NEW YORK, NY — Media outlets across the city received disturbing emails this week from an individual calling himself the “Oxblood Killer.” The poorly edited missives, riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, announced the arrival of a new serial killer who threatened to terrorize the entire city. Upon viewing the emails, however, most people responded with indifference rather than terror.
“CITIZENS OF NYC,” one email began, “THE OXBLOOD KILLER’S RAIN OF TERROR HAS BEGUN. WELL, IT WILL BEGIN SOON!! U HAVE BEEN WARND.” The email went on to explain, “I WAS GOING TO KILL LOTS OF PEOPLE LAST YEAR! BUT I DIDNT GET AROUND 2 IT.”
The emails, which were printed in several NYC newspapers by demand of the supposed killer, included few threats, instead focusing more on excuses for the Oxblood Killer’s lack of productivity in 2020. “I WAS GOING TO START MY RAMPAGE LAST YEAR! BUT THEN COVID HAPPEND AND I WAS TOO SCARED TO TOUCH ANYONE!! ALSO, I GOT REALLY OUT OF SHAPE AND KNEW I PROBABLY COULDNT CATCH ANYBODY! BUT I AM GOING TO WORK OUT MORE THIS YEAR!!!1”
Local resident Christopher Miller was asked about the emails. “Yeah, I read most of them in the paper. I guess they were supposed to be scary, but they weren’t very effective. I don’t think that guy has it together enough to kill anybody. Also, doesn’t his email have spell check? It’s kind of embarrassing.”
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Some of the Oxblood Killer’s other explanations for his inability to commit murder included “I ORDERD SOME ROPE AND DUCT TAPE OFF AMAZON BUT THE SHIPPING IS TAKING 4 EVER!” and “I STARTED WATCHING THE OFFICE AGAIN SO I AM BUSY RIGHT NOW!! BUT ONCE I FINISH THE LAST SEASON WATCH OUT! UNLESS I DECIDE TO WATCH FRIENDS AGAIN!!”
Police have analyzed the emails and have determined there are no significant threats at this time. They speculate that the name “Oxblood Killer” was derived from the fact that 2021 is the year of the Ox in the Chinese Zodiac. A spokesman for the police department said that this was probably “copied off the Zodiac killer” and also “completely lame.”
After seeing the reaction of the media and NYC citizens, the Oxblood Killer sent one last email, reading simply: “NEVER MIND. U GUYS ARE MEAN.”
Kristin Cleaves writes horror and dark fiction. Her work has been published by Quill and Crow Publishing House, Ghost Orchid Press, Black Telephone Magazine, and more.
Work is letting you go. Amidst all of the layoffs, you just didn’t make the cut. Well, I’m sorry to say, but it behooves you to go quietly. And quickly. Because you don’t want to stick around for the Firing Squad…
In fact, if your HR department is outsourced to one of those Eldritch contractors like so many are nowadays, get outta dodge NOW. Like seriously. Leave the lunch you brought in the fridge; leave the personal items in and on and around your desk. Hell, leave your coat and purse if you are not near them. You can get new ones. Maybe one of your ex-coworkers can help you retrieve your stuff later. Because you need to get out while the getting is still good.
The Firing Squad is coming.
And if they so much as see a pink slip anywhere in your immediate vicinity, it is complete and total annihilation…
Be sure to follow these simple library rules to ensure that you don’t end up victim to some Cthulhoid Lovecraftian nightmare. Because all of those books in one place can only mean one thing – certain doom!
Artwork description: A bloody female face with metallic crystalline eyes stares blankly at you from her strange ensemble of splattered fur trimmed weirdness. She leans against front of an overflowing bookshelf, guarding its contents.
Image text reads: Welcome to the library. Please follow these simple rules to ensure your safety and the well-being of those around you.
1.) Be quiet. the Eldritch horrors are sleeping. Do NOT awaken them. Ever.
2.) Do NOT open any portals to any interdimensional voids while here at the library. Please check out any such books and do so at home at your own risk.
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3.) Do NOT recite any spells, hexes, or incantations in any books found herein, even accidentally. Again, do so at home at your own risk if you must do so at all.
4.) Do NOT smile at the librarians under any circumstance. Doing so will invite terror beyond mortal comprehension.
5.) Do NOT burn or deface any of the books. This incites otherworldly wrath.
6.) The library will NOT be responsible should you awaken any Eldritch horrors, open any interdimensional portals, cast any spells, smile at the librarians, or burn or deface any of the books. Any attacks to your person, belongings, soul, or next of kin are solely your responsibility; you are NOT entitled to legal, medical, monetary, spiritual, or any other compensations on behalf of the library or any of its affiliates, either here, extraplanar, and/or beyond.
If the Metaverse isn’t all-encompassing enough for you (or if you simply don’t have the time to join in the fun there), you may want to look into the big new fad on the horizon: Dream Subscription Service. You simply sign up with some of the lesser demon angel types and you’re set. Visions will start coming in your sleep almost immediately.
There are different types of Dream Subscription to sign up for.
You have your surreal shit, the working through things dreams, prophesies, sexual fantasies, night terrors… You name it, they offer it.
There are some caveats, though.
Celebrity appearances are not included in base packages; cameos cost extra depending on demand. Upload speeds may vary depending on location and times spent resting. And Dream Subscription Service will not be held responsible for what you do in your waking hours in response to visions received. Oh, and there is a chance that you might be driven to madness. But just be sure to read all 197 pages of fine print to get all the details worked out for yourself.
How do I sign up?
If you are interested, just repeat the same chant three times before going to bed and a sales rep will visit you in your sleep.
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Sign me up now. Sign me up now. Sign me up now.
Registration Chant
There may be a waiting list, but they usually tend to get through the queue in a couple of nights. It can be easier signing on as a new Dream Subscription Service client if you sleep at odd hours though. Sometimes it also helps if you write Dream Subscription Service Sign Me Up Now in the steam on your bathroom mirror before going to bed. Or spin backwards in a circle three times while chanting.
Note: Do NOT use Dream Subscription Service if you are currently taking JeeperzCreeperz or have done so any time in the last century. That shit’ll fuck you up.
Also Note: Make sure you are signing up with the one and only original Dream Subscription Service and not one of those knockoff Cthulhu variants. Those are pretty much guaranteed to drive you insane (it’s even in their fine print in Eldritch Horror speak).
And if you really want to know more about a dream you’ve had, consider dream interpretation to get some ideas of possible symbolism. There are several Dream Dictionaries online including this one available through Psychologist World.
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Jennifer Weigel
January 31, 2021 at 11:53 am
Yep, totally NYC… didn’t stand a chance…