Do you like scary stories? How about monsters and things that go bump in the night? If you do, then I have the collection for you. This is an anthology of short scary stories, all of which are original; with more being added as time goes on. If you...
They hadn't been biting all morning. Darby sat in his little boat hoping that something--anything--might take his bait. It had been an odd morning though, with all this blasted fog. Maybe the fish were the superstitious sort and didn't want to eat. Darby's stomach gave a loud growl as he thought about food. The poor man hadn't eaten for the better part of two days. If he didn't catch something soon, he would be in a bad way.
Just as he was about to give up, however, there came a tug on the line.
Darby pulled back with all his might.
He pulled so hard that he fell back in his little boat. Then, out of the dark water, flailing and crying came this strange fish. It landed on his chest, and Darby sprang up, wrestling the creature into his net.
It wasn't like any fish Darby had ever seen before. It had tentacles like a squid, but a face that was eerily human. It made crying noises like a child. It cried all the way back to shore where Darby quickly cooked it up and ate it, bones and all.
It tasted delicious and he thought, I am a lucky man to have caught such a wonderful fish. Surely the wait had been worth it. So Darby went to sleep and the next morning woke, still full from dinner the night before. Darby hadn't felt this good in a long time. He decided that he would take a stroll along the beach.
Now, Darby's house was a modest collection of driftwood and stone. He lived alone on a stretch of barren island off the coast of the mainland. He did not usually like to take walks along the shore because it was so bleak. This day, however, was different. He had a spring in his step and his stomach was content and happy.
Also, he was no longer alone.
A woman dressed in white stood on the lonely shore. Darby had never seen her before. She had long black hair and stared over the ocean with a wistful look to her eyes. He was immediately smitten by her beauty and walked over to her.
"Hello, Miss. Are you alright?" He asked her.
The woman looked at him sadly. "No," She said, "I am in mourning."
"Mourning?" Darby asked.
"Yes." She said, brushing away a lock of her long black hair. "My child is lost to me you see and I fear the worst. They were playing along the shore yesterday and now I cannot find them."
Darby was confused. He hadn't seen a child on the beach when he had been fishing. Perhaps the woman was confused. Darby invited her to his home and she agreed to come with him.
The woman's touch was deathly cold. It almost made him withdraw his own hand. However, not to seem rude, he kept her fingers with his all the way up to his door. Darby didn't have much, but he offered the woman a chair and took to preparing her some tea. It was all he had, but given the occasion, it seemed fitting. He offered her a thin blanket as well, but the woman shook her head.
"I am already too warm." She told him.
The water began to boil from the fire he had stoked. True to her word, the woman seemed uncomfortable around the heat. She threw uncertain glances at the fire.
Darby asked her how the old child was. When she told him that they weren't even yet two, a knot formed in his stomach.
"How awful." He said. "Do you come here often with your little one?"
"We've come here every day since he was born."
Now, Darby was convinced that either the woman was lying, or very confused. He said, "I've lived here for well over ten years, but I've never seen you two. Do you perhaps have the wrong island?"
The tea kettle began to whistle.
"Oh, I am certain this is the same island. You haven't seen us, but we've seen you." The woman said and as her hand gently slid across the table, gripping his own. Darby felt a terrible sense of fear. Her icy fingers dug into his skin.
"Let me f-fetch the tea." Darby said.
"Tell me, how did it taste?"
"Wh-what?" Darby said, tripping over his words. Her fingers were beginning to hurt him.
"My baby. How did my baby taste?" The woman said with an icy tone.
Her face had changed. It was no longer youthful and fair but had become hard and cold like something dredged from the seabed. Her beautiful eyes looked like deep, black pools where slimy things crawled.
"What do you mean? I don't understand!" Darby said.
"You ate him!" She screamed.
Darby couldn't break her grasp. He tugged and tugged until his arm ached from the strain. All the while, her fingers dug deeper and deeper into his skin. As the tea kettle whined, the woman changed. When he looked into her horrible black eyes again, he saw her lips peel back and great big teeth, like those of an angler fish, criss-cross over her now very wide mouth. Her sweet voice became a deep gurgling sound.
"And now," She said in that awful voice. "I will eat you too!"
And she pulled him toward her hideous mouth...
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