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Frightmares: A Fistful of Flash Fiction Horror

BOOK: Frightmares: A Fistful of Flash Fiction Horror
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FOREWORD

 

Lightning crashes outside and you jolt up in bed, drenched with sweat and panting like you’re taking in your last breaths. Body trembling, you try to regain a sense of logic, but the darkness surrounding you is too dominant. You’ve dragged yourself from one of the worst nightmares of your life, and you can’t even remember what it had been about. Only that it had been frightening; frightening and endless. Brutal and unforgiving. A minute’s worth of reality, and an eternity’s worth of memory. Like a snapshot in a book of screams.

You may not remember what had been in the dream, but you know whatever had been there sure remembers you, and it will never forget. From this moment on, you know you will never be the same. Forget about getting any more sleep tonight–or any other night for that matter—not when whatever is after you is still out there . . . waiting. And it will never stop until it’s claimed what it desires. All it needs–all it wants–is for you to lay back down and close your eyes. Just for a moment. Surrender your body . . . your mind. It can wait longer than you can stay awake. It has eternity on its side.

The only choice you have is to give in. The nightmare has found you, and it will never let go. So shut those eyes. Don’t say a word. The moon is hidden in the midnight sky and that is the way things will be for the rest of time. Feel the shadows caressing your cheek? It wants you. It is your only true lover. Embrace the darkness. Embrace the fear.

Embrace the nightmare.

-Max Booth III

co-author of
The Ultimate Survival Guide for Humanity

(2012 Dark Moon Books)

 

DARK MOON BOOKS

 

an imprint of Stony Meadow Publishing

Largo, Florida

Frightmares: A Fistful of Flash Fiction Horror

Copyright © Dark Moon Books 2011

(Individual stories are copyright by their respective authors)

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-0-9834335-5-2

The stories included in this publication are works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

www.darkmoonbooks.com

E-mail: [email protected]

ARTWORK CREDITS

Cover Artwork: Whendy Muchlis Effendy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 

This book has been a long time in creation. I am not sure how many body pieces Victor Frankenstein used to create his “monster,” but I’ll bet he used a lot less than we did in stitching this thing together.

It was pointed out to me during the proofreading and editing process that the table of contents included more words (nearly 800 at last count) than any of the individual stories. It was an interesting observation, but it proves a point. A well-written, complete story can be told with very few words. It reminds me of the myth about Hemingway being challenged by a bunch of friends to write a compelling story in six words and he allegedly wrote “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.”

So here it is in all of its nightmarish, ghoulish glory:
Frightmares–A Fistful of Flash Fiction
. And it wouldn’t have been possible without all of the authors who have been so very patient with the process. It would also not have been possible without the assistance of several Dark Moon staff members including (but not limited to) Jennifer Word, Frances Augusta Hogg, Lori Michelle, George Lea, Ryan Falcone, Kurt Reichenbach, Sean Davis, Michael O’Neal and Katie Immethun. And a special thanks goes out to Max Booth III who edited stories like a madman for the last three weeks of the process in order to get this monster sewn up tight and ready for a jolt of lightning to bring it to life. And, yes, that time has come, my friends. “It Lives!”

Enjoy.

Stan Swanson

Editor/Publisher, Dark Moon Books

CONTENTS

 

Head Shot
John Erbar

Stranglers in the Night
Jeff Carter

The Deal
Mike Wilson

$2 Bust From An Antique Sale
Eric J. Guignard

Circle Of Salt
Adam William Spike

Genesis
Natalie Mcnabb

Running With The Pack
Stan Swanson

Serial Killers Don’t Pay Membership Dues
K. K. Philan

The Initiation
Jason D. Brawn

Stakes
P. R. O’Leary

Nostalgia
Miriam H. Harrison

The Heart Of Hell
Liam Ford

Ladder Of Thorns
John Irvine

The Burly Men Of Maine
Eric Dimbley

Motherhood
Cindy Little

Grease Monkey
Joseph Robert Desylva

A Modern Problem
Rob Smales

See Jack Run
L. A. Tobin

80 Square Feet
Jason Burum

A Jury Of His Peers
Andrew Alford

I Live In Your Cupboard
Santiago Eximeno

The Children Of Faith
Sean Templeton

Sally’s Dream
Gary R. Hoffman

They Won’t Get Us
T. J. Reed

The Shackles
James S. Dorr

Skipping Stones
A. J. Brown

Mush
Logan Branjord

If These Walls Could Talk
Jack Nealy

The Real World
Cyndie Goins Hoelscher

A New Suit
John Hunt

The Voyeur
Ran Walker

The Summing Of Parts
Vince Darcangelo

Awake
Adam Stehly

Leaves
R. F. Marazas

Instinct
Suzie Lockhart

Every Fiber
Peggy McFarland

Welcome To The Neighborhood
Lori Michelle

The Unwrapping
Carrie Anne Martin

And Their Names Were
. . .
Brian J. Smith

The Beauty Of Death
Cris Keuggar

Just Leave
Milo James Fowler

Lobotomy
Pedro Iniguez

The Mailbox Of Broken Dreams
Pavelle Wesser

Neighbour From Hell
Paul Johnson-Jovanovic

Popsicles
Charles Nathan Capasso

Number Thirty-Six
Alba Arango

Not Very Long Left
T. E. Samad

Feed
Suzie Savage

Springing Forward
Steven Jenkins

Prototype
Niall Mcmahon

Blood Of Gleuvinn
Nicholas Conley

La Rana
Cynthia (Cina) Pelayo

Apple Of My Eye
Ramona Gardea

Polly Gone
Nathan Robinson

Mother
Franca Di Pietro

The House Call
C. W. LaSart

The Call
Adam J. Mueller

Blood Ties
Roger Kilbourne

Catholic School
S. Walker

Eye Candy
David Buchan

Evading The Dark Pursuer
Ron Koppelberger

A Thoughtful Gift
Kevin David Anderson

A Fishy Tale
Connie Berridge

Twitch And Twitter
Steve Voelker

Dead Eyes See No Future
Scott Davison

Howling
Richard Allden

Lovely Girls
Marshall A. Taylor

The Creature Beneath The Narrows Bridges
Judy Comer Franklin

Always Come Back
Joe Mynhardt

Insanity
Ellen Denton

Infected
Donald Haas

Absorb
Lance Davis

I Used To Find Things
Keith Deininger

Dead Reckoning
Hope Sullivan McMickle

BOOK: Frightmares: A Fistful of Flash Fiction Horror
6.81Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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