Flies thrive on dirt and grime. Even so, they do attempt to clean themselves, brushing their heads and bodies. In the process, a fly can decapitate itself at times. Headless flies can then go on to live for several days – if it can be called living.
Recently Added
The Beast with Five Fingers By W. F. HARVEY
When I was a little boy I once went with my father to call on Adrian Borlsover. I played on the floor with a black spaniel while my father
THE JUNIPER-TREE By Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
A rich couple longed for a child. The wife prayed under a juniper tree, and eventually gave birth to a boy as white as snow and red as blood
THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR by Edgar Allan Poe
THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR by Edgar Allan Poe Of course I shall not pretend to consider it any matter for wonder, that the extraordinary case of M. Valdemar
Never Bet the Devil Your Head by Edgar Allan Poe
NEVER BET THE DEVIL YOUR HEAD A Tale With a Moral. by Edgar Allan Poe “Con tal que las costumbres de un autor,” says Don Thomas de las Torres,
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The story begins in Salem village, where young Goodman Brown bids farewell to his wife, Faith, to embark on a mysterious night journey.
Drone by Salvatore Difalco
A fly flew into Diego’s mouth. He spluttered and waved his arms around, disgusted. One hundred Fahrenheit in the shade and the flies buzzed undeterred.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce is a classic and chilling short story.
The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft
In the depths of the ocean, an ancient evil stirs from its aeons-long slumber, sending ripples of madness across the globe. As a young man delves into his late uncle’s research, he uncovers a terrifying conspiracy
THE MINISTER’S BLACK VEIL A PARABLE by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Another clergyman in New England, Mr. Joseph Moody, of York, Maine, who died about eighty years since, made himself remarkable by the same eccentricity that is here related
The Witch by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
In a remote church hut during a fierce snowstorm, Savely Gykin, the sexton, suspects his young, attractive wife Raissa of being a witch who can control the weather to lure men to their dwelling.
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH by Edgar Allen Poe The “Red Death” had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal—the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, […]
When the Moon is Full and Bright by Ty Green
Blanche took the high ground, like Grandma and Grampa had taught her. On the Chaney Junior High School playground, this was the top of the jungle gym, a towering monstrosity of looping stainless steel that few of the other kids ever dared to scale.
Questions For Vampires by Anastasia Gustafson
Marcus didn’t mean to kill Angelina. Not really. But she was dead as a doornail, alright, and white as a sheet. In his candle-lit studio apartment, strewn with white rose petals and piles of books,
The Many Laments of Dagda Lichfield by Kit Zimmerman
Dagda could hear the mob beating on the many dilapidated entrances of Ashview Manor. Sweat, dripping from his aquiline nose, conspired with wheezing
For the Blood is the Life by F. Marion Crawford
We had dined at sunset on the broad roof of the old tower, because it was cooler there during the great heat of summer. Besides, the little kitchen was built at one corner of the great square
Contemporary
Missing Pipes, Nuts and Screws by Adaora Ogunniyi
‘My toast is too dry; it’s scratching my lips, Daddy!’
Trick of the Light by Dan Caine
He woke up in a white room. It was white for only a second before he felt something brush against his legs, blinked, and beheld
Full Moon Nights by Roopa Raveendran Menon
Full Moon Nights by Roopa Raveendran Menon We decided to take Arjun’s new car for a spin. It didn’t matter to us it was close to midnight when we made the plan. No rules, as far as we knew, existed in the matter of maiden car voyages and their timing. It’s a full Moon night, said Arjun.
Some Freaks Sleep When They Go To Bed by Scott Pomfret
Some freaks sleep when they go to bed. No tossing and turning. No dread. No rehashing bad choices and personal humiliations. No plotting endless revenge. Such monsters can’t be trusted. They inevitably have parents they admire, who are their best friends, who never spanked or raised their voices, and collected spare bikes from the town […]
The hunt for the desired ratio by Marie Hanna Curran
Stepping out of the large arena, I asked the expansive blue sky, “What do you think of all this begging?”
Dear You By Angela Carlton
Dear You By Angela Carlton: I am caught up in the silence, your web, those promises, each one wicked. As I lay in silk with you,
Stuck Between the Pages by Julia Vellucci
How do I know I’m real and not just a fragment of somebody’s imagination? How do I know I’m not just words on a page living
I Knew You’d Come Back to Me by DD Creed
Evelyn sat solemnly, staring out the frost-lined window. Wind howled across the sagging eaves as snow
Falling Out by Lenka Miklosova Vrazda
An evening catches you again softly wrapped in your flannel comforter. Somewhere in this house
Saving Alice by Angela Carlton
Saving Alice by Angela Carlton: I’m in the hospital, but I don’t know why?
Jacobs Shadow by Kate E. Lore
Jacob’s shadow stretches tall before him, the dark shape of himself pulled out like silly putty, like his past inescapable, and now thanks to the police
The Guitar Man and the Pigeon by Ben Westerham
Ben Westerham has recently let slip the chains of paid employment so he can spend ever more time writing crime, mystery and thriller stories as well as spending time reading, gardening and uncovering fascinating nuggets about his criminal ancestors.
A Job of Work by Salvatore Difalco
Part of my responsibilities included watching over the people in hibernation. Checking gauges, testing the surface tension of the Plexiglass housing, monitoring moisture and so on
The Shine of a Sinful Heart by Ximena Escobar
Her small chest woke her. The heart rattling inside it. Like an alarm clock palpitating in secrecy, until the time came that she could no longer ignore it.
Christmas
Berenice by Edgar Allan Poe
Dicebant mihi sodales, si sepulchrum amicae visitarem, curas meas aliquar tulum fore levatas.—Ebn Zaiat.
Misery is manifold. The wretchedness of earth is multiform. Overreaching the wide horizon as the rainbow,
Classic
My Own True Ghost Story by Rudyard Kipling
“My Own True Ghost Story” is a short story by Rudyard Kipling that blends elements of humor, suspense, and the supernatural. The story is narrated
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be […]
THE Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
The Monkey’s Paw I. Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that […]
The Devil in the Belfry by Edgar Allan Poe
The Devil in the Belfry by Edgar Allan Poe: Everybody knows, in a general way, that the finest place in the world is—or, alas, was—the Dutch borough of Vondervotteimittiss. Yet as it lies
You Complete Me by Adele Evershed
The year before, she was like the last prom dress left hanging on the rail, a bit sad but still hopeful. Then he walked into her life, all clichéd–tall, dark, and handsome
Horror Stories
The Pumpkin Giant by Mary Wilkins Freeman
A very long time ago, before our grandmother’s time, or our great-grandmother’s, or our grandmothers’ with a very long string of greats prefixed
A Vampire by G. J. Whyte-Melville
Recurring encounters over many years with the mysterious and alluring Madame de St. Croix, who seems to maintain eternal youth and beauty while spellbinding a succession of men, is she a vampire?
The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling
“The Mark of the Beast” helped popularize and cement the werewolf as a staple figure in horror fiction. But many examples of werewolf literature existed for centuries prior to when Kipling published his story in 1890.
Dracula’s Guest by Bram Stoker
When we started for our drive the sun was shining brightly on Munich, and the air was full of the joyousness of early summer. Just as we were about to depart, Herr Delbrück (the maître d’hôtel of the Quatre Saisons, where I was staying) came down, bareheaded, to the carriage and, after wishing me a […]
A Nightmare by Anton Chekhov
Kunin, a wealthy landowner and member of the Rural Board, invites Father Yakov, the young village priest, to discuss opening a church school. Kunin is shocked by Father Yakov’s shabby appearance and lack of dignity, seeing him as unfit for the priesthood.