Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

T he D ead Millennium
by JL Flannery
The Dead Millennium is a traditional ghost story with literal and
metaphorical ghosts from the past. NYE 1999 was fraught with anxiety
as the threat of the Y2K Millennium Bug loomed large over the nation's
celebrations of hope and optimism for the future, making it a perfect
setting for a Christmas ghost story.
Sam l ay on t he sof a, paper cr ow n at a dr unk en angl e, t he gl ow of t he
tel evi si on f l ashi ng acr oss hi s f ace i n t he dar k ness. Outside, the gr ound was dead
and har d, chur ch bells echoed thr ough bar e str eets, cold air r attled the letter box.
Next door , his w ife clear ed away plates fr om the table w hilst in this r oom his
daughter sat on the floor near the Chr istmas tr ee, gr avy stains on her dr ess,
clutching a pack of cr ayons in her hand.
Typical, Sam thought, all that money spent on expensive plastic and all she wants to
play with is paper and pens.
Sam star ed at the r ainbow scr ibbles on the page tr ying to decipher them. Sensing
she was being watched, Chloe tur ned to look at her daddy and gave a r osy-cheeked
smile. Sam felt a pain in his chest the way he always did w henever she looked at
him. He got up fr om the sofa and leaned in over her.
"Chloe, w hat?s that you?r e dr aw ing?"
She pointed at the gr een tr iangle on the page. "That?s the Chr istmas tr ee w ith all
the lights on."
"And w hat about that shape ther e?" He pointed at the r ed squar e next to it.
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