Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

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

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    How to Make a Spider
    How to Make a Spider
    How to Make a Spider
    Ebook126 pages1 hour

    How to Make a Spider

    By Jake Anderson

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This book is a collection of five horror stories, each one weird, gruesome and ironic in its own way. The first story, "Tonight at 10!", is about an actress auditioning for a role in a TV show that could be the future of horror/news entertainment. The second story is "Chopper," a near-future look at a 'hacktivist' assassin writing to her son after her final kill of the 2nd American Revolution. "Carbon Offset," a novella, presents a door-to-door environmental activist who turns to the dark side. The fourth story, "The Brazen Bull," takes us inside the minds of an FBI agent investigating a mysterious electromagnetic pulse and a schizophrenic cannibal who has one final secret. The fifth and final story, "The Birthmark Plug-in," presents a techno-dystopia in which a deranged killer has a variety of apps and tools at his disposal.

    The title comes from a Charles Manson drawing that illustrates how to make spiders in five steps.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJake Anderson
    Release dateMar 6, 2014
    ISBN9781310057366
    How to Make a Spider
    Author

    Jake Anderson

    Jake Anderson is a writer/filmmaker with a passion for subversive themes, fringe ideas, and satirical comedy. His genres of trade are science fiction, horror and comedy. He also runs the popular paranormal/horror blog theghostdiaries.com.

    Related to How to Make a Spider

    Related ebooks

    Horror Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Cristina Rivera Garza

      Jun 15, 2018

      She would remember everything, out of the blue and in full detail. She would see the jade ring wrapped around her ring finger and, immediately, she would see the other jade ring. She would open her eyes wide and, without knowing why, would fall silen

      13 min read

    • Article

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time

      Dec 1, 2023

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time
      9 min read

    • Article

      I Saw Plenty

      Jun 1, 2020

      I Saw Plenty
      6 min read

    • Article

      Performance

      Nov 10, 2022

      “Wait here,” the guard said as he shut the door behind him, leaving me by myself. The floor inside the lab was polished, and the air smelled of disinfectant, and yet the room felt unclean. Leaves shook on a tree outside the window, making shadows on

      18 min read

    • Article

      Lace Round the Sky

      Jul 1, 2022

      Lace Round the Sky
      8 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Sep 1, 2022

      First prize 10 and under Tang Li, age 9 Palmetto Bay, FL My name is Anisa. I was in Hawaii on vacation. I enjoyed sipping refreshing drinks, overlooking the turquoise ocean, and dancing with others, before I overheard that the priceless Fire Ring wa

      10 min read

    • Article

      Just a Kiss

      Jun 4, 2020

      Just a Kiss
      6 min read

    • Article

      Crowning Glory

      Nov 26, 2022

      Crowning Glory
      12 min read

    • Article

      Let The Bones Talk

      Jun 16, 2021

      Let The Bones Talk
      6 min read

    • Article

      Let The Bones Talk

      Jun 16, 2021

      Let The Bones Talk
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Family Plot

      May 7, 2020

      The Family Plot
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Penalty

      Nov 5, 2020

      The Penalty
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Girl I Knew Somewhere

      Dec 2, 2021

      The Girl I Knew Somewhere
      6 min read

    • Article

      Prey

      Mar 10, 2024

      As I drove slowly toward the mob of angry protestors and my meeting with 200, I thought of 199. The ashes of a once hard man, staring at me with wide eyes that pleaded for hope like a dog begging for treats. I’d somehow found a way to give him that h

      41 min read

    • Article

      Prey

      May 10, 2021

      As I drove slowly towards the mob of angry protestors and my meeting with 200, I thought of 199. The ashes of a once hard man, staring at me with wide eyes that pleaded for hope like a dog begging for treats. I’d somehow found a way to give him that

      41 min read

    • Article

      Two Networks. A Writers' Strike. COVID-19. Now, 'Supernatural' Faces One Last Twist

      Oct 9, 2020

      "Supernatural" has enjoyed 15 years of masked and made-up characters roaming the set, but in the final weeks of production, a different type of mask was on the minds of cast and crew. "It was weird not seeing the faces that you've been looking at for

      8 min read

    • Article

      Equinox

      May 18, 2022

      In this strange world, where identities change with the rising and setting of the sun, supernatural forces are at work – and they’re causing trouble… St Leonars prison was an appropriately imposing building. It rose out of the surrounding shacks and

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Last Dance

      Feb 1, 2018

      The Last Dance
      4 min read

    • Article

      After “The End”

      Oct 10, 2022

      I walked down the road with a hunched back and a wet cigarette in my mouth—the fire had died a while back. My hands were tucked into the pockets of my jacket, and my hair fell over my face, limiting my sight. But I wasn’t really seeing where I was go

      10 min read

    • Article

      Righteous

      Jan 22, 2019

      Righteous
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Fortune Teller

      Jul 10, 2021

      My head has a liquid feel to it as I stumble down the street. The bottle of red wine in my belly making it seem like my limbs have become balloons, and at any moment they might float away. Next to me, Michael has a stupid whiskey grin stretched acros

      18 min read

    • Article

      A Kind Of Magic

      Apr 1, 2024

      A Kind Of Magic
      7 min read

    • Article

      Haunted

      Sep 27, 2023

      Haunted
      6 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Jul 1, 2018

      — After the New York Times newsfeed from the week of May 6–11, 2018 This week in which faculty members at the University of Floridashove black graduates offstage for dancing in honor of what is regularly denied them; in which Nordstrom Rackapologizes

      5 min read

    • Article

      Decluttering

      Dec 9, 2020

      Decluttering
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for How to Make a Spider

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      How to Make a Spider - Jake Anderson

      How To Make A Spider

      Jake Anderson

      Copyright 2014 Jake Anderson

      Smashwords Edition

      jakeanderson40@gmail.com

      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

      Cover design by Jared Salas and Edited by Allison Schulz.

      Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

      Table of Contents

      Tonight at 10!

      The Hacktivist

      carbon offset

      Cannibal Kingdom

      The Birthmark Plug-in

      Tonight at 10!

      The young woman reaches into the night and presses a glistening silver button.

      Hi, um, it's Darlene. I'm here for the audition.

      The gate buzzes open. Before her, purple lights line a marble driveway. On her right, sprinklers shower a garden of occultist topiaries. To her left is an infinity pool with a layer of pink mist rising above it.

      She parks in a portico at the back of the driveway, which is occupied by three sports cars, including a stunning black Porsche.

      Darlene steps out into the evening air and adjusts the hem of her skirt, making sure it covers her scar. She checks her hair in the side panel window, dabs twice at her lipstick, and takes a deep breath.

      The mansion itself looks like an alien church—full of sinewy architecture and unusual bends. It's as though it was designed to look like its own distorted reflection in a pool of water.

      The front door is recessed within a thick archway, which she approaches cautiously, entertaining last second doubts. She knows little to nothing about the man she is about to meet, or the project for which she is auditioning. Suddenly, she is shocked at her own lack of foresight. In her zeal to beat the odds, to transcend the hordes of aspiring actresses, she has neglected her own safety.

      Her parents would be terrified.

      She rings the doorbell. A classical piano concerto echoes through the mansion. For a split second, she imagines herself fluttering down the stairs to answer the door. Instead, a young man about the same age as her answers: Keith, a skinny, attractive man in casual black garments and thick-rimmed glasses with amber lenses.

      Keith gives her a light hug.

      Please, come in.

      What a magnificent home, Darlene says, following him into a roman style atrium. This is incredible.

      Just a place to hang my hat. I live in Silverlake actually, I only really come here for business.

      When they reach the other side of the atrium, Keith leads her into a hallway that opens into the grand foyer.

      I appreciate you driving out here for the audition. I will compensate your gas mileage.

      Oh, thank you, she says, surprised. So far, Keith is the nicest producer she's ever met.

      The studio is their next destination, which they arrive at after navigating a labyrinth of hallways. The room is cavernous and lit at odd angles. Keith has set up camp in a cozy corner that contains a couch, a tripod-mounted camera, lighting equipment, and an editing bay.

      Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, Keith says, gesturing toward the couch. He hunches over a stool at the editing bay and hits some keys. I will be recording the audition and feeding it into our system. I'm just checking to make sure everything is working.

      Okay, Darlene says, sitting down and crossing her legs. So, is there no script for the audition?

      Well...

      Darlene glances around the studio.

      I was getting to that.... He pauses again and stands up. Did you want anything to drink—soda, water, I can make coffee?

      No, I'm fine.

      He nods and is silent for a few moments.

      So, there is no script.

      Darlene nods. Yeah, why not?

      The project we are auditioning you for is rather unusual. It's not a traditional narrative really. In fact, the actions and words of the actors will be determined by external factors, so a script would actually be counter-productive.

      Darlene puffs her lips out, scrunches her eyes, trying to understand.

      What do you mean external factors, like a reality show?

      Keith nods. Sort of.

      He stands up from the editing bay and sits down next to her on the couch. Darlene angles to face him and realizes her legs are covered in goose bumps. She runs her fingertips from her calf up to her thigh and then clasps her hands together on her lap.

      So what's the premise, what is the film about?

      Keith leans back, puts his hands behind his head and stares at the ceiling. He takes a deep breath and clears his throat.

      It's a show really—different vignettes every week. But the premise of each will revolve around a young woman or a young man waking up in a large, strange house. These individuals don't know who they are or why they're in the house. We're going to use contact lens cameras in addition to the regular ones, so viewers will be able to see the action from their points of view.

      Darlene ponders this. So if I got the part, I'd be one of the girls who wakes up in the house?

      Possibly. The final choice of actors is left to our viewers.

      What do you mean?

      The show will air live by webcast initially and viewers from all over the world will be able to access different scenes depending on what they want to see and what tier of pricing they select. Additionally, we're planning to license the images for a virtual reality live action game. So if you got the part, you'd be cast in a television show and then your likeness would be licensed for a video game.

      Darlene looks impossibly confused.

      It's weird, I know.

      I've just never heard of this before. It sounds new.

      It is new. It will be a new kind of horror genre. If you're uncomfortable with it, I completely understand. It's certainly an unorthodox project and for legal reasons we have to be obnoxiously vague about everything. Please, I won't be offended at all if you want to leave.

      No, now I'm curious. I've done so many tedious auditions, this could actually be refreshing.

      Speaking of which, the audition is simple: You wake up, confused and scared, as per the premise. I like to gauge talent by non-verbal forms of communication. So waddya think, you wanna give this a shot?

      Sure, let's do it.

      She stands up as Keith moves behind the camera and tinkers with its settings. He stops for a moment and stares at her.

      You'll be on the floor.

      Oh. Okay. Just right here?

      Yup.

      Darlene drops to one knee and then the other. Carefully, she lowers herself to the floor.

      Like this? Is this good?

      Yup.

      Darlene fidgets a bit on the floor, making sure she's not in a position that will hinder her performance.

      And you'll be waking up, so eyes closed to start.

      Darlene closes her eyes and concentrates. She tries to put herself in the headspace of someone who has woken up in a strange place, alone and scared. She tries to feel

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1