Havok Publishing

Tag - folklore

Spitting Distance

Jerry squeezed his hands together, staring at a narrow strip of ground bordering Main Street. The year before, Reedville had added a watermelon seed-spitting contest in that very spot. Jerry had come in third. To Ma, it was just another loss. To Jerry? He’d felt amazed as he wiped off his chin.

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Tanabata Torrents

“If we said wedding vows, do you think we’d say ‘‘til death do us part,’ or ‘‘til death bring us together’?” I raised my gray, ghostly hand to view it in the moonlight.
“I don’t know, Eliza, but d’ya think you can ask this question again after we stop two raging yōkai from…

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Tombstone Terror

“Don’t be a fool, son.” The saloon’s bartender nodded toward the revolver holstered on my belt. “This town got a history. On the full moon—”
“I ain’t scared of no Wyatt Earp. No killer, frontier, quick-shooting lawmen are going to get me, no sir.” I downed my drink. “Pretty sure Johnny Ringo and his outlaws are six feet below, too.

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The Treeing of Johnny Appleseed

“My, that’s a fine looking bear,” Grandpa told me one evening as I cuddled my new teddy. A visit with my grandfather while Mom was on a business trip always meant a swing through the nearest toy department, where I could take my pick, more or less. He loved to watch me play and often joined in.

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Shooting Stars

Let me tell you a love story. No, it’s not a fallin’ story—fallin’ in love’s the messy bit. This one’s about old love, the kind that’s lived a handful of years, that’s aged into something stronger and softer. That’s where the best stories are found.
Slim was a man of few words…

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Saint Patrick’s Staff

Just a spoiled rich girl! Not a serious archeologist! Was that all they thought of me? If they prohibited my inclusion on this expedition, then I would find it first! They couldn’t ignore my experience and commitment if I stood before them holding the relic!
The university library contained what I needed.

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The Gift of the Moss Maidens

Bjørn thrust his numb hands deeper inside his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the bitter cold as he crept through the forest, searching for the creatures he hoped could save his future. To his right, he could just make out the river Meuse, still and silent under a glistening layer of ice.

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Nessie Sings the Song

Inverness, Scotland 21st April, 2023
My grandfather told me stories of the Loch Ness Monster. Or Nessie as he lovingly called her. How she surfaces in the spring when life is new and the waters are warm. He saw her once, when night’s cloak had descended. Head thrown toward the moon, she gave…

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New Jersey and You

“Officer, what you mean I can’t pump my own gas?” The shorter man scowled up from his car, biting off his words. The neon sign of the station flickered on and off while the smell of exhaust filled Officer Ortega’s nostrils.
Ortega sighed. “I’m sorry sir, that’s the law in New Jersey,”

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Hinewai

There’s no harm in a quick swim before morning chores. No one ever notices. I’m always back by sunrise.
Something tugs my feet. In an instant, the current drags me under and out to sea.
No!
Spinning, I cannot think. My arms flail, fighting hard against the undertow.
Which way is up?

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The Worst Kind of Betrayal

“Remind me again why we’re not calling the police.”
“We will. I just want to confirm whatever killed Jeff isn’t also on a koala massacre.” I flicked my torch beam into a nearby eucalyptus tree. The beady-eyed silver face that peered back looked innocent enough. I kept walking.
Carol followed suit…

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Yara-Ma-Yha-Who

There’s nothing like finding yourself in the middle of nowhere, in a strange country, sitting like bait in a trap under a giant fig tree, to make you stop and think about your life-choices.
I always considered myself to be a reasonably intelligent, cautious person, but would a reasonably intelligent, cautious person be…

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