The first thing I noticed wasn't the woman. It was that she was standing behind the tall flour storage racks that were locked behind a steel gate nobody had opened all evening. If you picture the room, don't look at the woman first. Look at the heavy brass padlock hanging on the bakery storage gate. It never moved, and that's the part that still bothers me. I only went into … Read more
I wasn't looking for anything strange that afternoon. Then the clouds shifted just enough for me to see the curved silver edge of something huge sitting behind them above the old fire lookout tower. It wasn't flying across the sky. It was simply there, as if the clouds were trying to hide most of it. Before you look anywhere else, notice the locked chain across the lookout stairs. Nobody had … Read more
The first thing I noticed wasn't the eyes. It was the way they stayed perfectly still while every bit of dust under the freezer slowly drifted past them. If you ever look at a long grocery store freezer case, pay attention to the narrow gap underneath. That's where I saw them, and that's where they should never have fit. I've worked pest control for almost fourteen years. Most overnight grocery … Read more
The first thing I noticed wasn't the woman. It was the elevator. The old museum elevator was shut down for renovation, and the heavy metal gate across it was locked with a thick chain and brass padlock. Then I looked to the right and saw a woman standing beside it with no face at all. If you ever look at the picture from that hallway, don't stare at the woman … Read more
The first thing that scared me wasn't that someone was behind the campground shower house after midnight. It was that I could see the top of their head sticking several feet above the roofline even though they were standing on the ground behind the building. Look at the chain on the service gate beside the shower house if you ever picture this place. It stayed locked the entire time, even … Read more
My aunt opened the church pantry to grab canned soup for the weekly food drive and froze before she even stepped inside. A pale hand was wrapped around the back edge of one of the metal shelves, holding it from the side where nobody could possibly be standing. The first thing she told me to notice was the pantry door. It only opened inward a few feet before stopping against … Read more
I still think about the shape because it never looked like a normal aircraft. It wasn't glowing or spinning. It was just a flat black oval hanging over the empty train yard like someone had cut a hole in the sky. The first thing you should notice is the locked chain across the service gate. Everything inside the yard stayed exactly where it should have been, but whatever was floating … Read more
The first thing I noticed wasn't the person. It was the padlock. The old brass padlock was hanging exactly where it always did on the motel laundry closet, but someone was standing behind the narrow window in the door, perfectly still, looking out at me. If you ever picture the scene, don't look at the face first. Look at the lock. That lock is the only reason I still think … Read more
The scratching started before sunrise. It wasn't loud. It sounded like someone's fingernails dragging slowly across rough concrete from somewhere under the street. If you look at the manhole cover, notice that it never moves. That's the part that still bothers me. Everything happened beneath it while the heavy iron cover stayed perfectly in place. My brother works on a sewer maintenance crew for our city. He's never been someone … Read more
The first thing I noticed wasn't that someone was inside the laundromat after closing. It was that he never looked at me once, even when I unlocked the front door and walked in. If you picture the room, don't watch the rows of washing machines first. Look at the front entrance. The deadbolt was still locked from the inside exactly the way I had left it the night before. I … Read more