First published 2016
An artist struggling with creative drought discovers fresh stone mysteriously appearing in his home. The material calls to him, demanding to be shaped by his hands. As he works, inspiration flows again, but the source of his renewed creativity carries a terrible price. In the second tale, a man makes a routine delivery to an isolated house at the town's edge. What he encounters there transforms a simple errand into something far more sinister. The old house holds secrets that blur the line between terror and possibility. These two stories, written in the 1980s and nearly lost forever, explore the dangerous bargains people make when desperation meets opportunity. Both tales examine how ordinary people respond when faced with forces beyond their understanding, revealing the darkness that lurks beneath everyday situations.
Genres: mystery, horror, supernatural, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-bargain, ordinary-people-extraordinary-circumstances
Period: 1980s
48 pages · Paperback · Apokrupha