Raw Earth Ink
Spit mixed with dirt – Muddy words flow
The Hawthorne Project book excerpt – ‘In the Shadow of the Seam’ by Robert Birkhofer
The following is an excerpt of the short story: In the Shadow of the Seam by Robert Birkhofer, which you can find in the anthology The Hawthorne Project. Inside you’ll find ten dark and creepy stories written by him and other amazing authors. I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Oh, and click any of the links below to buy.
Esther sat outside the Milwaukee Art Museum, perched on a bench along the shore of Lake Michigan. Marigold skies above reflected in unperturbed waters below, and between the two sat Esther, eating her dinner and watching the day die.
Esther had visited the museum to see a special exhibition featuring the woodblock prints of Hokusai, the Japanese artist. Specifically, she had wanted to see The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Hokusai’s most famous work, in person. She had spent all afternoon standing in front of the image, lost in its every detail.
In the print, a blue behemoth of a wave towered over three fishing boats. The wave reared its foamy crest and spat briny spray at the sailors below it. The men on the boats were resolute, but surely doomed, because the wave was poised to crash down on them with all the fury of the sea.
On her bench outside the museum, Esther ate a few berries and listened to the gentle undulations of Lake Michigan. She took a sip from her green smoothie and tried to imagine what the Great Wave must have sounded like as it engulfed the fishermen and their boats, claiming them all for the deep.
“Nice pants.”
Esther choked on her mouthful of smoothie. She hadn’t even noticed the stranger approach her bench. “I—I’m sorry?”
“Those are nice pants,” the woman repeated. “Where’d you get them?”
“Oh, um.” Esther cleared her throat. “I made them, actually. I’m a clothing designer. I have a shop just around the corner.”
The newcomer was a handful of years older than Esther—late thirties, maybe—and from her jacket to her boots, she was dressed completely in gray.
“Tore my favorite pair of pants at work the other day,” the woman said. “Was a real bitch.”
Esther smiled apologetically. “Life’s a bitch, right?”
The woman snorted. “Life is bullshit, is what it is.” And then, without asking for or waiting for an invitation, she sat down beside Esther and gazed out at the water. “Don’t mind if I smoke, do you?”
Esther did mind, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she ate another berry and studied the stranger on her bench out of the corner of her eye. Like Esther, the woman was slender and had short hair. Unlike Esther’s neat buzz, however, the older woman had more of an unkempt pixie, and it was a lighter shade than Esther’s raven. Her all-gray look wasn’t an entirely unpleasing aesthetic, but she would have benefited from a splash of color in there somewhere.
“What, um, kind of work do you do?” Esther ventured, for lack of a better thing to say.
The stranger sighed out a smoky cloud, looked at Esther, and with more than a little pride, said, “I kill ghosts. Send the fucking cunts straight back to wherever the hell.”
Esther opened her mouth to reply, could think of nothing to say, and closed it again.
“Most ghosts are harmless, but there are some murderous ones out there, just like there are murderers among us here in life. Stalkers and psychos that prey on the helpless. My team and I track those ghosts down, and then we put them down.”
Esther took a drink from her smoothie.
“Most people don’t even know they’re being haunted until it’s too late,” the woman went on. “There are lots of early warning signs, but people usually don’t recognize them for what they are. Pictures that won’t hang straight, mirrors that don’t reflect right, lights that flicker. Haven’t noticed anything like that at your place, have you?”
“Um, no.”
“Well, like I said,” the lady in gray went on, “life is bullshit. But I figure that if I can bring a little bit of order to all the chaos in this messy world…then maybe it will all be worth it in the end. Life, I mean. Killing ghosts is my way of bringing order.”
Light had been steadily fleeing the sky above the two women. Esther made a show of looking at her watch and making an oh-is-that-what-time-it-is? noise. “I should, um, probably get going.”
“Yeah. Good talk. Hey, I’m Dimeter by the way.”
“Esther,” Esther replied, extending her hand. After they shook, Esther discovered that Dimeter had pressed a small card into her palm.
“If you notice anything weird,” Dimeter said, nodding at the card, “call me.”
Esther nodded.
After Dimeter had walked away, Esther looked down at the business card she held. It was creased in the middle, and one of the corners was folded over. It said:
THE WATCHERS
Experts in paranormal activity
Experienced ghost exterminators
On the back, there was a phone number. Because Esther didn’t want Dimeter to see her tossing it in the trash, she slipped the card into her purse.
As Esther finished her supper, the sky above her faded to black. The reflections in the water surrendered their glittering luster to the night, until all that remained were murmuring waves in the darkness.
You can find Robert’s story, along with nine additional ones, in The Hawthorne Project. Each creepy tale interweaves with the others for a week of terror on Hawthorne Drive, a small cul-de-sac in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Buy it at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or on your Kindle.
The Hawthorne Project book excerpt – ‘The Woman in the Window’ by Mark Towse
The following is an excerpt of the short story: The Woman in the Window by Mark Towse, which you can find in the anthology The Hawthorne Project. Inside you’ll find ten dark and creepy stories written by him and other amazing authors. I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Oh, and click any of the links below to buy.
The roar from what seemed to be the loudest lawnmower in the world escalated the intensity of the blood pounding in Chris’s ears. Morning light seeped through the threadbare curtains, spilling across his eyes like acid. Quickly, he turned away, a burst of pain exploding across his forehead as he connected with the wooden leg of the couch. His stomach churned then, accompanied by a bolt of fiery reflux that eventually exploded in his throat, providing an unholy concoction of tobacco and garlic. Fuck this! Chris stayed completely still, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the world to stop. In the background, in a well-practiced morose tone, the reporter on the television spoke of a neighborhood dispute, resulting in one man getting a crossbow bolt lodged in his neck.
It was all too much for him. “Fuck suburbia,” he said under his breath as he finally began pushing himself up, unwittingly slipping his fingers into the soft gooey leftovers of last night’s pizza.
Carnage surrounded him; empty beer bottles, greasy pizza boxes, ashtrays spilling over like volcanoes, and on the coffee table next to him, a plastic bag containing four mushrooms. The dampness of his right leg brought the night flooding back, and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be back at home in the comfort of his bedroom where everything was safe and familiar. He’d been missing home a lot of late, but events last night had given the yearning a physical ache in the pit of his stomach.
The urgency for headache tablets overturned the temporary melancholy, and Chris began stepping over the bodies sprawled across the carpet, two of which he didn’t even recognize. Adam was asleep on the couch, fingers still wrapped around a bong, a slice of half-eaten pizza resting on his already considerable belly.
“Adam,” he hissed. Nothing. “Adam!” he repeated. There were a couple of moans from behind, but no sign of life from his friend on the couch. Only when he intentionally collided with his friend’s feet hanging over the edge did Adam let out a snort and open his eyes.
“Sorry, bud,” Chris said.
“What time is it? What day is it?” Adam croaked.
“Tablets?”
“Yeah. Second drawer down,” Adam said, closing his eyes again.
“I know where they are,” Chris said, stepping over Jon, noting the peaceful look on his face. He pushed the kitchen door open, sighing as the carnage confronted him. “You’ve got to be kidding,” he said under his breath.
Trying to ignore the mess, he filled two glasses with water. Only six pills left. He made a mental note—the same one as last week—to get more from the supermarket. He washed two of them down. The water didn’t taste like home; it was harsher.
“I had a weird one last night,” he said to Adam, handing him the other glass and more pills.
“Oh man, me too!” Adam replied, pushing himself up and grimacing as the pain took hold. “Pills first, though,” he said, reaching for the glass.
Chris sat down on the arm of the adjacent chair, being careful not to disturb Becky. “Those mushrooms, man; who brought them? Strong stuff, and—real dark. I mean, d-a-r-k.”
“Tell me about it! That’s why I started on the bong, just to try and take the edge off.”
“I remember going upstairs to the bathroom,” Chris started. “I kept thinking someone was behind me, and I thought I could hear whispering. But it wasn’t normal whispering; it was like, in my head. I turned, but there was nobody there. I just put it down to the wind whistling through the cheap-ass door that the landlord installed. Even when I got upstairs, I could feel it, though—a presence—you know, a vibe that something wasn’t right.”
“Oh man, you thought that was bad, just—”
“Hey, I’m not finished!” Chris snapped. “I looked down to unzip, and then I heard someone whisper again, or at least I heard it in my head. It was a man’s voice, Adam. He said my name.”
“Well, I thought it might be one of you lot playing a prank at first, but when I looked down the landing, I couldn’t see anyone. Anyway, I shut the door and tried to take a piss. Another whisper—my name again. No way was I going to be able to go, so I zipped up and threw some water on my face. When I reached for the towel, I saw him—in the mirror, standing behind me. He was—”
“Faceless,” Adam offered solemnly, his suddenly pale face exposing the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes.
“How the hell did you know?” Chris spat.
“I saw him, too,” Adam said.
You can find Mark’s story, along with nine additional ones, in The Hawthorne Project. Each creepy tale interweaves with the others for a week of terror on Hawthorne Drive, a small cul-de-sac in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Buy it at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or on your Kindle.
The Hawthorne Project book excerpt – ‘Voices in the Flames’ by Joshua Marsella
The following is an excerpt of the short story: Voices in the Flames by Joshua Marsella, which you can find in the anthology The Hawthorne Project. Inside you’ll find ten dark and creepy stories written by him and other amazing authors. I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Oh, and click any of the links below to buy.
A shrill, resounding bark accompanied by the smell of searing meat snapped Priscilla out of her daydream. She leapt up from her seat at the kitchen table as fast as her old legs would allow. Her nightgown barely moved as the soles of her slippers shuffled along the linoleum floor. Elvis continued to yip at her ankles, herding her to the stove.
“Oh, be quiet, you. I have everything under control,” she scoffed, shooing the Bolognese away.
Elvis did as he was told. He tucked his fluffy tail between his legs, then sat down in front of his food dish. She had forgotten to feed him again. Not intentionally, of course, but her memory was getting worse by the day. Sometimes a little bark was enough to remind his forgetful master that he was still around.
Priscilla turned the knob on the stove, switching off the burner. The leftover ham was blackened on one side and dry as a sponge. There was no way she’d be able to eat it now. Letting out a sigh of disappointment at her mistake and the realization that she was likely to go hungry this morning, she looked down at her little white dog and smiled. His tail wagging excitedly.
“Well buddy, looks like you’re eating like a king today,” she picked up the hunk of meat with a fork and dropped it into Elvis’s bowl. He immediately sunk his teeth into the ham steak without hesitation. “May as well get you some water while I’m down here.” She picked up the empty dish and straightened back up. Her spine let out a few pops and crackles. With her free hand cupping the small of her back, her stomach growled as she made her way to the sink.
Letting the water run for a minute to get cold, she gazed out the window into the front yard. A shimmering frost coated the grass and dead copper-colored leaves that had fallen overnight from her beloved sugar maple. She had planted that tree shortly after the house was built. This was before the cul-de-sac had been constructed then named after her husband, before the other houses were built, but several years after the massive fire.
A light was on at the house across the street. The men who lived there seemed to always wake up early which she saw as admirable. She had never spoken to them, so she had no idea what they did for a living. She couldn’t decide whether they were snobs or whether her demeanor was too cold and uninviting. Didn’t matter either way. She enjoyed being alone most of the time. Besides, she had her Elvis.
Autumn was in full swing. She recognized the amber glaze of the late October sunrise which meant only one thing—Halloween was coming up.
Setting the bowl down, Elvis immediately took several gulps of the cool tap water to wash down his dry, yet sumptuous breakfast. Priscilla stroked the curls on his back a few times before going about her day.
Leaning over the kitchen sink, she grabbed the bottle of medication off the windowsill, popped it open, and removed the cotton ball. Tapping the bottle, she dropped two blue pills into her palm and chased them with a glass of lukewarm water. She was behind on her weekly cleaning and preferred sticking to her routine.
Two cups of black coffee later and she’d perked up enough to get the floors swept and mopped and the curtains pulled down for a washing. She always loved the way the house felt after a good tidying up. It was so welcoming and cozy. A record was spinning on the turntable, filling the old house with the familiar sounds of The Everly Brothers, then The Duprees, followed up by Elvis Presley, of course. Her musical tastes had never evolved beyond the days of doowop and who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp. To her recollection, those were the best of times.
After picking at it for most of the morning, Elvis had had his fill of the ham steak and skittered through the living room to the front door to be let outside. He let out a yip that startled Priscilla who was emptying the dustpan into the garbage can.
“Dang it, Elvis! You know that scares me every time. I’m coming, boy, just hold your horses,” she said, giving the dustpan one last shake before clipping it to the broom handle. Walking to meet Elvis at the door, she retrieved the leash from the wall hook and clipped it to his collar.
“Just let me grab my coat.” Elvis barked once more, pacing anxiously in a circle. As she slung her coat over her shoulders, a hard knock came at the front door. She gasped and slid her back against the wall. Elvis retreated to the living room, dragging the leash behind him. “Some guard dog you are,” Priscilla scoffed in a loud whisper. “Coward.”
She stood still, waiting to see if the person would leave after no one answered the door. She could feel her heart pounding. A few more kicks to the old ticker might just do me in for good one of these days, she thought, holding her hand to her chest.
Another hard knock sounded at the door. Priscilla inhaled deeply, trying to build up the courage to peek out the window. For as long as she could remember, she suffered from an extreme case of social anxiety and did not appreciate uninvited visitors, especially solicitors. She had nothing to offer anyone and appreciated being left well enough alone.
She stepped in front of the door and positioned her good eye in front of the peephole. Letting her sight adjust to the tiny fisheye lens, she was surprised to see there was nobody standing on the other side the door. Moving her head around trying to get a better look, she couldn’t see anyone. Was this a prank? Even more than uninvited visitors and solicitors, she loathed pranksters. She turned and glanced at the calendar on her wall. October 30. Of course. This was nothing more than a pre-Halloween prank being played by one of the handful of children that lived on Hawthorne.
Still, she couldn’t shake her timidness over the thought that it might be something else. Mustering up some courage, she decided to take a chance and open the door. She unlocked the deadbolt, then waited with her hand gripping the knob for just a moment before swinging open the door. A rush of refreshing autumn air met her as she stepped forward and looked around the yard. Still not a soul in sight.
“Hm. Come on ya big chicken,” she called to Elvis. “Let’s go potty.”
Elvis scurried back to the front door and paused at Priscilla’s feet, allowing her to grab hold of the leash. They stepped out into the yard together and Elvis lead her onto the grass to relieve himself. Feeling anxious after leaving the safety of her house, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched from all directions. The cul-de-sac was always quiet on Friday mornings. Some of her neighbors appeared to be home.
Elvis finished, then turned and scraped at the grass with his hind legs. This always made her chuckle. Looking around the yard, she noticed the frost had burned off in the mid-morning sunlight. The fresh air felt nice after cleaning all morning.
“Pssst,” a noise sounded from behind her. She turned expecting to see one of the children that lived on Hawthorne peeking from around the corner but saw no one.
“Pssst,” she heard again, from the opposite direction. This time it was followed by a childlike giggle. She turned towards the noise and again, seeing no one. A chill ran down her spine and she gently tugged on the leash to hurry Elvis along.
“Come on, boy. That’s eno—” she froze as she felt a rush of warm air blow onto her neck and ear. The smell of sulfur and spoiled milk permeated her nostrils. She could sense a presence standing within inches of her, breathing down her neck. Snapping her head around, she screamed, “Leave me alone!” Swinging her hands up around her head, accidentally jerking Elvis forward in the process. He let out a pained yip and ran to her feet.
You can find Joshua’s story, along with nine additional ones, in The Hawthorne Project. Each creepy tale interweaves with the others for a week of terror on Hawthorne Drive, a small cul-de-sac in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Buy it at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or on your Kindle.
The Hawthorne Project book excerpt – ‘The Hole Truth in the Yellow House’ by Tristan Drue Rogers and Sarah Anne Rogers
The following is an excerpt of the short story: The Hole Truth in the Yellow House by Tristan Drue Rogers and Sarah Anne Rogers, which you can find in the anthology The Hawthorne Project. Inside you’ll find ten dark and creepy stories written by them and other amazing authors. I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Oh, and click any of the links below to buy.
Debbie scanned through every room, unable to find her son, Choice. That mix of movement and breathing kept scratching at her eardrum and her heart. She was starting to panic.
Swinging the door open into the backyard, she winced at her inability to sneak up on whatever was going on. Debbie saw the old man next door in the beige house just standing there on his back porch, hardly moving at all, but definitely glaring at her.
He doesn’t wave back anyway. Maybe he doesn’t see me, she thought to herself. Or just old and pilled-out or whatever. She was ashamed of that thought, but kept on pursuing her son. No reason to let manners, or lack of, get in the way of finding Choice.
.Debbie turned her head back to her yard, still unable to see much of anything. She looked back at the old man, now realizing that he barely looked like himself. He was more a shadow now than her own silhouette against the pavement. She had seen the old man on many occasions. The old man seemed to frown while his sights were set on the tree on Debbie’s side of the fence. He turned just then, stepping through the backdoor, and disappearing for the rest of the night. She didn’t recall him opening the door, though, she thought, the night can play tricks on people.
Running to the tree—each footstep crunching into the dead leaves—Debbie tripped and fell onto the ground, but finally reached the other side as she slammed into the dirt through the piles of leaves where she discovered what those strange noises were and what they had to do with Choice.
Her son was digging rapidly. Silently, carefully. He created a hole that had gotten to be knee deep for any adult who stepped down into it, almost at the waist for Choice.
Debbie lay there on the dirt like a collection of chopped wood tossed about the yard. Her body was frozen, however, her intensions were to stand and hold her little boy. Nothing could stop that.
“Choice! What are you doing?”
She didn’t receive any kind of answer or acknowledgement. Debbie tried to lift herself up. She fell back down due to the pain that her arms and wrists felt when holding the weight of her body. She hadn’t thought her fall was that serious before, now she wasn’t so sure. Realizing that she was running out of time before something crazy happened, even though she didn’t know why her internal clock was counting down, or to what, the adrenaline kept her going enough to crawl into the hole.
Now that she was within arm’s reach of her son, Debbie grabbed him and pulled him in close. Half of her body was hanging down into the deepening hole with her son in her grasp and the other was uncomfortably set onto the high ground.
“Baby,” she said. “What are you doing?” Debbie saw little knickknacks and items that were lined up in a row from where she had pulled him. There was an old rusty pocket watch, a wooden fishing lure, and a knife with the blade out and ready to use.
She pulled Choice’s face to hers, attempting to align their eyes. Choice didn’t look like he was all there, more like sleep walking. Debbie had seen this exact face before on her brother, which is why she considered this likelihood, but that was so long ago and she wasn’t positive how her parents handled it, if at all. The one thing she was aware of was that she shouldn’t shake him awake or he could freak out.
“Mine,” said Choice.
Debbie’s heart sunk. “What—” She tried to ask a follow up question.
Choice interrupted. “My totems,” he said. “They’re mine. For safe keeping.”
Debbie stumbled to find her words, but pressed on until she found them. This time, she lessened her grip on her son, allowing him to go about whatever his sleepwalking compelled him to do. “Safe keeping for what?”
He started to dig again, only now he simply covered the items with the dirt, packing the ground with his palms. “To hide from mommy,” said Choice. “The Shadowy Man says she won’t understand and might take me away from him.”
Debbie was silent.
Choice kept going. “I’m scared that if I don’t keep quiet, I’d stop getting to see The Shadowy Man and then no more stuff to play with.”
The wind began blowing in the dead of night.
Debbie built up her strength, finally able to rise to a stand. “Choice,” she said. “Where is this shadowy man?”
“He was at home,” said her son, now climbing out of the hole.
“Where is he now?”
“He’s with us behind the tree,” he said.
You can find Tristan and Sarah’s story, along with nine additional ones, in The Hawthorne Project. Each creepy tale interweaves with the others for a week of terror on Hawthorne Drive, a small cul-de-sac in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Buy it at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or on your Kindle.
The Hawthorne Project book excerpt – ‘Manteo’ by Mark Ryan
The following is an excerpt of the short story: Manteo by Mark Ryan, which you can find in the anthology The Hawthorne Project. Inside you’ll find ten dark and creepy stories written by him and other amazing authors. I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Oh, and click any of the links below to buy.
When she was young, around nine or ten, Olivia and her sister had begun to be looked after by a Mrs. Langford who lived around the block from them. Up to that time, their mother had been taking them to their grandparent’s house when she needed to work. The life of a single mother gave her the added stress of holding down two jobs, and much of the time she would have to drop her kids off with her parents. This was only up to the time when her own father passed away, and her mother struggled both with his passing and then in being able to look after the kids. The demands of a nine and six-year-old were too much for her and the onset of dementia. Olivia loved her grandparents, and enjoyed staying with them with their giant yard, plentiful and delicious food, and the tender moments only a family could provide.
Mrs. Langford offered no tender moments, her food was minimal and foul, and she lived in a small unit that smelled of cat piss. Both she and her sister hated going to her house, as Mrs. Langford – though it was never known of a Mr. Langford – refused to come to theirs. In hindsight, Olivia was somewhat thankful of this as she had been a cruel and suspicious woman, and Olivia could only imagine her sniffing about her home and forcing the chores upon them. As it was, they did very little when they stayed with her, as she seemed not to care about her own surroundings. Being told to keep quiet and out of sight surprisingly worked for both parties when they would stay with her. Olivia and her sister Rachel would usually take to the only other bedroom in the unit, and were thankful for the wall and dividing door between them and the older woman, who would while away her time watching television and smoking away on her Camel cigarettes as the tiles above her caramelized.
It was rare, but sometimes they would have to sleep over when their mother worked, Olivia could recall only a handful of times, but one stood out more than any of the others. She and Rachel were in the small single bed that was pushed up to the wall beneath the tiny window. The cold air would seep in, but it gave them a sense of a world beyond the realm of Mrs. Langford and the smoke-filled unit. Rachel had fallen asleep, something Olivia struggled to do there. She had heard Mrs. Langford go to bed earlier, for once not spending the night on the couch with the tv blaring.
All was somewhat quiet when she heard a small sound coming from the other room. The cat usually went where Mrs. Langford went, but Olivia was sure she was in her own bedroom. Listening harder, she watched suddenly as the door of their room clicked open and slowly pushed itself ajar by an invisible hand. Olivia had sat up then, scared and unsure what to do. She wanted to wake her sister but was too scared to make a sound. She saw it then, a dark figure looming in the crack of the door. Its head started low and then moved upwardly as if independent from any body. It had no features, and even in the dead light she could see it was not human, the head was pulled back in an unnatural fashion. It hovered there, seeming to have noticed the girls in the bed.
She heard it then, a low breath, like steam out of a heated pipe. Not from the figure, but next to her, breathing in her ear like a dead tongue. Motionless she sat there; her hands gripped to the duvet. The door nudged open a tiny bit further and it seemed the figure were about to cross the threshold of their little protected sanctuary. Just then, she had seen a light go on in the other room, and she heard Mrs. Langford stumbling out to go to the bathroom. One of the only times Olivia was ever grateful for the old bag. Though the figure disappeared instantly, in the moment that the light was on she had seen the faceless image clearly; and with eyes that she knew weren’t there, she knew it had looked deep within her and marked her for something.
You can find Mark’s story, along with nine additional ones, in The Hawthorne Project. Each creepy tale interweaves with the others for a week of terror on Hawthorne Drive, a small cul-de-sac in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Buy it at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or on your Kindle.
The Hawthorne Project book excerpt – ‘When the Walls Fall Down’ by Lou Rasmus
The following is an excerpt of the short story: When the Walls Fall Down by Lou Rasmus, which you can find in the anthology The Hawthorne Project. Inside you’ll find ten dark and creepy stories written by him and other amazing authors. I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Oh, and click any of the links below to buy.
It’s a ceramic pan. There are two raw chicken thighs inside of the pan. Some olive oil is pooling beneath the chicken and then I add salt, pepper, onion powder, a little cayenne, and I top it with some herbs. The oven is at 400 degrees. The rack is on the second rung from the bottom. Before I put the pan in the oven, I mix the seasonings and the oil and the two raw chicken thighs until everything is evenly spread. The chicken is icy between my fingers; my fingers are slimy between the chicken and the oil.
It’s a ceramic pan. And there are two beating hearts inside of the pan. Ugly, vascular hearts. Going buh-bump buh-bump buh-bump. And buh-bump buh-bump buh-bump. My hands spasm and recoil. One heart beats faster and more erratically than the other. So much so that it beats over the edge of the ceramic pan and onto the floor. There’s a heavy, viscous pool of red where it lands. And then the thing just goes on beating – buh-bump buh-bump buh-bump – around the kitchen. One of the cats comes down from on top of the refrigerator where he was sleeping to look at it. His head turns one way and then the other as he studies it. It’s unfamiliar to him, a beating heart. He’s never seen anything like it. And when it goes beating and jumping around the kitchen it startles him. He jerks backward from it. He springs straight up into the air. And then he swats at it, with his little white paw. He swats at it in the fast, repetitive way cats swat at things. Like quick sideways jabs. But he can’t seem to get it. The heart is beating too fast and too erratically. It’s headed for the door. It’s leaving, I think to myself. I’m not sure where it’s leaving to, but I can tell that it doesn’t want to be here, so I let it go.
I look back down at the pan. It’s a ceramic pan. There are two raw chicken thighs in the pan and they’re mixed together with olive oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, cayenne, and some herbs. It’s just a regular pan with regular chicken. The one cat is asleep on the refrigerator and the other is sleeping on the couch in the living room, I’m sure. She sleeps there most of the day and usually through the night, too. The oven is at 400 degrees and the rack is on the second rung from the bottom of the oven. I put the pan into the oven, set a timer for forty minutes, and wash my hands.
When Oxford comes into the kitchen he asks me what’s for dinner.
The chicken thighs have been in the oven for ten minutes, I have vegetables sautéing on the stove, and some sweet potatoes are boiling in a pot.
“Your favorite,” I say brightly.
Oxford steps closer. A smile sneaks up on his face and he sniffs at the air. He has a cute, pointed nose, I think.
Then he says, “salmon? Is it the lemon-parmesan crusted salmon?”
I back myself up against the stovetop to hide the vegetables and sweet potatoes.
“Um…”
He comes closer and smiles bigger and sniffs a few more times.
“Oh!” Oxford says. “It smells like asparagus, too. Ah! I love asparagus Teddy!”
I stutter out a soft “well…”
He strides up to me until his chest is pressed against mine. Just enough for me to feel the size of his chest on mine. His broad and heavy and strong chest. It takes over my deflated frame and bends me backwards over the stovetop until the heat of the burners starts to make me sweat. That’s when he sees it. Over my shoulder he sees the sautéed vegetables and boiled sweet potatoes. His pointed little nose turns down.
“Wait,” he says. He grabs me by the arms and moves me to the side away from the oven door. Then he opens the oven, sees the chicken, and drops his head. He doesn’t slam the door shut, but he closes it hard enough to make it clear that what he was going to say next isn’t going to be good.
And what he says next isn’t good.
You can find Lou’s story, along with nine additional ones, in The Hawthorne Project. Each creepy tale interweaves with the others for a week of terror on Hawthorne Drive, a small cul-de-sac in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Buy it at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or on your Kindle.
The Hawthorne Project book excerpt – ‘What the Snow Brings’ by Chisto Healy
The following is an excerpt of the short story: What the Snow Brings by Chisto Healy, which you can find in the anthology The Hawthorne Project. Inside you’ll find ten dark and creepy stories written by him and other amazing authors. I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Oh, and click any of the links below to buy.
The air held a chill but it wasn’t cold for the area. A gentle fall breeze rustled the leaves of the oak and elm trees that lined the sidewalk of the Hawthorne Drive cul-de-sac. Just past the old stop sign that wasn’t so much cemented in anymore and creaked when the wind blew, the first house on the left side of the street was 981. The old man in the rocking chair coated in chipping white paint on the front porch of the beige house with white trim that didn’t fare much better than the chair, was as much of a fixture as the trees. At this moment he was chewing on a toothpick and staring across the street at house number 104. His brow was furrowed and his eyes hard.
The screen door slammed open behind him, caught by the wind and banging into the siding of the house. A young man in his early twenties stepped out of the house with a frown. He inspected the hinges before facing the old man rocking gently in his chair who had yet to so much as look his way. The young man sighed. He walked forward and rested his elbows on the porch banister and faced the old man whose eyes were still glued to the house across the street. “It’s supposed to snow this weekend, Pop-pop. Maybe you should get some practice sitting inside the house before then.”
The old man waved him off. He spoke to the boy without looking at him. “I’m telling you Aaron, I seen it again.”
Aaron McCallister rubbed at the tension in his face. “Come on Pop, don’t do this.”
Finally the old man looked over at the man who could have been a younger version of himself. He glared at him, as if his eyes held stingers. “I know what I saw, boy. Listen. You know them folks over there are religious zealots and whatnot. I bet they’re in a cult. Maybe they used their voodoo or whatever to call forth a demon from Hell or something other.”
Aaron reached into his pocket and dug out a pack of cigarettes. “I just can’t even…” he said, lighting one. “They’re just people, Pop-pop, our neighbors. You should try leaving the porch and talking to them one day instead of sitting here spouting cultural inaccuracies.”
“Don’t patronize me. I’m not too old to kick your ass. It came from down the road at the end of the cul-de-sac. It had no face. Just a shadow thing it was and it walked right through the wall into their house.”
Aaron opened his mouth to discourage his grandfather again, but he couldn’t help looking at the wall of the house across the way. He swallowed a lump in his throat and then shook his head. “No. Nope. I’m not doing this. Come inside. Have you even eaten dinner?”
“I’ll eat when I’m hungry. Don’t try to parent me, young man. I came out here from Alabama to raise you when your Daddy took ill. Your momma was long gone and I foot the bill. You talk to me with respect.”
“I appreciate all you’ve done, Pops. That’s why I want you to eat and not catch cold out here. I’d like to keep you around for a while.” He took a long drag off of his cigarette to calm his nerves.
The old man pushed himself up from the chair on trembling arms. Aaron watched him, ready to catch him if his unsteady legs couldn’t hold him but the younger man knew better than to offer him help. He stubbed his cigarette out on the porch railing where the paint had already chipped away and then set the unsmoked half down on the ledge for later.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not handicapped. I’m just old for God’s sake.”
Aaron frowned but offered no rebuttal. He just stepped aside to let his grandfather have room to pass by. Aaron watched as he hobbled his way into the house. “I know what I saw,” he said as he crossed the threshold.
You can find Chisto’s story, along with nine additional ones, in The Hawthorne Project. Each creepy tale interweaves with the others for a week of terror on Hawthorne Drive, a small cul-de-sac in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Buy it at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or on your Kindle.
The Hawthorne Project book excerpt – ‘104 W. Hawthorne Drive’ by River Dixon
The following is an excerpt of the short story: 104 W Hawthorne Drive by River Dixon, which you can find in the anthology The Hawthorne Project. Inside you’ll find ten dark and creepy stories written by him and other amazing authors. I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Oh, and click any of the links below to buy.
The members of the Terrance family sat around their dining room table, hands joined, and heads bowed. Jacob Terrance, who would turn eleven-years-old this November, had been delegated the honor of saying grace for the first time this evening. He pulled in a deep breath as the final words of thanks trembled from his young lips.
“Amen,” the family sang out in unison.
Simon Terrance, husband, father, devoted follower of The Law, ruffled his son’s hair with pride.
“That was a fine blessing, boy. A fine blessing. Your nerves didn’t show through one bit.” Simon smiled and winked at his wife, Anna. “Now, let’s thank your mother for all she did preparing this fine meal before us.”
“Thanks, mom,” Jacob nodded.
All three jumped at the sound of breaking glass coming from the living room.
Simon took pause, his eyes darting back and forth between Anna and Jacob. “Where’s the cat?”
“He’s right here, dad. Under my chair.” Jacob pushed his plate forward and nervously folded his hands on the table in front of him.
Anna, clearly annoyed, wiped her mouth and threw down her napkin. “It’s him again, I know it. I’m done playing games. Just who does he think he is, coming into our home and disturbing our family dinner?” The woman lit up with a rage unbecoming of her as she scooted back in her chair, attempting to stand but being swayed by Simon’s gentle, controlling hand on her shoulder.
“Anna, let’s take a moment. We don’t want to be brash. We may do something we could regret.” He got up from his chair and hiked up his pants. “Let’s all three go out there together. Calm, cool, collected. Maybe this time he’ll tell us what he wants.”
“Wants? That’s just it. He never tells us what he wants. This is all just a sick game to him.” Anna’s voice quivered as she forced herself to straighten in her chair.
Simon stopped and sat back down, “You know we have to have faith. The Lord will help us through this.”
This time, from the kitchen, the sound of running water and slamming cabinet doors sent a chill through each member of the Terrance family that froze them in place. A blood-curdling scream reverberated off the surrounding walls, shaking the hanging light fixture above their heads.
“Join hands,” Simon instructed, and the family followed. “Gracious Lord, You are our Loving Father who grants our protection and guides our actions.”
The table shook beneath their joined hands, guttural screams rose from the cracks in the floorboards under their feet.
“I come before You to ask for my family’s safekeeping. I pray You will guard our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being at all times.”
Simon’s plate flew from the table, shattering to pieces against the wall. He could feel his son’s hand growing limp in his own. “Hold onto me, boy!” He shouted over the wailing cries and howling moans. “Keep the faith!”
Jacob felt the warmth of his mother, and the resolve of his father spread up each of his arms. This is the worst it’s ever been, but he committed not to give in to fear.
“Let not the enemy gain a foothold in any aspect of our lives. Help each of us to keep trusting You, recognizing Your victory over the devil and acknowledging the strength you give us to resist him.”
The air grew still as a calmness settled over the room. The family portrait fell from the wall, fracturing the glass and splitting the frame. A final scream grew faint, fading to a whisper.
“Amen,” Simon conceded.
“Amen,” Anna squeezed her son’s hand. “It’s okay, Jacob. It’s over.”
“Aye… a-men,” the young boy fell into his mother’s waiting arms, pressing his face against her shoulder, trying to stifle the tears but failing.
Simon let out a sigh as he brushed his fingers through his thinning hair and rose from the table. He picked up the broken picture, running his thumb along the length of the cracked glass. Three smiling faces stared back at him, with a fourth distorted, now unrecognizable. Anna met his eyes as he slowly turned, holding out the portrait.
“Oh no,” she gasped as the crack in the glass drew her now frightened gaze.
“What’s this mean, Anna?” Simon shook the picture, pleading. “What’s he done?”
Anna darted from the dining room, not slowing a step as she navigated the debris-strewn living room and bound up the stairs to a second-floor bedroom. Her hand gingerly turning the brass knob and her other, making the sign of the cross on her chest. She whispered a short prayer as the door creaked open and the frigid, stale air pressed against her body.
“Abigail?”
You can find River’s story, along with nine additional ones, in The Hawthorne Project. Each creepy tale interweaves with the others for a week of terror on Hawthorne Drive, a small cul-de-sac in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Buy it at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or on your Kindle.
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