Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

Ther e was his father , kneeling by a small tr ee dr aping thin str ands of silver tinsel
over the tw isted w ir e and gr een acetate br anches. His dad held out a hand towar ds
him, offer ing a shiny bauble fr om an old shoebox. The per spective suddenly shifted
and he saw himself, a young boy smiling at his dad, r eaching out to him, his ar ms
outstr etched. He could feel their hands touching but was jer ked back to the pr esent
as he felt the shop assistant placing the tr ee topper in his hands. The attentive
r etailer gave the impr ession of mild concer n but was given assur ance he was fine,
that all was w ell, that he was over come by the cold outside and the heat of the shop.
He paid and left hur r iedly, the tinkling door bell mar king his exit. He falter ed on the
door step as, for a br ief second, he hear d a faint but distantly familiar r asping voice
loudly announcing that it was Chr istmas. The exper ience had so affected him that
his only thought was to r est for a w hile and he looked ar ound, the line of small
shops on either side sw itching their lights off in sequence, funnelling him towar ds a
building at the end of the str eet. He hur r ied towar ds it suddenly keen to shelter
fr om the chill air that had ar r ived w ith nightfall.
He was so distr acted that he failed to notice the oddity of the flat-r oofed pub until
he was upon it. He paused, star ing at the br ight pink car dboar d sign in the w indow
announcing the Chr istmas Eve star tur n and pr omising a fr ee buffet and r evelr y.
His hand gr ipped the painted scaffold tube handr ail that led to the door way. He
paused and br eathed deep, taking in the distantly familiar odour of stale beer and
cigar ettes; he felt a war m glow somew her e deep in his chest and pushed open the
door. It was as he imagined it w ould be. A lar ge over -lit r oom, br ow n chipped
For mica tables and a small stage w ith a fr ayed and taped glitter y cur tain behind. A
handful of lone dr inker s sat at individual tables, pints of flat br ow n beer war ming
in fr ont of them. He or der ed a dr ink and a packet of peanuts, w hich the bar man
plucked fr om a sheet of car dboar d behind the bar , fur ther compr omising a smiling
young lady?s modesty. He took his place on a shiny vinyl cor ner bench, placing his
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