Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Horrortober 2 - Halloween Horror Fiction

Here's another piece of flash fiction in keeping with the Halloween-month celebration started by Charles and now including: Avery, Stewart , Miladysa, L.A. Mitchel and Laughingwolf.

This one might not be for the squeamish. If any of these tales are.


Jack-O-Lanterns

You need sharp tools for carving. It helps with the detail. I won't carry on any pretense that I'm talking about a pumpkin. You're too smart for that.

You've seen Tales from the Crypt, or you've even heard of EC Comics and William M. Gaines and those tales of revenge. In those stories you'd have to watch or read until almost the end for the twist, in which it's revealed that the carving involves not a pumpkin but the head of my wife's lover.

"The Revenge of the Cuckold" it might be called, and the build up would be all about the pumpkin carving and all of the careful, precise cuts.

Only in the last frame might it be revealed that the lover's head was the stand-in for the more traditional choice for Jack-O-Lantern.

The wife might return home to see the lover's ruined face, staring at her from the front window, eyes hollowed out, a permanent grin carved into the lips, a candle shoved up through the throat.

Quite a story, but not the one on the agenda. I've already done that carving. It's the head of my wife's ex-lover, the one before you. I wanted a little practice.

If I put it in the window,  she might not come in, and we wouldn't want that. We'll want her here--stop struggling, it will do you no good.

We'll want her here, so that she can watch when the carving begins on you, so that she can see the detail work even as you scream.

And she'll know that after that work is finished...she'll be next.

Now included in my collection Scars and Candy or here for Amazon UK




13 comments:

laughingwolf said...

perfect the way it is, sidney! :O

Charles Gramlich said...

In case you can't see, I'm rubbing my hands together gleefully as I quote "Eggccellentt."

Great one!

Miladysa said...

I'll be sleeping with the light on after this one!!!

Sidney said...

Thanks, guys!

Steve Malley said...

Way to play with the form, there! We know a twist is coming, and you use that knowledge for an excellent head fake!

L.A. Mitchell said...

The casual/familiar tone makes it all the creepier :)

Thanks for the link...I'm adding the others to mine, too.

BernardL said...

Riveting from beginning to end, because I remember those EC comics very well. :)

Lana Gramlich said...

Cheese & rice, Sidney! That's very wicked! Good job!

Shauna Roberts said...

You certainly have a knack for the short-short. Thanks for the story.

Erik Donald France said...

Utterly creepy.

Scary work, as scary as a Mob hit!

Anonymous said...

Well done! I like having the twist at the beginning!

Perhaps I should write a halloween story as well...

Sidney said...

Thanks, guys!

Will, give it a try. It's a nice break from whatever else you're writing, and a great practice of discipline and economy.

AvDB said...

Oooh, a sucker punch! Love it.

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