Demonic Visions 50 Horror Tales Book 5

From the time we are small there are things that frighten us. As children we have the monster under the bed, the monster in the closet, and the monster that is this close to snatching us from behind when we’re on our way up the basement stairs alone, and we can’t look back because if we saw him he’d be real, and he would get us. And as we grow and change the things we are afraid of change with us: in grammar school the monster has moved out into the streets, and we fear “Stranger Danger”; in high school the monsters are inside of us, and we fear failure, and the possibility that we might not fit in; as adults our fears are everywhere, from worry about our jobs to the guy who’s driving erratically in the lane beside us to the silent return of “Stranger Danger”—this time fearing for children of our own. As new fears filter into our lives we try to forget the old ones. But, though they might not frighten us any more, they are never quite forgotten. We all remember the monster under the bed; the monster in the closet. I’m forty-five years old and I still won’t look back on the basement stairs, because I swear to God that son of a bitch is getting closer every time. What you hold in your hands is the combined work of fifty people who have opened up that dark door in their hearts and minds to offer you one thing—just one thing each—that frightens them, selecting from the gamut of fears they’ve had in their lives, from childhood to now. Disappearing children, ghosts, road rage, mental instability, vampires and more: somewhere in this book, possibly many places in this book, you’ll find the things you are afraid of—even some things you thought you’d forgotten. We hope you enjoy Demonic Visions 5, a book filled with frightening thoughts and boogeymen so numerous and familiar you’ll put it down knowing you are not alone in your fears. Especially on those basement stairs. Whatever you do, don’t look back. —Rob Smales 1. CARRION MAN by Naching T. Kassa 2. BEHOLD THE HURRICANE by Chris Leek 3. DRIPS by Patrick Freivald 4. WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH KIDS TODAY? By Winifred Burniston 5. THROUGH THE MASK BY Jeff McFarland 6. THE ORIGINAL SULLIVAN by S.C. Hayden 7. MUSE by Shaun Avery 8. A PLACE OF FEAR by William Holden 9. A MOMENT OF SILENCE by Max Booth III 10. FALLING IN LOVE by Charlie Jack Joseph Kruger 11. DEATH COMES TO US ALL by Julianne Snow 12. PIECES OF GOD by Chris Robertson 13. SKY TALK by April Bullard 14. SWARM by Nicholas Paschall 15. THE BALLOON MAN by Justin Hunter 16. THE HERO, THE FAIR MAIDEN, AND THE LUNATIC by Peter Adam Salomon 17. ASHAMED by Doug Robbins 18. A TRUTHFUL REPORT CONCERNING THE RECENT EVENTS AT SERPENT’S HILL by Christopher Conlon 19. ANGELS LOOKING OUT FOR US by Jay Wilburn 20. CHEESECAKE NIGHTMARE by C. L. Hesser 21. CONTINUITY by Raymond Gates 22. SAYING GOODBYE by Rob Smales 23. THERE WAS NO BODY by Michele Tallarita 24. ONE LAST DRAG by Bruce L. Priddy 25. THE BREAK UP by Mike Leon 26. ONE OF GRANNY’S TALES by James Pratt 27. BROKEN GLASS by Kerry G.S. Lipp 28. THE JANITOR by Jeani Rector 29. HEADACHE by Marc Sorondo 30. THE TREEHOUSE by Rick McQuiston 31. THE DITCH by Arran McDermott 32. SENTINELS OF THE ENDLESS UNKNOWING by DJ Tyrer 33. THE DEVIL’S SPOTLIGHT by Vince Liberato 34. HEALING MISTRESS by Mark Slade 35. BELIEVE by Marc Shapiro 36. MATRIARCH by Adam Millard 37. A WHISPER IN THE STORM by Robert Friedrich 38. THE REAPING OF THE SEAWEED by Megan N. Watson 39. OPRAH FUNDS “END OF THE WORLD” PROJECT IN MEMORY OF SAVANT CHILD AUTHOR by Trisha J. Wooldridge 40. ON TILT by Devlin Giroux 41. ENTRAPPED by K. Trap 42. TEAMWORK by Jody Neil Ruth 43. GRAVEYARD GAMES by J.T. Seate 44. THE ELEVENTH PIPER by Rebecca Fung 45. THE COLOR OF PEPTO BISMOL by John Alfred Taylor 46. SMOKE by Rick A. Carroll 47. PAYING AT THE PUMP by Ken MacGregor 48. MARGIE DON’T KNOW WHAT SHE WANTS by R.L. Ugolini 49. MADE TO BE BROKEN by Shenoa Carroll-Brad 50. HERE BE VAMPYRE