When I was fourteen years old I received my first cell phone. It was one of the earlier models of phone, small, basic and a burner. When I was in high school the all the cell phones were only able make or receive calls and texts. There weren’t cameras or apps or even call I.D. built into the phones. All of the older technology now seems so simple and innocent in comparison to today’s models. I used my phone pretty frequently texting friends or calling home and I had become very familiar with all the incoming numbers that were displayed on my phone’s screen. After about sixth months I received a call from a number I didn’t recognize. I ignored…

My husband and I loved each other very much, but just as most couples we would get into arguments. Out biggest argument always revolved around a single disagreement: children. I wanted children, he did not. As the years passed I had hoped he would eventually come around and warm up to the idea of having children, but he remained stubborn and wouldn’t change his mind. I reminded him that if we waited too much longer we’d never be able to conceive a child of our own, but he didn’t seem to care. I even suggested adoption and fostering children but he wouldn’t hear it. “You’re not fit to be a mother!” His cruel words burned into my memory. I loved…

This is a game where the participants get the chance to meet the twin they’ve never known in life. It’s a simple game to play, but the repercussions can overwhelming. The twin is a reflection of who you really are, not who you pretend to be. If you’re a genuinely good person your twin encounter will be pleasant and gratifying. But if you’re a bad person, someone who bullies, lies, steals, cheats, manipulates or hurts other people, then your experience will be dark and painful. In order to play the game you require the following: an empty closet, a (lit) candle and a mirror. To start hang the mirror, any size will do, on the wall in the closet. Be…

I was staying at a hotel in Chicago Illinois during a business trip and I was going to stay for the whole weekend. It was an older hotel, one that still used small keys rather than keycards to enter the rooms. I didn’t mind, it seemed nice to get away from the onslaught of technology. When I checked into the hotel it was packed full. A nasty storm had struck, standing many tourists and cancelling flights. No more rooms were available and many people were being turned away because of the lack of vacancy. When I approached the front desk to check in I noticed that all the keys for the rooms on the eighth floor were still on the…

In 1998 I got a new teaching job in a new town. To save money I moved into a small house that was for rent. My roommate, Claire, was nice enough and the two of us got along easily. I moved in and found my room. While unpacking I came across an old framed photograph. Three men dressed as hospital orderlies were sitting together in the living room of the house. These three men had once lived in the house I was now renting with Claire. I didn’t want to throw away the photograph, it didn’t seem right. But I didn’t want to keep it, either. I chose to hang the picture up in the living room as decoration and…

After moving to a small town in southern Michigan I got a job as a cashier in the local store. After work I would walk home to my small house and order a small pizza. This was my routine for two weeks when things took a strange turn. I called in my usual order to the pizzeria when a new voice, one I hadn’t heard before answer the phone and told me “The usual? No problem. I’ll deliver it in less than five minutes.” Sure enough within five minutes my order was delivered and it was exactly what I had ordered every night before. When I tried to give the delivery boy a tip he declined, he said he didn’t…

I was a nurse fresh out of my program and eager to start working. After applying to many different hospitals I was accepted by a prestigious private hospital specializing in obstetrics and prenatal care. The hospital was famous for its surrogacy programs and had global reputation of delivering the healthiest and genetically superior babies. I was of course excited and couldn’t wait to see my new hospitals and meet my new coworkers. I arrived at the famous ‘Blessed Wing Hospital’ at 9am sharp. I was greeted by several upbeat and cheery nurses and doctors, and my attending was just as wonderful. It didn’t take long for me to make friends and fit right in with the routine. I was of…

In 1988 an unknown broadcast overtook several UHF stations in the Midwestern United States for six consecutive nights. The broadcast would last for only a few minutes and consisted of white static with a gray silhouette of a person in the center of the screen. The shadowed figure spoke with a an androgynous but deep voice and always spoke in whispers. Those who witnessed the unknown broadcast reported that the figure would make bizarre statements that would influence one person but not another. It’s been confirmed by the witnesses that the figure had said the following: ‘Go to sleep’, ‘Don’t drink the water’, ‘Conceive’, ‘Don’t believe anyone’, ‘Don’t trust anyone’, ‘Save me’, ‘Use the knife’, ‘Bury him’, ‘Burn the evidence’…

In 2003 a photograph depicting a lost child began circulating on the internet. There was no detail on the child other than what was seen in the actual photo and could be found under the search parameters ‘find_me.jpg’. The photo showed a smiling young girl about eight or nine years old. The girl is seen standing alone in front of a swing set, wearing a purple dress with a white flower in her hair. Her name or where she was seen last were never mentioned. Circulating the internet through e-mails and pop-ups the girl was seen by millions but never found. One year to the day after the photo initially began its circulation the image returned to the internet. Text…

In Minneapolis Minnesota a long abandoned hospital was under reconstruction. The hospital, St Anne’s Mercy, was original founded in 1802. The hospital housed the quarantined patients suffering from illnesses such Yellow Fever, smallpox and leprosy. It also housed the mentally ill and abandoned of all ages for many years. In 1924 the hospital was converted into a high security insane asylum until 1957, before it was shut down after a tragic accident claimed the life of a nurse and two small children in an unexplainable fire. The nurse was found standing in the room where the fire started, her features burned beyond all recognition. She pointed to the men who found her and let out a loud wail before she…