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 youth fear Alabama, United States Horror They called it a rite of passage. Each new hire of the Vila Ballet Company was commanded by pot-bellied veterans to visit the old theatre where they’d performed for decades before the area had shut down over some dead ballerina. They claimed every newbie quit and fled the town because they...
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teens fear Pennsylvania, United States Horror Elaine’s vision spun around her as the rhythmic beating of her heart drummed through her body. The dead flashlight that she held felt abnormally heavy in her hand. Black dots danced across the dark hall, seeping in and out of reality, disappearing around corners, and floating down the girl’s field...
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 teens fear Missouri, United States General Bad Combination A fearful man is annoying. I had a job with one once. He wouldn’t get on a ladder, he wouldn’t clean the bathrooms, and he always had those latex gloves on. I couldn’t stand him, but he was a lot better than my other co-worker. Annoying as that guy was, this guy was so...
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adult fear Ontario, Canada Horror The Nightmare BusI get on the bus, a regular city bus. Strange that it was parked at the end of the parking lot of the complex I lived in as a teenager. I get to the back of the bus and sit in the corner. It is late, about 10:00p.m. I have no idea why I am getting on a bus; I drive now. And...
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teens fear California, United States Horror It was eleven o’ clock at night in El Hotel de Carolina. Right before going to bed, I brush my teeth, comb my hair and apply some moisturizer. I go to the living room and bid my mother, who is sitting in an armchair reading a book, goodnight. After, I go back to my room, turn off the lights,...
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teens fear British Columbia, Canada Horror The night was silent, and everything was peaceful. Then it happened for the first time. The floorboards creaked, and you heard the clunk, clunk, clunk of footsteps. You looked up from your book and reached towards the bat you always kept beside your bed. You didn’t have it in you to shoot someone,...
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youth fear Texas, United States Horror Nameless Children in the Mist “The secret ingredient to a lively, joyous life is happy pills. Find them at-.” The mother turned off the T.V. The children groaned with disappointment. Mother only responded with tuts of disapproval. She took them upstairs and tucked them into bed. She...
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 youth fearless Texas, United States Fantasy I threw the corn on the ground as chickens quietly picked at it. Where in the world is Jack, I sent him to the village nearly two hours ago? I looked at the empty cow stall where Charlotte used to stand. I gave her to Jack to sell. We need the money, if not we would have to go back to my town and...
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adult fear Michigan, United States Horror content warning: Gore/Graphic Violence They’re awake again. Scratching, biting, trying to come up through the floor and reach me. No sound drowns them out, no amount of mental discipline places me in a trance. They’re too insistent, too ravenous, to be ignored. ...
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 youth fear South Carolina, United States Horror I always knew things were wrong. I never wanted to admit it, but I knew it. She always looked at me, or maybe the way she looked at everyone else. It was so easy to fall in love with her. If “love" is even what you call it. More like it was so easy to fall under her spell. I remember how she...
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teens fearless British Columbia, Canada General The lace edging on the cream curtain’s trim was yellowed, a curled loose thread hanging at the very end of its sloppy knot keeping it from touching the dead fly society creating a biohazard at the window frame. Perfect to hang over the dirt-covered hardwood floor, that one unsightly scrape from a...
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teens fear British Columbia, Canada Romance What if, what if - what if?Thoughts that encumbered and stole my liberty to process other thoughts. The rising anxiety boils over and burns internally to offer only the worst outcomes. It eats away at my sanity, and any leeway for relief - the feeble solutions to my situation - are reviled and...
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teens fear Louisiana, United States Horror I felt his presence as I ran, he was following me. I think he wanted to kill me. I don't know what I've done to get him so angry. I really hate the woods, I shouldn't have come here. I just wanted to have fun and now I'm probably going to die. Running and tripping in the pitch black dark, cold cold...
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adult fear Utah, United States Horror October 13, 1776My dearest Emily,I must ask you to forgive me, but I cannot expect forgiveness of you. I promised to write. Mail has been unreliable with the war and all.You would enjoy this new territory, love. The scenery is beautiful, albeit hospitable. My company and I have erected a log cabin...
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teens fear Virginia, United States Horror Logically, I knew I was unlikely to be tortured on the way to history class. That didn’t help much.The day was unremarkable, as so many were–a standard suburban Friday in a hallway that smelled of linoleum tiles and depleted spirit. Kaitlyn hung on my arm, rambling about calculus test this and boy...
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adult fear California, United States Horror "Mama," Victor pulled on his mother's sleeve as it hung from the ceiling. "Mama, I'm scared. There's monsters outside."The woman stretched, long fingernails nearly scraping the ground, and looked at the little boy with tired, bloodshot eyes. She picked him up and flipped him upside-down so he hung...
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youth fear Manitoba, Canada Horror The fortune cookie crumbles in her hands, the snapping noise satisfies her; knowing a reward awaits inside. Sadie dismisses the crumbling bits from her hands and pulls the paper from inside. The rest of her family mimicked her act. She gazed at her mother, awaiting her turn to read the paper. They...
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 teens fear British Columbia, Canada Horror SHEHELP MEHELP MEHELP ME I have always known that I was different. Even when I was young, I stood out from the rest, not always in a good way. While the other kids at school would play different trivial games, I would sit by myself. I never felt alone though, it was...
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