Short Horror Stories

Afterlife

Source ~inuth

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of afterlife. All my life I’ve wondered about what happens when we die, what powers do we get when we leave our body, and whether ghost folklore was true. Such was my fascination that as a child, i was always found in the mystery section in the city library, hunting books describing the process of death, the creatures that come to take away our life, and what we become when we die. One of the most interesting theory i read as a child was that when you die, you become the creature you fear the most. That got me wondering on what creature frightens me the most. So, in search of finding the reflection of my death, i wandered everywhere, and read about almost all creatures. But, i wasn’t truly frightened by anything. The only thing that came close to frightening me was the graveyard near my house. People had often told stories about a scary spirit haunting the place, and that it was one of the most horrifying experience of their life. So one day, i decided to venture into the cemetery and see the ghost myself, to finally find a horrifying face, which might become mine in the afterlife.

On Halloween, i decided was the best time to investigate the cemetery, as my parents allowed me to stay out late, and i could be missing for some hours. So, grabbing a torch, and a walking stick, i ventured into the graveyard. I’d been here so many times, although it was always in bright sunlight. Now, in the cover of night, the air was as blue as an emerald, with streaks of white smoke moving through the hard stone, the cemetery looked nothing like before. The light from far away lamp posts bounced off the gravestones ever so slightly, but the tombstone of the rumored spirit was peculiar because it strangely absorbed most of the light. As i walked across it, admiring the strange effect, i failed to notice the slippery stone my foot was placed on. With my next step, i tripped and fell, and felt something hard hit on my head. Within a flash, i was on the ground. As i got up, a strange face was looking at me. It was that of a child, our neighbor’s son, Clark. He looked terrified, as if he had seen a ghost, and ran as fast as he could when i opened my mouth to tell him i was alright. Oh great! Now the kid is going to rat me out, i thought. I’ll deal with him later. As i continued to search for the spirit, i noticed nothing unusual. Except one thing. The night never seems to end. And every now and then some annoying people come in to the cemetery, and get absolutely terrified when i greet them, then they turn white with fear, and run back as fast as possible, as if they had seen a ghost with the most horrifying face….