I used to work security at a vehicle safety testing facility – a crash test facility, really – just outside of Gothenburg in Sweden. The place has been around for a long time, and many of the most popular models around here have been tested at this facility. The purpose of security in this context was mostly to keep trespassers out and ensure that doors were locked and alarms primed. There were three of us on the security team; Jakob had the day shift while Micke and I handled the night shift. I was 24 years old at the time, Jakob was around the same age and Micke was in his 50’s. I never actually got to know Jakob very…

Many know Aleister Crowley for his famous work in the occult, but few know of his avid love of hiking, becoming an accomplished mountaineer. He always knew of the power and magic that lies in nature, and simply allowing yourself to get lost in the woods can bring strange and peculiar circumstances. It is said that, later in his life, during a very determined walk in the woods, he discovered a ritual that brings you the utmost truth to one truly desired question. Rumor has it Crowley yearned to understand the meaning of life, and he may have found exactly that. But there are also whispers saying he could not bear the weight of such knowledge, which led to the…

Marty. This is all about focus. Think about Alice. Keep driving. Eyes on the road. The hitchhikers will step out eventually. They always do. Just don’t look back at them. Don’t ever look back. Don’t think, just drive. ————————————– I hold a lot of love for my parents, having the generosity to take Alice and me in after her leukemia relapsed, but goddamn do they live far from civilization. Or maybe there just ain’t a lot of civilization in Idaho to go around – not in a bad way. The quiet is nice. I’ve been enjoying the countryside more than I anticipated. That being said, local government could stand to spend some taxpayer dollars sponsoring a few more Walgreens locations.…

Ah, Ms. Smith, I presume! Welcome, welcome, please take a seat. You look stunning. What is that sweet aroma I smell, hmm? Lemon Glace? Vanilla Quartz? Oh…just soap, you say? Regardless, it suits you to a tee. We are overjoyed to have you here with us tonight. I believe we met over the, uh…job finders website, correct? Yes, yes, that site is a little…backstreet, compared to our establishment here, but alas, it is patrons without professions that we find we can cater to the most. I have what I understand to be your account here on the computer…KittenLover2004, correct? Wonderful. I see you are wearing the same shade of lipstick as in your profile picture! How exciting! Come now, there…

You don’t know me. But perhaps you know my voice. I’m a narrator. Specifically, I narrate horror stories online. I scour the internet with a raven’s eye, searching for gems buried amongst the thousands of short fiction stories posted to places like nosleep and Nightscribe. It’s a time-consuming task. Believe me, I’ve lost entire evenings descending deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole of the worst scenarios a human mind can imagine. There are more stories out there than a single person could read in a lifetime of lightless nights. I discard many: those that are too amateurish, too derivative, or that are churned out by AI. But if I keep searching, I am rewarded with something truly terrifying, or…

I Newcomer It was midday on a Sunday, and Johnathan Urbez was driving his dream car, an RX7. The engine was modified to be even faster; the tuned machine used a racing transmission, special brakes, suspension, and tires. The body was covered in all kinds of paintings and designs. After five years of hard work, dedication, and a lot of money, this beast was ready and John had to take it out for a ride. The engine was roaring, and the feeling of going over two hundred kilometers per hour was exhilarating. The tension on his arms from handling the wheel, his brain-aware state—this must be what a professional race driver feels; then the curb came, he misjudged his skills and…

This is a story of a boy I met when I was still young. His name was James Elkin, and he lived in the house two doors down from me. We weren’t friends, but I did greet him a few times when I saw him. He always looked small for a nine-year-old and had long, uneven hair. I remember walking past his home on my way to school each day. Many times, I saw him out collecting insects. He never harmed them. He wasn’t very friendly, but he wasn’t cruel either. His parents were always very kind, often offering jobs to us younger kids so we could earn a little change for bubble gum or something we wanted. Because of…

There’s a quote I once read, buried in some forgotten philosophy book: “To peel away the layers of the world is to expose what hides beneath, and what hides beneath is not meant to be seen.” At the time, it seemed like one of those lines people throw around when they want to sound profound, but they don’t really know what it means. The kind of thing you hear at a party from someone who’s had one too many drinks and thinks they’re the next Nietzsche. I’d rolled my eyes at it then, thought it was all too abstract to have any real meaning. But now… now I can’t stop thinking about it. The words gnaw at me. They crawl…

I really like Mario games, and I still do to this day. I have so much love for everything in the games, but the Mario game I enjoyed the most was ‘Luigi’s Mansion.’ That game freaked me out at times, but it was very enjoyable to play, and it’s really cool to hear about it now after first seeing it. I had most of the Mario games, and sometimes I would emulate the games on occasion; why did I do that? Well, I didn’t really own Luigi’s Mansion and such, nor did I own a GameCube. That’s why I had to emulate them to play the games; however, there are some glitches in Luigi’s Mansion, but it was alright. I…

I remember that first day… I was out of the house and went to the convenience store. There was always an advertisement on the window and there was this one poster everywhere. I took a good look at it, not really understanding it but it had fun, colorful, goofy characters and a box below it. I decided I’d look at it after getting snacks, I came out of the store and had a sudden feeling of dread reaching for the box but I didn’t mind it. I picked up the box and brought it home to look at, I dumped its contents on the ground and it was a bunch of VHS tapes. Episode 1, 2, 3, 4… there were…