Staring into The Mirror That Stares Back at Me, or Something

-It's Okay To Be Afraid-

Fear. A four letter word that also spells power, weakness, and acceptability. Fear is something we all carry and how we choose to carry it defines how it plagues us, or helps us.

At the beginning of 2026, I published a book called "The Mirror Stares Back". It was my second attempt at writing horror and I took a lot inspiration from modern online horror stories. Creepypastas can be a hit or miss, but there is some quality, cerebral horror stories out there if you look for them. Listening to a lot of Creepcast got me in a mood and I wrote MSB as an exploration of my own fears. These are fears I will share with you today.

-Fear of Lostness-

In the first story titled "Door Ajar" a woman is making a long drive home overnight and her car breaks down on the highway. It is late, snowing, and nobody else is on the road. If she stays in the car until sunlight-she could freeze to death, but if she gets out and walks to the nearest rest stop; she'd be walking in the dark as a vulnerable target in the middle of nowhere.

As someone who has worked many delivery jobs and driven to places I've rarely been to; the fear of being stranded is something I've always had. I don't know nothing 'bout no cars. So, if the car breaks down so will I. There's the fear of darkness, the unsettling quiet of an empty world. The fear of being watched by someone waiting to get you. The fear that you're stuck between two safe points, unable to reach either.

-Fear of a Worse Self-

"Derivative" is a science-fiction story in which a scientist manages to cross over into another version of Earth. He finds this world's version of himself and finds him to be a bit of an underachiever and a bum. This "other him" has no house of his own, no family, no career. The scientist meets a worse version of himself, basically. Made even more worse by the discovery that this "other him" is a sadistic serial killer who captures people, kills them, and takes their teeth for some sort of macabre project.

This story comes from my fear of possibilities. I always hear people talk about how different things would be if "I just took that job across the country" or if "it worked out with that person and we got together". There's always the fantasy that a different course of events would make things better, but I always feel terribly for the versions of my family and friends who got stuck with the worse version of me. The image in my head of someone running in fear from me, or being hurt by me, truly makes me sick.

-Fear of Believers-

Finally, the story "From The Other Side". This story is about a man in the 60's struggling to make ends meet and trying desperately to support his pregnant wife. As he jumps from fleeting security job to thankless bouncer work, he begins hearing the voice of an angel-he even sees its shadow in an empty room. The angel agrees to help him, but what the angel asks of him becomes increasingly malicious and potentially violent.

I am not a religious person. But I know the good and evil religion can bring to the world. At best, the lessons of God can make a person do good and help others, but some people use their belief in God to justify abhorrent acts. Violence, re-education, and blatant aggravation towards "less traditional" identities and customs. Some people use God's name as a "get out of jail free" card. Some people use it as a weapon. And the only thing scarier than someone who does evil in the name of God is someone who genuinely believes their own lies.

There's nothing wrong with being afraid or exploring your fears. You may actually find those fears easier to accept when you make something out of them. Thank you for reading and stay safe out.