Scratches

by Joshua Marsella

“Beyond the reach of human rage A drop of hell, a touch of strange ...” Stephen King, The Gunslinger

Connor loved all things horror. Movies, comics, novels, rumored haunted houses. The rush of adrenaline he felt when he daydreamed about things that go bump in the night was the ultimate high. The fictional tales of monsters, ghosts, and the walking dead somehow made him feel better about his benign existence. No matter how bad he felt things were going in his life, he knew he wouldn’t have to worry about being gutted by a raging, bloodthirsty werewolf. Nor was he at risk of having his blood drained by an ancient vampire.

strange things have been happening in the basement at night.” He paused for a reaction, but got none. “Sometimes when I’m down there I get the feeling I’m being watched. It feels like someone or something is watching me from the darkness. Sometimes there’s a bad smell-”

A brilliant philosopher once said every silver lining’s got a touch of grey. Okay, it was Jerry Garcia in 1987. One of the great philosophers of my generation. But it is true!”

Some truths are better left a mystery. A hard lesson learned.