Volume I, Issue III: Unusual Vampires
Pulse, by M.E. Solomon
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Echo stretches uneasily on the white cot, swaddled within the tightly tucked bed linens and the familiar fluorescent bulb overhead. A heart monitor beeps steadily.
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Sucker, by Victory Witherkeigh
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Trickles of dirt dropped on my eyelids, waking me up. The darkness that surrounded me was so thick I could no longer see my own limbs attached to me.
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Liam in the World of the Fat, by J. Anthony Hartley
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He was thin. Bone thin. Twig thin. His limbs creaked and stretched with every halting step. A woman stood on either side of him, supporting his elbow, helping him to walk.
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The Transylvanian Light, by John Grey
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It creeps unsuspectingly
up the side of the castle,
slips bright and yellow
through the windows.
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Why You Will Never See a Vampire, by John Grey
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The undead among us
lost track of time,
were melted by sun.
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The Toy Coffin, by Robert E. Petras
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That was the Halloween party
at our old house on Fifth Street,
me, dressed as tattered homeless Dracula,
you, my soul mate, fanged thonged Barbie,
with Zombie Bob and Zombie Bill
billed with other best beasties.
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Bloodless, by Benjamin T. Lambright
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Because of the late hour, the doorman had called to say that Vanessa’s guest had arrived and would be up to see her shortly.
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The Mosquito Who Loved Dracula, by Seelye Martin
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In the late summer afternoon, I circle above a suburban backyard, my little wings beating in a high-pitched whine when I intercept a carbon-dioxide plume, the sure-fire trace of a human.
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Don't Be Afraid, by Megan Neumann
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Wallace never let Emma hide under the bed with him. If she sneaked under the bed and he was already there, he’d hiss at her to go find her own spot. She’d get them caught, he‘d say.
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Where the Stars Don't Shine, by Robert Allen Lupton
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Captain Jefferson Redfeather woke in the Longsleep chamber, rubbed his eyes, and promptly vomited into his own lap. Things weren’t right. There should have been technicians, human and robotic, to help his return to wakefulness.
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Ex Dermis, by E.E. Florence
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The Bibliotheca Mariae Ecsediana received few visitors. This was not surprising. It was tucked away on one of the side streets in Sopron; a town that, although lovely, was more a relic of faded Austro-Hungarian glory than a bustling tourist destination.
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Kyūji-Chan, by Michael Teasdale
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There’s a point in the summer holidays where time seems to collapse slowly in on itself.
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FROM THE PERIODICAL, FORLORN ARCHIVES
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Buried Treasure, by Carlisle
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It was the sun that woke him. The slanted rays of the mid-morning sun. Bright. Harsh. Intense. Something about it stuck in Cochran’s mind. It was wrong somehow.
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Appearing in this Issue:
About the Authors:
M.E. Solomon:
M.E. Solomon is an American writer of supernatural fiction. She finds inspiration in worlds that exist in the slivers of daily life. Her work has appeared in Teleport Magazine, and The Scribe Editors Choice anthology. She is currently working on a novel.
Follow her on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/MESolomonHorror
Victory Witherkeigh:
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Victory Witherkeigh is a female Filipino author originally from Los Angeles, CA. Victory was a finalist for Killer Nashville’s 2020 Claymore Award, an Honoree for Cinnamon Press’s 2020 Literature Award, and Wingless Dreamer’s 2020 Overcoming Fear Short Story award. Her work has appeared in online literary magazines, Allegory Ridge, Bad Bride, Thought Catalog, Masque & Spectacle, For Women Who Roar, Fright Girls Autumn, Mason Street Review Blog. For print media, she has fiction short stories published in Red Planet Magazine, From the Farther Trees, and Pvssy Magic Magazine. She has her print publications in a horror anthology, The Hollow Horror Anthology Book #3, as well as a literary short story in Overcoming Fear, through Breaking Rules Publishing and Wingless Dreamers, respectively.
Follow her on:
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/witherkeigh
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victory_witherkeigh/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorywitherkeigh/
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J Anthony Hartley:
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J. Anthony Hartley is an Australian author transplanted to Germany by way of the UK. His work almost always wanders across genre boundaries or shamelessly blurs them. He has recently had pieces appear in Short Fiction, Hybrid Fiction, Worth a 1000 Words, and Short Circuit for Short Edition. Also in December's Unthinkable Tales. He writes primarily short fiction, but is also currently working on a novel or two.
Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/JAnthonyHartle1
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John Grey:
John Grey is an Australian poet and US resident, recently published in Orbis, Dalhousie Review and Connecticut River Review. His latest book, Leaves On Pages, is available through Amazon.
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Robert E. Petras:
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Robert E. Petras is a graduate of West Liberty University and a resident of Toronto, Ohio. His poetry and fiction have appeared in more than 200 publications across the globe.
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Benjamin T. Lambright:
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Benjamin T. Lambright writes, is a lead editor of Purple Wall Stories, and runs a literacy-focused non-profit. In all these things he strives to improve lives through the power and beauty of language. His writing has appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine, Rabid Writing Flash Fiction, The Dusty Woods Podcast, The Central Review, and many more wonderful publications he regrets being unable to list. His novel Retrofit & Original Copy will be released in 2021.
Follow him on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ragnaroknroller
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ragnarocknroller/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ragnaroknroller
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Seelye Martin:
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Seelye Martin lives in Seattle, Washington, is retired from the University of Washington, and has just completed a non-fiction book on Antarctic icebergs, global warming, and sea-level rise. He enjoys writing science fiction and fantasy, being a climate activist, and spending time with his family.
Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/seelyemartin
Megan Neumann:
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Megan Neumann is a speculative fiction writer from Little Rock, Arkansas. Her stories have appeared in such publications as Crossed Genres, Daily Science Fiction, and Luna Station Quarterly. She's a proud member of the Central Arkansas Speculative Fiction Writers' Group and is forever grateful for their loving support and scathing critiques.
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Robert Allen Lupton:
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Robert Allen Lupton is retired and lives in New Mexico where he is a commercial hot air balloon pilot. Robert runs and writes every day, but not necessarily in that order. More than a hundred and fifty of his short stories have been published in several anthologies including the New York Times best seller, Chicken Soup For the Soul – Running For Good. His novel, Foxborn, was published in April 2017 and the sequel, Dragonborn, in June 2018. His first collection, Running Into Trouble, was published in October 2017. His collection, Through a Wine Glass Darkly, was released in June 2019. His newest collection, Strong Spirits, was released on June 1, 2020.
His third novel, Dejanna of the Double Star, was published in December 2020.
His edited anthology, Feral: It Takes a Forest to Raise a Child, was published September 1, 2020. Follow Robert on Facebook and see over 1000 drabbles, his 100 word short stories, at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100022680383572
Visit his website:
https://robertallenlupton.blogspot.com/
And his Amazon Author page:
https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Allen-Lupton/e/B01GW77JY4%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
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E. E. Florence:
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E.E. Florence is fascinated by history, mythology, and the printed word. She works as a curator of rare medical books and spends her days perusing anatomical illustrations, old pharmaceutical recipes, and other aspects of medical history. She is fairly certain she is a misplaced time traveler, but can’t decide if she belongs in early modern Europe, Ptolemaic Egypt, or Heian Japan.
Follow her on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/bibliomage
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Michael Teasdale:
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Michael Teasdale is an English author currently living in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. His stories have previously appeared in several UK magazines including the science fiction anthology series Shoreline of Infinity. He has lived in six different countries across the past decade and accumulated three different cats along the way.
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