Light flickered under the dirt and leaves. I brushed them away, and found an old, broken TV. Somehow the cracked screen displayed a feed of something hideous: bloated and wet, with tiny eyes. It crooked a finger at me and smiled. I swept the #dirt back over it and left. #vss365

A witch cursed my twin to eternal life in a horrific form. I could break his curse by killing him. I loved him too much to do it. But he was so sad. So one day I held a knife as he fell upon the blade, chirruping happily as he bled into #oblivion. I wish I could undo it. #vss365

#Inktober2019 #crystals

My best friend had many eyes and enormous wings. Mother saw us playing, and shot him. His head exploded like a wet firework. All his eyes swelled and popped. Mother said he was a soulless monster. But she was wrong. My best friend had a beautiful #soul. All angels do. #vss365

They said the treatment would cure my daughter. It did more. It made her #invincible. Immortal. And doomed to live forever as a child. I once feared her death. I now fear mine, and what will happen to her when I'm gone. I think it would've been better to let her die. #vss365

#Inktober2019 #horror

My cellar is a garden of darkness Of plump moths and shiny roaches Of sly rats, helpful bats, and shadows that pull my hair There the king of the cellar presides, twisted and dried, with silver eyes that shine when I come near That is why I stay out of my #cellar #vss365

My brother died as a child. I remember my grief, how it drowned me. I remember the night of his funeral, when I woke and saw his moonlit face pressed against my window. He is not alive, but he laughs and sings and flies each night. So, #alive or not, he still lives. #vss365

#Inktober2019 #horror #dolls

An ugly man with a rubbery face lived in the park. We often threw rocks at him. Until one day he peeled his face off, revealing a tangle of teeth and lion eyes. I ran, propelled by #horror so powerful it bordered on euphoria. I do not go to parks anymore. Or throw rocks. #vss365

My house has many creaks and thumps. This is why: One night, I found my sister limp in the arms of a willowy horror. When it saw me it sank into the floor, taking her with it. Sometimes I hear creaks and thumps in the walls, followed by her #shriek. I'm glad it wasn't me. #vss365

When I die I will return to all the places I have lived To find the souls of all my pets And carry them to our #eternal home Where there will be snow and sunshine and trees And a squashy couch for us to nap together Where they will know they are loved And never forgotten #vss365

I got lost one windy winter night. Layers of soft cold enfolded me. Mist and frozen, drafty wind and curled around me, a cloak of ice and aether that coalesced into a phantom horse that bit me. I ran. It followed. That mean, misty #draft horse chased me all the way home. #vss365

My father cared for a wild bird. When he died, it stared at him for hours with eyes like dark stars. Then it #plucked its own tailfeather and placed it in my father's mouth. The next morning, he was alive. The bird lay, withered and lifeless, against his cheek. #vss365

Hey everybody, I know I've been MIA forever, but that's because I was working on this big boy: amazon.com/dp/B084NT2BN2 It's cheap, and it'd mean everything if you peeped it. But even if you don't, I 💚 you and appreciate your tolerance, and I hope you have a lovely week!

I'm thrilled to announce The Chrysalis (the first short horror story I've filmed) has won Best Short Horror in the Independent Horror Movie Awards! Took home a few other laurels for Best Special Effects, Best Atmosphere, Most Disturbing, and Best Scare! 🦋 horrormovieawards.com

Two men followed me home, their smiles dull as dead crescent moons. I thought it was the end Then From the shadows came a behemoth, a horror, a great rotting angel with a mouth of nightmares, and chased them away He was ugly and unexpected, but a #hero nonetheless #vss365

My imaginary friend was a redhead who lived under my bed. When I moved away, I forgot her... Until many years later when I saw in the #paper that police had gone to my childhood home where - buried right under my old room - they found a corpse with beautiful copper hair. #vss365

Don't ignore the shadows here Nor the small dim stars in the corner The wet crescent spreading under those pinprick stars, that glistening smile Don't ignore it Don't smile back, either Smiles #exacerbate its savagery And as you'll soon learn, it is savage enough already #vss365

For those of you who are familiar with my platform on Reddit: Reddit, Inc. banned me (wrongly per the terms of their own TOS) so I'm shifting my long running series, The North American Pantheon, to You can find it here: dopabeane.substack.com/?sort=top Thanks as always 💖💖💖