27 Comments

I thought degloving was the worst thing that could happen with a ring. I was wrong.

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I came here to say this! 😆

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All things considered, they might have been better off experiencing a simple degloving.

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I would prefer the degloving.

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There's a lesson here, two actually:

"Don't go into strange buildings with a crazy lady," and "Make sure your sacrifice doesn't remove the object that makes her a sacrifice."

There's a bonus lesson as well, "Don't wrestle around with the cursed object in your hand. You never know when it could be turned on you."

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The villain of the story skipped a lesson or two on how to be a more effective villain. 😊

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they always make the same mistake though, dont they, these villains mwoohahah

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this is definitely a thing - the cursed powers turn upon the person trying to use them for evil purposes - somehow it just seems right, doesnt it. I mean... if the ritual had gone to plan the story would ust instantly be over, wouldnt it.

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OK, zoom in on the ring plunge, fuckin' ow. Loved the story. A little California Scooby Do style spooky. A little camp. One of the students (I'm just assuming they're college freshmen) is some sorta wannabe influencer. The teacher is insane. I don't know what I was expecting but an evil professor was definitely a heel turn. Loved it.

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Thanks. I'm happy you enjoyed it.

You're right. They are all college students in a fictional California town, San Cristobal, that is a setting in some of my other horror stories.

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Love it. San Cristobal!

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So good! I’m always down for witchcraft! Hopefully Zoe can resist the life force those rings are charged with…

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Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the story.

(Zoe definitely doesn't want to find out what happens if she releases all the life force bound in those rings.)

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What an ending. I was not expecting that. Gave me goose bumps.

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Glad you enjoyed the twist. It's always hard to know as an author if you'll stick the landing since you usually know the story from start to finish.

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5 gold rings woulda been my second pick for a story prompt but i am happy you got it this time. Nasty stuff. Well done John.

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Thank you. The moral of the story is that extra credit assignments aren't worth the hassle. 😊

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Lol - indeed never

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Great work, John. I love the direction you took with this and that it's in a similar vein to your novels.

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Thanks, Hanna. I had a feeling you would enjoy how the final act twist mirrors The Crimson Reaper on a smaller scale.

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Yeah. I really enjoyed that teenage vibe. It reminds me so much of those horror stories from the 90s and 00s. This is definitely your bag, and it reminds me of Joss Whedon. Horror within such a vulnerable age group.

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I was a huge fan of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel when I was in college, so it makes sense that Joss Whedon's storytelling style has rubbed off on me a bit.

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Horror served with urban exploration, a mad professor, and gullible youths? Yes, please! A delightfully dark adventure.

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Thank you. You can tell I've been watching too many urban exploring videos on YouTube lately. 😊

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some of these are scary as hell...

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sinister and satisfying does anything good ever come with golden rings we wonder... i was desperately hoping josiah would make an appearance... can we have part 2....??? 😎

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Thank you.

Definitely room for a Part 2. Josiah's fate was intentionally ambiguous (partially because my original plans for him in the story didn't work).

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