Fiction by Zack Handlen
In the spirit of Lord Byron and Halloween, our founder Adam Morgan launched a microfiction contest called the 1816 Challenge, awarding one horror story, of 50 words max, $100, and four finalists publication in our journal. This is the winning story.
“It’s only a papercut,” the librarian said.
The line was deep but bloodless. She wondered where the book had come from, why it felt so heavy in her hands; why it made her skin tingle and crawl. Then she pulled off her gloves before she realized she wasn’t wearing any.
Zack Handlen is a writer living in Maine.
Arcturus 