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...
In the hills of North Carolina, there is a place where the trees grow thick and the birds do not chirp. There are very few people who know of this part of the forest. It is tucked away and hidden. This is good. It is not a place for people to go, and those that have done so are never seen again.
Randy came upon a path that he had never found before. He had lost his way and was looking for the nearest trailhead. He thought to take this path in the hopes it would lead him to high ground. So, without giving it a second thought, he began hiking up the trail.
It wasn't long before he was led to a small clearing overlooking a tiny valley between two mountains. This valley did not look familiar and he could not locate it on his map. Given that the day was still young, he thought 'Perhaps I shall explore a little now that I have my bearings.' So, that's exactly what he did.
Randy set off to explore this new valley.
The first thing he noticed was that this forest was very quiet. In fact, it was the quietest he had ever heard a forest be. There were no birds and no animals. Only the wind in the trees offered him company. It was also very, very dark. The trees grew close together, allowing only small shafts of sunlight to break the canopy and light the way. Several times, he thought he heard branches from above crack and break as something shifted through the canopy, but Randy couldn't be sure what that may be.
He came to a river and bent down to drink.
A gust of wind blew through the trees and the branches shifted wildly, more than he had been expecting. Such odd trees they were. The sun stood high in the sky. Randy would have to turn around if he hoped to get home by evening.
Just before he was going to leave, however; he saw a deer bound out of the bushes. It was running from something, yet, as Randy strained to listen, he couldn't hear a thing.
He waited a moment to see what might emerge from the trees. The animal darted past him and moved into the bushes on the opposite side of the river. Hungry, he decided to give chase.
The deer's trail was fairly easy to follow. It made enough noise to wake the dead and kept in a straight line. Then, somewhere ahead of him, that changed. Randy heard a piercing cry. He froze in his tracks and listened as the deer cried out in pain.
Then, its cries went silent.
Fearing a predator had taken his kill, Randy moved forward cautiously, his bow at the ready. When he came to the deer, however, something was wrong. It lay on a bed of needles. The animal looked shriveled, dry like it had been dead for a long time. In fact, it reminded Randy of a mummy. Confused, he bent down to inspect something glimmering on its leg.
A shaft of light illuminated a thin strand of silk snared around the deer's terribly thin ankle. It was sticky. No wonder the deer had gotten snared in it!
Again, the canopy seemed to come alive with movement. However, this time, it took Randy a moment to realize that there was no wind blowing. The tree branches were moving on their own.
Only they weren't branches.
They were spiders.
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