Do you like scary stories? How about monsters and things that go bump in the night? If you do, then I have the collection for you. This is an anthology of short scary stories, all of which are original; with more being added as time goes on. If you...
Do you know about the legend of The Cursed Highway? There's a strip of road on Route 66 where many people died over the years. It's called the 'Cursed Highway' because hardly anyone ever uses it anymore. People tend to steer clear of that road on account of the accidents. Those that don't stay away wind up missing, with their cars abandoned on the side of the road. They say to always have a light with you when going down that road, and to avoid nighttime at all costs.
Mel and Frank were two friends that had never heard the legend. They were driving on this very same road late into the afternoon. Then, their car broke down.
After doing his best to fix it, Mel finally said, "We're going to need a ride."
The two of them started down the road. The farther they went, the more crosses they noticed on the side. The crosses were very old and some had fallen over. Others looked to be brand new.
"Looks like a lot of people died here." Frank said. He didn't like being so close to the crosses. He walked a little faster.
"Yeah." Mel said. "Let's hurry up and find someone."
They saw a few cars go by, but no matter how much they tried, they couldn't get them to stop. They walked for miles and miles with no luck.
Finally, they came across a gas station. The gas station was old and hadn't been used in many years. They stopped inside to see if there was anything they could use. By the time they were done, the sun began to set and they were very cold.
"I think we should stay here for the night." Frank said.
Mel agreed. Neither of them wanted to go back outside and walk to the car. There was something wrong about that road, but neither of them could say what it was. So, Mel and Frank got comfortable and tried to get some sleep. Their clothes were warm, but the cold began to get worse the longer they stayed there. They both woke up, freezing.
"We'll freeze to death." Mel said.
But Frank had an idea. "Why don't we get some wood?" He asked.
"From where?" Mel asked.
"The crosses." Frank said. "I have some matches."
Mel thought it over. He didn't want to burn the crosses, but if they didn't get heat soon, they would freeze to death. He agreed. "Okay." Mel said. "I'll help."
The two of them went to the side of the road and gathered as many of the crosses as they could. When they were done, they had armful after armful of the crosses. They piled them up and burned them. The fire felt good, but it was a strange color they had never seen before. The shadows seemed strange too. They seemed alive.
Now warm, Mel went to sleep, but Frank stayed awake, watching the fire. Suddenly, he saw something standing on the other side of the flames! A tall creature with long arms. It looked like a shadow without a body.
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He heard an eerie voice say, "Too bright. Too bright."
Frank shook Mel awake.
"What is it?" Mel asked.
"Th-th-th-there's something in here with us!" Frank said.
Mel saw it too. Terrified, they watched the long armed thing through the fire. They were too scared to move. As the fire died, the shadow started to disappear. The voice kept saying, "too bright. Too bright."
Then, when the fire was only embers, they could hear footsteps approaching them. A Thunk thunk thunk of heavy feet across the floor.
They couldn't see anyone.
Something picked Mel off the ground. He screamed and kicked and punched but whatever was holding him wasn't letting go. Frank grabbed his flashlight and ran away as fast as he could after that. He ran until his lungs hurt and his legs burned. Before long, he saw the car on the side of the road.
He could hear footsteps coming from behind him.
Thunk thunk thunk.
He made it to the car. The door was locked. As the footsteps came closer, he turned and tried to blind the thing.
The footsteps stopped. The thing's shadow stood tall in the light but it didn't move. Frank broke the car window and unlocked the door. He found the spare set of keys and turned on the car. Even though the car's engine couldn't run, the battery could.
He turned the lights on bright and waited in the seat.
Frank was scared but the thing couldn't get him. He watched it stand there, not moving an inch.
Hours must have passed, but he didn't fall asleep. Frank kept his eyes on the road. Every so often, he'd see another shadow join the long armed thing. The shadows were all shapes and sizes. One by one they gathered next to the long armed shadow. Now there was a crowd--one shadow for each cross burned. He saw Mel's shadow and cried.
Just as the sky began to change for dawn, the car's lights flickered and died. Frank heard footsteps approaching the car. Too many to count. He tried to get his flashlight to work, but it was dead too. The voice came back, saying, "Too bright. Too bright. We take your light."
Thunk thunk thunk.
He tried to start the car again, but it was no good. The footsteps stopped right next to the car.
Asingle car came driving through the road after daybreak. They saw an empty caron the side of the road and thought nothing of it. However, a little furtherdown were two new crosses with two new names. Mel and Frank.
