Stories – Bill Doty

Stories

May 19, 2025

The Cat, the Crash, and the Cautionary Tale of Starting Over

Yesterday morning started like most of my Sundays, with a solid commitment to procrastination disguised as productivity. I stood out in my backyard, garden hose in hand, pretending that giving my tomatoes a second round of water would somehow launch me into an efficient day. Spoiler: it didn’t. Instead, the universe decided to kick off...More Please

March 5, 2025

Short Story: My Obituary

Stories Writing

Mortimer Watson saw his own name in an obituary. That was the beginning. It happened on a Monday afternoon, one of those gray, dead air days that felt neither like winter nor spring. Just an in between. He was in bed, nestled into the well worn dip his body had carved into the mattress, playing...More Please

January 10, 2025

Short Story – My Own Personal Hell

Stories Writing

The year was 2093, and the shadow of the devil still lingered over the world like an unshakable curse. Fifty years earlier, he had made himself known. He appeared as a man, ordinary and unassuming, yet with eyes that seemed to pierce the soul. “I’m the devil,” he had said with an eerie grin, and...More Please

January 6, 2025

Short Story – The Vintage Dress Find

Stories Writing

Natalie Palmer didn’t consider herself a superstitious person. At 22, she was grounded, practical, and a little too enamored with vintage fashion for her own good. So, when she stumbled upon an estate sale in a crumbling Victorian house on the edge of town, she couldn’t resist stopping. The air inside was thick with age,...More Please

December 20, 2024

Short Story – New Year’s Resolutions To Die For

Stories Writing

Lydia Crane sat alone in her small apartment on a chilly December evening. The glow of her laptop cast eerie shadows on the walls, the kind that moved when you weren’t looking directly at them. She had been scrolling aimlessly, avoiding the gnawing anxiety that always crept up around this time of year. The holidays...More Please

December 9, 2024

Short Story – The Hole Beneath

Stories Writing

Richard stood in Hunter’s room, frozen. The smell of cardboard and dust filled the air as he packed the last box, his heart heavy with guilt. Sammy had insisted it was time, time to box up their son’s toys, his clothes, his life. One year. One long, agonizing year since Hunter disappeared from his bed,...More Please

December 8, 2024

Short Story – The Haunted Advent Calendar

Stories Writing

December arrived as it always did in Minnesota: cold, gray, and laced with biting winds that whispered promises of snow. Charlene McKenzie, eighty years old and three years a widow, rose early that morning. She padded across the worn carpet of her small home, humming a hymn under her breath. Outside, frost clung stubbornly to...More Please

December 3, 2024

Short Story – The Ghost of You

ghosts Stories Writing

Nathan Front sat on a wooden stool in the shadowy barn, the weight of the night pressing on him like a lead blanket. The musty smell of hay and old wood filled his lungs, mixing with the sharp edge of his own fear. He had always thought barns were peaceful places. Quiet. Removed. But tonight,...More Please

November 29, 2024

Short Story – The Blackest Black Friday

Stories Writing

The air in the parking lot was sharp, biting through layers of fleece and polyester as Gloria and Sam pitched their nylon cocoon, hunkering down inside their tent. Thanksgiving Day had given way to a bitter, starlit Colorado night, the kind that sinks into your bones and makes you question every decision that led you...More Please

November 23, 2024

Short Story – Ghost Hunt in Virginia City

Stories Writing

It was the perfect storm for a ghost hunt. Cold, crisp Nevada air clung to the mountains like a ghost of its own, and the couple, Shelly and Craig, were giddy with anticipation. They had talked about doing this for years, ever since they got hooked on all those paranormal reality shows. Every episode teased...More Please

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