It Came from the Darkness Too

By David Owain Hughes, Gemma Paul, Monster Smith and 3 more

It Came from the Darkness Too is a follow-up to the successful It Came from the Darkness (2020), which was the first charity anthology from Philip Rogers and Red Cape Publishing. This new release features an impressive selection of flash fiction, poetry, and artwork, from a huge range of writers, filmmakers, actors, and artists. This anthology is raising funds for not one but three charities, all of which relate to children's health conditions: Max the Brave Fund, Cure Angelman, and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

So dive in, feel the terror, and watch out… you never know what lurks in the darkness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Red Cape Publishing
• Release date: Nov 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223083726

Book preview

IT CAME FROM THE DARKNESS TOO

A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY

Copyright 2023 Red Cape Publishing

This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to any other person, location, or situation is purely coincidental.

Cover art by David Paul Harris

www.davidpaulharris.com

An Introduction from Philip Rogers

In this follow-up to It Came from the Darkness, I wanted to create a new charity anthology book which would once again bring people from the horror community together for a collection of poetry, artwork and short stories. Whilst the original book was created to raise money for charity, I wanted this book to raise money for three different charities under the term ‘children of horror’.

For Lou Yardley, we are looking to raise money for Max the Brave Fund, for MJ Dixon Cure Angelman and for myself, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

My son was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome in 2012, and whilst treatment is still ongoing into adulthood, it was the care from the specialist teams at Great Ormond Street Hospital during his childhood which had the most significant impact on his life.

I would like to personally thank everyone who has taken the time to contribute to this book and to everyone who has purchased a copy. It means a lot to us, and I really hope you enjoy reading.

A Few Words from MJ Dixon

When we discovered that our son had Angelman Syndrome, it was like a personal horror story of our own. Trying to understand a cruel and disabling condition like that is something we would never have wished on any fictional character. However, in the years that have followed, despite the hurdles put in his way, our son has overcome so many challenges and continues to do so day by day.

The Horror Community has been incredibly supportive to our son and children like him over the last few years and it is with incredible gratitude from us that the publishers of these stories have offered to donate some of the proceeds from this book to the good people at Cure Angelman.

Thank you all and I hope this book doesn’t give you too many sleepless nights.

MJ Dixon

A Few Words from Lou Yardley

Thank you for picking up this book. By purchasing these stories, you’re supporting not one, but three fantastic charities. One of which is the Max the Brave Fund.

I’m Lou Yardley, and I’m Max’s auntie. Even though he was only little, Max loved books. I like to think that once he got older, he would have got into horror and fantasy just like his auntie. So, it seems fitting that Philip and Peter raise money for the fund set up in Max’s name through selling books. When Max was in hospital, books were a lifesaver for me. Stories helped me to temporarily escape a reality that I was struggling to deal with. Books became both a friend and a much-needed distraction.

The Max The Brave Fund was set up in August 2019 after Max sadly passed away from a Malignant Rhabdoid Tumour (MRT, a rare childhood cancer).

The Max The Brave Fund put together special birthday/milestone packages for children fighting cancer, when the little warriors are too poorly to make it home. These consist of a requested gift, birthday cake and foil balloon. We also supply the children and their carer with care packages of essential and luxury items to try and brighten their day.

We are also helping to fund a research project called Creating Superpowered Immune Cells to Treat Childhood Tumours – Super Hero Cells to save our Super Hero Kids. This project will be taking place at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children’s Research Centre. It is extremely important to us and vital for the improvement of treatment for childhood tumours.

You can find out more here:

www.maxthebravefund.org

Thank you for being here. Enjoy the stories nestled within these pages.

Thanks

Lou

An Itch

Lauren Jane Barnett

It began with an itch at the back of her throat, like any other cold. An annoying niggle just beyond the uvula where it waited to develop into a cough or more – time would tell. By lunch, it had sunk deep into her body, collecting in the nervous systems of her arms and legs. The muscles and sinews vacillated between a twitch and a chill, demanding at least half of her mind’s attention. By four, her entire body sang with an orchestra of aches, no matter how still Emily was, even when she curled onto the sofa and tried not to breathe.

That was how Darren found her when he came home: a small lump with her head buried in the back of the sofa. She might have been taking a nap if not for the whimpers. Small, pitiful, shapeless noises that could have come from one of the baby animals Emily was always thrusting videos of in his face.

Why do teachers always get colds in the summer? he joked as he brought her tea. You’ll be better before you know it.

Inadvertently, he grinned, thinking that the little cold was the perfect excuse to order a curry.

After two days, though, his appetite vanished. As usual, she resisted any medicine, but he thought she would relent when she woke in the night crying and muttering in a pool of damp sweat. Usually, she did. But she just shook her head through the tears.

I’m just tired, she whimpered. 

Exhaustion doesn’t give you night sweats.

She didn’t have a reply, but she spat out the ibuprofen. He only noticed because she failed to wash one of them down the sink.

The next morning she was pale, but seemed happier; so he went to work. When he came back, she was buried into the sofa again, her fists clenched so tight the knuckles were white.

He got some children’s medication, hoping he could argue that the chemicals must be safe if they were used on children.

She refused.

I’m not sick, just tired, she lied.

When he kissed her goodnight, his lips tingled with heat.

The next day, he found himself searching the headlines for news of a new flu outbreak – or worse. But nothing appeared. There was no sign that this could be anything worse than flu. Nothing to scare her into taking proper care of herself. Teachers never did, he grumbled to himself. 

He went home determined.

You have to take some medicine, Em, Darren repeated for the fifth or sixth time, struggling to keep his voice from rising.

Emily weakly shook her head, her voice barely a whisper.

No, Darren. I want to treat it naturally.

He rolled his eyes.

"You have been. For three days you haven’t taken anything for the fever, and your voodoo home remedies aren’t working. Modern medicine is medicine for a reason: