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...
It is an old story, from a time when princes ruled on thrones and ships sailed unknown seas. There are many who have forgotten the legend, but some remember. I will tell it to you now.
There was a little town by the sea. It had been built in a time even older still, when magic was common as air. Now the people of this town had built their homes around a very deep and very dark well. It was so deep and dark, in fact, that no one had ever seen the bottom. The well had been there since before the town and it would be there long after. Many believed it to be magic. They offered coins to it in the hopes that their wishes might come true.
But over time, the well was left alone and its magic forgotten. It became something of a legend amongst each generation of children that followed until the days of Jim and Sam.
Jim was the braver of the two, but slightly more gullible than Sam, who did not believe in magic or monsters or really anything beyond what he could see. The two were inseparable, to the point of being mistaken for brothers
One day they were playing near the well. Jim thought it was a good idea to see if they could find the bottom. He walked over to the edge and looked down. It was so dark he couldn't see the bottom.
Sam joined him slowly. "If you're not careful, you'll fall in!" He said.
But Jim waved him off. "I'm not going to fall in." He said. "Hey! Do you have a coin?"
"A coin?" Same asked.
Jim nodded. Sam dug his hands in his pockets and managed to find a small copper coin. He gave it to Jim.
"Here." He said.
Jim took the coin, closed his eyes and made a wish. He tossed the coin into the well. They both waited for the coin to hit the dark water below. After a minute, they heard a splash.
"Wow." Jim said. "That's far."
"What did you wish for?" Sam asked.
Jim smiled. "I can't tell you. My wish won't come true." He said.
And so Sam left their conversation at that. The two of them went on playing till supper time, when their parents called them in for the night.
Sam didn't sleep well that night. He dreamed of the well and how deep it went. In his dream something was looking back at him! He woke up in a cold sweat and checked his window. Nothing about the well had changed. Doing his best to forget the dream, he went back to sleep.
The next day, Sam went to Jim's house to see if he wanted to play. Jim wasn't there though. "I thought he was with you." Jim's mother said.
Sam didn't think much of it. Maybe Jim had gone off to play in the woods without him. So he went looking for his friend. Sam searched all over, from the very edge of the sea to the fringes of the thick forest where no one goes and back.
He called his name until his throat hurt. By the time Sam came home, he was really worried. He told his family and they told Jim's family.
Soon the whole village was searching for Jim. They searched for him well into the night and that morning. When it seemed like they had run out of options, the villagers turned their attention to the well.
Unlike children, the adults of the village had a way to climb down the well. Using ropes and pulleys, they managed to go all the way to the bottom. It took a long time, but the villagers that went down came back with Jim's broken body.
They tried to hide it from Sam, but he could see.
He cried all day until his eyes were dry as sand. Nothing his parents could do could help him. And then, several days later, a thought came to Sam.
No, he didn't believe in magic, but maybe Jim had been on to something. He grabbed a small copper coin, much like the one Jim had used. Then, he went to the well. Sam flipped his coin into the deep darkness, all the while wishing in his heart for one thing: to see his friend again. Sam left the well after hearing the coin splash into the water.
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Part of him didn't believe that anything could happen. Part of him hoped something would. Later that day, after supper, Sam decided to go to bed.
Sam dreamed of the well again, and just as he saw the thing in the deep darkness from his nightmare before, a knock woke him. He sat straight up in bed. There was someone standing at the window!
At first. He couldn't see who it was, but then as his eyes adjusted, the person's identity became clear.
It was Jim.
Sam ran to the window and opened it. It was definitely Jim.
"Jim, I--!" But Sam lost his words.
Jim looked different. He was still wearing his clothes from the funeral and his arms and legs were bent in awful ways. He said nothing but stared at Sam through gloomy eyes.
"Jim, you look... different."
But Jim still said nothing. Just as Sam started to take a step back. Jim's hand shot towards him. Cold, wet fingers slipped around his wrist.
Sam screamed. Jim's grip was strong as steel. He pulled Sam out of his house and shambled to the center of town. Sam begged him to stop, but Jim would not listen. Then, Sam saw the well.
That's when he realized what Jim's wish had been.
Hadn't he wanted to see the bottom of the well? He'd gotten his wish. Now, Sam had gotten to see Jim again, but at a price.
The closer they got to the well, the more Sam struggled. It was no use. Jim finished dragging Sam to the well and threw him in. The deep darkness wrapped around him like cold dead fingers. He fell and fell.
Thenfinally, Sam could see the bottom. Something hungry and ancient was watchinghim with eyes like coins.
