Beyond the Grave

A Short Story Anthology

Since time immemorial, humans have wondered about the existence of life after death. We all know we are going to die. But what happens after that? The inevitability of death makes us ponder on the uncertainty of the unknown—the afterlife, spirituality, and religion—whether we just fade to dust or if there is an afterlife. And what would happen in this continued existence? Would there be a heaven and hell? Purgatory? Reincarnation? Another realm entirely?

Within this anthology, we have twenty-four diverse stories from authors all written from the perspective of the dead—ghosts, demons, gods, and the Grim Reaper himself—exploring the endless and fascinating possibilities of what we imagine could happen after we die.

I open my eyes, mouth slightly dropping as I listen to the sound of the train disappearing into the distance. I run my hands over my body—still here. Still solid. How? I look down to check I’m still standing on the tracks, as if I’ve somehow impossibly stepped away from them.

“Oh god.” I fall to my knees, my hands coming to my face to hide my eyes from the blood and the body parts surrounding me. “I’m dead. I’m actually dead.”

Suicide Sadness

by

Lozzi Counsell

Heavy footsteps thud up the stairs. I start in my sleep, and the door creaks open as soon as I sit up. Terror overcomes me. I don’t remember going to bed. The last thing I remember was the phone ringing. The phone that didn’t work was ringing. And now it’s suddenly dark and I’m in bed. Am I losing time? Or am I losing my mind?

Manifestation

by

Natalie Rix

“Well, boy, let’s go meet your new co-workers.” Hadley laughed and guided him gently across the muddy ground, towards the three tents set up not far away.

They stopped outside the rear opening of the tent a sign proclaimed was the Big Top. A pair of men were standing by the open flaps, sharing a joke while they smoked their cigarettes.

“Marty, Lefty, this here’s Horatio,” Hadley said by way of introduction. “I’ve given him a job here. He’ll be working under you guys. If he does well while we’re here, we might take him on the road with us.”

The one identified as Lefty nodded curtly. “Replacement for that Rodney kid?”

Mr Hadley's Circus

by

Steven Streeter

If I’d known what I know now, I’d never have done it. I wonder how many other people that thought has visited throughout the ages. My guess… lots of us. What’s that song? A fine line between pleasure and pain? It can be a fine line between actions that don’t matter and those that will change your destiny. Between wisdom and folly. Between life and death.

The Girl in the Attic

by

Robin Craig

The power of the shell blast shook the ground beneath me. Everything went black, and smoke and dust filled my lungs. It must have thrown me off my feet because I found I was lying on the damp ground and couldn’t remember how I had got there. I dragged myself up and looked around for the others, but everything was in chaos. Where moments before there had been a trench, cramped and bustling with life, now there was only a great scorched scar in the earth, blackened at the edges, with gruesome patches of red and khaki green spread across it. I put a hand to my chest, my head, my arms and legs. Everything was intact.

Pro Patria Mori

by

Catherine Brennan

Kneeling to accommodate her daughter’s height, Victoria held the girl’s small face firmly in her hands to ensure eye contact and asked, “Who has been talking to you, child?”

“The people. They want our home. Then there’s the scary woman. She says we have to go and she can move us on. She said she may even do so... tonight!”

Home Sweet Home

by

Cynthia Goguen

He felt a jolt and looked down to see his body sliding down his legs like a pair of over-sized trousers with broken suspenders. He was standing in his own chest. He tried to lift his leg but his foot remained embedded in the body on the floor. He tried the other leg and again failed to extricate himself. Growing frantic, he leapt upward, going all the way through the ceiling before being yanked back down. What the hell just happened?

Four Meters

by

Lamont Turner

“I’m hit,” Bischoff said as Caleb scrambled down the valley, covering the first few metres on all fours before he found the coordination to get his legs beneath him and lurch into a half crouch, half run for the nearest cover.

Bullets pinged from the rock and sank into the soil. Breathing heavily, his hands shaking as he checked for wounds, Caleb looked around for the others.

Blood in the Sand

by

Atsie Newt