Dark Short Fiction
Dark Romantic Fiction
Horror
Ghosts
The Supernatural
And the occasional bottle of wine...
 The October Frights Blog Hop has come to an end - until next year. Today's post is a shameful plug for my creepy anthology, CURIOUSLY DARK TALES. A spooky read for a spooky season. And...I'm announcing the winner of the $10 Amazon Gift Card. Many thanks to Anita Stewart for all her hard work to make this hop each year. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented on my posts and to all the authors who participated in the hop. Have a hauntingly happy Halloween!  I entered all the commenters names in to Random.org and Randy picked the winner. Congratulations to Stephanie Ayers! You've the winner of the $10 Gift Card fromAmazon! I'll email you.  CURIOUSLY DARK TALES Supernatural beings and the evils of humanity come alive in these grim, dark tales with a twist. 16 + Adult content. NEREZZA In the end, who’s the real demon? THIRTEEN STEPS – Watch your step. THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN – Sometimes when you help someone it comes back to bite you. CHOOSE WISELY – Decisions, decisions. PROFESSIONAL COURTESY – Wayne was a successful serial killer. Then he took Charlotte. THE CAB RIDE – Be careful who hears you whisper that you’re willing to give your soul. Only 99 cent on AMAZON
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Today I'm sharing a horror flash fiction story. It came to me two nights ago, as most stories do, in the middle of the night. At 1:30 in the morning, I got up and opened my computer to write it down and get it out of my head. I don't usually post something this rough, with little time for editing and maybe another set of eyes to take a look at it, but sometimes you have to take a chance and put something out there. I think at some point, I'd like to turn this into a complete short story. But I don't even have a title yet!! Do you have an idea? Leave a comment (and be entered into a drawing for a $10 Amazon Gift Card) with a title suggestion or if you liked the story or not. Enjoy! The ad read: Spacious apartment, rent free, one condition. Housekeep for the well-known woman upstairs and tell no one. Competitive pay. My experience and excellent references secure me the position. I'm used to the lavish parties. Gatherings of like-minded individuals eager to partake in the most savage and primal instincts of human nature. But summer has cooled to autumn and her Halloween gala is a dark extravaganza of ghoulish indulgence. I toss and turn as the festivities rage on above my bedroom. Something's burning. Again. I've warned her this is dangerous, but she won't listen. At some point, the repetitive beat of The Time Warp lulls me to sleep, drowning out the holiday screams and laughter. The next morning, bleary-eyed and coffee in hand, I get to work. I scrub the stained carpet, scour the walls and bleach the kitchen and bathroom. I wipe the sweat from my brow and shake my head. In all my years, one thing never changes. No matter how famous they become, how many headlines they make, serial killers are by far the messiest people to work for. 
Please hop around to the other horror and paranormal authors to see what creepy things they have in store for you. 
Welcome to Day 4 of the October Frights Blog Hop. I won't be around much today, it's my birthday and I have spooky shenanigans to attend too... but we can still have some fun. Leave a comment (to be entered in a drawing to win a $10 Amazon gift card) and let me know which birthday cake I should celebrate with! I'll be back tomorrow with a horror flash fiction. 
CREEPY CAKE ONE 
CREEPY CAKE TWO 
CREEPY CAKE THREE Don't forget to check out the other awesome horror and paranormal authors on the hop! 
Welcome, my pretties, to day 2 of the October Frights Blog Hop. (Again, many thanks to Anita Stewart for making the hop possible) At the end of the hop, I'll put everyone's name who commented on my posts in a drawing for a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card. Good luck. Today you'll get to read part two of my excerpt from FAVORS FOR THE DEAD, a dark fiction with dark romantic elements WIP. If you missed the first part, scroll down to yesterday's post and take a peek. Enjoy. Elliott climbed two rungs up the ladder. With a quick slice of a knife, he freed his once beloved’s bound feet and hands, and cut her down from her gallows. She dropped into his arms. Her vacant, protruding eyes stared up at him. The tip of her pink tongue peeked out of her parted lips. He ran his gloved fingers over her lids to close her morbid gaze and stuffed her tongue back in her mouth. With careful steps he backed down to the floor. “Elliott.” A distant murmur. And again, “Elliott.” “Aranda, is that you? I told you not to follow me.” He checked over his shoulder. The fading light showed he was alone. “Elliott.” The corpse twitched. He jumped. No, it couldn’t be. Its left arm began to rise until its hand cupped the side his cheek. He flinched at the touch. “Elliott.” His heart pounded and he swallowed a scream. Pull yourself together. Remember who you are. The dead can’t hurt you. You rule over the dead. Elliott inhaled, playing the words over and over in his mind, until his control returned. “Back so soon? I thought you wanted to be dead and away from me.” As if she had cast a spell on herself, the once radiant strands of her hair turned brittle as straw. Her eyes, wrapped in a slimly film, sunk deep into her hollow face. The skin on her face bubbled and blistered. The stench of rotten food floating in its own juices caused him to gag. “What’s wrong Elliott, don’t you find me attractive any longer?” He slammed the decomposing cadaver of his old lover into the corner. Unfazed, she floated back in front of him. “What do you want?” He asked. Her two peace fingers pointed toward him. They inched closer, transforming into long, slithering green snakes. He fumbled backwards. They followed, cornering him. Their forked tongues flicked, the outline of each scale visible. They rested at his mouth, wanting in. He pursed his lips tight. Had fear paralyzed him? Or had she? His arms and legs no longer did what he wanted. He stood incapacitated. Helpless. “Any time you or that inept, sorry excuse for a witch, Aranda, attempt to speak my name you will be silenced.” The serpent’s hissed. Against Elliott’s will, his mouth opened. Fear plunged in his gut like a knife. Their bellies slid up over his tongue and down his esophagus. “You will not say my name to raise me or to curse me.” Elliott’s throat tightened. His eyes watered. They were strangling him from the inside. “If you do, my reptilian friends will pay you another visit.” He retched, his stomach muscles contracting to expel the beasts from deep inside him. They remained. His vision blurred. Panic suffocated him. “Do you understand?” He edged near unconsciousness. Elliott opened his eyes. He wiggled his fingers. They worked. He brought his hands to his face. No snakes. No pain. He could breath. “I said, do you understand?” The putrid carcass stared at him from across the room. “You're pathetic and can’t beat me. A dead witch’s curse lasts as long as the cycle of the moon. You may deter me for thirty days but you can’t stop me.” “No need to tell me the rules. And you’ll be dead before the curse ends." The room went dark. He didn’t dare move or breath. One lantern flickered on. Then another. Finally, the last one. The witch hung lifeless from the ceiling with bulging eyes and tongue drooping from her mouth. Her hands and feet were still bound. The cool metal of the knife pressed against his palm. He roared with anger. “You think you can get in my head? And try to scare me?” He circled the table over and over again, faster and faster, his breathing labored, until his fury subsided. “Think again, my dear.” He opened the front door. Like déjà vu, he climbed up to the second rung of the ladder and cut her down. She fell into his arms. He kept her arms and feet tied, her eyes open and her tongue dangling. He carried her into the night. The stars twinkled at him and the sickle moon gave him a sideways grin. “This time you’ll stay silent and dead.”
Please remember to hop around and visit the other
horror and paranormal authors and check out the creepy offerings they have in store for you. |
Debbie Christiana
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