The whole Blackpool Bay dock area smelt like fish. Old, barnacled fishing boats lined its sides as weathered men dourly stomped awkwardly around with seemingly uncertain land-legs. Fish and other slimy things were hidden away in crates and being loaded into small, unmarked vans. Even the old man behind the front[…]
Read moreCategory: Horror & Dark Fiction
A collection of flash fiction horror and dark fantasy stories.
The Mouth in the Wall
“Psst! Hey! Sweet, little child, if you give me that loaf of bread you’re holding, then I’ll give you a chocolate cake,” a small voice suddenly whispered into his ear. He jumped up from where he had been crouching. Turning around, he saw a small mouth in the wall he[…]
Read moreCourt of the Sunflower King
The Sunflower King sat on his cold throne of petals brooding. The shadows in his Court were growing long and the Sun was nearly set. Everyone was gone. They were always gone. He thought he could smell the kitchens firing and hear the clink of glasses being set out in[…]
Read moreWhen Death Wore Lipstick
She watched the streetlights go by. One by one, they flashed by the bus’s window. At the next stop, after shooting the other passenger and the bus driver, she got out. It late at night. No one was around. The bus just sat there idling as the bus driver and the[…]
Read moreElysium Field
When Kenneth died–or was unwillingly murdered in a lonely field outside of town, as he would be quick to tell anyone that would listen–he found that he could not move on. It is true what they say about unfinished business, and so Kenneth stayed behind long after his body had[…]
Read moreThe Beast
Lucifer had no real plan. He was curious, and a bit arrogant. But, mostly, he was bored. God had created the world. It was beautiful and harmonious. The fish swam, the birds flew, the animals ran through the green lands with rivers flowing and oceans full of life. All things[…]
Read moreThe Mad Moors of Calum
There are the numerous locals stories of wee people and spirits, talk about the curse of a dying witch, and then there is my story. I will not indulge the former stories, but the latter I will explain as best as I can. I was shuffled off to Scotland for[…]
Read moreFragile Creatures
He watches the butterfly flutter over the busy road. It is late afternoon and the cars scream by, probably on their way home from work. The colourful little creature fights her way to land on his hand. She is so light and fragile, he can barely feel her weight resting[…]
Read moreBuying a Soul
“Souls! Souls! This way, sir!” the enchanted shadow calls, his form is pitch-black except for the white shirt indicating that whoever he was stolen from was wearing a suit, “Souls, souls, souls! Big ones, small ones, angry ones, loving ones… This way, sir, we have them all.” I nod and[…]
Read moreMe, Myself and the Fae
As a child, I had a best friend. He was mischievous and funny. His smile sparkled and his eyes twinkled as we ran through the grass down the bottom of our garden. It was our secret time in our secret world, but he had to leave. Or was it me[…]
Read moreThe Old Man and the Stars
As evening fell in the quiet town of Blackpool Bay, a strange man walked into the General Store. No one had seen him arrive, but no one had been specifically looking. This was all a bit unusual, as few people travelled this far along the coast and outsiders stuck out[…]
Read moreMiggi Island
The people of the island had simple lives. It was quiet and far away from civilisation. They were too remote even for the most adventurous trader, particularly since they had nothing to trade. War was foreign and the only politics were around the Raincoming Day when the men would bargain[…]
Read moreWarriors of Yesteryear
“Back then you knew who your enemy was, but now… Now, it is different. How can I fight what I cannot see?” she begins venting the moment she sits down. We are sitting in a quiet corner of a coffee shop that I use for these sorts of interviews. I pull[…]
Read moreThe Ladies of Llewelyn Library
My research has taken me to some strange places, but none more so than the old colonial Llewelyn Library in Rhodesia. I boarded a ship from London that rounded the Cape and dropped me off in a tropical Durban. From there I caught a lift up to a dusty Johannesburg[…]
Read moreShadow of Nobbs Road
There was something off about that part of Nobbs Road. When I stood there in the day, it felt like home. Yes. Indeed, I had lived there for a number of years in a creaky old house with beautifully kept wooden floors and a large, ornate, green gate made of[…]
Read moreThe Forgotten Gods of Jozi
The Corner Office
“Girls don’t get the corner office, Suz,” chuckled the boss, Jeff Jeoffery’s or JJ. It was her first week in the office. It was also the moment that her goal was given both a name and an obstruction. While all the other girls were worrying about boys, she had spent her breaks in[…]
Read moreThe Nature of Permanence
The Priest noticed that in one of the church’s back rows there was a strange man. He had not noticed the man there before, but he could well have slipped in at any time. People did that sometimes. Some people preferred doing that. Besides, it was a big church with[…]
Read moreLittle Lily White
In the woods, there is a small, overgrown path. This path leads to a small, overgrown clearing. In this small, overgrown clearing lies a weathered, moss-covered gravestone. There is no name chiselled onto it nor any flowers or gifts on the grave. Only after a few drinks will farmers in[…]
Read moreCold-Blooded Conclusions
Human’s never really got off Earth, but they did manage to not destroy themselves for a good couple hundred years before civilisation collapsed. Another dark age would ensue. Ages would pass forgotten in the ruins that followed. Eventually, the world was unrecognisable. Nature and man having grown so close that[…]
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