The cavalier wasn’t laughing. His wig was all askew as he drew his sword and charged at the intruder. How dare anyone enter his home without his leave? He seethed, he raged, at their audacity.
‘Name yourself!’ he cried. ‘State your business!’
No answer.
‘Who sent you?’
Waving the point of his blade menacingly, he charged at the figure, before passing through the wall.
This post was first shared on this site in July 2020. You can find the original post here.
The house was perfect. It was exactly what we had spent the last year looking for: a period property in the middle of nowhere. It needed a little renovating; it was an old house after all.
The house radiated peace and calm, until the building work commenced. That’s when everything changed.
The contractors disturbed more than the bones that were found buried beneath the house that day. My dream home became a house of horrors. Even after the bones were gone something lingered.
A dark, suffocating presence filled the house. Noises in the dead of night. Cold spots in an otherwise warm room. Clocks that stopped for no reason. Lights that would flick on and off on their own.
Things changed irrevocably one October evening…
I was home alone, waiting for my husband to return after working late. As I was walking along the first floor landing, I saw through the window car headlights coming up the driveway. My husband was home. But as I was about to turn and go down to meet him, something else reflected in the glass caught my eye, and I went deathly cold.
A misty outline of a figure was standing right behind me, and I knew that they were responsible for the all the strange and frightening things that went on in the house. Who they were, I didn’t know and didn’t care to know. I didn’t want to know why they did it or why they were still here. I just wanted to be left alone.
Frozen to the spot, I heard the front door open and my husband call out. I couldn’t speak, I was so scared. I thought about the bones that had been discovered, and I got the distinct feeling I was going to die.
But I was wrong.
It wasn’t my body that would be found at the bottom of the stairs, broken and bloody.
This was originally posted in October 2015. You can find the original post here.
I close my eyes, and I see you
In outline only
A shadow before the sun
A silent silhouette
I know you not
Un-named stranger
Why are you here?
Why are you here now?
You neither move nor speak
Can you hear me?
I’m not frightened
Should I be?
Not until I open my eyes
The same inky shape
Stands in the doorway
Watching, waiting…
This was originally posted in January 2019. You can find the original post here.
Thanks to everyone who joined in with the 13 Days of Samhain prompts. I thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one! If you missed any, you can catch up by checking out the original prompt post and follow the links / pingbacks in the comments…
Have a blessed Samhain! I’m off to bake a batch of soul cakes…
Spirits start to cross
When The Veil begins to thin
Following the lights
Of carved lanterns and candles
Guiding them safely homewards
Written for: 13 Days of Samhain – Day 13: Thinning of The Veil
On the outside
Unnoticed, invisible
They cannot see me, or
Choose not to
As I am not one of them
So strikingly different
This side of The Veil
This was originally posted in May 2017. You can find the original post here.
Floating through doorways
Where none exist, Grey Lady
Goes tirelessly
Haunting rooms, mirrors, hallways
Searching for what she can’t find
The cavalier wasn’t laughing. His wig was all askew as he drew his sword and charged at the intruder. How dare anyone enter his home without his leave? He seethed, he raged, at their audacity.
‘Name yourself!’ he cried. ‘State your business!’
No answer.
‘Who sent you?’
Waving the point of his blade menacingly, he charged at the figure, before passing through the wall.
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #165 – Cavalier | Word count: 64
The Winter Ghost has made it onto the Open Novella Contest 2019’s Longlist! Yay! That was certainly unexpected…
If you’re interested in learning more about it, or would like to read it (yes, it’s free!), you can do so by following this link here, to Wattpad.
I’ve recently been busy with my entry for a Wattpad writing challenge, the Open Novella Contest, hence my prolonged absence, for which I apologise.
Using one of a set of vague prompts from all manner of genres, you had to write a minimum 20,000 word story (up to a maximum of 40,000). It started in January, and deadlines were set by which you had to reach a certain number of words. If you reached the milestones by the deadline, you could submit it to the contest and hopefully qualify for the next round, if it passed the judging criteria. The final deadline was 2nd April and not only did you have to meet the minimum word count of 20,000, you also had to have the novella complete.
Rather surprisingly, I’ve made it through to Round 3, the final round, along with a whole host of amazing stories penned by some amazing writers. The results for the contest are still pending, and to be honest, I don’t expect to make the longlist because the competition is so fierce, but I have loved every minute of it. It was such a fun challenge to participate in, and I now have another fantasy world in which to set stories, as well as a whole host of characters who want their stories told. What more could I ask for? 🙂
At nineteen, Rhyshard Pellian, son of Tershard Pellian, Lord of Kamvor, has been told by his father that he must take on the role of Acting Lord for the duration of winter. Sent to a town he can barely remember, to watch over a people he cannot recall, he is in a strange place, surrounded by strangers. But things are set to get all the stranger…
Folklore and real life are about to collide…As winter closes in on the town and the weather worsens, rumours of The Winter Ghost are whispered. Is this the year the ghost is set to return, leaving terror and death in its wake?
And what does this mean for Rhyshard Pellian? Mysteries and secrets abound as the Acting Lord of Kamvor does all he can to avert disaster. But is it enough?
* * *
The Winter Ghost is a paranormal mystery set in a fantasy world.
You can read the novella by following this link to Wattpad. If you do have a read of it, don’t forget to let me know what you think! 😉
They called her Helter-Skelter, with her bird nest hair. She would walk in long loopy zig-zags, across pavement, roads and grass, her path mapped out where only she could see it.
They called her Helter-Skelter, with her strange big eyes. She would look all about her, her head moving in big, slow circles, round and round, but only when she thought no-one was watching.
They called her Helter-Skelter, with her sing-song laugh. She would smile and giggle and wave at those who could see her – and those that couldn’t.
She was always happy, that’s what the storytellers said. Even now, stuck in an endless tour of the fairground, she was happy.
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #91 – Helter-Skelter | Word count: 111
Sammi Cox 