A new twist on a classic horror favorite is today’s entry in the Halloween Horror series. Game designer Jared A. Sorensen (InSpectres, Requiem Chronicler’s Guide) brings us a story about the dead, although not in the way you might be expecting.

A new “working class” with only a few minor drawbacks…

Cheap Labor

Created by Jared A. Sorensen

There’s a stain on the floor and he’s scrubbing it like it’s blood and the police are on their way, lights flashing, tires squealing. Not fast but vigorous, relentless. We’re watching him. We’ve been watching him through the window for going on ten minutes and he hasn’t let up, hasn’t slowed down a beat. Constant, like a timepiece ticking away the seconds, minutes. Soon to be hours. Jim breaks the spell.

“Gus? Gus.”

The scrubbing stops. The man crouched over the coffee stain on the carpet stops and looks up. His face is old and gaunt, skin stretched tight over razor cheekbones. That vacant stare. Dead eyes.

Our new addition to the Halloween Horror series is brought to use by game designer Eddy Webb (Mind’s Eye Theatre: The Awakening).

Eddy brings us a tale of desperation and horror, just what is a Quisivore? Is it coming for you next?

The Quisivore

Created by Eddy Webb

Eyewitness Transcript: January 24. Cincinnati, Ohio.
“The name ‘quisivore’ is something I made up, just a name to give it. I’m not even sure if the creature has a proper name, or if he’s part of a species. The one I met called himself Claude.”

“Claude looks human enough on the surface. He’s got a long, diamond-shaped scar on his face, but since I saw him over the rim of a burning oil drum late at night, I couldn’t get a really good look at him. As we talked, I started to realize that the scar wasn’t the only unusual thing about him. Everything he said was a statement. Everything. He never once asked a question, not even a rhetorical one. He didn’t ask me my name. He said ‘I don’t know your name,’ and let me fill in the gaps.

Horror author Scott Lette (Arkham Tales) brings us a tale of terror for the Halloween Horror collection. Scott gives us a glimpse of a man vs. nature story from Australia.

Have these creatures returned from someplace else, and if so, why?

Quinkana Prodigius

Created by Scott Lette

FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND TORN APART BY MONSTER CROC PLAGUE
Posted Sat. September 27, 2008 3.35pm AEST

“I have been in consultation with the Emergency Services Minister,” the Premier said during a Press conference in Brisbane today.

Author Alana Abbott (Chronicles of Ramlar, Serenity Adventures) and artist Jeff Preston bring another creature for our Halloween Horror collection.

Those who cheat death beware, can you hear the baying of the hounds?

Hounds of the Morrigan

Created by Alana Abbott
With Art by Jeff Preston

Like their mistresses, the hounds of the Morrigan are harbingers of death, choosing those who, in battle, will perish at the hands of their enemies. A vision of one of these great, black dogs is an omen of death: warriors who see the hounds know that their doom is near. It has been said that just the sight of the hounds is enough to cause a mortal to die of fear: their coat appears both as fur and as the black feathers of a crow, their eyes glow red at a distance and swirl like pools of blood up close, and their fangs are bronze and sharp as daggers. Few who have been in the presence of the hounds survive to tell their story.

A new twist on one of our favorite monsters is brought to us by author Jeff LaSala (Darkwood Mask) with art from Bradley K. McDevitt (Blood!).

Watch the rooftops, you never who, or what, may be watching you…

Glaring Hunter

Created by Jeff LaSala
With Art by Brad McDevitt

Everyone knows what gargoyles are, but very few legends have survived the ages concerning these gruesome stone antiquities. One such story that has endured in some circles is that of the anomalous statue known as the Glaring Hunter. Though it is far less famous than its Notre Dame brethren, the Hunter is the only gargoyle said to appear, without explanation, in more than one place.

The earliest confirmed account of its existence came from a 14th Century anchorite in the north of England who described its perch upon an old abbey wall. An ancient scroll rumored to be one of the lost Gospels also made reference to “the Staring Demon” whose presence Biblical scholars say follows the steps of the Devil.

Today’s addition to the Halloween Horror series is from game designer Preston DuBose (Bloodlines) from 12 to Midnight. Artist Jeff Preston adds a bit of colorful dread to this strange creature.

Be careful where you go swimming, there are more than sharks to be afraid of…

Biting Water

Created by Preston Dubose
With Art by Jeff Preston

From the icy waters off the tip of Alaska to the warm coastal waters of Malaysia, Biting Water tears life from all manner of creatures. Some fishermen call it “witch’s water”, “dead water”, or “stinging water” and attribute it variously to a cursed shipwreck, underwater volcanic activity, witchcraft, jellyfish, invisible sea monsters, and aliens. Biting Water is a patch of ocean water anywhere from 20 to 110 feet in diameter that paralyzes its prey before painfully grinding flesh from bone. Reports from those brave or foolish enough to investigate suggest that Biting Water is the same color and temperature as the surrounding ocean.

Author, editor and game designer Monica Valentinelli (Tales of the Seven Dogs Society, Violet War) introduces us to a different kind of mummy with her entry in the Halloween Horror series here are Flames Rising.

Artist Brad McDevitt contributes to the mystery with a bit of his artwork.

Babylonian Mummy

Created by Monica Valentinelli
With Art from Brad McDevitt

Deep in the heart of the desert, a circle of seven ancient Babylonian temples weathered by sand, stand testament to a forgotten age. Great stone wings adorn falling archways, covered with an undecipherable combination of script and hieroglyphs. There are no living priests in this hallowed place, no servants to call upon the gods and goddesses waiting in the heart of each gilded temple. There is nothing but the wind and the sand, blowing through abandoned temples and the resting place of the Babylonian gods and goddesses.

Horror author and game designer Richard Dansky (Firefly Rain, Worlds of Their Own) has offered up a new monster for the Halloween Horror collection here at Flames Rising.

Jeff Preston adds a little horror of his own with a stunning visual of this rarely seen but always felt creature…

The House Spider

Created by Rich Dansky
With Art by Jeff Preston

The House Spider does not feed on blood, or flesh, or anything so messy and gory as that. It lives in the dwelling places of the timid, the fearful, the cluttered and the cautious. It finds them by their tell-tale signs, their overloaded bookshelves and their disorganized collections, their piles of papers and dimly lit rooms, and there it settles, invisibly. In olden days, many lived in reading rooms, on top of green-shaded desk lamps or in the rare empty spaces on bookshelves. These days, they settle more beneath the computer desk, or near the television, or in amongst the video game consoles and their surrounding debris.

Game designer Eloy LaSanta brings us our next monster in the Halloween Horror series.

Thanks to the Tabbinius Cats, there just might be a reason for all the superstition about black cats crossing your path…

Tabbinius Cats

Created by Eloy Lasanta

This evil creature has origins of the days of witches for mortals and trials that surrounded. Some witches were banished them from society or outright killed, but they had other ways of messing with townspeople. They turned black cats into their familiars, making them spies and vessels for the witch. She has several cats, each powerful in their own right, but many were killed as stories of black cats spread throughout the colonies. Tabbinius, one of her particularly clever cats, made his own deals with demons that released him from his link to the witch and gave him the ability to speak, but required him to feed on human souls. He led the other familiars against their witch, making her the first soul to be a tribute to the demon.

This new twist on the legend of the werewolf is brought to us by author and game designer Jason L Blair (The Long Count, Little Fears).

Beware the Beast of Bedburg, it has a hunger that is never satisfied…

The Werewolf of Bedburg

Created by Jason L Blair

Under a pregnant summer moon, a boy named Peter Stübbe, followed a trail that led down to the creek that marked the boundary of his family’s farm. Lying in the muddy water was the body of a brown wolf cub. As its life escaped further with every breath, its lupine features faded and slowly Peter realized that it was no cub at all—but the body of a boy no older than he was. Against his better sense, he picked up a long thin stick and prodded the wolfboy with it. With its last raspy breath, it lunged at Peter, biting him on his arm. Peter’s parents found their son the next day, laying unconscious beside the body of a dead boy. Swearing never to speak of the incident again, the father went about burying the deceased child immediately while his wife tended to their son.

Our latest addition to the Halloween Horror series comes from author Jensen Toperzer.

This creature could be found in any number of fantasy or post-apocalyptic worlds, so be careful where you go exploring…

Wastelands Stalker

Created by Jensen Toperzer

A wasteland stalker (or Khyr-garuke, as the natives call them) is a terrible behemoth generally found in areas destroyed by some horrible disaster. As the name implies, they favor wastelands, though some have said that they lair in the shells of ruined cities. Some say that they are given rise by the maddened and terrified spirits of those killed in disasters; others that they are disaster made flesh, the very incarnations of the forces of destruction.

Stalkers are strange beasts, being huge in size (the largest known specimen is thought to have been fifty feet long, as judged by the distance between its tracks) yet silent of step.

A new monster in the Halloween Horror series today from game designer Gregor Hutton (3:16, a|state) with art from Bradley K. McDevitt (Blood!).

The Heamogoblin is a mischievous little beast. You have to wonder if they are related to Gremlins or something far, far worse…

The Heamogoblin

Created by Gregor Hutton
With Art by Bradley K. McDevitt

Brad put Tara on the hallway stairs, she was a bloodied mess. He made his way in to the kitchen to see what she’d done to herself. Bloody footprints, like those of a rat, led from a smashed tumbler to under the sink. A tumbler? All the blood that only moments ago must have jetted from Tara’s arm was gone. It looked like it had been licked clean from the slate floor. Rats?

Brad looked around and saw a knife. It lay conveniently nearby, sharp and cool, and he reached for it with his hand. Suddenly and unexpectedly there was a scuttling beneath the sink, and he took his eye off the knife. A sharp pain and he felt blood squirting out his hand.

We’ve got a new monster to add to the Halloween Horror collection today from creator Joe Rixman.

Joe brings us a new twist on an existing creature, turning a dangerous predator into a fearsome monster…

Tear-Drop Rattler

Created by Joe Rixman

Tear-Drop Rattler: This creature is native to desert valleys where the sun’s heat is greatest. It appears as a rust colored, ten-foot long rattlesnake, with a diamond-shaped head, a cobra-like cloak that expands when it feels threatened and blood-red tear drop patterns that give this creature its name lining the entire length of the body. Its primary weapon is a pair of foot-long, venom-tipped, needle-sharp fangs that unfurl when it opens its jaws, but it has a secondary weapon that is much more dangerous to prey that might not want to get too close. Nature has given the tear-dropped rattler a wonderful way to adapt to those more cautious animals. Glands beneath its forked-tongue allow the beast to spit venom up to a distance of fifty feet. The venom acts as a paralytic acid and is absorbed through a victim’s skin where it collects in the muscles and forces them to lock up. The snake will attempt to get to its paralyzed victim before death occurs, however, as it usually prefers to eat its prey whole and, hopefully, still alive.

Today’s monster was sent in by freelance author Todd Cash (Ghosts of Albion, Exquisite Replicas).

Is Jimmy Sparks a malevolent ghost or something far, far worse?

Jimmy Sparks

Created by Todd Cash

Mason Reynolds propped up his digital camera and then double-checked its Internet connection to ensure his feed would be live. He roughly ran the sleeve of his fatigue jacket, a novelty item that knew no military service, across his sweaty forehead. With that gesture, he focused on the camera’s lens.

“My name is Mason Reynolds and I investigate hauntings, ghost stories, and urban legends out of Missoula, Washington. I’m currently investigating a case I believe centers around the forty-year-old murder of an African-American Blues musician named Jimmy Sparks. My two friends and I traveled down South to investigate two strange murders and over the course of this last week delved a great deal into a possible connection between the two men.”

More monsters everyday in October here at Flames Rising. Today we’ve got a tale from Jason Morningstar, creator of the Grey Ranks RPG and other games.

The name Massapoag comes from the Algonquian for “Bad Place”, which Jason grabbed from R.A. Douglas-Lithgow’s Native American Place Names of Massachusetts.

The Massapoag

Created by Jason Morningstar

THE WINTER CAMP OF THE PENACOOK, NORTHWESTERN MASSACHUSSETTS, 1680

“We left to become Christians”, she said, as if explanation were needed.

Today’s monster is brought to us by author Jess Hartley (Hunter: the Vigil) and artist Jeff Preston (Key20 Games). This tale brings us a new twist on the legend of the succubus.

She just might steal your heart…

Falling for Her

Created by Jess Hartley
With Art by Jeff Preston

“Call it a birth defect,” she’d said, the first night they’d been together. He’d not stopped to ask more, too hungry for what she offered. And in the morning, she was gone.

Every night, he tried to ask her about it, that raw-tipped stub at the base of her spine. It seemed somehow important that he ask. But, although he knew everything else about her, every time he raised that topic she managed to change it, so swiftly and gracefully that it was the next morning before he realized he’d once again been distracted.

The Monster Madness begins here at Flames Rising with a new creature from author E. E. Knight (Fall with Honor, Dragon Strike). Knight brings us a nasty little creature called Cob’s Ladder, quite the scary parasite.

Stay tuned for more monsters from your favorite creators everyday this month here at Flames Rising.

Cob’s Ladder

Created by E.E. Knight

This dreadful little body-snatcher starts out as a spore form resembling a dandelion tuft with jellyfish-like tendrils that look as though they’re made out of spider-web. It will float on a breeze until it lands on vegetation, then wait for something to pass beneath or eat it vegetation. It seeks out brain tissue and nerve ganglia for food and camouflage. Early in its development, it relies on gravity or wind to move and find a host. If the spore doesn’t find a host in two to three days, depending on moisture, it shrivels and dies.

Get your jack o’ lanterns ready and turn out your lights, Flames Rising has reached into the haunted minds of some very creative folk with monstrous results. We’re going to scare you, thrill you and chill you with a daily monster dose that ranges from E.E. Knight‘s Cob’s Ladder to Todd Cash’s Jimmy Sparks. Some […]