Entries by S. Jade Path

The God of the Gastropods

by Lisa Edwards   Ellie glanced away from the huge spiral covered wall. It made her feel sick and giddy. Crunch! She froze for a moment, then gently lifted her foot. Oops! Sorry, little snail. A wet pop sounded beside her. But… she’d have noticed that stuck to the side of the wall, right? Snails […]

Friend of the Forest

by Tracy Davidson   They dare come here with chainsaws and guns? Chop down my children, frighten fauna, shoot for some sick sport, killing innocent creatures that would have done them no harm. I, however, can do plenty of harm. I send whispers through the trees. Warnings of what’s to come. Some flee. Some watch. […]

Carrion

by Liam Hogan   The goddess turned, restless in her slumber as warm blood soaked the cold, dark soil. The affairs of men, best left to the crows. Something sharp, insistent. A sacrifice, the battle hanging in the balance. A child. Children grew into adults no less unworthy than their parents. But a sacrifice in […]

Broken Things

by Sophie Wagner   “Trash, trash, trash,” Garret grumbled as he sifted through the remains of the abandoned campsite. Marcus grunted in response, pausing once to grimace as he pulled a bloody rag free from his pile. “Everything’s broken, man. Let’s go, this place is a dump,” he groaned. He waited for Garret’s response, but […]

Domovoi

by Jean Martin   My family left before the Russians came. They paid me respect before they went away. They knew I would keep the house safe. Then they took the dog and the cat and the silver plates and drove west. Russian soldiers walked into the house like it was theirs. One fell and […]

He Was

by Victoria Brun   He was carved into the wall, but he also was the walls—or so they said. He was the walls, the ceiling, the floors, the chilling draft you felt in the narrow back room on the eastern side. He was the shrine and its protector. He was worshiped—once, long ago. As time […]

The Cursed Cave

by James Rumpel   “I have a good feeling,” said Dr Morris. “The landslide exposed most of the cliff wall. I’m certain the Shaman’s cave has been opened.” “Do we want to find it?” asked his assistant, Richard. “You don’t believe those stories…” Morris stopped, smiled, and pointed to a crevice in the mountainside. Inside, […]

The Forest of Teeth and Bones

by Leanbh Pearson   He’d heard the warnings, but this was only a forest. No man had ever been killed by leaves and twigs. But the villagers muttered of teeth and bones, an abomination made manifest into something uncanny and terrible. The first twig sliced his arm, the second his face, spilling blood to the […]

By the Light of the Fire

by C. L. Sidell   We summoned the thing without knowing what we’d done. A simple campfire—roasting marshmallows for nostalgia’s sake. “Grab the sticks,” you said. I did. They burned, smoked green. The earth rumbled, shook without moving. The thing rose behind you—a menacing, monolithic shadow amongst forest shadows. Its innumerable yellow eyes fixed on […]

Drip

by Shaun Bibo   Drip… Drip The dripping would drive another person mad. Drip… Drip Not me. I’ve been here for three days. Hanging. Drip… Drip It came from the painting. The ocean. The waves. A lighthouse. Peace. Drip… Drip It emerged from the water. Slowly. Over days. Weeks. It consumed the lighthouse. Drip… Drip […]