A dive bar in an upstate town hires an armless piano player whose gifts are more than musical. This is a quiet and haunting story about grief, wrapped in what could easily…
Category: Story a Day 2022
“The Trickle Down Effect” by Annie Proulx
A desperate rancher, a trucker chronically behind on his bar tab, and a Wisconsin farmer who wants to go to film school walk into a burning hay bale … Like the last…
“The Box” by J. S. Breukelaar
After a terrible car crash, a man keeps his wife alive through virtual reality. The outside world continually intrudes, breaking the illusion, while she tries to break free herself, forcing him to…
“Red Brick” by Cynthia Gómez
An ICE agent is haunted by an apparition of a man who died during a raid on a restaurant, driving him further and further into paranoia and madness. This is a slippery…
“Book of Veils” by Keith Rosson
A white supremacist who runs a flea market stall selling Confederate and Nazi mementos is approached by a strange man to acquire a mysterious occult book. In a series of double crosses…
“The Haunting of Esther Cox” by William Meikle
After an attempted rape, a young woman is haunted and possessed by a malevolent poltergeist until she finds a way to free herself from it. This story is told in alternating diary…
“Fireworks” by Graham Swift
A World War II bomber crew veteran goes to the neighbors’ Guy Fawkes celebration the week after the Cuban Missile Crisis and his daughter’s wedding. He is reminded of his wartime experiences…
“Hostile Architecture” by M. Lopes da Silva
A homeless person, their sanity destroyed by sleep deprivation due in no small part to efforts to make rest in public places impossible, succumbs to madness or possession (it’s a little ambiguous…
“The Hellhole” by Annie Proulx
While arresting a poacher, a Wyoming game warden discovers a secret spot that will save him a lot of paperwork. Alas, its popularity among other game wardens leads to its loss. This…
“Our Town’s Talent” by Simon Strantzas
Disappointed that the town’s children’s talent show was not competitive, and so did not crown her son the winner, Mrs. Parker holds her own talent show with a trio of judges. The…