The legend is only partially true. I did bathe in the river and the farmer did see me there in human-skin. I had hidden my fox-skin well. I am not the hu li jing of the western legend who they kidnapped, whose fox-skin they stole. One human poet called it devotion that she returned nightly […]
One second: I have ten fingersThe next: I have nine.I’m sure you’re picturing the scene: the bright, sharp smell of blood. Emergency surgery. Months later, a morbidly funny story to tell at the office Holiday party, the jagged scar a ring branded into my flesh.But that isn’t what happens.I’m chopping carrots for dinner. My husband, […]
First there were mindsets. Then there were constructs. Then archtypes. But, let me tell you, it’s all bullshit. The only thing that worked was the invisible. Until now. * * * Annie stares in my direction. She pauses as I wave my arms. My throat is raw from calling her name. But she doesn’t see […]
The woman from the county throws her shoulder against the bathroom door, and the hardboard coughs open, surrenders a narrow gap, then slaps into a mountain of plastic bottles filled with urine staling to lemon curry.“Christ alive,” she whispers.They think I’m in my death throes, now, having discovered the bathroom. Downstairs, the biohazard crew peels […]
Emma and I are horror junkies. We bonded years ago over our shared love of beautifully-told horror stories that linger in your psyche long after you finish reading. But FFO receives far fewer horror submissions than other genres (if you’re interested in our submission stats, we’ve recently added those over on Patreon). We’ve hoped to publish […]