Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: The Trial

 

Photo by Ong Cheng Zheng (ocz0929) on Unsplash

The Trial

Blaire Brock fired her gardener Sandalio Juárez after he scolded her for killing a snake. Before leaving, he warned her that one day el padre de las serpientes would make her stand trial for her loathsome ways. She laughed at him, telling him she’d send him his final check. The sophisticated English heiress wasn’t about to let a superstitious Spaniard spook her.

As Blaire dressed for bed, she heard leaves rustling. She screamed at the sight of a great green snake staring at her. The window opened and the beast slithered inside.

Blaire’s maid found her dead the next morning.

notes

This story appears in The Damned horror drabble anthology from Dragon Soul Press.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles



I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party. 


You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.


Friday, October 13, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: The Fog

 

Photo by and machines (and_machines) on Unsplash


The Fog

The thick yellow fog hanging in the air had real and devastating consequences. The town’s population lay dead in their homes. Animals lay dead in the fields. Flowers hung their heads as their petals dropped away. Leaves turned brown and rotten on trees and vines.

The drone that had released the gas was shot down forty-five miles away from its target. Its destruction would make no difference. Others like it had already been dispatched to agricultural areas all across the nation. A society without readily available food quickly begins to crumble. All the enemy had to do now was wait.

notes

This story is included in The Damned anthology from Dragon Soul Press.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles



I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party. 


You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.



Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: On a Spring Day

 

Photo by Mak (mak_jp) on Unsplash


On a Spring Day

It was a glorious spring day. Cherry blossoms adorned the trees along the street beside Cryptic Chemicals headquarters.

There was not a living soul to be found when Lilith Bezuidenhout emerged from the building wearing a Hazmat suit with a respirator. She knew her colleague was unhinged but nobody would listen.

On the surface, Marianne Trujillo was a charming and cooperative young woman. Beneath the surface, her emotions raged out of control. Her recent separation from her husband had pushed her over the edge. Seanán Trujillo would pay for his betrayal, and so would everyone who breathed the contaminated air.

notes

This is one of the five drabbles selected for inclusion in The Damned anthology from Dragon Soul Press.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles



I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party. 


You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.


Sunday, August 6, 2023

Revelation #8Sunday

    


Book: The Damned

Stories: The Drain, The Enforcers, The Fog, On a Spring Day, and The Trial.

ASIN: B0C82RQFSZ

Publication Date: September 23, 2023

Genre: Flash Fiction, Horror

Buy Link: http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

Price: $1.99 ebook (Pre-order price)

Book Blurb:

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.

Pre-Excerpt Information

I wrote this drabble along with 29 others for potential inclusion in The Damned, an anthology of drabbles from Dragon Soul Press. I'm not sure why it wasn't selected as it seems creepy enough to me. But what do I know?

So, why in the world am I sharing it here?

Because there are approximately 13 weeks until the anthology is published. My contract stipulates that I can't share more than 500 words from the anthology prior to publication. That's all five of my selected stories. So, what in the heck would I share during the other eight weeks?

The other drabbles that didn't make the cut for this anthology, of course! 

The following drabble may be similar to other drabbles that did make the cut. It's pretty cool in its own right.

Photo by George Dagerotip (dagerotip) on Unsplash

Revelation

The cards drawn in this combination could only mean one thing, but Andorra Gronchio had no idea what to do about it. The dancer cavorting across a desert wasteland, celebrating victory. A supplicant begging for mercy as flies devour her eyes. The false prophet with his self-assured smirk, beckoning followers. The high priestess beseeching the Heavens for true guidance. The Ascended One seated in lotus position on a cushion, the celestial firmament surrounding her, the eternal inferno below. Lastly, the diamond-shaped eye of darkness floating in the everlasting void from whence all things emerged and to which all things return.




About the Author:

C. L. Hart, the owner and sole employee of Naughty Netherworld Press, is spoken of in hushed tones. She is described as The Mad Scribe of the Northeastern Colorado Plains, The Terrible Old Woman, and The Author That Should Not Be.

When not penning sanity-destroying works of dystopian fiction, Lovecraftian fantasy, or old-school horror with the occasional sweet romance thrown in to upset the cosmic apple cart, Ms. Hart enjoys creating baked goods she hopes will be considered palatable.

Ms. Hart shares a home in a remote rural town of 134 souls with her adult son and three cats. Her sense of fashion is best described as Early Twenty-First Century Unmade Bed. This disabled former nurse can usually be found arguing with herself about subplots or rehabilitating eldritch horrors.

Follow C. L. Hart

C. L. Hart Amazon Author Page

https://bit.ly/CLHartAmazonAuthor

C. L. Hart New and Improved Newsletter

https://www.subscribepage.com/clhart

Naughty Netherworld Press Blog

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

Naughty Netherworld Press Books

https://bit.ly/NNPBooks

Naughty Netherworld Press Substack

https://naughtynetherworldpress.substack.com

Readers Roost Book Blog

https://bit.ly/ReadersRoost

Readers Roost Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/OrneryOwlsRoost

Readers Roost Twitter

https://twitter.com/ReadersRoost


While checking out the offerings from Weekend Writing Warriors, why not try a cup of Coffee Brand Coffee? No fancy packaging, no gimmicks, just great coffee. Lots of different flavors to choose from. 







Sunday, July 16, 2023

From Above #8Sunday

  


Book: The Damned

Stories: The Drain, The Enforcers, The Fog, On a Spring Day, and The Trial.

ASIN: B0C82RQFSZ

Publication Date: September 23, 2023

Genre: Flash Fiction, Horror

Buy Link: http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

Price: $1.99 ebook (Pre-order price)

Book Blurb:

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.

Pre-Excerpt Information

I submitted the following drabble for possible publication in the anthology, but it was not selected.

So, why in the world am I sharing it?

Because there are approximately 13 weeks until the anthology is published. My contract stipulates that I can't share more than 500 words from the anthology prior to publication. That's all five of my selected stories. So, what in the heck would I share during the other eight weeks?

The other drabbles that didn't make the cut for this anthology, of course! 

The following drabble may be similar to other drabbles that did make the cut. It's pretty cool in its own right.

Photo by fabian jones (fjones) on Unsplash

From Above

Even if the people knew what was coming, there would be no time for them to take shelter. Perhaps it is best they remain unaware. A man in the twilight of his life carries today’s groceries past the fountain in the town square where a father and son sail their boats. Two teenage girls chat while texting other friends for a meet-up. People sit on the street side of the fountain eating lunch or waiting for the bus. Life flows around them as it always does.

There is a flash in the sky; a moment of surprise followed by silence.

About the Author:

C. L. Hart, the owner and sole employee of Naughty Netherworld Press, is spoken of in hushed tones. She is described as The Mad Scribe of the Northeastern Colorado Plains, The Terrible Old Woman, and The Author That Should Not Be.

When not penning sanity-destroying works of dystopian fiction, Lovecraftian fantasy, or old-school horror with the occasional sweet romance thrown in to upset the cosmic apple cart, Ms. Hart enjoys creating baked goods she hopes will be considered palatable.

Ms. Hart shares a home in a remote rural town of 134 souls with her adult son and three cats. Her sense of fashion is best described as Early Twenty-First Century Unmade Bed. This disabled former nurse can usually be found arguing with herself about subplots or rehabilitating eldritch horrors.

Follow C. L. Hart

C. L. Hart Amazon Author Page

https://bit.ly/CLHartAmazonAuthor

Naughty Netherworld Press Blog

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

Naughty Netherworld Press Books

https://bit.ly/NNPBooks

Naughty Netherworld Press Substack

https://naughtynetherworldpress.substack.com

Readers Roost Book Blog

https://bit.ly/ReadersRoost

Readers Roost Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/OrneryOwlsRoost

Readers Roost Twitter

https://twitter.com/ReadersRoost

Naughty Netherworld Newsletter

https://bit.ly/NaughtyNetherworldNews2







Sunday, July 9, 2023

On the Shore of Blueberry Beach #8Sunday

 


Book: The Damned

Stories: The Drain, The Enforcers, The Fog, On a Spring Day, and The Trial.

ASIN: B0C82RQFSZ

Publication Date: September 23, 2023

Genre: Flash Fiction, Horror

Buy Link: http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

Price: $1.99 ebook (Pre-order price)

Book Blurb:

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.

Pre-Excerpt Information

I submitted the following drabble for possible publication in the anthology, but it was not selected.

So, why in the world am I sharing it?

Because there are approximately 13 weeks until the anthology is published. My contract stipulates that I can't share more than 500 words from the anthology prior to publication. That's all five of my selected stories. So, what in the heck would I share during the other eight weeks?

The other drabbles that didn't make the cut for this anthology, of course! 

The following drabble may be similar to other drabbles that did make the cut. It's pretty cool in its own right.


Photo by James Dimas (jamesdimas) on Unsplash

On the Shore of Blueberry Beach

Some things are awful enough to shake the foundations of even the most fervent believers. What Magdalene Khachaturyan found washed up on the shore of Blueberry Beach at the start of summer was not the sort of thing a sensitive-minded thirteen-year-old girl or anyone else should be exposed to.

Maggie’s happy world became a dark and uncertain place. She lost her faith in the gentle God she believed in throughout childhood. Rather than being welcoming sanctuaries, churches now seemed like austere academies presided over by strict schoolmasters. The placid face of Jesus was usurped by the abomination from the deep.

About the Author:

C. L. Hart, the owner and sole employee of Naughty Netherworld Press, is spoken of in hushed tones. She is described as The Mad Scribe of the Northeastern Colorado Plains, The Terrible Old Woman, and The Author That Should Not Be.

When not penning sanity-destroying works of dystopian fiction, Lovecraftian fantasy, or old-school horror with the occasional sweet romance thrown in to upset the cosmic apple cart, Ms. Hart enjoys creating baked goods she hopes will be considered palatable.

Ms. Hart shares a home in a remote rural town of 134 souls with her adult son and three cats. Her sense of fashion is best described as Early Twenty-First Century Unmade Bed. This disabled former nurse can usually be found arguing with herself about subplots or rehabilitating eldritch horrors.

Follow C. L. Hart

C. L. Hart Amazon Author Page

https://bit.ly/CLHartAmazonAuthor

Naughty Netherworld Press Blog

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

Naughty Netherworld Press Books

https://bit.ly/NNPBooks

Naughty Netherworld Press Substack

https://naughtynetherworldpress.substack.com

Readers Roost Book Blog

https://bit.ly/ReadersRoost

Readers Roost Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/OrneryOwlsRoost

Readers Roost Twitter

https://twitter.com/ReadersRoost

Naughty Netherworld Newsletter

https://bit.ly/NaughtyNetherworldNews2







Sunday, October 21, 2018

OctPoWriMo 2018: Day 21: Hideous Death or Merely Misery


Since I have the libido of roadkill
I really couldn't give a rip
Whether it's love or lust
If there was a spark in the dark
I probably didn't notice
My desire is long dead and buried in a desert 
Or a scrap heap
Or a tomb with no view
And I have no intentions of reviving it
Anytime in the near future
Or ever
I'm better off without it
But I am questioning
And I am deciding
Whether this wretched cough
Complete with nasty mucus
Is just a lousy cold
Or if this awful feeling
Like someone set an anvil on my chest
Is in fact the beginnings
Of something quite a bit worse
Like maybe Captain Trips
So my choices boil down to this:
Am I a miserable hypochondriac
Or am I about to leave behind a really vile corpse
For some unfortunate soul to discover
Laying on the couch
Slime running from the eyes, nose, and mouth
Of my putrefying body
Kitchen Nightmares playing on the computer
I will die thinking 
If Gordon Ramsay survives
He will cut Randall Flagg to bits with his words
Thus ends my alternate universe version of The Stand
And now, if you'll excuse me
I must cough up a lung
By now it should come as no surprise
That I don't have a man in my life
My Give-A-Fuck broke a long time ago
No fellow in his right mind wants a partner
With a twisted sense of humor like mine

~Cie~


Sunday, October 26, 2014

OctPoWriMo 2014: Day 26

Hitchcock was indeed a master
I also loved his dry sense of humor on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents program
A trivia niblet:
Bill Mumy once spoke about working with both Alfred Hitchcock and Rod Serling. He said that Rod Serling was just the sweetest guy, so easy to get along with. If anyone messed up a line, he'd say "hey, that's all right, let's try it again."
Hitchcock, conversely, said:
"Little boy, if you mess up that line again, I'll eat you."
Just a little fun, remembering a talented curmudgeon who was one of my heroes of the film world. They don't make 'em like him any more!

Driving Force
For Spectra Ghostseeker

Sometimes the drive I feel to enter our secret universe 
And tell the tales that creep and crawl and dance and sway from synapse to synapse 
Is nothing short of frightening
It makes me wonder if perhaps I'm truly mad

In the darkness of my mind, spooky images delight
Where this compulsion to dream darkly comes from is mysterious
Why have I always sought the shadow?
Why have I never desired to dance in the light?

A clock striking midnight sets my heart to pounding
I tear out my heart and throw it upon my keyboard with a thud
I pour out my life's blood in these tales that I craft
Indeed, they may be nonsense to the outside observer peering in the window of my mind
But they mean the world to me

~Dolly~




Word Prompts: 
                                     Frightening
                                     Darkness
                                     Spooky
                                     Mysterious
                                     Thud
                                     Striking
                                     Midnight
                                     Pounding

Thursday, October 16, 2014

OctPoWriMo 2014: Day 16


The Ballad of Desmond, Serafina, and Moses

Once upon a time
What happened might blow your mind
At least the night for grim events was correct
It happened on Halloween, as you might expect

The brothers Desmond and Moses
Decorated the cemetery with roses
To keep the dead a-resting in the ground
But they noticed a disturbance on a new mound

They'd never seen anything so frightful
And at the same time so delightful
As the creature that crawled from that unquiet barrow
The sight of her chilled them to the marrow

Her name was Serafina
Her husband couldn't have been mean-a
He beat her beyond an inch of her life
He said she had been an unfaithful wife

The brothers were gifted at talking to the dead
They could have run, but they stayed and faced her instead
They hoped if they approached her in a gentler way
She'd see fit to let them live to see the light of day

"Dear lady why do you rise from your bed in the ground?
The sight of you will terrorize folks all over town!"
The expression on her face was quite intense
"I've only come back to act in my own defense."

"On Halloween, who will notice one zombie more?
I'm going to find my husband and even the score
I'm not here to eat brains or cause infections and rot
I've only come back to get my revenge on that sot"


They walked through the village on that magical night
The witches and devils made quite a sight
Some seemed to be actually floating in air
Moses and Desmond could not help but stare

"What is this sorcery?" Moses asked of his brother
Desmond replied, "I know not, but I'd like to discover.
This is the strangest of Halloweens I've ever seen
I simply must know what all of it means."

"The truth," said Serafina, "is that I am a witch.
Before my husband beat me and left me for dead in a ditch
I cast a spell to bring me back from the grave
He may think that he's won, but he can't be saved."


People in fabulous costumes walked along down the road
There was a lord and a lady, and even a toad
No one paid any mind to the walking dead lady
They found her appearance not one little bit shady


Serafina found her husband passed out drunk on the bed
She dragged him down to the sea and threw him in on his head
He sunk to the depths and the fish ate his eyes
Nobody missed him for they thought him no prize

The brothers thought that Serafina would return to the ground
But she hadn't gotten to live long and wanted to stick around
They feared if she stayed she'd continue to rot
But thought it wouldn't be fair not to give her a shot

As zombies may go, Serafina is really quite nice
She won't eat your brains, she prefers champagne on ice
She sleeps during the day and rises at dark
You sometimes might see her casting spells in the park

You may think our little tale is a bit disconnected
From the world of the undead with brain virus infected
But just as every person doesn't do things the same
Some zombies have things besides brains on the brain

~Gretyll Hus~

Gifted, adjective: Having exceptional talent or natural ability.

Intense, adjective: Of extreme force, degree, or strength; (of an action) highly concentrated; having or showing strong feelings or opinions; extremely earnest or serious.

Rot, verb: (Chiefly of animal or vegetable matter) decay or cause to decay by the action of bacteria and fungi; decompose; gradually deteriorate through lack of attention or opportunity; noun: The process of decaying; rotten or decayed matter; a process of deterioration; a decline in standards.

Prompts Used:

All images besides the first are public domain


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

OctPoWriMo 2014: Day 14


A Poem for Mr. Poe
by his admirer, 
Ms. Morella La Muerte

Photo by Julie Jordan Scott

Edgar, would you climb the stairs with me
Up to the poetry room
We will while away the afternoon
And share the treasures of our minds

We will muse on the demons of our minds
Fears of burial alive
Fears of dying before our time
Fears of remaining alive too long after it

We will speak of dead things rising from tombs
Of crumbling old mansions
Of black cats and red death
Of kingdoms by the sea

Edgar, will you come write with me?
I know the demons from the darkness of your mind
Troubled you greatly as mine do me
We have known the foul tomb of despair

Photo by Julie Jordan Scott

Edgar, would it surprise you to know
That your work was a light in my darkness?
That you inspired me to write rather than take my own life
That you may have done the same for many?

I am sorry for your suffering
I grieve for your despair
But I celebrate your gift to the world
I give thanks that you were here

~Morella La Muerte~