The Girl On the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Just Disappeared

People packed the City Officials’ meeting rooms in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Although the meetings were separate, the questions were the same. How did a five-year-old girl get onto the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge? And how in the hell did she run down the middle of it?

“She could’ve been killed!”

“Someone needs to be held accountable!”

“What the hell is wrong with her parents?”

“The kid should be removed from the parents’ custody.”

The city official running the meeting in Brooklyn waited for the crowd to quiet down. Then she asked a simple question. “Who watched the child disappear?” No one spoke. Even though every motorist in the room claimed to have stopped their vehicle for the little girl. “No one wants to say they saw her vanish. Because that’s in the reports we’ve gotten.”

One man in the back stood. “My name is Randall Clay. The father of the little girl on the bridge.” People turned and looked at him. “Her name is Jessie. She’s been dead for ten years. Today’s her birthday. She has always been a mischievous kid.” He wiped his eyes with his hand. “Every birthday she runs across the bridge. She’s not trying to scare you. She just likes the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Because it was named after one of her great ancestors, Giovanni da Verrazzano.”

Everyone was quiet.

If you enjoyed the story, send it to a friend and join my newsletter. I’m almost out with my new book. I’ll keep you posted. And if you want to read my novella, click on MATTIE. You’ll love this little girl. She’ll scare you, but try it. Be safe out there and watch the ghosts.

 Joan Harbor

The Living and the Dead Come Together Sometimes. Scary?

“Brain cells survive for the first few minutes of the after-death (postmortem period). It is during this period that the spirit can escape the body’s tomb and roam the earth. Or continue to live the life it had. How that spirit comes back is anyone’s guess.” Dr. Koffin Grave, Undertaker

Every Thursday at 3:58 a.m., the 114 train speeds through the town of Eastman, New York. Buildings shake. The ground rumbles. The whistle blows. It warns people it’s coming through and to clear the cows off the track. Residents who live in the area say the train doesn’t bother them anymore. They are used to it.

They know the 114 stopped coming through Eastman more than one hundred years ago. Train tracks were removed from the area fifty years ago. Only the remnants continue to pass through Eastman at 3:58 a.m. Because Train 114 crashed into ten cows on the tracks in 1904. All one hundred passengers—men, women, and children—were crushed to death under the heavy railroad cars. The eyewitnesses’ conflicting statements about the tragic event live on today.  

Some archived statements from that day in 1904 say nothing was on the tracks. Other statements said a woman in a white dress was on the tracks. She was believed to be the young mother who was murdered in the town of Eastman the day before. One statement that baffled investigators then and now was from a man named Joe Torred.

Joe was the husband of Lisa Torred, the murdered woman. Joe said Lisa and the train conductor, Bryan Karr, were having an affair. He told the police Bryan killed Lisa because Lisa refused to let him end their affair. It was actually the payments.

Byran had paid her four dollars (around $100 today) every week when they began to have sex. She told him he could end the affair. But not the payments. He said he would end them. She threatened to tell Bryan’s wife, Nadeen, about them if he did. Bryan knew Nadeen would take the kids and leave. Killing Lisa was the only way out for Bryan. And killing Bryan—even in death—was Lisa’s revenge.

I have a new book coming out soon. It’s being written in serial form. Do stop by and read a few pages. See if it’s to your liking. I think you’ll enjoy it.

See you next time!

Joan Harbor

BERTHA DINN, 89, DISAPPEARED FROM HER HOME IN WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK. A THRILLER GHOST STORY.

THE LAST PERSON BERTHA SAW WAS PATTI GREGG, SIX, ON NEW YEAR’S DAY OF 2025. THAT WAS UNFORTUNATE.

Bertha Dinn, 89, spoke to the police dispatcher in a terrified trembling voice. Little Patti Gregg, six, was standing in her yard throwing rocks at her window. She wanted to tell Patti to move on. But she couldn’t and wouldn’t. The dispatcher asked Bertha why.

“Because she’s dead,” Bertha said. “She was struck and killed by a truck three days ago on her bike. She looks deranged.”

“Ma’am, did you say she’s dead?”

“Yes! Dead, as in dead. She’s mad at me. Because I told her parents, she threw rocks at houses before. And they punished her. She’s come to get me. She’s always been a revengeful brat. Get someone here. Please!”

“Ma’am, a car is coming to you.”

“Please hurry! Oh, my. She’s coming to my door. Please hurry.”

BAM! BAM! BAM!

“Bertha! Bertha! What’s going on Bertha?”

“She’s kicking my door.”

BAM! BAM! BAM!

“Bertha!”

“She’s pounding on my door. You have come! You have to…”

CRACK! CRASH!

“Bertha! Bertha! Talk to me, Bertha!”

The line went dead.

Bertha’s family has offered a reward for her whereabouts.

If you enjoyed this ghost story, send it to a friend and join my newsletter. You’ll receive exclusive updates, sneak peeks at upcoming books, and free short stories. And, if you haven’t read my horror novella, Mattie, click here and check her out on Amazon. She’s a terrifying little girl. You’ll love her.

Joan Harbor

A BREAKING FICTION NEWS STORY- A HORROR IN RHODE ISLAND – 100 PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED IN A SHOCKING ASSISTED SUICIDE AND CANNIBALISM CASE

A Rhode Island reporter broke this story on the Never Unfaithful Church. Law enforcement called this a horror story out of the depths of hell. You decide.  

The story took place in Deeder, Rhode Island, next to Jamestown.

At six AM, Pastor Bernard Jenkins began dismembering himself. One hundred members of his faithful flock urged him on. Witnesses said Pastor Jenkins had a syringe pump that infused him with large amounts of morphine. He sat on the floor and sawed off a lower leg with an electric saw. A parishioner wrapped the severed limb in plastic wrap. Then put it in a corner of the church. Just as Pastor Jenkins had instructed them to do before starting the ceremony. Pastor Jenkins sawed off a thigh next. It was also wrapped and placed somewhere in the church.

The sequence of events continued until all that was left of the Pastor was one arm and his upper torso. The Pastor shoved the saw blade into his sternum (breastbone) to cut the rest of his body in half. His heart was sliced in half before he could finish. He died within seconds.

The parishioners then lined up at a table and drank the liquid that the Pastor had prepared for them. The ones who did not pass out became deathly ill. They tried to get out of the church. But the Pastor had locked them in and barred the windows. All the parishioners fell unconscious.

Someone called the Police station. The caller identified himself as Pastor Jenkins. (This would later be determined as impossible. Pastor Jenkins was dead when the call was made. But the phone call did come from inside the church.) He said people needed help. Or they would die.

Police arrived and broke down the door. Everyone was taken to the hospital and arrested while there. A recording showed the entire event. Hospital tests revealed large quantities of LSD in the parishioners’ systems.

But in a bizarre twist, the Pastor’s body was not found. The blood at the scene was the Pastor’s. Some parishioners explained the missing body. They saw the Pastor’s limbs crawl back to his torso. His body then stood and walked away.

Stay tuned. There could be more to this story than officials want us to know.

If this fiction supernatural horror story gave you chills, send it to a friend and join my newsletter. You’ll receive exclusive updates, sneak peeks at upcoming books, and free short stories. And if you haven’t read my horror novella, Mattie, click here and check her out on Amazon. She’s a terrifying little girl. You’ll love her.

Joan Harbor

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE IN A HORROR STORY-A HORROR THRILLER SHORT STORY.

Many people say they danced with the devil. Elanor Mackenzie never says it. Because she did. And now he won’t go away. Enjoy this horror thriller short story.

Elanor Mackenzie broke up with her boyfriend Chad three weeks ago. They agreed it was for the best. Chad fell in love with her sister, Mindy. Mindy left her husband for Chad. And she severed relations with Elanor for Chad. Chad was her soulmate. All week Elanor hoped that one day Chad and Mindy would get their comeuppance. Those two had rained pain down on everyone.

Three of Elanor’s girlfriends forced her to go out with them. They took Elanor to bars and a nightclub to have fun. It would be a night to forget about Chad and Mindy. So many men wanted to dance with Elanor. She danced until her feet hurt. When she and her friends were leaving, a young man asked Elanor if he could call her. She hesitated to answer. Her friends told him yes. His name was Lived Natas. It was a family name.

Elanor went to bed that night feeling desirable again. Lived was twenty-five with model looks. And he wanted her thirty-five-year-old body. She dreamed about the handsome man. They made love all night. The next morning she woke happy and exhausted. A note was on her counter by the stove. She did not remember putting it there. It read: Thank you for inviting me in. We had a wonderful time. I will never leave you. I will never hurt you. And I left you a gift.

Elanor squinted. Was he there last night? No. She dreamed it. This was a scary joke. She looked outside in her driveway. A large box was in it. She went out and looked at it. An envelope was taped to the box. The outside of it said, look inside the box first. Elanor pulled the tape off. She then opened the flaps, jumped back, and fell to the ground, screaming.

A neighbor called the police. Inside the box were the twisted remains of Chad and Mindy. Their eyes were missing. Inside the envelope were the eyes of Chad and Mindy. The note read. “I’ll only look at you.”

The police have looked for Lived Natas for months. No one knows him. But a detective who solves puzzles and word games noticed Lived Natas’ name. He moved the letters around and stood up. On the sheet read – DEVIL SATAN.

If you enjoyed this horror thriller short story, please sign up for my newsletter. I’ll keep you informed about my books coming out. And I’ll give you free stories. I have a new book coming out soon. I think you’ll love it. I haven’t decided on the name yet. I’ll let you know when I do.

Take care.

Joan Harbor

A Scary Little Girl Helped Me With An Idea – A Horror Short Story

Mattie became a character one day when I was at the store. I can’t say that. Mattie was created from several events. But at the store, I met Mattie. I had walked by a mother and daughter. The daughter may have been seven. She stared at me with a devious smile. It was as if she was saying, I know something you don’t. Something bad. I caught myself thinking about what was behind that smile. And did I want to know?

If you enjoyed this short story, send it to a friend. Check out my Mattie on Amazon. It’s a fast-paced horror thriller. And Mattie will make you shiver. See you next time. By the way, please sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t.

Take Care

Joan Harbor

You Learn All Kinds Of Things In A Graveyard – A Horror Short Story

Hi, I’m Joan,

I’m shy. Not a complete introvert. Just shy. And I write horror books. I’ll tell you a brief story.

Once I spent the night in a graveyard with a friend. I did it on a dare. We were fourteen. We lied to our parents that we were at a sleepover. This was my start to horror stories. But the story I want you to know about is Mattie. Mattie is my horror novella story on Amazon. She’s scary and adorable. I’ll tell you how she came to be in the next story.

Like I said, I’m Joan.

If you like this short story, send it to a friend and please sign up for my newsletter. I’ll let you know when my books come out and give you some free stories.

See you later.

Joan Harbor

The Price Of Love Has No Boundaries – PART 3 – A Horror Thriller Short Story

Love can live beyond the human spirit, and longer than it should. Enjoy Part 3 of this horror thriller short story.

PART 3 

He sped to the hospital, parked, and took the elevator to the admission desk. “My wife, Marie, is a nurse here,” he said. “She said my brother-in-law…”

The man behind the desk said, “Jason, I know who you are. Marie is over there.” He nodded to the waiting area. “It’s not your brother-in-law. It’s Cara. She… She… I’ll let Marie tell you.”

He rushed over to Marie. “She overdosed,” Marie said. “Cara overdosed.” His mouth dropped open. “The medics found her three hours ago. No one knew she was our Cara. Until thirty minutes ago. Can you believe it? Depression finally took my baby sister.”

Paul stared in disbelief. He peeked at the clock on the wall. He had just made love to Cara thirty minutes ago.

If you enjoyed Part 3 of this short story, please send it to a friend and sign up for my newsletter. Receive updates on when my new horror thriller book will be out and free short stories.

See you next time.

Joan Harbor

The Price Of Love Has No Boundaries – PART 2 – A Horror Thriller Short Story

Love can live beyond the human spirit, and longer than it should. Enjoy Part 2 of this horror thriller short story.

PART 2 

She got out of bed. His phone rang. He looked at the screen. Marie’s name was on the screen. He was hesitant to answer. “Hello, honey.”

“I need you to get to the hospital,” Marie said. He tried to ask why. “She’s dying. I have to go.”

He jumped out of bed and dressed while calling out to Cara. Cara was quiet. He ran to the bathroom. Cara opened the door.

“I have to go,” he said. “My brother-in-law has been sick. Marie just called and said he’s dying. I’ll call you later.” They kissed. He rushed out of the motel room and looked back. She waved at him from the doorway. He waved and left.

If you enjoyed Part 2 of this short story, please send it to a friend and sign up for my newsletter. Receive updates on when my new horror thriller book will be out and free short stories.

See you next time.

Joan Harbor

The Price Of Love Has No Boundaries – PART 1 – A Horror Thriller Short Story

Love can live beyond the human spirit, and longer than it should. Enjoy Part 1 of this horror thriller short story.

PART 1

Jason and Cara lay in bed. Her head was on his chest. She whispered, “This is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

He kissed her on the head and said, “Me too. And I hate it. It makes what I have to do even harder than it is.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she said. “Let’s just leave things the way they are. I could never hurt Marie. And nor could you.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “But it’s for the best.” She lifted her head, looked down at him, and kissed him. “I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

If you enjoyed Part 1 of this short story, please send it to a friend and sign up for my newsletter. Receive updates on when my new horror thriller book will be out and free short stories.

See you next time.

Joan Harbor