Micro Fiction Horror
For the month of November 2025, these are the 100-word stories that intrigue us most.
* The Bird by Chad Elliott
* Smile by CHM Singerie
* A Playground and a Funeral by Deanna M Davidson
* Curious Critter by Nathaniel Mumau
* Cereal by Laura Shell
* Life Imitating Art by Jim Harrington
* The Watson Interrogation by Lance Mazmanian
* The Nosy One by Annaliese Cocker
The Bird
by
Chad Elliott
The damn bird was back. It hadn’t said anything yet, but he knew it was a matter of time. It was perched on the bookshelf, regarding him with its glossy eyes. He dipped his pen in the inkwell; the only sound in the room was the scratching of his nib on the paper.
The bird opened its beak, preparing to issue that maddening utterance. Moving quickly, he laid down the pen and grasped what lay across his legs, bringing it above the desk. The twin maws of the shotgun barrels pointed directly at the bird.
Quoth the raven, “Aw, fuck.”
Chad Elliott is a writer, artist, cosplayer and sometime musician in Lexington, KY. He is making his debut as a fiction writer in this issue of Flash Phantoms. He has completed an unpublished novel, Meta, and has another in progress. He owns way too many small kitchen appliances and is definitely the guy you want on your trivia team.
Facebook: facebook.com/eyeswc
IG: @eyes_wide_creations
BlueSky: @eyeswidecreations.bsky.social
Smile
by
CHM Singerie
Her smile was unbearable. It beamed with love, blinding him, a glow of gratitude, a triumph of joy.
He whacked her in the teeth. She staggered, regained her balance, smiled. Dumbfounded, he hit her again. She righted herself, smiled.
Furious at her audacity, he punched her, hard, repeatedly. She collapsed. He mounted her, continuing his barrage until her mouth slackened. He stood, victorious.
She rose, lips curving, growing until they were the size of him. Her tongue reached out of upturned lips and wrapped around his waist, pulling him into her mouth.
Her radiance swallowed him whole.
Since Christina was a small child, she's been making up stories. Most of the time it got her in trouble, but she continues to be pathological in her pursuit. She's been published in Every Day Fiction and anthologized in both fiction and non-fiction compilations. Christina believes in the transformative power of storytelling and hopes her stories make a difference to you.
A Playground and a Funeral
by
Deanna M Davidson
“Look, teacher! A squirrel!”
“That’s not a squirrel! It’s a dead cat!”
“Ahhhhhhhh!” The children run from the fly-infested creature baking in the desert sun. One is crying over the “dead cat”. It’s dead, but it’s not a cat. Rotting flesh permeates the air beneath the playhouse slide, gashes torn into the large raccoon, causing Ms. Grayson to retch. It’s rancid.
“We have to bury it!” Olivia cries, a frown etching under her downcast eyes.
“I will bury it; you children go inside.”
As the children leave, she looks out into the desert and chucks it over the fence.
Deanna has a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing from California State University, Northridge. She writes dystopian, fantasy, and horror short stories, as well as poetry. She can often be found with a book in one hand and coffee in the other.
Curious Critter
by
Nathaniel Mumau
My flattened nose sniffled. “Them boys called me critter,” I whimpered. “Duke an’ his cousins. Why they always hasslin’ me?”
Ma stroked my hair—Duke called it fur. “You was born a curious critter, Jed. But what’s inside what counts.”
My talons clenched Ma’s apron. “My outsides all they care ‘bout.”
Her lip curled. “‘Cause Duke’s insides all rotten. Now hush up an’ eat your feed.”
I s’pose Ma never led me stray, but I had to be certain. I followed Duke home from his school and checked for myself. Ma was wrong. Duke’s insides looked like all the others.
Nathaniel Mumau is an aspiring writer based in southwest Michigan. His short stories have been published in Flash Phantoms, Variant Literature, 101 Words, and the Bare Bones Book of Speculative Fiction (forthcoming).
Cereal
by
Laura Shell
There sits a bowl of cereal. The cornflakes languish in the lukewarm milk. All I can think about is the oozing blood. The blood from my wrists, the way it drips onto the dingy kitchen floor, and the one-inch segmented bugs that skitter through the blood, lapping it up like a stray dog at a water bowl. Where did they come from? How do I get rid of them? Fortunately, they're not biting me. I pick up the bowl of saturated cereal, and those red bugs race from my arms into the soggy cereal, turning the white milk pink.
Laura Shell has been published in NUNUM, Maudlin House, The Citron Review, Ink in Thirds, X-RAY, and many other publications. Her first anthology of paranormal stories, The Canine Collection, was released in 2024. She's a prolific writer and submitter of flash fiction and the editor of the Flash Phantoms horror fiction site–www.flashphantoms.net. You can find more about her at https://laurashellhorror.wordpress.com.
Life Imitating Art
by
Jim Harrington
Mazie slogged through the Gallery of Fringe Art, her feet dragging along as if stuck in quicksand. Disembodied eyeballs followed her, leering as she passed. She couldn’t help but be disgusted by what she saw.
She turned a corner, looking for an escape. Seeing none, she continued. Statues with feet for heads. Torsos with genitals in place of belly buttons greeted her. Audience members dressed as zombies, oohing over every disgusting piece. She stopped at the figurine of a boy, drama etched on his face. It reminded her of Charlie, her son. She touched its forehead. It whispered, "Help me."
Jim Harrington lives in Huntersville, NC, with his wife and two dogs. His stories have appeared in Flash Phantoms, The Yard, Free Flash Fiction, Short-Story.me, Ariel Chart, CommuterLit, and others. More of his works can be found at https://jpharrington.blogspot.com.
The Watson Interrogation
by
Lance Mazmanian
In the company den, Sherlock asked, “...and you, Dr. Watson, you’re telling me now that you are the murderer?”
“Yes. I am the one, Holmes.”
A tricky case with an unlikely suspect and an odd confession. New territory at 221B.
Sherlock continues: “So...you are immovable in your decision, Watson? Allow me to present that your confession, which is beyond truth to anyone rational, will never fall forgotten and disappear.”
A nod from the good doctor was the final answer.
“But this cannot be, dear Watson, for you see, I am the murderer.”
Holmes proceeds to impale Watson’s heart with a very sharp steel rod.
Word/visual author Lance Mazmanian: Random House distributed with Harlan Ellison, got a coffee as payment. Mazmanian appears 2025 in London Writers' Salon, Fiction On the Web UK, Poetries In English Magazine (Los Angeles), more. 2026 Pushcart nom. Leonard Cohen (RIP) wanted a chapbook with Mazmanian. Til the Scrapbook File imploded.
The Nosy One
by
Annaliese Crocker
There’s no quicker way of getting to know a guy you’ve just met than having a little sneaky peek inside his medicine cabinet. So, after touching up my lipstick in the mirror, I paused, listening for any sounds from the apartment behind me. Then, I slowly opened the medicine cabinet. Inside were lines of small glass vials. “Midazolam,” I muttered. “Wonder what that’s for?” Still pondering, I closed the medicine cabinet, then shrieked as I saw in the reflection that he was standing behind me.
“Aren’t you the nosy one?” He grinned. Then I felt a syringe plunge into my neck.
Annaliese Crocker (Plowright) is the author of Horror, Fantasy Romance and Young Adult novels. Annaliese was short-listed for the Hull Literary Short Story Award 2025 as well as the 'Victory' 50th Anniversary Short Story Competition 2025. Annaliese is currently studying Creative Writing at Falmouth University, Cornwall and you can find her stories on Flash Phantoms and falwriting.com. https://www.facebook.com/AnnaliesePlowright