To whom it may concern

The mouth of the cave did not have a door, so Sara Sue knocked lightly against the stalagmite nearest the entrance by way of announcing herself. From deeper inside there came the metallic whisper of scale moving against scale, and a voice like great boulders grinding together echoed out from the gloom.

"What?"

"Brought you some bits from the horror section at Eerie Video," she said. "Also some M&Ms and a new type of microwave popcorn."

Twin spots of fire appeared in the darkness, thirty feet off the ground and blinking hazily.

"Really?" it said. "What kind?"

"Bubble-gum wasabi, apparently."

Ongoing Verse: Pay Attention

( Read more... )

It was raining, the heavy pounding rain where the water falls in great splattering gobs of moisture and the sky is slate-grey and the street lights come on at noon and still struggle to keep the dark at bay.

Marshall Teller looked through the streaming kitchen window at the half-drowned back yard beyond, and grinned. There was a box and a half of brownie mix at the back of the cupboard, a nearly-full jar of peanut butter in the refrigerator, and a stack of rented horror movies in the living room, which is where they would stay since his father would almost certainly not want to return them to Eerie Video in this weather.

He crept up the stairs, careful not to make any undue noise that might stir his parents or his sister, and retrieved his walkie-talkie from beneath a pile of discarded bedclothes.

"Simon," he whisper-hissed, pressing hard on the big red "talk" button. "You awake? Over."

A burble of static on the other end confirmed that, yes, Simon was awake, though perhaps not fully if the slightly muffled response was any indication.

"Come 'round the back," said Marshall. "Everyone's asleep, we can call dibs on the TV."

Ongoing Verse: Teller Family History

( Read more... )

Ongoing Verse: Trusted Associates Inc

( Read more... )

The sky was a dark and louring grey, pressing close against the rain-slick roof-tiles of the huddled buildings so that the entire world seemed subsumed in sodden, slate-coloured wool.

Tod McNulty stood beneath the newly-hung canopy outside Eerie Video, listening to the patter of droplets bouncing off the drum-tight fabric that stretched overhead in a gory riot of blacks and reds. Behind him the shop lights glowed a warm and inviting gold, spilling over the damp pavement like melted butter.

He turned the sign to "open" and went inside to start the popcorn maker. Today would be a good day.

Ongoing Verse: Janet

( Read more... )

Ongoing Verse: Weather

( Read more... )

I used quarantine to make my kids a video store. Physical media forever, indeed. pic.twitter.com/QXuLJIHuYU

— Eric Branscum (@ericbranscum) May 7, 2020

Man, and I didn't even look off to the side. There's Eerie, Indiana. This is already better than any real Blockbuster.

— KSLawWolf (@KSLawWolf) May 9, 2020

Marilyn slid the grilled cheeses out of the oven, admiring the deep brown crust that had just begun to form at the edges of the bread. The microwave pinged and she reached over to hit the door release button, unleashing a cloud of steam that filled the kitchen with the savoury-sweet scent of tomato soup. She pulled one of the lap trays out from the stack behind the bread bin, carefully wiping away the thin layer of flour that had accumulated since the last time they were used.

In quick, practiced motions, Marilyn transferred the food onto it, adding a glass of cloudy apple juice into which she'd poured a generous amount of honey.

The sour cream sat on the counter, warming a little in the radiating heat of the stove. She dipped a teaspoon into it and used it to draw a smiley face on the cooling surface of the soup, humming a poem she remembered her mother singing over similar sick-day lunches.

Picking the whole thing up, she nudged the door to the living room open with her toe and eased through it, letting it swing shut behind her.

"How're you feeling, sweetheart?" she asked.

Swaddled in a pile of blankets, propped up on throw pillows and sofa cushions, Simon croaked something that might have been, "Fine, Mrs. Teller". It was obviously a lie; his nose was red-raw from repeated wipings and his were eyes bleary with the same cold Marilyn had only just gotten over.

She set the tray down on the coffee table in front of him and gestured to a stack of black VHS cases, all of them bearing the logo of Eerie Video.

"How about a movie?" she said. "What are you in the mood for?"

Simon noticed the green "horror" sticker, and smiled.

Ongoing Verse: Teller Family History

( Read more... )

Ongoing Verse: Trusted Associates Inc

( Read more... )

Humor me for a hot second...

A Netflix spinoff of stranger things starring Robin and Steve encountering supernatural and weirdness through the encounters at the video store.

Think eerie Indiana combined with Friday the 13th the series

— ⚙️Trasuf🔅ma⚙️ (@Trasufoma) August 28, 2019

I'm heartbroken that the Teryaki place next to my new house is actually out of business 😣😣😣😣 but we did find a pizza place that does an all you can eat buffet! ALSO just up the street is a K-Mart AAAAAND A VIDEO STORE! AN ACTUAL VIDEO STORE

— YUMA (@yumabooma) October 15, 2018

I think you are in Eerie, Indiana circa when Eerie, Indiana was a show.

— tryinasmilemore (@SalvadorViescaV) October 16, 2018

A fully-functional #VHS #rentalshop in someone's house?! It's real, and it rules. Full story and pics here: https://t.co/hf5cegiMDA #horror pic.twitter.com/mpN6yacmYj

— Lunchmeat VHS (@LunchmeatVHS) May 15, 2017