Postcards from the Darkside
Terror shared in 250 words
Fear needs only a cracked window or door to gain entry into your head.
Stories told in only a few creepy words are equally capable of being terrifying as a tale covering dozens of pages. Horror even in its shortest forms haunts souls who dare to tread near the Macabre Monday crypt.
We invited you to write and share your scariest dark drabbles — stories composed of exactly 100 words — in January. Now, we open a new door to a new form of frightening flash fiction.
Postcard fiction.
Do not try to run or hide. Let your eyes settle on these 250-word tales, so named because they are short enough to fit on the back of a postcard. Just like a drabble, every word counts in postcard fiction. This also means every word is capable of leaving a lasting impression.
We propose a new Macabre Monday challenge: conjure up a 250-word story that will draw us in and scare us in unexpected ways. Share your postcard tale in the comments of this newsletter, in our dedicated weekly chat, or as a note on Substack.
We’re dying to see what your twisted minds create.
Here’s an example of postcard fiction created for this week’s newsletter to offer you a little extra inspiration:
Starstruck
Fifty bucks and free pizza was not his sole motivation for being here.
Allan cracked a grin as he entered the studio. Why did he wait an entire semester before signing up to be a movie extra? This offered a real foot in the door. All he needed was a quick, memorable line and a camera lingering on his face for more than a split second to turn this into a perfect launching pad to Hollywood.
A string of overhead lights illuminated an expansive set constructed to resemble a cargo bay inside a spaceship. Allan gathered with twenty other extras at a designated spot on the set.
“Stand here while we set up the shot.” An ultra-perky pale girl glanced down at a tablet as she shared instructions with the extras. “Watch for your cue.”
Allan let his eyes trail excitedly from camera to camera. Would this be a pivotal scene? How did they intend to block the shot? What mind-blowing visual effects would be added in post-production?
Another extra near him unleashed an ear-piercing scream. Allan jumped and snapped his head down. She had stumbled to the floor. Multiple people with distorted and gnarled faces ambled toward them.
“Relax,” he said. “It's makeup.”
The actor nearest to Allan drew closer and licked his lips.
“This isn't makeup,” he said, baring a set of jagged fangs. “And you're not in a movie.”
Allan's heart sank. Did he really let himself get tricked into becoming a vampire's dinner?
The Weekly Digest
A selection of last week’s memorable Macabre Monday offerings:
A doll brought to life does a murderer’s dirty work in Dolly — a gruesome and clever twist on the killer doll trope from
.
What do you get when you unleash a broken 64-year-old man on a sinister social media channel?
has the answer in You I — a disturbing crossroads of sci-fi and horror.
Ever play the game “Would you rather?” Salt or Ketchup — a playful horror poem from
— takes this game to some dark places.
Fans of classic episodes of “The Twilight Zone” won’t want to miss Asylum on the Moon —
’s gothic tale in sci-fi clothing.
One of our resident Macabre Monday crypt keepers —
— offered up the third part of her haunting short serial Sneaking Fingers. Don’t forget to read the first two episodes as well.
Finally, what happens when you’re buried alive as an experiment and only one other person knows where you are?
has a chilling answer in Resurrection Diaries.
Love this. Sometimes it's the short pieces that are the most terrifying - no room for unnecessary build up, just straight to the heart of the fear!
So creepy! Great challenge.