Below is a short story I finished to share with this group. I wanted to open with a heavy one, because often I think writing from the heart is the most powerful thing a writer can do. I have worked in Child Welfare for over a decade and have been an active Horror fan my entire life. I can 100 percent assure everyone that there exists no Horror more terrifying than human curlily. I get to see real monsters frequently. There are thankfully far more good people in the world than bad, even on days that seem so dark! This is to help get your minds turning about writing some of your own original work, but I also love to push my passion when I can. We all owe it to children to protect. We are all mandated reporters. I hope you enjoy my short story! The Start: My name is Mara, and I’ve worked in child welfare for eleven years. I used to believe the scariest part of the job was knocking on doors, never knowing what waited on the other side. I was wrong. The scariest part is realizing what harm we walk past because it isn’t in the manual. This story starts with a “simple” case. A closed one. Nine-year-old Liam had been removed from his mother after repeated neglect. I was his final caseworker before he was placed with his aunt. He was small for his age, quiet, flinched at sudden noise. But when he talked about the vents in his old apartment, his eyes sharpened with a fear I dismissed as imagination. “Things crawl through there at night,” he had whispered during our last session. “They talk if you stop listening.” thought it was trauma expressing itself in metaphor. Kids create monsters to understand the monsters they lived with. I nodded, documented, moved on. Case closed. Two months later, I got a call from the landlord: “The family left belongings in Unit 6B. Can someone collect them?” No one wanted to return. So I went. The Middle: What We Overlook: The apartment was dim and stale, like it had been holding its breath. Toys were gone, but a spiral notebook lay by the bedroom vent. I picked it up. Inside were drawings of the hallway outside that room, page after page, each drawing with a shadow growing closer.

How Would You Survive This Scenario? You wake up strapped to a rusted metal chair in an abandoned warehouse. A grainy TV flickers on. A masked figure tells you there are three exits, and you must choose one. You have sixty seconds. Exit A: A long hallway filled with broken glass and hanging blades. The lights strobe, making it hard to see. At the end is a door marked “Freedom,” but you hear something crawling. Exit B: A locked steel door. A key is inside a tank of filthy water with a moving shadow beneath the surface. You will have to reach in blind. Exit C: A staircase leading to the basement. You hear crying, but it stops the moment you move. The masked figure says, “If you help what’s down there, it will help you.” Which exit do you take to survive? A, B, or C? Explain your logic.

Has anyone seen the Oldest View? It's a 45 minute slow burn... but probably my favorite of all time. Made by the same guy who made the Backrooms with the hazmat suits.

Hello fellow Horror enthusiasts! I wanted to make/pin a post so we can all give a warm welcome to our newest members as they join us. We are so glad to have each of you as part of the group! Lets continue growing this community and making it awesome!

Step into the woods with me as I review GAIA (2021) — a trippy eco-horror that blends folklore, fungus, and fear! 🌿💀Is it a misunderstood masterpiece or just artsy horror gone wild? I break down the story, atmosphere, fear factor, and more using my 5-Skull rating system. 🧠🔥 In this review, we’ll cover:✅ What makes Gaia unique in the horror genre🌲 Visuals, atmosphere, and creature design🍄 How scary and entertaining it really is💀 Final Skull Score! If you enjoy horror reviews, rankings, original horror shorts, and a community of horror fans, join The Horror Review Skool!👻 Discussions • 🎥 Watch Parties • 🩸 Writing & Feedback • 🎁 Giveaways 👉 Subscribe, Like, comment, and share your thoughts—did Gaia creep YOU out?