Elise ran down the stairs, two at a time, her long navy skirt billowing around her. She took a deep breath in as she walked into the kitchen. The delicious aroma was intoxicating.

“Mmmm! What are you making, Grandma?” she said, as she leaned on the wooden counter beside the elderly white-haired woman who was washing her hands at the white porcelain sink.

“Fruit compote from the garden, sweetie. ...

“The door is locked!” Eleanore cried, jiggling the handle. “Please, let me out!”

An evil laugh came from the other side of the door. “Why? You don’t deserve it.”

Eleanore felt like someone had punched her in the face. “What did I ever do to you?”

“It’s a long list so I’m not going to start. But just know that I am beyond disappointed in you, Eleanore. I gave you one task. One task. And you fai...

Well. This is embarrassing. Here I was on my second date with Carl, and I had the intention to potentially destroy his bathroom. Did he know this? God no. Did I plan to tell him this? Fuck no.

But...

His car's music was low, the windows were up, and the air was off. He was bound to hear my stomach going on the fritz. He probably already did...

Was that a wince of unease? He fidgeted i...

“Come on in,” said the elderly woman. At first we didn’t think much of it. Her house smelled like old cans of vegetables that have been left out in the sun for too long. As we looked around her house, we saw things. Not just things you would have in your home. Skeletons. Weapons. Burnt books on the floor. I was getting an eerie feeling. I knew this wasn’t safe. “Would you like to stay for dinner?...

My brother Hamish slaps his hand over my mouth, a terrified look in his eyes that scared me just as well. Hamish never got scared, ever. Even when Papa chased us down with his switch or a gun was pointed straight at his heart.

“Is the front door locked?” He whispers to me, holding me closer to him as if at any point someone could take me.

“The door is locked,” I confirm in my own whisper, and h...

The rattling was getting in my nerves. How long had it been? Days, weeks? I took this job thinking it would be simple. Guard duty, night shift. Just watching one room.

Granted, the room was in a building far in the outskirts of the city. On the bottom level, down a dark hallway...you know the drill. Still, for what they were paying me it was worth it.

They wouldn’t tell me what was in th...

“The door is locked,” says Nadia.

“Then unlock it,” I reply.

“With what key, Claude?” she snaps.

“Didn’t you find a whole bunch in that office?”

I’ll be the first to admit that exploring an abandoned mental asylum at night wasn’t the brightest idea. I’ll also admit that forgetting to charge the flashlights yesterday was a rookie mistake. But something had to go wrong this trip, and if it’s gon...

There’s a light floating outside of my room.

Teasing me, luring me. I tell myself to ignore it, but my senses betray me.

A padlocked door is the only thing keeping me from the ‘outside’

I try so hard to not give in; hoping that whatever’s out there is not a bad thing.

Out from the comforts of my room awaits an unfamiliar world,

away from the restraint and the tedium.

The light calls out to me. S...

Darkness surrounded us as we ran through the bushes. What started out as trip to the mall with my sister ended up with the two of us being chased by creatures of the night. Loud chirping and gusts of screams as they were drawn in by our sweat while running away in fear. The sound of bushes being trampled at high speed was deafening as we had no idea in which direction to run. Adrenaline was someth...

Two childhood best friends, Lori and I are reunited just a year after our family moved away. Their mother’s sit out in the front yard in lawn chairs to have their own reunion. It is a beautiful summer’s day.

The two six year olds are playing and having fun. They are running from room to room. They go to leave the room they are currently inside and I say, “The door is locked”.

The two girls sc...