by Malley Hayes
It says it right here in my book that saints get hurt…maaaarrrrrrttyyyyyyred!
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The first girl he told threw a glass of red wine on him. They were in an Italian restaurant and he was finishing his gnocchi. He dropped it on her and she bathed him in merlot. The second girl he told didn’t believe him. He told her several times, several different ways over several days. Nothing. Finally, he showed her and she sobbed, packed her stuff, garbled something about her parents never understanding and marched out, leaving him with the lease.
Continue reading HOLY ONES GET HURT
by Julie Jansen
How can you help a spirit who is lost?
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Mark bent down to tie his shoes. The minor effort left him breathless. He sat on the bed and wiped sweat from his brow. When he raised his head, the reflection in the mirror gave him a start. He avoided looking into mirrors now. The creature that looked out was a cross between Auschwitz victim and zombie, a far cry from his ruggedly handsome former self. Eight weeks in the hospital left his once strong, solid body nothing more than a bag of skin and bones.
Continue reading SUCKER PUNCH
by Tom Howard
Sometimes tourists aren’t as naive as one might hope.
~*~
Scalene always had an angle. Whether it was milking the rubes at her fortune-telling table or skimming her neighbors’ food stamps when she went to the market for them, she always looked out for Number One.
Even on hot muggy Louisiana evenings when she sat outside at her table studying her Tarot cards, she kept one eye open for potential marks. She didn’t consider herself a thief; she was an opportunist. If her customers wanted to throw money at her, who was she to deny them? She wasn’t getting any younger. She tried to ignore the amount of gray replacing her thin blonde hair and the number of pounds her forty-something body had packed on, but the looks of pity she got from some of the passersby reminded her occasionally of her lot in life.
Continue reading MADAME MYSTIC
by Tom Greene
It turns out shift work is quite lucrative after all.
~*~
The smell from the trunk of Mr. D’s car first caught my attention, metallic and earthy, like the blood meal used for fertilizer.
I was making the rounds on the parking level of the Burke office tower where I work. That’s when I smelled the butcher-shop odor from the back of Mr. D’s Lincoln. I went to my office and got the coat hanger. Mr. D’s car is in perfect condition, glossy black and leather seats. But it’s still an old Detroit gunboat, so it was easy to slip the bent wire tip under the trunk rim and pop the latch. The stink that came out was enough to make you gag. What I saw there made me think it was lucky for Mr. D. that I knew what I was looking at, because most people would have called the cops right then.
Continue reading SHIFT WORK
by J. J. Daniels
Scary how this works…what you feed grows. Very scary.
~*~
It was born of innovation and creativity, out of man’s innate nature to have, hold, and control. Birthed through thought, time, blood, and sweat, it initially emerged as an object of intrigue. However, such an unusual and unique creature quickly became a precious commodity. Its creators were diverse in culture, philosophy, and belief, but they were all equally human and therefore fallible. Its inevitable inception would prove a tremendous accomplishment for mankind, seemingly paving a path of hope and promise. However, when it opened its emerald eyes on the sixth day of its creation, it remained weak and nameless.
Continue reading BEAST
by Timothy Miller
They called him ‘Weird’ because he could hear the wytches’ cries when others couldn’t.
~*~
The stars were out, distant fireflies floating high above the walls of the Hold. A thick band of the twinkling beauties split the heavens like a glowing highway of old. The Milky Way, the grandfathers called it.
Pulling up his collar, Weird shivered. The sky was pretty enough, he supposed, but clear nights were always the coldest. Some said a cloudy sky helped hold in the warmth of the day, if you could call any day in January warm.
Continue reading WYTCHE WAY
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Welcome to F&T! Fear & Trembling features horror and suspense with a spiritual twist. Now, not every story will have a spiritual element, but you'll find here intelligent fiction that touches on eternal themes. On the other hand, sometimes you'll come across some good old fashioned, frightfully pulpy fun. Either way, we hope you enjoy each of these stories that just won't die.
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