Story Spotlight: “Zero Proof” by Erik Kort

In “Zero Proof,” a ghostly presence lingers in a sober queer bar in the Pacific Northwest—where chosen family and emotional reckoning collide in a space built for safety, but haunted by the past.

When a queer couple rushes to protect their friend and her bar, they find themselves face-to-face with a haunting that’s both collective and deeply personal. “Zero Proof” blends hauntpunk, found family, and furious tenderness into a ghost story that pulses with power, identity, and survival. This is what happens when a bar’s “No Assholes” policy extends beyond the veil.

Framed by the balcony above hung a bizarre jellyfish-like crystalline figure that jiggled and moved in an ethereal breeze. It took several rubs of my eyes before I realized that the bulk of its body was all the glassware the bar had: heavy crystal-lead tumblers, slender stemware of various shapes and sizes, water glasses, and more. They rippled and shone, reflecting light from the driftwood chandelier above, and fragmenting it into a shimmering array of rainbows on the walls and ceiling. Hanging from the central body were tendrils of menus, connected together in a way I couldn’t see or understand, each strand tipped with a glistening kitchen knife. They’d be sharp and clean; Tom never skimped on his professional tools.

“What in the installation art hell is this?” Jay asked.

I backed up until I pressed against him, taking comfort in his solidness and thankful that I had slipped instead continuing my run forward. I might be beneath the damn thing otherwise, and who knew how stable it was. Look as I might, I couldn’t see a single rope, cable, or wire that would be necessary to connect and suspend the oddity.

About the Author

Erik Kort writes fantasy and romance. While his stories are sometimes twisted and strange, they always prioritize kindness as that’s the magic worth fighting for. When not writing, he manages a nonprofit for marginalized and at-risk youth. He can be found online and anywhere books or tea are hoarded.

Find Erik at: erikkort.com

The Haunting Thread

This story is a reckoning—with past trauma, toxic systems, and the ghosts we carry. It’s sharp, loving, and fierce, grounded in the emotional power of found family and the need to build spaces that hold.

Read the Story

“Zero Proof” appears in Haunted Places, available now from Blackbird Publishing.

Buy the book from your favorite store

If you liked…

• Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir—for queer rage and sacred spaces made strange
• Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki—for chosen family, identity, and bittersweet healing

…then you’ll enjoy “Zero Proof”—a ghost story with bite, blaze, and a bar that never gives up.

Also featured in Haunted Places: “When You Can Walk Away But You Can’t Leave” by DeAnna Knippling, another hauntpunk story about agency, entrapment, and emotional reclamation in the spaces we try to control.