The Novella Life of Illuscia Nester Himawari

If you stand alone at the corner of Church St. and Market St. in Charleston, South Carolina at 3 AM, you see a man coming down Church St. wearing a black hat and black cape with stringy white hair and weathered skin. He'll stop at one of the two corners directly across from where you are standing and start to walk the corner directly opposite from where he is standing. When he reaches about halfway (dead center of the intersection) and nobody else has arrived, he'll stop, turn, and look directly at you. If you do not blink for roughly 20-30 seconds he'll tip his hat to you and walk along his way, disappearing into the dark shadows of the trees that line the streets. Nobody knows what happens if you follow him. If you do blink before he tips his hat, the very first thing you will see is the man standing directly in front of you. He'll grin maliciously at you and draw a blade hidden in the shaft of the cane and slash you across your throat, but you will not feel a thing. ...

It is said, a long time ago, when Queen's Bay was just a small fishing village, the mayor's young wife Maura was killed by "The Queen." I'm not one to say whether this is true, but I do know that certain nights are colder than others. You see, you’re too young to remember, but your mother used to run the inn where the Lady Maura used to live. And there were times, young man, when you woke up screaming, because "the scary woman was staring at you." Laugh if you will, but your mother was never too sure about this. Until that night when you didn't wake up. She had put you down for the night and returned to the common room, to have a glass of wine and tally the evening’s profits. About an hour later there was a crash from your room upstairs. Thinking you were waking up from another one of your nightmares, she hesitated to run upstairs, waiting for you to cry for her before coming to the rescue. Strange thing is, young man, you never started screaming. Sh...

An odd occurrence has been rumored to happen in a certain pub at night in southwest Germany. If you sit in the stool farthest from the door while one beside it is empty, order a round for yourself and offer to "buy one for the Baron". The bartender will without question or expression will pour 2 beers from tap. He'll place one beside you and the moment the other one hits the table the room will go dark and silent, save for the sound of footsteps as a man in uniform sits beside you. It is believed that it is indeed Captain Manfred von Richthofen, although no one is sure because they can barely see their own glass, much less the person's face. No one who's told this story has had the nerve to touch him or risk insult, and the figure does not say a word. But apparently if you were to ask him "So sir, what's the condition at the front?" he would tell you startling details about the region's future and sometimes how they connect to the world as a whol...

Dear god, I feel like I'm in a waking nightmare. I'm at work; paranoid, jumpy... out of adjectives, too. I quite literally jumped when I saw a reflection in my glasses as I was turning my head a moment ago. Adrenaline is roaring through my veins, and my peripheral vision is on overdrive. Every last reflective surface is being noted by my brain whether I realize it or not, and I've got this horribly pervasive feeling of being watched because of all of that. Hell, a dude came into the store a second ago. I managed not to jump or yell when the door buzzer went off, but as I was heading to the counter I kept watching the guy. Intently. Desperately. As he walked between the racks and shelves, I kept trying to get glimpses of him to make sure he wasn't melted or dripping. Making sure he was intact and verifiably human. I made sure not to turn my back to him, and he only left my sight for a moment at a time. And then, when I turned to get his cigarette...

(Retold from the original by Bradley Trevor Grieve) Everybody has blue days. There are miserable days when you feel lousy, grumpy, lonely, and utterly exhausted. Days when you feel small and insignificant, when everything seems just out of reach. You can’t rise to the occasion. Just getting started seems impossible. On blue days you can become paranoid that everyone is out there to get you (This is not always a bad thing). You feel frustrated and anxious, which can induce a nail-biting frenzy that can escalate into a triple-chocolate-mud-cake-eating frenzy in a blink of an eye! On blue days you feel like you’re floating in an ocean of sadness and sorrow. You’re about to burst into tears at any moment and you don’t even know why. Ultimately, you feel like you’re wandering through life without a purpose. You’re not sure how much l...

(Retold from the original story by Jenny Nimmo ) On stormy night, when wolves still roamed the Highlands, three witches came to Glenmagraw. No one saw them come but Tam, the blacksmith’s cat, and Rory, the carpenter’s cat, who were watching from the barn. Through the scream of the wind and the rumble of thunder, the cats’ sharp ears picked up the sound of hoof beats. A horse was toiling up the road, and a heavy wagon creaked behind it. The cats crouched low in the hay, wondering what kind of human could be traveling on such night, and when the wagon passed, they shuddered from the tips of their whiskers right through to the tufts at the ends of their thick furry tails. Three dark figures were leaning into the wild wind; one held a whip, one held a lantern and the third stared into the barn with terrible glittering eyes. “I smell mischief,” Tam hissed. “I smell worse, Brother,” Rory grunted. “We must rest well, for I believe it might be the last good sleep we’ll get for many a nig...

“Excuse me, miss! I’m a star-seeker. Would you like to become a super model?” “Super model?!” Henrietta (Henry for short) Lovegood couldn’t believe her luck. She was actually approached by a star-seeker to be asked to become a super model. Henry couldn’t help feeling elated about it. “Ah, you look so perfect up close and personal,” the star-seeker said, rubbing his chin. “You have a beautiful face, an attractive aura, and you are, what, at least 170 cm, no? You are just the type of girl we are looking for! Where have you been all our life?!” Henry felt even more elated. Her friend Joannie, who was about as tall as her shoulders, looked apprehensive about all this. “Would you mind telling me your name, Miss…?” the man asked, handing her one of his business cards. “Henrietta Lovegood. You can call me Henry!” Henry replied excitedly. “And how old are you and which school are you in?” “I’m 12 years old and studying in Pollen Flower Elementary!” The star-seeker was stunned. He chuc...

There's a dark forest deep in the heart of the Rockies, surrounded on all sides by mountains. In the center of the forest is a lake on the shores of which you will find a large black stone. If you swim out into the center of the lake, the stone will drag you down into the darkness. You will emerge from shadows in the alley of a frightening dark city of heavily arched roofs and buildings built on stilts. You must not talk to a single citizen of this city, or you shall be trapped there forever. The citizenry is horrid and mutated, and they will leer and curse at you, and their hideous and deformed women shall offer you unknown and horrible lewdness. At the edge of this city is a highway. Walk down the left side of the road (yes, against traffic) with your thumb out and a man in a dark truck shall pick you up and drive you back the way you came. The city will be gone, and he will take you to any place on Earth as long as you can name it and there's a road there.

Julie and Jenny hid behind the bushes as they stared into the field. Julia blushed as she saw her dream prince rushing around the field with the football close to his feet. At the side of the field, more girls sat and watch, letting out giggles and cheers at the star player of the team. There is no one in school who doesn’t know the jock of Kilimanjaro High—Chad Henry Junior. Everyone adored him, and that goes the same with ours truly Julia. She had always wanted to step up to him and talk just like the rest of the girls but she was often pushed away by them. This time was of no exception. After getting an encouraging cue from her best friend Jenny, she lunged forward and tried to squeeze her way through the crowd of girls that surrounded Chad as soon as he was done practicing his football with the team. Her efforts have again failed her. She was pushed away harshly that she had sprained her waist and couldn’t get up. Jenny had to help her take her to the sick room. Julie went home d...

Samantha ran as fast as she could to get to class. There was no way she was going to miss Mr. Mitchell’s class. He was the school’s most handsome and cutest teacher and if she were ever to miss one second of his class, she’d rather die. She practically crashed into class. There he was, Mr. Mitchell, about to be ready for class. She grinned and said, “Sorry, sir. I overslept. It won’t happen again…” THWACK!!! Her head was immediately hit by Mr. Mitchell’s scroll. His stern face looked even more handsome than ever as he boomed, “How dare you come late for my class? Don’t you know that English is one of the most important subjects for your daily life? Now go and take your seat immediately!” “Oh, how lucky for Samantha to be hit on the head by Mr. Mitchell! I want to be hit on the head too!!” Samantha Lorne looked down as she walked towards her seat. She wasn’t the only one having a crush with Mr. Mitchell Sherbet. Almost everyone in Devon Girls’ High was having a crush with Mr. Mitch...