The Listing Hop and Spooktoberfest.

It's been awhile since I participated in a blog fest, and since I missed the WEP, I thought some flash fiction was in order.

The Cover Girls are holding their 4th Annual Spooktoberfest this week. You still have time to participate between now and Wednesday. Your story must be 400 words or less, and include all of the following:

A set of eyes glowed from a tree ahead of Laurie, and she swept her flashlight across it, scaring an owl into flight. She placed a hand to her chest, trying to still her pounding heart.

Grandma's property was large and wooded, the sky dark except for a smattering of stars. She was on a mission for a Coke and some aspirin for her mom, who was back in the guest house over the garage, where they'd been staying since grandma died. Cold crept over her skin, and she pulled her sweater closer around her. Her gear and sprocket earrings snagged in her hair as it blew in the wind, and she disengaged them as she walked.

Ahead of her, the main house loomed. She picked up the pace, the night pressing in around her. Gravel scattered from under her feet, pinging off the metal of grandma's car parked to the side of the long driveway.

Surely her mother's headache wasn't worth this traipse across a half wild property in the middle of the night.

She clomped up onto the porch and dug the keys out of her pocket to unlock the door. Before stepping inside, Laurie swept a hand over the wall, trying to find the light switch. A spider web clung to her skin, wrapping around her fingers as they skittered across the crumbling wallpaper.

Light burst around her, and she blinked, squinting against the brightness. Her birthstone winked orange in the light, despite the web wrapped partway around it. She left the door open and walked down the hall into the kitchen, pausing to pucker her lips at the goldfish in the tank on the counter.

Laurie peered into the fridge, the light flickering. They hadn't cleaned this out yet, and a plastic container crouched in a corner. She pulled it out and pried the lid off, gagging at the stench of the moldy onion inside. Shoving it back into the fridge, she pulled out an apple and moved to the sink to wash it.

As she turned the water on, the lights went out.

She gasped and dropped the apple. The Twilight Zone Theme ran through her head, and she turned, pressing her back against the sink edge and feeling for a weapon of some sort.

A voice whispered, "Baby, is that you?"

Panic clogged her throat, and she had to clear it to speak.

"Grandma?"

#

This piece is exactly 400 words. Note: I figured the owl (nocturnal) and goldfish (aquatic) also covered animal.

And since I'm doing one blog hop, why not another? 

Bish Denham is holding The Listing Hop today, co-hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. 

We can make whatever kind of list we want, so sticking with the horror theme for the month, I thought I'd list some of my favorite lines from horror movies, in no particular order (because if I try to figure out an order for them, it will take forever to write this post). Happy 8 years of blogging to Bish!

Try to guess the movies in the comments!

14 Best Lines From Horror Movies:

1. Get away from her, you b****. / They mostly come at night. Mostly. / Game over, man!

2. Beep beep, Richie. They all float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float, too.

3. Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them. I don't give a f*** how crazy they are. 

4. My mom is gonna' be so mad at me. / Don't blame the movies. Movies don't create psychos, they make psychos more creative.

5. You're gonna' need a bigger boat.

6. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep.

7. They're he-ere.

8. We all go a little mad sometimes.

9. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. / Heeeeere's Johnny!

10. It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again. 

11. I see dead people.

12. Have you checked the children?

13. What an excellent day for an exorcism.

14. I will not calm down! This is the second time I've been hit with a severed head, and I don't like it.

Bonus: Ding

How many of these lines do you recognize? Do you have a line from a horror movie you think I should have included? What's your favorite horror movie quote?

May you find your Muse.