I, Horror

By Anthony North

Welcome to my horror fest. How scary can Flash Fiction get? Why not judge for yourself. In these short tales of the macabre I bring the Gothic into the modern. But a warning: there's no blood or gore here. I try to freeze it instead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthony North
• Release date: Oct 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301825721

Anthony North

Thinker & Storyteller****7,453 Words to Save the UK and I,Writer are now FREE. Scroll down to find them.*****1955 (Yorkshire, England) – I am born (Damn! Already been done). ‘Twas the best of times ... (Oh well).I was actually born in the year of Einstein's death, close to Scrooge's Counting House. It doesn't mean anything but it sounds good. As for my education, I left school at 15 and have had no formal education since. Hence, I'm self-taught.****From a family of newsagents, at 18 I did a Dick Whittington and went off to London, only to return to pretend to be Charlie and work in a chocolate factory.When I was ten I was asked what I wanted to be. I said soldier, writer and Dad. I never thought of it for years – having too much fun, such as a time as lead guitarist in a local rock band – but I served nine years in the RAF, got married and had seven kids. I realized my words had been precognitive when, at age 27, I came down with M.E. – a condition I’ve suffered ever since – and turned my attention to writing.Indeed, as I realized that no expert could tell me what was wrong with me, I began my quest to find out why. Little did I realize it would last decades and take me through the entire history of knowledge, leaving me with the certainty that our knowledge systems are inadequate.****My non-fiction is based on P-ology, a thought process I devised to work with patterns of knowledge, and designed to be a bedfellow to specialization. A form of Rational Holism, it seeks out areas the specialist may have missed. I work from encyclopaedias and introductory volumes in order to gain a grasp of many subjects and am not an expert in anything, but those patterns keep forming. Hence, I do not deal in truth, but ideas, and cover everything from politics to the paranormal.When reading my work I ask only: do I make sense? Of course, an expert would say: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I agree. And an expert has so little knowledge of everything.I also write novels and Flash Fiction in all genres.

Book preview

I, Horror

By Anthony North

Copyright Anthony North 2012

Cover image copyright, Yvonne North 2012

Smashwords Edition

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission

Other books by Anthony North

Beginning in 2019 I’m publishing 14 volumes of my fiction, inc 7 novels in most genres, & 21 works of non-fiction covering cults, politics, conspiracies, religion, disasters, science, philosophy, warfare, crime, psychology, new age, green issues & all areas of the unexplained, inc ufology, lost worlds and the paranormal. Hopefully appearing at the rate of one a month, check out the latest launch at my bookstore at http://anthonynorth.com or buy direct from Smashwords for all devices at: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/anthonynorth

In addition to the above, you may like my ‘I’ Series – 8 volumes of flash fiction (horror, sci fi, romance, adventure, crime), 4 volumes of poetry & 5 volumes of short essays from politics to the unexplained. Available from same links as above. Also check out my bookstore for news of my books out in paperback.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Secret of the Tombs

Lick

Natural Law

Mini Novel - When Darkness Comes

The Forbidden Room

Any War

A Load of Superstitious Twaddle

Mini Novel - The Spirit

The Over Shadow

The Full Moon

The Thirteenth Step

Absent Thoughts

Mini Novel - A Narrative of Life

Spirit of the Times

The Storm

Polka Dot Dark

Mini Novel - Reflections of Me

Awakening Night

A Gothic Romance

Storm Mother

Mini Novel - Love Conquers All

I'm Not All There

To Be Faithful

Spellbound

A Performance

Doing Wrong

The Experiment

On Sleep

Ambrose - The Old Man

Ambrose - Bed Mate

Ambrose - The Hand of God

Ambrose - We Must Go There

Ambrose - Any Body Will Do

Ambrose - It Stalks Me

About the Author

Connect With Anthony

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to my horror fest. How scary can Flash Fiction get? Why not judge for yourself. In these short tales of the macabre I bring the gothic into the modern. But a warning: there's no blood or gore here. I try to freeze it instead.

SECRET OF THE TOMBS

Professor Arnold sat back in his chair, satisfied. He looked about him – took in the full scope of so many years of research. But now, following a last desperate rush, he had completed it.

‘A shame it will never be published,’ said Carthew, his assistant.

‘We’ll see,’ Arnold replied, knowing he was possibly right.

It had been many decades since the problem came to light. It had begun soon after the Tutankhamun find. The authorities rubbished the curse, blaming it on a lapse of sanity. But the simple fact was something had happened when the seal to the tomb was broken.

Some in the know believed it really was the soul of some ancient Egyptian, who had travelled through the millennia in wait, like some avenging angel. But when another untampered tomb was discovered, secrecy of the modern kind descended upon the operation.

Cameras filmed the breaking of the seal, caught the archaeologists mouthing the curse, and then there was the strange aroma, a myriad of flashing lights, the touch of the strange plaster work – the texture. And soon after, one of the archaeologists began to be taken over by some force …

Well, what were thought to be the victim’s of a curse were victims of murder. This became clear – if something from antiquity taking over the mind like that can be thought of as murder ….

Arnold remembered seeing the reports of the change in demeanour of this millennia-old assassin, taking over the mind of an old friend, and those eyes …

Of course, he’d have nothing to do with the supernatural theory. Immersing himself in the supernatural Egyptian culture, he began to realize what may be going on. Word magic was the beginning of the solution, for as people mouthed the curse, they created the sound of the words. Then the aroma (smell), flashing lights (sight) and texture of masonry (touch).

It was a sudden disorientating assault on all the senses; as he managed to recreate with Carthew. And that, he realized, was a form of hypnosis. And eventually he even worked out the message delivered subliminally by the act of breaking the seal.

‘We know what happens, now,’ he said to Carthew. ‘We can protect ourselves. We can now go into the dozens of tombs secretly found since then.’

But no protection for Carthew on that first successful experiment.

‘A shame it will never be published,’ he had said. If only Arnold had looked up. Seen the eyes. He might have stood a chance …

LICK

Mr Jobsworth was a thin, wiry social worker with attitude. He knocked on the door and entered as soon as it was opened. Depositing himself on a chair, he observed the single parent concerned. And he couldn’t help but notice her long black skirt, strange pointy hat and myriad books of spells about the place.

‘What?!!’ she said.

‘We’ve had complaints about your 16 year old son.’

‘What you done now?!!!’ she shouted to another room.

The boy came into view, sporting blood red eyes, extended canine teeth and covered in hair.

Mr Jobsworth gulped. ‘It appears he goes around licking people.’

‘So?’ replied the lady. ‘What do you expect? He has a vegetarian diet.’

‘But he can’t go around doing that,’ he said.

‘Better that than eating them, I’d have thought.’

Mr Jobsworth – a vegetarian of many years – saw the logic in that. ‘But how did this happen?’ he asked.

She blushed. Then looked downhearted. ‘Oh. It was a spell that went sort of wrong.’She cheered up. ‘But at least, he’s harmless