Spinetinglers Anthology 2011

By Spinetinglers

The fourth annual anthology from the darkest minds in horror.

Featuring stories by –
John Quinn, Rachael H. Dixon, Lee Mummery, Tony Walsworth, Nathan Robinson, Jeff Jones, Chris Thorndycroft, Ken Courtenay, Theresa Curnow, Sarah, Ziggy Kinsella, Nolene-Patricia Dougan, Ella Mai, Brian Wright, Lazaro Zugor, S. A Hunter, John Hunt, Jaki McCarrick, Emlyn Boyle, Ross Friday, Tracey Goodwin and Brian Brickbichler

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spinetinglers
• Release date: Aug 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781906755683

Spinetinglers

Spinetinglers is a Northern Ireland based publisher, set up by writers for writers.We specialize in dark fiction but have recently expanded into other genres.

Book preview

Spinetinglers Anthology 2011

The fourth annual anthology from the darkest minds in horror

Introduced and compiled by

Nolene-Patricia Dougan

Edited and formatted by

Lauren Neill

Featuring stories by –

John Quinn, Rachael H. Dixon, Lee Mummery, Tony Walsworth, Nathan Robinson, Jeff Jones, Chris Thorndycroft, Ken Courtenay, Theresa Curnow, Sarah, Ziggy Kinsella, Nolene-Patricia Dougan, Ella Mai, Brian Wright, Lazaro Zugor, S. A Hunter, John Hunt, Jaki McCarrick, Emlyn Boyle, Ross Friday, Tracey Goodwin and Brian Brickbichler

The room seemed suddenly to fill with small, intrusive noises: the chalky sound of the stiff pages being turned, the pencil shavings hitting the screwed-up balls of paper like rain, the swish of the girl’s dress, her assured slow breathing. Fred longed to speak - if only to divest all of these increasingly troubling, arousing sounds of their unwarranted power.

Blood – Jaki McCarrick

Spinetinglers Anthology 2011

By Spinetinglers

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Spinetinglers.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

This anthology is dedicated to all the members of www.spinetinglers.co.uk – without whom this anthology would never have been written.

Whether you are a writer, a reader, or even a critic, your voice has been heard in the pages of this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Nolene-Patricia Dougan

The Hypnotist - John Quinn

Pig Ignorant - Rachael H. Dixon

Choker - Lee Mummery

Kirlia - Tony Walsworth

If You Ever Meet a Girl Named Maisie Mae - Nathan Robinson

Final Reflection - Jeff Jones

The Girl and the Mist - Chris Thorndycroft

Cedric and Chloe - Ken Courtenay

The Quiet Man - Theresa Curnow

Forgive and be Forgiven - Sarah

Banana Boxes - Nathan Robinson

Mavis Trubshaw Has Left the Building - Ziggy Kinsella

The Vampyr - Nolene-Patricia Dougan

The Cinder Cat - Ella Mai

Black Magic Woman - Brian Wright

Winston - Lazaro Zugor

And The Coyotes Sang - S.A Hunter

Roof People - Jeff Jones

The Dinner Party - John Hunt

Blood - Jaki McCarrick

Firstborn - Emlyn Boyle

Hello Stranger - Ross Friday

The Chicken in Black - Nathan Robinson

How Do You Like Yours? - Tony Walsworth

Back Into Hell - Tracey Goodwin

Dealbreaker Case 097 - Brian Brickbichler

Spinetinglers Anthology 2011

Introduced and compiled by

Nolene-Patricia Dougan

Hi folks, we’re back again with another Spinetingling Anthology. I am not going to bore you this year with too much intro coz I do tend to rabbit on a bit. We have a couple announcements and a little bit of news, so I will cut right to it.

Sadly, Michael McCabe has left Spinetinglers to move on to pastures new. We wish him all the luck in the world with his future endeavours, and hope to be reading his debut novel very soon. Michael left us just a couple of weeks before the Oxfam 50k trek, so we were in a mad panic to find a replacement. Step forward my cousin-in-law, Gillian, who agreed to be one of the team at the last minute. Unfortunately, a few of the marshy bogs that we had to trek through were a bit too much for Gillian, and around the 20k mark, horror of horrors, she got injured. However, the three Spinetinglers employees—Michael Halliday, Catriona Hill and myself—made it through and completed the grueling (I said grueling!) 50k trek. We climbed mountains, crossed oceans and rivers, and at one point, we were so high up we were walking through low-hanging clouds! I am not joking! Michael was an absolute gent throughout and Catriona’s positive attitude lifted our spirits from beginning to end. Despite all this, something strange happened. In and around the 41k mark, a monster was unleashed – a tired, blistered, bitchy little monster began snarling and swearing. This creature was the scourge of some unnamed mountaintop in Carlingford and it became even more enraged when it found out that the trek had been mismarked; when we thought that we only had 1k to go, we actually still had over 4k. In case you haven’t guessed, that monster was me. I threw a complete hissy fit, swore at a few strangers, and was about to give up on the whole thing, but the ever-encouraging Michael and Catriona practically dragged me through the rest of the way. So, I have to officially thank them both for putting up with me.

I have to just say—at this point, there were people who walked twice the distance we did. Some foolhardy, pig-headed people actually walked 100k. I have to congratulate them, as they would have been walking through the night and deserve a special mention. Despite the traumatic last 10k, I actually did enjoy the day, there was a great sense of camaraderie between all the trekkers, and Oxfam raised quite a lot of money. However, I am not sure Spinetinglers will be participating again next year. I think it is a bit too soon to decide—some of my blisters have still not healed. But, I am glad I did it, and I would recommend to anyone to give it a go, but make sure you are fit and have plenty of Compeeds.

What of Lauren, I hear you ask? Lauren is allergic to boggy swamps and Irish weather, so she did not take part in the trek but she was in our support team. Lauren brought us drinks, food and moral support whenever we needed it and she did it all in flowery pink wellies that made us all smile. On the subject of Lauren, we are thrilled to announce that she has been promoted to Spinetinglers’ Head of Publishing.

Lauren joined Spinetinglers only one year ago as a publishing assistant and in this short space of time, she has proven to be invaluable. She edits manuscripts, formats galleys, massages authors’ egos—including my own—and does all of this with a sort of muted calm that stops the rest of us from panicking. Moving ahead, Lauren will be integral in helping us shape Spinetinglers into the publishing house that we want it to become. World domination cannot be achieved without her. Her vision and ambition for Spinetinglers matches our own and we know that the future of Spinetinglers is safe in Lauren’s unshakable hands. With Lauren in command, we know that Spinetinglers will become the first choice for aspiring authors.

Now that we have got all the announcements out of the way, we have to get to the business at hand: The Spinetinglers Anthology 2011. As usual, it is a veritable feast of every imaginable creature that goes bump in the night. Some authors have excelled themselves—Jaki McCarrick’s turn of phrase is exquisite, her writing is as soft on the ear as poetry. I could listen or read her sublime little devilish tales all day. Nat Robinson has to be one of our most prolific writers, and his efforts have been rewarded as he has three entries in this year’s anthology. Also, some of our veteran Spiney authors are back this year; Tony Walsworth returns with more macabre tales, deliciously infused with his wicked wit. We also have some great debut authors. Check out John Quinn’s story, The Hypnotist—I think it will put you off Hypnotherapy for life and your kids may, in time, may come to thank you for reading it.

All in all, it has been another great year and another great anthology, to which all the Spiney members have contributed. And so all that is left for me to say is good luck and keep writing.

Nolene-Patricia Dougan

31st October 2011

The Hypnotist

By John Quinn

Sheila had always hated spiders. She hated their long legs, the way they scuttled around, but more than anything Sheila couldn’t stand the thought of one touching her bare skin. Whenever she did think about it, her flesh crawled and her legs turned to jelly. It wasn‘t just a hatred of spiders, it was a fear. She knew it was silly to be afraid of something so small, but she couldn’t help it. Whenever she saw one, she froze. The source of this fear was a mystery to her, but she had been terrified of spiders for as long as she could remember.

She recently tried to face up to this fear when her six year old daughter ran out of the bathroom, screaming about a spider in the bathtub. Sheila immediately froze. Her first instinct was to wait for her husband to deal with it when he got home, but she felt that this was a little ridiculous. It’s just a tiny spider, she thought, and it can’t hurt you. She decided to go into the bathroom and get rid of the spider herself.

Show me where it is, Honey.

Her daughter walked to the bathroom, pointed at the bathtub, and then refused to go any further.

It’s in there, Mom, she said.

Sheila took a magazine and crept towards the bath. If she could just get the courage to coax the spider onto the magazine, she could throw it out the window.

When she looked into the bath she let out a loud groan. The spider was huge and hairy. Sheila immediately felt weak all over. She even found it difficult to lift her hand and wipe the perspiration from her face, but she was determined to go on. She wanted to be strong for her daughter. It was ridiculous to be afraid of a spider. Get a grip, she thought.

She lowered the magazine into the bath, moving it slowly towards the spider. The closer the magazine got, the more it shook in her hand. The spider suddenly tried to scuttle up the wall of the bath, all of its eight legs moving frantically, but it kept slipping back down the smooth surface of the wall to the bottom of the bath.

Sheila screamed at the sudden movement of the insect, letting the magazine drop into the bathtub. Another scream, her daughter’s, echoed across the walls. Sheila turned to run out the bathroom door, almost knocking her daughter down in the process. With one swift movement she grabbed her, and ran out of the room.

Sheila sat on her bed wringing her hands, her whole body trembling, tears running down her ashen face. Her daughter stood a few feet away, watching her mother with wide eyes. She had never seen her mother behave this way before. Neither of them went into the bathroom again until Sheila’s husband came home from work and got rid of the spider.

Sheila was humiliated. She should be able to take care of a little spider, and she shouldn’t act so hysterical in front of her young daughter. Something needed to be done about it. She had a friend who was terribly afraid of dogs ever since she was bitten by a stray mongrel as a child. She remembered this friend telling her that she saw a hypnotist and he was able to cure this fear. Usually Sheila was skeptical about hypnotists, but after the day’s events she decided that it was worth a try. She picked up the phone and dialed her friend’s number.

Hello Monica? It’s Sheila, she said.

Hey Sheila. How are you? Monica said.

I’m fine... but listen. Remember before when you told me about that hypnotist you saw? Well, I had an incident with a spider today, and I was wondering if I could get his number.

Sure said Monica, "he’s really great, he’ll help you out, I’m sure of it. His name is Jeffrey Doyle. But I should tell you, his methods are a little… unique."

At this stage, Monica, I'll try anything. So if you recommend him then that's good enough for me.

Oh, I definitely recommend him, he practically saved my life. Hang on and I’ll get you the number.

After a short pause Monica came back on the line and read out the number. Sheila jotted it down. She decided that she would call him first thing in the morning.

***

Sheila arrived at the hypnotists’ office at 11.55am, five minutes before her appointment. When she first called his office she was surprised at the address she was given. It was an address in a suburb, but she could now see that a small office had been added to the side of the house. She was expecting an office in the city, but she guessed that from the hypnotists’ point of view, the current arrangement made more sense. No rent to pay, or heavy traffic to face during the rush hour.

She got out of her car and walked up the pebble stoned driveway towards the office door. Just as she got there the door opened and a man stepped out.

Hi. I’m Jeffrey, he said and you must be Sheila, right?

Yes I am. How are you? She asked a little awkwardly.

I’m good. Come in and make yourself comfortable.

When she first saw him she noticed that he looked a lot younger than she expected. She put him at about twenty eight. He was an attractive man, tall and well-built, with dark hair and dark features. His brown eyes seemed to draw Sheila in. Her original fears of a crazed old hypnotist greeting her at the door immediately faded away.

She was also surprised when she entered his office. It was more professional then she had originally anticipated. To one side there was a desk, equipped with a computer and telephone. Behind this desk was a large comfortable chair, presumably for Jeffrey, and facing it were two smaller chairs for clients. Running along the other side was a couch, and at one end of this couch was an armchair. All of the furniture looked modern and expensive. Sheila immediately felt that bit more relaxed.

Jeffrey took a seat at his desk, and beckoned for Sheila to take one of the chairs facing him. When he sat down he opened a drawer and pulled out a small folder. Sheila saw that her name was printed on the cover in bold letters. Jeffrey noticed her looking at it.

Don’t worry about this, he said smiling, I make folders on all my clients so I can take better care of them. I see here that you have a fear of spiders.

Yes, she said. It’s at the stage where I can hardly even move if I see one. Just a few days ago I tried to take a spider out of the bath and I scared my daughter half to death.

I see, well, let’s move over to the couch and we’ll see what we can do about this problem.

Do I have to lie down? she asked smiling slightly.

That’s entirely up to you, he answered, as long as you feel comfortable.

OK, she said as she sat down, but I should warn you now, I’m a little skeptical about this kind of thing.

To her surprise, Jeffrey laughed.

Don’t worry, he said. You’ll get a bill and if you feel that the treatment didn’t work, you can come back for one more try. If that doesn’t work, I’ll cancel the bill. I only expect to be paid if I am successful.

Sheila couldn’t argue with that. It seemed more than reasonable, and she also liked Jeffrey. He was charming, confident, and he had those dark brown eyes. She felt like she was in good hands. What’s the worst that can happen, she thought, if it doesn’t work, I don’t pay. With that in mind, she relaxed and sat back into the couch, ready for Jeffrey to begin.

He told her to close her eyes and relax.

Imagine that there is a bucket at your feet, he said, and that all your worries and stresses are leaving your body, and falling away into this bucket.

Sheila, surprisingly, felt herself becoming more relaxed and at ease as she followed the instructions.

Good, said Jeffrey. Now I want you to take ten deep breaths. I will count down from ten, and as I count each number you will take a breath, hold it and then let it out slowly, and with each breath you will feel more relaxed.

Jeffrey started to count down from ten, and Sheila took her deep breaths. In between each breath Jeffrey instructed her to relax, telling her that she is falling into a deep trance, and despite her initial skepticism, Sheila was surprisingly easy to hypnotize. By the time Jeffrey counted to one, Sheila was in a deep sleep.

For Sheila, who had never been hypnotized before, it was an unusual feeling. It was as if she was asleep, but she could still hear Jeffrey speaking to her. He asked her a few initial questions to make sure she was in a hypnotic state before beginning the treatment.

Okay, Sheila, he started, you are no longer here in my office, you are back in your house, in the bathroom, standing beside the bath.

In Sheila’s mind, she was where Jeffrey told her. It felt so real, the only difference between this and reality being Jeffrey’s soothing voice continuing to instruct her.

You look into the bath, Sheila, the hypnotist continued, and you see a spider, the same spider you saw a few days ago, but you are not afraid. You decide to help it, to take it from the bath and release it out the window.

Sheila became visibly tense on the couch, but this was part of the treatment, so he continued.

You know that the spider can’t hurt you, so you don’t need a magazine, you are simply going to pick the spider up in your hand and bring it to the window. You are reaching into the bath now Sheila, and the spider crawls onto your hand. You can feel all of its legs crawling over your skin.

For Sheila, deep in a hypnotic state, this was not a fantasy, it was real. She could feel the spider, and as she sat on the couch, under the control of Jeffrey, her whole body shuddered and her face and back became damp with sweat.

You have the spider now, Sheila, and you are walking towards the window. It is crawling up your arm, but you don’t mind, because it can’t hurt you. You go to the window, open it, and put the spider out onto the window ledge. The spider looks at you, and then crawls away.

As Jeffrey told Sheila that the spider was gone, her body relaxed.

You got rid of the spider, Sheila. You are proud of yourself. You knew that it couldn’t hurt you. You were not afraid of it. You are proud of yourself and your daughter is proud of you too.

Hearing these words, Sheila sat up straight, shoulders back and chest out.

You were not afraid this time, and you won’t be afraid the next time, Sheila. You know that spiders are harmless. Now, when I count to three, you will be fully awake, you will feel refreshed, you will feel proud of what you have done, and most importantly, you will know that spiders are harmless.

When Jeffrey counted to three, Sheila awoke, feeling great. She felt immensely proud of herself, just like Jeffrey said. She looked at him and smiled. He smiled back.

How do you feel? He asked.

Great actually, she said. I really feel great.

Her smile then broadened.

Do you know how long you were under? He asked.

It felt like ten minutes.

Jeffrey smiled at her again.

Actually, it was an hour, he said. And you did great.

Sheila was amazed, it hadn't felt so long. She got up from the couch and thanked Jeffrey.

Remember, he said, if you need to see me again just call me, I never charge if I need to see a patient because the initial treatment didn’t work.

Sheila left the office feeling great, sure that the hypnotism worked. Her fear had surely been cured.

***

Sheila couldn‘t put the hypnotism to the test for the next two weeks, but the opportunity eventually presented itself. The same spider had returned to the bathtub. She knew it was the same spider; it had the same grotesquely fat body and long disgusting legs. But this time she was not afraid and felt confident in dealing with the uninvited guest. She walked towards the bath, sure the spider couldn't hurt her, and reached out with her hand to pick it up. She was amazed at how confident she felt and made a mental note to send a thank you card to Jeffrey. She bent over and moved her hand closer to the spider.

As soon as she picked it up, her confidence left her and the fear returned. The spider ran up her bare naked arm, all of its legs scurrying along her flesh, and Sheila screamed. As she felt the spider on her flesh she did something embarrassing that she had not done since her childhood, she wet herself. She shook her arm, the spider fell back into the bathtub, and she ran from the room. Noticing the warm urine that had soaked her jeans, she burst into tears. She was devastated and humiliated.

She went into her bedroom and removed her soiled jeans. She wanted to take a shower, not just to clean herself but to wash away the feeling of the spider on her. But the spider was in the bath, and she was too terrified to go back there. Instead she sobbed in her room until her husband came home from work.

The next morning she called Jeffrey and arranged to see him again.

***

When she arrived at his office on Friday she was less hopeful than she had been on her previous visit. She was sure that nothing could cure her terrible phobia of spiders, but she thought that she may as well give Jeffrey Doyle another chance. Although, she was doing this with the promise of a refund in her thoughts, rather than any genuine hope of being helped.

She parked outside the house, and again as she walked up the pebble stone driveway towards his office he opened the door to great her. Although this time the smile that impressed Sheila so much was gone and he had a more serious and sympathetic look on his face.

Hi Sheila, he said, I’m sorry that you had such a terrible experience with that spider, but I promise you that today this more radical treatment I have planned will have a greater affect. Please come in.

She followed him into the office and sat down on the couch.

Okay, so are you ready to try a second time? he asked.

Sure, we can try again, she replied, unenthusiastically. But I hope you’re still promising the refund.

Of course, but I really think that this time we will be successful. This is a deep and more radical treatment that I only rarely use for situations such as yours, where the patient's fear is very deep and not easily cured. I know now that a simple hypnotism isn’t enough for you, but I really feel that we will make progress today.

Jeffrey then produced that smile, and Sheila found herself warming to him again.

Just relax Sheila, you’re in good hands, he added.

Ok, I’m ready when you are, she said.

Jeffrey repeated the same steps as the last time. He told her to imagine the bucket at her feet, to let her stress and anxiety leave her body and fall down into this bucket. As he counted down from ten, his soothing voice coaxed her into a deep trance. It didn’t take long before she was hypnotized, and Jeffrey was satisfied that she was under his control. For Sheila, she simply felt as if she was asleep, but she could hear Jeffrey’s voice, and she felt compelled to follow any instructions he gave.

This time Jeffrey wasn’t going to talk her through any imaginary situation. After all, this was his more radical treatment. He had something else planned for Sheila. He told her to stand up and then led her into his house, through the hallway and down into the basement. Under the trance, Sheila obeyed every command.

The basement was a dark and damp room, lit by the single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The walls were covered in padding, as if to make the room soundproof and it was completely bare of furniture except for a wooden table in the middle of the room. On top of the table there was a long clear plastic rectangular box, big enough to contain a person. This is where Jeffrey would work, and with Sheila completely under his control, he began.

***

When Jeffrey counted to three Sheila awoke. She felt a little disorientated. She didn’t remember anything from the hypnotism. She felt as if she had simply been sleeping. Then she noticed something else, she was lying down, but the ceiling seemed different, and the room seemed darker. Her vision was also a little blurry, and then she realized that there was a plastic panel just inches from her face which was blurring her vision. As she looked around and tried to move she realized that she was trapped inside something, some kind of plastic box. To her horror she also noticed that she was completely naked. She started to scream. Then she noticed Jeffrey standing just a few feet away, quietly staring at her. Her clothes were lying on the floor beside him.

Jeffrey again produced that big smile, only this time it didn’t seem so charming.

You’re probably confused, he said, with that big grin still on his face. Well, welcome to my more radical treatment.

To Sheila’s horror, he then laughed.

Let me out! she screamed at him, but he just continued to laugh. After taking a moment to compose himself, he spoke again.

Okay, let me explain how you got here. I put you into a trance, told you to come down here, to take off your clothes, and to lie in this large plastic box… oh, by the way, try not to associate it with a coffin, some people have done that and believe me, it freaked them out.

He burst out laughing again. Sheila looked at him, beginning to believe that he was insane, and she began to cry.

Please let me go. she begged, her voice a whimper.

Let you go? Jeffrey asked, suddenly looking puzzled, but we haven’t even started yet.

The smile then quickly returned to his face.

Ok, let me explain what we’re going to do. You see, I am a strong believer in facing your fear. Obviously you tried to do that, and when you were scared you ran away. So my more radical treatment involves putting you in a situation where you have to face your fear, but are unable to run away, hence this plastic box that I built. With me so far?

Sheila couldn’t believe what was going on. He was explaining things as if this was a normal every day situation. The anger began to build back up in her and she started kicking and punching the walls of the plastic container, screaming at the top of her voice.

Let me out you psycho! Followed by cries for help, Help! Help! Please, somebody!

Jeffrey stood silently staring at her, with an amused look on his face. When she finally stopped screaming he continued, treating her hysterics as a minor interruption. Right, so stage one was putting you in a situation where you are unable to run away, that stage has been completed. Stage two is facing you with your fear, which we will get to in a minute. I just need to get something from the house. By the way, this room is soundproof, so scream all you want, but nobody will hear you.

He turned to walk up the stairs to his house, then paused and turned towards her with the grin back on his face.

Don’t go anywhere, he said, before chuckling at his own joke as he continued up the stairs.

Sheila could only lie