Tales of the Mysterious and the Macabre: Stories From the Appalachian Foothills

By Damean Mathews

What happens when you look on the face of the Grim Reaper? What waits for us after this life is over? What happens when children don't feel loved, or when fathers lose the thing they love the most? From the depths of the Gulf of Mexico, to the tallest mountain peak ever imagined, these tales encompass life, death, inspiration, and heartache. Touching on centuries old legends, and myths from our own backyard, this set of largely Appalachian-based tales is sure to be a new favorite.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Damean Mathews
• Release date: Sep 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215034026

Damean Mathews

Damean Mathews was born in Tazewell, Va. and fell in love with literature at an early age.  Damean loves writing about things that frighten and inspire. He  teaches and writes, living with his amazing wife in their mountain home.

Book preview

This book is dedicated to my beloved grandmother, Phyllis C. Mathews. Your support always meant the world to me. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see this in person.

Contents

Introduction

The End

The Reaper

Climax of Summer

Through the Veil

I

Cards

Reservoir

When the Wind Howls

Aurora

Immortal Wedding

The Face of Death

Bugs

Becoming Men

The Last Dawn

Lefty Smith and the Right-Handed Corn

Introduction

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I have been writing for the larger portion of my adult life, and I decided in the summer before my junior year of high school that I was going to try and make it my profession and my career. I have been writing seriously since 2007 and I haven’t looked back. This collection brings together several my works that can be categorized in various genres from horror and sci-fi to dramatic and inspirational, and many things in between. I first published a similar collection in the summer of 2014. In the last couple of years, I have written a good deal more and I’ve shared that collection as far as I could. That original collection remains available as an eBook. I have been asked for a print version more times than I can count, so I decided to go through a revitalization process for the entire piece. I have looked closely at every single story and poem included in the original and tweaked each one where I saw necessary. I’ve added some newer works that weren’t published when that original collection went up, as well. I have included a small bit of background information for each work in the hopes of giving you all an insight into my own writing style and inspiration. I hope everyone who reads this will find something in it that will mesmerize, frighten, enlighten and inspire them in some way. Feel free to share it with anyone and everyone you think will enjoy it and keep your eyes open for more works in the future!

-Damean

This story is my first published work. The idea came to me from a commercial I saw while watching television one morning. I don’t even remember what the commercial was for, but the feeling it gave me is one I will never forget. The story planted itself in my brain and no matter how hard I tried it wouldn’t be quiet. It pushed me with an urgency that, at the time, I had never felt. No matter what I did, the seed of this story was growing and taking root in my head. It became an almost constant hum that flowed through my thoughts. Finally, after two or three days of this incessant nagging by my subconscious I gave in and wrote this. I feel this piece was given to me as an encouragement that I was on the right path. I see it as an example that things happen for a reason.

The End

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The system has failed you, the professor said, raising his eyes to the mostly full classroom beyond the boundaries of his desk.

The government has failed. The militaries have destroyed all hope for survival. The world has begun its quickening decline from civilization, and we don't matter anymore. The battle will rage, he spoke sternly while walking around his desk, and we will cease to be of any importance.

His students stared, the usual low rumble of the incessantly distracted pupils now nonexistent. They didn't know what to make of this speech. Their professor had never been this forward with them, and they were a little unnerved by the sudden change.

The totalitarian form of government that has controlled the world under the guise of democracy has turned its back on us. The attitude toward citizens is now the age-old saying every man for himself. Supposedly there is no fate that has been set for the world, but this certainly seems to be the closest thing to fate I've ever seen. And I’m afraid the powers that be have chosen ours for us.

The professor stopped, rubbed his temples, and leaned back in his chair. He picked up his water and drank deeply, savoring the chill as it ran through his body. Eyes watering, the professor looked at his pupils through his thick glasses and saw the faces of the next generation- Generation X- looking back at him in vague confusion.

Standing, he spoke again, You all have not experienced true betrayal yet, but it is coming. The world will slowly take back that which belongs to it. The wild which has been cut back will take back the hold it once had. As many people who have been born on this earth will not be enough to save it, or, for that matter, themselves.

What are you saying sir, one annoyed young lady asked.

That there is no hope for human kind. As a species, we have almost no chance of survival in this matter. The big groups will be targeted, then the smaller ones. Individuals will be slain mercilessly. In effect, this will discourage life as a society, and as an individual, causing us to break all the bonds of civilization, and lose the will to live alone.

Are you saying the world's gonna end? So, what, like are we gonna be attacked or something, interrupted a student.

That’s exactly what I’m saying. We have grown content, allowing a group of average men to raise themselves above the rest, giving them the power to control the world. The world’s population has grown steadily as the outside threats have been given the illusion of control. The earth is being overrun by humans. Those in charge will soon see to it that we are no longer a problem. I don't know how it will come about, but it will happen. We created the system to protect us in a hostile environment, so it makes sense that it be used against us.

So, you're saying that the government is going to use the system against us?

The government is the system. That’s what I’m saying. We have grown blind to the signs in front of us. We have grown too reliant on those who govern our world and it will be our downfall. Mankind will no longer be the ruling species on this planet. The system will see to that.

He was met with silence after this stern speech. Slowly, as he stared intently into the crowd of pupils facing him, the murmur built up. Turning around, he walked back to his seat and resumed his work. The pupils continued the hushed conversations for the short remainder of the class, then gathered their things and left.

Going home, a few of the students thought of their professor’s speech, wondering if there could be any truth to it. Sooner or later, however, all thought of the old man's absurdity was driven from their minds. The evening rolled on into the night, and the students went about their lives as usual; either partying, studying, or sleeping.

At midnight, the bombs began to fall. The System had won.

I think this work is one of the deepest things I have written, in that it is not just about what’s on the surface. You really have to sit down and think about what happens here. I’ve always been drawn to the psychological element of the story. I was in college when this one came about, and the biggest thing I remember is just sitting down to write and having the story run away with me. I could see it all playing out like a movie as my pen scratched across the paper. In the end, this story is what I found on the pages in front of me.

The Reaper

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Her time was up. She had been waiting