Where'd You Come Up With That? Wednesdays! ~ One Man's Trash

 I'm back! And feeling a bit better. 💪

Today's story is "One Man's Trash." The story is in my Ebook, Stories to Wrap Your Mind Around: Volume 3

You can also find the book at this link

The stories in this volume include:

Grandma's Scrapbook: Grandma’s bags are packed, and she is ready for a death vacation.

Destination...3009: Jim finishes building his time machine and is ready to see what advances the future has to offer, but he is stunned by what he doesn't find.

My Friend, Clarence: Jeremy knows intimate details about the murders of several young girls. He claims his friend, Clarence, is the perp. The only problem--Clarence is Jeremy’s imaginary friend,

The Weed Whisperer: Simon is a gardening guru. Weeds never dare to grow in his garden or flowerbeds, but Simon learns that weeds will attack if provoked.

One Man's Trash: Sometimes a good deal isn't always what it seems.

I wrote this for a contest on Writing.com. The prompt was a horror story involving a hat. So, I'm not great at straight-out, scary, spine-chilling horror, but If I can sprinkle in a little dark humor, I'm in. ❤😊

The story revolves around two friends, Ryan and Dan, who find an interesting old hat left behind in their new rental apartment. The duo soon find out the hat is evil, and once it's on your head... Well, you have to read the story to find out!

Sometimes, people leave things behind or throw them out for a reason. So, the old adage about one man's trash being someone else's treasure may not always be true! And that's where the idea for this story originated in the interworking of my brain.

The story is light horror, sprinkled with some dark comedy. 

Here's an excerpt: 

“The last tenants left some stuff. Mr. Lang said he’d come by and get it later this week,” Ryan yelled from the bedroom.

“It’s got little pieces of masking tape on everything. Twenty-five cents...a dime...this stuff came from a garage sale or something.” Dan rummaged through the boxes.

Ryan came running back down the hall. “Don’t touch that stuff. It’s not ours.”

“Look at this cool hat. Twenty- five cents.” Dan put it on his head. “Look at me, I'm Frosty the snowman.”

“Cut it out, Dan. Put that stuff back.”

 “Abracadabra, alakazaam!”

“You’re not funny, put it back.”

 “I can’t, it won’t come off my head.” Dan pulled at the hat. “I said cut it out.”

“Ryan, dude, I’m not joking, and it’s squeezing my head.”

Ryan turned when he heard Dan screaming in pain. He sprinted over to Dan and tried pulling on the hat, but it had formed a strong seal around his head.

Dan fell to the floor writhing in pain. “GET...IT...OFF!”

Ryan pulled at the hat again. A dusty, cloud of steam began to rise from under the hat. He backed up, gagging as the stench of burnt hair and flesh filled his nostrils

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Happy Reading!