For some, holidays conjure up Norman Rockwell-like images of a cozy family gathered around a perfectly trimmed tree while basking in the warmth of their good life. But for others, the holidays are complicated. Memories and expectations mix with something darker of which we do not speak—at least not openly—but it’s there, all along, beneath […]
There are times in all our lives when we have to face our own mortality. Our bodies are fragile. They age and decline. They grow weary and brittle and weak. They succumb to illness and death. And at the end, they turn to dust. Death is a fact of life on this earth and a […]
There’s something about these days of autumn in the northern hemisphere, with their chilling breezes and lengthening shadows, that makes one’s mind linger on the strange, the eerie, and the macabre. As our bodies seek our warm, winter shelters and our mugs of pumpkin-spiced lattes, our minds wander to what might be out there, lurking […]
Is there anywhere more strange and mysterious than a forest? From the first step within its branches, you can almost imagine that anything is possible. Around any curve of a packed-earth path, you might find the breadcrumbs of Hansel and Gretel or stumble across a buried treasure chest or wander into a secret dragon’s lair… […]
How can you tell when something’s broken beyond repair? For some things, it’s easy to tell when they’re beyond the help of Gorilla Glue or duct tape: a shattered glass, a watch that no longer tells time, a semi truck tire spreading strips of popped rubber on the highway. But some things are more difficult […]
Last month, my family went on our first real vacation since COVID, and from the record-breaking number of visitors pouring into the U.S. National Parks, we obviously weren’t the only ones ready for some sort of escape from the stresses and struggles of modern life. And what a relief it was to stand upon the […]
Last year, we were faced with a drought of reprints. It takes a lot of submissions to find just the right stories for the magazine because most subs don’t fit in some way or another. As you know if you’re a long-time reader or as you’ll see as you open this issue, we have a […]
What does it take to make a monster? The world is full of terrors: creatures that stalk and pounce and tear to pieces; perpetrators that prey on the weak and vulnerable; and all those other strange and unsettling things that lurk on the edge of our vision or whisper into our ears. Look back into […]
I don’t know that there’s ever been another year when I’ve been more excited about the coming of spring. As the northern hemisphere emerges from our cold, dark winter, many of us are also emerging from our cocoons of the past year’s isolation. We’re looking around at the world at all that’s changed and wondering […]
To: Past Me, March 1, 2020From: Future You, March 1, 2021 Dear Past Me, It’s me, Future You, writing from exactly one year further along the timeline. Sending you a message from beyond. Beyond what? Well, that’s what I want to tell you about. Brace yourself. 2020 is about to get weird. And scary. And […]
