Esse Diem » ghost stories

At the end what does it all mean, learning that what they call grief Is simply, or not so simply, fear; that building a story against terror is the last almost impossible thing you can try; that ...

https://essediemblog.com/2023/12/17/they-are-a-ghost/

Winding my way. The commonwealth for an hour, but now it’s the oldest county in the state no one seems to believe is real. I can feel the old. It looks into my windows. Trying both to outrun it...

https://essediemblog.com/2021/12/18/advent-ghosts-2021-presence/

The historical society sells a gilded ornament each year. This, of John, of Jack, shows his eyes downcast. His widow chose the image for the portrait, after enduring faithlessness, blood, and gri...

https://essediemblog.com/2020/12/19/listen-advent-ghosts-2020/

  He liked closing doors, the repetitive clang of chain-link boxes secured. The vibration satisfied him, made him feel safe. “You shouldn’t have come here, you know you brought this on yours...

https://essediemblog.com/2019/12/21/slide-advent-ghosts-2019/

  Rattle   First appearing to me when I was a child, it rattled past the ornament box I’d come to claim from a dark corner of our garage. Only bones. Its back curved gently along the spine, i...

https://essediemblog.com/2018/12/22/rattle-advent-ghosts-2018/

  It’s Not Mama   When she was out of town, he slept with Jack.. An unexpected, steady thump. Had she made it home? Christmas Eve. Flipping on the light, he rolled over to see the last wag. H...

https://essediemblog.com/2016/12/17/its-not-mama-advent-ghosts-2016/

CONGRATULATIONS to Rob Boone, winner of the Esse Diem flash fiction contest to write a great story under 1,000 words about this photograph: What made Rob’s story the winner? There are the simpl...

https://essediemblog.com/2015/04/29/flash-fiction-winner-darkness-by-rob-boone/

Lillian let Hayden walk ahead of her. She liked to fall back sometimes, pretending she was looking at the autumn leaves or tracking the rustling of a squirrel behind a fallen tree. In truth, she ...

https://essediemblog.com/2014/10/27/the-legend-of-paint-creek-a-river-town-halloween-treat/

Last year I posted a rambling ghost story from a dream I had. You can read it beginning here. This year my friend Eric Douglas posted his own (Call of the Raven Mocker), and I was inspired to sha...

https://essediemblog.com/2013/10/28/an-esse-diem-halloween-story-2013-the-man-by-my-bed/

From the back of the church the crèche scene glowed softly from the manger. A lone wise man shuffled, heavy, and knelt. “Where are the others?” whispered the pastor but there was no response...

https://essediemblog.com/2012/12/20/for-later-advent-ghosts-2012/