Bite-Sized Halloween #3: An October Evening

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“Don’t be too late, okay?”

“Sure, Honey.” There was a smack of a kiss.

And then they were outside, the air crisp and cool – the way a Halloween night should feel. Charlie sniffed. He could smell smoke and bonfires. He grinned.

“And have fun!” said his mother – the last words he’d ever hear from her.

“Will do!” his daddy called back, as he opened the gate.

The pair slipped out onto the street; father and son. In every direction, Charlie could see colourful lights, draped decorations and candlelit pumpkins carved into faces.

“Now this,” said his daddy, “is Halloween!”

 


This is part three of a larger story for Halloween. All sections are in the form of a 99-word story. Check back tomorrow for part four!

Previous parts: #1 | #2

Bite-Sized Halloween #2: Daddy

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Daddy was home, at long last. He entered the front door like a whirlwind, kicking off his shoes, wriggling out of his coat, dropping his briefcase right there. Charlie knew he was equally as excited for that evening.

Graham hugged his son, cheeks rough like sandpaper. “Ready for tonight, Charlie?” he asked with a grin.

“Yup!” Charlie said, dancing on the spot. In his arms he cradled his outfit.

“Got your costume sorted?”

“Uh-huh!”

A pause. “Is that one of the good sheets?” He chuckled. “Don’t tell mom!”

“Okay!”

“Let’s get ready! We’re going to have a boo-tiful Halloween!”

 


This is part two of a larger story for Halloween. All sections are in the form of a 99-word story. Check back tomorrow for part three!

Previous parts: #1

It’s That Time of Year Again!

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What’s that I hear you say? “Josh, we had no idea that Halloween was your favourite holiday! That’s so unexpected! Who’d have guessed that the lunatic who has an unhealthy obsession with horror likes Halloween? Not me!”

Alas, it is true. Halloween and October are my most treasured times of year. The burnt-orange leaves that scatter and make skittering noises as the wind ushers them down the streets. The acrid perfume of bonfires and fireworks lingering in the air. The cooler temperatures, the thick jumpers, the hugging scarfs. And, of course, All Hallow’s Eve.

I love all things Halloween. The movies, the music, the TV specials, the books, the decorations, the costumes. All of it. All of it. From the legitimately terrifying stuff to the kid-friendly goofy stuff. It simply warms the cold, cobwebby recesses of my heart.

So, to celebrate, Bite-Sized Horror will undergo a special Halloween theme for the rest of this month! I’m not sure how many posts there’ll be, but there’s going to be an underlying connection to them — perhaps even one overarching story. I think I may stray from my two-sentence rule — maybe I’ll play around with the 99-word structure I’ve recently come to love (check out CarrotRanch’s weekly prompts!). If I (temporarily) abandon the two-sentence shocker, I’ll probably not post every day, due to time constraints… But we’ll see — I think I’m going to wing it, and see where my dark, rotten soul leads me.

Additionally, I’ll be sharing parts of my other creative passion as well: music. I play a few different instruments and I love composing. Unsurprisingly, I adore horror soundtracks — particularly the works of John Carpenter. Writing music (especially creepy, horror-themed electronica) is one of my most enjoyable pastimes — so I’ll be posting tidbits, here and there, when the mood is right and the moon is full.

So keep your eyes peeled and your ear to the ground — terrible things are lurking in the shadows.

My entry for this week’s Reedsy contest: ‘A Village Under the Purple Moon’!

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Well, hello there! Fancy seeing you here. How’ve you been? That good, huh? Well, actually, I’ve been quite ill, but it hasn’t stopped me from working. I’ve done some writing, but it was done whilst in a state of delirium, so…

This week’s Reedsy theme was the literary classic, Little Women! I chose prompt #4 — “Write a story that uses flowers as a symbol.” As mentioned, I wrote this piece whilst not entirely here on Earth. I found the finished thing on my desktop, once I’d recovered, with only a vague memory of writing it. I tweaked it a little, once I was better — but for the most part, I left it as it was. I think it’s got a ‘woozy’ sensation to it, probably imbued from my fever! The title of the story is A Village Under the Purple Moon, and you can read it here on WordPress, or over here on my Reedsy profile. It’s a kind of fantasy story, which I never really write — so that’s a first!

Marianne felt the eyes of the townsfolk upon her; hatred intermingled with fear. Although they’d never know it, the people of Maydale had played a role in their own demise.

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As always, I hope you enjoy the piece! And remember: never exile a witch!

If you’d like to read Astro Naught, my winning entry for last week’s Reedsy contest, you can find it here on WordPress, or over here on Reedsy, where it has been published!

My short story, ‘Astro Naught’, won the Reedsy contest!

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Hey everyone! Hope you’re all doing great! I have once again won the weekly Reedsy contest — this time with my short sci-fi story Astro Naught!

It was really great to hear that Arielle and her team over at Reedsy enjoyed my story. I often put these things out there, with no idea how well they’ll be received — so it’s lovely to find out that people actually enjoyed them.

If you haven’t read it already, you can check out Astro Naught here on WordPress, or over on Reedsy’s site, where it’s been published.

So, a huge thank you to Arielle and her team for hosting these contests and for picking my story as this week’s winner! I really love these prompts, and highly recommend writers of all skill levels to have a go! I’ve noticed a massive improvement in my writing as a result of these weekly challenges.

I previously won the Reedsy contest back in August, with my story The Things That Do Not Float. If you’re interested, you can read that piece here on WordPress, over here on Reedsy’s site, or over here on Reedsy’s Medium blog!

Head over to Reedsy’s site to learn more about their weekly contests. (And be sure to read the other stories on there, too! There’s some brilliant pieces.)

 

P.S. Check back tomorrow for my entry for this week’s Reedsy contest! I wrote it whilst deliriously ill…

‘Astro Naught’: Read my space-themed short story for this week’s Reedsy contest!

You know what time it is — Reedsy contest time! This week had the theme of ‘off on an adventure’!

I chose prompt #3 — ‘Write a story about an adventure in space.’ I had a lot of fun with this one, as it was relatively new territory for me! The short story is called Astro Naught, and you can read it here on WordPress, or over here on my Reedsy profile.

“It’s okay, Ground Control. I know you did everything you could.”

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Enjoy the adventure in space! And ask yourself: what would you do if you were stranded out in the cosmos, with no hope of rescue?

 

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P.S. Bite-Sized Horror has taken a brief break, as I’ve had many other things to post about (such as various awards nominations, other contests, etc.) — it’ll be back next week! I didn’t want to spam all of your feeds with my gory nonsense…

‘Dorsal’: A story in 99 words

The whole world seemed to hold its breath. A calm fell across the ocean, silencing the whispering waves and the crying gulls.

The waters around her were dark grey; murky and gloomy. She knew that the aquatic tranquillity was false – a temporary peace.

She trod the water, suspended between two ticks in time. The instant before had revealed a flash of black and white, a beady eye, a fin slicing the glassy waves. Then the depths had reclaimed it.

Her mind’s eye told her what was next: the strike from below, the eyes rolled white, a row of teeth.

 

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Photo by Oliver Sjöström on Pexels.com

 

Due to my busy schedule, this was written after the closure of last week’s CarrotRanch prompt, ‘interlude’. I had an idea for the theme, so I thought I’d write it and share it nonetheless! 

‘The Comicbook Kid’: My entry for this week’s Reedsy contest!

Well, here we are again! It seems as though no time has passed at all, but somehow another week has gone by… This week’s theme was a celebration of legendary children’s author, Roald Dahl.

I chose prompt #5 — “Write a story infused with dark humour.” I wrote this story very quickly, as I spent the better part of the week in Prague for my brother’s stag party (the hangover was atrocious!). The title of the story is The Comicbook Kid, and you can read it here and here.

“Ralph’s parents were never the same after they died.” Continue Reading

As always, I hope you have fun reading the piece — I would have liked to work on it a bit more, but I’m happy with the story, considering how little time I invested in it!

 

P.S. Check back tomorrow for the 50th Bite-Size Horror!

Read ‘Two Wheels to the Coast’: This week’s Reedsy short story!

Hey all! Hope you’ve had a good week — it’s flown by! This week’s Reedsy theme was centered around road trips!

I chose prompt #1 — “Write a story about a family road trip.” I think my story straddles the boundary between my horror and non-horror pieces of work. I’m quite pleased with it! The story is called Two Wheels to the Coast, and you can read it here.

Enjoy the short story! And think: how would you and your family fare on a road trip without a motorised vehicle?

Have a good weekend!

P.S. Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!

‘How to Build a Boat’: This week’s entry for the Reedsy short story contest!

Hey there! How’s everyone doing? It’s that time of the week again! This week’s Reedsy theme was Ernest Hemingway!

I used prompt #1 — “Write a story about someone who finds life meaning in an unexpected place.” The piece I wrote wasn’t horror (similar to my previous entry, The Things That Do Not Float, which won). It’s titled How to Build a Boat, and you can read the short story here!

“I knew I was in for a spot of bother when the plane’s left wing exploded.” Continue Reading

As always, I hope you find it to be an enjoyable read!

 

P.S. Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!