Tuesday Tales 2023-10-31 Scary

You know you don’t have a ghost of a chance, when Tuesday Tales falls on Halloween and our word prompt is scary! This snippet is from a cozy mystery set in fictional Glisten, Georgia. When you finish reading, make sure to visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.

For about ten minutes I basked in the coffee, cookies, and early morning solitude before noticing that my body had begun to fidget and the fingers of a misty chill were crawling up my back. I shivered. The pressure in my ears evoked a groan. Then I saw it, an incandescent violet orb near the gazebo, its undulations forming scary spikes. As I watched, mesmerized, it grew and elongated to an irregular shape. I set down my coffee cup and stood, my heart racing.

If ghosts kept “knocking on my door” every five minutes, I’d have to update my resumé from cemetery tour guide to spirit concierge.

The apparition reminded me of the one at the cemetery in Florida that had pronounced Jack’s name. An incredible possibility popped into my head. I’d always thought of the floaty lady as more or less “living” here at the inn. Was this the floaty lady? Had she—traveled all that distance to Florida to warn me of Jack’s accident? Did she now have more bad news?

“What do you want?” I whispered, my breath ragged.

The presence glided toward the patch of woods proceeding out from the backyard and gardens. Then it halted. A solitary spike impaled the air. She wants me to follow. I walked toward the phantom. It started to move again, into the woods this time. I followed. It led me down a faint trail. Early morning dew moistened the toes peeking out of my casual indoor slides. If I’d known I’d be hiking into the woods chasing a spirit, I’d have pulled on boots.

Ahead and off to the left, a patch of bright yellow caught my eye. For a minute I thought it was an early autumn leaf hidden in the thicket. Autumn shows earlier in thick, uncleared woods. I peered at the bright blotch and stepped closer. I looked around for a clue from my incandescent companion. The apparition had disappeared, leaving only a tingling in the air. My gaze shot back to the shard of yellow. It pulled me like sunlight on a cold day. Ignoring the twigs and brambles abrading my feet, I made my way toward it. I leaned over and extended a hand, and then drew it back in a flash as if something had burnt me. It took my brain several moments to realize what I was looking at.  

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the snippet inspired by the word scary. If you haven’t done so already, check out the other excerpts at Tuesday Tales.

Cheers & Happy Reading!

Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories

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