Horror and Wholesome
Jack O’Lanterns were never part of my Halloween. Gran didn’t allow them. She didn’t approve much of any modern All Hallow’s Eve traditions, but especially not the carved pumpkins. “A Devil’s gift to a damned soul,” she’d say. Her Irish lilt was always thicker when she was was reproachful. “As long as I’m under this... Continue Reading →
Patch the tiny pumpkin had become bored. She had been sitting in the same spot for a very long time. It was nice to see the humans come and go from the churchyard, but once it started to get dark and the gates were closed for the night, there wasn’t much to keep her entertained.... Continue Reading →
It had been a long day, but a good day. The churchyard had been filled with kids and their parents and so many pumpkins! There had been hayrides and face painting and even jack o’lantern carvings. Now the sun was starting to go down and it was time for the families to go home. One... Continue Reading →
It was a vacation of firsts. My first time on a plane, my first time out of the US (yes, Canada still counts!), my first time taking a ferry. My husband kept insisting it wasn’t a big deal, that we were just visiting his parents, but I might as well have found the wardrobe to... Continue Reading →
Calum gave me the Alexa. He thought it was a sweet surprise. I thought of it as another “smart” device to listen in on conversations. I had barely gotten used to using an iPhone, already three generations old by the time I’d gotten it, to help keep our long distance relationship running smoothly. I had... Continue Reading →
I was twenty when I signed up to volunteer with the Long River Fire Company. My dad had been a volunteer fireman with them for well over a decade by then and I took a lot of pride in wearing my gear beside him. He took a lot of pride in getting to fires before... Continue Reading →
I wouldn't say I didn't have a career choice growing up, more that I just was barely aware there were many other options. Dad was a logger. Grandpa was a logger. And his father, and his father, et cetera, et cetera. I was pretty much born with flannel on my back and an axe in... Continue Reading →
Every night for a week, I woke to a gunshot. Just one, across the house, followed by a loud, ringing silence. And then the footsteps. They shuffled slowly up to my door. The knob would rattle softly a few times, but it was locked. I laid in bed, my covers pulled up to my nose,... Continue Reading →
I had friends. Kind of. Well, I had people that I could play video games with and talk to about the simple, fluffy parts of life; what I'd done that day, the kind of movies and music I liked, what I was going to do that weekend, that sort of thing. Going any deeper, trying... Continue Reading →
Mrs. Grady was the first to go. Then Mr. O’Toole and Mrs. Shafford. One after another, starting just after my night shift began at 10. I only knew because Bill, one of the nurses, came in with an abundance of bedding and towels. Being in the laundry room, I was usually one of the last... Continue Reading →
Stories By S.H. Cooper 