Kaidankai: Ghost, Supernatural, and Dark Short Fiction

A young woman turns to tarot and tea readings to learn what to do about a problem. Her grandmother taps into the spirit of their ancestors to tell the girl what she really needs to know. Dondi Dancy is a career Paralegal and founder/facilitator of a virtual book club, who writes short stories and prose poetry to remain grounded and aware of all that is beautiful in the world. Her portfolio include...

In wartime Japan, an old healer must find a way to release the trauma of the men in her village, especially the son of a former apprentice who became orphaned when his mother and grandparents died in the Tokyo bombing raids. Debra Carlson lived in Japan for ten years at different times of her life. She moved with her family seven times in eighteen years between the United States, Japan, (then) Wes...

A woman decides she will save her family the anguish of watching her waste away. How do you plan a beautiful death and how much control do you actually have? P. T. Corwin uses his training as an actor to read to himself in funny voices. He is proud to say that in secondary school, he read Stephen King so religiously that his teacher had a quiet word with his mother. His stories have most recently...

The shadow of a man incinerated from the nuclear blast at Hiroshima has a cautionary tale for modern societies (and leaders of countries with nuclear weapons). Matt McHugh was born in suburban Pennsylvania, attended LaSalle University in Philadelphia, and after a few years as a Manhattanite, currently calls New Jersey home. Website: mattmchugh.com You can read Zero Ground at https://www.whiteenso....

A leader in the regime thinks he's safe from his violent and oppressive past. The ghosts of his victims say otherwise. Pretty much as everything he does, Hervé Suys (°1968 - Ronse, Belgium) writes short stories to impress his wife, kids, and closest friends. He started writing whilst recovering from a sports injury. He prefers to write them hatless and barefooted. Follow all his moves on hervesuys...

A chance encounter reveals a multitude of past lives for two strangers. Will their lives be changed by the encounter? Andi Brooks is co-author of the critically acclaimed Bela Lugosi biography Vampire Over London: Bela Lugosi in Britain, curator of The Bela Lugosi Blog and a recipient of a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for his article on the love affair between Bela Lugosi and Clara Bow, Dracu...

Today’s story gives the phrase “end of the road” a different meaning for the residents of this particular cul-de-sac, and it’s the beginning of a new road for others. Zeke Jarvis is a Professor of English at Eureka College. His work has appeared in Moon City Review, Posit, and Drunk Monkeys. His books include So Anyway..., In A Family Way, The Three of Them, and Antisocial Norms. Twitter @zekjar F...

A group of kids on summer break use an app to hunt virtual ghosts. But, as is so often the case, when we play with the supernatural, the unexpected happens, and rules we don't understand come into play. A.C. Wise‘s fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Apex, Shimmer, Tor.com, and The Best Horror of the Year Volume 10, among other places. The podcast version of her story Final Girl Theory, which ap...

One man is obsessed by death and suicide, so it is not surprising that he would seek out Aokigahara, Japan's famous suicide forest. When he encounters an old woman in the forest, will he change his mind? First published in Yamamba: In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch by Stone Bridge Press. David Sands Holloway was a scholar of contemporary Japanese literature, culture, and gender studies whos...

What gives cotton candy its vibrancy? Travel with this carnival vendor on Halloween to find the creepy answer. Donald Guadagni is an international educator, author, and writer currently teaching and conducting research in Beijing China. His publication work includes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, academic, photography and his artwork. Former iterations, military, law enforcement, prisons, en...

This bonus podcast isn't very supernatural, but it's timely with the success of the James Webb Telescope. The story shows mixing science, religion and politics can be dangerous. Linda Gould is the host of the Kaidankai. Follow us on twitter at: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapanese Instagram: WhiteEnsoJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaidankai100/ The Kaidankai Podcast features original sh...

A young woman is trapped by horrific circumstances. Possible escape comes in the form of a favorite fairytale. Melissa Miles was born in the US, but resides in NZ. She has had many professional iterations, acting, teaching, film-making, but she is now focusing on her writing, and caring for her aging menagerie. You can read The Dreamer at https://www.whiteenso.com/ghost-stories-2022 Follow us on t...

A ghost whisperer leads a lonely life until, one day, a woman walks into a bar...this delightful romance has more twists and turns than a walk through a graveyard. Phillip Frey's history includes professional actor, produced screenwriter and writer/director of three short films, one of which showed at the New York Film Festival. He is now devoted only to writing prose. He currently has the privile...

A family of vampires suffers a very human tragedy. Chng manages to make sympathetic a family of bloodthirsty creatures. Joyce Chng lives in Singapore. Their fiction has appeared in The Apex Book of World SF II, We See A Different Frontier, Cranky Ladies of History, and Accessing The Future. Joyce also co-edited THE SEA IS OURS: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia with Jaymee Goh. Their recent space...

The first podcast of 2022 is a murder mystery told from the corpse's perspective. A young woman discovers her husband is having an affair. Yet he can also be loving and tender toward her. So how did she end up lying in a grave? Linda Sparks, author and poet, has published 19 books and been published in numerous anthologies. She served as Editor for Valkyrie Magazine. Her favorite genres are horror...

A knock on the door at Christmas Eve brings a lonely old man and poor waif together on Christmas Eve. Only one gets a present. J. L. Short lives with his family near Philadelphia and as near as he can tell there are no ghosts living in the house. On the other hand, he is continually harassed by two hounds and two cats. He enjoys reading and writing about history and the supernatural, not necessari...

One more classic story for the year. This one is the tale of a an unwanted Christmas Eve visitor who ruins the revelry of the holiday. You may never think of Hide-and-see the same way again. To submit a story: Go to https://www.whiteenso.com/kadankai-submit.html.html . Follow us on twitter at: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapanese Instagram: WhiteEnsoJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaidan...

Although written during the Victorian Era, E. Nesbit knows how to appeal to audiences across time. A group of girls tell each other ghost stories after a dance. And although they declare not to believe in ghosts, they can't help but feel dread and horror from the Housekeeper's story. E. Nesbit is the author of many children books, the most famous being The Railway Children. To submit a story: Go t...

A new take on a Japanese classic. Kamei's Paper Lanterns is a re-telling of the Peony Lantern, but from the ghost's point of view. If a love story can make you say ewww, this haunted tale will. Toshiya Kamei is a fiction writer who writes in both English and Spanish. His short fiction has appeared in magazines such as Korad and SmokeLong en Español, as well as the anthologies Enchanted Entrapments...

A serial killer's murderous spree has spawned copy cat crimes. Although he has a type that he prefers for his "toys,", one beautiful woman tempts him to take a risk. J. L. Short is a regular contributor to the Kaidankai. He lives with his family, two hounds and two cats near Philadelphia. There are no ghosts in his house. He enjoys reading and writing about history and the supernatural, not necess...

A gruesome tale about two friends meeting up after 25 years. As they reminisce about their younger years, one memory is so unpleasant, it may be the end of the friendship. Andi Brooks is a regular contributor to the Kaidankai. He is a resident of Tokyo, the author of Ghostly Tales of Japan and the critically acclaimed biography Vampire Over London: Bela Lugosi in Britain. He also runs the Bela Lug...

For Thanksgiving, today's classic tale is uplifting and hopeful. A new arrival in a boardinghouse brings out the best of all the residents before moving on. Do you have a story for kaidankai? Send it to https://www.whiteenso.com/kadankai-submit.html.html . Follow us on twitter at: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapanese Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaidankai100/ The Kaidankai Podcast features...

The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange. New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe on Spreaker , Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you listen to podcasts. Read the stories at  kaidankaistories.com Follow the show: Instagram Facebook Bluesky Have a story you'd like us to read? Send submissions to kaidankai100ghoststories@g...

This podcast has references to suicide. A salaryman on his way home late at night encounters a stranger in a forest. Will he survive the encounter? ​Linda A. Gould is the host of Kaidankai and editor of White Enso. She is an on-again, off-again writer of fiction, non-fiction, science fiction and ghost stories. Facebook: Japanese Ghost Stories, Twitter: @Ghost Japan and @WhiteEnso You can read toda...

When an evil book rests in the hands of an evil man, the result is gruesome, cruel, and diabolical. Michael Rhys is a Tokyo-based voice actor and writer of short tales. Originally from Esssex, in the UK, he is a 33-year resident of Japan. He lives in the deeply historical Jindaiji motomachi region area of Chofu, a few minutes from the ancient Jindaiji temple and under the shadow of the ghost of Ji...