Category Archives: Microfictions

Halloween Microfiction: Annual Spirits by TammyJo Eckhart

“Annual Spirits”
by TammyJo Eckhart

 

I know it isn’t the wine.

I finish off the first glass and set it on the bedside table.

It isn’t as easy as it used to be to take off my shoes and clothes, but I manage it nonetheless. My fingers tremble a bit as I unbutton my shirt. Fingers that used to be strong and firm, now wrinkled and spotted. They’ll still work.

I pour another glass after I’m down to boxers and undershirt. I sit on the edge of my bed and sip it, remembering.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Annual Spirits by TammyJo Eckhart

Halloween Microfiction: Fiat Lux by Cam Andrews

“Fiat Lux”
by Cam Andrews

 

The light is fading when I find her. Only one faint star shines in the darkening sky this Sabbat night.

She stands at her bedroom window and makes a wish: Star light, star bright. Her true desire chants the spell. She has summoned me, the Lightbearer, though she does not know it. Not yet.

She lights a candle on the bedside table. I crouch in the shadows, watching her. From the drawer she takes the tools of her magic and arranges them within reach. Her robe drops to the floor; she is naked before me. She sinks back onto the pillows with a sigh. Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Fiat Lux by Cam Andrews

Halloween Microfiction: Base & Vile Things by Sonni de Soto

“Base & Vile Things”
by Sonni de Soto

“Tell me.” Her voice, hoarse and hushed, whispered into the sightless, scopeless space Eli no longer recognized as his room. Without his glasses, the witching hour had warped his pitch-black bedroom, distorting the familiar shapes and scales into strange shades of themselves.

“Say it.” Her tone tightened as he felt Her lean in closer. Her hot breath felt wet as it fluttered against his shivering skin. He bit his lip to seal the words back, blood touching his tongue sharp and metallic like a sacrifice.

He wouldn’t say it. Couldn’t.

Lord knew, he shouldn’t. Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Base & Vile Things by Sonni de Soto

Halloween Microfiction: Before the Fast by T. C. Mill

“Before the Fast”
by T. C. Mill

Before the darkness, before the hunger, the people of Orriak donned their masks. Hidden even from the gods, they enjoyed their last indulgences. The winter would be long and even in these days of comparative advances, not all would survive. For those who would, it helped to have sweet memories.

And so when the ringed moon set for the last time until spring, an air settled over the city. A hush of anticipation. Many barred their doors, shutting their families and invited guests safely away. The rest took to the streets.

Safe or not, nobody spent the Night of Masks in comfort. But for some, these twelve hours of darkness would be worth an entire year of fasting. It was risk, it was challenge, it was adventure.

He knew all this when he went out. Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Before the Fast by T. C. Mill

Halloween Microfiction: Room with a Boo by J. T. Seate

Editor’s Note: This story mentions suicide. 

“Room with a Boo”
by J. T. Seate

The well-appointed room looked similar to any other, but it was their room. The cool air from the open window that looked upon the picturesque Adirondacks washed over Helen. It was just as she remembered. She breathed deeply, remembering the words William had spoken ten years earlier.

“If I die, will you marry me?”

“Why would I marry you if you’re dead?” she’d answered.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Room with a Boo by J. T. Seate

Halloween Microfiction: Haunting Touches by Greer Thompson

“Haunting Touches”
by Greer Thompson

 

Sometimes you’ve got to get creative to solve a ghost problem.

I’ve been just trying to live with it for a few months after moving into this “fixer upper” my criminal of a real-estate agent sold me on. “Oh it has so much character,” she said. I’d barely gotten my futon set up in the one upstairs bedroom with openable windows when the haunting started. Plates flying across the room and shit. It was crazy! And, fuck it, I like my plates. Those girls from the bar that ran home? Whatever, it wasn’t personal and my vibrator can cover. But those plates were special! They had Winnie the Pooh on them! So, dammit, I was going to solve this bitch once and for all.

I checked out every half-related book from the library and raided the local Barnes and Noble’s metaphysical section, grabbing anything that wasn’t only about aliens who abduct farmers and help them express their most repressed desires. I started with the basics. A Ouija board let me talk to her the last few months. It is a her, after all, and she’s not much of a bitch at all. Sweet girl, goes by Ellie. I introduced myself, but she kept getting confused. Thinking it was 1927, maybe ’28 at the latest. She insisted she hadn’t broken anything of mine. I wasn’t sure what to do.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Haunting Touches by Greer Thompson

Halloween Microfiction: Manipulation by Trisha J. Wooldridge

Editor’s Note: We here at Circlet Press want everyone to be able to enjoy our stories. In that spirit, please be advised that the following story deals with the subject of suicide in a detailed fashion. However, if you can muster the strength to read it, I do highly recommend that you do so as this story is truly unique and beautiful in its own way. Thank you.

“Manipulation”
by Trisha J. Wooldridge

 

The bathtub and suds were just for effect.
Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Manipulation by Trisha J. Wooldridge

Halloween Microfiction: Ruined by Jean Roberta

“Ruined”
by Jean Roberta

 

“Too bad there’s no sex in those old books you teach.” My friend Woody was trying to provoke me. It was her way of flirting.

I had taught a dreaded, required composition class at the technical school where she taught Industrial Arts until I landed the job I really wanted, teaching English lit at the university. Woody knew as much about literature as I knew about carpentry, but we always found something to talk about over coffee.

“There is,” I told her.  “You just have to look for it.”  We were alone in my office.

“You got a favorite scene?” Her blue eyes sparkled.
Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Ruined by Jean Roberta

Halloween Microfiction: A Contract Until Dawn by Sita Bethel

“A Contract Until Dawn”
by Sita Bethel

“What’s your name, daemon?”

The demon ignored his summoner, staring at the sigils on the floor, scanning the rust colored markings for errors or weak points. The room looked unremarkable, barrels of apples and squash stashed in the corners, round, fat pumpkins beside them, the typical fall harvest. So many would-be necromancers and wizards tried to summon a demon during the last night of October.

A soft chuckle brought his gold eyes back up to face the wizard who’d pulled him into the physical world. He looked delicate, fresh glass still cooling from a blower’s wand. His long, black ponytail slung over his right shoulder and the gray eyes flashed in dim, wavering light of a dozen tallow candles.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: A Contract Until Dawn by Sita Bethel

Halloween Microfiction: Din-Din by Sommer Marsden

“Din-Din”
by Sommer Marsden

“Take off your pants, Din-Din,” she says.

I laugh. “How did Daniel become Din-Din?”

She shrugs. “It’s cute. And doesn’t it mean dinner sometimes? Maybe it’s because I like to eat you,” Felicia purrs. She drops to her knees and works my belt since I have yet to do it.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Din-Din by Sommer Marsden