Another week of awesome and unexpected tales is done. Thank you all for participating!

Entries:

• Cameron Lawton | @CameronLawton
• Chessny Silth | @ChessnySilth
• JB Lacaden | @jblearnstowrite
• Cagney | @Poseurs_DC
• Lisa McCourt Hollar | @jezri1
• Jeffrey Hollar | @Klingorengi
• Emmie Mears | @emmiemears
• Robin Abess | @Angelique_Rider
• Wakefield Mahon | @WakefieldMahon
• Susi | @SJIHolliday
• Mark Ethridge | @LurchMunster
• Bronwyn Sciance | @KelseyPotter13
• Ryan Strohman | @rastrohman
• Charles W Jones | @ChuckWesJ
• Robert Mahone | @Computilizer
• David A Ludwig | @DavidALudwig
• Ruth Long | @bullishink
• ML Gammella | @MLGammella
• Nellie Batz | @solimond
• Alissa Leonard | @lissajean7

 

On to the Winners!

 

Honorable Mention

Charles W Jones | @ChuckWesJ

Joe Says: Brother used fewer than 200 words and set a perfectly eerie tone with every one…like a Twilight Zone that Rod Serling totally wishes he would have thought of.  Only he can’t.  On account of that whole “no longer being alive thing” he has going on right now.  So: Charles for the win.  Boom. [read more]

 

Week 43 Judge’s Pet

Robin Abess | @Angelique_Rider

Joe Says: I hadn’t really thought of the phrase as being a story opener; really more of a closer in my mind, and with far more suggestive overtones.  Then Robin used it to open a little folk tale reminiscence from Grandpa Joe (she’s awfully good at choosing names, too, I must say) and the whole thing took a turn for the awesome.  Now I’ll have to rethink using it to finish up that dirty joke I’ve been working on…the one about the pirate who “loses” his peg leg in a “brothel” full of drunk “mermaids”.  Damn.

Memorial Park

“It wasn’t the first time I’ve found one of those in there.” Grandpa lit his pipe, preparing to tell us another one of his stories. We settled in eagerly, for we always loved Grandpa Joe’s tales.

“It was a cold, stormy night and we weren’t expectin’ any trouble at the Memorial Park. Mitch and me had been playin’ poker for hours, just tryin’ to stay warm and dry in our little shack. We didn’t even bother tryin’ to talk, ‘cause it was too noisy. There came a lull after awhile and I heard somethin’ out in the park. I was afraid they were back, and I was right.”

Grandpa paused for a moment, remembering.

“We got up and peered out into the park, and we could see men standing around at every row of memorial plaques. They were pale, wearin’ odd looking slickers, helmets and carryin’ guns. A flash of lightenin’ lit up the sky, and I locked eyes with the one nearest us. Mitch says ‘Got a bad feeling about this Joe’. They all started moanin’ and that’s when I had my heart attack. “

He paused again, smiling. “They’re not bad fellows, when you get to know ‘em.”

 

Week 43 Champ

Wakefield Mahon | @WakefieldMahon

Joe Says: Nazi vampires?  Holy whoa, folks.  If Bram Stoker and Woody Allen met on a train to Hoboken and brainstormed an historical horror tale over cheese danish and Peets, this is what I would hope for the results to be.  It has action, it has chills…it has fantastic ideological, philosophical and folkloric presence in such a small written span.  And as both a vampire and a descendant of the Jewish faith – despite being relatively non-practicing of both – I’ve gotta say this has special significance.  A beautiful twist at the end for the fallen Jewish soldiers get their long-overdue vengeance – and as golem, no less.  This would make my bubbe (God rest her soul) so happy.  So, yeah…this one wins.

Rise of the Fourth Reich

“They keep coming, Deborah!”

“Hold your ground, Rick. We’ll send those bastards back to Hell where they came from.”

Hell or a lab, semantics wasn’t really important. Some sycophantic skinhead found a way to raise Hitler as a vampire. I’d kill the idiot myself if I could, but he was the Fuhrer’s first meal.

The pallid faced soldiers in their tattered SS uniforms swarmed toward us. Even with magic and silver bullets on our side, they were too much.

“Alright Rick, fall back to your seven.”

Rick glanced back. “Into a cemetery, are you nuts?”

“Just trust me.” The statues loomed over the headstones in a solemn yet somehow heroic display of remembrance. Finally, good luck. It wasn’t the first time I’ve found one of those in here, but seeing them massed together could only mean one thing.

“I’ve got a peaceful feeling about this Rick.”

“Are you crazy? We’re being changed by Nazi vampires into a graveyard of creepy looking statues.How can you be at peace?”

“Because, my friend, those aren’t ordinary graves. Those are the graves of fallen Jewish soldiers. Those statues you’re afraid of are…” How long I had waited to say the word again “Golem.”

 

Congratulations, Robin and Wakefield! Claim your badges and display them with pride! (If you need any alterations for color/background, just let me know, or check the #MenageMonday page for a white background version).

Pass on the great news. Google Plus, Twitter, FB, smoke signals. I’m not picky. Check out all of this week’s offerings here, and be sure to come back next #MenageMonday!