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The Dream

All she could do was just stand there, terrified and sweating profusely. The eerie sounds that were coming from the outside of her bedroom window were not human. It almost sounded like a hell hound growling from the depths of the darkness in the night. Not even the moon was visible outside her window. She stood holding her breath, straining to hear the growls and grunts again, but they were so faint that she wasn’t sure she was hearing them at all. Then she heard it, a snarl above the howling winds, it sounded evil, dark and menacing. The trees were groaning in the wind as she saw it, the red glowing eyes. At first they were in the tree branch that was scratching against her window with its claw like branches. The eyes seemed to hover over her and size her up. They came closer to her window and what she saw terrified her beyond the definition of terrified, it was a snarled and oozing face that was blackened and the only life she could see in it were those terrible and fierce evil glowing eyes. Its claws were large and razor sharp against the window pane it hung to, and it was studded with horns and scales all the way from nape of neck to tip of tail. Black and decaying, but strong and agile the creature stared at her with an evil menace as it slowly pulled its wizened and cracked mouth into a grin, baring sharp rows of jagged teeth. It knocked gently on the window and she could hear, not so much out loud, but in her mind as if a telepathic connection were being made between her and it; let me in little, pretty thing, oh won’t you let me in. As she started, the thing grinned more and tapped more persistently on her bay window, rattling it with a startling strength. She slowly turned to her bedroom door hoping to run for it before that thing at her window could make it into her bedroom. She didn’t want to be caught in that room with no way out, to be trapped with that thing she knew would spell doom for sure. As she turned for the door she discovered the door was not there but replaced with a stone wall that oozed thick green slime. It suddenly became dark and the over powering smell of rot and dampness filled her nostrils to the wretching point. As she scrambled to find some semblance of a doorway to escape in she heard an explosion of breaking glass then the room was filled with a new smell, one of sulphur, decay and pure evil. She screamed as she desperately flailed at the oozing wall to find escape, her hands covered in thick, oozing and foul smelling slime. The evil creature chocked out a menacing laughter as it watched her desperate attempts at flight from it. It grinned cracking the skin around its mouth with a little puff of decaying dust and pounced for it’s victim. Her hands slid across the wet and slimy wall as the creature hit her full force digging its claws deep into her shoulders and back, wrapping its tail around her waist. It breathed in her face sending up waves of nausea from the wretched stench of its dead breath. She struggled with it, fighting it off weakly. She begged in her mind for someone, anyone to save her. It turned her around in its grip so that she faced it dead on, and split its mouth in another evil, toothy grin. It was satisfied with the capture, the pure terror on its victim’s face as she faced it with resignation. She knew she was done, it had her now. Still she weakly tried to fight it off which only satisfied the creature more, it tightened its clawed grip on her shoulders, digging into her delicate flesh. She smelt her own blood trickling down her back and chest, smelt it. She struggled weakly as the creature leaned back then jutted forward, administering the final blow with such force it knocked the both of them against the stone wall that replaced her bedroom wall with its stench and slime. They both fell to the ground in an ungraceful heap as the creature tore her throat open, spilling her life line onto the floor. It screeched in satisfaction as she bled and gasped from the open wound in her throat, then released her and fled into the night.

Suzy woke up with a start gasping and reaching for her rescue inhaler for her asthma. She felt terrified and unsure of the dream she had just had. After settling her asthma attack, Suzy got up out of bed but whimpered as a shot of pain ran up her leg, she sat down to take a look at the source of her pain. She found a sliver of glass in her foot. She looked at her window, terrified of what she might find there, but there was nothing but the full moon and the trees gently swaying in the light breeze of the night. She looked at her hands and screamed in horror as she saw a dried green stain on her fingers and the palm of her hands. She high tailed it out her bedroom and spent the rest of the night on the living room couch, unable to sleep.

Was it a dream? Or was it real? You decide…

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Hotel Hell

I was driving along mindin mah own business when low and behold dis hotel come popping out o’ da horizon. Ah suddenly felt tired and hungry and decided ta stop on in and call it quits fer da night. Got off a mah motocycle and took off mah helmut only ta be greated by dis very good looking woman at da door o’ da hotel with a nice ole smile on ‘er face.
She said “what’s your name big fella”
“Chance, nice ta meet you dahlin’” I said
“Nice to meet you too sweet mea..thing, name’s darhla” she said with a grin.
Ah kinda found it strange she calling me sweet meat but left it at dat and walked into da hotel to book me a room to crash in fer da night. Da man at da check in gave me dis strange look wid a grin dat seemed not so human.
“What can I do ya for fella” he said
“Ah’d like ta rent a room fer da night”
“Where ya headed?”
“Nowhere’s in particular, jus’ drivin’ ya know”
“No aim, straggling, I know. That’ll be 80 dollars for the night, dinner’s at 7 pm sharp, don’t be late”
I said mah thanks and mosied on ta mah room to rest fer a bit before dinnah. Ah musta fallen asleep cause by da time ah woke up it was 10 ta 7. Ah cursed and got up and hussled on down ta da dinning room cause ah didn’t wanna be late or miss out on da eats. As soon as ah walked in everybody dere stared at me and smiled, it be more like an evil grin dat make mah blood run cold. Ah got da inkling dat maybe ah shouldnta stop at dis here hotel and jus’ drove right on by without a second glance back right at dat moment.
“Why don’t you sit next to me” Darhla smiled
“Uh, sure thang, uhm hope ah aint late or nothin’”
“No you aren’t, just in time sweet meat”
Ah shivered when she call me dat. Ah guess she saw dat ah shivered and asked me if ah was cold or somethang. I said no, jus’ wakin’ up some. Ah sat down an’ looked at what was on da table. Ah wondered why dey all pull out da good china for a small hotel dinnah but ah didn’t say nothin bout it out loud. Da table was glitterin wid fine china and crystal goblets. Gold trimmed cutlery.
“Bet your wondering why we brought out the fine china huh” said Darhla
“Ah was jus’ wonderin’ dat, yeah” ah said
“Because we’re having a special feast today, sweet meat is on the menu”
Ah must ‘ave jumped a mile high cause she broke out inta dis laughter dat was demonic. I winced as da rest o da room broke out into da same laughter and stared hungrily at me. Dey all got up outta dere chairs and started fer da table ah was sittin at wid Darhla with dese crazy maniac smiles and dat murdering glitter in dem eyes. Ah realized at dat moment dere wasn’t gonna be a meal fer eating, least not fer dis creole. Ah started ta get up ta get da hell on outta dere and hit da road. Dat’s when da guy dat was at the check in counter grabbed me by da back o’ da shoulder and grinned. Ah whirled around in time ta see him changin inta somethin ah aint nevah seen before…
“We’re programmed to receive fella, you can check out but you can never leave,” he growled
Das when ah felt mahself bein’ lifted and thrown right on top o dat table full o’ fine chine, glitterin’ cystal and cutlery. Ah felt dem all tearing at me, tried ta fight em off but it was no good. Ya know when ya know yer beat, ya kinda give in an’ fall back and let it happen. Ah knew ah was a gonner. Dey were all tearin’ at me and ah felt dem goin’ at mah gut wid dere stealy knives, tearing at mah flesh, pullin’ me apart. Das when ah blacked out.
“Well, your sitting right here with us telling us about it, you had to have gotten away” said some tiny blonde from the group of college kids.
“Take a closah look dahlin’” Chance said with a chuckle.
The group of college kids took a closer look at the man sitting at the dinner table with them as he begun to transform into this hiddious corpse that was half eaten and swarming with maggots. His face was blackened and not the hansome looking man that was sitting with them a moment before. He started laughing with a half gone and oozing smile on his face that litterally looked like it was from ear to ear as half of his cheeks were missing.
“Ah feel real sorry fer y’all, but it ain’t often we get a good meal round ‘ere, an’ ah haven’t eaten since dat day ah came ‘ere. Ahm stahvin, think ah’ll start wid dat lil’ redhead ovah dere.” Chance growled.
The college kids screamed and made to run for the door but were blocked by all the rest of the group, and in the middle of the grotesque group of corpses was the check in guy, grinning a mile long grin.
“Would you do the honors Chance” he grinned
“Sure thang boss, we’re programmed ta receive kiddos, y’all can check out, but y’all can nevah leave” Chance said
And with that the maggot infested corpses pounced on their meal and to add to their ranks. Just goes to show you, when you see a mysterious hotel pop up on the horizon, you better make haste and pass it on by without a second glance or you might end up becoming the next meal!

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Untitled

Walking through the woods was his favorite wind down activity. It helped him clear the day’s problems and work through some of the day’s happenings. Darrian wasn’t expecting to experience a whole new set of problems on this particular night’s hike. As he came up to the old abandoned Martell mansion, he shivered. He never really liked that place very much, even as a kid he refused to even walk the path that followed along side the property. It gave him the hebbie-jebbies. Darrian glanced at the house uneasily and frowned. There were stories about how the whole family died in the house, the husband killed his wife and children then committed suicide. There were even stories that it was now haunted by the whole family. Darrian started to walk past the path that ran along the property then stopped suddenly, straining to hear what he thought was a scream on the wind. Darrian squinted, and listened quietly for a few minutes, then he heard it, the scream. It was coming from the Martell mansion. He briefly considered walking back home and calling the police to let them deal with it when another, more urgent scream sent him up the path to the mansion. He shivered in disgust as he passed a grove of gnarled and dead trees. The screams got louder as Darrian got closer to the house.

“Anybody there!” Darrian hollered

The screams were even louder now, even more urgent and they sounded very scared. Darrian approached the front door cautiously, the wooden porch looked rotten out and boards were missing. The smell of rot in the air was gagging and heavy. He pushed on the old, heavy oak door and it fell to the floor with a loud bang making him jump. The place was dusty and smelled like old moldy wood. As Darrian walked into the foyer the floor under his feet creaked loudly making him wince. The family room was off to the right. He peeked into the doorway and saw a fireplace long since used. Above the mantle was a family portrait of a woman, man and three children. The eyes of the portrait seemed to follow Darrian everywhere and he became uncomfortable looking in the eyes of the portrait. It felt like they were watching him and his every move. Darrian looked at the dusty mantle. There were several items on it covered in dust and time. There was a brass music box in the middle of the mantle. Darrian picked it up and opened it. It played this soft sweet lullaby. The lullaby started to slow down as Darrian watched the little ballerina twirl slowly on its toes something streaked passed him just out of his peripheral vision. He jumped and looked over toward the kitchen doorway. There was nothing there but the kitchen light was now on. Darrian swore there was no electricity going to this old place, so how could the lights be on. As he started toward the kitchen, the fireplace flared up as if someone had just thrown a match to the old embers sitting in the hearth. Darrian screamed and bolted for the kitchen doorway then stopped dead. There in the doorway was the woman from the family portrait, plain as day staring back at him. Darrian was frozen with fear, he couldn’t move even if someone lit a fire under him, he couldn’t move. He stared at her, terrified. She pointed past him and seemed to be mouthing something at him, he couldn’t quite understand it at first. Then he realized what she was saying, get out before you can’t. As quickly as she was there, she faded before his eyes and disappeared completely. Darrian frowned and stared at the empty doorway. He glanced back at the fireplace where the old embers sat cold and unlit. He grunted and thought maybe I’m just imagining things, an over-active imagination, that’s all it is.

Darrian decided to venture into the kitchen. He stepped passed the thresh hold and into the kitchen, looking around. The dinner table was still set as if the family were just sitting down to dinner. The food that must have been on the fine bone china plates was long rotted and gone. The silverware was now so tarnished you couldn’t tell it was silver anymore. The crystal goblets, half of them broken and shattered perhaps like the lives of the Martell family, we etched with time and decay. Cobwebs and dust littered the table like ants invading a family picnic. Everything was covered in them. A spider walked across one of the plates, Darrian could hear the little scratches its legs made on the plate. Darrian went to the light switch and flicked it on and off a few times, the lights didn’t turn off when he flicked them off. He frowned and stared at the light switch. Another black streak flew past his peripheral vision and Darrian jumped. He turned around and saw a little girl standing there. He could see through her to the family room behind her. She stared back at him and smiled softly, then turned toward the family room and walked out of the kitchen. She paused in the middle of the family room and looked back at him then motioned for him to follow her. Darrian considered this for a moment then muttered what the hell, might as well indulge her. He followed the little girl through the family room to the stairs that led to the upstairs room. As he passed the mirror in the hallway upstairs he saw two boys’ reflections in it, he paused to look across the hallway and saw no one standing there. He looked back at the mirror and their reflections were still there. The younger of the two boys mouthed the words no don’t go with her. Darrian whistled through his teeth and trudged on towards where the little girl was leading him.

She led him to a back room on the upstairs floor and passed through the closed door. Darrian tried the handle to the door and it didn’t budge. He stepped back and looked at the door, he was about to turn around and head back the way he came when the handle turned slowly on it’s own and the door swung open on the most terrifying scene Darrian had ever witnessed. Darrian screamed as he spun around on his heals and ran two steps at a time down the stairs and out the now fallen old front oak door. He ran down the path, through the woods and all the way home screaming in horror all the way.

He never spoke about what he saw till he was laying on his death bed. His grand daughter had to coax what he saw out of him.

“What did you see grandpa, in that old house” she asked him.

Darrian frowned and wrinkled his nose, “I don’t want to talk about that, not ever. Please don’t make me talk about that.”

“Please grandpa, pretty please”

“You’ll have nightmares for the rest of your life child” he grunted

“Common grandpa, please”

Darrian sighed and looked at her warily, he could never deny his apple of his eye. His granddaughter. She was his prized possession in life. He grunted as he gave into her pleas and told her this…

“When I looked into that room, I saw the worst thing any person could have ever witnessed. I can confirm the rumors that Mr. Martell did in fact murder his wife and children and then kill himself. I saw the whole crime and suicide play out in that room as if it were really happening. Mr. Martell bludgeoned his wife to death with a claw hammer. Shot his three children in the head point blank and then chopped up his family with an axe. He then turned toward me with the most evil and vilest of demonic grins and screamed clear as day, “DIE ALL OF YOU DIE”. He then stood on a chair and tied his noose around his neck, with the other end attached to the ceiling beam above, and hung himself.”

His grand daughter stared at him with wide, fearful eyes. He looked at her sadly. Closed his eyes and died quietly with his grand daughter’s hand on his.