Horror and Wholesome
All urban legends start as something real. I don't know if that's actually, scientifically true, but it's what I believe (and these days, isn't that enough to make it true?). Sometimes it's fear-based and the legends become a warning of sorts, like all the child-drowning ladies in white who are used to keep kids away... Continue Reading →
She died alone, unless you count the goats. I'm not sure I do, but she probably would have. She preferred them to people. I couldn't blame her. A lifetime of letdown will do that to you. I liked to think I was the best of the worst; the one person she could count on, even... Continue Reading →
I hated camping. My boyfriend loved it. So we compromised and went camping. I put on a brave face, packed my bug spray, and let him do everything else. He assured me it would be great. Fun. Nothing like the disastrous trips of my childhood where my sister wet her sleeping bag and cried until... Continue Reading →
My story, Butch Cassidy and The Scarecrow Kid, opens this year's festivities on The NoSleep Podcast. Won't you join us at the old pumpkin patch? https://www.thenosleeppodcast.com/episodes/s16/s16halloween
Thrilled to announce my short story, From Within, is the opener for Dark Dispatch's upcoming horror anthology, The Dead Inside! The first review has come in and, well, see for yourself what the initial impression is: Huge thanks to editors Laurel Hightower and Sandra Ruttan for including it. More details to come when they're available!
The last straw was that plant. That little fucking plant. I don't remember what it was, only that it was supposed to be hard to kill, even for me. She'd said it in a joking way when she gave it to me, and I knew, logically, she didn't mean anything by it. Not really. But... Continue Reading →
Christmas seemed to shrink the older I got. First Santa stopped coming and all the gifts under the tree were signed by family members. Then my brother moved out for college a few states away. I followed suit, but closer to home. Then my sister. The first few years, we still all made the trek... Continue Reading →
Growing up in a small town meant a lot of regulars. Places, routines, people. The gas station convenience store was a small microcosm of that greater regular. 6 am, Bill Donner stopped in on his way to the slaughterhouse for cigarettes and a package of powdered donuts. 7:15, the bus stop kids huddled around the... Continue Reading →
I’d never been so certain of anything as I was in that moment. The first bell hadn’t rung yet and I was standing at my locker with Jade. I was still new to the school, an unfortunate position to be in for your senior year, and she was the only friend I’d managed to make.... Continue Reading →
The first word that came to mind when I met Jeremiah Goodwin was small. He was a short man with close-cropped, pale hair and a hunched posture. He looked almost childlike sitting in the office chair, save for the fact that his hands were shackled to his waist. I’d been told it was for my... Continue Reading →
Stories By S.H. Cooper 