Flying feels better with a witness. Witness my cloak curl around my back and snap out, blown by a nonexistent gust. Now watch me spread my arms, the cloak becoming webbing, and extra bones clawing out from my spine. Watch my frown turn upside down. A bat. Your nightmare. Run.
Another one for the bad old times' (read: the pandemic) sake:
Almost midnight and they should be here any minute. My phobias are hovering around me. Yet, I want to meet every trick with a treat, in defiance of this isolation.
0:00. Any minute now.
At 2:00 I realize nobody is coming, masks or no masks.
She froze as the floorboard creaked above, in the secret doorless room only accessible using the old wooden ladder, half-hidden in the ivy, to climb up to the small, round window set high on the east wall, the surrounding brickwork arranged to create the impression of a single eye.
Tears poured out of Jenna’s eyes as her father called her name from under the bed. She pulled her Barbie comforter over her head and rolled over, hoping this was a terrible nightmare.
“Jennnna, it’sssssss cold down here,” It hissed.
Jenna hugged herself tight. “You’re not my father - he’s dead!”
Leonard dealt with nagging winter leg itch. Lotions did not suffice, a bath was drawn. While sitting in the water, a feeling of strange hands gave deep satisfaction. Clawing so deep, tearing, until his limbs were bloodied. It was an orgasmic feeling of relief, until slipping away from blood loss.
I had nightmares like that as a child - apparently they're called "night terrors." My mother would wake me up, and I knew she was there, but I could still see the nightmare creature in the room with us (once a devil man dancing on the wall and another time - inexplicably - a giant goldfish floating above my bed). It always freaked her right out. Thank goodness I grew out of it! You did a great job of catching the sensation.
Me too - lots of monsters and chasing but always a safe place to hide in a huge endless house.
The one about the goldfish floating above the bed, though, I had one with a tantalising glass of lemon floating just above me. Obviously I was thirsty. On a similar note, I once went downstairs (astrally projected, shall we say - I used to do a lot of leaping in those days) and found every cupboard in the kitchen full of bottles of bitter lemon! Clearly I have a thing about lemons.
I suspect night terrors come to the highly imaginative. That's funny about the bitterlemon. I know I wasn't hungry for goldfish, it was one of those poor pop-eyed fantailed mutants.
My daughter experienced them too but we were involved in a religious group at the time that was into the spirit world - long story that I should write some time!! - but we used to then get her to explain the dreams and give them a "prophetic meaning". She's had counseling since LOL!
Apparently occasional night terrors are considered to be normal in little kids, but not so much in adults - though until you and Miguel spoke up, I never knew anyone else who had them. It seemed so real to me back then, I remember pointing at it and not being able to understand why my mother couldn't see it. There was no just going back to sleep for either of us, I would scream bloody murder until I passed out again.
I remember seeing stuff as a kid too. I wonder if that’s that the children are more atuned to the paranormal, or if that’s just kid’s imagination going wild.
blah blah serious quasi-scientific explanation of dreams and night terrors in then young blah blah story-telling=meaning making which all humans do blah blah BUT...
my stepson had a recurring night terror involving "the boney man" - so one day we drew him (after breakfast) on a large sheet of art paper and lit a bonfire (in the garden) where The Boney Man was burned to ashes.
I think a healthy imagination helps to be attuned to the paranormal. Most children are born with this kind of attunement I would say, except the sad thing about the modern world is that it's conditioned out of them.
In more ancient, enlightened times, that attunement would remain, and the world would've been far more healthy for it.
Within a few hours of living in this new house, I’ve been thrown against walls, heard whispers, and seen other faces in the mirror. I’ve never believed in the paranormal until now, but this ghost is giving me a reason to. I guess I understand why this house was cheap.
So, I woke up this morning and, to my surprise, there was a photo of me asleep in a fetal position on my left side, taken a few hours after midnight. Now, what makes this weird and terrifying is that I live alone.
Under the shimmer of the full moon she visits me. The foot of the mattress dips, paw prints appear along the blanket. A cat shaped hollow forms on my pillow as she curls herself into me. I long to hold her one last time, falling asleep to her phantom purrs.
He breathed hard as he ran towards Henry's cabin, watching for his pursuers. His satellite phone was dead, but he could use the old man's emergency radio. He forced the door and clicked the radio on. It crackled and vacuum tubes glowed: “Introducing President Franklin D. Roosevelt…”
Ah, sorry! I used to feel the presence of my beautiful girl around me at my old house and really felt like she was jumping onto the bed sometimes. Thanks for the cool prompt and the memories.
Late but still wanted to post!
Flying feels better with a witness. Witness my cloak curl around my back and snap out, blown by a nonexistent gust. Now watch me spread my arms, the cloak becoming webbing, and extra bones clawing out from my spine. Watch my frown turn upside down. A bat. Your nightmare. Run.
No time limit! Feel free to take on any prompt at any time ❤️
The Haunted Job
The sound oozing from the wall
was not human.
“Are you coming out mommy?”
a child’s voice called.
Margi ran to the window
There was no one in the rain.
Jumping back into bed she reminded herself to add a paranormal disclaimer to her house sitting forms.
PROMPT: PARANORMAL
THE SUMMONING
They’d been trying to summon a ghost all night.
And finally, one appeared.
A pale old crone, dressed in white, shuffling past them.
Excitedly, they began snapping pictures.
Except the host of the gathering.
Who shifted uncomfortably in his chair, and decided not to admit it was his sleepwalking mother-in-law… 👻😎👻
Another one for the bad old times' (read: the pandemic) sake:
Almost midnight and they should be here any minute. My phobias are hovering around me. Yet, I want to meet every trick with a treat, in defiance of this isolation.
0:00. Any minute now.
At 2:00 I realize nobody is coming, masks or no masks.
Scariest Halloween ever.
They were crazy times, for sure... 😎
It was such a darling little house.
Then the walls bled and the voices started.”Get out!” they screamed.
Nobody fucked with Felicity Cash. “You clean those damn walls up. My pappy didn’t raise no scaredy cat.”
“Please, get out?”
The harangue lasted for hours,
“Never mind.” The ghosts fled.
Haha! 😎
Paranormal
“And that banging, that’s always there?”
“I mean, it’s a little early tonight-”
“And the shadows flitting between lights?”
Comes as standard. It’s all paranormal.”
“Is it?”
“It’s para-abnormal one must avoid.”
“What’s para-abnormal?”
“No idea. A colleague saw it scrawled on a mirror before abruptly skipping town.”
Paranormal
She froze as the floorboard creaked above, in the secret doorless room only accessible using the old wooden ladder, half-hidden in the ivy, to climb up to the small, round window set high on the east wall, the surrounding brickwork arranged to create the impression of a single eye.
Microdosing Fiction - 50mg of Paranormal
===
She entered the empty unit with her real-estate agent. She flicked the lamp switch, but darkness remained.
‘Ehm, the bills had not been paid.’
She nodded and stepped out.
‘That’s it?’
‘Yeah. My grandma likes it here, she wants to stay longer.’
The agent almost tripped on his way out.
I had to read this three times before I got it. Clever
Thanks for the re-read Diane. I will do better next time...:)
Oh no I meant that I loved the hidden meaning in it. I thought it was just so so so clever.
Thank you! The 'micro' art has been a good training so far for me.
Microdose Paranormal 50 Words
“Say… diphtheria!”
“Knock it off, it’s not funny.”
Dan spoons a lump of pea mush into the baby’s mouth. Liz washes a milk bottle. A sinister deep voice whispers, “Diphtheria.” in discordant tones.
Liz and Dan gape at their 6-month old. The baby smiles, pea slime dribbling down it’s chin.
“Under the Bed”
Tears poured out of Jenna’s eyes as her father called her name from under the bed. She pulled her Barbie comforter over her head and rolled over, hoping this was a terrible nightmare.
“Jennnna, it’sssssss cold down here,” It hissed.
Jenna hugged herself tight. “You’re not my father - he’s dead!”
Goddamn skinwalkers.
Paranormal 50 words
Leonard dealt with nagging winter leg itch. Lotions did not suffice, a bath was drawn. While sitting in the water, a feeling of strange hands gave deep satisfaction. Clawing so deep, tearing, until his limbs were bloodied. It was an orgasmic feeling of relief, until slipping away from blood loss.
“Shh..shh…it’s okay. Momma’s got you.”
The small child wasn’t so sure. How could his mother not see the bad man with the hat standing there in the dimly-lit hallway.
Crying, the boy choked out between sobs, “But momma! The Hat Man! He’s right there.”
“Go to sleep, love. It was just a bad dream.”
I had nightmares like that as a child - apparently they're called "night terrors." My mother would wake me up, and I knew she was there, but I could still see the nightmare creature in the room with us (once a devil man dancing on the wall and another time - inexplicably - a giant goldfish floating above my bed). It always freaked her right out. Thank goodness I grew out of it! You did a great job of catching the sensation.
Me too - lots of monsters and chasing but always a safe place to hide in a huge endless house.
The one about the goldfish floating above the bed, though, I had one with a tantalising glass of lemon floating just above me. Obviously I was thirsty. On a similar note, I once went downstairs (astrally projected, shall we say - I used to do a lot of leaping in those days) and found every cupboard in the kitchen full of bottles of bitter lemon! Clearly I have a thing about lemons.
I suspect night terrors come to the highly imaginative. That's funny about the bitterlemon. I know I wasn't hungry for goldfish, it was one of those poor pop-eyed fantailed mutants.
I experienced them too! So did my brother.
My daughter experienced them too but we were involved in a religious group at the time that was into the spirit world - long story that I should write some time!! - but we used to then get her to explain the dreams and give them a "prophetic meaning". She's had counseling since LOL!
LOL what a story.
I do need to do write it one day
Apparently occasional night terrors are considered to be normal in little kids, but not so much in adults - though until you and Miguel spoke up, I never knew anyone else who had them. It seemed so real to me back then, I remember pointing at it and not being able to understand why my mother couldn't see it. There was no just going back to sleep for either of us, I would scream bloody murder until I passed out again.
I remember seeing stuff as a kid too. I wonder if that’s that the children are more atuned to the paranormal, or if that’s just kid’s imagination going wild.
blah blah serious quasi-scientific explanation of dreams and night terrors in then young blah blah story-telling=meaning making which all humans do blah blah BUT...
my stepson had a recurring night terror involving "the boney man" - so one day we drew him (after breakfast) on a large sheet of art paper and lit a bonfire (in the garden) where The Boney Man was burned to ashes.
I think a healthy imagination helps to be attuned to the paranormal. Most children are born with this kind of attunement I would say, except the sad thing about the modern world is that it's conditioned out of them.
In more ancient, enlightened times, that attunement would remain, and the world would've been far more healthy for it.
Probably a bit of both
There really are giant goldfish out there that can swim in mid-air? Now that's a chilling thought... 😉
Paranormal
Within a few hours of living in this new house, I’ve been thrown against walls, heard whispers, and seen other faces in the mirror. I’ve never believed in the paranormal until now, but this ghost is giving me a reason to. I guess I understand why this house was cheap.
So, I woke up this morning and, to my surprise, there was a photo of me asleep in a fetal position on my left side, taken a few hours after midnight. Now, what makes this weird and terrifying is that I live alone.
Thanks for joining in Kanwar!
Basement
That’s where it is
For cripes’ sake there’s no IT
A creak (guttural moan of a god) in the black and my knees give on the second step
Cartwheeling my arms I plummet
Dazed immobile in the dust
I glimpse the face of…some Other
It gobbles up my mind
Paranormal. 50 words.
Under the shimmer of the full moon she visits me. The foot of the mattress dips, paw prints appear along the blanket. A cat shaped hollow forms on my pillow as she curls herself into me. I long to hold her one last time, falling asleep to her phantom purrs.
Beautiful and delightfully efficient. Well done!
Oh, thank you!
Paranormal - 50 words
He breathed hard as he ran towards Henry's cabin, watching for his pursuers. His satellite phone was dead, but he could use the old man's emergency radio. He forced the door and clicked the radio on. It crackled and vacuum tubes glowed: “Introducing President Franklin D. Roosevelt…”
No Rosie 😭 Don't make me cry like this
Ah, sorry! I used to feel the presence of my beautiful girl around me at my old house and really felt like she was jumping onto the bed sometimes. Thanks for the cool prompt and the memories.
Lovely...
Thank you!