“Inside Melting House” is a creepy and suspenseful story that will draw into its mystery.
It introduces you to sympathetic characters over two generations that, even in the short space of the story, you come to sympathize with and understand. When you read it you will experience:
• An atmospheric and effective story that elicits curiosity and dread in equal parts
• The story as told from the point of view of a complex and sympathetic narrator/main character
• Colorful side characters that flesh the story out.
• A house with a bizarre past and a mysterious, seemingly unknowable secret
• Flashbacks to an earlier time that add a further element of mystery to the story surrounding the house
• A climactic, suspenseful finale.
Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.
'Dead People's Letters' is a story that should appeal to fans of ghosts and zombies as well as fans of Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic works. It not only places the undead in the middle of 19th-century Russia, but also makes them the central characters of the story and also good friends with one another. 'Dead People's Letters' is a complex and layered story that examines:
- The relationship between the body and the soul and where one leaves off and the other begins.
- The differing physical and mental natures of men and women.
- The theme of obsession and being the object of another's obsession.
- The theme of desperation and deciding what one is willing to do in order to become free of a tormentor.
The letters between Ivan Pavelovich and Philippa Pytrovna tell the story of both characters and how, though each is dealing with their own problems, their plight eventually becomes a shared one. They realize only the two of them truly understand each other's situation, and they can only rely on one another for help, guidance, and solace. They also learn it is only through one another that they can escape from their seemingly doomed existence.
Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.
“Little Pests” is a suspense horror story that pits a woman and her young daughter against a suddenly and violently unhinged pest control technician, who has sinister plans for the woman and the girl whose home he is working in. Although he enters their house with no ill intentions, it seems as though the chemicals he works with are affecting his mental state and thought processes. “Little Pests” includes:
• An introduction and complete portrayal of both character sets (the mother and daughter as well as the exterminator),
• A woman who will find out that there are worse things in the world than cockroach infestations,
• A man, understandably concerned about losing his job, coming closer and closer to the brink of madness,
• A terrifying conflict that ensues between Exterminator and the family.
The story starts with horror almost right from the beginning; although with it coming from a very different source than it does later. There isn’t a single moment that isn’t at least slightly tinged with dread, and it’s hard to say who feels it more, the exterminator or the family he terrorizes. Either way, it proves to be a grueling experience for all involved, and the reader gets to watch it all unfold.
Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.
“They Are Everywhere” is a story that combines the elements of the most spine-tingling supernatural horror with the funniest comedy. Never before have malevolent spirits, poltergeists and haunted houses been so funny. Make no mistake though, the terror is real; it’s the witless protagonists and their incredibly inappropriate reactions that give the story its humor. In “They Are Everywhere” you will encounter:
• A pair of dimwitted and entirely earnest main characters
• Three separate investigations into paranormal activity that do not go the way you might expect
• An interesting back story for the two main characters, hinting at past exploits
• Elements based on other famous and well-known stories of hauntings
• Scenarios whose truth, whether supernatural or mundane, can easily be discerned by the reader if not by the protagonists
• A final and interesting secret revealed to the reader if nobody else
Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.
'True Wind' is a fantasy adventure story set in a secondary world where magic exists and so do merfolk (although not in the form traditionally depicted in similar stories). Moonheart, a young merman of the Calm Winds tribe, is sent on a mission to rescue a human (or 'drylander') woman from the clutches of another drylander country's enemy nation. He must also take his young, vulnerable sister, True Wind, so that she may discover her destiny. The story features:
- A secondary fantasy world filled with magic and other strange things
- A young merman's struggle with bravery and conflicting loyalties
- A young secondary antagonist who hopes to discover her destiny, even if it means facing danger
- A dangerous rescue mission performed in an unknown, foreign land
- A climactic and unexpected resolution
The story begins with a depiction of the lives of Moonheart and his fellow merfolk but soon transforms into a suspenseful adventure where the stakes are high and a false or ill-considered move can mean disaster. You will follow Moonheart's quest to protect True Wind at any cost, even if it means denying her destiny. He may learn, however, that destiny is not something one can thwart, no matter how determined they may be.
Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.
“All Lesser Creatures” takes an often-used mythologic monster idea and twists into a new direction. You will see the more familiar take on the idea in the story as well but also as seen in a very different light. This story realizes the full potential of a certain basic idea, just as the main character realizes the full and awesome potential of he and his kind, who previously believed themselves to be without defenses. The story is comprised of:
• A simple man who suffers an accident leaving him with a bizarre condition
• This man coming to accept and even enjoy his new lifestyle thanks to newfound community
• Several unusual creatures with amazing abilities
• Unexpected twists on an old idea, taking it to new places and to a new level
• A tale of triumph over vicious oppression by the downtrodden underdogs
• A new appreciation for a wide variety of animals
“All Lesser Creatures” is a refreshing and positively affirming story. If you feel like the world has got you down and there’s nothing you can do about it, just look to the example set by Gary Landry (the main character) and his friends. Your situation and the appropriate response will almost certainly not be the same but the message is clear: don’t underestimate or give up on yourself. Realize your true potential.
Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.
Another 28 Days is the story of one desperate, damaged man's constant struggle to manage and control two sides of his nature, both of which are destructive, but which also seem to be in direct conflict, making keeping them in check a challenge. Listeners of this dark and personal story will discover:
- One man's life story, a dark and twisted one though it may be.
- A deeply traumatized man doing his best to adjust and live a normal, balanced life.
- A slowly building mystery to reveal the truth of Bill's condition.
- The discovery that no matter how bad one's problems might be, the best thing to do is work through and overcome them.
- A supernatural horror tale interspersed with streaks of gritty reality.
Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.
“An Illustrated Warning” is a carefully crafted and creepy tale designed to unsettle and chill you. You’ll be held rapt to attention as the dread sets in and things go from odd to eerie and then from eerie to utterly frightening. There is plenty of fright in this story, which is made up of several elements that work together to create a terrifying whole.
• The mystery of a young man’s missing grandfather
• A collection of bizarre and horrid illustrations that serves as a warning against entering a forbidden room
• A slowly revealed discovery of exactly what dark secret the room holds
• A seemingly inexplicable nightmare for the main characters
• A suspenseful attempt to escape
• The aftermath of their traumatic experience.
“An Illustrated Warning” allows readers who want to give themselves chills to share the experience of the two main characters. It will draw you in and make you think twice before going into rooms in basements. If you want to get the maximum scare quotient, read it alone, at night, in a large house with a dark, musty basement. The frightening pictures found early on are only the beginning of a much more terrifying truth.
Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.
“Without Decent Restraint” is a story about the duality of man, both the conflict between the mind and the body, and also how the desire to get what we want can put that very thing in danger. It examines whether or not the things we do, justified to ourselves as being done out of concern for others, can actually have a selfish motive. It explores the horrors that come to the surface when a man is confronted with an unthinking and dangerous version of himself, as well as other elements:
• A world ruined by a zombie apocalypse with a mysterious cause
• One man’s determined quest to seek out one thing in the midst of the chaos at any cost
• The protagonist’s desperation growing when his situation drastically changes
• His adaptation to his new situation, and learning the things he is still capable of doing
• A taut climax where his love and his strength will be put to the test
The stakes in any story such as “Without Decent Restraint” are always high. However, the stakes for the protagonist in this story aren’t just high, they are deeply, painfully personal. He will soon learn that he may be risking it all in order to determine that his family is safe, and that being dead doesn’t stop him from being responsible for their protection when the moment counts.
Short Story Press publishes short stories by everyday writers.
