Monsters Don't Exist and 11 Other Stories With Killer Endings

By Arthur Thares

If you are the fan of the horror genre then try this book on for size. It is comprised of longer short stories, flash fiction, and poetry all designed to make you think and raise the hair on your arms. Read about a father who teaches his son why monsters don't exist, but may be keeping a secret of his own, a husband who is wrongfully accused of his wife's murder, an abuser who goes too far, a possessed VCR, join two kids as they search for their father during the zombie Apocalypse, and even more stories! Monsters don't exist is being released for the first time outside of Kindle just in time for Halloween. This book is written by Arthur Thares a budding fiction author who has also wrote non-fiction books including Living Rich for Less and How to Host a Dinner Party.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arthur Thares
• Release date: Oct 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310477232

Arthur Thares

Arthur Thares is a passionate writer with the goal to entertain and maybe teach a little something along the way. He loves to write everything fiction and when it comes to non-fiction he has found niches in home, fitness, technology, and parenting categories. Arthur lives in Minnesota with his wife and two daughters and is always working toward his goal of being a full time writer and dad. Arthur has been lucky enough to write for many websites, some major and some not so much as well as writing or his own blogs awesomehouseblog.com and movingpicturebox.com. He has also published multiple books including How to Host a DInner Party, Living Rich or Less, and Monsters Don'e Exist and 11 Other Stories with Killer Endings.

Book preview

Monster’s don’t exsist…

And 11 Other Short Stories With Killer Endings

© 2014 by Arthur Thares

Smash Words Version

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Monsters Don’t Exist

Why Would I Do It?

A Piece of me

Monster Hunters

Last Call

My Favorite Shirt

Victor’s VCR

Right before my eyes

Through the Flames

Search for the Father

The Invasion

Followed

Scary stories always happen on a stormy night

Like the scariest of things can’t happen in the light

They trick you into thinking day is a safe place

And tell you to keep your lights on just in case

They trick you into thinking that heroes all survive

And paint pictures of places where shadows lurk and thrive

They keep you on the edge with lots of scary twists

As you try to convince yourself that monsters don’t exist…

Monsters Don’t Exist

Would ya put them stupid monster books down and help me out? My dad was always ragging on me about my books. He was by far not a stupid man, though he never made it past the eighth grade. He said it was because Grandpa needed help on the farm. The farm that he now owned. He never liked the fact that I lost myself in these stories.

I guess you should know a little bit about me and my old man. He's a strong tall man, the kind of guy that hasn't lifted a weight in his life, but could knock you off your feet with one punch. He always wore overalls whether he was working or not and every single one of his white shirts were oil stained. I was a lot different than him. People say I look and act just like my mom. I wouldn't know she disappeared when I was just a baby. I wore wiry glasses because she blessed me with poor eyesight. The tape in the middle of them was to hold them together while emphasizing my nerd status. I was short and thin like her too, which doesn't really lend a hand to my pops doing heavy labor on the farm. I guess the thing that most reminded people of her was my love of literature.

But Dad these things are cool. I countered.

More interesting than helping your old man out? He huffed as he stuck his shovel back into the earth. He gave me one of those I'm not mad I'm just disappointed look.

They say all these stories are true I held out a handful of my books and comics for his consideration, like he wasn't the one who bought them for me to begin with. In fact that was my most common form of payment for the jobs I did around the farm.

You don't really believe in that crap do ya?

Sure I do Dad.

So you really believe that vampires, werewolves, and boogey-guys are real?

Why not? And it’s boogeymen

For ‘bout a million reasons. He paused for a second tossing some dirt. They're just not, what’s that word, plausible.

What do you mean? Just then I heard the radio of our truck interrupt a beach boys song to report a missing person in the area. There seemed to be a lot of them lately, most young girls. Townsfolk mostly attributed it to a few young spirits and a lot of copycats running away to life in the big city. My dad ignored it and kept talking.

Well, let's start with vampires, creatures of the night stalking their prey by moonlight. Maybe that worked before the invention of electricity, but now cities are lit up like fireballs and millions of people work the nightshift. He paused and shoved his shovel pack into the dirt. There has not been one confirmed vampire sighting in modern times, unless you count those freak whatcha call ‘em Goth cults. Besides, they feed off of human beings; after hundreds of years don't you think we'd all be dead or vampires by now?

I guess that makes sense. It did but it didn't stop me from being disappointed.

Then there's werewolves, he started again" Scientists have tried gene splicing for years with little to no success, but these things are born with the ability to change into wolves. That would be fine if it was some sorta mutation, but they can pass it on through bitin’ people. You see son, it just doesn't make sense. Not only that but in some of them places the moon comes out at six p.m. Like a werewolf wouldn't transform in the middle of rush hour traffic?

With every word he said I was becoming more and more deflated. In the distance we could see dust being kicked up from the dirt road by a car. My dad tensed up, we weren't used to having visitors out here. We both stood and watched intently as the small red sedan barreled past us. It was a perfect distraction because it gave me enough time to come up with a counter to my dad's rant.

Ok, ok, but couldn't Frankenstein be real?

Frankenstein? Sure. I perked up as he continued Frankenstein was just a crazy scientist, I'm sure all those big city scientists are crazy. The monster that he created however couldn’t never exist. I opened my mouth to say something but he continued. This monster was reanimated body parts of different people, not only is that ungodly, but how would all the parts fit with each other? And while we're on the subject of the livin’ dead let's talk about mummies and zombies.

I watched him as he surveyed the ground, and then kept digging.

Mummies and Zombies are basically the same thing with subtle differences.

Like what?

Well for one Zombie don't dress in toilet paper.

I laughed at this.

Mummies are supposed to be enchanted or somethin' likes that, which is a load of bull. Zombies on the other hand are made from a hundred different things. Chemicals, weird food...

The rapture. I chimed in.

Boy you're best not to talk bout things like that. I clamped my mouth shut for a moment. I sat on the bed of dad's pickup watching him thrust the shovel into the dirt then tossing it beside the large oak tree he had parked under to give us some shade.

Sooo Dad, what do you think about ghosts or poltergeists? He looked down his nose at me wiping his brow.

Ghosts don't exist. He stated it so matter of fact. They are nothin' but light tricks and over active imaginations. Those fancy men on TV can use all the gizmos they want but it's all just an expensive light show. Poltergeists? That ain't nothin' but displaced teenage angst, from girls readin' all them shiny vampire books. He spit his chewing tobacco out in an exaggerated fashion showing his distaste.

I have one to stump you. What about the killer dolls. He started chuckling.

Killer dolls? Let me get this straight? Fake plastic playthings come alive to kill people? I nodded. Like any full sized adult couldn't pick them things up and toss ‘em across a room. Plus the whole idea of never catchin' the dolls in action is ridiculous. Where does anyone get these stupid ideas? I shrugged not really knowing the proper response to his question. For the last time kid monsters do not exist."

Alright, I guess you're right.

Now that you're done with all this silly monster stuff will you put those books down and help me out?

Yeah sure

You grab her legs I'll grab her arms, we've got to bury her with the rest of them before anyone else comes by.

Tell me a story, said a father to his son

I don’t know many but I can tell you one

What would that be? Asked the father so polite

One of demons, vampires, and creatures of the night

Surely son, you have a nicer story

No I promise Dad this one isn’t gory

They say that when sweet dreams dance inside your head

That is when the boogeymen crawl out from under your bed

Vampires tap at your windows

Howls blow through the willows

Witches cast their spells

And demons climb from hell

Ugly monsters that you’d never want to see

Come crawling toward your house by twos and threes

The beasts and spooks all know you’re sleeping too

Just imagine the things that they could do to you

Son, I don’t think