Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Oh, Deadly Night: Dead Oaks
    Oh, Deadly Night: Dead Oaks
    Oh, Deadly Night: Dead Oaks
    Ebook116 pages1 hour

    Oh, Deadly Night: Dead Oaks

    By Rena Marin and Skylar McKinzie

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Christmas has come to the sleepy, little town of Dead Oaks. The children's laughter fills the streets as the joy of the season distracts the townspeople of the horrors they have recently faced. But joy never lasts long in Dead Oaks.

    Christmas Eve night doesn't bring the gifts and happiness they expect. Instead, something evil walks the streets while the town slumbers. It has come home for revenge. It feeds on their sadness. Most of all, it has returned for the children.

    Will the darkest night in Dead Oaks history ever end or will the evil find a way to sleigh them all?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrazy Ink
    Release dateDec 14, 2020
    ISBN9781393340294
    Oh, Deadly Night: Dead Oaks

    Read more from Rena Marin

    Related to Oh, Deadly Night

    Related ebooks

    Horror Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Killed For Walking A Dog

      Sep 21, 2022

      Killed For Walking A Dog
      16 min read

    • Article

      Announcing the Winners Of Our 100-WORD CONTEST

      Jul 17, 2021

      Eager to try your hand at the 100-word genre? Submit your best work – fiction or nonfiction – in just 100 words in our second annual 100-Word Contest, returning this fall. Bookmark writermag.com/contests for more information. BY ALICIA LUNA Today, I

      5 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reading Guide

      Jan 2, 2022

      Summer Reading Guide
      6 min read

    • Article

      Drawn to THE MOORS

      Feb 8, 2022

      Drawn to THE MOORS
      11 min read

    • Article

      Planof Action

      Oct 5, 2021

      Planof Action
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Touch Of Summer

      Sep 7, 2020

      Leila had found a place she could go. A sandy cove, a short cycle ride from her flat, where she could spread out her beach towel, put on her headphones and watch the sea lap up onto the shore. She wasn’t sure what kept this spot so quiet, when the ot

      5 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dance with Me

      Sep 17, 2021

      Dance with Me
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Last Friend on Earth

      May 4, 2023

      It was as if Doreen Saunders had been waiting for me, passing the time until my arrival. She might as well have been sitting in a rocking chair, knitting needles clicking, jam tarts cooling on the side, the door wide open, waiting for the next visito

      6 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Oct 18, 2024

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Blue ICE

      Dec 12, 2023

      Blue ICE
      6 min read

    • Article

      Plan of ACTION

      Oct 3, 2023

      Plan of ACTION
      6 min read

    • Article

      Coffee LOVERS

      Jan 31, 2023

      Coffee LOVERS
      6 min read

    • Article

      Summer at BEACON BAY HEIGHTS

      Aug 16, 2023

      Summer at BEACON BAY HEIGHTS
      9 min read

    • Article

      Blue ICE

      Dec 8, 2021

      Blue ICE
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Nanny

      Dec 15, 2019

      There isn’t much in the house,” Mary said. “I’m sorry.” Kayla looked around, shrugged. “I’m not even that hungry.” Mary set the table, bright Fiestaware on place mats alongside fringed cloth napkins. They ate microwave pizzas. “Gotta have something a

      21 min read

    • Article

      A Strange REQUEST

      Sep 30, 2020

      A Strange REQUEST
      6 min read

    • Article

      Australia Reads At Home

      May 18, 2020

      Australia Reads At Home
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Lonely Hearts CHRISTMAS

      Nov 27, 2024

      A Lonely Hearts CHRISTMAS
      9 min read

    • Article

      Last Love

      Dec 8, 2023

      Last Love
      13 min read

    • Article

      ‘The End of the Day’: Featured Fiction from Bill Clegg

      Sep 30, 2020

      An excerpt from a novel Kirkus called "A moody, atmospheric domestic drama with a mystery novel somewhere in its family tree." The post ‘The End of the Day’: Featured Fiction from Bill Clegg appeared first on The Millions.

      12 min read

    • Article

      The Stonemason’s Wife

      Sep 1, 2020

      JOLINA HAS been hearing voices of men she’s never met. Voices like water, clear and cold, eddying at the back of her mind. They’re not real. She knows this. As in, she’s not crazy. They’re only the voices she’s heard on the phone, voices of men who b

      6 min read

    • Article

      Last Christmas

      Oct 6, 2022

      Last Christmas
      6 min read

    • Article

      Up Close

      Jun 3, 2024

      DENNIS McFARLAND’s most recent novel is Nostalgia. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, and the Scholar, among other places. In the last scene of Carla Abdala-Diggs’s musical Federal Agent, set in ctional Ar

      21 min read

    • Article

      These Bad Things

      Dec 23, 2019

      These Bad Things
      9 min read

    • Article

      Manhattan, 2035

      Mar 26, 2021

      There were problems with being the daughter of a former it girl. First of all, the designation, which, as her mother grew older, warped slightly across the society pages, affecting her mood. Most people remembered her mother’s modelling stints, brush

      4 min read

    • Article

      Melodious Memories

      Jan 13, 2023

      NAME THAT TUNE! As Isay, when I go, ‘gullies’ will be inscribed on my heart. Living in a rackety old house like ours, there’s often a leaky roof, due to the confluence of lead gullies that look picturesque when you’re up there but can’t cope with th

      3 min read

    • Article

      Who We Were WHO ARE WE NOW?

      Apr 8, 2020

      Who We Were WHO ARE WE NOW?
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Oh, Deadly Night

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Oh, Deadly Night - Rena Marin

      Diagram Description automatically generated

      Evil Comes Home for Christmas...

      Prologue

      Christmas Morning, 1949

      Dead Oaks, North Carolina

      THE MORNING SUNSHINE filtered through the hand sewn, peach colored curtains hanging in the bedroom of Nora Jean Filbert and her husband Bob. The house lay silent, the blanket of snow in the yard helping keep the quiet calm of a mountain winter intact. Slowly, Nora Jean’s eyes fluttered open, then immediately squinted in avoidance of the sun glaring in her eyes. Using her hand as a shield, Nora Jean turned her head, hoping to block out the unwanted intrusion.

      Nora Jean didn’t normally sleep in. It was unheard of. She had always been a woman who was up before daylight, making breakfast for Bob and the kids before they started their day. On this day, she didn’t feel like moving. The only thing she wanted to do was snuggle in the thick blanket her mother had made for them when they were married and avoid anything having to do with the waking world. She knew she couldn’t though. It wasn’t fair to her family. They needed her to get their days started. It was just the way her world worked.

      Slipping out from under the covers she felt the cold in the house settle into her bones instantly. The first thing she would need to do would be add firewood. As a mother, the idea of her babies getting out of bed in a cold house didn’t sit well with her. It never had. It had always been a struggle fighting the cold in the mountains, but her family loved Dead Oaks and would never consider living anywhere else.

      The Filbert family had never been considered one of the rich families in town. No, Nora Jean’s husband worked hard for everything they had. There were times when they struggled to keep food on the table for their two kids, Robert, Jr. and Meredith, but they survived. They always did. The help of their neighbors was another thing about the little mountain town the entire Filbert family loved.

      Stepping into the living room, Nora Jean noticed the fire had gone completely out. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. Normally, Bob would make sure the fire was well stoked and things stayed comfortable through the late-night hours. Wrapping her arms around herself, she moved toward the hearth, when her eyes fell upon the small, yet cutely decorated Christmas tree in the corner. Suddenly, the night before came rushing back to her in a whirl of emotion that made her grip the back of their hand-me-down sofa to stay on her feet.

      She, Bob, and the kids had sat around the fire telling Christmas stories and drinking her homemade hot cocoa. Little Meredith sang carols, while Robert Jr. teased her for it. They had laughed together while they waited for bedtime. When Bob announced it was time to go up, the children didn’t argue. No, they were too excited for the following morning and the hope of gifts that awaited.

      The gifts were still under the tree. That wasn’t normal. Nora Jean knew her babies and knew they would’ve been up at the crack of dawn, ready to tear open the plain, brown wrappings she used. Bob always said spending money for fancy Christmas paper was useless. She knew he was right but still hated having to use something so ordinary for the kids.

      Not worrying about the cold fireplace, Nora Jean turned and raced toward the back of the house. The kids each had a room. They were small, but enough for them to have their privacy and be happy. Reaching Meredith’s room first, she threw open the door. The small bedroom window was open, the night’s snow lightly piled on the floor. The room itself was bitter cold, enough to make the woman shiver visibly. Pulling back the covers, Nora Jean bit her lip trying not to cry. Her baby girl wasn’t there.

      In a rush, hoping to find both her children safe and sound in Robert Jr.’s room, she scurried across the hall repeating her previous actions. As the door banged against the wall, more snow drifted from the windowsill, falling onto the hardwood floor beneath it. That’s when her eyes saw the one thing she had been hoping she wouldn’t. There, on the snow covering the window, were crimson stains she knew in her heart was blood.

      Praying to see her children outside the window, she threw herself across the room, not caring that Robert Jr.’s toys hadn’t been put away. Peering outside, she threw her hands over her mouth and let a cry of agony take her. Her voice wasn’t the only one filling the air on that Christmas morning, though. All around the town of Dead Oaks, families were waking to find children missing. The only clue left behind, besides the droplets of crimson leading out their doors and windows, was the message scrawled in blood in each of the chosen family’s lawns.

      Jus

      I came for what was promised. Now, the children of Dead Oaks are finally where they belong, with me. Merry Christmas!

      Deck the Halls

      Present Day

      Dead Oaks, NC

      Caleb Rollins took his time driving around the town he was sworn to protect. The people in the streets, the kids running around, and the festive feel in the air made it necessary. The town of Dead Oaks always came alive at Christmas time. It was one of the few times of the year people tried to put all the bad things in the world behind them and focus on the love and joy in their lives. That was especially hard to do in Dead Oaks, but it could be done.

      Tossing a wave to passersby, he couldn’t help but smile when greetings were offered. Hey, Sheriff Rollins had a real nice ring to it. Although he wasn’t set to step into his new position until after the new year, the retirement of the town’s previous sheriff moved the timeline up a bit and the mayor had no choice but to officially instate Caleb as the town’s new lead protector.

      Pulling down Main Street, Caleb noticed the crowd gathered by the giant oak tree already decorated for the holiday season. The big tree, one of the few in town that seemed strong enough to live, was a fixture this time of year. The Women’s Auxiliary always saw to its decoration and worked tirelessly, all through the Christmas season, to ensure no one destroyed the handmade ornaments. It was also the job of the local sheriff’s department to keep vandals at bay. It never failed, every year, some group of teenagers hoped to make a name for themselves by claiming an ornament or two.

      Caleb! Caleb!

      Hearing his name being shouted through the crowd, Caleb slowed his cruiser enough to spot Rosie Turner, one of the town’s most notorious flirts, waving her arms frantically as she ran down the sidewalk. Curious as to what she needed, he pulled the car over to the curb and waited.

      Rosie, is everything alright? he asked as she made it to his car, panting slightly.

      Rosie was a year or so older than Caleb himself. During the years since they graduated high school, she’d been married twice and had three kids of her

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1