Freaked out Horror

Freaked out Horror

Tom Raimbault

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © Tom Raimbault 2011

License Notes:

Copyright © Tom Raimbault 2011

All rights reserved! No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission from the author!

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Disclaimer:

This work is 100% fiction. All scenes and events within these pages have been an invention of the author's imagination, and to his knowledge never occurred in reality. Any resemblance to the reader's own experiences is purely coincidental. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

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Dedications:

To my wife Christine (Bear) and two daughters, Megan and Lauren, who were very excited throughout my writing of this book.

To my good friend, Annie, who inspired my love of writing many years ago on the graveyard shift.

And to my dear Mother, of course! ☺

Freaked Out Horror for your Reading Pleasure:

Donna the Unburied

Fear of Needles

The Pocket Watch

Premonition of Fire

Paintings of Clowns

The Baby Eater

The Boy Who Could Call Snakes

The Perfect Mistress

The Gravedigger's Infatuation

All the People Who Hate You

Something in the Furnace Room

The Imaginary Friend in the Closet

Alive, Not Dead

Fish Head and Other Freaks

Another Patient for Isolation

Dolls Forsaken

Boils on the Brain

The Plague of Rebecca

Beaten in the Basement

A Captive to the Island of Naked Women

Home Invasion

The Knife

Thrown over a Cliff

Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

A Smile at the Door

Preface:

An early, November morning in 2009, I pulled into the parking lot of a forest preserve and reached for my camera. My mission; a hike to the unmarked grave of Donna the Unburied: a terrible legend that is told in the opening story of this book. On this early, November morning the book was complete, but I had yet to find the perfect art for its cover. I decided that the best photo would be to lie down at the very place where Donna the Unburied met her unfortunate end, and photograph what she may have seen in her last moments alive.

Now before I proceed, I must say that I have never met Donna, much less know what she looks like. As for her actual, unmarked grave in the woods, I haven’t a clue. But as a writer, I have seen her face and have been to the very spot where she was buried. There is an actual, living person out there that I occasionally encounter who, for some reason, I envisioned while writing of Donna’s terrible legend. While writing, my mind went to the very stretch of highway where I parked my car on that November morning. And my mind went to the very spot where I had been numerous time before conceiving of this book. And as-if a personal quest to bring my book to life, I journeyed to that spot so that it became the cover and very much a part of the opening story.

I lay down above her burial in the middle of two trees that had shed its leaves for the winter. I could almost feel the morbid presence of her lifeless corpse some feet below. And once the picture had been taken, I stood up, brushed the decaying leaves from my jacket and hiked back to the car.

That’s when I stopped dead in my tracks in a silent terror. The very person who I encountered in real life and imagined to be Donna while writing of her legend approached me on the wooded trail, not many feet from the grave of Donna the Unburied.

This was completely unreal! How could such a wild-chance encounter actually take place in a remote location under ironic circumstances? There was no way this person could have ever known!

Well good morning! Despite the irony she was still there and I did recognize her from my world outside of writing. I had to greet her and be friendly. She exchanged the greeting and slowly approached me.

But I remained in shock and fear upon seeing this person who, in my mind, I imagined to be Donna the Unburied. I assumed the fear could be seen, so I began to speak of it. If you don’t mind me saying, you startled me a bit. I wasn’t expecting to see someone out here so early in the morning.

She continued to slowly approach with eyes fixed on me. There was something cold and deathly in her stare which I took as the first sign of being in danger and encountering something very unordinary.

I nearly backed away, You know why I’m here, don’t you?

Originally it was a still morning with moderate, unseasonable temperatures. A split second after asking my barely hesitant question, a sudden gust of wind picked up and brought with it cold, autumn air along with a scattering swirl of leaves on the trail. And then she replied, To see me…

There was no way I would get any closer to this person as I had completely freaked out over the ironic encounter, her seeming knowledge of why I was there and who she represented to me. I turned left off the trail to avoid her further approach and ran deep into the forest while nearly spraining my ankle. At some point I connected to a different trail which allowed me to jog back to my car.

My daughter asked me one night if writing this material gave me nightmares or had some other negative effect. I’ve often heard that the characters of a book seem to come to life for a writer. And I’m not exactly sure what I encountered on the early, November morning; but perhaps it was the final effect of writing material that should have otherwise given me nightmares.

The book you have picked up is a re-release. Originally published in November of 2009, the book was unpublished several months later to undergo heavy revision and have additional stories added. The original version contained only 14 macabre tales, most of which appear in this version. If you were fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have purchased the original version, my advice to you would be to hold on to it. It contains stories that do not appear in the new version—works that will never be published as short stories again.

Why, you ask?

While revising Freaked out Horror, I realized that some of the short stories had potential to be developed into novels. Developing them into something greater will be the main writing projects for the next few years. In fact, my upcoming novel, Amber, is based on a lengthy short story that appeared in the original Freaked out Horror.

In 2009, Freaked out Horror was nothing more than an exercise, a training ground to develop my style of writing. I had become frustrated with two unsuccessful attempts of writing my first novel, The Tree Goddess. Both attempts resembled a logical, technical paper that described the events of my fictional town of Mapleview. It was not enough to simply relay a series of events and the words exchanged between characters. I needed to let go and become part of a macabre realm where nothing is logical, sound or rational.

One story after another was created while developing this new style of writing. In a way, my newly developed technique was taking me to places far away which became highly addicting. But all good things must come to an end. After 14 stories and nearly 200 pages, the time had come to realize I had written a book. People would most surely find these tales entertaining; and with that, I compiled them in a book titled Freaked out Horror. I could not find another suitable title for the book as the material simply was freaked out horror.

Satisfied, I turned my attention back to writing The Tree Goddess. And wouldn’t you know it?—at the novel’s completion my style had further evolved. I needed to go back and improve Freaked out Horror! Not only that, I had written additional stories since the publication of the original Freaked out Horror and wished to add them to the book. In a way, Freaked out Horror and The Tree Goddess both developed one another. The two books almost reflect one another. In fact, the original Freaked out Horror had Mapleview stories in them. Hint: those stories have been pulled and will be used in the upcoming Mapleview novels.

As mentioned in some paragraphs above, my current writing project is the upcoming novel, Amber. It will be the second book in the Mapleview series (The Tree Goddess being the first). In the meantime, please be sure to visit my blog throughout the week. I keep in touch with my readers and continue to write short, flash-fiction stories throughout the week. So if you enjoy the writings in this book and my novel, The Tree Goddess, you can get plenty more for free at my blog.

Tom Raimbault

Chicago, Illinois

February 11, 2011

Donna the Unburied

Police have grown accustomed to regular, unexplained phenomenon that appears along the stretch of highway. They attribute it to the very tragic and terrifying death of Donna the Unburied. The legend of Donna the Unburied has haunted travelers along this highway for decades. But who is she? What's her story?

Donna the Unburied: an urban legend that is sometimes rumored throughout the area where she once lived. The most notable phenomenon takes place along the highway, close to the supposed area of her tragedy. A late night driver or passenger traveling on that road may suddenly feel an urge to open the windows, regardless of how cold it may be outside. It feels stuffy in the car as if not enough oxygen. But the open window doesn't help. The sufferer of this phenomenon begins to gasp for air and can feel the heart rate increase to an uncomfortable beat as the need for more air grows. And then it goes away as suddenly as it came.

September 1997: A late night, female motorist traveling along the highway gave a terrifying account of turning towards the driver side window and seeing the ashen-gray, boney face of a desperate woman with her fists pounding on the glass as if trying to escape. The combination of terror and the sudden sensation of being unable to breathe caused her to believe she was having a heart attack. But imagine opening the windows after seeing the terrifying sight! It was pure torture for the late night, female motorist.

November 2002: A late night police dispatcher received a call from a very, traumatized man who claimed to have crashed into a semi truck, head-on. He remained on his cell phone until rescue personnel reached the scene, all the while telling the dispatcher that he couldn’t believe he was actually alive. All police found was a pickup truck with a very shook-up man, parked by the side of the road. No evidence of a semi truck in the area could be found. There was no damage to the pickup truck and no injuries were found on the terrified caller who claimed the experience was so real.

Police have grown accustomed to regular, unexplained phenomenon that appears along this stretch of highway. They attribute it to the very tragic and terrifying death of Donna the Unburied. The legend of Donna the Unburied has haunted travelers along this highway for decades. But who is she? What's her story?

Early September, just before the whether began to show signs of autumn's approach, his morbid fetishes began to stir as they did each year. Soon the air would have the hint of chill, leaves would turn color and the season would be marked with the waiting of Halloween.

It those days the celebration was limited to young children who dressed up on Halloween and went door-to-door for tricks-or-treats. Outdoor decorations were simple; a jack-o-lantern or two displayed at the front porch and perhaps some posters from the dime store of ghosts and witches. Today, the celebration is a major holiday when adults and children alike decorate their front lawns with eerie-colored lights and animated, gruesome statues. We've taken our love of Halloween to the extreme, something unheard of in the times and the night that Donna met her tragic end. And it was weeks before the season of Halloween began.

She was hauntingly beautiful, something frightfully unique about her appearance, yet very attractive nonetheless. As for her boyfriend, Stan, those who knew him often spoke of his love of the macabre. It was often mentioned that it was Donna's ghostly appearance that he was in love with.

She was so young and in love, and would do anything for Stan. She stood there in the deep forest one September evening, amidst the deafening sound of crickets, and could not believe the strange game of fantasy that Stan suggested.

He said, If you love me you would do this for me. I mean you would see how much I want this. Can't you do this one thing for me? It won't be as bad as you think.

No man is that important; but Donna was young, and she felt that the man she loved was truly deserving of this strange and horrifying request. Donna reluctantly stepped down into the large, 4ft, deep hole containing a wooden box that was large enough to accommodate her lying down. She assumed the restful position and gazed up into the dark forest and the shadowy face of her twisted lover.

That's it; oh, you're beautiful lying there. Close your eyes and put your hands on your abdomen.

She did as he asked.

A collection of dried-up flowers were placed on her chest, and the cover was put on the box. Donna could hear the dirt thrown on top while Stan continued to take his fantasy to the extreme.

And we commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust...

Donna soon realized that this was a very, morbid game and was close to changing her mind. She might still have had a chance to push the lid off, stand up and announce, Game over! But she wanted to please her lover who seemed so eager to fulfill this strange fantasy of his. He would fill the hole with dirt, place a headstone at her mock grave and then dig her out to make love to the hauntingly, beautiful Donna who pretended to be a corpse.

Once the hole had been filled, Stan looked for a large stone to place at the head of the mock grave. He had considered purchasing a marble headstone, named and dated just for the occasion, but wasn't sure if Donna would be up for that sort of playing. If all went well, maybe Donna would agree to play the game, again, and he could purchase that marble headstone. Stan felt very fortunate to have Donna. Not every woman would agree to being buried alive.

Before digging up his love, Stan though he'd light up a cigarette. It took about 20 minutes of work to cover the wooden box and he needed a quick break. But what was this? He didn't have his cigarettes in the usual place. Maybe he left them in his car.

Stan hiked about 2 minutes back to the parking area, all the while feeling guilty that Donna was left underground longer than promised. He imagined her growing apprehensive, maybe calling out to hurry and unbury her. Could she have heard above ground and known that Stan walked away? Stan quickened his pace to a jog, realizing that although a fun game, it was important to get her out as soon as possible.

Now where are those cigarettes? If Stan didn’t have his smokes and lighter in his pocket, he would most surely keep them on the dashboard. But they weren't there! Maybe they fell out of the car while exiting with Donna. He looked around his car and walked along the parking lot. There was no time for this! A cigarette was seriously needed, along with returning to Donna's mock grave to dig her out!

Scooter's gas station was only 5 minutes from the forest preserve. Although a quick drive, Stan would seriously be pushing into dangerous territory as it would only result in poor Donna being buried longer. But he really needed a cigarette! For Pete's sake; how important was a blasted cigarette? Was it important enough for Stan to drive off, leaving his beautiful Donna buried in a mock grave so he could head to Scooter's gas station? It must have been! Stan entered his car, started up and drove 5 miles into town for a pack of cigarettes!

Some acquaintances of Stan were at the gas station who immediately took notice that his precious Donna was not with him.

Hey Stan; you alone tonight? Where's Donna?

Stan proudly responded, She's back at the woods. Get this: I dug a 4 foot hole, made a wooden box and lowered it in. Donna agreed to play a game of dig up the grave! She's in the box and buried. Once I get these smokes, I'm going back to the grave to dig her out. And you know what happens next!

She let you do that? You sly dog, you! Are you doing the necro-feel-me thing?

Stan corrected his friends and informed them of the right word to use.

Well that's great, Stan! Hey, you better get going! I bet your girlfriend is freaking out, really bad. How could you even leave her there?

That question must have brought Stan back to reality as he realized the seriousness of the situation. He quickly excused himself, jumped back in his car and headed back for the woods. Donna probably was freaking out, really bad. Stan imagined her banging on the wooden box and horrified at the amount of time she was forced to spend in the darkness, underground. The silence was probably deafening with the sound of blood rushing through her ears and rapidly beating heart.

The thoughts of how serious this game really was continued to invade Stan's mind. What’s wrong with me? What if I’m involved in an accident before reaching her? No one would know where to find Donna!

And then Stan thought of the most dreadful thing. He had never considered the fact that being buried in a box would have a limited supply of oxygen. What if Donna ran out of air as her heart pumped faster and faster out of fear? He just had to get to his Donna! Stan no longer fantasized about the end of the game when he would make love to the hauntingly beautiful corpse that was dug up from the grave. The new game was to save the woman he loved and hopefully find her forgiveness.

Out of confusion, Stan passed up the forest preserve entrance where Donna was buried. Realizing his mistake, he immediately pulled off onto the shoulder and did a u-turn. It was best to calm down before making any further errors; errors that could be fatal for either him or Donna. Then again, a fatal error for Stan would certainly prove fatal for Donna as well.

Stan parked his car and ran out into the forest as quickly as possible. Poor Donna was probably terrified beyond belief. Even worse, maybe she had died out of a triggered claustrophobia or the speculation that Stan buried her alive with no intention of unburying her. And then there was the possibility of never receiving her forgiveness once Stan rescued Donna.

Water? Pond? What the...? Stan didn't recall passing a body of water or being anywhere near one when burying his precious Donna. Was he in the right place?

Son-of-a... It's the other path! In the darkness and confusion, Stan forgot that there were two paths in the forest preserve. He was supposed to take the 2nd path! It was a mistake that cost him an extra 5 minutes, as he needed to run back to the entrance and find the 2nd path, all the while his anxiety of Donna running out of oxygen. Every second counted!

Oh, Come-on! Where is the other path?

Have you ever become confused to the point of losing something or forgetting your way? Although most frustrating, in a situation like this, Stan didn't have time play the oops game of trivial mistakes. But he couldn't find the 2nd path! He started yelling and throwing his fists into the air while holding back tears. Stan just had to find that 2nd path!

Up and back, up and back; maybe the other path was the right path. But the pond; he never saw a pond when burying Donna. After an hour of running through the forest in search of his precious lover, Stan realized he needed help. But this was many years before the cell phone. Stan got back into his car and headed for the police station in a devastated panic.

The highway Stan traveled was now on an incline. At the top of the incline was a flat stretch of highway and a rapidly approaching trucker, who had been traveling many hours and feeling the effects of exhaustion. The semi truck drifted in and out of the opposite lane several times until the trucker could no longer hold consciousness. But the truck remained traveling at over 60 MPH in the opposite lane! And since Stan was traveling up an incline, he couldn't see the danger that was rapidly approaching.

There was a split second of impact when Stan had one, final thought of the importance of reaching Donna. Some part of him realized what happened, despite how quickly the tragedy came. He knew for certain that he would never reach his precious love that lay terrified and confined to a mock grave.

***

News spread of the deadly accident involving Stan and the sleepy trucker. And paired up with the news was the mysterious disappearance of Donna, who hadn't been seen for over two days. The acquaintances of Stan, who saw him at Scooter’s Gas Station in his final moments alive, realized that he may very well have buried Donna alive; and hadn't reached her before the fatal accident. This realization was conveyed to law enforcement officials who launched a large-scale search for a possible mock grave in the woods.

It was a frustrating search! From what they could see, police concluded that Stan was traveling through the network of forest preserves on the highway. But which