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pokerfan

(27,677 posts)
57. Divided by Infinity by Robert Charles Wilson
Sat Jun 16, 2012, 01:17 PM
Jun 2012

Which you can read here.

I

In the year after Lorraine’s death I contemplated suicide six times. Contemplated it seriously, I mean: six times sat with the fat bottle of Clonazepam within reaching distance, six times failed to reach for it, betrayed by some instinct for life or disgusted by my own weakness.

I can’t say I wish I had succeeded, because in all likelihood I did succeed, on each and every occasion. Six deaths. No, not just six. An infinite number.

Times six.

There are greater and lesser infinities.

But I didn’t know that then.

The one I have in mind is more scary than creepy, but it is really good. CaliforniaPeggy Jun 2012 #1
Good call! I think about that one all the time when I'm walking dark dirt petronius Jun 2012 #2
Good one. A whole planet as a haunted house. n/t sarge43 Jun 2012 #13
We Have Always Lived in the Castle HarveyDarkey Jun 2012 #3
Shirley Jackson was a master - ok, mistress - kimi Jun 2012 #5
That she is HarveyDarkey Jun 2012 #6
Ah, yes. Demoiselle Jun 2012 #33
I hated the lottery. She totally had me fooled. applegrove Jun 2012 #65
First time I read The Lottery I was maybe 12. alphafemale Jun 2012 #70
I like The Monkey Treatment by George RR Martin aint_no_life_nowhere Jun 2012 #4
I did not know Martin wrote that CBGLuthier Jun 2012 #14
The Mark of the Beast GoneOffShore Jun 2012 #7
A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner Art_from_Ark Jun 2012 #8
This was my answer. EastTennesseeDem Jun 2012 #24
Way back when HeiressofBickworth Jun 2012 #9
Ramsay Campbell is a genius at scary short stories. closeupready Jun 2012 #10
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson loyalsister Jun 2012 #11
Couldn't Agree More RobinA Jun 2012 #20
7th grade? loyalsister Jun 2012 #30
Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown sarge43 Jun 2012 #12
I wrote a paper on that story in college. RiffRandell Jun 2012 #15
Anything by Shirley Jackson annonymous Jun 2012 #16
Specimen 313 pipi_k Jun 2012 #17
"In the Land of the Lawn Weenies" HopeHoops Jun 2012 #18
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison YankeyMCC Jun 2012 #19
That would be my candidate as well rox63 Jun 2012 #28
That was a good one, but for me, nothing beats "Sensible City" for creepiness. Aristus Jun 2012 #52
"The Breathing Method" by Stephen King mentalsolstice Jun 2012 #21
The Small Assassin creeped me out as a kid. nolabear Jun 2012 #22
Poe...any of Poe's short stories. n/t Raven Jun 2012 #23
Was wondering when someone would mention Poe! pink-o Jun 2012 #37
I'll second Edgar Allen Poe Trailrider1951 Jun 2012 #25
My favorite too! n/t Raven Jun 2012 #68
"The Nine Billion Names Of God" by Arthur C. Clarke. (nt) Paladin Jun 2012 #26
Yep. (nt) Posteritatis Jun 2012 #31
"Hinterlands" by William Gibson LeftOfSelf-Centered Jun 2012 #27
Lots of great suggestions above (O'Connor, Jackson, Faulkner, Poe); here's a couple more... Tom Ripley Jun 2012 #29
both of these suggestions are great, 2 of the scariest stories ever written pitohui Jun 2012 #48
Kafka's "In The Penal Colony" surrealAmerican Jun 2012 #32
That gets my vote as well. harmonicon Jun 2012 #79
The recently deceased Ray Bradbury had one KamaAina Jun 2012 #34
That WAS a horror-filled story -- I think it was made into a short B&W British film. MiddleFingerMom Jun 2012 #36
I seem to remember this one differently. surrealAmerican Jun 2012 #39
She was from Earth originally KamaAina Jun 2012 #59
What's "horror" about that? I don't get it. nt Honeycombe8 Jun 2012 #41
i guess you had to be there pitohui Jun 2012 #45
It sounds like "All Summer in a Day" frogmarch Jun 2012 #53
DING DING DING! KamaAina Jun 2012 #60
"All Summer in a Day". Made me cry. nolabear Jun 2012 #58
DING DING DING! KamaAina Jun 2012 #61
Kafka's Metamorphosis lunatica Jun 2012 #35
+1. Eew. N/t pink-o Jun 2012 #38
and strangely the part where he's crippled breaks your heart pitohui Jun 2012 #47
I was thinking more of it as a creepy story lunatica Jun 2012 #50
he was probably born thinking of himself that way pitohui Jun 2012 #51
As a parent I would feel that my child's physical problem were my fault lunatica Jun 2012 #56
Stephen King's "Lawnmower Man" I think it's called. Honeycombe8 Jun 2012 #40
EVERY story in that collection is great. Frank Cannon Jun 2012 #66
The Monkey's Paw frogmarch Jun 2012 #42
Be Careful What you Wish For. nt alphafemale Jun 2012 #69
"The Rats in the Walls" H P Lovecraft or many others by that strange genius n/t dimbear Jun 2012 #43
The House of Asterion is pretty creepy Zorro Jun 2012 #44
there's a book by peter straub full of them, houses without doors pitohui Jun 2012 #46
The stuff in the books by Alvin Schwartz. sakabatou Jun 2012 #49
The Cask of Amontillado from Poe nytemare Jun 2012 #54
'The thousand injuries of Fortunado lovemydog Jun 2012 #63
Noche Boca Arriba by Julio Cortazar Common Sense Party Jun 2012 #55
Divided by Infinity by Robert Charles Wilson pokerfan Jun 2012 #57
"The Wendigo" by Algernon Blackwood terrified me as a child Glorfindel Jun 2012 #62
The Willows by Algernon Blackwood aint_no_life_nowhere Jun 2012 #64
"The Judge's House," by Bram Stoker really creeped me out. raccoon Jun 2012 #67
This wasn't read but "Blink" in the Dr Who series was very creepy. The angel.. BlueJazz Jun 2012 #71
This one Major Nikon Jun 2012 #72
The last man in the world sat alone in a room. eppur_se_muova Jun 2012 #73
The Lottery WilliamPitt Jun 2012 #74
Do you like TheTwilight Zone?- MerryBlooms Jun 2012 #75
I think it was called "The Lottery" AsahinaKimi Jun 2012 #76
*** spoiler alert above **** IcyPeas Jun 2012 #78
"The Mist" by Stephen King. Johnny Rico Jun 2012 #77
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