In Robert Jeschonek’s “Aye, Plank,” the most feared instrument of pirate justice becomes the narrator of its own strange, mythic story—a tale of transformation, belonging, and the unexpected places where second chances take root. Set aboard a ship called the Defiler as it prowls Caribbean waters in 1750, this is nautical fantasy told from a…
This is Southern Gothic at its most intimate—not a crumbling mansion full of strangers, but a family farmhouse where every warped board and rusted hinge carries the weight of generations. When Robert Anderson returns to settle his grandmother’s estate, he expects grief. He expects guilt. What he doesn’t expect is MeeMaw herself, risen from the…
In Alicia Cay’s “Above Us, Hell,” a down-on-his-luck treasure hunter and his grandfather chase a salvage score in the Caribbean—and surface something from the deep that should have stayed buried. What begins as a desperate dive into the Cayman Trench becomes something far more dangerous than debt or drowning, as a World War II submarine…
In P. D. Cacek’s “By Still Waters,” a son drives his aging father to a funeral—and straight into the dark heart of a secret that’s been drowning them both for decades. What begins as a quiet act of duty becomes something far more unsettling, as rain falls, memory shifts, and still water reveals what was…
In Annie Reed’s “The Code,” a ghostly enforcer bound to the ocean’s will haunts a dying seaside bar, waiting for a man who broke the oldest law of the sea. Some debts can’t be settled in coin—and the ocean never forgets.cannot be paid with coin, and every storm remembers the name of the thief. Killian…
In Steve Vernon’s “The Wind Witch of Weird Water Harbour,” a desperate sea captain makes a deal with a witch who sells the wind by the knot. But some debts cannot be paid with coin, and every storm remembers the name of the thief. When Captain Donny Parsons’ ship lies stranded in the breathless harbor,…
In “At Water’s Edge,” Rebecca M. Senese returns a grieving daughter to her family’s lakeside cottage—where the still water hides something ancient, hungry, and all too familiar. Gemma thought a quiet stay at the old cottage would bring peace after her father’s passing. But the reeds whisper, the lake watches, and something long-submerged remembers her…
In “Shadows in the Mirror,” Jason A. Adams sends a small-town sheriff to a family estate where mirrored halls and old grudges reflect more than just the past—and what waits behind the glass has been watching for a long time. Sheriff Larry Crabtree was hoping for a quiet Sunday with his hound and his girlfriend—but…
In “The Only Thing Left,” Shannon Lawrence delivers a furious, grief-soaked survival story set in a decaying Victorian mansion—where one woman fights back against the ghosts that refuse to let her rebuild her life. Sydney thought restoring a crumbling estate would help her reclaim her life after divorce and devastating loss. The house feels like…
In “Haunting Chloe,” James Pyles sets a lonely girl on a frozen lake during winter break—where an encounter with a ghostly boy turns eerie, unsettling, and quietly unforgettable. Chloe didn’t expect much from her winter break in the tiny town of Alice Cove—until a pale boy appears on the ice and tries to pull her…
