Two really great horror stories that do what good horror does so well: makes you think about dark places, and then, slow and majestic and horrifying, takes you there.
Going the Jerusalem Mile – Chaz Brenchley
This story is as obsidious as it is insidious. My wife and I share a peculiar approach to religion: it scares the bejezus (excuse me, that’s my pun you’re stepping on) out of us. The only horror movies that scare her involve religion. Religion frightens me the way a shadow would – it’s presence at the best of times is unnerving; but if it moved toward me, I’d have a heart attack. This is a story about religion, obsession, and it’s final perfect form: worship.
The Machine of a Religious Man – Ralph Robert Moore
The voice and characterization in this story turn something simple into something just plain ole sad. Nothing worse than plain ole sadness.
Both can be found in ‘The Years Best Fantasy and Horror 2006‘, and likely a few other places as well.
