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...
Old man Calhoun came riding into town on a hot day in June. He was a robber and thief, and his reputation had spread all over. People were scared of him. Even the sheriffs had given up on catching him. The people in town kept their distance.
Before long, he was running the town and forcing the people to do whatever he wanted. Life got hard for the people of that town, but the Preacher had an idea.
"I think I know a way we can get rid of him." He told the people. "We can scare him off!"
So, that night, the Preacher went to the town cemetery. An old dead tree stood in the center of it. No one liked going to the cemetery at night. But this night, there was a full moon. That gave the preacher some courage.
He approached the hollow of the tree and asked, "Can you hear me, Devil?"
In the dark of that old tree, a smile full of sharp yellow teeth formed. Above it were two red eyes. "Yes, Preacher. I can hear you. What brings you to my tree?"
The Preacher said, "There's a man come to town that is making life awful for us. Now I know you don't go out of your tree on account of us putting you in there, and I know you deserved to be put there, but we need help, and I'd be willin' to free you in exchange for your services."
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The eyes flashed and the smile widened. "That so?" The Devil said. "Well you must be in some trouble to come to me. Fine. I'll help you. But on one condition."
The Preacher swallowed. "What would that be?"
The Devil said, "Nothing much. I just need a body in order to get out of this here tree. Would you be so kind as to lend yours to me? I won't harm you none. I promise. In fact, I'll make you smile from now to judgment day."
The Preacher gave it some thought. He knew well not to trust what had been put into that old tree, but fearing what Old Calhoun would do to the town if he didn't, persuaded him to accept the Devil's offer.
"You've got a deal." The Preacher said.
"Then go ahead and put your hand into the hollow." The Devil said. "So we can shake on it."
The Preacher did as he was told. A cold, clawed hand reached out and met his hand in the dark. Followed by another and another, until cold dead fingers were up and down his arm. Terrified, the Preacher pulled his arm free and then quickly left the cemetery and went to bed. His sleep was filled with horrible nightmares of the toothy grin and those red eyes. He could feel cold dead hands wrapping around him. But when he woke that morning, he never felt better.
At noon, he approached Calhoun and challenged him to a duel. The bandit accepted and they went out in the street to walk their paces. No one watched. The people were too afraid.
But not as afraid as Calhoun. You see, the moment the Preacher turned, the bandit saw that his eyes were red as blood and his teeth were yellow and sharp. He smiled and spoke in a deep voice.
"I've come to collect my own." The Preacher said.
Calhoun's hands were shaking as he aimed the revolver. He shot at the Preacher and hit him, but the man didn't die. He kept walking forward, smiling. The bandit ran out of bullets by the time the Preacher reached him. Then, the Preacher shot the bandit dead with a single bullet.
The people came out and cheered the Preacher. They buried the bandit in the cemetery in an unmarked grave and went on their way.
True to the Devil's word, from that time on, the Preacher had never been happier. Every day, he carried a wide smile. But, as time went on, so did the people of the town. In fact, it wasn't long before everyone wore the Preacher's smile. The cemetery, meanwhile, grew wild with grass and the stone markers slowly fell to ruin. But the tree in the center of it stood tall and firm.
Peoplesay that if you were to visit that town on a moonlit night, when all of itssmiling people had gone to bed, you could hear something coming from that tree.Voices. Some old and some young. But you'd also hear the voice of a Preacher.And if you were to look into that tree and ask 'Who's there?' You'd see dozensof faces in the dark; men, women and children, none of which were smiling.
