In the old country, before the priests came with their bells and books, there lived those who could swallow sorrow. They were born with hollow hearts, it was said, and…
He’d discovered his gift four years earlier. A story about a thing that lived in storm drains. He’d written it in a fever, posted it online, then spotted the thing…
I was but a boy when they came for the witch, In the valley where shadows grow long, And though fifty winters have silvered my hair, The echoes still linger,…
The classroom smelt of damp earth and hunger. Sarah Brennan stood before eleven children, their faces pinched and grey in the weak afternoon light that filtered through windows filmed with…
There’s naive, and there’s just plain gullible. Eight years at Hartley & Sons, eating lunch at my desk. Wearing cardigans in August. Nobody remembering my name at the Christmas party.…
The scalpel traced the Y-incision across the cadaver’s chest. James concentrated on keeping his hand steady, aware of Dr. Winters watching from across the dissection lab. His appendectomy scar itched…
Maya’s phone held twenty-three recordings of people dying. Her latest was a homeless woman outside Tesco who’d clutched her hand and said “sorry” to someone who wasn’t there, her final…
The Elevator Anthology – Part V The queue stretched three blocks. I’d been in 2035 for six hours and still didn’t understand what they were waiting for. A shop. Perfect…
The parchment fell from between two stones like a whispered confession. Brother Osric had been checking the eastern wall—the autumn rains had loosened the mortar again—when the yellowed sheet tumbled…
The Latchkey – Part VI Santa had read approximately 847,000 letters that evening when he found the one that made him stop. The handwriting was spidery, uneven, as though written…
The letter from the Society arrived on a Tuesday, as such things invariably did. Mr. Edward Pembridge, junior fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, was to proceed with all haste…
The Elevator Anthology – Part IV The voice had changed. Martin noticed it on a Tuesday morning, waiting for the lift to descend from the ninth floor. The usual automated…
Ralph Dawson heard his name. Clear and certain, cutting through the hammering of his heart and Freddie’s ragged breathing beside him. Not a shout or a threat. Just his name.…
You remember that day, don’t you? The one where everything changed. We were in that coffee shop on the corner, the one with the crooked awning and the barista who…
The Latchkey – Part V [Editor’s note: This incomplete draft was discovered in Andy Brooke’s WordPress dashboard on 14th November 2024. He hasn’t responded to emails or phone calls since…
H.P. Lovecraft’s The Rats in the Walls is a masterclass in structural horror. It’s also deeply, irredeemably racist. Both things are true, and pretending otherwise helps no one. The question…
The Latchkey – Part IV I have served in the Hendersons’ household for seven years, and in that time I have learnt to read the rhythms of the house as…
What’s my middle name? WHAT’S MY MIDDLE NAME?
Danny Marsh had spent three weeks on his zombie costume. Three weeks of YouTube tutorials watched on a cracked phone screen, of measuring corn syrup into teacups while his mum…
William Hope Hodgson occupies an odd position in the pantheon of early 20th century horror writers. Whilst his contemporaries (Lovecraft, MR James, Algernon Blackwood) remain widely read, Hodgson’s work has…
“Third helping today,” Maureen said brightly, ladling more gravy onto Tyler’s plate. “Growing lad, aren’t you?” “Always room for seconds with this one,” Pat agreed, beaming. “Or thirds. Or fourths.”…
The Elevator Anthology – Part III The power cut hit just as Nadia pressed the button for the seventh floor. The lift jolted, lights flickering, then settled into a dim…
Seth guided the drone over the treeline, thumbs working the controller. Up here, three hundred feet above the woods behind his new house, nobody could touch him. Nobody could shove…
The Latchkey – Part III You’ve been sitting in the same position for three hours now. That’s fine. Comfortable chair, good book, nothing urgent to do. Except you can’t remember…
The pattern appeared at 2:47am. Callum had been inside the Met’s facial recognition network for three hours, sifting through camera feeds across Zone 2, when he spotted it: the same…
On the Fringes of Reality is a collection of contemporary horror stories that explore the unsettling spaces where our ordinary world reveals its true nature. Each tale examines the familiar through a darker lens, finding terror in technology, relationships, and the everyday moments that suddenly turn strange.
