Janet Forbes
by Janet Forbes I Sang to the loom, the day my mother died. My hands were an echo of hers. Heavy with grief, they wove eight hundred threads onto the frame, a hundred for each string of her Lyra. The weft, the framework, the heart of the weave. Each string
Vince Stadon
by Vince Stadon “You had to remember me before I could appear to you.” – Jennifer Making movies is arduous work, and sometimes filming is rough on everyone. Lèvres de sang was shot in three weeks, often guerrilla-style, as the film crew would just turn up without pre-planning or permits to,
Cody Schell
by Cody Schell
J. S. Watts
by J. S. Watts Art by Arnold T. Blumberg They came for me at dusk, before the tired light had fully faded from the sky. Before I could finally sleep. Before I could wake. I wasn’t yet dead, was as weak—no, weaker—than them. There were twelve of
Vince Stadon
by Vince Stadon “You see, Jason was my son, and today is his birthday…” – Mrs. Voorhees Sunday the 1st. I begin watching Friday 13th for the first time in decades. Twenty minutes in it occurs to me that this film might be best experienced in daily chunks. I’d never
Aeryn Rudel
by Aeryn Rudel Art by Arnold T. Blumberg There’s a hole in me. I’m not speaking metaphorically. If I lift my shirt, you’ll see a black disk about the size of a softball just above my belly button. It doesn’t hurt, but it makes a strange
Vince Stadon
by Vince Stadon “Are we not both the living dead?” – Hjalmar Poelzig It’s not Karloff’s real hair, of course; it’s a wig he is wearing for his character, the murderous Satanist Hjalmar Poelzig. But, man, what a wig! It’s a widow’s peak, but not a
by Lorraine Schein Art by Arnold T. Blumberg She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott.
by Liz Hill Art by Arnold T. Blumberg I stood on the roof of our goat hut and listened to the song of the coming storm. Footsteps sounded behind me on the roof planks. I drew in a deep lungful of air. “It calls to me, Machel.” “It’s not
by Robert Jeschonek Artwork by Doan Trang JOE BLOW RINKY-DINK Joe’s Saturday To-Do List: 1. Pick up fresh produce 2. Paint bedroom accent wall 3. Plant flowers 4. Prune Marcie’s favorite roses 5. Make pasta for dinner RINKY’S ROLL-OUT-THE-WELCOME-WAGON-FOR-JOE-DAY TO-DO LIST: 1. Get up bright & early
Narrative, unbound
by Cody Schell
by Vince Stadon “There's no need to be alone, you know. Poor little girl. All by herself. All shaking like a little frightened animal.” – Landlord When that doorbell rings, Carol curls up into a ball, retreating into her internal space. The doorbell is the sound of intrusion into
by Greg Clumpner Art by Arnold T. Blumberg To Mr. Joshua Harrington or current resident, You pre-qualify for our program and the Spirited Credit Union (SCU) is pleased to offer you a Reverse Soul Mortgage™. With a Reverse Soul Mortgage™, SCU will take ownership of your soul for a limited
by Vince Stadon “Oh, no. Capricorn's ruled by Saturn.” – Pam I always thought ‘chainsaw’ was one word, and that all the chainsaws came from Texas. I don’t think I ever witnessed one in the wilds of England till I watched a guy from the Forestry Commission cut
by Meredith Kinrys Art by Arnold T. Blumberg The only blessings of drifting aimlessly through space, far from any planet to call home, are visits from mysterious spirits we call mermaids. The origin of the ominous spectres that swim past our windows is a mystery, but their long bodies of
by Vince Stadon “Just one more day...” - Reiko Asakawa If you watch the disturbing, unlabelled video tape, your phone will ring… and when you answer, an evil ghost woman will tell you that you are going to die. Within a week you’re dead—terrified to such a degree
by Cody Schell
by Jetse de Vries Art by Arnold T. Blumberg Subliminal: A sublime liminality of intent, a di- chotomy of trial and error turned into the survival of the fittest The prokaryote swims in the primordial soup. It arises from a mix of chiral chemistry: right-handed chirality for nucleotides and sugars,
by Vince Stadon “I see why you like this video camera so much… It’s not quite reality. It’s like a totally filtered reality… it’s like you can pretend everything’s not quite the way it is.” – Josh If made today, The Blair Witch Project would end with
by Demakatso May Art by Arnold T. Blumberg When the first echo bloom appeared in Clara’s garden, she mistook it for a weed. Its stem was knotted and gray, and its petals were translucent like moth wings. She nearly uprooted it, but something—a flicker of movement in the
by Vince Stadon “You see, everybody in this room is part of my dream. Everybody.” – Walter Craig Walter wakes up. Dr Van Straaten breaks his spectacles. July 1969: The Beatles are working on their final album. Paul McCartney is sat at a piano in Abbey Road Studio 2 picking out
by Michael M. Jones Art by Arnold T. Blumberg “First day on the job, huh?” the elder kobold growled, looking down his crooked green nose at the visibly nervous rookie standing before him. “Yes, sir,” came the reply. “Chim the Extremely Lesser, of Clan Coaleater.” “Another Chim. I swear, every