THE ADVENTURES OF THE NIGHT BLOGGER

 

“You don’t have to believe the stories on my blog, you can dismiss them as good hallucinations or bad fiction if you want to but they’re all true. The darkness was never empty, there are things that wait for the innocent and unwary to turn their backs. What is it you think I’m talking about here? Ghosts? Vampires? Ghouls? If only it were that simple. The creatures of the night are still out there but they’re not shadowing your every footstep. They just check your status updates from the comfort of their tombs. 

All I ever wanted was to be a Do-It-Yourself style reporter but more often than I like I find myself becoming part of my stories. It turns out gods and monsters don’t like their secrets getting out any more than your standard politician or celebrity. We all know how this is going to turn out in the end; I’m already long overdue for jail, the looney bin or a guest of honor spot at a monster buffet but until that fateful day I’m not going to back down or give up. 

My name is Brian Foster and some people call me The Night Blogger. .."

 

 

Episode One 'The Graveyard Game'

Join The Night Blogger as he unravels the true story behind 'The Graveyard Game' in a spine-tingling tale of possession and the supernatural

 

Episode Two 'Whispers of the Red Night'

Unearthing the past could cost the Night Blogger more than his life as he uncovers the truth behind a string of gruesome murders.

 

Episode Three 'A Firesign Variation'

The Night Blogger investigates Albany's ghost bus, and it could be his final destination.

 

Episode Four 'Shadow Of The Zombie'

A bizarre case involving meth and fantasy video games leads the Night Blogger into the deadly reality of murder and magic.

 

Episode Five 'Digging In The Dirt'

The Night Blogger discovers the Graveyard Game isn't over, and a secret awaits Sara Bishop in Pinewood Cemetery.

 

Episode Six 'Direct Market Thing'

An undercover investigation into a multi-level marketing scheme uncovers chilling truths behind recent disappearances.

 

Episode Seven 'The Owls And The Lizards And The Big Broke Moon'

Unexpected visitors to Vincenzo’s pawnshop interrupt the Night Blogger's investigation and lead to a surprising declaration.

 

Episode Eight 'Dare To Grin'

The Night Blogger delves into the mind of a serial killer.

 

Episode Nine 'A Trace Of Arson'

The Night Blogger investigates a series of spontaneous human combustions.

 

Episode Ten 'The Crimson Chimes'

The Night Blogger and his friends delve deeper into the secrets of Gorgo, Luna, and the Thousand-Faced Moon, only to realize they may need the help of a woman who claims to be the Devil.

 

Episode Eleven 'Nuts And Bolts'

An encounter with a mysterious doctor leads to twisted experiments and a night of terror.

 

Episode Twelve 'The Old Man And The Siege'

The Night Blogger uncovers the chilling mystery of a Marine's encounters with the enigmatic Old Man in black sunglasses during the Vietnam War.

 

Episode Thirteen 'Back From The Shadows Again'

The Night Blogger date with Sara turns into a night of terror and confusion.

 

Episode Fourteen 'The Rally'

A quiet evening with Sara prompts the Night Blogger to recount the chilling supernatural event that set him on the path to becoming a hunter of monsters.

 

Episode Fifteen 'Run In With The Devil'

Hoping to save Sara, the Night Blogger turns to the one woman who claims to be the Devil—and discovers that some legends are more dangerous than monsters.

  

Episode Sixteen 'Demon In Lace'

The Night Blogger's search for the mysterious Eternal Codex leads him into a world of forbidden knowledge, ancient secrets, and a book that may not want to be found.

 

Episode Seventeen 'Brian Foster and the Curse of the Cartwrights'

The Night Blogger prepares for a dangerous road trip to Delaware while Sara's family turns against him, and a supernatural encounter reveals a terrifying connection between his dying grandmother and a mysterious red entity.

 

Episode Eighteen 'Muldwych After Dark'

An impossible radio broadcast recounts the Night Blogger’s encounter with a monstrous creature he never told anyone about, leaving Brian to wonder who—or what—is listening.

 

Episode Nineteen 'When the PoPo Tries To Put The Kibosh On Your Old Lady'

The Night Blogger's road trip to Delaware hits a snag when Detective Bradshaw comes calling, forcing Sara to confront the disturbing truth behind Brian's history of monsters, murder, and mayhem.

Episode Twenty 'On The Fritz'

An old song leads the Night Blogger into a bizarre tale of forbidden desire, supernatural consequences, and a lover who refuses to take no for an answer.

FRESH OFF THE BUS FROM CREEPYTOWN: Living Dead Nerd

 

by

Al Bruno III

I can’t really blame what happened on some kind of horror movie outbreak or evil spell. I just woke up one morning and I was dead.

Dead. Totally dead but walking around, no pulse but a head still full of Star Trek trivia. Sixteen years old, and it looked like I wasn’t going to be getting any older. So weird. I’m still not sure what I am. Zombie? Vampire? Something worse? Has this ever happened to anyone else? Even Wikipedia couldn’t tell me. Maybe when I’m done here, I’ll make an entry.

My complexion had always been pale, and my parents never really listened to me, so the whole I can’t go to school because I’m only breathing out of habit excuse didn’t fly. I still had to shamble out and catch the bus.

The ride to Allen Palmer High School was the usual hell. Insults and blunt objects thrown at me no matter how close I sat to the bus driver. Metalhead stoners, the shop class rejects—they didn’t discriminate. That day was no different, but for once, none of it bugged me. I didn’t feel anger. I didn’t feel anything.

That just pissed them off more.

They kept at it, escalating. A textbook slammed into the back of my head. I turned around, expecting to see the usual grins, but they just stared at me. Silent. I wasn’t glaring on purpose. I thought I looked surprised—mostly because I was trying to figure out why in the hell one of those idiots had a calculus textbook. Whatever they saw in my face, it shut them up. They left me alone after that.

School was school. I went through the motions, but sophomore year is basically the middle film in a trilogy—just killing time until the ending.

I wasn’t sure what my ending was going to be now. Was I going to rot away? Fall apart? I didn’t know. I still don’t. But it doesn’t bug me much. When you’re already dead, what’s the worst that could happen?

The first week passed like nothing had changed. School, home, World of Warcraft.

No more bathroom breaks messing up my raids, so hey, silver lining.

Then came the hunger.

Not the normal kind. It wasn’t in my stomach. It was in my bones. A deep ache, like something inside me was starving, softening, getting weaker. Fish sticks and fries didn’t touch it. Nothing did.

But my neighborhood was full of cats—some of the stupidest, plumpest cats you’ve ever seen. Like those tiny chickens they serve at weddings.

The first time, I didn’t think. I just did it. Snapped its neck, teeth in before I even realized. It was warm. Blood-hot. My fingers stopped shaking. The hunger faded.

By the second week, things had changed. I smelled different, but nothing a bucket of Dad’s Hi Karate couldn’t hide. People treated me differently. Even when I smiled, something about me made them uneasy. I told my gym teacher I wasn’t playing dodgeball. I was going to the library. He just let me. Amazing.

My skin cleared up, but my grades didn’t. The jocks even stopped calling me ‘Timmy the Tard.’ Not that I cared anymore.

One guy still wanted to fight. Some seven-foot freshman who thought he had something to prove. He hit me. A few times. Didn’t hurt. I hit back. Once. He crumpled. Cried.

I got called to the principal’s office, but something in the way I stared at his carotid artery must’ve changed his mind about the whole responsibility and citizenship speech. He cut it short and suspended me for a week instead.

Mom hit the roof. Dad actually seemed kind of proud.

That night, one of the neighbor’s dogs went missing. I felt like celebrating.

Since I was suspended, Mom gave me punishment chores to keep me busy while she and Dad were at work. Fine by me. Physical activity kept me from just sitting around, and when you’re dead, that’s what you do. Sit. Stare. Stop thinking. Let things happen to you.

Let go and let God, my aunt used to say.

Not that God was something I worried about anymore. Sometimes, though, I wondered—what if Jesus was just a nerd like me? What if he was someone who kept swallowing abuse until he choked on it?

At least he got cool powers. All I got was a thousand-yard stare.

And then I got laid.

Seriously.

It was the girl across the street—Stephanie, but she wanted everyone to call her Serpentina. Expelled for setting fire to the tampon dispenser in the girls’ room. My kind of girl.

I was taking out the trash when she walked up, talking about how much she liked standing in the rain and how I sure had changed. That never happened before.

She invited me inside. One thing led to another. Next thing I knew, she was on top of me, showing me all the places she planned to get tattooed and pierced when she turned eighteen.

She was warm. I didn’t realize how cold I was until she pressed against me. I let her do the driving. She kissed me, moved my hands where she wanted them, and then guided me into her.

So warm.

And since we’re both guys here, let me tell you—I was doing the full-on zombie groan, if you know what I mean.

Bet you thought I was gonna kill her and eat her or something, right?

Come on. She’s crazy about me. And she wants me to meet her girlfriend—and the way she said girlfriend has me thinking. And you know what that means. And know what that means - I may be dead, but I’m not stupid.

Of course, all that exertion left me starving, and that’s where you come in, you big, broad-shouldered jock, you.

I knew you couldn’t resist the chance to follow me here, to ‘teach me a lesson’ after what I did to that mongoloid brother of yours.

The dogs and the cats went neck-first. But since you pulled down my shorts in gym class—

I’m starting with your guts.

Scream all you want.

No one’s gonna hear you.

Man, I always wanted to say that.