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A very considerable idea... Instead of telling you how great of an idea this is, I will turn your words into action. So if I were to examine CarpetCrawler's handwriting (it was the first one I could find), it would be something like this: CC has an intricate style of handwriting that defines his personality and well-being. -First, I will note that his disregard for writing above the given lines reveals his boldness. He represents an extravert, a person who would rather be a leader than a follower, because he wants to distinguish himself from others by using every two lines as a center for his writing. His bold personality is also evident in how large he writes; CC wants to draw the attention of others right away. In terms of speaking with someone, CC would be the dominant speaker of the conversation. -Second, CC's inconsistency with letter size (adjacent letters vary in height) and the lining of the letters show that he is careless about other people's perceptions of him (which is correspondent to his inattentiveness towards writing the letters the same size and in a straight line). He couldn't care less if a person despised the way he presents himself or how he feels on a certain subject; all that matters is that he stands for what he believes in, no matter who opposes him. -Although, his round and curvy letters (which are more "open" rather than "enclosed together") reveal that CC has agreeableness. He can be "open-minded" about agreeing with others as long as it abides to his own personal beliefs. In fact, he loves discovering the common ground he has with people. -Referring to punctuation, CC's usage of two, count 'em two, exclamation marks reveal his thought process of writing the statement. He wants to passionately tell readers that they should listen to the podcast by using more than one exclamation mark (one wouldn't nearly be as emotive), but three shows signs of desperation. Therefore, he sticks with two in order to neutralize between sounding too passive and sounding too aggressive. -Lastly, the heavy pressure he exerts on his writing utensil shows signs of confidence. Whether it is confidence in his arguments or confidence with how he is, CC isn't afraid to express his audacious persona. If he were to write lightly on paper, it would reveal insecurity; however, that isn't the case. Since it appears he has a firm grip on his pen, CC undoubtedly has inner strength, the strength of refraining himself from letting his guard down. I have no idea if my handwriting analysis is accurate or not, but I tried my best.

The name for M16 hasn't been released yet, so I would be skeptical of anyone who claims they know it now and everything they say. Edit: The official name was released 18-11: "The Eleventh Striker" and it has no relation to the Black Org whatsoever.

Back yet again for another Kid recap! "The Blue Birthday of Fate" ("運命のブルーバースデー"/"Unmei no BURUU BAASUDEE") Note: Based on "Blue Birthday" from Magic Kaito volume 3, chapter 6. Overall I'll just get this out of the way that apart from the last 2 minutes or so of the episode, it's an extremely faithful adaptation of the original story, adding only a few extra little details here and there to flesh it out. The story starts with Kid stealing a ring from a Egyptian exhibit at a museum...and no, the manga doesn't specify what on Earth the ring is he's stealing either. Kid makes a comment about the police always falling for the dummy blimp trick before taking a better look at the ring he stole and remarks about how his next heist will go just as smoothly when suddenly a nearby pay phone rings. Kid answers and receives an ominous message from a mysterious man on the other end regarding his heists and a certain jewel. Meanwhile, Kaito sends out another warning message from Kid saying he'll be stealing India's largest sapphire, The Blue Birthday, for his next heist. Aoko however, doesn't share in Kaito's amusement, upset that Kid is stealing away her father from her on her birthday. Kaito doesn't help matters by calling Nakamori a lousy detective. MOP TO THE HEAD!

Its been so long since ive drawn a Detective Conan picture x but here is one now for you to judge x YAY! The picture

I'm pairing everyonexeveryone. Good. Now we don't need a 237 page thread about fictional pairings that is nothing more than another excuse to spam. Thread locked.

I have a better question... Why does it matter?

Recently it has come to my attention that now the rumor is starting to spread on Facebook. I decided to make a sticky topic in the News and updates section so that everyone can see this and we can nip this rumor in the bud ASAP. The rumor someone is passing around that Movie's 16 and 17 are going to be connected, as well as the final two movies in the franchise, is blatantly false. Nothing has been revealed about the upcoming Detective Conan movies, and we will hear nothing for a little while. The rumors came from Chinese discussion boards that are known for trolling the Conan fan community with false rumors for the sole purpose of riling fans up. Until we learn anything new, I would prefer that folks stop passing these obviously false rumors. When something new is announced, trust me, you WILL know. But until then, everything coming out right now is nothing more than a mere rumor that flat-out isn't true. Come on, guys. Ya'll should know better.

Well...you guys seemed enthusiastic. So we decided we might as well create a DCW Family Chart (similar to the DCTP Family Chart, which can be found here). We credit DCTP for the original idea, esp. Kleene Onigiri and Jd-. So. Those of you who are interested in being a part of the family, get in your relationships quickly. Tentative Deadline: September 1st (I'll be using your profile pic that you have on the day this ends). Deadline is tentative and subject to change (will only be later, no sooner). Basic Layout: _____ <--> _____ (Enemies) _____ --> ______ (Secret Crush) _____ <--> ______ (Lovers) _____ <--> ______ (Siblings) _____ <--- ______ (Father) _____ <--> ______ (Secret Lovers) Note: These aren't the only options you can use, just a layout of how you should present your relationships. EDIT: Thanks to Mohorovicic (<3) we now have our Family Chart! Sorry for the delay my computer was briefly confiscated by my mother. This is in a spoiler due to large size.

Ticked, Boss man destroys the fake Blue Birthday as Kid throws the real jewel ala a baseball smack into the Boss's face and then explains how the real jewel has a police transmitter on it. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I----", oh sorry, wrong show. Kid then loudly proclaims that he won't stop until he finds Pandora before Snake and the others do and destroys it. The police arrive, Kid and the others split. Nakamori recovers the real jewel. Woo. "LET'S PARTY!" = "LET'S GET DRUNK!!" Realizing he only has a few minutes before midnight and the end of Aoko's birthday, Kaito, still dressed in his Kid outfit, scrambles around the city before getting a bit of inspiration while looking at buildings. Kaito calls Aoko only to have her, of course, shout at him and cry from frustration and worry. Luckily, Kaito manages to convince Aoko to look outside the window. Allowing Kaito to give Aoko a really cool one-of-a-kind magic show/birthday present. ...That wakes up the whole neighborhood. ...Including a certain little detective. Meanwhile... "Blue Birthday...Isn't someone's birthday today...?" Now for the completely original section of this episode and it's a doozy. Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we're heading for an anime original plot! Snake's boss seems to be answering to a bigger boss judging from what I'm assuming is an apology video chat for screwing up royally. MK-Anokata seems to be based somewhere in America (anyone recognize the skyline? Chicago or New York maybe?) and makes a note to contact another member known as Spider, hinted at being the world famous illusionist, Guner von Goldberg II. (EDIT: Probably an misspelling and should be "Günter" (ギュンター　= GYUNTAA) based on the Japanese subtitles on the screen.) And so ends yet another Kid special. Until next time!

Meanwhile, Kid prepares to escape to head for Aoko's party... ...only to have his only means of escape shot at and broken! "Kaito's really late..." Kid turns to confront the man who shot him on the rooftop, realizing it's the same voice as the one he heard on the phone the other night. "It's been a long time, Kaitou Kid. No..." "Toichi Kuroba!!" Kid then realizes this man known as Snake is responsible for his father's death. Failing to hand over the jewel to Snake and having no escape, Snake shoots Kid and he falls off the roof, allowing Snake to pick the jewel up from the floor. Aoko puts on a happy face as the girls leave the party put becomes depressed of course once the door is shut. Oh look, we found the plot! Snake's boss explains the tale of the Pandora jewel and how if the jewel is held up to moonlight as a certain comet passes overhead the jewel cries tears and that whoever drinks these tears gains immortality. ...Yes, this is what Magic Kaito's storyline revolves around. ...Yes, we realize this plot has more holes than Swiss cheese. Boss man is ticked to discover the Blue Birthday in his hand is a fake created by Kid as the real Kid holds the real Blue Birthday up to the moonlight. Boss man and Snake are surprised to see Kid alive. Kid explains that the bullet hit the real jewel he was hiding in his breast pocket.

It slowly dawns on Kaito what's going on after Aoko mentions her birthday and decides to tease her a little. "Aoko, are you sure you're not a guy?" Aoko isn't amused and says that she won't invite Kaito to her party then. Kaito stops joking around and says he'll come to the party and promises Aoko a magic show, much to her delight. Kaito asks what he should give her for a present, so Aoko says for him to capture Kaitou Kid. Joking aside, Aoko wonders aloud to Kaito why Kid bothers stealing since he doesn't seem to have a certain goal in mind. She comes to the conclusion Kid steals because he thinks it's fun and loves to make a mockery of her father. Kaito, unable to explain the truth to Aoko thinks about this on the way home, remarking that he isn't doing this for fun or to make fun of Nakamori. He won't stop being Kid until he gets some answers. Aoko's party begins and Keiko asks Aoko where her husband is, much to Aoko's embarrassment. Meanwhile, Nakamori explains his traps for tonight's heist to the museum director. Nakamori used Thundershock! It's super effective!! ...Except of course it's not. Kid drills a hole in the ceiling and drops a rubber dummy into the cage. Nakamori and his men freak out, turn off the power and charge at Kid, allowing Kaito to disguise as a policeman and snatch the jewel with his teeth and escape. Nakamori and the taskforce aren't too worried though since they purposely allowed Kid to steal the real jewel since they attached a transmitter to it in order to find Kid's hideout.

Yup, this is it. >_< For Tsuki-chan You can just read the description from the link.

TROLOLOL.

NetNostalgia Forum - Television (local) Skyshale033 Subject: Candle Cove local kid’s show? Does anyone remember this kid’s show? It was called Candle Cove and I must have been 6 or 7. I never found reference to it anywhere so I think it was on a local station around 1971 or 1972. I lived in Ironton at the time. I don’t remember which station, but I do remember it was on at a weird time, like 4:00 PM. mike_painter65 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? it seems really familiar to me…..i grew up outside of ashland and was 9 yrs old in 72. candle cove…was it about pirates? i remember a pirate marionete at the mouth of a cave talking to a little girl Skyshale033 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? YES! Okay I’m not crazy! I remember Pirate Percy. I was always kind of scared of him. He looked like he was built from parts of other dolls, real low-budget. His head was an old porcelain baby doll, looked like an antique that did*’t belong on the body. I don’t remember what station this was! I don’t think it was WTSF though. Jaren_2005 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? Sorry to ressurect this old thread but I know exactly what show you mean, Skyshale. I think Candle Cove ran for only a couple months in ‘71, not *72. I was 12 and I watched it a few times with my brother. It was channel 58, whatever station that was. My mom would let me switch to it after the news. Let me see what I remember. It took place in Candle cove, and it was about a little girl who imagined herself to be friends with pirates. The pirate ship was called the Laughingstock, and Pirate Percy wasn’t a very good pirate because he got scared too easily. And there was calliope music constantly playing. Don’t remember the girl’s name. Janice or Jade or something. Think it was Janice. Skyshale033 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? Thank you Jaren!!! Memories flooded back when you mentioned the Laughingstock and channel 58. I remember the bow of the ship was a wooden smiling face, with the lower jaw submerged. It looked like it was swallowing the sea and it had that awful Ed Wynn voice and laugh. I especially remember how jarring it was when they switched from the wooden/plastic model, to the foam puppet version of the head that talked. mike_painter65 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? ha ha i remember now too. do you remember this part skyshale: “you have…to go…INSIDE.” Skyshale033 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? Ugh mike, I got a chill reading that. Yes I remember. That’s what the ship always told Percy when there was a spooky place he had to go in, like a cave or a dark room where the treasure was. And the camera would push in on Laughingstock’s face with each pause. YOU HAVE… TO GO… INSIDE. With his two eyes askew and that flopping foam jaw and the fishing line that opened and closed it. Ugh. It just looked so cheap and awful. You guys remember the villain? He had a face that was just a handlebar mustache above really tall, narrow teeth. kevin_hart Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? i honestly, honestly thought the villain was pirate percy. i was about 5 when this show was on. nightmare fuel. aren_2005 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? That wasn’t the villain, the puppet with the mustache. That was the villain’s sidekick, Horace Horrible. He had a monocle too, but it was on top of the mustache. I used to think that meant he had only one eye. But yeah, the villain was another marionette. The Skin-Taker. I can’t believe what they let us watch back then. kevin_hart Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? jesus h. christ, the skin taker. what kind of a kids show were we watching? i seriously could not look at the screen when the skin taker showed up. he just descended out of nowhere on his strings, just a dirty skeleton wearing that brown top hat and cape. and his glass eyes that were too big for his skull. christ almighty. Skyshale033 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? Wasn’t his top hat and cloak all sewn up crazily? Was that supposed to be children’s skin?? mike_painter65 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? yeah i think so. rememer his mouth didn't open and close, his jaw just slid back and foth. i remember the little girl said “why does your mouth move like that” and the skin-taker did*’t look at the girl but at the camera and said “TO GRIND YOUR SKIN” Skyshale033 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? I’m so relieved that other people remember this terrible show! I used to have this awful memory, a bad dream I had where the opening jingle ended, the show faded in from black, and all the characters were there, but the camera was just cutting to each of their faces, and they were just screaming, and the puppets and marionettes were flailing spasingly, and just all screaming, screaming. The girl was just moaning and crying like she had been through hours of this. I woke up many times from that nightmare. I used to wet the bed when I had it. kevin_hart Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? i don’t think that was a dream. i remember that. i remember that was an episode. Skyshale033 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? No no no, not possible. There was no plot or anything, I mean literally just standing in place crying and screaming for the whole show. kevin_hart Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? maybe i’m manufacturing the memory because you said that, but i swear to god i remember seeing what you described. they just screamed. Jaren_2005 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? Oh God. Yes. The little girl, Janice, I remember seeing her shake. And the Skin-Taker screaming through his gnashin* teeth, his jaw careening so wildly I thought it would come off its wire hinges. I turned it off and it was the last time I watched. I ran to tell my brother and we did*’t have the courage to turn it back on. mike_painter65 Subject: Re: Candle Cove local kid’s show? i visited my mom today at the nursing home. i asked her about when i was littel in the early 70s, when i was 8 or 9 and if she remebered a kid’s show, candle cove. she said she was suprised i could remember that and i asked why, and she said “because i used to think it was so strange that you said ‘i’m gona go watch candle cove now mom’ and then you would tune the tv to static and juts watch dead air for 30 minutes. you had a big imagination with your little pirate show.” _____________________________________________________________________ I am Thomas' reflection. Every morning, he rises from sleep and walks into the bathroom...and he makes faces. I am so tired of the faces. He makes them for at least half an hour. Mocking, ridiculous faces. I have no choice but to mimic his every action, although inside I am seething with anger. He does this every day...well, used to. One morning he awoke as usual, and entered the bathroom. On this particular morning, against his will, he picked up a pair of scissors. On this particular morning, against his will, he gripped those scissors tightly in his fist...and he plunged them directly into his right eye. Thomas screamed, and screamed. I screamed and screamed too - with one difference. I can't mimic his pain. Just. His. Face. _____________________________________________________________________ The girl hurried through her schoolwork as fast as she could. It was the night of the high school dance, along about 70 years ago in the town of Kingsville, Texas. The girl was so excited about the dance. She had bought a brand new, sparkly red dress for it. She knew she looked smashing in it. It was going to be the best evening of her life. Then her mother came in the house, looking pale and determined. “You are not going to that dance,” her mother said. “But why?” the girl asked her mother. “I've just been talking to the preacher. He says the dance is going to be for the devil. You are absolutely forbidden to go,” her mother said. The girl nodded as if she accepted her mother's words. But she was determined to go to the dance. As soon as her mother was busy, she put on her brand new red dress and ran down to the K.C. Hall where the dance was being held. As soon as she walked into the room, all the guys turned to look at her. She was startled by all the attention. Normally, no one noticed her. Her mother sometimes accused her of being too awkward to get a boyfriend. But she was not awkward that night. The boys in her class were fighting with each other to dance with her. Later, she broke away from the crowd and went to the table to get some punch to drink. She heard a sudden hush. The music stopped. When she turned, she saw a handsome man with jet black hair and clothes standing next to her. “Dance with me,” he said. She managed to stammer a “yes”, completely stunned by this gorgeous man. He led her out on the dance floor. The music sprang up at once. She found herself dancing better than she had ever danced before. They were the center of attention. Then the man spun her around and around. She gasped for breath, trying to step out of the spin. But he spun her faster and faster. Her feet felt hot. The floor seemed to melt under her. He spun her even faster. She was spinning so fast that a cloud of dust flew up around them both so that they were hidden from the crowd. When the dust settled, the girl was gone. The man in black bowed once to the crowd and disappeared. The Devil had come to his party and he had spun the girl all the way to Hell. _____________________________________________________________________ There is a tunnel under the old railroad tracks just to the west of the Queen Elizabeth Way in Niagara Falls. It is known locally as the Screaming Tunnel. A path wanders through the tunnel and then up to an empty field on the hill. But the field was not always empty. At one time, a large farm house stood in the field at the top of the hill, and in it lived a happy family. Then one night, the house caught fire. A young daughter was trapped in the house, and the only way to escape was through a wall of flames. The brave young girl covered her face with her arms and ran into the fiery doorway. Her long hair and her long nightgown began to smolder as she burst through the flames and rushed out of the house. When the night air struck her smoldering clothing, it burst into flames, enveloping the girl in a raging inferno. The girl screamed in agony and ran blindly down the hill, away from the fire-stricken house. She staggered into the tunnel under the train tracks, her screams echoing and re-echoing through the night. Overcome by the flames, the girl fell to the floor of the tunnel, wailing in agony. She rolled frantically on the floor of the tunnel, trying to douse the flames, but her efforts were weak and ineffective. She was quickly overcome, and burned to death in the tunnel under the tracks. After that night, anyone that dares strike a match in the tunnel under the tracks will hear the agonized death screams of the burning girl, and a ghostly wind will instantly blow out the match. _____________________________________________________________________ When you are admitted to a hospital, they place on your wrist a white wristband with your name on it. But there are other different colored wristbands which symbolize other things. An example, the red wristbands are placed on dead people. There was one surgeon who worked on night shift in a school hospital. He had just finished an operation and was on his way down to the basement. He entered the elevator and there was just one person in there. He casually chatted with the woman while the elevator descended. When the elevator door opened, another woman was about to enter when the doctor slammed the close button and punched the button to the highest floor. Surprised, the woman reprimanded the doctor for being rude and asked why he did not let the other woman in. The doctor said, “That was the woman I just operated on. She died while I was doing the operation. Didn't you see the red wristband she was wearing?” The woman smiled, raised her arm, and said, “Something like this?” _____________________________________________________________________ “Daddy, I had a bad dream.” You blink your eyes and pull up on your elbows. Your clock glows red in the darkness -- it's 3:23. “Do you want to climb into bed and tell me about it?” “No Daddy.” The oddness of the situation wakes you up more fully. You can barely make out your daughter's pale form in the darkness of your room. “Why not sweetie?” “Because in my dream, when I told you about the dream, the thing wearing Mommy's skin sat up.” For a moment, you feel paralyzed; you can't take your eyes off of your daughter. The covers behind you begin to shift. _____________________________________________________________________ It’s been two weeks since this whole thing began. It all started with a tanker accident. It was all over the news. Everyone thought it was just another oil spill. There were plenty of volunteers. Plenty of people wanting to help the poor defenseless animals. Plenty of victims. Within hours of the tanker accident, it started happening. The animals had gone crazy, they were scratching and biting the clean-up volunteers. They said that it was an adverse effect to whatever was in that tanker. Rescue workers were still trying to get the crew out of the ship. They could hear screaming inside. Screams to open the doors. But that’* when it all went to Hell. As soon as they cut the door out. There was six minutes of broadcast before it went silent. Six minutes of screaming and agony. The ship crew attacked the rescue workers like rabid baboons. Breaking bones and tearing flesh. The people on the shore weren’t fairing any better. Those that had been attacked by animals were attacking everyone else. It was worse than any war zone report, it was sheer brutality, and yet the broadcast still went on for six minutes. Six minutes and then blank faces. Nobody could explain what was happening. They tried to continue with regular news, the economy, the weather, a cute human interest story, but they couldn’t make us un-see what we saw. I tried to continue with my regular life, but every time I switched on the news or walked by a news stand it was there. This big mystery. They had some explanations, some kind of infection, brain parasites, but it did*’t matter. It wasn’t an infection we were afraid of, it was them. Four days after the initial report, a state of emergency was raised, and yet we’d all seen this before. Every zombie movie ever. People did*’t know who to trust. They were stockpiling food and weapons. Some tried to flee but it seems that every zombie movie was right. They did*’t make it. Three days later they arrived in my town. I expected moans, shuffling corpses, dismemberment, but that’s where the movies lied. They ran through the streets, screaming. I remember running to my front door as fast as I could, locking, barricading, doing anything to make sure it would stay shut, and then I headed for the window. I was on the second story and I could see the carnage. They were unstoppable. They were aware. A group of them made their way through a building across the street. They jumped straight through plate glass windows. Even the shards slicing through them made no difference, they just kept coming. My barricade wasn’t going to hold. I rushed around my flat, grabbing supplies and jamming them into the most secure room of the flat. I went back for one last look across the street, and I wish I hadn’t. In a second story window, my face met one of theirs. They knew where I was. I quickly dashed into the room and locked the door. I don’t have any kind of panic room, or a secure basement, so the safest place I could think of was my bathroom. No windows, one door with a lock. I had filled my sink and bathtub full of water, So I could stay for a while. So I sat there in the dark room, with the distant screams in my ears. I began to feel like I may have over-reacted, it had been 2 hours and no sign of them. It actually got quieter and I thought they had moved on. Maybe I could leave the room, get to the kitchen. Grab more food to wait it out. A crash came from the front door. The sound of someone running full force into the door and knocking down the barrier behind it. There was a couple more crashes before I knew they were inside. Rapid footsteps moving around the flat, a couple screams and then a bang on the wall beside me. My eyes were open to their widest, even in the pitch black darkness of the room. Another bang, and another. They knew I was there, and they knew I was scared. This was the zombie nightmare I had been expecting from the start. I had nowhere to run. There was only so much time before they would break in. I sat with my back to the door, hoping my extra weight would make it harder for them to get in. And then it got worse. “Why don’t you open the door?” A voice on the opposite side of the door. No screams or moans, just a quiet, whispery voice. And then more of them. “We’ve come for you.” “You’ll be happier if you open the door,” “It’s not so bad…” The whispery voices, became a cacophony of noise trying to persuade me, to break me, to fool me. I had heard that the moaning of zombies would drive people insane, but this was worse, a siren call. I sat in the darkness and hoped and prayed that they’d get bored. But they don’t get bored, and they don’t leave. I managed to use the mirror to peak under the door, only to be greeted by horrible, unblinking eyes, blood smeared faces, screams and more horrible whispers. That was two days ago… I don’t know what to do anymore…maybe it won’t be so bad… _____________________________________________________________________ That thing has been there for almost a week. The figure in the window. It looks featureless, only skin on a human frame, and it's pressing itself against the glass somehow. I don't know how it got there, and I don't know how to get rid of it. At first I thought it was a prank, a doll or mannequin that some jerks put there to scare me. But I realized as I walked out of my house to pull it away...it wasn't there. I shrugged it off, thinking that someone had hidden it while I was walking through my door. But I went back in and looked out that same window, and it was looking in, staring at me. I walked around my house, yelling for whoever it was to come out, but no one was there. The thing is hairless and without clothes, and it didn't look like it actually had eyes, or even a face at all. But its head is turned towards me when I enter the room. When I sit on my computer, I can feel its faceless hatred boring into my neck. But when I turn around, it's innocently turned in a different direction. Finally, on Thursday, I tried to open the window, but it's stuck. I think the thing's hands are keeping it down. But I got a good look at its face. Its eyes and mouth are behind the skin, pushing outward. It stared at me, smiling. Of course, I screamed. I pulled back a fist and smashed it onto the glass, determined once and for all to get rid of the glaring monster. I know I'm strong enough. That glass should've cracked. But it didn't. It shuddered under my hand, but it didn't break. And that smile just got wider and wider and wider, until I thought its head would break in half. It raised its own hand and bashed the window with its palm. It was mocking me. But I saw the faintest crack begin to appear where it had hit, and I backed away. No way did I want that smile in the same room as me. So I got a roll of duct tape, and I started covering the window. I couldn't look directly at it; I nearly crapped my pants knowing it was watching me. But I couldn't help it. I took a quick glance at that skin-covered face. A small peek. It was angry. That grin was now a gaping frown full of teeth. The skin had ripped away from its mouth and I could see down its cavernous throat. A menacing rumble started to fill the house, and that hairline crack began to spread like splintering ice. I pulled down the duct tape. The rumble stopped, the split skin healed over, and it began to smile again. Now it's night, and the noise hasn't started again. There are no sounds, no rumble, no crackling glass. Everything's quiet now. I can feel its claws gripping the back of my chair. I can hear its skin stretching as it smiles. It's watching me type. _____________________________________________________________________ Jenny was on a business trip to Germany. She goes to a fancy but very old hotel--all expenses paid by her employer. It is late in the night and Jenny was sound asleep. She wakes up from some noises outside her window. She peers out the balcony and sees a horse-drawn wagon loading some passengers. Jenny thought to herself, ‘Why would there be this stuff going on in the middle of the night?’ She sees a tall, slender man wearing a top hat being the host and guiding people into the wagon. Jenny stood in the balcony watching until the last guest entered the wagon. The man then turned and looked at Jenny. He held up one finger, as though he was signaling room for one more passenger. Jenny got a little freaked, and remembered that she had a business meeting early next morning, so she went back to bed. The next morning, Jenny woke up but realized that she pounded the snooze button too many times. She quickly gets dressed and rushes out the door, and ran to catch the elevator. Unfortunately, the elevator seemed pretty full. Suddenly, she saw the tall gentleman with the top hat from last night, holding up one finger. The gentleman said, “There's room for one more.” Jenny smiled and said "I'll wait for the next one.” The elevator door closes. A few seconds later she heard a loud crash. Everybody in the elevator was doomed. _____________________________________________________________________ It’s night time. You’re in bed, trying to get some sleep. The TV is on. You’ve got it on the lowest volume setting so as you don’t wake your parents, the flickering light emitting from it is rebounding around the room, changing the shape of the shadows all around you and playing hell with your mind. Stupid you has already switched the lights off, and the switch is on the other side of the room. You’re scared. Images of demons and ghostly spectres wash through your mind, your heart pounds like the fall of a hammer on an anvil. Why oh why did you read all those Creepypastas? You kick yourself for being such an idiot, and roll over to try and get some sleep. Then it happens. Almost as soon as you close your eyes. A thump, sounding almost like it came from down the hall. You open your eyes and sit up cautiously. Probably your brother falling out of bed or something. You roll back over and shut your eyes again. Another thump. This time closer. ‘It’s my brother. Or my cat. Or my parents. Or something.’ Thump. Right outside your room. You sit up and look at the door defiantly. The TV is still on. The door stays shut. Then you have a great idea. You grab the TV remote and turn the volume up. You start to feel better as the sounds of human voices enter your ears. You roll back over and close your eyes again. Then you realise how stupid you were. Then, and only then, do you realise. If the volume’s been turned up, how are you going to hear the last thump? ___________________________________________________________________