Witching Hour – Sinister Legends!
Sleep Hid
J.M. Butler
more than consciousness?
marriage has been spent in the tortured grip of her husband’s horrific
insomnia. Darryl’s illness has nearly destroyed their lives though they cling
to one another. No matter how hard it gets, Kaya swears she will be there for
him, and she has stuck with him through trials, studies, and experiments.
participate in an experiment intended to completely eliminate the need for
sleep.
though the doctor appears kind and competent. A blue-cloaked stranger adds to
her concerns, warning that sleep is not only essential for sanity but hiding us
from predators that hunt us across the dimensions.
doctor, and the other members of the experiment proves almost impossible, and
Kaya must uncover a new solution or lose the man she loves forever.
fine.” Kaya paused, seeing Janis staring intently into the chamber. He
didn’t appear to be looking at anyone. His gaze instead was transfixed on a
point on the wall.
everything all right?” Kaya peered inside as well.
front of the speaker. Not moving his eyes, he held down the switch. “We’ve
passed day six, and you’re all doing quite well. All your vitals check out.
Good breathing. Good focus.” He sounded as if he intended to read a
bedtime story. Yet his body language was sharp and tight. “Now I want you
to take a moment and look around the room. Look at the walls, the floor, the
ceiling. Do you see anything new or unusual?”
nothing. Darryl and the others looked around. They appeared more confused than
disturbed.
his head. “Should we be worried?”
creatures coming in?” Jeremy dropped his book, looking around wildly.
we supposed to be looking for?” Brenda asked.
anything that seems unusual,” Janis said, his voice as measured and calm
as before.
Janis’s hand. “Stop.” He shoved Janis away and pressed the switch.
“Please pay no attention to that. Nothing is different. Everything’s
fine.”
back at Janis. Though he had backed away, his gaze remained fixed on that
point. Goosebumps prickled along Kaya’s arms. “What do you see?”
nothing.” Janis forced a smile, but a tremor of fear passed through his
face.
Kaya echoed.
sighed. “Enough, Mr. Janis.”
furrowed. He opened his mouth to speak, then left.
She quickened her pace as he passed through the doors. “Wait! What did you
see?” The doors thudded shut behind her.
the water fountain and splashed cool water on his face.
raced faster. “What did you see?”
face on his sleeve. “There’s now a fissure in our dimension.”
fissure?” Kaya echoed. “Could it be something else? A crack in the
glass or the wall?” She hadn’t seen anything though. Maybe he’d imagined
it.
sound more convincing?”
to reiterate my first point. This experiment ends in death. You should
go.”
leaving Darryl here!” Kaya snapped.
and he will die, and there’s probably nothing I can do to stop it!” Janis
thrust his hands into his hair and ripped them out. Fine strands of pale blond
hair clung to his fingers. He trembled, closing his eyes. “I’ll do
everything I can to keep everyone alive. I will. I promised that.” Though
his hands still shook, he strode away.
him, afraid to follow but afraid to return. The terror in his voice, the
trembling…that didn’t seem false. Maybe he was only crazy. But her gut warned
he wasn’t as wrong as she hoped.
Noise Above Us
Alyssa Brocker
they meet at a support group for coping with a deceased parent, they find one
another. Everything’s seemingly perfect until unexplained occurrences happen
where the two call home. They find out their lives on a vacation island aren’t
all beaches and relaxing summer days. The events from fifteen years ago refuse
to stay concealed. Who, or what, is the source of these disturbances? Is it
their parents who passed too soon trying to contact them? Or is it something
much darker? The young pair are forced to uncover the secrets buried in the
sand. It’s a risk that will not only threaten their budding relationship, but
their lives.
ticking of Sapphire’s watch is the only sound in the bakery. She’d worked alone
many times, but this Saturday morning is different. The slight warmth of the
oven, once comforting, now seems too hot, as if it could burn her at any
second. The knives, sitting innocently in their correct place, appear almost
menacing. She can’t explain it, Sapphire just knows something’s wrong,
something’s off.
part of it. This is a gut feeling that something bad is about to happen. Is she
being paranoid? Or are her instincts telling her something her mind hasn’t yet
figured out. What would her mom say to her if she were here? Sapphire pauses, a
soapy spatula still in her hand.
feels as though someone is watching her, studying her every movement. Slowly
she turns, afraid to look, but knowing she must take the chance.
for her coworker she knows won’t be here for another half an hour. She audibly
gasps when the timer for her cookies alarms. With shaking hands, she reaches in
her pocket, quieting the annoying buzzing. Shaking her head, she breathes
deeply. She’s being overly suspicious.
footsteps interrupt her moment of relief. She’s rooted to her place in front of
the sink, absolute fear paralyzing her. Suddenly it sounds like someone’s
running at her. Remaining still, afraid to even look away from the sink, she’s
frozen.
stop. It was as if Sapphire had imagined the entire thing. “Mom… help me.” She pleads for someone who
isn’t there, someone who could never be there for her again. Minutes click by,
as she remains motionless, too terrified to move. With her hands gripping the
edge of the sink, she realizes she has to do something, anything. It’s nearly
been a twenty minutes of her staring at the soapy water.
burnt.” Quinn says behind her. Sapphire jumps in surprise. “You okay,
Sapphire?” Her small blonde head tilts as she takes in Sapphires state of
shock.
voice cracks. “I feel like someone’s here, Quinn. I don’t know if it’s human, a
ghost, or even my dead mother. I just know that I’m not alone. I heard
footsteps sprinting at me, and I didn’t do anything! I just stood here.” Quinn
stays silent through Sapphire’s breakdown. At the end of it, she seems
frightened and relieved at the same time.
Think Of Me
Angie Brocker
twin, Bree Carpenter attempts to heal and become her own person despite
constant reminders of the shy, smart sister she recently lost. But Lena’s memory may be more dangerous and
sinister than she could have ever been capable of when she was alive. Is it possible for the suppressed anger and
resentment Lena felt before she died to come alive and murder those who want to
remember her? Can a person’s existence
be completely erased into nothingness?
he heard a knock at the door, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to distinguish
that sound from the pounding in his head.
“Why do I do this too myself?
Damn my Irish liver,” his words sounded unfamiliar even to him. Too many shots of whiskey had left his throat
dry and swollen.
on his bed to push himself to an upright position. Focusing on the room around him, it was
difficult to determine which direction he needed to shuffle his feet
toward. Hearing three distinctive loud
knocks, he knew someone was trying to get his attention. “Hold on!
I’m coming, it will just take me a minute to get there. If that’s you, mom, please come back
later. You wouldn’t want to see your son
in this condition,” he spoke out loud and then laughed at himself as much as he
could manage.
highly susceptible senses, and he tried to yell, “If you can’t wait, you can
leave! I’ll get there when I get there! We just had a party to remember sweet Lena. Sweet, beautiful, quiet Lena! Don’t you respect the dead? I sure as hell do! What is wrong with you?”
it? This better be good!”
if he was still drunk enough to dream this entire scenario. Looking through the tiny peephole in the
door, Justin witnessed the black shadow of someone standing to the left of the
door. “Make yourself known or I will
call the police. I’m in no mood for
this, and I’m cranky, tired and hungover.
There’s a good possibility I’m still pretty wasted. So let’s just make this easy on
ourselves. Who are you, and what do you
want?”
verbal answer to his inquiry. Enraged,
he opened the door, ready for a fight.
“Listen motherfu…” and then he was silent. The only sound in the hallway was a metal bat
hitting his skull. He couldn’t scream,
there was no time. Justin had no idea he
had been hit or that blood was streaming from his eyes almost instantly. He fell hard to the ground and was struck
twice more, until his face was unrecognizable.
Eyes Have It
Wendy Cheairs
place to go when you or loved ones are ill. Old places though have memories,
long and distant that sometimes still affect the modern day. Disbelief has no
place here, since believe is not needed to be real. Science can still only
explain so much. Welcome to the local children’s hospital, it might be haunted
they say. State of the art technology takes care of everything, right?
hit the city and surrounding areas, but for most the symptoms were not as
intense, especially not in one so young. The fathers had combed through the
internet, running out of options. WebMD made it sound as if this awful sickness
was a wasting disease, malaria, or worse. The unbreakable fever continued, and
not even ice could cool her down. It was consuming her, driving her into
herself as she tried to hide under an oversized quilt.
curled into claws, holding her tattered rabbit, Mr. Hoppy, in a death choke.
The fever ravaged, adding hints of blotchy red patchworking along with the
sweats and shakes.
blurred into days as the inferno of illness possessed their little girl. Her
fathers watched helplessly in the coolness of the dark desert valley as the
endless sleepless nights.
the nurse’s hotline for the hundredth time. The woman’s voice came through the
phone swiftly after the dull hold music.
you this evening?” She spoke gently, dealing with stressed parents had given
her a soothing tone to keep people calm.
still sick. Our pediatrician is out of town, we have done the whole let the flu
work its way through, but it is getting worse.” Oliver rushed forward. “Her
skin keeps getting blotchy red spots; she has the shakes and sweats from her
fever that won’t go below one hundred.”
he was out of breath, and the nurse waited a moment to make sure he wouldn’t
continue.
go to the local children’s hospital, Carrie Tingley. They specialize in
pediatrics, hiring doctors from the top of their class.” The nurse continued
with the address and local number since they lived on the opposite side of town
Me
Maggie Jane Schuler
to Diablo for a fresh start, she never expected to run into her first crush.
women and chocolaty treats that were well known around town. She refused to be
a part of Cody’s harem, despite his efforts. She was in town to teach, and
temptation by his green-coated morsels was not an option.
candies appeared on her desk, she needed help to discover if her past arrived
back home with her
in one hand and the innocuous gift in the other, she pushed the driver’s door
closed with her tush, ready for battle. After a relaxing breath, she
straightened her shoulders with confidence and stepped toward the entrance of
The Pub.
panty-melting tone sang in her ears from across the lot. He was leaning against
his Camaro but pulled himself upright when her eyes landed on his. He sauntered
his way to her side, and the alluring smile on his face was accented with those
deep charming dimples that sent a message low in her belly where butterflies
somersaulted.
here.” She shoved the glass jar into his chest and took one more gulp of air
into her lungs. “I will not be a one-night—”
baby blues examined the jar with what had to be a hint of feigned innocence
lacing his question. Like he really didn’t know!
on my desk. Please keep your hands and sweets to yourself.”
annoyed now. “These aren’t from me.”
hand to her hip. “Everyone in town knows you pop candy like a junkie.”
mistaken me for someone else. I would never leave this rookie jar of less than
adequate candy. Mine has a purposes. You’ll see.” He gestured at the front
door. “If you give me a chance, I might be able to help you out.”
cheeks warmed with embarrassment as she debated if she should follow or leave
as she intended. His offer seemed genuine and innocent but this was Cody
McAllister, womanizer extraordinaire.
and cradled her elbow in his hand as he guided her to the edge. The one she
promised not to cross. But her body followed him, leaving her brain and heart
bickering in the parking lot.
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Shadows
Jenniefer Andersson
horrible murder, a young woman starts examining her family legend. She finds
herself wondering: What would drive someone to run clear across the world, just
to get away from their nightmares? As Heather discovers, the past will come
back to bite you.
Walk Among Us: The Legend of the Skinwalker
Heyward and Charlotte E Dhark
Easy, Detective Clary Young headed to northern Arizona and her newest case. A
specialist in the field of paranormal serial killers, law enforcement had
evidence pointing in that direction, and they needed her help—pronto. Little
did she know, she’d find herself embroiled in something bigger and far more
sinister.
and smoke moved in a slow frame-by-frame picture show behind her eyelids. Men
dressed in beaded deerskin breeches with feathers braided in their hair danced
around a bonfire—their skin shiny and soaked with sweat—the movement of their
limbs sinuous and hypnotic. The thump of animal skin drums beat in a
deliberate, steady rhythm in the night. Chanted words floated and weaved with
the drumbeats and drove the steps of the dance. A pair of orange eyes blinked
open outside the ring of fire—watching. They hovered in an invisible body that
paced back and forth, just out of sight.
feather headdress first. Standing straight and proud, he towered over the
others as he prowled his way through the dancers. The drums stopped, and all
attention focused on him. Lines and swirls of ocher and ash adorned his bare
chest and arms. His long hair hung in a river of black down to his waist—pieces
of leather cord knotted with feathers woven through the braids decorated his
tresses. Eyes the color of butterscotch peered from behind a blood-red mask and
stared into the deep night. His deep voice offered an invitation. “Come and
join us, demon. Let us purge the evil from your soul.”
scream answered him—the answer a macabre mixture of tortured animal and human
alike.
shifted and disturbed the flames of the bonfire. Their shadows stretched into
hungry mouths and slid angrily across the dancers’ naked chests. Movement on
the periphery caught their interest and all heads turned as one to focus there.
The stench of rotting flesh blanketed them as the next breeze passed through
the group. The demon stepped into the ring of light amid a chorus of angry
growls.
warrior’s voice thundered over the din, the reverb snapping everyone to
attention.
wolf, at least four feet at the shoulders, padded toward them. Its fur hung in
matted clumps of dead skin and mud. Old blood stained its muzzle a copper
brown, its face twisted and distorted painfully as flies buzzed and hovered.
Maggots created an eerie wave of moving flesh under the hanging fur and fell to
the ground in little writhing clumps with each movement forward.
spread of his arms, the warrior called out, “Welcome into the light, ma’iitsoh.
May your spirit fly free. Let Mother Earth welcome you with open arms, your
sins against her children forgiven, and embrace her son, once again.”
Dance Before Midnight
Kristin Jacques
dress shop. It’s not the job, it’s the tourists, who come from far and wide to
view La Pascualita, the corpse bride. Not a real corpse, just a detailed
mannequin, but skeptical Amy has to sell the legend. When a mysterious
Frenchman rolls into town, Amy learns a whole new side to La Pascualita’s story
and stumbles into the middle of a tale
of love lost that might be found again.
Ford Tudor, lovingly restored with a mirror chrome finish. There was nothing
like it on the streets of Chihuahua; it caught every eye as it purred down the
road. The windows were tinted, obscuring the driver as if the glare of the sun
didn’t accomplish that already, but as the brilliant machine stalked into town,
it seemed to bring a shift in the wind. The cold front rolled in, a chill gust
that speared through the mid August heat. People found themselves shivering,
breaths misting on the air. Their ears popped as the pressure bottomed out and
the first crack of thunder rumbled as the chrome car pulled to a stop across
the street from La Popular dress and bridal shop. La Pascualita stood in the
window, bearing the latest fashion, the same small, mysterious smile on her
lips.
clouds overhead imitated the churning mood of the vehicle’s occupant who blew a
stream of cheroot smoke through his nostrils behind the tinted windshield.
at last, ma cherie.”
In The Red Dress
Alana Delacroix
mysterious Amelia–she’s all he wants in a woman. But will he still love her
once he knows her secret?
seen a ghost?” he asks.
doesn’t say anything else, but squints at the people coming down the stairs to
the subway platform as if seeking a friend.
him. “I’ve seen a few. Some are little wisps, floating colors or spheres. Some
are like the ones you see online, a pale and transparent person.”
her, wondering if she’s putting him on. “Really?” he asks.
see are bad, but worse are the ones you only feel,” she says. She shudders.
“They burrow right down into your psyche. It’s hard to shake, like trying not
to think of pink elephants. By trying to forget the feeling, you end up
obsessing about it.”
feel like?”
Fog.” She considers him and shrugs. “Negative space, if that makes sense.”
how living humans can give the same sensation.
Lenore Cheairs
Control of Surrender
Trinity Hanrahan
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybius_(urban_legend)
Steps
Haslam
past lures a reporter to a small town outside Seattle in search of the
truth. Was the man who wrote it a madman
or a victim of something that frightened people in the town for years? As the reporter reads his journal and
unravels its clues, each chapter becomes more horrifying and may be affecting
the lives of those around her. Is it a
cry for help or an urban legend that’s marked her as its next victim?
Alice Murders
Dawson
Hope you enjoyed the Halloween Spooktacular and the frightening peek at Witching Hour – Sinster Legends! Happy Halloween!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged horror, Urban Legends, Witching Hour - Sinister Legends by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Mountain of Authors – What Fun!
What wisdom was bestowed upon me at the Mountain of Authors? Where the phrase ‘Blowing smoke up my #?#’ came from. LOL Yep, Keynote Speaker, Mark Lee Gardner an award winning local author, historian and musician told the story. But fellow writer, Donnell Bell repeated the tale so eloquently. “The origin of blowing smoke up one’s &$@&. Once upon a time, tobacco was thought to be of great medicinal value. As a matter of fact, it was actually thought to be able to save drowning victims. This belief was so widespread that when people who lived on or near the Thames in England recovered a victim, the way to resuscitate him was to roll tobacco and shove it…well, where the sun doesn’t shine. Hence the lovely saying we’ve come to think of as exaggeration or telling lies.”
Okay, I learned more than that. We listened to a panelist of writers on Writing for History. Gotta get your facts straight or you can bet someone will call you on it. Yep, that’s why I write paranormal romance, I can make things up as I go and no one is the wiser. <grin>
The next panel discussed “I Wrote a Book, Now What?” The panel of three were experienced in the publishing industry and gave us their take on the industry today. Which is kinda like the Colorado weather, if you don’t like the way things are going, just wait a week or so. The industry seems to be always in flux. Tough if you’re a new writer — heck, if you’re a seasoned writer as well.
I laughed, waved, talked, and snickered with lots of old friends, Pikes Peak Writers were well represented. Then compared notes with several well-known authors, and met a lot of new authors, wanna be authors and readers. As luck would have it, I sold and signed a few books which is always good. I hope the purchasers enjoy reading my books as much as I did writing them.
It was a pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Now it’s time to prepare for the Pikes Peak Writer’s Conference April 27th – 30th. Gee I wonder what kind of trouble I can find lurking in the halls of the Marriott Hotel where the conference is held? Check back for my guest author later this week.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Authors, fantasy, Fun, history, horror, Mountain of Authors, Pikes Peak Library District, Romance, Sci-Fi, Writers by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.