Other Tales 🗺
Though the bulk of our stories here on Talebones takes place on Ferris Island, occasionally we travel elsewhere!
NOTE: Some stories on the list will be from past paywalled seasons and therefore only accessible to members of the Talebones Council. These stories will be marked with a (P).
Flash Fiction
Stories under or around 2,000 words
Cliffsong - an immortal of mysterious origins is faced with a choice when confronted with the past
The Wager - a young woman and a stranger end up on the same eerie poplar-lined road, but all she wants is for him to turn around
Hey Eye - a creepypasta-esque horror tale told in four forum posts
#sponsored - an urban legend told in forum posts
Kittens, Torches, and Quakes - a collection of five unsettling 100-word stories
Short Fiction
Stories between 2,000 and 10,000 words
Limbs (two-part short story) - in this horror/mystery, Olivia Holt hikes out into the backwoods to find any trace of her missing twin sister—an eccentric cryptozoologist—and discovers more than she bargained for on the unmarked trail into the heart of the woods.
The Sleeper, The Singer (two-part short story) - in this intimate fantasy tale, Pim travels to a remote island to perform what is supposed to be a routine—but vital—task, and finds that it will not be as easy as she was led to believe.
The Last Confession of Penelope Foote - on the morning of her execution, a convicted murderer in a frontier town poised on the edge of change tells the local sheriff an impossible tale.
At the Foot of the God-Stairs - college student Maggie’s hike in the wild woods around Mt. Si turns sinister and surreal when she’s pursued by a shadowy force.
YouLog - a digital holiday fable
The Book - a vacationing black family in the 1950s, looking for a safe place to stay overnight, follows their guidebook to a mysterious house on a hill. (reprint from Mysterion Online)
Winter’s Nell (P) - a folktale-inspired story about a young runaway, a cold night, and an act of kindness
A Thing Must Be Loved (FREE in May 2025!) - a parking garage attendant is caught up in an otherworldly threat and an unlikely role.
Serials
Multi-part tales 10,000 words and over; only the first installment linked here
The Shell (multi-part short story) - in this soft science fiction tale, old man Burgess resurrects a force from his past and must make a decision that affects not just his own future, but that of the people around him.
Imp (multi-part short story) - in this horror tale, struggling author Cal Thornton is sent by his publisher to a silent retreat in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains for a week of creative rejuvenation. But there’s something different about Graft Creek Lodge. Something unsettling. Something just a little bit sinister.