Posts Tagged ‘Haunted House’

Genres: ,

Cast of Wonders 600: Double Yellow Lines

Cast of Wonders 600: Double Yellow Lines is a Cast of Wonders original.

death, road traffic accidents

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:27 — 30.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | RSS

Double Yellow Lines

by J. M. Bueno

Wednesday

We sit on opposite ends of the table, Charles’s beautiful breakfast spread laid out between us. He wears his distinctive ear-to-ear smile, and his eyes, beady, like those of a dead fish, never once stray from mine. I keep my own gaze downturned towards the silver cutlery and the perfect omelet on my plate, slowly cutting it open to reveal the runny inside.

“Why so stiff today, Raleigh?” Charles chirps. “Is the food not to your liking?”

I snort. “Charles, the one thing you’re always good at is cooking.”

“You wound me. I’m certain I have other good qualities.”

Proudly displayed in the table’s centerpiece, all rich mahogany and sharp steel, is a large carving knife. I remember the way it gleamed in Charles’s hand last night. From the head of the table, Charles smiles. (Continue Reading…)

Image of a rural village behind old foliage

Genres: , ,

Cast of Wonders 581: Never Thought He’d Go

First published in the 2016 Bristol Short Story Prize anthology, and Best British Short Stories 2017 from Salt Publishing.

Death of children; one instance of the f-word.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:06 — 37.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | RSS

Never Thought He’d Go

by Francoise Harvey

‘Fell off the church spire,’ said Davy.

‘Gravestone landed on him,’ said Davytoo.

‘Trampled t’death by cows when he cut through the wrong field home,’ said Saz.

‘Not to death,’ said Davy. ‘To death means actually dead. He’s just a bit bashed up, like.’ (Continue Reading…)

Genres: , , ,

Cast of Wonders 382: No Matter Where; Of Comfort No One Speak

Cast of Wonders 382: No Matter Where; Of Comfort No One Speak is a Cast of Wonders original.

Content Warnings: abuse and suicide

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:51 — 26.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | RSS

No Matter Where; Of Comfort No One Speak

by Kate Baker

Tucked behind the cracks in the plaster and the peeling, wallpaper print, we watch you draw a blade. You stand in the kitchen, holding the steel in your right hand. A finger slides down the sharp edge, testing its strength as you do calculations in your head. The slow creep of a smile indicates you are happy with your choice. Drawn away in visions to the future, everything is interrupted by a quick slip and slice as you drop the knife. We notice the dribble of blood, a bead welling at the tip, inviting a hungry mouth. You bring the cut to your lips and suck on it a moment and then examine the depth.

No stitches required.

Despite its already proven efficacy, you reach for the knife again, and then for the sharpening block, and run the blade against stone. The familiar grating sound that would normally set your nerves afire. We cover our ears in this dark place despite the muffled transfer through your space to ours. We know what these determined machinations mean.

(Continue Reading…)

Genres:

Cast of Wonders 217: Boys’ Night

Cast of Wonders 217: Boys’ Night is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:57 — 29.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | RSS

Boys’ Night

by Rebecca Birch

Walter Ocherman rolled along the two-lane highway at five miles an hour under the speed limit, scanning the road’s left-hand side for the turn-off to his uncle’s old pumpkin farm.  Marked by nothing more than a dilapidated sign-post that might once have been green, the overgrown dirt road hidden between two poplars was easy to miss on a good day. The fog that rolled in off the river made finding the place harder, but nothing was going to wipe the grin off Walter’s lips.  Today was Halloween and his ex, Minnie, had agreed to let their son come out to the farm with him for the night. Their first boys’ night in almost a year.

>He glanced at Jason, who had spread his twelve-year old self over the back seat an hour ago, his straw-blond head pillowed on a stuffed pumpkin Walter had picked up at a yard sale to help set the holiday mood.  His steady zzz-snerk snore could have been annoying, but Walter got so few chances to hear it that he turned off the radio. The news was depressing anyway, trying to settle a fog over more than just the river valley.

Walter looked back at the road just in time to glimpse the turn-off.  He slammed on the brakes and torqued the wheel, holding his instinctive curse-word behind his teeth.  His 1984 Civic’s gears squealed a skull-piercing protest and the right front bumper just missed colliding with a poplar.  A sudden pressure in the back of his seat told him Jason was awake and braced.

Walter brought the car to a dead stop, his heart thudding.

“Jesus, Dad!  If we die, mom’s going to kill you.”

(Continue Reading…)