You are a fifth-grade girl who comes home from school to find a doll on your front porch. The doll looks like you, is dressed like you, and there is something about the eyes. Who left it? Why is it here? And what makes this doll so special?
19 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Learning how to wiggle your ears is really hard. But you can do it if you keep trying. And if you learn to keep trying, no problem is too big. So if you can wiggle your ears, you can do anything!
This is as close as I can come to a good Halloween story. It was originally published at BewilderingStories.com in Issue 612, and was an Editors’ Choice in the 2015 First Quarterly Review. It’s also included in my book Stories Short and Strange, available on this website and Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle versions (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bob+welbaum&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss). By the
When I was a cadet at the Air Force Academy, and a new class entered one year in the fall, there was one 4th classman (freshman) who stood out. He showed up with about two rows of ribbons on his uniform. By comparison, the rest of us normally had two total — the National Defense
Recently I mentioned that Disney author/historian Jim Korkis has released two new books — Vault of Walt Volume 9: Halloween Edition and Hidden Treasures of the Disney Cruise Line. From the Embarrassment of Riches Department — Jim is also releasing Secret Stories of EXTINCT Walt Disney World. Like so much of our lives today, it was
Day to day, we use methods that seem to meet our needs perfectly well. Then something upsets our routine and we have to find different ways of operating. And sometimes we realize the new ways are better than the old. Ever since I entered the teaching profession, I’ve been hearing how many elements of our
I’ve found another unknown chapter in the sordid U.S. history of systemic racism — in the 1830s until the Civil War, neither runaway slaves nor free Blacks were safe in New York City. This story actually begins with the Constitution. Article IV Section 2 contains the (now obsolete) “Fugitive Slave Clause” — “No Person held
What if you’re a freelance food writer, observing the restaurant culture of Atlanta, Georgia, and suddenly you’re stuck at home like everyone else? How do you cope? You could open a restaurant… for a chipmunk. For Angela Hansberger, this strategy started when her uncle, owner of a bowling center in Ohio that COVID-19 shut down,
Stir-crazy from avoiding COVID-19? If you’re a Disney fan, help is on the way! Veteran Disney author/historian Jim Korkis and editor Bob McLain have announced two new books — Just in time for Halloween is Vault of Walt 9: Halloween Edition: Spooky Stories of Disney Films, Theme Parks, and Things That Go Bump In the
Have you ever seen a problem and think “Someone should do something about that”? Dutch fashion designer Bas Timmer was starting a career as a cold weather-gear specialist in 2014 when he saw a homeless man one cold night. He could’ve given the man one of his signature fashion hoodies, but what would’ve that done
We seem to have fallen into a trap. The warmer our climate gets, the more refrigeration we need to cool both us and our perishables (already we have an estimated 3.5 billion refrigerators and air conditioners), which means generating more energy, which has always meant releasing more greenhouse gases. What if there was a way
How many unused items do you own? The city of Berlin, Germany estimates that every household has almost 250 unused items. This is a real problem considering Berlin has a goal of eventually becoming a zero-waste city. So how do you get people to reuse items when it’s so easy to find replacements? One idea
