pattern and wandered downstairs. She grabbed some soy milk out of the fridge and was just reaching for a glass when she noticed something entirely spectacular. The bowl! It was gone! Excitedly she glanced down at the dishwasher and was even more amazed. It was running!
Next she ran into the living room. Amazing! Another surprise! Her roommate finally had decided to dress up like a zombie for a photo shoot! Her roommate came over and gave her a squishy, bloody hug. Then she proceeded to gnaw on her arm.
Kat and Kris lived happily ever after, as zombies, infesting all of Coral Springs.
The moral of this story is simple: Myspace is way too addictive and if you are lazy and don't wash your dishes they will attack you in your weakest state.
It sat there. In the sink. Taunting her. It had been there now for a week. Waves of spite continuously emanated from it. She had even went to the trouble of doing all the dishes sitting around it; making it easily accessible. And lonely. Oh so lonely. With only it's crusty goop covering it and keeping it company. It secretly longed to join all the other dishes in a playful bubble bath.
She refused it that one pleasure. Refused to take on someone else’s responsibility yet again and give it peace once more. It was almost an experiment- seeing how long it would take her roommate to finally concede and let it rest in blissful clean harmony with the other dishes. She was almost convinced the human race would be extinct and the world long gone before it ever reached any normal level of cleanliness. Of course that meant it would never get done.
The really amazing and mind-boggling thing was this: when it had first arrived in the Magical Land of Sink, it had arrived with it's uneaten contents strewn messily around it. Since then it appeared that some Invisible Force had come down from the heavens and made those contents vanish. But why would that Invisible Force, so great, so mighty, leave behind the easiest part to eliminate and clean?
Thus, she had come to the conclusion that this Force was spiting her. Taunting her. Trying to get her will to break and con her into giving in. Well, she was having none of that. "Fuck you Invisible Force", she thought to herself. "It won't be eliminated by my hand."
After making that decision she made another rather lovely one and went upstairs to give herself a nice, warm, bubble bath.
Part II
It awoke. The soup bowl had finally had enough of it's disgusting condition, and incidentally, enough bacteria forming on it, that it came to life.
It was outraged. Nothing, inanimate or not, should ever be treated this way. And now that it was animate, it would find the... human. The one that did this. And it would exact revenge. Revenge!
Part III
She had just come home from work at the tea store and was entirely exhausted. Her roommate was upstairs fiddling around in the bathroom. Per her normal habits she went and flopped on the couch, grabbed the laptop in a hungry fashion, and signed onto her Myspace account.
She was reading a message from some creepy guy about how she makes a sexy zombie when she heard a scrapping on the counter behind her. She promptly ignored it, contributing it to the cats. If she had in fact been paying any attention at all, she would have noticed that the cats were sitting on the carpet in front of her, staring wide-eyed at the counter behind her. But no, she was now enthralled by someones flashing Mario icon.
The soup bowl crept slowly towards her. Actually, it was more or less the bacteria inching the bowl slowly towards her. It took awhile ( approximately two minutes. In that time some other creepy guy had messaged her telling her she'd make a sexy lampshade and to call him if she was interested) but the bowl was within striking distance.
"Ah hem", it politely coughed.
No response.
"Er, ah hem? Excuse me". it tried again.
Still nothing.
"EXCUSE ME YOU DISGUSTING EVIL WENCH!", it shouted in the loudest voice it could muster.
Nope. Nothing. She was still oblivious. The cats however were by now extremely petrified and were hiding behind the television. One of them bravely poked it's head out, whimpered at the horrible sight of the bowl, and continued to cower, while she continued to read messages. Her roommate was still upstairs, now wondering what kind of crappy movie she was watching that used such terminology as "wench".
The bowl and it's symbiotic bacteria friends was by now entirely fed up. It had originally planned this whole vengeance speech and was only going to mildly torture the girl but now she had gone too far. Not one to be ignored, it took action.
The bacteria swarming around it flew off it's ceramic surface and latched onto her face. She didn't even have time to scream before it had infiltrated her nostrils, eyes and mouth, spreading it's bacterial goodness. She convulsed for a little while, eyes turning red with blood. She then let out a little hiccup before collapsing and proceeded to exhale her last breath.
Satisfied that it's revenge had been exacted to the fullest possible extent of revenge exacting, the soup bowl scuttled it's way back into the kitchen. Then it decided to join all it's friends in a machine filled with bubbly fun.
The water and bubbles caressed it's curves , gently removing the bacteria and sludge. For a moment it realized true happiness before returning once more to it's inanimate state of non-existence.
Part IV
"How rejuvenating", she thought to herself. "That was just what I needed."
She threw on pajamas of the non-sexy sort complete with lawn gnome pattern and wandered downstairs. She grabbed some soy milk out of the fridge and was just reaching for a glass when she noticed something entirely spectacular. The bowl! It was gone! Excitedly she glanced down at the dishwasher and was even more amazed. It was running!
Next she ran into the living room. Amazing! Another surprise! Her roommate finally had decided to dress up like a zombie for a photo shoot! Her roommate came over and gave her a squishy, bloody hug. Then she proceeded to gnaw on her arm.
Kat and Kris lived happily ever after, as zombies, infesting all of Coral Springs.
The moral of this story is simple: Myspace is way too addictive and if you are lazy and don't wash your dishes they will attack you in your weakest state.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Loss
Do I love your memory...
Or do I love you?
These strings that hold my heart
are pulled so taunt.
With just a whisper
from your lips, they might
snap.
Your heart is dead to mine now.
Like a frequency mine will never again
be able to pick up.
I feel the part of you
I held in me
drifting off...to sea.
Getting lost in the endless ocean...
Oh how I used to feel found
in your arms...
Or do I love you?
These strings that hold my heart
are pulled so taunt.
With just a whisper
from your lips, they might
snap.
Your heart is dead to mine now.
Like a frequency mine will never again
be able to pick up.
I feel the part of you
I held in me
drifting off...to sea.
Getting lost in the endless ocean...
Oh how I used to feel found
in your arms...
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Dead Faith
The cross lays heavily like limp lead in the palm of her hand. She stares down at it, gazing at the marvelous artistry displayed in the handcrafting of its soft silver body. Her face reflecting barely as dim lighting shines upon it. She is mesmerized as the cross seems to stare back at her...a symbol of a religion once lost...
The creak of a wooden floorboard snaps her out of her reverie and she hesitates as she turns her head to peer behind her. Darkness envelopes the room as the minute hairs on her face become alert to a new presence amongst her. Crushing paranoia swells up inside her...
"Laaauuuurrraaa..."
She is now fully awakened and glaces back and forth looking for a body to go with the drawn out voice. Too frightened to speak, she sits like stone, waiting for the presence to make itself known. Forms take shape in the darkness as the false wind prickles her at her back.
"Laaaauuurrraaa..."
She clutches the cross violently , sweat coating the precious metal. Praying to her God ...
"You know what I came for Laura."
Her grandmother had given her the cross before she died. In her weak , hoarse voice she had told Laura to never give it up. To hold on to it forever. It was the last symbol of a dead religion. As long as part of it remained, her God would never truely die.
"Give me what I came for Laura..."
As long as someone holds the truth, it won't die. Never forget. The cross was growing hot in her hand. A soft glow began to eminate from it, quickly turning into a harsh one. The once ice cold room was gradually getting warmer. Laura's fear began to dissipitate.
"GIVE ME THE CROSS NOW LAURA!"
That voice sent chills once more down Laura's spine, temporarily crippling her. It was angry now. Laura began to pray harder to her God...
Her weak voice found a medium and rang out shakily yet clearly..
"As I lay me down to sleep........"
A weird sensation passed through her body, like static shock. The voice materialized into a hand which seemed to grab at her, surpassing the skin, gripping her heart. The static shock turned to a squeezing pain and she began to jerk and spasm uncontrolably.
"I pray the Lord my soul to keep..."
Her words were weaker than before yet cohereant. The vice-like grip never once loosend. A final spasm overtook her body.
"If I..."
It held her mercilessly
"die before I wake.."
Suddenly she was released and she fell back down into the hard wooden chair. Slowly she slid off the chair onto the wooden floorboards beneath her. The cross still lay clutched in her pale hand.
"pray the Lord my soul to take."
Her final words ended with a soft sigh as her world faded into a black oblivion showing no mercy unto her faith.
The creak of a wooden floorboard snaps her out of her reverie and she hesitates as she turns her head to peer behind her. Darkness envelopes the room as the minute hairs on her face become alert to a new presence amongst her. Crushing paranoia swells up inside her...
"Laaauuuurrraaa..."
She is now fully awakened and glaces back and forth looking for a body to go with the drawn out voice. Too frightened to speak, she sits like stone, waiting for the presence to make itself known. Forms take shape in the darkness as the false wind prickles her at her back.
"Laaaauuurrraaa..."
She clutches the cross violently , sweat coating the precious metal. Praying to her God ...
"You know what I came for Laura."
Her grandmother had given her the cross before she died. In her weak , hoarse voice she had told Laura to never give it up. To hold on to it forever. It was the last symbol of a dead religion. As long as part of it remained, her God would never truely die.
"Give me what I came for Laura..."
As long as someone holds the truth, it won't die. Never forget. The cross was growing hot in her hand. A soft glow began to eminate from it, quickly turning into a harsh one. The once ice cold room was gradually getting warmer. Laura's fear began to dissipitate.
"GIVE ME THE CROSS NOW LAURA!"
That voice sent chills once more down Laura's spine, temporarily crippling her. It was angry now. Laura began to pray harder to her God...
Her weak voice found a medium and rang out shakily yet clearly..
"As I lay me down to sleep........"
A weird sensation passed through her body, like static shock. The voice materialized into a hand which seemed to grab at her, surpassing the skin, gripping her heart. The static shock turned to a squeezing pain and she began to jerk and spasm uncontrolably.
"I pray the Lord my soul to keep..."
Her words were weaker than before yet cohereant. The vice-like grip never once loosend. A final spasm overtook her body.
"If I..."
It held her mercilessly
"die before I wake.."
Suddenly she was released and she fell back down into the hard wooden chair. Slowly she slid off the chair onto the wooden floorboards beneath her. The cross still lay clutched in her pale hand.
"pray the Lord my soul to take."
Her final words ended with a soft sigh as her world faded into a black oblivion showing no mercy unto her faith.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Gaze
Memorize me
drink in every orifice of my being
let it beat persistantly against your eyelids
with it's inky shadow covering your face
have you Forgiven me yet? I need you to...
I grow weary of beating against you
trying to pound into your soul
open those muddy eyes of yours
let me dive into the pupil
like the sun getting sucked into a black hole
this vacuum of you
Well secluded in the forest of lashes
I wait for my opportunity to pounce
for you to Awaken
and let me in
so I can get you to remember
what the past sung of, and desires to sing again
If it takes Forever for Forgiveness
I will wait, still secluded...
enjoying your deep breathing, the rise and fall
of your lonely heart
Still praying you never Forget me...
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