Writing Darkness

The Works of Zachary Robert Long

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A 19th century wood-carving rendition of Elizabeth Gaunt being burnt at the stake

A Conflagration of Euphoria
by Zachary Robert Long (1322 words, estimated reading time: 6 minutes)

Posted on May 8, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

The screams of the women found no purchase on the night air as they were marched to their deaths. From among the crowd that lined either side of their walk were flung insults, rocks, and excrement both animal and human. A missile would strike home causing one or another of the women to stumble, eliciting…

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An acrylic pour, a handful of colors colliding in patterns determined by randomness

A Speck of Paint
by Zachary Robert Long (2547 words, estimated reading time: 13 minutes)

Posted on March 19, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

A river of viscous red waterfalls to an ocean of blue, green, red, and white with specks of yellow and fiery orange making themselves known. As the river runs out the red mixes into the ocean of colors with long tendrils that seemed to be reaching out into a void, this being where the colors…

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An old man appears to be looking out of the gap between two boards or out of a window. We can only see his eyes, but we can tell his expression is menacing.

The Anger of Old Man McKinsy
by Zachary Robert Long (2687 words, estimated reading time: 15 minutes)

Posted on February 12, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

The cool breeze carried with it a voice that spoke of regrets. The regret of the sun slowly whittling away the sleek ice. The regret of the rabbit as the wolf takes its life in a quick lunge. And the regret that Ash held for the way his relationship had turned out. Spring was almost…

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A circular pattern that suggests we are looking down into a hole or perhaps into a tunnel. It appears to be cut out of rock or dirt, but it is too dark to tell for sure which.

The Hole in Jacob Roebuck
by Zachary Robert Long (1251 words, estimated reading time: 7 minutes)

Posted on January 26, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

Jacob Roebuck looked at the scab on his leg and wondered what it could have come from. He had no recollection of ever hurting his leg, yet on his leg was a blackish-red splotch that meant he must have done just that. He worked at a computer all day and then sat around his apartment…

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Skyscrapers as seen from the ground.

Splat
by Zachary Robert Long (3192 words, estimated reading time: 16 minutes)

Posted on October 31, 2023August 31, 2024 by Zack Long

32. During certain moments in life, the human brain changes our perception of time. One common example is the feeling that the work day is dragging on, you keep glancing at the clock but that last hour just doesn’t end. Time dilation is often referenced in trip reports on LSD and other psychedelic drugs. It…

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Blood-colored raindrops splashing against puddles on the ground.

The Church of Cleansing
by Zachary Robert Long (1996 words, estimated reading time: 10 minutes)

Posted on September 3, 2023June 5, 2025 by Zack Long

“And nay, Brothers and Sisters, shall we deny that the time is soon,” the man at the altar roared as he wiped blood from his hands. “For we know the truth. We know what the future holds and we shall be the ones who inherit, for we have seen that truth with our own eyes.”…

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One wolf sits on a fallen tree stump beside. another standing. Their fur is filthy and they look unhealthy.

The Animals
by Zachary Robert Long (997 words, estimated reading time: 5 minutes)

Posted on July 31, 2023August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

Their eyes meet from across the room. Amber is saying something, but she doesn’t hear it. She’s already left her seat and is moving across the room with her glass in hand. Amber looks angry until she shakes the glass and points back with two fingers. Now Amber is happy, pacified by her favorite treat….

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A pile of different pill-form medications.

The Cut-Ups Volume 1: Medicated Death
by Zachary Robert Long (851 words, estimated reading time: 5 minutes)

Posted on July 11, 2023August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

The following cut-ups were created using the index of a hack medical text and a  poorly researched chapter on Jonestown. Images of the cut-ups can be found at the bottom of the page. 1. Premenstrual syndromeas vaginal lubricant,breast discomfort and,prenatalVomiting,and,nausea WartsofWaspsanddiarrheaimpure bone exercisebyinsomniaBlistersfromshingles,Blood.coughing upin eye,urine,circulation. 911constipation fromarthritis foot odorhemorrhoids,insectlegsproblems and,self-treatment,   2.still reverberates in the…

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A pile eggs in hay. The eggs are green-with-black-spots.

Be My Buddy (Cut-Up)
by Zachary Robert Long (943 words, estimated reading time: 5 minutes)

Posted on July 3, 2023August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

I suddenly felt calm. And sleepy. I drifted into her little baby face. Opens her green eyes wide, did things with white rats. me. Covering me. feeling I’m anybody’s fuck here? I felt so warm beneath it. speed. The egg creatures moved with surprising work. dozen heartbeats. entire body shuddered from fear. Because they were…

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A stone gargoyle on the top of some kind of ancient structure. Cracks in the stone gives the impression that the wings are spreading as if the creature was awakening.

Stone Moon
by Zachary Robert Long (247 words, estimated reading time: 1 minute)

Posted on June 25, 2023September 2, 2024 by Zack Long

You’re standing at the foot of a grand cathedral whose spires reach into the heavens themselves when out of the doors that are easily twice your height comes the guide you’ve been waiting for dressed like Jack The Ripper was torn out of the Victorian era and caught up in the grunge movement. Glancing around…

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I believe in periods, in capitals, in the occasional comma, and that’s it

— Cormac McCarthy

Recent Posts

  • Ruby Laughs
    by Zachary Robert Long (1304 words, estimated reading time: 6 minutes)
    (Ruby Laughs is a sequel to A Good Mother) She lays on the motel water-bed, her pregnant belly undulating with each breath, and though her face is...
  • The Way It Squirms
    by Zachary Robert Long (2100 words, estimated reading time: 10 minutes)
    The lump in Steven’s armpit stayed the same size no matter how many times he told himself it wasn’t there. Staring at himself in the bathroom...
  • The Skin Came Free
    by Zachary Robert Long (1441 words, estimated reading time: 7 minutes)
    The skin on my hands has been coming off lately. It starts by the nails, sort of folding back. Not quite tearing but slipping away. I...
  • Robert Cook Collection Item #0888
    by Zachary Robert Long (2856 words, estimated reading time: 13 minutes)
    During the final hours of October 10, 1961, Everett Turpin murdered his wife Dorothy Turpin with an ax. The following morning he drove his Ford F-1...
  • For the Entertainment of Strangers
    by Zachary Robert Long (3971 words, estimated reading time: 17 minutes)
    For Haleigh Masterton, the moment her stomach lining tore registered only as a dull ache. Nor did it slow her down any. It was simply another...

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