Tag: horror

October Drabble No. 2: “One Last Nap, With Kitties”

Posted on by Carrie Cuinn

I woke slowly in the dark with both of my cats beside me, their soft warm bodies pressed against my hip. I reached down to pet them without thinking but my leg started to cramp, bent against my chest for too long. I shifted, just a bit, displacing the little tabby. She mewed her displeasure. There was an answering groan from the other side of the closet door. I held my breath as something moved toward us, thumping unevenly against the floor, and I wondered if this was the moment it would finally figure out how to work the knob.

This is the second in my series of October drabbles – tiny fiction that clocks in at exactly 100 words each. It was inspired by the fact that my cats don’t really like to snuggle until the weather turns cold, and then they’re practically glued to our sides. Which I love! But what if that great moment came just before something horrific?

I’m challenging myself to write as many as I can throughout the month. (You can read the first one here.) Let me know what you think!

October Drabble No. 1: “Tract #17: ETERNAL SECURITY”

Posted on by Carrie Cuinn

Tract #17: ETERNAL SECURITY

The security of Mankind is found in the Blood of ReYuGa*. He died for us, was harvested and preserved by us, so through his sacrifice are we preserved. The faithful trust an enzyme made from ReYuGa’s godly essence – sprinkled across windows and doorways – to repel Night Creatures until dawn. This Salvation is for all Humanity! Even those Taken early are promised a future home in Heaven, forever encircled by the glory of ReYuGa’s many arms, if they have invested in Him.

* Available from your local Church or to those praying with a credit card Online.

I challenged myself to write a bunch of drabbles – tiny fiction that clocks in at exactly 100 words each – throughout the month of October. Since this month is basically candy corn and spooky vibes as far as I’m concerned, I plan to make all of these little stories a bit spooky too. Weird. Creepy? Maybe even a few downright scary ones…

This story was inspired by the wacky Chick Tracts I grew up with, and the generic gospel tracts I keep finding in my laundry room now. (Hopefully it’s clear that my fictional tracts aren’t based on any real religion, but a mix of cosmic horror and a fictionalized version of the worst parts of proselytizing from any religion.) Let me know what you think! Though I’ve got other drabbles ready to post that aren’t these tracts, there will definitely be more from the Cult of ReYuGa as the month goes on…

Writer Wednesday: Sam J. Miller

Posted on by Carrie Cuinn
Sam. J. Miller. Photo courtesy of the author.

Sam J. Miller’s books have been called “must reads” and “bests of the year” by USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, and O: The Oprah Magazine, among others. He is the Nebula-Award-winning author of Blackfish City, which has been translated into six languages. His short stories have been widely anthologized, including in multiple editions of the Best American series. He lives in New York City, and at samjmiller.com.

Today he drops by the site to talk about his latest novel, The Blade Between…

The Blade Between is a ghost story about a damaged gay guy who goes home to try to save the town he hated (and the people he loves) from the destructive plans of corporate interests… but he’s manipulated by dark forces both human and monstrous, and his scheme swiftly spirals into supernatural violence. One reviewer called it “James Baldwin meets Stephen King.”

Without context, what’s one of your favorite sentences in the book?

“Love is harder than hate.” 

What makes this book different from anything else you’ve done?

It’s different from my other work in that it’s a grisly horror story, which I’ve never done before at novel length. But it’s 100000% THE SAME as everything else I’ve done in that it’s about fraught gay love and horrific systemic injustice and monsters and charismatic megafauna. 

The Blade Between is set in your hometown of Hudson, New York. How does your version of it differ from reality?

While I tried to cleave as closely as possible to the actual city I love and hate so much, I couldn’t resist throwing in some ghosts and monsters and murder and mass arson. And whales. Well, the whales are real. Hudson really was a whaling city. As to whether their ghosts still haunt the place, I guess that’s tough to prove one way or another. 

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