Monday, June 13, 2011

"Acrostic for the Archive"

The memories you have, you shall now forget.

Here is the past, all things you regret.

Enter his book and your life does reset.

But then, if you wish to spin the roulette

Luck provides, if you wish to repay your debt

In time, they will find you without threat

Near or far, they will find you and yet

Don't be afraid and certainly don't fret.

Martyrs, Collectors, and Scribes with vignettes

Archivists all, your knowledge they will whet.

No longer alone, never forget.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

"The Witch of Gatlinburg"

The following letter written by one Samuel Brown, a native of the town that is today known as Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 1817. It is transcribed here exactly as written:

Dear Jeremiah,

It seems I owe your father an apology. When he came back from the Smokies muttering those tales about a horrible witch, I calld him mad. Yet here I stand, haunted by that same witch that he spake of all those years ago.

White Oak Flats is a small town my friend, and we all must pich in so it may survive. I was out huntin in the mountains around town when I saw the witch. I was tracking a turkey, biggest I ever seen, when I suddinly stumbled upon a spring where a young maiden was bathein. She didnot seem to notice me, and I quikly hid myself behind a bush.

The maid had fair skin and her hair was the color of the sun. I am ashamed to admit my reasons for staying ther were lechrous, for she wore no furs or textiles. The turkey I was tracking sat on the edge of the spring, next to a cloak of black fethers that must belong to the girl.

She sat in the spring for some time and then finaly stood, and I beheld her glisening, bautyfull form. It shames me to admit how entransed I was, but I am but a man and before me was a goddess.

The maid waded to the edge where her cloak was and pulled a knife from the folds. Before my terrifide eyes, she traced the blade along her skin, cutting a smooth line across her left brest. The cut widened on it's own and I could only watch in horrifide silence as a bird climbed out and flew into the sky.

She cut more openings across her body and from each emerjed a bird. When she had completed the grizzly ritual, the woman, who I was sertain must be a witch, lay back in the spring and let her blood pore out and stain the waters red. She began to hum and had a peacefull look on her face.

I could stand it no more and I forgot about the turkey and ran. I ran all the way back to town. I prayed that what I had seen was a falshood or some madness brought by exostion, but alas it was not.

For there she is on the edge of the forest, wrapped in her fetherd cloak and masked in a bird's skull, keeping silent vijil on me. And evry bird in the sky and on trees looks at me, and I know that soon they shall come for me.

Farewell, my old friend. I fear this may be the last leter I ever write.

Sinseerly,

Samuel

Monday, June 6, 2011

"Baby Doll"

Twitter of Robert Walton
@robertwalton

robertwalton
@margaretsaville - thanks for the advice, sis. I'm going to try and clean out the entire garage this afternoon.
11 June

robertwalton
It's going to take a while, though, because I don't think we've cleaned it out since the '80s.
11 June

robertwalton
Man, this is bringing up old memories. Books I haven't read in years, toys from old cartoons - dude, it's Skeletor!
11 June

robertwalton
Is this stuff worth anything? Maybe I can ebay it.
11 June

robertwalton
Huh. Found the head of a baby doll. Creepy.
11 June

robertwalton
You know, actually, I don't remember @margaretsaville owning a baby doll. I certainly didn't own one.
11 June

robertwalton
Okay, the baby doll head is freaking me out. I'm going to throw it away now.
11 June

robertwalton
@radiosteve - thanks, Steve, for that picture of Babyface from Toy Story. Now I'm going to have nightmares.
12 June

robertwalton
Could have sworn I threw that baby doll head out, but its sitting on the porch steps. Guess I forgot.
12 June

robertwalton
Okay, now I know I threw it away. And now it looks...bigger.
13 June

robertwalton
Okay, I am not imagining this. The baby doll head has a body now. I think it's built out of...are those lincoln logs?
13 June

robertwalton
Where did it go?
13 June

robertwalton
Goddamn, it's fast. Must be remote controlled. Some sort of prank by the neighborhood kids.
13 June

robertwalton
Okay, this prank has gone on far enough. I heard a screech and now I can't find Mr. Whiskers.
13 June

robertwalton
Oh god. I found him. Those goddamn kids. They fucking killed him with that remote controlled doll thing.
13 June

robertwalton
I swear to god I will find that doll thing and smash it into pieces.
13 June

robertwalton
Found it! It looks bigger again, though. I see pieces of wood and metal and...god, it looks like bone.
13 June

robertwalton
Goddamn thing is faster than it looks. Got away into the house. Motherfucking kids must be geniuses to build this thing.
13 June

robertwalton
It smashed the fucking television. I'm going to sneak up and stomp on it.
13 June

robertwalton
It shocked me! Fucking thing shocked me!
13 June

robertwalton
It's in my car now. I left the door open and waited until it crawled inside and then slammed it shut. Let's see it get out of this!
13 June

robertwalton
Oh god. It's eating my car. It's adding everything it can to itself.
13 June

robertwalton
its bigger than my car
13 June

robertwalton
i can see the baby doll head inside it. inside the metal and wood and bone and wires and sinews.
13 June

robertwalton
its smiling
13 June

robertwalton
it looked at me looked at me as it loomed over me oh god oh god please
13 June

robertwalton
a tear in the sky and the thing went through and i looked up and i saw it
13 June

robertwalton
the machinary oh god the machinary so big big as the sky tower in the sky
13 June

robertwalton
it was just a baby
13 June

robertwalton
baby doll baby doll
13 June

Thursday, June 2, 2011

"Let Me In"

I was walking home one night when I saw a man.

"Let me in," he said.

I ran from him, and locked all of the doors when I got home. I tried to forget about him, but the next morning when I left for work I saw him again.

"Let me in," he said.

I backed into my car and started driving. I was ringing in a customer's purchase later that day when I spotted him near the back of the store.

"Let me in," he said.

I paled, and told one of my coworkers to get mall security.

"Let me in," he said.

I told him to shut up. His dark eyes stared dully at me out of a skeletal thin face for a few moments.

He lunged.

I scrambled over the counter, feeling his long and grubby fingers trace over my arm. It was at that point my co-worker arrived with a security officer. My sense of victory was quickly overwhelmed by what felt like a cold clamp closing over my skull and my co-worker's terrified expression.

"What happened to your face?" She asked quietly.

"Let me in," I replied.

I heard the man collapse behind me.